The Athletic

We have officially hit the silly part of the NBA Draft process, with rumors flying and smoke screens being thrown around in every single call. There is no drama at No. 1, where Victor Wembanyama will be selected first by the San Antonio Spurs. But real questions start at No. 2, where it remains hard to nail down what the Charlotte Hornets are thinking. The Trail Blazers at No. 3 also present some real questions, as Portland looks to weigh its future and its present with a relatively new front office and Damian Lillard. The Houston Rockets at No. 4 have a strong scouting department but also want to shift more into win-now territory. And at No. 5, the Detroit Pistons are armed with their two creators of the future — Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey — but still need a wing player and defensive help. Additionally, it’s worth noting two factors leading to this draft being remarkably difficult to project right now. First, I have never experienced as much smoke-screening in the NBA Draft as I have heard this year. Typically, a number of lies told, or rumors spread like wildfire and become widely accepted. But this year has been all over the map. Second, a number of picks seem to be truly available for acquisition. In large part, it has to do with the number of teams that have multiple picks. The Pacers, Jazz and Hornets alone hold nearly one-quarter of the picks in this draft. There are 10 teams that hold over half of the selections in the draft following star trades over the last couple of years that have consolidated pick capital. There will be quite a bit of movement, which has led to confusion even for executives and agents on draft ranges for certain players.