Over half of the 30 first-round picks in the 2025 NBA draft have been traded at some point in the past several years, but not all of those picks will actually change hands at the end of this season.
Many of those first-rounders were traded with some sort of protection language, meaning that if they fall in a certain range, the original team will keep its pick.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at which of 2025's traded first-round picks project to change hands, which ones will likely stay put, and which ones figure to be the most valuable assets.
Protected picks unlikely to change hands
- Wizards' pick traded to Knicks (top-10 protected)
- Jazz's pick traded to Thunder (top-10 protected)
- Hornets' pick traded to Spurs (top-14 protected)
- Trail Blazers' pick traded to Bulls (top-14 protected)
Top-10 protection means the Wizards and Jazz could miss the playoffs and still be forced to surrender their first-round picks, but it looks like there's little chance of that happening. Washington (2-12) currently has the NBA's worst record and Utah (3-12) is tied for the second-worst mark.
