- Illinois State wing Seneca Knight and North Carolina State guard Jarkel Joiner are among the prospects who will work out for the Jazz on Thursday, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Knight averaged 12.3 points and 5.9 rebounds last season, while Joiner averaged 17.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.
- The Suns may look to deal center Deandre Ayton and the Jazz have been mentioned as a potential landing spot. With Walker Kessler entering his second season after a strong rookie campaign, Walden explains in a separate Salt Lake Tribune story why there’s no reason for Utah to expend draft capital on Ayton.
Two of the biggest winners on draft lottery night last week were the Hornets and Pacers. Charlotte moved up two spots from the pre-lottery standings to claim the No. 2 overall pick. The Pacers, meanwhile, stayed put in the lottery, but because San Antonio leapfrogged Houston in the first round, Indiana moved up 18 spots from No. 50 to No. 32 in the second round due to a convoluted set of trade criteria.
The Hornets and Pacers have something else in common: Charlotte and Indiana are the only teams that control more than three picks in the 2023 NBA draft. In fact, the two clubs own five selections apiece, accounting for 10 of the 58 total picks in this year’s event.
Nine additional teams each have three 2023 picks, joining the Hornets and Pacers to control nearly two-thirds of the draft — those 11 teams hold 37 of this year’s 58 picks, leaving the other 19 clubs to divvy up the remaining 21 selections.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, three teams don’t own any 2023 draft picks. The Bulls, Knicks, and Sixers will sit out this year’s event unless they acquire a pick via trade.
To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2023 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 58 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…
Teams with more than two picks:
- Charlotte Hornets (5): 2, 27, 34, 39, 41
- Indiana Pacers (5): 7, 26, 29, 32, 55
- San Antonio Spurs (3): 1, 33, 44
- Portland Trail Blazers (3): 3, 23, 43
- Orlando Magic (3): 6, 11, 36
- Washington Wizards (3): 8, 42, 57
- Utah Jazz (3): 9, 16, 28
- Oklahoma City Thunder (3): 12, 37, 50
- Brooklyn Nets (3): 21, 22, 51
- Sacramento Kings (3): 24, 38, 54
- Memphis Grizzlies (3): 25, 45, 56
Teams with two picks:
- Houston Rockets: 4, 20
- Detroit Pistons: 5, 31
- Atlanta Hawks: 15, 46
- Los Angeles Lakers: 17, 47
- Los Angeles Clippers: 30, 48
Teams with one pick:
- Dallas Mavericks: 10
- Toronto Raptors: 13
- New Orleans Pelicans: 14
- Miami Heat: 18
- Golden State Warriors: 19
- Boston Celtics: 35
- Denver Nuggets: 40
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 49
- Phoenix Suns: 52
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 53
- Milwaukee Bucks: 58
Teams with no picks:
- Chicago Bulls
- New York Knicks
- Philadelphia 76ers
The Jazz currently control the Nos. 9, 16 and 28 picks in the upcoming draft, though it isn’t certain they’ll actually retain all three first-rounders. A lead ball-handler is reportedly high on their list of targets.
With that in mind, Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (subscriber link) lists six prospects the Jazz may be interested in with their lottery pick, including Arkansas guard Anthony Black, Kansas wing Gradey Dick, and UCF forward Taylor Hendricks. Walden concedes some of the players on his list may not be available at No. 9.
Here’s more from the West:
- In another subscriber-only story for The Salt Lake Tribune, Walden examines eight prospects who might be a fit for the Jazz at No. 16. Some players mentioned: Keyonte George (Baylor), Kris Murray (Iowa) and Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana).
- The Warriors are holding a draft workout on Friday featuring six prospects, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. The six are Julian Strawther (Gonzaga), Coleman Hawkins (Illinois), Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana), Kendric Davis (Memphis), Craig Porter Jr. (Wichita State) and Caleb Daniels (Villanova). According to ESPN’s list of the top 100 prospects, Jackson-Davis (No. 33) is the highest rated of the group, followed by Hawkins (No. 53) and Strawther (No. 55). Golden State currently controls one pick in the 2023 draft: No. 19.
- Nets wing Mikal Bridges, who was traded to Brooklyn by the Suns as part of the Kevin Durant deal, recently said on The Pivot Podcast that his former head coach, Monty Williams, isn’t to blame for Phoenix’s playoff struggles the past two seasons. “He’s going to get through it,” Bridges said, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “He knows he’s a hell of a coach. He probably knows about the situation. Me personally, I say Monty is not the problem, but who am I?” As Rankin notes, Williams was fired after the season ended. “Monty’s not the problem, but he’s going to be great somewhere else,” Bridges continued. “He’s going to get another chance and he’s going to be alright.”
- Gobert’s former team, the Jazz, had a large presence at last week’s combine, Tony Jones of The Athletic notes. The Jazz conducted more than 20 player interviews during the combine and came away convinced they’ll get a solid player at the No. 9 spot. The Jazz also hold two other first-round picks at No. 16 and No. 28. They believe the draft is deep enough that they can nab a quality player at each spot, with a lead ball-handler high on their wish list.
