Pre-March Madness Mock Draft Sends Duke’s Tre Jones to Portland

The Portland Trail Blazers will spend the month of March fighting for NBA Playoffs seeding, but March also means it’s college basketball’s time to shine during March Madness. A successful tournament run with Gonzaga helped elevate Zach Collins’ draft profile just two years ago. With the madness approaching, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has put out another NBA Mock Draft, which has the Blazers selecting Duke freshman guard Tre Jones with the No. 24 pick:

Jones could take pressure off Damian Lillard. The Blazers won’t need him to score; instead, they could value his passing IQ and defense on opposing ball-handlers. It’s safe to assume anyone who takes Jones outside the lottery would get a steal if he ever improves as a shooter (24.2 percent on threes).

Jones is averaging 8.7 points, 5.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 32.9 minutes per game for Duke this season. He has started each of the 28 games that he’s appeared in. Jones is also active on the defensive end, contributing 2.1 steals per game.

Do you have any prospects on your radar for the Blazers with March Madness approaching? Let us know in the comments.