With the NBA Draft Lottery complete, the Blazers walked away holding pair of lottery picks in this month's NBA Draft. Portland holds the seventh and 14th picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.

This year's draft is considered to be a bit of a downer compared to recent years. There is certainly talent to be found, but there isn't considered to be a significant number of top-tier players available at the top of the draft. This means that, while a transcendent superstar may not be had, there are still quality rotation players to be found throughout the first round.

With the uncertainty surround this year's draft, there are multiple players in play for the Blazers with the seventh (and 14th) pick next month. Today we profile star G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis.

Matas Buzelis strengths

Buzelis is a solid 6'10” athlete with a fairly versatile offensive skillset. With solid shot mechanics and high release, Buzelis as capable of getting his shot over defenders with ease. When working inside the 3-point line, he has shown that he has no issues with putting the ball on the floor.

In transition, Buzelis' skills shined as a plus athlete who can finish above the rim with ease. He also moves pretty well laterally on defense and has showed that he is capable of staying in front of his defender and getting blocks.

Ultimately, Buzelis is reminiscent of a young Nic Batum, despite the size difference. He has potential starting-level role player value if he is able to fully put things together.

Matas Buzelis weaknesses

Despite his fundamentally sound shooting stroke, Buzelis was inefficient in multiple areas last season. He shot below 30 percent from behind the 3-point line and acted mostly as a stand-still shooting threat.

Due to his lack of muscle mass, Buzelis struggled finishing through contact and dealing with physical defenders. He rarely got to his spots with ease, and he failed to create space against quality defenders. From a body mechanics standpoint, he appears to be at the early stages of understanding how leverage works. Buzelis is constantly moved off his spot by opponents.

Buzelis’ is an undisciplined ball handler right now, which leads to broken up drives and turnovers.  He tends to disappear offensively when his shots aren’t falling and lacks elite facilitation skills to be a primary playmaker and struggles with ball handling in traffic.

As a passer, Buzelis’ assist-to-turnover ratio wasn't where scouts wanted it to be last season, racking up a negative ratio.

Matas Buzelis' potential fit with Blazers

If Buzelis fully realizes his potential, he would be a solid fit for the Blazers down the line. He could serve as a floor spacer, secondary facilitator, and frontcourt presence that can play inside or outside. When looking at potential fits next to Scoot Henderson, a fully realized Buzelis would be an ideal fit as a pressure release valve for a ball-dominant guard like Henderson.

Unfortunately, Buzelis’ floor is quite low – which makes selecting him at no. 7 overall a risky proposition. He doesn't really have a go-to move to rely on and there's no guarantee he'll ever develop one. A worst case scenario would be him fulfilling his potential to be a “master-of-none” type of player, lacking any standout skills.

If the Blazers are willing to invest in a multi-year development curve, Buzelis makes sense, but there may be safer choices available on draft night.