How the Big NBA Trades Affect My Latest Mock Draft
The NBA trade deadline had a significant impact on the 2022 NBA Draft, as the Blazers, Pacers, Nets, Spurs and other teams acquired draft picks
The trade deadline not only shook up a number of NBA teams, it also made some significant shifts to the 2022 NBA Draft.
Let’s look at where the NBA’s wheeling and dealing reshapes my latest Mock Draft and my new Mock Draft coming next Thursday.
Note: I am using 538’s NBA forecast to project each team’s final W-L record.
Note: This column has been updated to reflect the Spurs receiving a 2022 first-round pick from the Celtics (see below).
2. Detroit Pistons
Projected record: 19-63
Odds of winning the No. 1 pick: 14%
MOCK DRAFT 1.1 PICK: JADEN IVEY, PURDUE
In Mock Draft 1.1, we had the Pistons picking second, although right now FiveThirtyEight projects the Pistons to end the season with the worst record in the league. I’m told Pistons GM Troy Weaver is a big fan of Jabari Smith, who would be the likely pick if the Pistons land at No. 1.
But if they don’t get the top pick? I still believe that Ivey would be a compelling choice.
The Pistons landed the Kings’ Marvin Bagley III in a four-team deal on Thursday. The team had considered acquiring Bagley for months, and the cost wasn’t particularly high — Josh Jackson, Trey Lyles and two future second-round picks.
Bagley, who is still just 22 years old, was the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft — taken ahead of Luka Dončić and Trae Young. He has struggled to meet high expectations and has been unhappy in Sacramento. He’s in the last year of his rookie contract, so the Pistons won’t have a lot of time to assess whether he’s a long-term fit before they have to decide on whether to re-sign him.
I don’t think he moves the needle much as far as the Pistons’ draft position this year, nor is he likely to affect their approach to the draft.