Building through the draft is the most common way to land an All-Star in the NBA, according to research by HoopsHype.
The draft is how the Warriors ended up with a core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. But if there is one thing that we learned about the NBA this offseason, it is this: enough draft picks can put you in the conversation to get almost any player in a trade.
New York’s reluctance to surrender many unprotected first-round picks is the reason why Donovan Mitchell is on the Cavs and not the Knicks. It’s also the main reason why the Spurs were willing to move Dejounte Murray.
Draft picks are at a premium among front offices in the NBA, especially because there are a few young teams (e.g. Pelicans, Thunder, Jazz, Spurs) that have prioritized gaining as much draft capital as possible.
Below, you can find a list of the teams with the most and least amount of picks to their name. Some picks may not convey in the year they are listed because of protections. Others cannot be traded due to The Stepien Rule.
However, the next time a disgruntled star demands a trade, use this as a resource to determine which teams may be able to jump in to make a godfather offer — and which teams may be hard-pressed to do as much because they simply lack the assets.
Note that we will continue to update this post as more trades are made throughout the season.