Ford: Blazers Could Have Interest In C.J. McCollum, Dario Saric & Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider) has updated his top 30 Big Board and three players are linked to the Portland Trail Blazers: Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum, Croatia forward Dario Saric and Georgia guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.

C.J. McCollum: Teams can take a deep breath: McCollum's foot is OK. His performance in the athletic testing portion of the combine paired with a strong workout in New York on Friday should put any concerns to rest. He obviously will continue to get more explosive as time goes on, but what's there is already good. The same can be said about his shooting, as he looks effortless moving out to the NBA 3-point line. The Suns, Wolves, Blazers and Thunder look like his best bets in the lottery.

Dario Saric: Saric continues to play very well in the Croatian playoffs. Unfortunately, he won't be able to come to the U.S. to do individual workouts for teams. He has national team obligations as soon as the season ends. That has forced several teams to make the pilgrimage to Croatia to check him out. The Pelicans, Blazers and Mavs appear to be the three teams most likely to grab him in the lottery.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: Caldwell-Pope didn't particularly shoot it well in workouts, but the more I speak with GMs and scouts, the more likely it seems that he's going somewhere in the mid-to-late lottery. Not only are teams attracted to his shooting ability and size but many feel as if he has a great grasp for the game and could be special someday. I could see him going to a team such as the Pistons, Wolves, Blazers or Sixers.

The Blazers hold the No. 10 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

You can read ZiggyTheBeagle's statistical similarity breakdowns of McCollum (here), Saric (here) and Caldwell-Pope (here).

Blazers guard Damian Lillard has endorsed McCollum.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter