Portland Trail Blazers: 4 plug-and-play prospects at No. 25
By Ty Delbridge
The Portland Trail Blazers might lose some players in free agency and may be able to find some prospects in the 2019 NBA Draft who can come in and help right away. Here are four plug-and-play options to consider.
The Portland Trail Blazers have 10 players under contract and are already $24.3 million over the salary cap limit. They won’t be big spenders in free agency and will need to find talent through trades and the 2019 NBA Draft.
In the past, Portland has been good at finding talent that fits its system through trades. Some examples of guys the Blazers have brought in are Jusuf Nurkic, Rodney Hood and Maurice Harkless. Don’t be surprised to see general manager Neil Olshey try and find more diamond-in-the-rough types this summer.
When it comes to the draft, they usually like to draft players with upside that they can develop over time. CJ McCollum, Allen Crabbe, Pat Connaughton and now Gary Trent Jr. and Anfernee Simons are all examples. But in this draft at No. 25, they might need to change up their normal process.
Rookie contracts are less expensive for teams, especially in the later part of the first round and the Blazers are going to be tight with money. They may need to find a player that can come in and contribute right away. Head coach Terry Stotts doesn’t often play young guys in the regular season, but here are four plug-and-play options that may be able to crack Portland’s lineup this year.