Most of the BPA choices at 13 feel like a bit of a gamble, which could very well work out, but considering both our starting guards may be walking out I think trading a few spots down and taking one of the more well-rounded guards that seem a little more NBA ready might be a good idea than drafting completely for upside.

Kobe Bufkin is a surprise prospect who has had a solid season, on decent production and efficiency in the Big 10 conference. He doesn't have the deepest offensive bag but he is still shown himself to be a complete three-level scorer. His projected NBA 3P% isn't bad, and he has finished at 70% around the rim which is pretty crazy for a guard. Solid defender, accurate high-velocity passes, has shown he can shoot on the move, can handle contact, and takes nice long strides to get to the rim. He didn't have as much usage as keyonte or play against as tough opponents but he should draft at a lower spot, and be less of a gamble since Keyonte struggled with injury and had a rather poor season because of it. Bufkin is mocked to draft around 17 ~ 21 between the ESPN and consensus boards. I think he's a good sleeper pick.

If the raptors don't like bufkin, they have options like Jalen hood schifino, nick smith jr if he falls far enough, gg jackson, dariq white head, and bilal coulibaly. etc.

Since trading up for a shooter would be a little hard without giving up assets from an already very diminished pool of picks or an already lacking roster, a roster that wants to compete (whether any of us like it or not), I like the idea of aiming for a sleeper pick like podz who is mocked to draft at 31 on both the consensus board and ESPN board. Podz is an advanced stats darling, and looks great on paper. In reality, while he has a great shot, and some good moves, he sucks at creating his own shot, has a slow first step, often overdribbles, and has trouble slowing down, sometimes leading to a travel, or picking up his dribble in traffic. He has good passing, and good IQ, isn't a bad defender, and has shot really well on a good volume this season. This was however on a very low ranking team (NCAA standings) in a weak conference. I think his upside is still worth gambling a shot at him with a very late first round pick, especially if his red flags are skill or conditioning issues that can be fixed. Even if he ends up as just a bench piece that can give you an efficient 10 or so points, and double is a combo guard thanks to his decent passing, I still see this as a big win. There are other interesting prospects to consider late in the first round too but I wont get into that.

This is where this trade comes into play. The Jazz already have a lot of picks, this trade lets them move up from 16 to 13 for a 2028 Memphis SRP if they see someone they like and want to move up for. Maybe someone like keyonte or hawkins if they fall to 13 to help lauri get more shooting/scoring. Jazz will still hold pick 9, letting them get two lottery picks this year with this trade. I think something like Cason or Gradey for pick 9 and keyonte (to pair with gradey) or hawkins (with cason) with pick 13 would be really nice additions for the jazz. Im a little jealous thinking about it. Pacers already hold pick 7 and 26. So they have three picks in the 2023 first round. They would only be giving up their worst of those FRP, the very late 29th pick, and get back 2 SRP for 2026, which is not a bad deal if they feel like there isn't anyone left worth drafting after their 7th and 26th picks this draft class.