Only five weeks and one day remain in the NBA’s regular season, and as the playoff matchups become easier to determine, so does the draft order. The final order won’t be set until the NBA’s draft lottery on May 19th, but plenty will be determined by the end of the regular season.
It’s easy to keep up with the first-round order thanks to our Reverse Standings, which you can find anytime under the “Hoops Rumors Features” sidebar. The protection attached to each pick that has been traded is outlined at the bottom of the standings. Occasionally, we take a closer look and highlight the picks that are likely to change hands, those that are unlikely to do so, and still others that seem too close to call.
The stretch run of the season will determine whether four of the 15 traded picks will change hands or stay put. On top of that, the Bulls will have the right to swap picks with the Cavaliers, unless Cleveland somehow fails to make the playoffs. The Cavs have passed the Bulls in the conventional standings, which means the pick swap wouldn’t take place if the season ended today. However, the teams are only separated by a game, so it seems this one will come down to the wire.
The traded first-round picks that involve protection are listed below and categorized by the likelihood of the picks going from team to team. The first category involves cases that are worth keeping an eye on in the season’s final weeks.
Tossups
Team: Thunder (35-28)
Pick traded to: Sixers
Protection: Top 18
Current position: 18th
Team: Lakers (16-46)
Pick traded to: Sixers
Protection: Top 5
Current position: 4th
Team: Kings (21-41)
Pick traded to: Bulls
Protection: Top 10
Current position: 6th
Team: Heat (28-35)
Pick traded to: Sixers
Protection: Top 10
Current position: 12th
Traded picks likely to change hands:
Team: Pelicans (35-29)
Pick traded to: Rockets
Protection: Top 3 and 20-30
Current position: 14th
Team: Rockets (43-20)
Pick traded to: Lakers
Protection: Top 14
Current position: 27th
Traded picks likely to stay put:
Team: 76ers (14-49)
Pick traded to: Celtics
Protection: Top 14
Current position: 2rd
Team: Timberwolves (14-48)
Pick traded to: Celtics
Protection: Top 12
Current position: 3rd
Team: Grizzlies (45-18)
Pick traded to: Nuggets
Protection: Top 5 and 15-30
Current position: 28th
Team: Mavericks (41-24)
Pick traded to: Celtics
Protection: Top 3 and 15-30
Current position: 24th
Additional notes:
- The Clippers will send their first-round pick to the Celtics regardless of finish, since there’s no protection on the pick. It’s the No. 25 selection as it stands now.
- The Hawks have the right to swap picks with the Nets, and they almost certainly will, as Hoops Rumors contributor Mark Porcaro notes (on Twitter), since Brooklyn is in line for the ninth pick and Atlanta is in the No. 29 position.
- The Kings are barely in the tossup category, five games up on the Jazz and Celtics, who are tied for the 10th- and 11th-worst records in the league.
- To see what happens to traded picks that aren’t conveyed this year, check out our database of traded picks by round, which runs down the protection on each pick through 2021.