Portland Trail Blazers Draft 2012: An Updated Trail Blazers Mock Draft

Oh, how the tides have changed.

In the previous mock draft, the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the many teams confined to two draft picks and a surplus of uncertainty.

Today, the Portland Trail Blazers have a potential top-five draft pick, a second lottery pick and high placement in the second round.

Let's take a look at what they're going to do.

First Round, Pick 4 (via Nets): Andre Drummond, Center, Connecticut Huskies

Season Averages: 10.0 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.7 bpg

Considering Portland will be betting the bank on acquiring Nicolas Batum, write Harrison Barnes and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist off as potential Blazers.

While Bradley Beal, a true star prospect at the 2, is the prime candidate, I expect the Trail Blazers to right their wrong and overcome the Greg Oden debacle by drafting Andre Drummond.

Drummond is a physical defender, efficient scorer and stunning athlete. He also has one of the highest basketball IQ's among college big men and is a true difference maker on the defensive end.

Bradley Beal remains a possibility, but when considering the comparison of depth at the two positions, Drummond becomes the choice.

After all, they have another pick just eight spots later...

Round One, Pick 12: Kendall Marshall, Point Guard, North Carolina Tar Heels

Season Averages: 8.1 ppg, 7.8 apg, 2.6 apg, 1.2 spg

While Austin Rivers was the original pick, the acquisition of a top-five draft choice has changed everything. So has the disappointing campaign from Raymond Felton, the questionable dependency on Jonny Flynn as the point guard of their future and the well-above-average production of Wesley Matthews.

While Flynn may end up being the answer, it's hard to believe Raymond Felton will be a part of the Blazers organization come season's end. That leaves Damian Lillard and Kendall Marshall as the best possible candidates.

While Lillard has excellent court vision, power and accuracy behind his passes, he's also a near mirror image of Flynn in the way he plays the game of basketball. Kendall Marshall, on the other hand, might be the best facilitator in the nation. He's also a developing shooter, a safe ball-handler and an unheralded leader for an experienced North Carolina team.

Marshall is the guy.

Second Round, Pick 42: Alex Young, Shooting Guard, IUPUI Jaguars

Season Averages: 20.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.0 bpg

Alex Young is a 6'6", 212-pound shooting guard with elite-level strength for his position. Combine that with flash-like quickness, efficient play without the basketball and a strong mid-range game and you've got a bona fide NBA prospect.

Had Young played at any major school, he'd likely be a first-round draft pick. Between his unmatched ability to finish at the rim, strong rebounding skills and constantly improving free-throw shooting, he's the type of player that has "steal" written all over him.

For the Trail Blazers, he also has "Brandon Roy replacement" written across his forehead.