While most of the attention among NBA fans recently has been on the playoffs, especially now that three of the four teams that will play in their respective conference finals have been decided, preparations for the NBA Draft are also starting to heat up with both the Draft Lottery and Combine scheduled to take place next week. The 2018 NBA Draft is especially important for the Trail Blazers this season, as it's arguably their best chance this offseason in terms of adding talent to the team, be it by selecting a player for themselves with the 24th overall pick -- Portland has no second round pick this year -- or using the pick to bring back talent via trade.
So with the official start of the NBA draft season set to begin next week, here's are some of the best guesses from draft watchers around the internet as to which direction the Trail Blazers might go once the 24th pick comes up...
• Jonathan Givony of ESPN (posted April 13) has the Trail Blazers selecting junior guard/forward Jacob Evans out of Cincinnati...
Evans averaged 13.0 points on 43 percent shooting from the field and 37 percent shooting from three, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists. 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in 30.8 minutes this season for the Bearcats, a team that lost to Nevada in the second round the NCAA Tournament.
• Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated (posted on April 18) has the Trail Blazers taking junior guard Khyri Thomas out of Creighton...
Thomas averaged 15.1 points on 54 percent shooting from the field and 42 percent shooting from three, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals in his third season with the Bluejays.
• Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (posted May 8) has the Trail Blazers selecting Latvian forward Rodions Kurucs, who currently plays for Barcelona in the Spanish ACB League. He's a 20 year-old, 6-10 forward who also declared for the 2017 NBA Draft before withdrawling.
According to ESPN's Jonathan Givony, Kurcus "was projected as a likely first-round pick entering this season, but he has seen his draft stock stagnate due to a lack of playing time with Euroleague powerhouse Barcelona."
• Gary Parrish of CBS Sports (posted April 16) has the Traill Blazers selecting senior forward Chandler Hutchinson out of Boise State...
A little more about Hutchinson here, as he was previously linked to the Trail Blazers in an earlier mock draft.
• Chris Stone of The Sporting News (posted April 26) has the Trail Blazers selecting 19 year old shooting guard De'Anthony Melton out of USC...
No NBA front office is going to be scarred off by "NCAA corruption," but missing an entire season at age 19 might be a bit more concerning.
• The folks at NBADraft.net (posted on May 7), has the Trail Blazers selecting Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo with the 24th overall pick. The 6-5 guard averaged 13.4 points on 48 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from three, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game in his junior season while playing a key role in the Wildcats winning the 2018 NCAA Men's National Championship.
• Joe Tansey at Bleacher Report (posted on May 9) also has the Trail Blazers taking junior guard/fowrard Jacob Evans out of Cincinnati.