Should the Portland Trail Blazers Draft a Point Guard?

By Chris St. Jean | May 20, 2015

Oct 22, 2014; Ontario, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts talks with guard C.J. McCollum (3) and guard Damian Lillard (0) in the second quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Citizens Business Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

The Portland Trail Blazers need to nail the number 23 pick in this June’s NBA Draft. They will most likely be sending their first rounder next season to Denver as compensation for a couple months of Arron Afflalo. They didn’t have a first round pick in last year’s draft either (they owed Charlotte for the Gerald Wallace deal all those years ago).

There’s a lot to be figured out about the Blazers roster this season in free agency, but in case things don’t work out as well as Blazers fans are hoping, the organization needs to bring in talent through the draft.

That puts a lot of pressure on a late first round pick. And to me, it means the Blazers may want to at least consider drafting a point guard.

Why would they do that, you say? Good question. Damian Lillard is as close to an ironman as we have in this league. He’s completed three straight 82-game seasons and played 35.7 minutes per game in 2014-15. Lillard played the 4th most total minutes in the entire NBA (2925) according to Basketball Reference.

And with all the roster upheaval that could possibly happen for Portland, Lillard is one of the few certainties going forward. Heck, one of the reasons why LaMarcus Aldridge may leave is the possibility he was frustrated with how hard the Blazers were pushing Lillard as the face of the franchise, something Neil Olshey has tried to reduce.

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Not only that, but the young and talented C.J. McCollum, who broke out at the end of the season and into the playoffs, is very much a combo guard. It’s not unrealistic to believe that McCollum could soak up some minutes as the backup point guard for the Blazers, and it might be fruitful for Terry Stotts to explore that option.

And on top of that, Steve Blake holds a $2.1 million player option for next season. It’s completely out of Portland’s hands whether or not Blake will opt in for next season and he’s spoken out about how comfortable he is in Portland.

Chances are, the Blazers will have all three options on their roster for next season, and considering how many of the other positions on the roster could be in flux this off-season, it would seem that point guard would be a lower priority.

But then you look at the way the draft boards are shaping up early. With the glutton of point guard talent in the league, more solid prospects at that position fall lower in the draft than any other. Many mock drafts have Portland selecting some type of big man with a question mark or a project such as Jarell Martin of LSU or Christian Wood of UNLV or Robert Upshaw of Washington.

Remember, this will be the Blazers only chance to bring in young talent through the draft before 2017 (they have moved all their second round picks as well and have no picks coming in from anywhere).

Maybe it’s prudent to consider a point guard. In this range three names could be in play. Duke freshman Tyus Jones could be an option. He may be destined to be a bench scorer/backup point guard anyway. And maybe the competition lights a fire under Lillard.

Jones is a bit small though and there’s no chance he and Lillard could ever share the floor. Murray State sophomore, Cameron Payne has been a hot name lately.

Payne can handle the ball, pass, score, and shoot from the outside. And although he’s also on the smaller side, he is a decent defender. But it looks more and more like Payne will be gone by the time Portland gets on the clock, so who else?

Delon Wright. This may be the ideal fit for Portland if they choose to go the point guard route. Wright is tall and long enough and a solid enough defender that you may be able to play him and Damian at the same time, using Delon as the wing defender, but using Lillard in spot up situations as well.

That could be an attractive option for Terry Stotts, Lillard shot 35% on spot up 3-point attempts last season (compared to 32% on pull-up 3-point attempts). Taking the ball out of his hands may sound ridiculous, but Wright could handle the ball in those situations capably and could make things a bit easier for Lillard on the offensive end.

There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Blazers this off-season and even though they seem to be set at point guard, they shouldn’t rule anything out in the draft and simply ensure that they bring in talent.

Damian Lillard will be looking for a max contract extension this fall, and if LaMarcus Aldridge bolts and the Blazers come up empty handed, are we sure they are excited to hand that extension out?

That’s a concern for another day. McCollum and Lillard look to be their two most promising young pieces and you can’t play them together on the court at the same time and manage to play adequate defense. Maybe drafting Delon Wright and using C.J. McCollum as trade bait is preferable to drafting Jarell Martin?

Who should the Portland Trail Blazers draft? The point is, they should keep their options open. Depending on how free agency goes this Off-season, they could suddenly find the cupboard more bare than expected.

Next: 2015 NBA Mock Draft: Post Lottery Edition

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