In case you’ve been living in a cave for the last few months, the Detroit Pistons are less than a week away from knowing if they will get the chance to draft Victor Wembanyama.
The Detroit Pistons have a 14 percent chance at the #1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft Lottery, and fans are praying that lightning strikes for the second time in three years.
We often hear words like “generational” tossed around in NBA Drafts, but in the case of Wembanyama, it might be true, as we’ve not seen a draft prospect this hyped since Lebron James still had a hairline.
That is why some executives are saying that they wouldn’t trade this year’s #1 pick for any current player in the NBA, including Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Well, one of the spicier source texts I’ve ever gotten, sparked from this poll:
— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) May 9, 2023
“I can tell you what evaluators/scouts/GMs think. It’s Wemby… by significant distance. A number of different GMs have told me they wouldn’t trade him for Giannis under an extension even.” https://t.co/vPOIBV6DUW
In some drafts, trading up for the #1 pick is possible, as the 76ers did it fairly recently to disastrous effects when they traded up to take Markelle Fultz while the Celtics went back and got Jayson Tatum with the 3rd pick.
I recently had a reader tell me that if the Detroit Pistons don’t get the #1 pick, that they should just “trade up for it,” which made me laugh, as the Pistons don’t have the assets to make such a trade, even if they were giving up the #2 pick and a couple of their young players, that’s how valuable Wembanyama is perceived to be.
So the question is whether there is anyone that could prompt a trade for #1 the 2023 NBA Draft.
Detroit Pistons: Trading for the #1 pick
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Even though he did not win MVP, Giannis is still widely considered to be the best player in the league. The “Greek Freak” is sort of the prototype for a guy like Wembanyama, as he is basically a seven footer who can run the offense, block shots and is pretty much impossible to stop.
Giannis is also under contract through 2025-26 (player option) and has proven himself to be a durable, MVP-caliber player who is easy to build around. Milwaukee could offer up Giannis, but other than that, they don’t have much, as they have no first-round pick this season and owe picks or have swaps for the next several after that.
So Giannis straight up for the #1 pick, would you do it? The safe answer is “of course!” As hyped as Wembanyama is, we’ve not yet seen him do it in the NBA, nor see him stay healthy through the rigors of a full NBA season. Giannis immediately makes any team a playoff contender and a lot of teams a contender for the title.
But I still wouldn’t do it.
Yes, Wembanyama is more of a risk, but there is also a good chance that he will BE Giannis in a year or two, and an MVP-caliber player on a rookie deal is the most valuable commodity in the NBA. There might not be a comp for how good Wembanyama can be defensively, and he’s already a better shooter than Giannis, so imagine the Greek Freak only a better shooter and shot blocker and that’s what Wembanyama can be.
As good as Giannis is, he’s making $45 million plus over the next two seasons, and then can hit free agency, and two guaranteed years of Giannis is not worth what could be at least seven years of Wemby.