This year's draft will be held at 6/24 BEIJING TIME, and before the draft, we will also bring our predicted lotto draft picks. Referenced draft analysis from Kevin O'Connor, Zach Buckley, ESPN, NBA and more.
Pick 1 - Magic: Jabari Smith Jr
In the past year or two of drafts and trades, the Magic have accumulated a lot of talent. The current ball-handling core Cole Anthony, Jonathan Isaac who is stopped by injury, Mohammed Bamba who is slowly regaining his skills, Franz Wagner, who has just been shortlisted for the first team of the rookie of the year, and even Wendell Carter, who arrived in the Vucevic trade, the Magic's youngsters can be said to be extremely talented. Even if this year's record is a dismal 22 wins and 60 losses, they still have a lot of rookie growth this season.
However, neither Cole Anthony nor this year's rookie Wagner is the main attacker of this team. Frankly, this team has everything a rebuilding team should have, but they don't have a core to surround and build.
Therefore, rather than choosing a vice-player with a high degree of completion but not a core level in the end, I believe that magic will choose talents to raise their ceiling. Considering that Paul Banchero and Chet Homegren have tall floors but may only be a vice-level player after all, Jabari Smith Jr. may be the first choice for magic management, showing considerable talent at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and being able to raise the ceiling of the Magic's entire team. If eventually JSJ can be raised to develop his autonomous offensive abilities, then the Magic will find their offensive core and raise the team ceiling.
Pick 2 - Thunder: Chet Holmgren
After a trade case, the Thunder had three first-round picks at this year's draft, two of which were even draw winners in the lotto district. In terms of the current Thunder lineup, Josh Gidy and Shay Giljaz-Alexander have become the thunder's backcourt core. The Thunder, who have just entered the rebuilding stage, have made a good start, enough to serve as the core backcourt commander, and the full draft picks, enough for them to slowly accumulate talent and prepare to become a major power in the future West.
The frontcourt is probably where they need to choose most in the draft at the moment. Considering that the current frontcourt is made up of Alexei Pokushevsky and Darius Bezley, the Thunder's frontcourt talent is not as deep as expected. In addition, most of the teams that have just been rebuilt will accumulate certain assets and talents to prepare for the future construction of the team, considering the above points, the Thunder are likely to make up for a frontcourt offensive core in this draft.
Chet Homegren is the one who deserves the Thunder's picks, both on the offensive end to complement the Thunder's outside projection and athleticism, as well as with the SGA and Josh Gidey, two backcourt engines. Following Chet Homegren's ball quotient and outside projections at the NCAA, it's hard to imagine him falling out against the Thunder commanders. But even if it's really not suitable, the Thunder can take Chet Homegren back to the star level players before the rookie contract ends, reinforcing the team's roster depth.
Pick 3 - Rockets: Paul Banquero
The Rockets hit a retraining after trading for Harden, and in the first year of the rebuild, they got Jaylen Green and Alperen Shinkin, one playing better and better in the second half of the season, showing his value as a top spot, and the other slowly becoming a pillar on the Rockets' inside line. From the Rockets' Launch of the Christian Wood deal, it is not difficult to see that the Rockets have identified Alperen Shenjing as an insider in the next few years and intend to cultivate them. Although the rocket has just begun to rebuild, but with an outside core and a bunch of assets that can be operated next, the rocket's reconstruction has a pretty beautiful start.
It was mentioned earlier in the Thunder section that almost all teams that start to rebuild will need to accumulate talent and assets. The Rockets are no exception, so in the awkward third pick, the Rockets need to choose the most talented player who is also the best player left in this rookie.
In fact, if you only consider the most talented players, Sheldon Sharp, who has not played a single game, may be the best choice. But the Rockets already have Jaylen Green in the same position, and Paul Benqueirone will be the one the Rockets have to choose in this pick. Paul Banquero has strong athleticism and qualified outside projection ability, just like the Rockets' current interior Line Alperen Shenjing to form an inside and one outside combination, and give the Rockets more possibilities on the offensive end.
Pick 4 - King: Benedict Mathielan
After last year's draft pick, David Mitchell, at the expense of the mid-season draft stud in exchange for Domintas Sabonis, the Kings, although they ultimately failed to break into the playoffs that broke the 16 seasons, also established the main axis of reconstruction centered on Daron Fox.
Given that the Kings already have two defenders, David Mitchell and Daron Fox, at this stage, I don't think the Kings will pick a defender like Jaden Ivey in this year's fourth pick. Instead, the Kings may consider adding their projections on the perimeter and a scorer who can replace Harryburton and Hield after they left, and Benedict Mathieland may be a good choice. Benedict Mathieland has a good catch-and-shooter and is a good point scorer on the offensive end, and for the Kings, who are about to enter the final year of their contract with Harrison Barnes next year, they may consider bringing Benedict Mathieland back to the Kings in this pick.
