Winners and Losers of the 2023 NBA Draft
Which teams took the best advantage of their opportunity?
The 2023 NBA Draft has concluded, and while the top pick was no surprise, there were still intriguing storylines to follow. The Charlotte Hornets ultimately chose Brandon Miller as the second overall pick, the Trailblazers decided not to trade out of the third spot, etc., etc.
However, now that the draft is over, it’s time to assess some winners and losers.
Winner #1: San Antonio Spurs
Many of you may be thinking: “How can the team with the number one overall pick be considered a winner?” While the San Antonio Spurs didn’t have a difficult choice, they’re still a clear winner in this draft. Drafting Victor Wembanyama, a generational player, is franchise-altering and propels the Spurs’ young core as one of the best in the league. He is following in the footsteps of some greats, such as Tim Duncan and David Robinson, but I’m sure he won’t disappoint.
However, the Spurs didn’t just end their draft night at the number one pick. They also had their own second-round pick and managed to grab G League Ignite forward Sidy Cissoko at the 44th spot. While his stats may now show his potential, Cissoko is a first-round talent who can do it all. If I were to give an NBA comparison, I would say Sidy plays similarly to Derrick Jones Jr., except with better passing ability.
Loser #1: Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder already have a great young core consisting of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams, and more. The team also has a great number of draft picks, including two from this most recent draft. With its 10th overall selection, it took guard Cason Wallace. While he is a great player, OKC does not need another guard as it already has many promising players at the position.
In the second round, the Thunder took a forward out of Kansas State, Keyontae Johnson. In the NCAA, Johnson was one of the feel-good stories who was able to bounce back from a scary health concern in 2020. But in terms of his NBA potential, I feel that Keyontae is severely undersized. He is only six foot five and would most likely struggle against the lengthy forwards of today’s age.
Winner #2: Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz held the ninth pick in this year’s draft and decided to take six-foot-nine power forward Taylor Hendricks. Taking a player with Hendricks’ potential makes this pick a complete steal for the Jazz. He can shoot well, defend, finish around the rim, and is extremely hard-working. Don’t be surprised one day if Hendricks ends up being one of the better forwards in the league.
The Jazz also had two additional picks in this year’s draft which it took Keyontae George and Brice Sensabaugh. Both of these players are some of the best pure scorers in the draft and were projected to go much higher than they were taken. For a team that needs consistent scoring, the Jazz sure did a good job of finding the right pieces.
Loser #2: Cam Whitmore
The most baffling part of the draft this year was the falling of Cam Whitmore out of the lottery. Whitmore was a projected top-five pick by many, and even I had him mocked to go at pick №8 which I thought was comparatively low. But to many’s surprise, Whitmore somehow fell out of the lottery and landed with the Houston Rockets at pick 20.
Reports indicated that the reason Cam Whitmore was chosen so low was because of his previous medical issues and bad demeanor. But nonetheless, dropping from pick №5 to №2 20 definitely affects his contract, with Cam losing out on around $20 million.
These are what I thought are the winners and losers of the 2023 NBA draft. Let me know in the comments your ideas on these takes and who you think should have been on here. To see more articles just like this, please make sure to check my account linked below.
