Duke 6-foot-8 freshman Cooper Flagg is the ultimate prize of the 2025 NBA Draft for the Portland Trail Blazers and everybody else. At just 17, Flagg has the talent that could make another losing season for the Blazers feel like a small price to pay if the lottery odds smile upon the franchise next spring.

But what if Portland doesn’t strike gold in the Flagg sweepstakes?

The 2025 NBA draft class still projects to be one of the best in recent years, even outside of Flagg. With Portland’s expected plunge to the bottom of the NBA standings, it’s time to start learning some of those other high-level prospects who could become Blazers next summer.

In a super early mock draft published on Thursday, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie (subscription required) projected the Blazers would select Rutgers 6-foot-5 freshman guard Dylan Harper with the No. 3 overall pick. For this exercise, Vecenie established draft order based on the Las Vegas win total over/under projections. He also didn’t account for a team’s positional needs, but went by the best player available at each pick.

In the writeup accompanying Portland’s selection, Vecenie praised Harper’s footwork and craft, while raising concerns about his athleticism.

Harper is the more polished of the two top-three Rutgers prospects. His footwork is pristine, and his handle is creative, with the ability to craft multiple counters together off drives depending on how defenders play him. He’s often been deployed as a scorer early in his career, and he has that ability. His pull-up game has been quite good, but more than that, his ability to create crafty advantages out of ball screens has scouts excited. He’s an excellent passer and playmaker, something scouts have noticed since his performance at the Under-19 World Cup back in 2023 when he was often asked to run the show while playing up multiple years in terms of age group. He only averaged three assists but had a ridiculous seven-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio.

What are the worries? Mostly, it involves his athleticism, as he is not a wildly explosive player. He doesn’t have a ton of vertical pop, and his first step is not that impressive, meaning he needs to get by with that level of craft all the time. His footwork and polish are good enough to get consistent separation, but the finishing craft can sometimes let him down. Scouts also want to see what his level is as a shooter. There have been marked improvements in his pull-up game over the last 18 months, but scouts want him to confirm that ability.

Ahead of Harper in the mock draft, the Brooklyn Nets selected Flagg with the No. 1 pick and the Washington Wizards selected 6-foot-9 freshman forward Ace Bailey at No. 2. Bailey will join Harper at Rutgers this season.

Harper, who will be 19 come next summer’s draft, attended Don Bosco High School in Ramsey, New Jersey, last year. ESPN ranked Harper the No. 4 recruit in the 2024 high school class.