Frankly, the Kings are the team I think was the most critical team in this year's draft. Since the first three rankings are roughly fixed, how the fourth king is chosen will greatly affect the arrangement of all the rankings. If the Kings picked up Jaden Ivey, as most Mock Draft predicted, the few that fell off, such as Keegan Murray and Benedict Mathieland, would be grabbed by teams like the Trail Blazers or Pistons. But if the Kings choose other players, then the manager behind may consider trading upwards, which can be described as a whole body.
Pick 5 - Pistons: Keegan Murray
Cayd Cunningham, the first-ever winner in last year's draw, set their core in the draft and began their long rebuild. The mid-season trade with Marvin Bagley III, coupled with the storm of defensive big man Sadiq Bay, left the Pistons not being overlooked as expected. However, the Pistons, who had been lying for almost an entire season, became the only team to drop out of the top four picks at the final draft, and how to choose, in order to cooperate with Cade Cunningham, and not waste this lottery draft, presumably the Pistons management will be quite distressed.
The Pistons' fifth pick was actually awkward, and if Paul Banchereau had a chance to fall down the road, the Pistons would have taken it with no doubt in that pick. The problem is that Paul Banchero has a lower chance of falling than the Pistons' chances of actively trading upwards, and in this case, Kigan Murray is what I think the Pistons are most likely to choose.
What the Pistons need at the moment is a point of possession other than Cade Cunningham to share the pressure of Cade Cunningham's possession on the court, and Kigan Murray has the potential to become the second point of possession outside of Cade Cunningham. Even with the current Keegan Murray, gentle shooting feel and stable shooting mechanism, the combination of Keegan Murray and Cade Cunningham is quite convincing for the Pistons with weak firepower on the outside. In addition, in terms of timeline, Kiegan Murray, who has just completed his sophomore year, is actually a combat force, and in the case of not needing too much cultivation, he can bring a certain amount of combat power to the Pistons in the next 2-3 years, and there are rookie dividends that can be used by the Pistons to strengthen, if the Three Kings do not accidentally fall, Keegan Murray may be a fairly high-quality choice for the Pistons.
Pick 6 - Walker: Sheldon Sharp
It's been a fantastic year for walkers. The core lineup of previous years, only Miles Turner remained this year. Incoming rookies Thales Halliburton and Chris Duarte have also shown a fairly solid style of play and are poised to be at the heart of the team in the coming years. The Pacers seemed to have pressed the rebuild button, but retained their existing competitiveness, which also made the team's next operations on draft days and the free agent market more interesting.
I think given the needs of the teams ahead, there's a chance that Jaden Ivey will drop into the Pacers pick. However, for the Pacers, the team has young ball-holding points such as Chris Duarte, Terris Halliburton and so on, and It is also likely that Jaden Ivey, a less brilliant playmaker, will probably not be their first choice. The Pacers' reinforcement focus in the draft should be on players who can pair up with Miles Turner and raise the team's ceiling. With the sixth pick, the Pacers will most likely not be able to pick up their most suitable triple kings, and will have to look for a talented player from the remaining players, or a usable big forward to match Miles Turner.
For Indiana, instead of choosing Jaden Ivey to play against existing players, it was better to choose Sheldon Sharp to gamble on talent. Sheldon Sharp didn't play a single NCAA game, but he showed his athleticism and shooting. If the bet is right, Shedden Sharp will be one of the most likely players in this draft to become a superstar, and even complement Halliburton's passing horizons, and the Pacers can also raise the ceiling of the semi-rebuilt team.
Pick 7 - Trailblazer: AJ Griffin
For the Blazers, perhaps the biggest takeaway this season was Anfenni Simmons' performance in the backcourt. Because of this, whether Damien Lillard will stay with the team or become the protagonist of this summer's most vigorous deal will be a very important issue for the Blazers this offseason.
Damien Lillard and Anfini Simmons are also in hand at this stage, and the Blazers, who look like they will bring Yusuf Nurkic back, may bring back a wing player in the draft. For now, Benedict Mathieland or Kigan Murray's excellent wing candidates are the best solution for the Blazers, but considering that the Blazers have the No. 7 pick, if the above two are blocked in front, AJ Griffin is the Blazers' only remaining best wing candidate. AJ Griffin can bring three-point and defensive potential to the team, and is the most popular 3D player in the league today, and for the Blazers, even if they don't want to stay, they can have room for follow-up operations.
Leaving aside the No. 7 cage for themselves, the Blazers may also consider sending this sign away in exchange for some instant combat power. In terms of recent news, the Blazers seem to be more interested in swapping the No. 7 pick for OG Anunoby of the Raptors and increasing the depth of their flanks. In addition, if the Blazers finally choose to press the restart button this summer to send Damian Lillard away, it is not surprising that Sheldon Sharp can take away the fallen at the draft.