NBA Trades: 4 Teams poised to trade up in the 2023 NBA draft

The NBA draft lottery has come and gone, with all of the expected pomp and fanfare that was expected. After the Detroit Pistons dropped down and the San Antonio Spurs rose to the top slot alongside the Portland Trail Blazers and the Charlotte Hornets, teams started to scramble to reconfigure their respective draft boards and consider a trade up in the draft.

Unless a team is offering a player like Luka Doncic or Giannis Antetokounmpo, there isn’t a trade package out there that would entice the Spurs to trade the top pick in this year’s draft and miss out on a chance to add Victor Wembanyama. Instead, both Charlotte and Portland are clumsy fits with Scoot Henderson, a consensus top-three player who could give a number of teams a franchise point guard.

Outside of Henderson, players like Jarace Walker, Brandon Miller, and Amen Thompson will be heavily considered for the top slots in the draft. The Hornets, with so many holes on their roster, may feel that they are better served by taking multiple bites at the apple. On the other hand, the Blazers are concerned with contending in the short term, which likely means that the third pick is up for sale.

While not every team has the necessary ammunition to move up in the draft, there are a handful of teams armed with enough draft capital to either move into the top rung of the draft or to make some other minor moves to secure a premiere talent outside of the upper echelon of prospects.

Trade Up Candidate #1: Orlando Magic: Picks #6, #11, #36

Overall, the Orlando Magic can’t be that mad that they didn’t have more lottery luck. After all, they had the right bounces last year to shoot up to the top pick in the 2022 NBA draft to select Paolo Banchero, who became the NBA rookie of the year while helping the Magic win twelve more games than they did last year.

With both Banchero and Franz Wagner stepping into star roles, Wendell Carter Jr. manning the middle, and a gaggle of interesting guard prospects like Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony, the Magic have enough of an infrastructure to possibly push for the play-in tournament as soon as next year if everything breaks right.

If the team wants to contend for a title one day, however, they may want to consolidate their assets and push their chips in for another star young player. The team was 24th in three-point percentage and 26th in assists per game this past season, which shows the massive hole that the team has a point guard:

Although there are some depth issues at forward and on the wing, it’s easier to fill those holes in than it is to find a franchise player. If the Charlotte Hornets don’t feel strongly about pairing Scoot Henderson with LaMelo Ball and are more enamored with adding some combination of Jarace Walker, Cam Whitmore, Taylor Hendricks, Gradey Dick, and Keyonte George, to name a few prospects in that range, they could bite on an all-in package from Orlando.

If the Magic trade up, they would suddenly have one of the best young cores in the entire NBA with Henderson, Banchero, and Wagner. All three players could one day have an all-star ceiling, which few other rebuilding teams could say, while also being built to make the playoffs in the next few years due to the rest of the role players on the roster.

Trade Up Candidate #2: Indiana Pacers: Picks #7, #26, #29, #32, #55

After drafting Ben Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard, while also getting an entire season of play from Tyrese Haliburton, the Indiana Pacers saw a ten-win jump in their record this year. While it didn’t result in an appearance in the play-in, the team should feel confident that they are on the right track to return to the postseason.

The team has a few spots on their roster sewn up, like point guard and center, but there is a massive hole at either forward position for either a premium veteran or a stud young player to fit and take on the starting role. Although they should be able to grab quality players for the forward positions at seven or with one of their later-round picks, they don’t need to wait.

The Pacers were 26th in defensive rating and ranked 24th in rebounds per game last season, which highlights the need for an impact player to put next to Myles Turner. With his pre-draft buzz, it’s likely that Jarace Walker, a player who would be a marvelous fit for the team, will already be gone by pick seven due to his defensive dominance:

The team could package some of their picks to move up to Houston or Detroit’s pick to ensure they can grab Walker, given both teams are in the midst of long rebuilds and may want to consolidate as much talent as they can.

Meanwhile, if the team was feeling extremely bullish about Brandon Miller and felt like he had star potential, the Pacers could push all of their picks into a package to try to move up to trade with the Hornets, who may also be looking for quantity in this draft. Either way, Indiana is uniquely positioned to trade up to fill one of their glaring holes.

Trade Up Candidate #3: Utah Jazz: Picks #9, #16, #28

When the Jazz traded both Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in the same offseason, almost everyone in the league expected the team to crash land at the bottom of the Western Conference. Instead, the team only took a minor step back, staying in play-in contention for most of the season until injuries and trades caught up to the team.

Lauri Markkanen stunned the world by metamorphosing into a bona fide star player, emerging as the top option on the team on his way to his first all-star appearance and the most improved player trophy. Walker Kessler also shocked pundits by becoming a fearsome defensive replacement for Rudy Gobert.

While there was a great deal of optimism for the team due to their collection of talent, outside of Markkanen and Kessler, there are few players that fit the team’s timeline and are good enough to hold onto their roles. On the other hand, if they packaged their three first-round picks together alongside some of their veterans, the team may be able to secure their point guard of the future:

A trade up to Charlotte’s second pick may be easier to conceptualize, as the Jazz could offer the team a mix of youth and veterans who could help the team exit the rebuild quickly. For the Blazers, it may require giving up Markkanen, but Danny Ainge has never been afraid to sell high on his players and make the best decision for his team.

If Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller found their way to Utah, they’d both have a team that was ready to support their star turn without demanding instant impact. Neither would be expected to lead the Jazz to the playoffs anytime soon, but both would have the ball in their hands for most of their early careers, which could lead to a contending Jazz team in a half-decade.

Trade Up Candidate #4: Brooklyn Nets: Picks #21, #22, #51

It’s been a bit of a wild ride for the Brooklyn Nets, who just a few months ago looked like they were prepared to contend in the East. After the sudden exits of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets rebounded with their new-look core to make the playoffs, with Mikal Bridges looking like a late-blooming star.

Over his stint of games with Brooklyn, Bridges averaged over 26 points on great efficiency, which should make the team optimistic that he can occupy their leading scorer role heading into next season. With a potential core of Bridges, Cam Johnson, Cam Thomas, and Nic Claxton, alongside a veritable stable of veteran players, the Nets may not have to wait long to make it back to the playoffs.

If they wanted to go all-in on the present, the Nets have the resources to do so. Two picks in the middle of the first-round packaged together alongside a player like Dorian Finney-Smith could help the team careen up into the low lottery and snag a player who could balance out the starting lineup of the team:

With a trade-up with New Orleans or Atlanta, the Nets would be positioned to snag a player like Nick Smith Jr., Gradey Dick, or Kobe Bufkin, each of whom fits into a need with the team. Dick is an elite wing shooter who could form a super-sized perimeter next to Bridges and Johnson. He’s one of the best snipers in the draft and brings more craft to his game than many expect.

Drafting either Smith Jr. or Bufkin could be a boon for the team too, as Spencer Dinwiddie isn’t the team’s long-term answer at point guard. Either player could wait behind him for a season before emerging in the future to be the future floor general for the next perennial Brooklyn playoff team.