Zach Collins Meets With Portland Trail Blazers

With the 2017 NBA Draft on the horizon, the list of players meeting with the Portland Trail Blazers keeps growing. CSN NW’s Jason Quick reports that Zach Collins, Gonzaga’s 7-foot freshman center, met with the Blazers before any other team. At the NBA’s Draft Combine, Portland reportedly handed him a computer, and asked him to take a personality test.

“It was kind of funny because Portland actually just sent out their team psychologist, and no one else from the staff was there,’’ Collins said. “The lady gave me a computer and I took a personality test, kind of, and she just analyzed who I was as a person, and that was it.’’

The Blazers since 2007 have employed Dana Sinclair as their performance psychologist, and her biggest role usually comes at the Combine, where she adds another layer to the team’s research on prospects.

The Blazers have not announced if Collins will work out for them. However, during interviews at the Draft Combine, he talked about the interview process with Portland.

The Blazers have three first round picks in the NBA Draft (15, 20, and 26), and will likely invite more players for workouts. They have already scheduled workouts for Ivan Rabb, Dillon Brooks, Sindarius Thornwell, and Terrance Ferguson.

Coming off the bench, Collins averaged 10 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game as a freshman for the Bulldogs. He helped lead the team to their first NCAA Championship Game, where they lost in the final minutes to North Carolina. After his collegiate experience, he said he feels he can blend into any NBA system.

To be available for Portland, Collins would need to drop a few more spots. Here is a recap of his positioning in recent mock drafts:

Draft Express:
#11: Charlotte Hornets

nbadraft.net:
#10: Sacramento Kings

CBS Sports:
#13: Denver Nuggets

HoopsHype:
#11: Charlotte Hornets

DraftExpress published two videos with scouting reports for Collins. Here is the video about his strengths.

And the one for his weaknesses.