Winners and Losers from the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft came and went, and it was an interesting draft, to say the least. At the top, there weren’t any surprises with Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson, and Amen Thompson but then it started to get weird. We saw Detroit take another guard for the third straight year, the Magic also added another guard to their crowded backcourt and projected top-5 pick Cam Whitmore fell to the Rockets at No. 20. 

Obviously, the big winner of the night was the San Antonio Spurs as they drafted agreeability the best prospect in the past 20 years with Victor Wembanyama. After having a dominant run of winning five championships in the last 25 years, they potentially added another franchise-altering player. The Spurs also drafted highly skilled wing Sidy Cissoko from G League Ignite with the No. 34 pick. 

Now…. let's get to some of the other winners and losers from the 2023 NBA Draft.

Winner: Houston Rockets

The biggest winner in this draft to me, was the Rockets because they got two top-five talents. Houston first selected Amen Thompson from Overtime Elite with the No. 4 pick and then Cam Whitmore from Villanova with the 20th pick. 

A debate that many had before this draft was if Houston would select Thompson or Whitmore with the 4th pick. To wind up landing both guys is a homer for the future of the Rockets. Thompson pairs perfectly in the backcourt next to rising star Jalen Green as they will create one of the most explosive and athletic pairs in the league. Thompson will be able to get Green better looks and make up the difference on defense. 

Whitmore to me was the fourth-best prospect heading into this draft because of his 6’8” NBA-ready body and how great of an athlete and scorer he is. Injuries limited the start to his freshman campaign but he showed flashes of greatness as a wing player in the NBA for a long time. 

Both Thompson and Whitmore join a talented young core including Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. Houston also has cap space and will look to add one or two veterans to help this young team take the next jump this season. 

Winners: Charlotte Hornets

For a roster with much certainly besides LaMelo Ball, Charlotte added four highly talented players to help them for their future. They started it off by taking Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson with the No.2 pick. I think Scoot is a little bit better of a prospect than Miller but the Hornets went with the player that will fit alongside their All-star in Ball. 

Then they added two former top-10 recruits in the country Nick Smith Jr. (No. 27) from Arkansas and Amari Bailey (No. 41) from UCLA. Smith is a good fit next to Ball as he is a natural scorer and projects to be a good shooter in the NBA. His stocked drop this season after being injured at the start of his college season. I had Smith projected to go No.l4 in my Mock Draft among many others that thought Smith would be a lottery or top-20 pick. 

Amari Bailey is another college freshman that disappointed as a whole this season. He averaged 11.2 points a game on an older Bruin team but didn’t display the star-level scoring ability that we saw from him at Sierra Canyon. Still, to get him in the back half of the second round is a steal because he has the upside to be a top-15 guy in this draft class. 

Charlotte picked James Nnaji with the 31st pick in the draft. Nnaji is one of the most intriguing prospects in this class as he played for Barcelona this past season in limited minutes but showed flashes of greatness. He only averaged 5 points, and 3 rebounds per game but had an impressive pre-draft workout. He showed an improved jump shot that previously wasn’t on display and showed how athletic he is catching lobs, and rim running.

Winner: Portland Trailblazers

The Blazers added three players Scoot Henderson (No. 2), Kris Murray (No. 23), and Rayan Rupert (No. 43) that can help them in the present and the future. 

No matter if star point guard Damien Lillard decides to request a trade or not, Henderson is a great centerpiece of their future rebuild. I had Scoot as my No. 2 prospect over Brandon Miller as I believe he has more upside as he does many things well in scoring, passing, and is a better athlete. Portland could not pass up an all-time talent in Henderson when if Lillard leaves they will struggle to find a new face of the franchise. 

Murray is a ready-now NBA player and provides the Blazers with a wing that has a great ability to score the ball at the basket and from three-point land. Currently, he is an average defensive player but at 6’8” he has the upside to guard multiple positions down the road. 

With their final pick in the second round, getting Rupert is a steal as I had him going in the first round. Rupert has a huge 7’3” wingspan and is already a very good defender as he can guard 1-3. He has an alright shooting form but he needs to get it off quicker to succeed in the NBA. Rupert can be a secondary playmaker next to Scoot in the future. 

The Blazers already have a good young core with Shaedon Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, Henderson, Murray, and Rupert. If Lillard has his sights set on Miami, the Blazers rebuild will not take long before they are back in the playoff mix. 

Winner: Utah Jazz 

After trading their two All-star players Donavan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert they entered rebuilding mode. They were feisty last season and were very competitive throughout the first half of the season because coming down to earth towards the end of the year. 

They had had three first-round picks and added three talented players that fit well next to their two young stars Lauri Markanen and Walker Kessler. Utah picked forward Taylor Hendricks from UCF No. 7, guard Keynote George from Baylor No. 16, and G/F Brice Sensabaugh No. 28. 

They added much-needed shooting, playmaking, and defense. Hendricks is a prototypical three-and-d player in today’s NBA. He can space the floor, guard 3-5, and is an above-average three-point shooter. George is an undersized shooting guard but does an excellent job of getting to the basket and making difficult shots from deep. Lastly, Sensabaugh is one of the best shooters in this draft and if he can improve on the defensive end of the floor, he will be a great piece moving forward for the Jazz. 

Loser: Orlando Magic 

Entering the draft, the Magic had the best opportunity to add talented players that fit their already established great young core with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Markelle Fultz, and Jalen Suggs. But they went made some head-turning moves. 

First, The Magic selected point guard Anthony Black from Arkansas with the No. 6 pick. Overall, Black is a great prospect and one of my favorites in this class but I don’t love the fit because of the crowded backcourt that the Magic already has with Fultz, Jalen Suggs, and Cole Anthony. 

Black is best when playing on the ball right now as his jump shot is still developing and doing believe her will be super effective off the ball early in his NBA career. This makes me believe that the Magic will move on from one of their older guards to allow for Black to be their guard of the future next to Banchero and Wagner. 

Then with their second pick in this draft at No. 11, I was confused by what they did here. The Magic went with G/F Jett Howard from Michigan. Howard was v

iewed as a late first-round pick by most NBA draft analysts. The Magic needed shooting which he provides but is still very underdeveloped in many other areas which made me question the selection. As the Magic look to make a playoff push in the coming years, Howard seems to be a project. 

Loser: Detroit Pistons

For a team that has one of my favorite young players in the league Cade Cunningham, I haven’t liked the way the Pistons have built this young core around him. Last year they took Jaden Ivey, an undersized two-guard that isn’t a great shooter or defender, and this year with the No. 5 pick they picked Ausar Thomspon from Overtime Elite. 

I like Ausar as a prospect but just not with Cunningham and Ivey. Thompson is a 6’7” shooting guard but can play small forward because of his size but I don’t know if he can hold up at that position right now as he is only 195 pounds and has a skinny body frame. While playing in this system, he will be asked to hit catch and shoot three-pointers more often than he has in the past. I believe in his shot but think he has more to offer than that limited offensive role. 

I thought that the best fit for Ausar would be in a combo guard role where he can handle the ball and utilize his underrated passing ability more often while being able to score at the basket and from three-point land. 

Then when you didn’t think the Pistons needed another guard after three straight first-round picks on them, they took another one with Marcus Nasser (No. 25) from Houston. Sasser is a point guard and an undersized one at 6’1”. He is a good scorer and playmaker but Detroit had a much larger need of wing depth than by drafting more guards. 

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