NBA Draft 2023: Analyzing top 8 teams for protected No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama

5. Portland Trailblazers – 10.5% chance of landing No. 1 pick in NBA Draft

There’s a chance that the direction the Trailblazers franchise takes going forward will depend on how the ping-pong balls drop. They have future NBA Hall of Famer Damian Lillard, the long-time superstar of the team, coming off averaging 32.2 ppg in 58 games played. As great as he’s been, Portland just can’t make a move in the Western Conference and the frustration is building.

However, what if Portland gets the No. 1 pick? Pairing Wembanyama with Lillard would instantly turn the franchise back into a contender and it would make it very easy to part ways with Jusuf Nurkic. Anfernee Simons, who averaged 21.1 ppg last season, is a promising piece to build with and last season’s lottery pick (Shaedon Sharpe) is another building block.

If the franchise doesn’t move up from the 5th spot, there’s a case to make that they simply blow it all up and fully enter a rebuild and put Lillard on the trade market, which would certainly allow the Blazers to get a bunch of picks for the future. It’s a tough spot but they have to get off the fence one way or another.

The last time Portland had the No. 1 pick, they picked Greg Oden over Kevin Durant in 2007 and we all know how they ended up. So why they may be hesitant in picking another center, it at least won’t be a hard decision for the franchise if put into the same situation again.