5 Bold Predictions for the NBA Draft (2024)

The NBA Draft is an event that is always full of surprises. Every single year, people do their best to try and pinpoint how the evening is going to unfold, and it never goes exactly as anticipated.

Draft day trades, prospects tumbling down the boards, or a shocking selection that no one saw coming are just a few examples of the type of surprises seen in the process. It's hard to anticipate what really happens behind closed doors heading into the event.

The 2024 NBA Draft should be a particularly chaotic one. With no consensus number-one overall pick and a general feeling of fluidity regarding where prospects are anticipated to go, this year should not be short on those surprises.

It may be a fool's errand to try and anticipate what is going to happen on June 26th and 27th, but these bold predictions will attempt to do so anyway.

1 Toronto Raptors Trade Into The Lottery

The Raptors lost their lottery selection to the Spurs, they could want back in

For a team undergoing a rebuild, the opportunity to select from the talented pool of draftees entering the league is always pivotal. The Toronto Raptors will have two of those opportunities with the 19th and 31st picks in the NBA Draft, but they have been left without one in the lottery.

The Raptors finished 25-57, the sixth-worst record in the league this season. However, due to a prior trade with the San Antonio Spurs involving Jakob Poeltl, it was up in the air about whether they would have a lottery selection to show for their turbulent season.

The pick was top-six protected and with the sixth-worst record, there was a good chance they'd be able to retain their own selection in this year's draft. They did not have such luck. When the NBA Draft Lottery took place, the balls didn't bounce their way and their selection ended up sliding to 8th. This meant that the pick was officially sent to the Spurs.

The good news for the Raptors is that with the perceived quality of this draft class, plenty of teams seem willing to trade out of the lottery for a chance at an immediate upgrade. Teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Sacramento Kings have all been floated in reports suggesting they would be willing to part with their pick.

The Raptors have two players in particular, Poeltl and Bruce Brown, who can likely be used as bargaining chips to trade into the lottery. Poeltl would make a lot of sense for either the Grizzlies or Thunder, who both have a need for a center. Brown could offer a reliable bench piece for the Kings, who are looking to keep pace in the loaded Western Conference.

If Toronto wants to secure a player who can grow beside budding star Scottie Barnes, they will likely have the opportunity to do so with this year's draft. Should Masai Ujiri choose the patient approach in a rebuild around Barnes, trading into the lottery makes all the sense in the world for this organization.

2 Zach Edey Is Selected In The Top 10

Edey has been a polarizing prospect throughout this process

Fans and pundits have been split on the NBA potential of Zach Edey. Some will look at Edey and draw comparisons to a bonafide star like Yao Ming. Others have suggested his future in the league resembles that of Boban Marjanović. The truth is likely somewhere in between.

To call Edey's time with the Purdue Boilermakers productive would be a huge disservice to it. He was one of the best players in college basketball, claiming the Naismith Men's College Player of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons.

Considering the overall questions about how effectively he can play his brand of basketball at the NBA level, it would normally be ludicrous to believe he could be selected near the top of the draft. However, given the overall assessment of this year's prospects, it feels like a much less absurd notion to get behind.

As already mentioned, there have been plenty of reports suggesting that teams are willing to trade lottery picks this year. It should come as no surprise if there is a team that is sold on Edey's potential in the league, they move up and draft him towards the back of the top ten picks.

Edey is a mammoth of a man, standing at 7 feet five inches and weighing close to a listed 300 pounds. However, improvements in his mobility this past season have provided hope for him being able to take advantage of those physical gifts in the NBA. After a good combine, one shouldn't be surprised if his name is called much earlier on draft night than originally anticipated.

3 San Antonio Spurs Move Up To #1

The Spurs have the opportunity to draft first overall two years in a row

As previously mentioned when discussing the Raptors, the Spurs fell into some major lottery luck this year. The balls bounced their way, and they not only moved up with their pick, but secured a second lottery selection from the Raptors.

The Spurs now hold the 4th and 8th picks in the NBA Draft. They could simply stay put and add two players around the generational talents of Victor Wembanyama, or they could have a little bit of fun.

There have already been reports about the Spurs eyeing a trade-up scenario with the Atlanta Hawks, who have the first overall pick. There should be good reason to believe they will follow through with that.

If there is a player that the Spurs are sold on with the first overall pick, who they don't believe will fall to them at the fourth selection, it should be fairly easy for them to package their lottery picks together and move up. It shouldn't be surprising to see the Spurs display some aggressiveness this offseason.

Wembanyama's immediate success in the league has blown their window to compete wide open once more. Putting the right talent around him should give the Spurs a good chance to compete for a play-in spot in the upcoming year.

4 Nikola Topić Slides On Draft Night

Injury concerns may force a tumble down the draft for Topić

Nikola Topić has been hovering in the top five of the draft pretty consistently throughout this entire process and rightfully so. Topić was a productive player overseas in Europe and offers a steady and reliable selection for an NBA team in need of a point guard.

However, there are mounting concerns coupled with supporting factors that could see Topić slide on draft night. For starters, the item everyone should be well aware of is Topić's partially torn ACL. The injury concerns will immediately be noted by every team that has the chance to pick him.

The Combine measurements did Topić no favors in this process either. The standout would be his wingspan. Topić fell way short of the listing he had in Europe, potentially causing scouts to second-guess several of their initial assessments.

When you couple those concerns with the already present ones surrounding his shooting, it does not look good. The fact that the guard position is likely the strongest spot towards the top of this draft does him no favors either. If Topić slides on draft night, it should not come as a massive surprise.

5 Los Angeles Lakers Trade Up To Select Bronny James

The Lakers will show LeBron their commitment to having him retire in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Lakers selecting Bronny James wouldn't really be classified as bold. However, the Lakers moving up to pick him would be.

The genuine shocker would be if the Lakers selected Bronny with the 17th overall pick. However, that would be crossing the line of loyalty and teetering onto nepotism.

What should still be considered bold would be the Lakers moving up toward the start of the second round and selecting Bronny. LeBron James is reportedly likely to decline his player option and enter free agency this offseason. Unsurprisingly, the Lakers' top focus of this offseason is retaining his services and putting a contender around LeBron for his final years in the league.

Bronny does not necessarily help with building a contender in Los Angeles. However, selecting him near the top of the second round would be a gesture that is sure to land favorably with The King. Imagining where the Lakers end up if LeBron leaves for nothing is not a pretty sight. One should expect them to be ready and willing to pull out the necessary stops to keep that from happening.

Stats are courtesy of Basketball Reference, NBA.com and Tankathon.