5 trades NBA teams should make after 2023 Draft Lottery results

After several months of anticipation and nerves, we finally know the results of the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery.

More importantly, we know that French phenom Victor Wembanyama is heading to the San Antonio Spurs this summer. Jumping from third to first overall, San Antonio won the lottery three times in franchise history, and each time they have drafted a franchise center.

The Spurs drafted David Robinson in 1987, Tim Duncan in 1997, and now, probably, Wemby in 2023. 

While San Antonio knows their destiny, others don’t, leaving lots of speculation leading up to draft night in June. And with a little more than a month to go, the rumors are just starting to heat up.

Here are five trades NBA lottery teams should consider leading into the 2023-24 season. 

Orlando Makes a Play for Scoot

Charlotte Hornets receive: Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Issac, Gary Harris, 6th overall pick, 11th overall pick (via CHI)

Orlando Magic receive: Gordon Hayward, Terry Rozier, 2nd overall pick

The Magic are in a unique position this summer.

Despite losing 45 games in 2022, Orlando was surprisingly competitive in all of their contests. Paolo Banchero looks like the real deal, winning Rookie of the Year by a landslide. And other young prospects (Franz Wagner, Markell Fultz and Wendel Carter Jr), have shown significant signs as complimentary players.

But don’t get it twisted: This is all about drafting Scoot Henderson as the point guard of the future.

Henderson would be an excellent fit next to Banchero and Wagner, able to conduct the offense like a well-oiled machine for coach Jamhal Moseley. His downhill explosiveness is reminiscent of Ja Morant, Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose. Additionally, he’s improved his shot significantly, becoming more of a threat from the perimeter. His efficiency still needs work (42.9%. from the field for the G League Ignite), but his natural skills as a leader and competitor on both ends make him an ideal PG in the NBA.

It’ll take a lot to move up from No.6 to No.2 overall, but the Magic can do it. A package of young talent and two picks inside the top 11 selections could be enough for the Hornets to move back. Charlotte will also be shedding Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier’s contracts, a combined $54.7 million next season.

Truth be told, it’s a win-win situation.

Orlando gets another young star, while Charlotte gets draft capital and a plethora of young talent to pair with LaMelo Ball. The Hornets finally get to rebuild the right way, imagine that.

 

Portland Finally Decides to Rebuild

Portland Trail Blazers receive: Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Issac, Gary Harris, 6th overall pick, 11th overall pick (via CHI)

Orlando Magic receive: Jerami Grant (sign and trade), 3rd overall pick

This scenario only happens if the Hornets take Alabama’s Brandon Miller instead of Henderson. And while I think that’s the wrong move, all bets are off when Charlotte is drafting. 

Portland is also at a pivotal crossroads for the franchise. On the one hand, you have Damian Lillard and want to do right by him as he enters the end of his prime. And on the other hand, now might be the perfect time for a full rebuild.

The Trail Blazers should choose the latter option. 

This is the start of two blockbuster moves for Portland, maximizing potential capital with Dame still in his prime. First, Orlando gets the third overall pick to take Scoot Henderson, giving the Blazers basically the same haul as the Hornets except without Cole Anthony. 

This deal would need to be completed after the draft in July, as Jerami Grant would be a sign-and-trade for four years, $70 million. Not only does Grant help regulate the outgoing salary dump, but he fits well with Orlando’s style of play. A roster consisting of Henderson, Banchero, Wagner, Grant, Carter, Fultz, Anthony. That might be a playoff contender in 2023. 

On the flip side, Portland gets an extra pick in the lottery, and two young players (Suggs, Issac) who have shown potential to be starters in the NBA. Time for door No.2 to be opened.

 

Dame Dealt to Miami

Portland Trail Blazers receive: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Nikola Jovic, 2023 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick, 2026 second-round pick (via OKC, DAL or PHI), 2029 second-round pick

Miami Heat receive: Damian Lillard

The trade of the summer if this actually happens.

After 11 years with the Trail Blazers, the two sides part ways in search of opposing plans for the future. Lillard is entering age 33, and his championship window is closing. While Portland doesn’t have the draft capital, or talent on the roster, to contend in the next two years. This deal is a compromise for both sides.

Dame gets to play (and get PAID) in South Beach, where they have no state income tax. He also gets to compete for a ring in the present, with Jimmy Butler being his best running mate in his entire career! While his plan was always to play for one team, Lillard wants to win a ring before he retires. It’s time to get serious about doing that, and Portland isn’t there right now.

