2022 NBA Mock Draft: Pistons trade shakes up the lottery

The 2022 NBA Draft is shaping up to be a wild one, with teams like the Detroit Pistons rumored to be looking for trades in the lottery, possibly to move up and take Jaden Ivey to put next to Cade Cunningham.

With no clear consensus and a lot of arguing about who the best players are outside of the top-3, the 2022 NBA Draft could see a lot of moves, though we’ve said this in the past only for the lottery to go to scratch.

This year I’m not even sure what that would look like outside of the top-3 guys and teams like OKC, Detroit, Sacramento, Portland and New Orleans could all look to trade out of their respective spots.

So let’s take a look at some possibilities in the lottery of the 2022 NBA Draft.

2022 NBA Mock Draft: Picks 1-3

The one area of the 2022 NBA Draft where I don’t think we’ll see any movement is in the top-3, as most believe there are three guys who have put themselves ahead of the pack and all are fits with the teams that have the chance to grab them.

#1: Jabari Smith to the Orlando Magic

#2: Chet Holmgren to the OKC Thunder

#3: Paolo Banchero to the Houston Rockets

It would be a surprise if the top-3 of this year’s draft went any other way, as these three are widely considered the best prospects and are all fits.

The Magic need more shooting to put around their talented guards. The Thunder could use both Holmgren’s rim protection and 3-point shooting, and the Rockets have to be salivating thinking about Jalen Green and Banchero being paired together, as they could end up with one of the most explosive offenses in the league.

But after these three picks, things start to get interesting, starting with the Kings.