Portland fans still have unrealistic hopes for the team to land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and get Victor Wembanyama.
The NBA draft lottery was held on Tuesday, and the Trail Blazers landed the third overall pick after finishing with an overall record of 33-49 this season. Fans were not happy, because every bad team this season was tanking for Wembanyama. The Trail Blazers fan base should still rejoice because they could have had their night spoiled like the Pistons, who had the worst record in the NBA and ended up with the fifth overall pick.
Since things didn’t go quite as hoped for by Trail Blazers fans, they decided to come up with trade scenarios on social media that involved superstar point guard Damian Lillard.
Dame To San Antonio?
The San Antonio Spurs organization walked away from Tuesday’s draft lottery with the biggest smiles after landing the top overall pick. All sports media outlets and sports fans have predicted that they will take Wembanyama.
Trail Blazers fans presented their team with a scenario that they think would make everyone happy. They have proposed that the team trades their No. 3 pick in this year’s draft and Lillard for the Spurs’ top draft pick so they could draft Wembanyama.
Of course, Lillard clapped back on Twitter with a bold response.
“If the fans wana trade me … start the petition and send it in,” wrote Lillard.
Unfortunately, Blazers fans might not get their wish but hope is not lost to get their franchise back into the playoffs. They are projected to draft Alabama forward Brandon Miller or G-League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson. Both players could have immediate impact.
Greatest Prospect Ever
Many believe that Wembanyama will be the “greatest draft prospect ever,” including the Spurs. The Spurs fan base went crazy on Tuesday night after they found out the team won the draft lottery.
Wembanyama expressed how excited he was to be potentially going to the Spurs. He also shared a connection with French-born point guard and Spurs legend Tony Parker.
“There’s a special relationship between France and the Spurs because of Tony, of course, and also Boris,” Wembanyama said on Tuesday after the NBA lottery. “I know half of the country, maybe if not the whole country, wanted the Spurs to have the first pick, so I was looking at everyone, and everyone was happy, so I was too.”
Teams were fascinated with Wembanyama because of his 7-foot-5 height, shooting ability, ball handling skills, and shot blocking ability. The combination of his length and skill makes teams wonder if he could go down as one of the greatest big men in NBA history when his career is over. Also, the Spurs drafted David Robinson and Tim Duncan the last two times they’ve had the No. 1 pick. Both are in the Basketball Hall of Fame and considered two of the NBA’s top 75 players of all time. Spurs fans are hoping to duplicate that success with Wembanyama.
