CBS Sports released another mock draft on Sunday, with writer David Cobb reviewing his predictions for the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
With the No. 7 pick, Cobb had the Portland Trail Blazers bolstering their wing position with the 6-foot-8 Ron Holland out of G League Ignite.
Portland has young guards Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe under contract for years to come. High-dollar front court producers Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton are also on the books at least through 2025-26. The nexus between franchise fit and best available may be Holland. Ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the high school class of 2023, he is loaded with tools and promise. They were evident in spurts during his season with G League Ignite.
While Cobb cited the loaded backcourt as one of his reasons for the Blazers targeting Holland at this spot, he went on to say that USC guard Isaiah Collier might be too good to pass up on with the No. 14 pick, even considering the wealth of guards already in Rip City.
The Trail Blazers aren’t exactly hurting for promising young guards. But if Collier is around at No. 14, it may be tough to pass on a player with his upside. After missing roughly a month with a hand injury, Collier returned to average 17.6 points, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals on 47.2% shooting over USC’s final 11 games. Included were plenty of glimpses of why he finished the 2023 recruiting cycle as the No. 1 overall player in the 247Sports Composite.
Elsewhere in the mock draft, some popular names who have been connected to Portland included Zaccharie Risacher (who went No. 2), Nikola Topic (who went No. 4), Donovan Clingan (who went No. 6), Tidjane Salaun (who dropped to No. 17) and Kel’el Ware (who fell into Denver’s lap at No. 28).
The NBA Draft is scheduled for June 26-27.