We are officially less than two weeks away from the 2023 NBA Draft. Here is the latest slate of rumors.
With the 2023 NBA Draft almost upon us, the rumor mill is heating up. Individual workouts are giving us a better sense of who teams might value, and the player/agent/front office intel machine is working overtime to drop hints about which prospects are gaining steam and which prospects might already have their new home lined up.
The first trade of draft season was completed earlier today, which sets the stage for what could be the busiest draft night trade barrage in years due to the precarious position of so many aspirant contenders near the top of the board.
Let's see what smoke is billowing from the rumor mill today.
NBA Draft rumors: Kentucky's Chris Livingston gets promise
Chris Livingston struggled mightily in his freshman season at Kentucky. He averaged 22.4 minutes per game and scored 6.3 points on 51.3 percent true shooting. His jumper needs considerable work and he doesn't provide consistent resistance on the defensive end.
That said, Livingston arrived in Lexington as a five-star recruit and the No. 16 prospect in his high school class. There could be a team willing to bet on his impressive athletic profile (6-foot-6, 220 pounds, 7-foot wingspan) and high school résumé while overlooking his middling production for a deep Kentucky team fraught with roster imbalance.
If we're reading the lea leaves, that appears to be the case.
Livingston is a long-shot for the first round but it's not hard to imagine him getting a favorable promise in the second round — perhaps from a team with multiple picks and the luxury to swing for upside.
NBA Draft rumors: Pistons focusing on two options with No. 5 pick
The Detroit Pistons were the worst team in basketball last season and were rewarded with the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick as a result. Well, the lottery gods decided to scorn Detroit with a long fall all the way to the No. 5 spot. Luckily for the Pistons, this year's lottery is deeper than usual and there are plenty of high-upside consolation prizes to feel good about with the No. 5 pick.
According to James L. Edwards III of the Athletic, the Pistons likely have two options in mind. If the first four players off the board are Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson, and Amen Thompson, then Detroit is expected to select Villanova wing Cam Whitmore. If Whitmore sneaks into the top four, then the Pistons are expected to spurn the Thompson twins in favor of Houston's Jarace Walker.
Both picks make sense. Whitmore is the No. 6 prospect on the FanSided big board; he's an explosive, physical slasher who would be well suited to playing off of two playmaking engines like Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey. Jarace Walker, No. 5 on the FanSided board, is more traditionally pegged as a power forward. He's an excellent finisher around the rim, a burgeoning face-up threat capable of advanced passing reads on the move, and one of the best defensive prospects in recent memory.
The reason for Detroit to prioritize Whitmore is the glut of bigs currently on the roster. Walker can share the frontcourt with players like Jalen Duren, Marvin Bagley, James Wiseman, and Isaiah Stewart, but when they're all vying for minutes it starts to feel like a poor allocation of resources. Whitmore projects as the better immediate 3-point shooter, to boot.
NBA Draft rumors: Jazz could target Bilal Coulibaly with No. 9 pick
The majority of speculation around the Utah Jazz and the No. 9 pick has been focused on point guards: Anthony Black, Cason Wallace, Jalen Hood-Schifino, and so forth. The Jazz have several talented scorers on the roster and in the backcourt, but no true floor general to set up the offense and regularly initiate actions.
According to Rafael Barlowe of NBA Big Board, the Jazz may take a different, unexpected route with the No. 9 pick.
"While it's assumed the Jazz will address their need for a point guard with their first of three picks in the 2023 NBA draft, there are rumblings the Jazz may target France's Bilal Couliblay at No. 9 and select a point guard with the 16th pick they acquired from Minnesota in the Rudy Gobert blockbuster trade last summer. "
Bilal Coulibaly's name has been picking up momentum all season, but his recent elevated performance level in the French playoffs has sent talent evaluators into a frenzy. The 18-year-old is one of the youngest players on the board. At 6-foot-6, he's profiles as a dominant wing defender who can guard across the positional spectrum and generate productive chaos with his length and energy.
The Jazz do need a point guard, but perimeter defense was another glaring weakness last season. Coulibaly has a ways to go, but he could be the top perimeter defender from this draft when all is said and done. Plus, he's no slouch offensively: his 3-point shot is respectable and he's showing more and more upside with bursty drives to the rim.
Currently the No. 14 prospect on the FanSided board, Coulibaly is a viable sleeper candidate for a team like Utah with multiple first-round picks to burn and a patient timeline.
