2022 NBA Draft Results, Excerpts: Magic Tricks Experts Lead Paolo Banchero to First Place, Causing Chaos

There aren’t usually too many surprises in the NBA draw right now, but Thursday night started with a big surprise as Orlando Magic chose first-place Duke striker Paolo Banchero. They had been waiting for weeks to take Jabari Smith out of Auburn, and it is still unclear whether it was all a complicated smokescreen or if they changed their minds at the last minute.

The Magic allegedly never hosted Banchero for an official training or interview in Orlando, suggesting it may be the latter.

In any case, the Oklahoma City Thunder, as expected, drove out Gonzaga to Grand Chet Holmgren, while the Houston Rockets went into the top three with Smith. The Rockets had probably planned for Banchero, but Smith should still fit in nicely as a sharp striker to pair with Jalen Green.

Of course, no draft can be complete unless the Sacramento Kings do something out of the box, and they chose Keegan Murray with a general selection of No. 4, despite almost all predictions that Purdue’s Jaden Ivey was the fourth best player. Maybe they really believe in Murray, or they were careful when they took the first-choice guard for the third year in a row.

In either case, the Detroit Pistons succeeded, winning Ivey 5th place. After receiving Cade Cunningham’s first choice last year, they now have a great young backyard.

A vile draft on the trade front

Before the draft day, we heard a lot about the potential that many current NBA players are covering for deals to fall. For example, on Wednesday, ESPN chief Adrian Wojnarowski, who is in the NBA on the same power line as anyone else, said he was expecting a lot of deals.

“Trades is the new free agency this season,” he said. “The teams know that their best chance of recovery is not in a free agency in July, but in a draft with transactions. I think we’ll see a lot of them tomorrow night.”

However, this is not how things developed. Although many selections were mixed, as every year, very few deals were made with established NBA players. Kemba Walker was traded from the Knicks to the Pistons as part of a larger deal, and both sides are expected to work on a buyout that would allow Walker to become a free agent this summer. The 76ers and Grizzlies also switched as the Sixers sent veteran striker Danny Green and Deep 23 to Memphis.

There was also an exchange that fell the day before the draft as the Pistons traded striker Jerami Grant with the Portland Trail Blazers in return for the first round of the 2025 selection (via Milwaukee Bucks, defended No. 1-4) and multiple selection. select swaps. These men are not shredded taxes, but none of these movements can be considered landscape-changing or even significant. It can therefore be said with certainty that the draft was left on the trade front.

Knics is busy tonight

The New York Knicks entered the draft night with only two choices: No. 11 and 42. Even with the usual rumors, it seemed to be a straightforward evening. Of course, this is not possible with this franchise, and three transactions and hours of confusion later left Trevor Keels (No. 42), with a choice of three future first rounds and some additional caps. In the first deal of the evening, they sent the 11th selection (Ousmane Dieng) to Oklahoma City Thunder for three futures. They then packed up one of Thunder’s first and four upcoming second round selections to number 13 from Charlotte Hornets (Jalen Duren). Eventually, they sent Duren and Kemba Walker to Detroit Pistons for a new upcoming first round selection. Go here for details on all moves, including selection protections.

It’s no secret that Knicks’ priority this season is Jalen Brunson. The left-wing guard is hitting a free agency and is expected to make a significant payday after being impressed in the Western Conference finals in the Dallas Mavericks race. In addition to hiring his father as an assistant coach, Knicks has provided enough space to make a competitive bid. The question, however, is whether these moves were worth a try for Brunson. If they can’t sign him, giving up the lottery to get rid of Walker’s salary won’t be out of date.

The Knicks fans were a little surprised. In particular, Stephen A. Smith and Spike Lee looked desperate on ESPN’s nightly show.

The Pistons win the draw night again

Last year, the Detroit Pistons won the lottery and chose Cade Cunningham as the No. 1 overall. While the Pistons drew to 5th place in the draw this year, they were big winners again on the draw night.

In particular, they were lucky to have finished 5th in Jaden Ivey. The Purdue Guard was widely considered the fourth best in its class, but the Sacramento Kings gave him 4th place and was chosen by Keegan Murray. Although Murray may become a good player, he doesn’t have the pros of being an explosive athlete with the potential to be a great multi-level scorer. In Cunningham and Iveys, the Pistons are the hinterland of their future.

