Trail Blazers draft pick comes down to Pelicans-Clippers play in game

The immediate future of the Portland Trail Blazers will shift one way or another based on the outcome of the Los Angeles Clippers-New Orleans Pelicans play-in game on Friday. A Clippers win and Portland is likely sitting on two lottery picks this offseason with real opportunity to retool around the draft with two high picks and some useful trade chips. A Pelicans win? Well then Portland is stuck with one lottery pick and a long wait until 2025 to cash in on the final piece of the CJ McCollum trade. There's a lot riding on Friday's game in Los Angeles. The irony is that former Blazers CJ McCollum, Norman Powell, Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington will have a major say in the direction of the future Blazers. Yikes. Let's talk all about the how we got here and how the two teams match up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices