2023-06-23 07:00:00
The NBA Draft 2023 is history – and this time it was relatively quiet at the Barclays Center. The Dallas Mavericks provide atmosphere, while the Charlotte Hornets do not give a good picture. We choose winners and losers of the day.
Also: One of the Thompson twins is compared to Halle Berry and Celtics boss Brad Stevens mutates into Bill Belichick.
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2023 NBA Draft, Winner: San Antonio Spurs
Who hasn’t noticed yet: The Spurs have secured Victor Wembanyama in first place. Good job Spurs!
NBA Draft 2023: The lottery at a glance
PickTeamSpieler1San Antonio SpursVictor Wembanyama2Charlotte HornetsBrandon Miller3Portland Trail BlazersScoot Henderson4Houston RocketsAmen Thompson5Detroit PistonsAusar Thompson6Orlando MagicAnthony Black7Washington Wizards (von Indiana)Balil Coulibaly8Indiana Pacers (von Washington)Jarace Walker9Utah JazzTaylor Hendricks10OKC (von Mavericks)Cason Wallace11Orlando Magic (von Chicago)Jett Howard12Dallas Mavericks (von OKC)Dereck Lively II13Toronto RaptorsGradey Dick14New Orleans PelicansJordan Hawkins
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NBA Draft 2023, loser: Damian Lillard
“I don’t want to rebuild the team with players that will take two or three years and not go all out for the title,” Lillard said after his Blazers missed the playoffs. In plain language: no rebuild! But then Portland ended up 3rd in the lottery and had a chance at a potential franchise star. What to do? Dame publicly declared she doesn’t want to leave the Blazers, but could this pick be passed up?
Even when it was suggested that it would be Scoot Henderson – and he doesn’t really fit Lillard! The answer is now clear: No, the Blazers had to access Scoot and rejected all trade offers for the pick. The question now is whether Lillard is making a good face of the bad game – or whether a trade by the superstar is finally picking up speed…
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NBA Draft 2023 Winner: Fashion!
If you need a refresher course in menswear – at least on the other side of the pond – you only have to look at the draft. In the meantime, highlights from the 2003 draft were shown, back then with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Predominant at that time: oversize and many brown and beige tones. Those days are over! The skinny look is of course in, but also unusual bling-bling – and brightly colored blazers.
Gradey Dick, for example, marched up glittering red and declared, it is a homage to Kansas and the Wizard of Oz. Neu-Maverick Derek Lively II shimmered in red velvet, Taylor Hendricks in soft pink and Olivier-Maxence Prosper in purple. So you can see yourself later in the photos! Also important: flood pants! During the interviews, the new NBA stars lounged around on a couch – and anyone who showed not just ankles but at least a third of their shins was completely out. Looking forward to the flashback, then 2043.
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NBA Draft 2023, Verlierer: Cam Whitmore
Such a crash is rare. Whitmore was even traded in fourth place for the Houston Rockets before the draft, where the forward ended up, but only with the 20th pick. When his name was finally called, the relief was evident. “I have no idea what happened there,” Whitmore said afterwards.
According to rumors, the wing could not convince in his workouts and did not cut the best figure when talking to the teams. But the reason Whitmore fell so low was question marks about his body. Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report) reported on this in advance, but without addressing where the problems lie.
“I’m fine, it’s my body,” Whitmore defended: “Other people may like to see it differently, but at the end of the day it’s my body.” Either way, the Rockets have now drafted well under the radar again. The question will be how to juggle No.4 pick Amen Thompson, Jalen Green, Whitmore and Alperen Sengun as each of these four likes to have the ball in their hands. And what does all this actually mean for a possible return of James Harden? It should be exciting days and weeks in Houston.
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2023 NBA Draft Winner: Metropolitan’s 92nd
Actually, the team had been completely tailored to Wembanyama’s “Mission NBA Superstar” – with success. But then, with Bilal Coulibaly, another player suddenly ended up in the lottery – and surprisingly in 7th place! For such a record, the Kentuckys and Dukes of this world would be celebrated. Coulibaly joined Paris in 2021 and started the 2022/23 season with the club’s under-21 team.
Now the small forward is well on his way to a successful NBA career. So it’s not just about Wemby – and that could attract just about any promising talent from France to the club. Who would have thought that a good year ago when there were plans to scrap the team completely.
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NBA Draft 2023, Losers: Blockbuster Trades
It has been a long time since there has been such a quiet draft evening. Sure, Chris Paul’s trade took place a few hours before the draft, but otherwise not much happened with minor exceptions. If Davis Bertans and Richaun Holmes are the most prominent players traded during the draft, that’s saying something.
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2023 NBA Draft, Winner: Trader Brad
At least one had fun and that was Celtics boss Brad Stevens, who probably stole a few pages from Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s playbook. Here’s the Celtics’ trade tirade that night:
Boston traded pick 25 (got just yesterday in the Porzingis deal) for 31 and two future second-round picksThen the Celtics traded #31 for #34 and #39Then Stevens traded #34 for pick 38 and two more second-round picks
In summary, Boston turned pick 25 into two second rounders (38 and 39) and received three more second-round picks. Add a few swaps and that’s half a Bradley Beal.
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NBA Draft 2023, Gewinner: Dallas Mavericks
For years, the draft wasn’t the specialty of the Mavs, often the Texans didn’t even have a pick and watched uninvolved. It was different this year, even though Dallas didn’t select the tenth pick themselves. Instead, Dallas used this pick to sell Davis Bertans’ contract and finally picked the desired player in 12th position in Dereck Lively II.
And that’s not all. With the generated trade exception, the Mavs also absorbed the contract of Richaun Holmes (Sacramento Kings) and secured an athletic winger with the 24th pick in Olivier-Maxence Prosper. Dallas has needed such a type of player since the departure of Dorian Finney-Smith at the latest.
These aren’t spectacular moves, but Dallas got a lot out of this draft with limited resources. In Lively and Holmes, two centers were brought in plus reinforcements for the wing, as mentioned. The Mavs finally have their stars in Luka Doncic and possibly Kyrie Irving, but in the final sprint it became apparent that the depth of the squad was a big problem. That has now been addressed and it has to be said that the embarrassing sacrifice at the end of the regular season against the Bulls, including a hefty fine, was probably worth it after all.
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NBA Draft 2023, Gewinner: Troy Weaver
First the shocking. The Pistons from Detroit didn’t pick a big man this draft, instead picking an athletic guard in Ausar Thompson, big lover Troy Weaver, who most recently played for Overtime Elite. That makes it difficult to assess the 20-year-old correctly.
But Weaver brushed that aside with a grandiose quip: “I think Halle Berry is beautiful both in the church and in the supermarket.” Can’t argue against that.
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NBA Draft 2023, losers: Charlotte Hornets
When even your own mascot almost falls over with disappointment, one should definitely question this choice. Charlotte chose Brandon Miller for second place and not Scoot Henderson, who was considered by most experts to be the best player after Wembanyama.
Well, with LaMelo Ball the Hornets already have their starter at one and Miller is a forward, but a team should always draft the best possible player when the roster is otherwise rather wasteland. Miller may have taught us otherwise, but Charlotte once again didn’t cut a good figure.
It was very questionable why Michael Jordan of all people was allowed to make this pick – for two reasons. First of all, it’s not as if MJ has hit the bull’s eye with his dream players in the past, but Jordan will give up control at the beginning of July. True to the motto: After me the deluge.
And then there’s Miller’s (possible) role in a murder that happened late last year. The 20-year-old is said to have been involved in a shooting in Alabama that killed a 23-year-old mother. He was accused by Tuscaloosa police of passing on the murder weapon. However, there was no arrest or indictment, Miller rejects the allegations.
In case of doubt for the accused, but that Charlotte Miller of all people takes is one of those things. There are rumors that the Hornets are toying with the idea of re-signing Miles Bridges. This suspended the previous year after being accused of domestic violence. Guard James Bouknight was convicted of drunk driving in 2022. It doesn’t reflect well on the Hornets, whether or not Miller was the right pick.
The pick was booed by Hornets fans and GM Mitch Kupchak made it no better with a memorable PK as he was about to explain the pick. Make up your own mind and ask yourself: What exactly is Kupchak trying to say here? Please explain in the comments.
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