The Whiteboard: 3 biggest questions for the 2023 NBA Draft

With the NBA Draft just hours away, some things are coming into focus and some are looking increasingly chaotic. Here are the biggest lingering questions.

We know Victor Wembanyama is going No. 1 to the San Antonio Spurs. After that, pretty much everything in the NBA Draft feels like a possibility. The Hornets are waffling on No. 2, the Blazers don’t know if they’ll trade No. 3 and the fate of countless stars like Zion Williamson, Damian Lillard and more seem to hang in the balance.

Looking through the known unknowns about tonight’s draft, here are the biggest open questions.

NBA Draft questions: 3. How far does Cam Whitmore slide?

For a while, it seemed like Cam Whitmore might be locked into the No. 5 pick with the Detroit Pistons but rumors of poor workouts and medical issues have seemingly sent his stock spiraling. Sam Vecenie’s latest Mock Draft has him falling to the Wizards at No. 8. Jonathan Wasserman has him at No. 9 to the Utah Jazz and it’s not inconceivable that he could even slide to the Mavericks at No. 10 or lower.

Setting aside these recent questions, Whitmore is a tantalizing prospect — a mix of power and elite athleticism who plays with endless aggressiveness, seeking every rebound, trying to dunk on someone’s head on every possession. There were already questions about his handle and self-creation but he has special two-way potential and is one of the few guys outside the top-three with definite star upside.

If Whitmore slides, it’s not just a potential star moving into the middle or even bottom of the lottery. It also has the potential to blow up some long-rumored trades or create other. The Mavericks have reportedly been looking to trade No. 10, but that could change if Whitmore is available. It could create an incentive for the Thunder or Raptors to try and move up, or push some other intriguing prospects even farther down and into their range.

NBA Draft questions: 2. What do the Pistons do at No. 5?

From my perspective, there are two real possible inflection points in the draft lottery. The first is the Blazers at No. 3, more on that in a second. The other is the Pistons at No. 5. The Blazers may end up trading the No. 3 pick but it seems likely Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller will be selected there, regardless of which team is making the pick. The Rockets may also explore a trade but all indications are they’ll take Amen Thompson at No. 4.

That puts the Pistons at No. 5 as the first real unknown. As we mentioned above, it seemed for a while like Whitmore would be the pick here but that may be unlikely at this point. Jarace Walker and Ausar Thompson are other likely targets for the Pistons and either could set off a cascade of disappointed teams below them.

If the Pistons take Walker, the Pacers at No. 7 would likely face a very tough decision between taking a swing on Whitmore, reaching for Taylor Hendricks or being pushed into trading their pick.

If the Pistons take Thompson, the Magic may face a similarly difficult decision at No. 6, considering Whitmore or Anthony Black, each of which could take the preferred targets off the board for Washington and Utah and maybe make a Mavericks trade more likely.

If the Pistons take Whitmore, we may settle into the familiar pattern most mocks seemed to migrate toward immediately after the lottery — Thompson to the Magic, Walker to the Pacers, Black to the Wizards.

NBA Draft questions: 1. What do the Trail Blazers do at No. 3?

This is the biggest question on draft night both because of the weight of players involved and the number of teams who could be affected. The Trail Blazers have three paths in front of them — trade the No. 3 pick for the best win-now veteran they can, and keep Damian Lillard happy. Take Henderson or Miller with the No. 3 pick and kick off a massive reset by trading Lillard. And lastly, keep the pick and do their best to convince Lillard it’s the best move for his present and immediate future.

A slew of players have been mentioned in trade rumors around the No. 3 pick, including Deandre Ayton, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson. However, it seems like none of those players may actually be available or that the Blazers aren’t convinced that adding any of them to a core of Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe and a re-signed Jerami Grant makes them a contender. How can they trade the pick if they know they’re getting less than full value?

Keeping the pick and trading Lillard is the easy choice, if you think of basketball the way you think of NBA2K franchise mode. But sending out the best player in franchise history, someone who has repeatedly recommitted to the team when it would have been easier to go somewhere else is a tough look and could have repercussions for years.

Keeping the pick and trying to sell Lillard on the choice could give the best of both worlds, but also might be an impossible task given how adamant Lillard has been about wanting them to make a trade, even after Henderson and Miller came in for workouts. It’s great if you can make it work, but what are the odds they can actually do that.

With a handful of teams circling both the No. 3 pick and Lillard as trade targets, what the Blazers decide could dramatically reshape not just their own organization but the power structure of the league.

We still don’t know what the Hornets are going to do at No. 2. But for all intents and purposes, the draft doesn’t really start until the Blazers are on the clock.

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Better know an NBA Draft prospect:

The NBA Draft is just hours away and we’re still sharing brief capsules on several of these prospects you may not have heard as much about. But don’t forget to check out Chris Kline’s excellent scouting reports for more details.

Anthony Black

• Height: 6-foot-7
• Weight: 198 pounds
• Position: Point Guard/Shooting Guard
• Offensive Role: Connective playmaker
• Defensive Role: Do-it-all guard
• Projected Draft Range: 5-14
• Team with rumored interest: Wizards, Magic, Jazz
• Scouting report summary: “Black should be an immediate impact player in the NBA. Even if the offense takes time to progress, he’s too smart to flunk out completely and he’s an absolute menace on defense. He can play point guard in spurts, or a more guard-heavy team can just deploy him on the wing.” — READ MORE

Cason Wallace

• Height: 6-foot-4
• Weight: 193 pounds
• Position: Point Guard/Shooting Guard
• Offensive Role: Secondary playmaker
• Defensive Role: Do-it-all guard
• Projected Draft Range: 7-14
• Team with rumored interest: Hornets, Trail Blazers, Raptors
• Scouting report summary: “Wallace probably won’t ever reach the point of offensive stardom, but he feels like an exceedingly safe pick — be it for a contender seeking ready-now production or for a rebuilding squad in search of reliability. Wallace is going to avoid mistakes, splash 3s, and defend his heart out.” — READ MORE

NBA news and content from around the FanSided network

• If you need more Kristaps Porzingis content while you’re waiting for the draft to start, Josh Cornelissen has trade grades from every angle.
• There are plenty of terrible LeBron James takes floating around but presumed No. 2 pick Brandon Miller just took the crown.
• It sounds like the Raptors may be playing it safe with their offseason approach. But they still need to avoid these three nightmare scenarios in the NBA Draft.