Why The Blazers Have To Get It Right With No. 7 and No. 14 Overall Picks In NBA Draft

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By 750 THE GAME STAFF

The Blazers know where they will be drafting in the NBA draft. The Blazers have the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in the upcoming NBA draft. It wasn’t the outcome that Blazers fans were hoping for, but it’s the reality.

There is still optimism in Rip City that the Blazers have the seventh pick. The upcoming draft has a lot of unknowns when it comes to top end talent, and some Blazers fans are arguing that having a lower pick is better so the rookie’s salary is lower. John Canzano on the Bald Faced Truth addressed that take.

“I’m hearing a lot of apologists spin this as well the No. 7 salary is going to be a more favorable salary in a draft where there’s no clear No. 1, maybe it’s better to have seventh pick instead of the first pick” Canzano said on 750 The Game. “That’s nonsense. It’s apologists talk. Forget about it. You want to have the best possible pick.”

Portland has been acquiring talent in the past couple of drafts with Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, but both players are not locks to be stars. They have shown growth but the Blazers still are lacking top end talent. Canzano thinks that the Blazers need to find the talent in this draft. With two lottery picks the Blazers will have more chances to find that player even though Canzano says that the Blazers still would have loved to have the top pick in the draft.

“There will be players on the board that the Blazers want,” Canzano said. “Like Jalen Brunson in 2019 – he went No. 33 overall. You’re looking for all-star caliber players. That’s the job. Don’t let the Blazers sell you on this is a great thing that you’re picking seventh and fourteenth. It would have been better has they had the No. 1 pick and the No. 14 pick. I would have taken that in a heartbeat.”

Canzano says this is on Blazers GM Joe Cronin and his staff. It is time to win some games and time to find some talent. The Blazers can’t be in the NBA draft lottery year after year.

“It’s now about finding talent,” Canzano continued. “It’s about Joe Cronin. It’s about his scouts. It’s about the Blazers ability to fight, claw, and punch their way out of this draft lottery. You don’t want to be in this thing for multiple years. You don’t want to face another 15-20 win season. The job now is to go get talent, get it coached, and win basketball games.”

Listen to the full show of the Bald Faced Truth by clicking the podcast below. Catch the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano live weekdays 3-6 p.m. in Portland exclusively on 750 The Game.