2022 NBA Draft Results Takeaways: Magic Tricks Experts by Paulo Panchero’s No. 1 lead, wreaking havoc

There aren’t usually many surprises in the NBA draft in this day and age, but Thursday night started with big surprises as the Orlando Magic picked Duke forward Paulo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick. For weeks, the expectation was that they would knock out Jabari Smith of Auburn, and still is. It’s unclear if it was all an elaborate smoke curtain or they just changed their minds at the last minute.

The Magic is said to have never hosted Banchero for a formal training or interview in Orlando, which suggests it might be his last.

Anyway, the Oklahoma City Thunder knocked out big man Chet Holmgren from Gonzaga as expected, while the Houston Rockets went with Smith to take out the top three. It’s possible The Rockets are planning a Panchero, but Smith should still fit in well as a sharp forward forward to pair with Galen Green.

Of course, no draft could be complete without the Sacramento Kings doing something outside the box, and they took Keegan Murray in fourth despite all the speculation that Purdue’s Jaden Ivey was clearly the fourth best player. Maybe they really believe in Murray, or maybe they were wary of taking a guard with their first pick for the third year in a row.

Either way, it worked out for the Detroit Pistons, who were happy to take Ivy for fifth. Having secured Kid Cunningham with the first-choice last year, they now have the makings of a conservative, young, gorgeous background.

Disappointing project on the commercial front

In the lead-up to draft day, we’ve heard a lot about the potential for a drop in the number of deals current NBA players are involved in. For example, on Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who is as connected as anyone else when it comes to the NBA, said he expects a lot of deals.

“Traders are the new free agency this time of year,” he said. “Teams know that their best chance for improvement will not be in July in free agency, it will be around the draft with trades. I think we’ll see a lot of them tomorrow night.”

But things did not turn out that way. While many selections have been mixed up, as is the case every year, there have been very few trades in which well-known NBA players are involved. Kemba Walker has been traded from the Knicks to the Pistons as part of a larger deal, and the two sides are expected to work on a buyout that would allow Walker to become a free agent this summer. Also, the 76ers and Grizzlies swapped players, with the Sixers sending veteran forward Danny Green and the 23rd overall pick to Memphis in exchange for De’Anthony Melton.

There was also a deal that slipped the day before the draft, with the Pistons trading forward Jerami Grant to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick (via the Milwaukee Bucks, #1-4 reserve) and multiple-choice swaps. These guys aren’t a severed liver, but none of these moves can be considered landscape-changing, or even significant. Thus, it is safe to say that the draft was a disappointment on the trade front.

Knicks has a busy night

The New York Knicks entered the draft of the night with only two picks: No. 11 and No. 42. Even with the usual rumors, it looked like it was going to be a straight night. Of course, that’s not possible with this franchise, and three deals and hours of confusion later, left with Trevor Keels (#42), three future first-round picks and some extra space. They sent pick No. 11 (Osman Dieng) to the Oklahoma City Thunder three times in the future. Next, they packed one of their first picks from the Thunder and four future picks into the second round for pick number 13 (Jalen Duren) from the Charlotte Hornets. Finally, they sent Doreen and Kimba Walker to the Detroit Pistons for another first-round pick in the future. For full details of all movements, including protection options, go here.

It’s no secret that the Knicks’ top priority this season is Galen Bronson. The left-footed guard hits the free agency, and should earn big paychecks after his brilliance in the Dallas Mavericks race to the Western Conference Finals. In addition to appointing his father as an assistant coach, Knicks also cleared enough space for a competitive bid. However, the question is whether those moves are worth trying at Bronson. If they can’t sign it, giving up the lottery pick to get rid of Walker’s salary isn’t going to age very well.

Knicks fans, surprisingly, were upset. In particular, Stephen A. Smith and Spike Lee looked desperate on ESPN’s draft of the nightly broadcast.

The Pistons win again on the night of the raffle

Last year, the Detroit Pistons won the lottery and picked Kid Cunningham with the No. 1 overall pick. After a bit of a slow start to the junior season, he turned it on and it looked like a real deal as a jumbo coordinator. While the Pistons fell to fifth in the lottery this year, they were once again the big winners of the raffle night.

First and foremost, they lucked out with Jaden Ivey at 5th. The Purdue guard was widely regarded as the fourth-best player in the category, but the Sacramento Kings passed him in fourth for the Keegan Murray pick. While Murray may end up being a good player, he doesn’t have the advantage of Ivy, he is an explosive athlete and has a chance to be a great multi-level goalscorer. In Cunningham and Ivy, the pistons have their backyard in the future.

After a short time, the Pistons switched to trade with the New York Knicks. They sent a 2025 first-round pick through Milwaukee, which they got in a Jerami Grant deal earlier this week, to the Knicks in exchange for picks Jalen Doreen and Kemba Walker No. 13. The latter would eventually be purchased. Doreen is another formidable athlete, though in the front zone, where he looked dominant at times for Memphis. While still raw from a purely offensive skill standpoint, he’s massive, hard-working and should contribute defensively right away.

After years of alternating between aimless rebuilding and chasing the #8 seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons are finally feeling they have a plan and a young core in place. They still have a long way to go, but with Cunningham leading the way, the future should be bright in Detroit.

Draft Tracker | degrees of selection | Complete coverage of the NBA draft

2022 NBA Draft Order

* – Select part of I mentioned trade