By Aidan Joly
The 2023 NBA Draft is in the books. Between the wheeling and dealing in the days leading up to the draft, the talk of lottery picks on the move on draft night, this year’s draft seemingly had it all.
All in all, this was one of the chalkiest drafts I can remember. Sure, there were a couple reaches and slides, but most guys went within a few picks of where they were projected to go.
That being said, let’s get into some takeaways from the night.
Houston has a good night
The Rockets added one of each in the backcourt and the frontcourt in Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore (which brings me to my next point in a minute). They will be added to a roster that already features Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason, making it one of the most exciting and athletic young rosters in the league.
Pair that up with new head coach Ime Udoka to develop this group over the next few years. He can use these raw materials to create an athletic team through a system and structure, something his successor, Stephen Silas, wasn’t able to do. That’s a must if hope is to be created in Houston.
Anatomy of a slide
The aforementioned Whitmore was once in the top five conversation, even in the last days leading up to the draft. Instead, he fell to the 20th pick and Houston swooped in and grabbed him. Whitmore is still just 18 years old and there’s still development to be done, but he will surely come into the league with a big chip on his shoulder and something to prove.
Sacramento opens up cap room
A trade that kind of flew under the radar was the Kings sending Richaun Holmes and his $25 million contract to the Dallas Mavericks, along with the 24th pick in the draft, which Dallas used on Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
This move will allow the Kings to be a major player in free agency, with around $34 million in cap space, if certain moves are made with the players they have now.
Now, you can connect the dots here. Sacramento is in glaring need of a power forward, need to improve their defense, have a Warriors-obsessed owner and a head coach who was the Warriors’ lead assistant up until a year ago.
See where I’m going here?
Portland’s post-Lillard future
After Charlotte hemmed and hawed over who it would pick at No. 2, the brass ultimately went with Alabama’s Brandon Miller, opening the door for Portland to take Scoot Henderson at three.
Now, between Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe, the Trail Blazers seemingly have the backcourt of the future in place and will absolutely increase the already-exhausting will-he-or-won’t-he discussion about Damian Lillard’s future. Lillard’s value has never been higher. Portland doesn’t need to live in fear of him demanding a trade anymore. Now is the time to be proactive and move him before it’s too late.
Dallas has best night?
The aforementioned Mavs also had a great night, somehow figuring out a way to dump the contract of Davis Bertans while only moving down two picks to do it.
With that 12th overall pick, Dallas picked up Dereck Lively II, a guy who is a perfect fit in Dallas. A guy seems to be a near-clone of Tyson Chandler and be the guy to catch those alley-oops and share the frontcourt with Luka Doncic, as well as play with Kyrie Irving (if he’s around). On top of that, Prosper is a solid add as a depth piece off the bench.
Doing all of that, while helping your team out financially? Brilliant. That final week tank might have worked, as tough as it is to admit it.
Cason Wallace is a great add for OKC
With the 10th pick, Oklahoma City was able to pick up Cason Wallace, another great example of an athletic, hard-charging, long, and uber-competitive player. He’s another add for a Thunder group that has a lot of young studs like him.
He’ll play alongside budding superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, along with Jalen Williams, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort, in what is set to be one of the most ferocious and versatile groups in the league.
Denver gets some steals
The defending NBA champs didn’t need to do too much in the draft, but picked up two guys who have potential to be the biggest steals in the draft, taking Gonzaga guard Julian Strawther with the 29th pick and Penn State’s Jalen Pickett with the 32nd pick. Denver also grabbed Clemson forward Hunter Tyson at 37.
It remains to be seen what type of role each of these three will have off the bat, but Denver picks up three NBA-ready players who don’t need much development as they arrive at the next level.
Heat culture shines again
The Heat have one of the best cultures and environments in the NBA and found a perfect player to add to that, taking UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez with the 18th pick.
Jaquez is a straight-up winner who played for Mick Cronin at UCLA. He’s one of those guys who knows how to play and contribute on both sides of the ball, a high basketball IQ, something that will really fit in Erik Spoelstra’s system.
Don’t be surprised if he comes in right away and contributes.
College production doesn’t matter
This was one of the bigger realizations throughout the night. Five of the first seven picks didn’t play college basketball. Older college ball stars like Keyontae Johnson (50th overall), Jalen Wilson (51st overall), Isaiah Wong (55th overall) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (57th overall), were picked very late, while guys like Drew Timme, Adama Sanogo, Adam Flagler and Oscar Tschiebwe weren’t picked at all.
Yes, teams don’t want to pick 22-and 23 year old players where there’s a lot of similar types of players in the league, but it was somewhat surprising. In years past, they would have been picked.
AJ Hoops 