2024 NBA Mock Draft: Raptors win the Lottery, Kentucky guards plummet

2. Portland Trail Blazers select Matas Buzelis

At 6'10" with plenty of length, Matas Buzelis looks like another big man prospect. Watch him play, however, and you see more of a guard who has been stretched out to nearly seven feet tall. Buzelis has the kind of basketball intelligence you have to be born with, with an innate feel for the game and a tireless approach to learning tendencies and watching film in order to make decisions at an impossibly fast rate.

The Trail Blazers have a lot of guards and a lot of role players, but they could use a forward-sized player who has the upside to be a future All-Star. Buzelis can shoot, he can score inside, he can pass and he can defend. Drafting Buzelis would give Portland a shot at a dynamic two-way player.

Buzelis is also a high-turnover player with a streaky shot, and he didn't blow the competition away with the G League Ignite this past season. Drafting him is a risk, but it's a risk with very real upside.

Scoot Henderson had a rocky rookie season but still boasts a lot of upside, and placing another player on the court with him who can read the court and make quick, smart decisions would only help his development. Shaedon Sharpe is an insane athlete and Buzelis feeding him in the right places could unlock his game as well.

Not only does Buzelis have a shot at future stardom, he is the kind of player who should elevate his teammates, making him a savvy pick for the Blazers at No. 2.