The 2013 NBA draft was predicted to be a letdown compared to previous drafts. Heck, even in the 2012 NBA draft you had guys like Anthony Davis, Harrison Barnes, Bradley Beal, and Damian Lillard who all made a significant impact on their teams. The problem everyone saw with the 2013 draft was that it seemed like there was not a star player or the obvious No. 1 pick. The No. 1 projected pick going up to the draft was Nerlens Noel, but even then reporters and fans could make cases on why other players were more deserving of being the No. 1 pick. Cleveland was even shopping around their No. 1 pick, but with this draft, it was not as valuable. There was a good chance that the player you wanted was going to be there for you. This also made teams really do their homework in the hopes of maybe grabbing a star in the mix.
At the end of last season, fans in Portland were mixed on what to do in the draft. Should we trade the pick? Or, use it to grab a so-so player? Eventually, a lot of people were leaning towards trading the pick, but considering the underwhelming aspect of the 2013 draft, no teams bit with anything substantial. We eventually found out that we had the No. 10 pick, which, if you look at past history, is really hit and miss (see Paul Pierce and Austin Rivers). Mock drafts started coming out that predicted us picking another big man like Alex Len or Cody Zeller. That really did not make a whole lot of sense considering that we already had a project big man and if we were to use the pick on anything, it would have to be another guard. Still mock drafts kept coming out that favored Len and Zeller heavily for us, but eventually another player hit the mock boards and that was Lehigh’s CJ McCollum. He only played 12 games in his last season at Lehigh because of an injury, but he averaged 23.9 points and shot an amazing 52% from three. He was a player who prided himself on being able to play the PG or SG positions and was able to score and create his own shot with ease. Sound familiar? As the draft drew closer, people learned that CJ and Damian Lillard actually struck up a friendship last season through social media. As if this could not get any better, CJ actually had the same injury that Lillard did in college. CJ reached out to Lillard on advice on how to get back on the court after that injury and to also encourage Lillard to keep tearing it up because that would make CJ look good as he came from a small school as well. So small, in fact, that no one has ever been drafted from Lehigh.
It seemed like a marriage waiting to happen. His workout with the Blazers was solid and he seemed to fit right in with the organization and players. He was a reporter’s dream to interview as he also majored in journalism and was well-spoken. He himself thought that he and Damian would be a “dynamic backcourt” and would give a lot of teams trouble. But, again, with this draft being so hit and miss, it was tough to predict who was going to get drafted where, so Portland fans were not getting their hopes up. Some fans were still saying to trade the pick and go hard in free agency. Again, that was being affected by the lackluster draft.
As the draft started, the No. 1 pick pretty much blew up anyone’s mock drafts. Anthony Bennett was projected to go No.3 or No .4, but even some mock drafts had him dropping to No. 10. As the draft rolled on, it seemed pretty apparent that CJ McCollum was going to go in the No. 9 to No. 11 range. I have to admit, I was worried because Minnesota had the No. 9 pick and they needed a guard at that point. Fortunately, they decided to trade for Trey Burke, which left us in the perfect spot to grab CJ McCollum.
It seemed like the “dynamic backcourt” that CJ McCollum envisioned with Damian Lillard was going to happen.
The Blazers picked Jeff Withey from Kansas with the 39th pick and promptly traded him to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Robin Lopez deal. I had mixed feeling about this at first, but then I realized that we really did not need two project centers. Yeah, we could have thrown Meyers Leonard into the starting lineup to learn the hard way, but it did not seem that efficient going forward.
Finally, the Blazers traded two future second round picks to the Cavaliers for Allen Crabbe who averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds in his final year at California. He was known for being a three-point shooter as he averaged about 35% from beyond the arc in his last year. Seeing as how Luke Babbitt is probably not returning to the Blazers next year, this seemed like a great pickup and for cheap.
All-in-all, I thought Olshey did a terrific job finding the players he wanted and getting them. Fans in Portland should not expect Damian Lillard production out of CJ right away as he is going to be coming off the bench to start, but I have already heard CJ being compared to Joe Dumars, which is totally fine with me. Also, do not sleep on Crabbe either. I think a lot of people, including myself, forget about him at times, but I think he was an excellent grab. At the very least, Crabbe can become an asset in future trades, which is always nice to have.
I rate this draft as a B+. These draft picks may not be as game changing as Lillard was, but from watching summer league, CJ McCollum is looking good and Crabbe is no scrub either. I am really looking forward to watching this backcourt next year and how our bench rotation looks with all these new additions to the team. Stay tuned!