Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
The Portland Trail Blazers had an excellent NBA Draft on Thursday. Now, what will they do with it? The selection of C.J. McCollum was a decent choice, but securing Allen Crabbe in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers made it twice as good of a draft.
This is a team that has LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard. They also have several other ballplayers that, if they stay healthy, can have a great 2013-14 season. Now throw Crabbe and McCollum into that mix and the Trail Blazers have something going.
Maybe they need a new coach to put it all together, but that argument will eventually come to center stage.
The Trail Blazers have to figure how a team with a decent amount of talent ended the season with a 13-game losing streak. Yes, they did sustain several injuries and had to start several rookies at one time, but Lillard was among the rookies. That’s why a team that now has a talented incoming rookie corps with the likes of Crabbe should have a much better record than 33-49.
Hopefully the rookie class won’t have too high of expectations to win games for the Trail Blazers. After all, they are just rookies.
In his junior season at California, Crabbe averaged 36.2 minutes, 18.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He shot 45.9 percent from the floor, 34.8 in 3-pointers and 81.3 in free throws.
What the Blazers like about Crabbe is his shooting ability. He’s able to score at will sometimes. He’s an excellent shooter with deep range and is considered a good defensive player.
Consistency is one thing that concerns teams about Crabbe. A solid rookie season can take care of that.
