Apr 13, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups interacts with Trail Blazers’ general manager Joe Cronin at the conclusion of a press conference before Portland plays their last season game against Los Angeles Lakers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images

NBA Mock Draft Predicts Blazers to Land SEC Star

Originally posted on Portland Trail Blazers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated May 1, 2025 7:51 PM ET

The Portland Trail Blazers finished their 2024-25 season outside of even the play-in tournament bracket for the fourth straight year. Still, there was plenty of reason for optimism going forward.

Portland notched a 36-46 record — its best yet under head coach Chauncey Billups. young pieces like forwards Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara flashed incredible potential during their best seasons yet, while recent lottery picks Shaedon Sharpe, rookie Donovan Clingan and Scoot Henderson all showed promise.

Veterans Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton regressed somewhat, but guard Anfernee Simons looked solid in his new role as the club's starting point guard — good enough that he should be able to net a solid sum of assets in a trade, should the team decide to move him this summer.

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So encouraged was Portland ownership by the team's finish in 2025 that it signed both general manager Joe Cronin and Billups to long-term contract extensions after the season concluded.

Now, a fresh mock 2025 NBA Draft from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic projects that Portland will nab a major SEC talent this June.

New 2025 NBA Mock Draft is up. https://t.co/5bPN2xv7yi pic.twitter.com/nyMsZ2SEFZ
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) May 1, 2025

The Trail Blazers possess a 4-5 percent chance of landing a top-three pick, but a respectable 12 percent chance of moving up to the No. 4 selection, in this year's draft. Vecenie's mock postulates about how the team would proceed were it to notch the No. 3 pick. Vecenie suggests that the Portland would select 6-foot-6 swingman Tre Johnson out of Texas, 19.

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"Johnson was the most impressive player I saw working out during my trip to the U.S.," the Australia-based Vecenie writes. "He had one of the best shooting workouts I’ve ever seen from a teenage player, showcasing a serious-minded intentionality about how he goes about his craft."

Vecenie goes on to praise Johnson's abilities as an off-ball cutter, which would make him an intriguing wing fit for Portland.

"He displayed the ability to hit shots off movement at a high level, something that he rarely got the chance to do in an offensive scheme at Texas that could be charitably described as anachronistic but fairly described as hideously archaic," adds Vecenie.

Still, within that system, Johnson posted impressive averages of 19.9 points on .427/.397/.871 shooting splits, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his 33 games for the Longhorns.

"The Blazers, in my opinion, have a tremendous frontcourt of the future with Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara and Donovan Clingan. However, there are questions in the backcourt surrounding young players Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson, and they could use another real floor-spacer to knock down shots and threaten defenders," Vecenie notes. "This is just too good a fit to pass up."

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For more news and notes on the Portland Trail Blazers, visit Portland Trail Blazers on SI.

This article first appeared on Portland Trail Blazers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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