The Jazz currently possess the ninth pick in this year’s top-heavy NBA draft. Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune considers how the Jazz could theoretically trade their way into a higher pick.
Larsen notes that Trail Blazers, Rockets, and potentially even the Pistons could be looking to move on from their own lottery selections in the 3-5 range.
At this past week’s draft combine in Chicago, the Jazz spoke to Alabama forward Brandon Miller, Villanova wing Cam Whitmore, UCF big man Taylor Hendricks, and Houston forward Jarace Walker, all of whom are projected to be off the board before Utah can draft.
“I’m sure we’re going to have a lot of interesting conversations here over the next few weeks,” GM Justin Zanik told Larsen. “As we get our own internal work done, then we’ll really start engaging with teams as they get to build their board and know a little bit more as well.”
There’s more out of the Northwest Division:
- Sources around the NBA inform Sarah Todd of The Deseret News that they don’t expect the Jazz to retain all three of their current first-round draft picks. Besides No. 9, Utah also controls No. 16 and No. 28.
- Organizational patience has been a huge factor in the Nuggets’ playoff success story this season, opines Sam Amick of The Athletic. “I remember [former team president Tim Connelly] calling me up, [and saying], ‘Hey, we can trade Jamal [Murray] for this guy,’” head coach Michael Malone recalled in a conversation with Amick. “[This was] probably three or four years ago — [and it was] a marquee player. I said ‘No.’ Like, ‘What? Let’s not rush this. We have a patient ownership group. Let’s f—ing take our time and build this the right way. A bigger name is not always better.’” Murray discussed how the close-knit chemistry among the team’s core players has positively impacted their on-court performance. “You’re a tighter group when you’ve been together for so long,” Murray said. “You know each other’s tendencies. You have a better feeling for each other. I just think that we’ve grown as a team, and as a core. We’ve grown, (as opposed to) the team that moves around a lot.”
- The expert passing and basketball IQ of the Nuggets’ core players has helped the team put their own unique stamp on a postseason run that sees them just one game away from their first ever NBA Finals appearance, writes Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports. “I love it, just because you can see everybody’s moving,” All-NBA center Nikola Jokic said of the team’s ball distribution. “I think that’s hard to guard.”
- Tony Jones of The Athletic sketches out an offseason to-do list for the Jazz, including identifying a point guard, resolving Jordan Clarkson‘s free agency, and comprehensively investigating what trade opportunities might be out there for them.
The Spurs have won the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
San Antonio claimed the No. 1 overall pick in Tuesday night’s draft lottery, putting the club in position to select Wembanyama, a 7’5″ French phenom who is widely considered the top NBA prospect since LeBron James.
The top 14 slots for the 2023 draft have officially been set. The lottery order is as follows:
- San Antonio Spurs
- Charlotte Hornets
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Houston Rockets
- Detroit Pistons
- Orlando Magic
- Indiana Pacers
- Washington Wizards
- Utah Jazz
- Dallas Mavericks
- Orlando Magic (from Bulls)
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Toronto Raptors
- New Orleans Pelicans
It’s the third time in franchise history that the Spurs have won a draft lottery and earned the right to add a generational big man to their roster. San Antonio drafted David Robinson with the No. 1 overall pick in 1987 and Tim Duncan with the top pick in 1997.
The Spurs entered the night third in the lottery standings, but had a 14.0% chance at the No. 1 pick, the same odds as Detroit and Houston, the top two teams in the lottery standings.
The Pistons are the biggest loser of the night, slipping all the way out of the top four after finishing the season with the NBA’s worst record at 17-65. It also wasn’t an ideal outcome for the Rockets, who slipped from second to fourth in a draft widely considered to have a consensus top three prospects.
The Hornets, who had a 12.5% chance at the No. 1 pick and a 48.1% chance to end up in the top four, move up two spots to No. 2 and will likely decide between G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson and Alabama wing Brandon Miller, who are viewed as the next-best prospects behind Wembanyama.
Henderson was once considered a lock for the No. 2 spot, but had an up-and-down year in the G League while Miller had a big freshman season for the Crimson Tide.
At No. 3, the Trail Blazers also moved up two spots and are the night’s other big winner — they’ll be in position to draft either Henderson or Miller, whichever one the Hornets pass on. Of course, Portland badly wants to build a roster around Damian Lillard that’s capable of contending sooner rather than later, so it’s possible the team will listen to offers for its lottery pick, but the price would presumably be extremely high.
Outside of the top five, the remaining lottery picks remain unchanged from the pre-lottery order. That means the Mavericks will keep their first-round pick, which would have been sent to the Knicks if it had slipped out of the top 10. Dallas will instead owe New York its 2024 first-rounder with top-10 protection.
The Bulls, meanwhile, would have hung onto their lottery pick if it had moved into the top four, but it will be sent to the Magic since it fell outside of its protected range. That pick was the last asset that Chicago owed to Orlando as part of the 2021 Nikola Vucevic trade.