A little later, the Pistons made a deal with the New York Knicks. They sent the first round of the 2025 selection via Milwaukee, which they acquired earlier this week in a Jerami Grant deal, in exchange for the 13th choice against Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker. The latter will eventually be bought out. Duren is another great athlete, albeit in the front court, where he seemed to dominate Memphis at times. Although he is still raw in terms of purely offensive skills, he is huge, works hard and should immediately defend his bet.

After years of alternating aimless reconstruction and hunting for the 8th seed of the Eastern Conference, the Pistons finally feel they have a plan and a young core in place. They still have a long way to go, but with Cunningham as the guide, the future in Detroit should be bright.

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2022 NBA Draft Order

1st round	Choice	2nd round	Choice
1. Magic	Paolo Banchero PF | duke	31. Tempomers	Andrew Nembhard PG | Gonzaga
2. Thunderstorms	Chet Holmgren C | Gonzaga	32. Magic	Caleb Houstan SF | Michigan
3. Missiles	Jabari Smith PF | Chestnut	33. Raptors	Christian Koloko C | Arizona
4. Kings	Keegan Murray PF | Iowa	34. Thunderstorm	Jaylin Williams PF | Arkansas
5. Flasks	Jaden Ivey SG | Purdue	35. Lakers *	Max Christie SG | St. Michigan
6. Tempos	Bennedict Mathurin SG | Arizona	36. Trail Blazers	Gabriele Procida SF | Italy
7. Trail Blazers	Shaedon Sharpe SG | Kentucky	37. Kings *	Jaden Hardy SG | G League Ignite
8. Pelicans	Dyson Daniels SG | G League Ignite	38. Spurs *	Kennedy Chandler PG | Tennessee
9. Spurs	Jeremy Sochan PF | Baylor	39. Cavalry	Khalifa Diop C | Senegal
10. Wizards	Johnny Davis SF | Wisconsin	40. Timberwolves *	Bryce McG owens SF | Nebraska
11. Knicks *	Ousmane Dieng SF | France	41. Pelicans	EJ Liddell PF | Ohio St.
12. Thunderstorms	Jalen Williams SG | Santa Clara	42. Knicks	Trevor Keels SG | duke
13. Hornets *	Jalen Duren C | Memphis	43. Scissors	Moussa Diabate PF | Michigan
14. Cavalry	Ochai Agbaji SG | Kansas	44. Hawks *	Ryan Rollins SG | Toledo
15. Hornets	Mark Williams C | duke	45. Hornets	Josh Minott PF | Memphis
16. Hawks	AJ Griffin SF | duke	46. ​​Flasks *	Ismael Kamagate C | France
17. Rockets	Tari Eason PF | LSU	47. Grizzlies	Vince Williams Jr. SF | VCU
18. Bulls	Dalen Terry SF | Arizona	48. Timberwolves *	Kendall Brown SF | Baylor
19. Timberwolves *	Jake LaRavia PF | Wake Forest	49. Cavaliers *	Isaiah Mobley PF | USC
20. Spurs	Malaki Branham SF | Ohio St.	50. Timberwolves	Matteo Spagnolo PG | Italy
21. Nuggets	Christian Braun SG | Kansas	51. Warriors *	Tyrese Martin SG | UConn
22. Grizzlies *	Walker Kessler C | Chestnut	52. Pelicans	Karlo Matkovic C | Serbia
23. 76ers *	David Roddy SG | St. Colo.	53. Celtics	JD Davison PG | Alabama
24. Taala	MarJon Beauchamp SF | G League Ignite	54. Wizards	Yannick Nzosa C | Congo
25. Spurs	Blake Wesley SG | Notre Dame	55. Warriors	Gui Santos SF | Brazil
26. Missiles *	Wendell Moore Jr. SF | duke	56. Cavalry	Luke Travers SF | Australia
27. Heat	Nikola Jovic SF | Serbia	57. Trail Blazers	Jabari Walker SF | Colorado
28. Warriors	Patrick Baldwin Jr. PF | Milwaukee	58. Tempomers	Hugo Besson PG | France
29. Grizzlies *	TyTy Washington Jr. PG | Kentucky
30. Nuggets *	Peyton Watson SF | UCLA

* – select part reported trade