Portland Trail Blazers: 5 reasons Zach Collins was a good pick

3. The Blazers needed to shore up their frontcourt depth

It’s unlikely the Portland Trail Blazers would have upset the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. Hell — it was probably impossible. Still, every team hopes to be at full strength going into the playoffs, and the fact of the matter is Portland wasn’t.

Jusuf Nurkic went down right before the postseason despite being the one reason the Blazers were able to make the playoffs. Ed Davis needed season-ending surgery. Festus Ezeli has zombie knees.

It all came down to Noah Vonleh, who’s still coming into his own at just 21 years of age. And of course there’s Meyers Leonard, who still plays like Meyers Leonard.

When you consider all of the turmoil in Portland’s frontcourt, Zach Collins looks like a damn superhero, flying into Rose City to help bolster its last line of defense. Even if Collins doesn’t contribute much in his rookie year, fans should be ecstatic if he ends up playing at least 50 games by the end of the year.