NBA Draft: Amen Thompson Offers Intriguing Fit for Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers finished with the fifth-worst record in the 2022-23 season, opting towards developmental lineups towards the end of their campaign.
While it was likely hard for the win-now core to suffer through, it earned them top-five draft odds and a chance at some of the best prospects in a loaded 2023 draft.
One such prospect potentially in their range is Overtime Elite point guard Amen Thompson, who has emerged as one of the most athletically gifted draft prospects in recent years.
Most Trail Blazers fans will flinch at the very idea of adding another guard to their rotation of Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Matisse Thybulle and Shaedon Sharpe. And drafting another could very well signal the end of Lillard’s illustrious tenure with the team.
But Thompson’s fit alongside Sharpe as the backcourt of the Trail Blazers could be too tantalizing an opportunity to pass up for the front office. And at some point, they're going to have to prioritize their future.
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In an eight-game stretch in his rookie season, Sharpe averaged 24.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 46 percent overall, 40 percent from beyond the arc on over eight attempts and 76 percent from the line.
Sharpe’s upside is tremendous. And after leaving the 2022 NBA Draft with a hyper-athlete, Thompson would offer the very same in 2023, with a uniquely different and complimentary skillset to Sharpe.
As a duo, they could create advantages that would simply be untenable for the opposition via their innate burst, first step and, most importantly, their verticality.
For now, Portland will sit back and hope for the best at the NBA draft lottery on Tuesday, May 16.
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