Tuesday’s lottery results also shook up the order of the second round. Because San Antonio will be picking ahead of Houston in the first round, the Rockets’ second-round pick has moved up from No. 33 to No. 32, which means it will be sent to the Pacers instead of the Celtics.
That’s great news for the Pacers, who move up 18 spots from No. 50 as a result of that lottery outcome and a convoluted set of trade criteria involving multiple second-rounders. Rather than getting Houston’s pick, Boston will receive Portland’s second-rounder at No. 35, while the Thunder – who had been in position to get No. 35, will instead pick at No. 50.
Is it within the realm of possibility that the Jazz could trade for Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic? Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune ponders that topic. Larsen confirms an earlier report the Jazz are keenly interested in Doncic. The Jazz would either have to deal All-Star Lauri Markkanen and a smaller assortment of picks and players, or give up a boatload of picks for Doncic, in Larsen’s estimation.
However, as Larsen acknowledges, Doncic would first have to request a trade and the Jazz’s draft assets from Cleveland and Minnesota aren’t all that attractive since both are playoff teams, though the Timberwolves could fall back to the lottery pack in the near future.
- Speaking of Markkanen, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News notes that he displayed star power in his first year with the Jazz. After his breakthrough campaign, Markkanen can still build on his game by improving his ball-handling, defense, footwork and aggressiveness, Todd writes.
The Kings hosted a pre-draft workout on Wednesday featuring six prospects, including Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe, a league source tells James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com (Twitter link). The other five players aren’t yet known.
Tshiebwe was named AP Player of the Year in 2021/22 for the Wildcats and followed that up with a spot on the All-America Second Team in ’22/23 after averaging 16.5 points, 13.7 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.0 block in 32 games (33.6 minutes). He is expected to attend the draft combine next week.
Sacramento controls the 24th, 38th (or 37th, if Washington picks ahead of Indiana in the lottery) and 54th picks in the 2023 NBA draft. Tshiebwe is currently ranked No. 66 on ESPN’s big board as he tests the draft waters while maintaining his final year of college eligibility.
Here are a few more draft-related notes:
- Junior guard Justin Powell, who has played for three college teams – most recently Washington State this past season – has worked out for the Warriors, Celtics, Jazz and Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter). Powell has converted an impressive 41.9% of his three-point looks during his college career. Like Tshiebwe, he’s testing the draft waters.
- Forward Marcus Domask has withdrawn from the draft, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). After a standout four-year career at Southern Illinois, Domask will be transferring to Illinois for his fifth and final season, per Rothstein.
- Creighton sophomore Arthur Kaluma, another combine invitee, is focused on staying in the draft, but he plans to transfer if he returns to college for his junior year, a source tells John Fanta of Fox Sports (Twitter links). Kaluma confirmed the news. “I am thankful for the chance to participate in the draft process and showcase my skills in front of various NBA teams,” Kaluma said, per Fanta. “After taking part in the NBA Combine and my agency’s Pro Day, I will discuss the feedback I’ve received with my family and advisors. Ultimately, I will decide whether to remain in the Draft or return to college based on what’s best for my career long-term. I want to express my gratitude to Coach McDermott and the entire Creighton community for two amazing years in Omaha.” The forward is currently No. 90 on ESPN’s board.
After being named the CUSA Defensive Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons at Western Kentucky, Jamarion Sharp tested the NBA draft waters this spring, but the 7’5″ center has decided to withdraw from the draft process, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).
Sharp, who averaged an eye-popping 4.4 blocks per game in 64 appearances with Western Kentucky as a junior and senior, will be taking advantage of the extra year of NCAA eligibility afforded to him by the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s transferring to Ole Miss for his final college season, as Goodman notes.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
- Senior wing Keylan Boone will withdraw from the draft and use his final year of NCAA eligibility, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Boone is transferring from Pacific to UNLV.
- Junior guard Jordan Ivy-Curry, Boone’s teammate at Pacific last season, will also remove his name from this year’s NBA draft pool, he confirms to Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Detroit senior forward Damezi Anderson Jr. has opted not to use his final year of college eligibility and will go pro, he tells Rothstein (Twitter link). Anderson is unlikely to be drafted after averaging 9.4 PPG and 4.5 RPG on .426/.346/.792 shooting in 33 games (27.4 MPG) last season.
- Alabama sophomore center Charles Bediako, who is testing the draft waters, isn’t ranked among ESPN’s top 100 prospects of 2023, but he’s generating plenty of pre-draft interest from NBA teams interested in checking him out. According to Matt Babcock of SI.com, Bediako has already worked out for the Grizzlies, Trail Blazers, Jazz, and Spurs, with auditions for the Mavericks and Thunder happening this week before he heads to the G League Elite Camp. The Hornets, Celtics, Kings, Rockets, and Cavaliers have also expressed interest in working out Bediako, his agent Daniel Green tells Babcock.