NBA Rumors: Portland Trail Blazers Are Perfect Landing Spot for Bradley Beal

Chad Buchanan, the Portland Trail Blazers interim general manager, has said that the team is going to select the best available talent at their spot in the upcoming NBA draft.

Enter Bradley Beal.

The Blazers are expected to have two lottery picks in this summer's draft, but while neither of them are projected to be in the top three, Chard Ford of ESPN has said that the team should package both picks in an effort to select Beal from the University of Florida.

While Beal doesn't fill the most glaring holes in the Trail Blazers rotation—point guard and center—he is arguably one of the most talented players in an already stacked draft class.

The Blazers lacked depth last season, and with Jamal Crawford expected to opt out from the last year of his contract—he reportedly has interest in playing for the Phoenix Suns—the Blazers' list of rotation players continues to shrink as the team rebuilds.

Serviceable players, such as Goran Dragic, Aaron Brooks and Spencer Hawes are all available during free agency, so if the team thinks they can meet their needs that way, selecting Beal could add a very promising piece to the team's backcourt.

Shooting has been down in Portland the past few seasons, and although Beal's three-point percentage wasn't spectacular last season at Florida, his deep range and clutch shooting has earned him comparisons to Ray Allen on ESPN's big board heading into the draft.

It's tough to say whether or not Beal is a good fit in Portland's system because at this point we really don't know what Portland's system is.

They don't have a general manager, they don't have a head coach and with only six players officially on the books, they don't have a clear vision of what the roster will look like when the season tips off next year.

So many question marks could be considered a bad thing, but if Beal ends up in Portland, there could be a golden opportunity for the talented young guard to begin establishing himself in an open Blazers rotation.

The void left by Brandon Roy's retirement has yet to be filled despite decent play from Wesley Matthews. Matthews had a bit of a statistical drop-off last season, and while there's no reason to believe he won't jump back up, the team still needs that added depth.

Coming off a year where Matthews didn't always play his best game, Beal could jump right in and prove that he is capable of a starting position right away.

Touted as a scorer, Beal is a player who can shoot, handle the ball and create his own shot, which is something the team was missing last year without Roy in the lineup.

Averaging 6.7 rebounds per game last season, as well as 1.4 steals and .8 blocks, Beal is a player who can fill the stat sheet on any given night and ultimately impact the ball on both ends of the floor.

Bringing in a young prospect to help lead a team back to the playoffs doesn't always go smoothly, but Portland's current rebuild isn't the same as the one fans saw in the mid-2000s.

This team has leadership.

With an All-Star in LaMarcus Aldridge, two veteran-like prospects in Matthews and Batum and money to bring in proven free agents this summer, the 18-year-old guard would have leaders to turn to as his already-high basketball IQ begins to adjust to the NBA game.

Projected to go in the top five, the Blazers are going to either have to strike lottery gold or follow through with packaging both lottery picks to move up and select the player with so much potential so early in the draft.

Whichever way it happens, if the team ends up with Beal come draft day, expect both parties to benefit heading into a year of redemption for the Trail Blazers next season.