The first day of this year's two-day NBA Draft extravaganza begins Wednesday evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where we will finally make heads and tails of all the rumors and speculation about an unpredictable, yet, exciting, 2024 NBA Draft class. Will Zaccharie Risacher land at No. 1? Will the Hawks make that pick? Could Donovan Clingan be a draft night faller, or will a team trade up to snag him? Or both?
A lot could and maybe will go down in the coming hours as the league welcomes 30 new players to its ranks Wednesday and another 28 on Thursday to wrap up Round 2. And of course, it wouldn't be draft day without trade rumors swirling: Could Kevin Durant really be on the move?
Below are five bold predictions as we prep for the days to come.
1. Best player in draft doesn't go No. 1
Whether it's Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Reed Sheppard or Donovan Clingan to go first off the board, my bet here is that, in five year's time, we'll look back on this class and determine that the best player in the class didn't go No. 1 overall. I'll take the field. Stephon Castle has star potential and may go outside the top three, Matas Buzelis has No. 1 overall pick potential and could drop out of the top four, and Clingan could be the best player in the class, with a range somewhere between Nos. 1 and 7. Whoever goes first will be the second-worst No. 1 pick of the last 20 years, says my colleague Travis Branham.
2. *Someone* trades up for Clingan
Despite having the second-best odds to go No. 1 overall in the betting markets entering Wednesday, some expect UConn center Donovan Clingan to slip a bit if he's not first off the board. If that happens we could see teams eager to move up to select the Huskies star, with Houston at No. 3, San Antonio at No. 4 and Charlotte at No. 6 all potential trade-back candidates depending upon how the top of the draft shakes out. Memphis, Chicago, Oklahoma City and Portland all seemingly have interest and a need for a player of Clingan's archetype and skill set, and all could scrounge up the resources needed to sweeten a deal to get it done.
3. Buzelis lands in Detroit
Under new leadership in Detroit, the Pistons and new president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon face a daunting rebuild after owning the worst record in the league each of the past two seasons and falling, against all odds, to the No. 5 pick in each of the past two drafts. Detroit might be wise to field offers for its pick if Clingan, Castle or another star winds up slipping, but I believe G League Ignite product Matas Buzelis is the logical fit here for the Pistons. He was at one time considered a No. 1 pick candidate before struggling to shoot it in the G League last year. He has the size, shooting and versatility to be a combo forward who can put the ball on the floor and complement an already-deep backcourt of Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey.
4. Dillingham drops out of lottery
There is increasing buzz leading into draft night that Utah at No. 10 and OKC at No. 12 may be landing spots for Kentucky one-and-done Rob Dillingham. My bet is his range starts at No. 15 with the Miami Heat, barring a surprise. He measured just 6-foot-1 without shoes at the Combine and struggled defensively in his lone college season, which may not be enough to look past despite his offensive versatility and electricity. He ranks as a top-10 player on my Big Board in this class but the questions lingering around him and his defense may be tough for teams to ignore.
5. Edey goes in the lottery
Two-time Player of the Year Zach Edey of Purdue is among the more polarizing prospects in the class because of the concerns surrounding his ability to defend in space and inexperience, at least thus far, of spacing the floor as a shooter. But teams liked his game when he tested the draft waters last year more than most acknowledged and that is again the case this year. He's 7-4, 300+ pounds and a dominant interior force on both ends of the floor. My bold prediction is that someone sneaks up on us and selects him in the top 14 picks on draft night. He ranks No. 23 on the CBS Sports Big Board and has consistently been mocked in the 20s, but there's been late steam that he could go in the lottery and will likely be off the board before pick No. 20. I'm buying it.
