Haynes: Portland in pursuit of OG Anunoby with seventh pick

The Portland Trail Blazers are in pursuit of Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby with the No. 7 pick in Thursday’s draft in play, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Portland Trail Blazers are in pursuit of Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby with the No. 7 pick in Thursday’s draft in play, league sources tell @YahooSports.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 22, 2022

ANALYSIS: It's clear that Portland's re-adjusting their formula this offseason. They're going for less potency on the offensive end and more of a focus on defense. Anunoby is a terrific defender, and Jerami Grant helps them on that end of the court as well.

Clearly, they believe that putting defensive-oriented personnel around their scoring duo of Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons could make them more competitive than they were during the days of LaMarcus Aldridge or CJ McCollum.

Given Lillard's age, Portland is looking to make some win-now moves (with the Grant trade being a perfect example), so they are certainly a team to watch.