ARMED with the 11th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft in Chicago next week, the Portland Trail Blazers will be looking to keep building their young side by adding another exciting piece for the coming years in a quality draft class.

The 2024/25 season showed clear improvement from the Trail Blazers, winning 15 more games than their previous campaign thanks to a breakout campaign from Deni Avdija, while also seeing positive steps forward from Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson.

Unfortunately, Portland still missed the playoffs, and still looks a couple of years off making a true splash in the postseason, but the signs are certainly promising moving forward, especially with the young core already established.

Now, with another lottery selection in hand, the Trail Blazers will be able to address a key area of need for the future, and continue in the path of exciting young teams such as the Oklahoma City Thunder when it comes to building a roster.

Portland Trail Blazers

Draft Selections

11

Contracted Players

Deandre Ayton, Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija, Robert Williams, Matisse Thybulle (team option), Scoot Henderson (player option), Donovan Clingan, Shaedon Sharpe (team option), Kris Murray (team option), Duop Reath (non-guaranteed), Toumani Camara (non-guaranteed), Rayan Rupert (team option)

With a solid core already built through the draft, the Trail Blazers will simply be plugging holes with their first and only selection at the 2025 NBA Draft, and will also have the flexibility to simply add any players that may slide down the order.

The Trail Blazers ranked in the bottom six for three-point percentage last season, so adding a long-range shooter could be an inspired move. The ideal candidate would be Kon Knueppel, but the Duke Blue Devils gun appears destined to be off the board by the time Portland is on the clock.

So the Trail Blazers could pivot and look towards Liam McNeeley, who would be able to contribute heavily off-ball, which would be a positive for Portland given the high usage rates of Avdija and Henderson in particular.

McNeeley moves well without the ball, getting to his spots and consistently finding himself open around the perimeter. When he does get the rock, his shooting mechanic is as smooth as anyone’s and he would certainly help Portland stretch the floor.

Another route for the Trail Blazers to take could be bolstering their backcourt stocks, with Kasparas Jakucionis proving a strong candidate here. At six-foot-six, he has the height to play both guard positions and that may be a key attribute given the roster already contains Simons and Henderson.

One of the craftiest players in the draft class, Jakucionis is still slightly raw as a prospect, but will be given time to develop in Portland, and may be quite a weapon in the future, if he progresses well at the top level.