In his latest article, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports those within the NBA expect the Orlando Magic to select Jabari Smith Jr. first and the Oklahoma City Thunder to select Chet Holmgren second.
“Tuesday’s lottery removed one of the big questions from the 2022 NBA draft — who is picking first? — and cleared a path for Smith to make a short trip from Atlanta to join what’s becoming one of the most interesting young rosters in the NBA in the Orlando Magic. While Magic executives have made it clear they will conduct a thorough process — even extending beyond the widely believed top three prospects in Smith, Holmgren and Paolo Banchero — most NBA teams firmly believe that’s a formality and that Smith is all but assured to become the top pick. Smith, for his part, appears thrilled with that development. So is Holmgren over his looming marriage with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is also the overwhelming expectation from NBA executives with whom we spoke at the draft combine.”
All the pieces to the puzzle were there for one to safely conclude that Holmgren was going to be taken by the Thunder. Following the 2022 NBA draft lottery, most draft experts had Holmgren going to the Thunder in their post-lottery mocks. Givony — one of the best NBA draft experts out there — just added a ton more legitimacy to this with his recent article that detailed many teams inside the league expect Smith Jr. and Holmgren to go first and second.
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