2. The Portland Trail Blazers trade up
If Joe Cronin sees an opportunity to jump up in the draft, he shouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. The Sacramento Kings surprisingly leapfrogged into the top four, even though they entered the lottery with worse odds than the Blazers.
Last season, the Kings had a playoff mandate and traded away Tyrese Haliburton for Domantas Sabonis to try to make good on that expectation. Clearly, they fell short but should be looking to complete that promise this next season. Portland could package some of their veteran pieces or assets along with their own draft pick to move up three slots and guarantee themselves the opportunity to land an impact rookie.
The Houston Rockets are reportedly open to moving off of the third pick if a great deal presents itself. This would be a little harder to pull off for Cronin and the Blazers seeing as how the Rockets should be in the business of collecting young talent and future assets — things that Portland is sorely lacking. But if Houston loves a prospect that could be available with the seventh pick and some of the Blazers’ young pieces enough, it’s not impossible for Portland to move up into the top three even.