Trail Blazers Have Built Core Through NBA Draft

Portland has amassed a talented core through the last few drafts. Now it just needs the on-court product to come around.

Jan 7, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) warms up before a game against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

After a long string of unsuccessful NBA Playoff pushes, the Portland Trail Blazers finally offloaded their stars in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in favor of a full-on youth movement a few years ago.

And in the last few drafts, the team has put together a promising core.

It started with the selection of Shaedon Sharpe No. 7 overall in the 2022 draft. A mysterious unknown at the time who’s shown real promise as a high-flying scorer. In his most recent season, Sharpe showed improvement — nearly 16 points, five rebounds and three assists per game — albeit on low volume at just 32 games.

At least year’s draft, the team grabbed Scoot Henderson, the long-projected No. 2 pick who eventually fell to No. 3 after the Hornets picked forward Brandon Miller. Simply put, Henderson was one of the least efficient and downright worst players last season. But there’s little evidence to suggest he’ll be a bad player longterm, and counting stats of 14 points, 5.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game as a frosh were still positive.

This year, Portland pivoted, grabbing a bona fide two-way game-changer in 7-footer Donovan Clingan, who just put up an all-time high in blocks per game at Summer League in Las Vegas.

Future drafts will undoubtedly impact the Trail Blazers’ standing and direction in the league. But the franchise will now wait for the cream to rise to the top among its current roster. With Clingan being a more gluey piece, it will likely take one of Sharpe or Henderson to take off in order for Portland to follow.

Regardless, the Trail Blazers will be one of the more interesting teams to follow in the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season.

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