It is finally NBA Draft Day!
The 2022 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday night and according to NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, sources of his have told him that 1-2-3 of the NBA Draft is “increasingly firm.”
1-2-3 of NBA Draft is ‘increasingly firm’
On Thursday morning, Wojnarowski tweeted out that Jabari Smith (Auburn) is expected to go No. 1 overall to the Orlando Magic, Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga) No. 2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Paulo Banchero (Duke) No. 3 to the Houston Rockets.
As team boards finalize today, the 1-2-3 of the NBA Draft is increasingly firm, per sources: Jabari Smith to Orlando, Chet Holmgren to Oklahoma City and Paolo Banchero to Houston.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 23, 2022
The fact that Smith, Holmgren, and Banchero (in some order) are expected to go in the top three comes as go surprise whosoever as they have been talked about as the top three picks for a very long time.
That being said, it sure does look like some sportsbooks, including Draft Kings, have been duped as they had Paulo Banchero (-190) to go No. 1, Jabari Smith (+145), and Chet Holmgren (+850) before the odds went completely off the board.
Odds to be drafted first overall before they went off the board:
-190: Paolo Banchero
+145: Jabari Smith Jr.
+850: Chet Holmgren(via @DKSportsbook) pic.twitter.com/oPYQQ759VO
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) June 23, 2022
With Smith, Holmgren, and Banchero seemingly locked in with the top three picks, our Detroit Pistons will almost certainly select one of the following four players with the No. 5 pick.
Shaedon Sharpe
Of that group, my preference is Jaden Ivey. If Ivey goes No. 4 to the Sacramento Kings, I would roll the dice on the second-best athlete in the draft behind Ivey and that is Shadon Sharpe.
Nation, who do you think the Pistons should take at No. 5?
