After the Spurs take Wembanyama the 2023 NBA Draft could be a Wild West of trades and unexpected moves, with Portland in the middle of it. We talk Trail Blazers and more with Sean Highkin.
Here's what we know for sure: The San Antonio Spurs will select Victor Wembanyama with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. After that, it could be chaos with Charlotte at No. 2 and Portland at No. 3 open to trading their picks (as is Houston at No. 4), with names as big as Zion Williamson potentially in play.
It's going to be a wild night next Thursday and Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report and podcast joined Kurt Helin of NBC Sports to discuss the Portland Trail Blazers plans. First, that does not include a Damian Lillard trade, the plan in Portland remains to build around the greatest player in franchise history and win with him there. Building around Lillard means the Trail Blazers want to trade the No. 3 pick as a lot of teams covet Scoot Henderson, but will Charlotte trade its No. 2 pick for that reason before Portland can act? Or do the Hornets take Brandon Miller and let Scoot fall to three?
Also, is New Orleans really ready to move on from Zion? Is Brandon Ingram in play at all? And what other teams would have interest in a big, bold move to jump up to a top-three pick to land Scoot or Miller? Also, the duo talks about all the expected trades in the late teens and 20s as contenders try to round out their rosters with affordable rookie contracts, a byproduct of the new CBA.