Portland Trail Blazers: 4 upside players at No. 25 in 2019 NBA Draft

Right now, the Portland Trail Blazers only have one first round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. If they look to take a risk instead of playing it safe, here are four players with upside to take a chance on at No. 25.

The Portland Trail Blazers have several different options they can go with at pick No. 25 in the 2019 NBA Draft. They could use the pick, trade it to move up, move back or exchange it for an established player already in the league. The Blazers need to clear salary cap space, and using their first round pick in a trade is one of their best options to do so.

However, president of basketball operations Neil Olshey also has a good draft resume and has no problem taking a project. Last year, at pick No. 24, there were players still on the board who could’ve filled some of the team’s needs, but Portland decided to select the 6’4″ guard Anfernee Simons, the youngest player in the draft who had only played in high school but had loads of potential.

The Blazers used his rookie season as a developmental year, both skill-wise and for his physical body. Now going into the 2019-20 season, he could be asked to be a regular contributor off the bench as the primary backup guard. The pick of Simons was a head-scratcher at first, but he could eventually become one of the bigger steals in the entire class.

In the 2019 NBA Draft, if Portland is on the clock and doesn’t feel like someone is there who can help the team win games right away, it might be wise to look ahead to the future and grab a guy that can help out down the road. Here are four players who fit that criteria and could be options for the Blazers at pick No. 25.