Hey everybody! Although it is All-Star weekend I know most of us are still checking BE and NBA news to see whats happening in the trade market. I don't have any breaking news in that area so instead I am going to aim a little further into the season; Free Agency and Draft Day to be exact.

This is the 3rd article in a short series I've done about which player position the Blazers need help at most (BE fans voted PF), and which PF the Blazers should trade for (BE fans voted to wait for the draft). Since it’s been narrowed down to getting a PF on Draft Day; I put together this article and a poll to see where the players rank according to BE fans.

If you were listing Olshey’s strengths as a GM, you’d have to acknowledge that the guy has a good track record with drafting guys who have potential to be quality NBA players if given the chance. If he chooses to draft a Power Forward (I believe he will), then he has the players listed below to pick from. Remember some key factors about what the Trail Blazers NEED in a power forward:

*A teammate that can play both sides of the floor.

*The timeline the Blazers are in (player starter ready in 2-3 years max)

*Their odds at drafting the player based on their draft position

*The players ability to fit and compliment the starting line-up of most likely: Dame / CJ / Harkless / Nurkic.

-Lauri Markkanen: 7-0 / 230lbs. 31 MPG / 16 PPG / 7.5 RPG / .498 FG% / .457 3FG% / .839% / 0.9 AST / 0.4 BLK / 0.4 STL.

Draft Position: 4th Overall

-Robert Williams: 6-9 / 237lbs. 25 MPG / 11.7 PPG / 7.7 RPG / .561 FG% / .000 3FG% / .615 FT% / 1.4 AST / 2.7 BLK / 0.7 STL.

Draft Position: 7th Overall

-Johnathan Motley: 6-10 / 230lbs. 30 MPG / 16.8 PPG / 9.5 RPG / .517 FG% / .292 3FG% / .712 FT% / 2.2 AST / 1.0 BLK / 0.3 STL.

Draft Position: 13th Overall

-Isaiah Hartenstein: 6-11 / 255lbs. 12.4 MPG / .439 FG% / .313 3FG% / .750 FT% / 3.5 RPG / 0.4 BLK / 0.8 STL. (Euro-League basketball is a little bit different with minutes and stats).

Draft Position: 16th Overall

-Ethan Happ: 6-10 / 232lbs. 27 MPG / 14.5 PPG / 9.1 RPG / .606 FG% / .000 3FG% / .513 FT% / 2.9 AST / 1.1 BLK / 2.0 STL.

Draft Position: 17th Overall

-Caleb Swanigan: 6-9 / 250lbs. 31.7 MPG / 18.9 PPG / 13.0 RPG / .543 FG% / .483 3FG% / .784 FT% / 2.8 AST / 0.7 BLK / 0.4 STL.

Draft Position: 18th Overall

-TJ Leaf: 6-10 / 225lbs. 31 MPG / 16.7 PPG / 8.7 RPG / .628 FG% / .471 3FG% / .658 FT% / 2.6 AST / 1.1 BLK / 0.7 STL.

Draft Position: 19th Overall

-Ivan Rabb: 6-11 / 220lbs. 32.7 MPG / 14.8 PPG / 10.7 RPG / .519 FG% / .462 3FG% / .640 FT% / 1.7 AST / 1.2 BLK. 0.6 STL.

Draft Position: 20th Overall

-Thomas Bryant: 6-10 / 255lbs. 28.6 MPG / 13.1 PPG / 7.0 RPG / .533 FG% / .392 3FG% / .724 FT% / 1.3 AST / 1.4 BLK / 0.9 STL.

Draft Position: 24th

-Alec Peters: 6-9 / 235lbs. 35.6 MPG / 23.1 PPG / 10.5 RPG / .464 FG% / .354 3FG% / .889 FT% / 2.1 AST / 0.4 BLK / 0.9 STL.

Draft Position: 29th

-Harry Giles: 6-10 / 240lbs. 12 MPG / 4.8 PPG / 4.1 RPG / .567 FG% / .000 3FG% / .500 FT% / 0.4 AST / 0.5 BLK / 0.3 STL.

Draft Position: 30th

*Other Mentions

-Jordan Bell: 6-9 / 225 lbs. 28 MPG / 10.9 PPG / 7.9 RPG / .628 FG% / .250 3FG% / .700 FT% / 1.9 AST / 2.1 BLK / 1.4 STL.
Draft Position: Early Second-Rounder to late First Round

-John Collins: 6-10 / 235lbs. 25.8 MPG / 19 PPG / 9.6 RPG / .621 FG% / .000 3FG% / .733 FT% / 0.5 AST / 1.7 BLK / 0.6 STL.

Draft Position: Mid-Late First Round.

-Bam Adebayo: 6-10 / 260lbs. 28.1 MPG / 12.7 PPG / 7.1 RPG / .604 FG% / .000 3FG% / .619 FG% / 0.8 AST / 1.6 BLK / 0.7 STL.

Draft Position: First Round.

-Dedric Lawson: 6-9 / 236lbs. 34.8 MPG / 19.5 PPG / 10 RPG / .463 FG% / .255 3FG% / .743 FT% / 3.3 AST / 2.2 BLK / 1.3 STL.

Draft Position: N/A

-Michael Young: 6-9 / 235lbs. 33.7 MPG / 20.2 PPG / 7.2 RPG / .463 FG% / .354 3FG% / .776 FT% / 3.0 AST / 0.9 BLK / 0.6 STL.

Draft Position: N/A

I ranked my picks from the list as follows:

Top 3:

Young / Leaf / Rabb

+These guys are all 3pt shooters. All have serviceable defense. Ok AST numbers. Decent to great RB numbers.

-Biggest weakness is FT%.

*These are the types of guys that can play both sides of the floor for the Blazers.

Secondary Picks:

Motley / Lawson / Swanigan / Markkanen

+All of them have great offense paired with a nice FG%. Average to high RB numbers. Decent to Great AST numbers. Markannen & Swanigan can shoot the 3 but have poor defense. Motley and Lawson have good defense but can’t shoot the 3.

-None of these guys are a perfect mix of defense and shooting range.

*Some hard work would have to go into molding any of these guys into the balanced PF the Blazers need.

Roll the Dice:

Bell / Bryant / Peters

*These guys would require a lot of work to turn them into the balanced PF that the Blazers need.

有一个好的机会,玩家将滑了nd down in the rankings and new faces might emerge during March Madness. There's also the case that a good chunk of these guys will likely be out of reach of Portland's 1st round picks. In the meantime, vote for who you think is the best fit for Portland and leave a comment about why. You can also argue against how I ranked the players and create your own system and share it. Thanks for reading BE fans!