Spartan Sawyer Selections: NBA Draft Lottery Prediction

By Will Sawyer

The Wembanyama Draft Lottery has officially come and gone. The Skilful 7’5 French Man will most likely be drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the number 1 overall pick. This will be the third time in Franchise history that they get to pick in that position, the last being The Admiral, David Robinson in 1987 and The Big Fundamental, Tim Duncan in 1997. Hopefully just like the past two first overall picks they will acquire another superstar big in Victor Wembanyama. The draft of course consists of many more amazing talents waiting to see which team will be selecting them in the June 22, 2023, NBA draft. 

My Mock Draft:

1.San Antonio Spurs(Victor Wembayamba)

2.Charlotte Hornets(Scoot Henderson)

3.Portland Trail Blazers(Brandon Miller)

4.Houston Rockets(Amen Thompson)

5.Detroit Pistons(Cam Whitemore) 

6.Orlando Magic(Ausar Thompson)

7.Indiana Pacers(Taylor Hendricks)

8.Washington Wizards(Anthony Black)

9.Utah Jazz(Cason Wallace)

10.Dallas Mavericks(Jarace Walker)  

11. Orlando Magic (via Chicago) (Gradey Dick)

12.Oklahoma City Thunder(GG Jackson)

13.Toronto Raptors(Keyonte George)

14.New Orleans Pelicans(Nick Smith Jr) 

*This is my mock draft before any of the combine happened so take it with a grain of salt.

Top 5 Picks

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs don’t really have a hard decision to make in the draft. They could possibly trade the first overall pick but it would have to be a mind-blowing trade for them to do it. Wembayamba would come in and become the number one man from the jump and that’s all the Spurs really want. 

Charlotte Hornets 

The Hornets have a hard decision to make, they have to pick between the super-athletic point guard in Scoot Henderson or the versatile wing scorer in Brandon Miller. I have them going with Scoot Henderson and it was honestly pretty close, I could see them going with Miller also but I feel like they would like a running mate with Lamelo Ball, and Scoot might be a little shorter to play the two but I think he could play that position if needed.  

Portland Trail-Blazers

I think the Blazers will end up trading this pick away for some big-name player to play alongside Damian Lillard. They haven’t really gotten Lillard any big-time players, I mean they drafted McCollum, who was pretty good alongside him, they traded for Nurkic and got a few decent role players but they still haven’t gotten him a big running mate. I could also see them possibly trading Lillard and drafting Brandon Miller and with the Lillard trade they could get some young players and a few draft picks so they can build around the young core of Shaeden Sharpe, Anfernee Simons, and Brandon Miller. 

Houston Rockets

The Rockets got somewhat unlucky not being in the top three but I see it as a blessing in disguise because I have them picking Amen Thompson who I think is a great pick for them. They already have a good guard core but now they are adding a 6’7 guard who could honestly play one through four if they really need him to. 

Detroit Pistons

One of if not the biggest losers of this draft. They were supposed to get a top-three pick but instead fell into the number-five pick, where there are still a lot of great players but they really needed and wanted someone big. I have them picking Cam Whitemore in this spot, he is a great athlete and got better and better over the season with his shooting. Cade would help him out tremendously when driving in and would be a great duo if Whitemore lives up to his ability.