2023 NBA Draft primed for flurry of early lottery-pick trades?

Any NBA fan, casual or die-hard, can't deny the interest surrounding a potential blockbuster trade. From the sound of it, heading into the 2023 NBA Draft, fans may be in for a wild start to the action, specifically after Victor Wembanyama's name is off the board.

While the San Antonio Spurs are essentially a lock to take the once-in-a-generation prospect in Wembanyama, there's a plethora of talent atop the draft board after him. In turn, this has led to chatter involving potential deals for a number of the picks to follow the Spurs, and as Marc Stein revealed on "The Stein Line," all four other teams in the top five of the draft are currently believed to be "open" to trading out of their picks.

"Injecting even more intrigue into the top of next Thursday’s draft: All four of the teams in the top five behind San Antonio — which is obviously selecting Victor Wembanyama in one of the lock-iest locks at No. 1 that we’ve ever seen — are believed to be open to trading out of their pick. That’s Charlotte at No. 2, Portland at No. 3, Houston at No. 4 and Detroit at No. 5," Stein wrote.

There's obviously going to be a decent amount of trade interest for any pick in the top five of this draft, as the group following Wembanyama features multiple potential future NBA stars. Of that group, players such as Alabama forward Brandon Miller; G League stars Scoot Henderson and Amen and Ausar Thompson; Villanova's Cam Whitmore; and Houston's Jarace Walker are just a few names on the shortlist.

Top potential teams that make sense to trade into top five

The New Orleans Pelicans have to be the first to come to mind here. This almost goes without saying after The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that the team is expected to "aggressively pursue" a top pick in order to draft G League Ignite guard Henderson. Of any team potentially in the mix to trade up, the Pelicans would likely be the favorites, and they could include Zion Williamson in a possible deal if it makes sense.

As Hoops Hype's Michael Scotto reported, the "belief around the league" is that the Orlando Magic are open to trading the No. 6 and 11 picks if they can get into the three to five range of the draft. This points to at least a decent likelihood that they could have interest in Amen or Ausar Thompson, although it's possible one of them could fall to No. 6. Maybe the hope is that Miller drops to the third pick and the Magic can land him, but it seems unlikely with Orlando's current plethora of guards that it'd target Henderson unless the plan is to make another trade or two and clear up the backcourt.

It has to be at least worth mentioning that the Oklahoma City Thunder or Utah Jazz could opt to put all the draft picks they've acquired to work here if they want to jump into the top five also. The Thunder and Jazz were both far better than many fans and analysts expected them to be, and either team adding an instant-impact playmaker in this year's draft could go a long way toward expediting the process of potential rebuilds. Don't be surprised if the Thunder opt to make a move, as they have a ton of young talent, and adding a playmaker next to 24-year-old Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would be a great decision by the franchise and immediately make the Thunder a middle-of-the-pack playoff team.