The men's college basketball season came to a close Monday night with the North Carolina Tarheels defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs 75-71 in the 2017 National Championship game. With that formality out of the way, underclassmen will start declaring for the 2017 NBA Draft, thus leaving school behind in order to begin the arduous predraft process of working out for and interviewing with NBA teams.
And after not having a first round draft pick in the 2016 Draft (which, more and more, is looking like not that big of a deal), which was sent to Denver as a part of 2015 deadline trade for Arron Afflalo, the Trail Blazers have three first round picks in the 2017 Draft -- their own, Memphis' pick via Denver, which was a part of the Jusuf Nurkić for Mason Plumlee deal, and Cleveland's pick, which they acquired by trading back the 2018 first round pick they got from Cleveland for taking on Anderson Varejao's salary at the 2016 trade deadline. So if the draft was held today, the Trail Blazers would own the 16th pick (their own), the 20th pick (Memphis' via Denver) and the 26th pick (Cleveland's).
It should be an interesting night, and here is how ESPN NBA Draft Insider Chad Ford has it shaking out for the Trail Blazers in the fourth iteration of his 2017 mock draft (ESPN uses their "Basketball Power Index" rather than current record when making mock drafts, so the picks are slightly different than what is laid out above).
With their own pick, which ESPN projects will be the 18th pick, Ford has the Trail Blazers selecting 7-0 freshman center Justin Patton out of Creighton...
A 19-year old out of Omaha (which is where Creighton is located), Patton averaged 12.9 points on 68 percent shooting from the field, 6.2 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals in 25.3 minutes per game for the Bluejays this season. He finished Creighton's only NCAA Tournament game, an 84-72 loss to Rhode Island, with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, seven rebounds and a block before fouling out in 21 minutes.
ESPN lists Patton's strengths as "super efficient big man, good athlete for his size, runs the floor well for a big man, hows some range on his jump shot" and "major upside" while his negatives are "needs to add strength, still developing low-post game" and "average rebounder and shot-blocker," none of which are uncommon for a young center.
Ford is right that the Trail Blazers wouldn't need a center to come in and play right away, as all signs point to Jusuf Nurkić locking down the position in Portland for the foreseeable future, and Neil Olshey has shown a willingness to draft players from mid-majors. And as we're seeing with Nurkić sidelined, the Trail Blazers don't really have an answer at backup center right now, though that is also due to injury.
As for their next pick, which ESPN projects will be the 20th pick, Ford has the Trail Blazers selecting another young big, Isaiah Hartenstein out of Germany...
Born in Eugene (his father Florian aka "Flo" is a German national who played for the Oregon Ducks), Hartenstein currently plays for Zalgiris in Lithuania, though with just five appearances this season, it looks he's following the long tradition of young players who see very limited minutes playing for European teams. However, Hartenstein is going to play for the World Team at the upcoming Nike Hoop Summit at the Moda Center on April 7, so you can do a bit of in person scouting if you're so inclined.
At 6-11, 225 pounds, ESPN lists Hartenstein's positives as "athletic, skilled big man, can score the ball in the paint, from the perimeter and off the bounce, aggressive scorer, finishes above the rim" and "good rebounder and shot blocker. They list his negatives as "can be too aggressive, makes poor decisions on the floor" and "can fall in love with the jumper."
For the record, I'm not nearly as convinced as Ford that the Trail Blazers will be looking to draft and stash with any of their first round picks, but it's certainly a possibility. And since he's an American citizen, maybe that's not Hartenstein's plan either.
Finally, with the Cleveland pick, which ESPN projects as the 27th pick, Ford has the Trail Blazers taking another international, 18-year old Belgian guard Kostja Mushidi...
A 6-5, 210 pound guard for Mega Leks in Serbia, Mushidi is averaging 9.3 points on 54 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent shooting from three, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 in 24 games this season. Mushidi, who was born in Belgium but plays for the German national team, will also participate in the Nike Hoop Summit this Friday at the Moda Center as a part of the World Team, so another reason to go check that out.
ESPN lists Mushidi's positives as "strong, athletic wing, NBA body, explosive leaper, potentially big time scorer" and "aggressive" while his lone negative "lacks a consistent three point shot."
Again, I'm a bit loathe to try make assumptions about such things, but I'm skeptical the Trail Blazers would use two of their three picks on international players who might still be a few years away from coming to the NBA. I'm not sure if Ford's assumption is based off actual intel or just the notion that teams with multiple first round picks often look to draft and stash. What I do know is that the Trail Blazers' international scout, Lojze Milosavljevic, is well-respected and dogged in his work, so if they do end up taking one more more international players, they'll have been well scouted by Portland beforehand.