With two days to go before the 2025 NBA Draft is held at 5pm Pacific this Wed. June 25, the Portland Trail Blazers will be looking for a wing, according to most mock NBA Drafts.
ESPN’s Jeremy Woo has the Blazers picking Carter Bryant from Arizona, according to their just-updated mock draft:
Carter Bryant - 19 - 6’7” - Arizona
Bryant has had a positive predraft process and appears ticketed for the late lottery, with interest coming from Phoenix following the Suns’ trade in at No. 10, and Portland at No. 11 and Atlanta at No. 13 closely linked as landing spots.
The Trail Blazers appear set at center with Donovan Clingan long-term as well as Deandre Ayton still under contract, but are otherwise positioned to target the best available talent here, having worked out most of the names projected in this range. Bryant would give them additional shooting, perimeter size and positional versatility working in behind Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara.
While Bryant isn’t expected to create much of his own offense in the near future, his ability to shoot from range, add value as a passer, and guard all over defensively with his excellent physical tools gives him a realistic pathway to becoming a lineup fixture.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report updated his mock draft today and also has the Blazers selecting Bryant:
Teams are expecting someone in the late lottery to target Carter Bryant. He’s become a hot name during the predraft process, while his size, shotmaking and defense create a coveted archetype.
NBA.com also has the Blazers picking Bryant in their “consensus mock draft” compiled from mock drafts around the Internet.
Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports has Portland selecting Mayland’s Derik Queen (who the Blazers hosted for a private workout 10 day ago):
Derik Queen - 20 - 6’10” - Maryland
The Blazers can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel with Deandre Ayton’s contract expiring after this season, and Queen would provide a fantastic 1-2 big man punch alongside last year’s first-round pick, Donovan Clingan. Playing both together might create some spacing issues, but Queen profiles as an excellent backup center who can operate as the offensive hub for reserve units with his unique playmaking ability for his size.
Kevin O’Conner of Yahoo! Sports has Portland going with Liam McNeeley of UCONN:
Liam McNeeley - 19 - 6’7” - UCONN
The Trail Blazers could be targeting a shooter with this pick after ranking 24th in 3-point percentage and in the middle of the pack in attempts last season. McNeeley is a sharpshooting wing with superb instincts moving without the ball, and the touch to splash from deep ranges. Though he doesn’t project as a primary shot creator, his feel as a connective passer gives him the skill to fit into any type of offense.
Carl Berman of NetScouts has the Blazers snagging BYU’s 19-year-old 6’9” Egor Demin. Portland also hosted Demin in the same workout Queen attended a little over a week ago.
Fansided’s Christopher Kline bucks the trend by having Portland go with Lithuanian (big) guard Kasparas Jakucionis:
Kasparas Jakucionis - 19 - 6’6” - Illinois
Lithuanian guard Kasparas Jakučinois made a strong early impression at Illinois. His season was up and down in the end, but it’s rare to find a playmaker with his combination of size, vision and creativity. Jakučionis is a limited athlete, so he will need to prove he can beat NBA defenders at the point of attack and finish against rim protection. But, a dynamic shot-making profile, including a filthy step-back, should allow him to score consistently, while his feel operating out of pick-and-rolls is well suited to today’s NBA.
Team fit: The Blazers are ripe with frontcourt play-finishers and dynamic athletes in the backcourt, but there’s a stark lack of connective tissue. Deni Avdija came a long way last season, but Portland really needs a proper point guard type to organize the offense and maximize disparate pieces. Kasparas Jakučionis has the size to share the floor with Scoot Henderson and Anfernee Simons. He’s a pick-and-roll maestro with a scalable skill set, equally comfortable bombing pull-up 3s or stepping into spot-up jumpers. He can help take Portland’s offense to the next level.
The Ringer hasn’t updated their mock draft since June 10, and have the Blazers picking Michigan’s Danny Wolf:
Danny Wolf - 21 - 6’10” - Michigan
Since Portland pivoted away from the Dame era, I’ve been fairly obsessed with the idea of adding ball-skill connectivity between the stable of fly-around athletes that the front office has accrued. Derik Queen’s potential as a hub that could feed the Blazers guards had been my dream scenario for this task, but if he’s off the board, you could make the argument that Wolf is just as good a fit … and possibly an even better one? He’s just as savvy at accessing every part of the floor with his passing ability, his shooting upside is better at this point, and he’s also bigger. This is an athletic and young roster, but they’re playing like a team with an offensive superstar despite not actually having one: 41.3 percent of their made field goals last season were unassisted, the third-highest mark in the league. Wolf could help alleviate some of that pressure.