This offseason is looking like it is going to be one of the craziest in years. The potential is there for the offseason to reach the surprise factor of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George winding up in Los Angeles playing for the Clippers. While the free agent market is not something to rave about, the trade market has huge potential. Often, the trade season begins on draft night.
Five Lottery Teams Poised for a Draft Night Trade
This year, like rarely before, we have contending teams with high lottery picks. And on the flip side, some teams that hoped the draft would get give them a high draft pick and a blue-chip player, finished outside of the top five. That is a recipe for a crazy draft night. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five teams that are poised to make a trade leading up to the draft or on draft night.
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have two picks in the lottery, the No.2 and the No.14 pick. There are already teams calling for the No.2 pick. But the Spurs would unlikely trade that pick unless it is for a superstar talent like Giannis Antetokounmpo. On the other hand, the No.14 pick is rumored as a trade piece for Kevin Durant. The Spurs have a generational talent on their team looking to compete sooner rather than later. They made a trade a few days before the deadline this season to bring in De’Aaron Fox, but they might need another piece in the crowded Western Conference.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers have one of the most aggressive general managers in the league. Daryl Morey is always looking for big names and trades. Even if he doesn’t wind up trading the third overall pick, there will be plenty of rumors surrounding the Sixers the whole summer. Given how the Sixers began last season with championship expectations, only for everything to fall down, a change might be necessary.
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans had the fourth-worst record in the league and hoped to jump up and draft a blue-chip, top-three talent. However, instead of jumping up, they fell down to No.7. That doesn’t mean they cannot get a good player at seven.
The Pelicans have a new general manager in Joe Dumars who publicly said that Zion Williamson is not on the trade block. That means they will try to build around him, and might look to package their lottery pick for immediate help.
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets have more young players on their roster than they can play. Their last year’s lottery pick saw little to no playing time. Reed Sheppard lit up the G-League in his debut, but he averaged only 12.6 minutes per game during the regular season, and even less in the playoffs. Cam Whitmore, their 2023 first round pick is already gaining interest on the trade market.
After finishing with the second-best record in the Western Conference, the Rockets will be looking to upgrade. It is clear they need a closer, someone who can take over playoff games. While Alperen Sengun is an All-Star, he is nowhere near that level yet. Jalen Green is too inconsistent. For the Rockets to get a star, someone like Durant for example, they will have to give up their first round pick.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are in an interesting situation. They have two young players Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson that they can build upon. And they have Trae Young, who will be up for an extension and will turn 27 on September 19. This will be the summer they have to make a decision whether to continue building around Young or go into a slight rebuild.
The Eastern Conference is wide open after the injury to Jayson Tatum, but can the Hawks make another run in the playoffs as presently constructed? In either case, even if they decide to go for a rebuild, trading Trae around the draft is the ideal time to do so. They can either trade their lottery pick for immediate help or trade Young and rebuild around their young guys. In either case, the Hawks will be a team to watch for a trade during draft night.
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