On the day of the draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Charlotte Hornets were still considering drafting Scoot Henderson despite for weeks being linked with Brandon Miller. The Hornets brought in both players on Monday of that week for follow-up meetings and workouts.

"Can I say one thing about the Scoot, Brandon stuff?" said Jake Fischer on the Basketball Illuminati Podcast. "There definitely was word Thursday morning. I got a text from Houston. And Portland had been checking in with me throughout the draft about what Charlotte was trying to do here. There was definitely a late rumbling, let's say, sent from Charlotte out to other actors in the NBA world. Like 'We're still considering Scoot here.'

"I do think that was a last ditch effort to try to get Portland to trade up from three to two to take Scoot. I think that's where all this came from. I don't think this was done [with] betting markets, conspiracy, blah, blah, blah. I think the Hornets tried to get a little savvy... And as I tweeted out, as I wrote in my book, Mitch Kupchak back in 2015, when he was GM of the Lakers, had the No. 2 pick. D'Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor were there two top choices. And they refused to tell two pretty powerful agents, Aaron Mintz at CAA for D'Angelo Russell, and Bill Duffy now at WME for Jahlil Okafor, they just refused to tell either side what they were going to do.

"I believe the Hornets did not tell Brandon Miller or Scoot until right on the clock that they were going either direction to continue that misdirection, mystery or whatever you call. I think it was a concerted effort by the Hornets to drum up some trade interest there."

The 2023 edition of the NBA Draft was the most-watched NBA Draft ever on any network, according to Nielsen.

The first round averaged 4,928,000 viewers across ESPN and ABC, up 24 percent from last year’s first round on both platforms. It peaked with 6,085,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. ET quarter hour.

Overall, the NBA Draft averaged 3,743,000 viewers across ESPN (both rounds) and ABC (first round-only). The average audience was up 23 percent from last year. The NBA Draft started airing on both ESPN and ABC in 2021.

Cam Whitmore fell to the Houston Rockets on draft night all the way to No. 20 despite the fact that some thought he could be in play for the franchise at No. 4.

Sources tell John hollinger of The Athletic that Whitmore's medicals were red-flagged by some teams due to concerns about his knees while his workouts and interviews were also underwhelming.

One source described Whitmore as "comatose" during the predraft evaluations. 

Michael Porter Jr. was a player that recently had a draft night fall due to both medical and interview issues, but he ended up playing himself to a max contract coming off his rookie deal.

The Portland Trail Blazers kept the No. 3 pick and used it on Scoot Henderson.

Henderson hopes he has the opportunity to play with Damian Lillard, who is evaluating his options as the Blazers are at a crossroads.

"I'm hoping to get to play with Dame, for sure," Henderson said. "Special talent, special guard. One of my favorites to watch, especially film-wise. Just to pick out how he moves off the court, as well. Yeah, it would be cool to play with him."

Not only do the Henderson and Lillard have positional overlap, but they are on different timelines age-wise.

The New Orleans Pelicans pursued a trade for Scoot Henderson, but never offered Zion Williamson in any scenario, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers were widely reported to be resistant to any trade offers for the No. 2 and No. 3 picks.

"I could not find a general manager who was offered Zion Williamson," said Wojnarowski.

Wojnarowski also reported that Williamson has been around the Pelicans' practice facility this offseason more than he has in the past. The Pelicans continue to plan to build around Williamson.

The Dallas Mavericks traded Davis Bertans and the No. 10 pick that was used on Cason Wallace to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 12 pick that became Dereck Lively and a Traded Player Exception.

The Mavericks create additional cap space by unloading the contract of Bertans. Bertans had $17 million due in 23-24 and $16 million in 24-25 though only $5 million is guaranteed. 

The San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama with the first overall selection in the 2023 NBA Draft. The Charlotte Hornets selected Brandon Miller with the second pick, while the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 3.

