The Portland Trail Blazers need to be patient with Zach Collins

Be patient with Zach Collins

A lot of people and fans have been upset with Zach Collins because he is not playing better. Being a top-10 pick and a guy the team traded up for, there is a lot of pressure to be a good player right way — especially when rookies Donovan Mitchell (No. 13 overall), Kyle Kuzma (No. 27 overall), and Jordan Bell (No. 38 overall) are playing very well for their teams.

Those players are in the right situation for themselves right now. There is no guarantee those players would be playing as well or have the same opportunity playing for Portland.

• Donovan Mitchell is on a Utah Jazz team that lost its leading scorer and primary guy Gordon Hayward to the Boston Celtics. Mitchell is getting the opportunity to get the ball in his hands and is being asked to make plays on offense. If Hayward stayed in Utah, Mitchell would not be getting used as much so early in his career. The Blazers have two lead guards, an excellent backup in Napier and $17 million invested into Evan Turner. Where does Mitchell fit in there?
• Kyle Kuzma is a good player playing on the Los Angeles Lakers. I wanted the Blazers to use one of their three picks on him during my draft scouting process. Same as Mitchell, Kuzma is being asked to do a lot right away. The Lakers are not a good team and don’t have anyone that can score the ball at a steady rate. Kuzma is not afraid to score and shoot the ball. The Lakers are letting him be there high volume scorer and usage guy. With the Blazers, Kuzma would be more of a third or fourth option on offense and wouldn’t get as many shot attempts. I think he would be an excellent fit at the small forward or small ball power forward for the Blazers, but his defense is a thing to question. He still may have been superb on the Blazers, but he would not be averaging 16.7 points per game and get the chance to have the ball in his hands as much.
• Jordan Bell is another guy I thought was underrated going into the NBA Draft and deserved to be a first round pick. He ended up being a second round pick and going to arguably the best team in the NBA the Golden State Warriors. Bell gets to be around and learn from guys like Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. The Warriors have a great team, and Bell is always playing with good players around him. He does not have to worry about being a go-to option. He knows his role and brings energy off the bench for a team that lacks backcourt depth. Bell cannot spread the floor with his shooting and is just asked to run the floor, set screens and rebound. The defense has to focus on other guys and that leaves Bell open to make plays. The Blazers needed a big that could shoot the ball and spread the floor. Bell would have had a hard time right away cracking the rotation.

It is very early in all of these players careers, and nobody should put a label on them until they play a few seasons in the NBA. Just because those guys are having nice starts to their careers and Collins is having a slow start to his doesn’t mean this is how it will be the rest of their NBA careers.

The Blazers need to be patient with Collins and allow him to improve his game. If Collins starts playing well this year and ends the season on a high note, he might leave the Blazers with a tough choice on what to do with Jusuf Nurkic and his free agency this summer. The team might have other plans and maybe likes the idea of Collins and Nurkic starting next to each other long-term.

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Either way, the Portland Trail Blazers made the right pick with Zach Collins, it just may take a little time for everyone to agree.