Top Pick Victor Wembanyama, Others Deep in Mystery of 2023 NBA Draft, Zero in on the No. 2 Pick
Top Pick Victor Wembanyama, Others Deep in Mystery of 2023 NBA Draft, Zero in on the No. 2 pick. After Victor Wembanyama, the rest of the 2023 NBA Draft is a complete mystery, but the No. 2 pick is starting to take shape…
After Victor Wembanyama, the rest of the 2023 NBA Draft is a complete mystery, but the No. 2 pick is starting to take shape.
The New York Times reports: The green room of the midtown ballroom looked like it did every year before the NBA Draft, with flowers and microphones set up for each candidate invited to talk with the media on Wednesday.
However, this year’s event had a unique air of uncertainty. Few players outside of presumed top pick Victor Wembanyama, G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, and Alabama freshman Brandon Miller were certain in where they’ll land, as trade talks surrounded every round pick beginning with No. 3.
2023 NBA Draft Taylor Hendricks
Central Florida forward Taylor Hendricks, who is expected to be a lottery pick, told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that “with all the trades that could happen, anything is possible.” As the saying goes, “you can get drafted for a team you didn’t even work out for.”
Among the possibilities invited to Barclays Centre, Wembanyama’s teammate, forward Bilal Coulibaly of the Metropolitans 92, appears to have one of the more malleable draft ranges. Coulibaly, now 18, and Wembanyama, now 21, have been teammates since they were 13 years old and have won a national youth title together and led their club to the LNB Pro A Finals.
It has been reported by league insiders that the San Antonio Spurs have made calls in an attempt to acquire a second lottery choice, and many rival front offices believe that Coulibaly is their aim to team with Wembanyama once again.
It would be awesome to work with him again as a teammate. For both of our careers, it was one of the best beginnings,” Wembanyama, 19.
The French superstar is a huge Coulibaly fan and has even tweeted that his running buddy deserves to be in the top five picks.
He has a wingspan of 6 feet, 8 inches. In addition, it’s well knowledge that athletes frequently lie about their stats.
Wembanyama smiled and remarked, “But we don’t do that in France.” He may appear diminutive next me, yet he is quite tall. Let me tell you, some of the people that joined my team were taken aback.
He’s just so… he can be so useful to a squad, I’m convinced. His nimbleness, quickness, shooting, and defensive abilities. He’s a versatile defender and offensive player who can cover four of the five standard positions.
And the future star of the Spurs made a remark that would make Joe Lacob, owner of the Golden State Warriors, blush. When compared to other prospects, “[Coulibaly] is just so complete as a player and he plays at a level — he performed against competition which is light years away.” Many players in this draft class are unprepared for the professional level. I’d put him in the top five, so “yeah.”
Assuming Miller and Henderson are taken second and third, respectively (with Henderson being a leading candidate for the No. 2 pick as of Thursday morning), it is widely expected that Houston will select Overtime Elite guard Amen Thompson with the fourth pick.
Reports have circulated that Villanova wing Cam Whitmore could fall to the 10th pick if the Pistons pass on him when they have the chance to choose at No. 5 in the draft.
The University of Houston forward Jarace Walker told Yahoo Sports that he sees his potential with the Pistons at the fifth pick.
Critics point out that Detroit already has three recent lottery picks in its frontcourt (Jalen Duren, Marvin Bagley III, and James Wiseman), plus another recent first-round pick (Isaiah Stewart), so they don’t see how he fits in.
Walker, on the other hand, thinks he can provide a new dimension to the Pistons’ frontcourt by playing more on the wing than the team’s other big men due to his superior ball-handling skills.
The Indiana Pacers, with the seventh overall choice, have been looking for a starting power forward to play alongside All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, and Walker had a fantastic visit with them as well.
The consensus around the league is that the seventh overall pick is Walker’s floor if Indiana keeps the pick and he is still available. “I guess you could say that,” the first-year student smiled.
When the Pacers picked seventh, it was arguably the most exciting development of the day. Amen’s twin brother and fellow Overtime Elite guard Ausar said he met with Indiana Pacers officials despite cancelling a practise with the team last week. Over the weekend, a small delegation from Indiana travelled to Atlanta to meet with him.
At the fifth pick, Ausar has a good chance of joining his brother in Detroit, if he can get past the likes of Hendricks, Walker, and Whitmore. Thompson is 6 feet 6 inches tall and 7 feet tall in wingspan, making him an attractive prospect for the Pistons’ general manager Troy Weaver.
The fact that the Pistons have high hopes for all four of these players has led them to negotiate with the Jazz for the No. 5 overall pick in exchange for picks Nos. 9 and 16.
Some of Ausar’s rival clubs speculated that he might have had a promise from Orlando, which has the sixth pick, to cancel his session with Indiana. It appears that in Ausar, the Magic have found a player that fits the profile of their recent team-building strategies.
In his words, “they have so many long, athletic guys that get up and down the floor” for Yahoo Sports.
The Magic are absolutely thinking about big guards at No. 6. Anthony Black, a playmaker for the Arkansas Razorbacks, had a positive visit with the Orlando Magic and is confident that he will be selected sixth overall.
According to sources, the Magic had trouble getting Black in for an audition since the Magic were already stacked at point guard with Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony.
Orlando has given various personnel the impression that the Magic would explore trade opportunities for either Suggs or Anthony if they drafted a guard like Ausar or Black. Anthony is extension eligible this summer and is thought to have a great relationship with the Magic front office.
“They didn’t tell me that,” Black said to Yahoo Sports, “but that’s what I figured they’d do if they picked me.”
Another point guard projected to go early in the first round is Baylor’s Keyonte George. The Lakers, who now hold the 17th pick in the draft, have been looking for ways to move up into the early teens in order to select George, but he has refused to comment on whether or not he has tried out for the team.
Similarly, George has been linked to the Raptors at No. 13, but he has chosen to remain mum about his visit to Toronto. “Same thing,” George said to Yahoo Sports. For now, “I’d like to keep that to myself.”
The ascent of Duke centre Dereck Lively II has been well discussed, and Lively told Yahoo Sports that he is pleased with his position as the second-best centre in this class behind a generational potential like Wembanyama.
Sources say Dallas is still considering trade-down alternatives, and that Lively may go as high as the No. 10 pick, to either the Mavericks or another team. There is a wide range of possible ages for Lively: “I’ve been told I can go anywhere from 10-14, and then I’ve been told I can go anywhere from 15-20, so we’ll have to wait and see,” she added.
Hendricks, who will make history as the first Knight to be picked in the first round, possesses a unique fluidity of range. Hendricks had tryouts with the Detroit Pistons, the Orlando Magic (who also held the eleventh selection), the Indiana Pacers, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Oklahoma City Thunder (who had the twelfth pick).
Hendricks said he was fine with whatever happens and will enjoy the night regardless of his draft position, but the 6’9″ rookie speculated that a No. 12 pick to OKC could be his floor.
