While there is no drama as to what happens with the first pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, where the San Antonio Spurs have likely already turned in a draft card to Adam Silver that just reads VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, the rest of the top 10 is far less assured.
The Charlotte Hornets will likely be choosing between Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson at No. 2, although they’re also bringing in the Thompson twins for workouts as well. With Miller as the expected choice, but far from a guarantee, it leaves a lot of uncertainty as to who will be available when Portland is on the clock at No. 3. Given the Blazers would like to trade that pick to bring in veteran help in order to, once again, try building a contender around Damian Lillard, not knowing who will be available at that spot makes it difficult to pin down a trade before Draft night.
The Blazers front office will certainly be working the phones prior to then, but they might find themselves needing to hammer out a deal in the five minute window in which they are on the clock on June 22. As Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reports, that, along with Portland’s desire to land a veteran for the pick rather than trading down or acquiring future picks, has other teams “skeptical” of their ability to find a trade partner.
While the Trail Blazers have signaled an openness to move that No. 3 pick — general manager Joe Cronin told Yahoo Sports in May his team is “trying to win and trying to maximize Damian [Lillard’s] timeline” — rival teams are skeptical Portland will find a suitable trade partner for that coveted selection before the Blazers come on the clock.
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Trail Blazers officials have left inquiring teams with the impression that Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 7 pick in last year’s draft, is off limits in any dialogue regarding the No. 3 pick.
The Sharpe note is also interesting as the young wing is their most intriguing player to add to trade talks, but if he’s off limits, that will limit the caliber of player they can be targeting. All of this sounds awfully similar to the situation Golden State found itself in back in 2021 when they had the No. 2 pick and the entire league knew they would rather trade it than make a selection. Because of that, they struggled to find a trade partner willing to move the kind of player they were seeking in order to jump up to that spot (albeit in what was considered a weaker draft). The result was Golden State taking James Wiseman, thinking he was a better fit than LaMelo Ball, with Wiseman not lasting two years with the Warriors before being shipped off to Detroit in a three-team deal that brought Gary Payton II back to the Bay.
Portland could find itself in a very similar spot if the Hornets select Miller, as Henderson would be the obvious best player available, but his immediate fit with Damian Lillard (and Anfernee Simons) is a bit questionable. The hope for Portland would be that Henderson is a more coveted prospect than either Wiseman or Ball were in the 2021 Draft, and if he’s the one still on the board after Charlotte picks, their phone should be ringing. That said, teams are typically terrified of making a trade at the top of the draft that looks like they didn’t land value, which is usually hard to do when trading a pick for a veteran.
Teams with the caliber of player that Portland would think could get them back into playoff contention in the West aren’t usually looking to move up in drafts to add young talent that (usually) take longer to impact winning. What makes the Portland situation even more fascinating than Golden State in 2021 is, failing to find a trade partner doesn’t just mean trying to get healthy and running it back with a championship squad like the Warriors did. The Blazers need an influx of talent to even be a playoff team in the West. If they don’t trade the pick, it would certainly seem to indicate they are choosing to get younger, which opens the door to even more speculation about Lillard.
