The Portland Trail Blazers entered lottery night already down one high-value first-round pick they initially expected to have. Worse, by the time the proceedings were over, Portland also emerged on the wrong side of ping-pong ball luck.

The Blazers “won” the No. 7 overall pick on Tuesday night, falling a slot in the 2022 NBA Draft after finishing the regular season with the league's sixth-best lottery odds. Needless to say, that result isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of Portland's historically brazen tanking efforts after the All-Star break, when the team shut down several key players with minor injuries en route to a laughable 2-21 record.

General Manager Joe Cronin and company don't have time to dwell on disappointment, though. The draft is barely more than a month away, and the reeling Blazers need to regroup fast before they're on the clock come June 23rd.

These three players should be Portland's primary targets with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

Blazers' 3 best options after getting No. 7 pick at 2022 NBA Draft Lottery

Shaedon Sharpe — G/F, Kentucky

Portland would face a difficult decision if Sharpe is still on the board after the first six picks of the draft. An extremely gifted shot-maker and explosive interior finisher with natural touch and body control, the Canadian wing is boom or bust incarnate.

Sharpe didn't play a single game for Kentucky after reclassifying and joining the team midseason, initially planning on staying in Lexington through next season. His status as a surefire high lottery pick proved too enticing to pass up, though, just like the Canadian's prototype blend of size, athleticism and budding skill will for the team that ultimately selects Sharpe without having seen him play a real game since summer 2021.

His breakout showing on Nike's EYBL circuit as an incoming high school senior made Sharpe the No. 1 overall prospect in his class among some recruiting services, and it's not hard to see why. At 6'6” with broad shoulders and a seven-foot wingspan, he projects as a star shot-creator at all three levels who doubles as an impactful, multi-positional cog on the other end.

An idealized version of Sharpe is exactly the type of player the Blazers have long needed next to Damian Lillard. Will the win-now Blazers be comfortable waiting for him to scrape that ceiling as Lillard gets further and further removed from his prime, though?

Luckily for Cronin, he may not have the angst-inducing luxury of making that decision. Don't be surprised if Sharpe goes in the top-five.

Jeremy Sochan — F/C, Baylor

A late-bloomer barely on the national radar before his freshman season at Baylor, Sochan's increasingly diversified game and innate instincts on both sides of the ball make him a perfect archetype of the modern-day role player.