First Round

1. San Antonio Spurs: Victor Wembanyama

2. Charlotte Hornets: Brandon Miller

3. Portland Trail Blazers: Scoot Henderson

4. Houston Rockets: Amen Thompson

5. Detroit Pistons: Ausar Thompson

6. Orlando Magic: Anthony Black

7. Washington Wizards (via Pacers): Bilal Coulibaly 

8. Indiana Pacers (via Wizards): Jarace Walker

9. Utah Jazz: Taylor Hendricks

10. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Mavericks): Cason Wallace

11. Orlando Magic: Jett Howard

12. Dallas Mavericks (via Thunder): Dereck Lively

13. Toronto Raptors: Gradey Dick

14. New Orleans Pelicans: Jordan Hawkins

15. Atlanta Hawks: Kobe Bufkin

16. Utah Jazz: Keyonte George

17. Los Angeles Lakers: Jalen Hood-Schifino

18. Miami Heat: Jaime Jaquez Jr.

19. Golden State Warriors: Brandin Podziemski

20. Houston Rockets: Cam Whitmore

21. Brooklyn Nets: Noah Clowney

22. Brooklyn Nets: Dariq Whitehead

23. Portland Trail Blazers: Kris Murray

24. Dallas Mavericks (via Kings): Olivier-Maxence Prosper

25. Detroit Pistons (via Celtics): Marcus Sasser

26. Indiana Pacers: Ben Sheppard

27. Charlotte Hornets: Nick Smith Jr.

28. Utah Jazz: Brice Sensabaugh

29. Indiana Pacers: Julian Strawther

30. Los Angeles Clippers: Kobe Brown

Second Round

31. Charlotte Hornets: James Nnaji

32. Denver Nuggets: Jalen Pickett

33. Minnesota Timberwolves: Leonard Miller

34. Sacramento Kings: Colby Jones

35. Chicago Bulls: Julian Philips

36. Milwaukee Bucks: Andre Jackson Jr.

37. Denver Nuggets (via Thunder): Hunter Tyson

38. Boston Celtics: Jordan Walsh

39. Atlanta Hawks: Mouhamed Gueye

40. Los Angeles Lakers: Max Lewis

41. Charlotte Hornets: Amari Bailey

42. Washington Wizards: Tristan Vukcevic

43. Portland Trail Blazers: Rayan Rupert

44. San Antonio Spurs: Sidy Cissoko

45. Memphis Grizzlies: GG Jackson 

46. Atlanta Hawks: Seth Lundy 

47. Indiana Pacers: Mojave King 

48. Los Angeles Clippers: Jordan Miller

49. Cleveland Cavaliers: Emoni Bates

50. Oklahoma City Thunder: Keyontae Johnson

51. Brooklyn Nets: Jalen Wilson

52. Phoenix Suns: Toumani Camara

53. Minnesota Timberwolves: Jaylen Clark

54. Sacramento Kings: Jalen Slawson

55. Indiana Pacers: Isaiah Wong

56. Memphis Grizzlies: Tarik Biberovic

57. Golden State Warriors: Trayce Jackson-Davis

58. Milwaukee Bucks: Chris Livingston

The New Orleans Pelicans met with Scoot Henderson in recent days as they've sought a trade into the top-3 to select him, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. 

The Charlotte Hornets and Portland Trail Blazers have so far not expressed an interest in trading their pick.

In order for the Pelicans to move into the top-3, they would have to trade either Brandon Ingram or Zion Williamson. The Pelicans own the No. 14 pick in the draft.

The Charlotte Hornets are choosing between Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson at No. 2, and the franchise has been leaning towards Miller throughout the process.

"I'm told the Charlotte Hornets remain steadfast with Brandon Miller," said Adrian Wojnarowski.

The support for Miler has been "overwhelming" within the Hornets, reports Wojnarowski.

Earlier on Thursday, Shams Charania reported that Henderson was "gaining momentum" for the Hornets at No. 2 and they were "torn" over the decision.

The Portland Trail Blazers are expected to pick whichever player remains on the board between Miller and Henderson at No. 3.

Jeremy Woo reports that Henderson "endeared himself to Charlotte," but that Miller is considered the better fit.

Amen Thompson reportedly had an impressive workout with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers have been linked with Scoot Henderson at No. 3, but the Charlotte Hornets are strongly considering him at No. 2.

"If Scoot does indeed go No. 2, then at that point at No. 3, you're looking at Brandon Miller," said Shams Charania on the Pat McAfee Show. "Another guy to keep an eye on is Amen Thompson. He had a very strong workout, from what I'm told, in Portland. I'm not saying they would go with him over Brandon Miller if he's there at No. 3. I know Amen Thompson made an impression on him."

Sources also told Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer that Thompson is in consideration at No. 3.

Thompson has been strongly linked with the Houston Rockets at No. 4.