When the NBA Draft begins on June 22, there’s no drama around the first name that will be taken off the board, as the San Antonio Spurs will gleefully select Victor Wembanyama.
Beyond that, there’s still some debate as to who will go No. 2 and No. 3 between Scoot Henderson and Brandon Miller, as well as what teams will be picking in those spots. The Charlotte Hornets have the second pick and many expect them to take Miller, but the Blazers’ desire to trade the third overall pick is well known, as Damian Lillard wants them to build a contender for now. The problem to this point has been figuring out what team would be willing to trade up to the top of the draft and part ways with the veteran talent Portland desires.
On Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic brought word of the first team publicly being tied to a potential trade up scenario, as the New Orleans Pelicans apparently have their eye on Henderson.
Western Conference playoff contender seriously pursuing a top 2-3 pick in this month’s NBA Draft, with eyes on point guard Scoot Henderson: pic.twitter.com/UFCs9VEU7Q
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 12, 2023
The Pelicans have the ammunition to make a deal that would be enticing to either team picking second and third, as they have established star caliber players the Blazers could be interested in, while also having a treasure chest full of future first round picks and swaps, courtesy the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday deals that could provide a more future-facing package to Charlotte.
If they can trade up to No. 2, they wouldn’t need to worry about whether Henderson is still on the board and could guarantee themselves the highly touted guard prospect. The question, of course, is whether Charlotte is willing to pass on Miller and Henderson to move down to the 14th pick in this year’s draft to acquire future picks (or accept a deal centered around a current player). Portland would probably love to land Brandon Ingram or Zion Williamson (or, even funnier, bring back CJ McCollum), but that is dependent on exactly how much the Pelicans value Henderson and whether they want to part with one of their All-Stars to get him — and whether he’s still there when the Blazers are on the clock.
Still, this is the first significant report of a team with interest in trading up to the top of the draft, and we’ll see if anything ultimately comes of New Orleans’ interest in landing Henderson.