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The Houston Rockets invested heavily into Fred VanVleet during the 2023 offseason. Houston gave the point guard a three-year, $128 million deal in a move that was meant to turn the Rockets from a rebuilding team into a championship contending one. The signing did just that, as the Rockets finished the 2024-25 regular season as the two-seed in a stacked Western Conference. VanVleet was the veteran presence and 3-point shooter that the team desperately needed, and he still might have a role with the Rockets going forward. Houston has a team option on his contract for next year, and they very well may pick it up. The Wichita State product reportedly wants to stay in Houston, but the point guard would be set to make over $44 million next season under his current contract. The Rockets and their guard recently pushed back the deadline on Houston's decision with VanVleet, and although reports suggest that they are interested in writing up a new, long-term deal, it isn't necessarily a guarantee that VanVleet will be playing for Houston next year. The Rockets blew him away with an offer he couldn't refuse back in 2023, and another team could so the same when/if he hits the open market this offseason. If VanVleet does become an unrestricted free agent, which teams outside of Houston would make the most sense for him to sign with? 1. Orlando Magic Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner recently signed big deals with the Orlando Magic, and Paolo Banchero will be getting a mega contract extension here soon. Because of that, the Magic no longer have money to blow like they have had in recent years. That will make a deal for another big ticket free agent hard to pull off, especially considering the team signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last year. If Orlando can make the money work, though, then Fred VanVleet would be a great fit with the Magic. The Magic finished dead last in 3-point shooting this season, and VanVleet has made at least 2.5 deep balls per game in every season since 2018-19. VanVleet can hit shots form behind the arc off of the bounce or in catch-and-shoot situations. The Rockets were heavily reliant on his shooting expertise, so the guard would have plenty of familiarity getting up deep shots with high volume if he signed with the Magic. While undersized, VanVleet is a pesky defender, so he'd fit right in with a Magic team that has one of the best defensive units in the league. VanVleet could play alongside Suggs and give opposing teams fits. Ultimately, though, the Magic just need more shooting to get to the next level, and VanVleet is arguably the best shooter who could be available on the open market this offseason. 2. Brooklyn Nets A more realistic option for a VanVleet destination would be the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are set up to have the most cap space this offseason, and they have a major need at point guard. With D'Angelo Russell and De'Anthony Melton hitting free agency this offseason, the Nets don't have a true point guard under contract for next season. Brooklyn needs to spend big this offseason, and they'd be smart to offer VanVleet a contract big enough that he'd have no choice but to leave Houston. VanVleet averaged 14.1 points per game last season, which was his lowest mark since 2018-19. He is trending the wrong way, but he still has enough left in the tank to give the Nets a few good seasons. 3. Portland Trail Blazers In the same way that the Rockets were looking to take the next step in 2023, the Portland Trail Blazers could use VanVleet's presence to get over the hump. The Trail Blazers have plenty of big man depth, as centers Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams, and Duop Death are all under contract next season. Portland also has a lot of wing depth. Deni Advija started to look like a star late this past season, Toumani Camara is an elite defender, Shaedon Sharpe is a freakish athlete, and Jerami Grant is a proven scorer. The team is thinner in the backcourt, though. Anfernee Simons is a solid scorer, but Scoot Henderson has looked like a fringe draft bust since being drafted third overall. Portland shouldn't give up on Henderson completely, but there wouldn't be any harm in signing another guard. Like the Magic, the Blazers were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. VanVleet would improve that weakness, and in a stacked Western Conference, Portland needs all of the help they can get if they are to compete for a playoff spot.
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He won't ever be a primary scorer and lacks top-tier explosiveness. Sochan's sub-30% shooting from deep and 58.9% mark at the free-throw line remind of just how far he has to go with his jumper. If he's a non-shooter at the next level, Sochan's floor very well may be low enough to scare Portland away from reaching for him in the mid-lottery.

Still, the Polish-American's ability to guard at least four positions and function effectively in myriad offensive roles makes him a snug fit for how Chauncey Billups wants to play, not to mention the type of ultra-versatile chess piece the playoffs have proven every contending team needs.

Look past Sochan's underwhelming box-score numbers and current status as a borderline top-10 prospect. He'll almost definitely be on the board when the Blazers pick at No. 7, and offers enough plausible immediate impact and long-term potential to fit multiple timelines.

Sochan may not be a popular choice for Portland, but could definitely be this team's best option.

Bennedict Mathurin — G/F, Arizona

Mathurin lacks the size and length the Blazers really need to offset defensive deficiencies presented by Lillard and Anfernee Simons.

He's likely best suited at shooting guard in the NBA, with a solid but unspectacular 6'9” wingspan and relatively narrow yet chiseled frame. The bigger problem? Mathurin's defensive ability is more theoretical than tangible at this point. He didn't always play with a consistent motor on that end in Tucson, also getting exploited at times as a help defender.

Every team needs 3-and-D role players, though, and Mathurin nevertheless has the makings of a quality two-way wing if he scrapes his ceiling. Already a polished long-range shooter off the catch, he also showed some nascent playmaking prowess for himself and others at Arizona, most notably in that epic 30-point performance against TCU in the NCAA Tournament. Marksmen with his natural athletic pop are few and far between, too.

Mathurin would hardly be a panacea for Portland at shooting guard and small forward, even should he reach his potential. It's easy to see envision him enjoying lasting success as a quality starter in the league, though, an expectation that should intrigue the Blazers at this point of the draft.