The Portland Trail Blazers enter the 2013 NBA Draft with depth as their most glaring need, which is not a bad problem considering they have reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard as their floor general and a solid young squad around him. Even better, with the No. 10 overall pick as their first selection, Portland will have plenty of talent to choose from.
NBA Draft 2013: Portland Trail Blazers look to repeat last year’s success
The Trail Blazers would love to strike gold in the draft again a year after selecting Damian Lillard.
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Visit Blazers Edge for more on the Blazers. The Blazers have been searching for a center to play next to LaMarcus Aldridge since offering Roy Hibbert a max contract that was eventually matched by the Pacers last summer. The question Portland will have to ask itself is if any of the big men available feature enough raw strength to play the middle in the NBA. If Portland opts to use No. 10 on a ready-made bench scorer instead of a center, however, the team could find itself with more appealing options.
Draft picks
The Blazers hold the No. 10 pick in the first and then select at the same spot -- No. 40 overall -- in the second round. At each position, they are poised to land a player that can come in and contribute immediately.
Depth chart
PG: Damian Lillard, Eric Maynor (restricted free agent), Ronnie Price (free agent), Nolan Smith (free agent)
SG: Wesley Matthews, Will Barton, Sasha Pavlovic (team option)
SF: Nicolas Batum, Victor Claver, Luke Babbitt (free agent)
PF: LaMarcus Aldridge, Jared Jeffries (free agent), Joel Freeland
C: J.J. Hickson (free agent), Meyers Leonard
Lillard is the future of the franchise while Aldridge is still looking to take the next crucial step into superstardom in order to substantiate him being the team’s highest-paid player. Aldridge is also Portland’s most tradable asset, though, and has the potential to be shopped if the Blazers can find a player they deem worth grooming to be their next starting power forward.
Biggest need(s)
The biggest need isn’t especially hard to define with a group that struggled to produce points from the reserve unit, . Defense was also an especially deficient area in 2012-13, though, as the Blazers ranked just 26th in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions (109.2). Often times, experience helps in that regard, but if the Blazers could land some size early on, then it would go a long way toward improving them in a key area.
Potential targets
The Blazers could go in a number of different ways on draft night depending on how the board breaks. Pittsburgh center Steven Adams (scouting report) could give Portland the size it has been looking for next to Alridge for so long. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (scouting report) would provide shooting and depth for a team that could use both.
Simply put, the Blazers could use help everywhere as long as the player they pick is ready to contribute.
The most intriguing pick at No. 10 could come with UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad (scouting report), who slipped on many draft boards during the college season. Muhammad is thought to have one of the most most polished offensive repertoire’s in the draft class, though, and could be a nice surprise.
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