NBA Draft Rumors: Zion for Scoot trade, Top 50 prospect withdraws, green room invites

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 31: Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans during the game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on December 31, 2022 in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) /

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Victor Wembanyama, NBA Draft. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images) /

NBA Draft Rumors: Green Room invites (so far) revealed

The NBA Draft Green Room can be a gift and a curse for prospects. On one hand, if a prospect is invited backstage for the night of the draft, that’s a good sign that teams around the league think highly of them and that they are likely to be a high selection, pretty comfortably a first-round pick and perhaps going in the lottery.

On the other hand, there are stories every year in every draft when a prospect is invited to the draft’s Green Room and then sits there excruciatingly long as their name isn’t called as early as expected. That’s always a tough scene for everyone.

But just more than a week out from the 2023 draft, we have an early list of invitees to the NBA Draft Green Room that has been released.

Victor Wembanyama
Brandon Miller
Scoot Henderson
Amen Thompson
Ausar Thompson
Cam Whitmore
Jarace Walker
Anthony Black
Taylor Hendricks
Gradey Dick
Bilal Coulibaly
Cason Wallace
Nick Smith Jr.
Dereck Lively
Kobe Bufkin
Jalen Hood-Schifino
Jett Howard
Jordan Hawkins
Keyonte George

Frankly, that group seems pretty safe in regards to avoiding any major falls down the board on draft night. When you look at guys like Jett Howard, Jordan Hawkins and Keyonte George, there’s a chance they could go later in the first round, but they are still expected to not fall much further than that.

This isn’t the complete list of NBA Draft invites that will be sent out, or so we think. However, this feels like the safest group given the early stage of their invitations and the draft projections associated with these players.

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