The NBA Finals ended in a sweep, meaning there are more than two weeks left before the 2018 NBA Draft and no postseason basketball games to distract us. This means it’s officially rumor season and time to speculate wildly about what we’ll see come June 21.
Last year’s NBA Draft was the beginning of a wild summer with a few significant trades, none bigger than Jimmy Butler being dealt to the Timberwolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, and a swap of first round picks. This summer promises to be fascinating, likely without the same volume of stars on the move as last year but with the biggest star in the game possibly setting off a domino effect behind him.
The NBA world will, as it so often is, be at the mercy of LeBron, whose decision almost certainly won’t be made until after the draft. But while there will be posturing for position around James’ new destination, there are plenty of teams that figure to at the least explore trade options during the draft, either to jockey for position in the LeBron sweepstakes or to better position themselves as part of a rebuilding process.
We’ll be focusing on teams that could make moves involving first round picks come June 21, because second round picks get dealt and sold [stares right at the Bulls] all the time and rarely are splashy moves in the moment. There are a number of teams that figure to at least explore trades, particularly those with multiple first round picks or without significant cap space but clearly have needs to shake up their roster.
Phoenix Suns, No. 1 and No. 16 overall: The Suns won’t be trading the No. 1 pick, but there are plenty of rumors out there that they will be looking to climb back into the top 10. Phoenix brought in Trae Young for a workout recently, who isn’t among those even conceivably in play at No. 1, but also won’t be available at 16, which fueled the idea Phoenix may look to package the 16th pick with one of their young players to move up. Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss are both still on rookie deals with some upside and could be intriguing assets to a team like the Bulls should Chicago believe they could get their man a little later in the process. The Suns have insisted they will be active and aggressive this summer in trying to get better, and draft night could be the beginning of that effort.
Atlanta Hawks, No. 3, No. 19, and No. 30 overall: The Hawks have three first round picks (and No. 34 overall)m and while their roster has as many holes as any, it’d be fairly stunning to see Atlanta make all four of those picks without making a deal. There has been a question of whether the Hawks would consider trading the third pick, but it’s hard to find another team in the top 10 that has the assets to convince them to move back. However, their desire to move Dennis Schröder is well known and really any of their veterans who have actual value, like Kent Bazemore, could also be involved in talks to package with one of their other picks in an effort to get younger and upgrade their roster’s potential.
Cleveland Cavaliers, No. 8 overall: The debate over whether the Cavs will/should keep or trade the Nets pick has raged since they acquired it in the Kyrie Irving trade. They managed to hold onto it through the trade deadline, but now that draft night is upon us, the rumor mill is picking up steam once again. The Cavs might be beyond making a major pitch to LeBron, but their actions will speak louder than words in a meeting. If they package the eighth pick with Kevin Love to take a swing on adding another star to the mix, it might be what they need to convince The King to stay. If a blockbuster happens on draft night, one would expect the Cavaliers to be involved in it.
Philadelphia 76ers, No. 10 and No. 26 overall: The Sixers have two first round picks and a treasure trove of second rounders, and while still a young team, they’re looking to take steps forward and might be in the market for veteran help as one of the frontrunners in the LeBron sweepstakes. What makes Philly’s situation all the more intriguing is that, as of now, Brett Brown is running the show after the ouster of Bryan Colangelo over his wife’s burner Twitter accounts. One would think they’ll be pushing to install someone well before draft night, but that hire will have major implications on how they approach the draft, and right now, we just don’t know who will be making those decisions.
Los Angeles Clippers, No. 12 and No 13 overall: Any time a team has a pair of lottery picks are a threat to make a deal. That said, the 12th and 13th picks on their own likely won’t get the Clippers very far up the board, but it’s possible they could find their way into the back half of the top ten if another team isn’t enamored with who is left and would rather get two cracks at some late-lotto guys. The Clippers also have a ton of expiring deals, so they also could package one of those with a pick in an effort to pique some team’s interest.
Portland Trail Blazers, No. 24 overall: The Blazers have negative cap space to work with this summer, so there are two ways they can approach the draft. One is they can land a cost-controlled player for four years at No. 24. The other is they can try and use that pick to package with one of the players on their roster to hopefully find an upgrade that can help immediately and create better roster balance coming off a tremendous regular season and a disastrous playoffs. The 24th pick isn’t exactly the best sweetener for a deal, so don’t expect them to be able to use it to get off Meyers Leonard or Evan Turner with just that, but if they want to make a deal with someone else, it could be useful.