On the Trail Blazers’ side, it’s more capital and young players. Tyler Herro is the prize of the bunch, showing elite scoring abilities since he joined the association in 2019. Anfernee Simons and he will be an interesting backcourt together, able to switch in and out of the point guard/shooting guard roles on the fly. Robinson provides three-point shooting, something this team desperately needs, and Jovic is a 20-year-old flier coming off a disappointing rookie year.

The capital is subject to change, as you never know what a player is worth until the deal is announced. My guess is two to three first-round picks for Lillard.

However, he is entering age 33 and elite guards typically don’t get better in their mid-30s. He’s scheduled to make $121.77 million in the final two years of his contract extension. He’ll be 37 when he’s a free agent after making $63 million, yikes. Those are factors for limited draft compensation. 

The deal could expand though, especially with Kyle Lowry becoming an expiring contract next season. 

For now, this is the agreed-upon trade, giving both sides a clear path to work towards for the next three years.

 

KAT Heads to the Big Apple, Randle Dumped to Minnesota

Minnesota Timberwolves receive: Julius Randle, Evan Fournier, 2024 first-round pick (via WAS), 2024 second-round pick (via DET), 2025 top 10 protected first-round pick, 2026 first-round pick

New York Knicks receive: Karl Anthony-Towns, Kyle Anderson

This is how I expect Knicks’ president Leon Rose to call Timberwolves’ president Tim Connelly at 1 a.m. on the 4th of July:

Leon: Tim, you there?

Tim: What do you want Leon?

Leon: Can’t sleep, you?

Tim: (ugh) Same

Leon: Really? Do you also have a problem with your star big man that disappears for no reason in big moments? 

Tim: YES!!

Leon: Great. Let’s make a deal then!

Tim: But our guy is better than your guy statistically, we’d need more.

Leon: Fine, here’s half our picks for the next few years.

This trade makes so much sense for each ball club, it’s a surprise it hasn’t been thought of sooner. 

Karl-Anthony Towns needs to get out of Minnesota asap, and so does Julius Randle with New York. KAT just hasn’t worked out for the Timberwolves, converting into more of a perimeter player than the traditional superstar center they had hoped for. Maybe he can reinvent himself again, but it will have to be on a different team. The Knicks would be a big risk, big reward scenario.

For Randle, it’s another fresh start after a tumultuous ending with the Knicks this season. A lasting image could be fans stomping & ripping a Randle poster off the wall at Madison Square Garden. Minnesota could be the quiet team to get his game back in focus, pairing him with a young superstar in Anthony Edwards.

New York would be surrendering a lot of draft capital in the near future, especially after not having a pick for 2023. Still, Towns has a star written all over him if it goes well, and Jalen Brunson is the young-budding-star point guard to help him along the way. They still have Mitchell Robinson, who becomes available immediately for teams in need of big men. 

All in all, a good outcome for both sides. Especially for Minnesota, trading four first-round picks for Rudy Gobert last year.

 

Mavericks Win Ayton Sweepstakes

Phoenix Suns receive: Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, Javale McGee, 10th overall pick, 2025 top 5 protected first-round pick

Dallas Mavericks receive: DeAndre Ayton, Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne, 2024 second-round pick

Both the Suns and the Mavs are coming off disappointing 2022 seasons; it’s time for a change in 2023. 

These newly-made rivals can actually help each other get better. One side needs depth around their superstars, while the other needs a starting center. That’s right, Dallas is the team that lands DeAndre Ayton the summer.

The Suns and Ayton have made it pretty known that a mutual parting is in the cards over the next month or so. The body language is atrocious, specifically in the Nuggets series on second-chance rebounds. He just looked defeated out there, unhappy in his role with Phoenix. They overpaid him at four years,$132.9 million, having to match the Indiana Pacers’ offer sheet.

It happens sometimes, it’s just part of the game.

Now is a chance at redemption, traded to a team also possessing superstar talent in Luka Doncic. DeAndre Ayton is the center Luka has never had, able to muscle his way to the rim and blow by people on passes as the cutter. Doncic is the playmaker of the team, likely looking for the Bahamian center on lob attempts. He has to improve his consistency though, often disappearing in pivotal moments for the Suns.

This trade work for Phoenix because of depth concerns.  

The Suns fell to Denver because they were too thin, with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant having to play almost the entire contest to win in the series. The addition of Hardaway gives them a scorer that can create his own shot, and Bertans & Kleber have small-ball center ability as three-point marksmen. Javale McGee also returns to The Valley after a year in Texas. 

To even out the money, Dallas also gets Cam Payne and Landry Shamet, two players have been key in big playoff games but struggle to stay consistent. That sounds like the Mavericks.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Mavericks do with Kyrie Irving if this deal goes down.

 

Bonus Trade: Bradley Beal joins Lillard in Portland

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