On Tuesday evening, the San Antonio Spurs were awarded the number one overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. With this pick, the Spurs landed the rights to the most highly-anticipated draft prospect since LeBron James over two decades ago, Victor Wembanyama. The hype around Wembanyama’s arrival in the NBA has turned San Antonio and the media on their heads as the 7-footer possesses all the skills to be a legitimate superstar in the NBA, and regardless of concerns about his slim frame and injuries, many teams in the league would do anything they can to land the top draft prospect. Almost anything that is.
As loud and exciting as the anticipation of Wembanyama’s game is to the NBA, there are still a number of players that would be untouchable in the acquisition of his services. Recently, Draymond Green alluded to the fact that the Lakers would never trade LeBron James for Wembanyama, which is fairly obvious. Now, players like Ja Morant due to his legal issues, Zion Williamson with his injury woes, and Paul George with his inconsistencies would all be players teams would be willing to part with for the young and still unproven Wembanyama. That being said, we figure there are only 11 players today that teams would label as untouchable in any deal, let alone for a player who hasn’t stepped foot in the NBA yet. We dive into those players and why their teams will hold onto them for dear life below.
These are the only NBA players that teams would not trade for Victor Wembanyama.
11. Anthony Edwards
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Kicking off our list of players least likely to be traded for Victor Wembanyama is 21-year-old phenom Anthony Edwards. Now, many might surmise that Wembanyama will be better than Edwards at some point, and that’s ok, but for now, there is just no way. Edwards is one of the best players in the NBA under 23 years of age and has proven over the last three seasons that he has everything it takes to become a superstar in the very near future.
Since his rookie season, Edwards has averaged 23.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.1 APG, and 1.5 SPG on 45.1% shooting from the floor. He is also shooting 36.3% from three and became an All-Star for the first time in 2022-23. What has been even more impressive is Edwards’ performance in his first two playoff appearances. In 2022, he averaged 25.2 PPG on 45.5% shooting, and in 2023, he averaged 31.6 PPG on 48.2% shooting. As great of a prospect as Wembanyama is, I would rather keep the young man who has proven the lights never get too bright for him.
10. Devin Booker
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Speaking of young players with a habit of performing well in the playoffs, Devin Booker comes in at number 10 on our list. The 2022-23 season was Booker’s eighth in the NBA, and he has already been a three-time All-Star and an All-NBA Team selection in 2022. Booker has averaged 25.5 PPG or more for the last five seasons consecutively and has not averaged below 22.0 PPG since his rookie year in 2015-16.
What has been incredible to watch, and what makes him unexpendable to the Suns at this point, is the way he has carried himself in the NBA playoffs. Yes, he and the Suns have failed miserably in two separate Game 7’s over the last two seasons. That does not, however, erase what he did in the totality of his playoff career. In his first playoff appearance in 2021, he averaged 27.3 PPG while leading the Suns to the NBA Finals. In 2022-23, Booker led all scorers with 33.7 PPG on 58.5% shooting. That sort of efficiency come playoff time is something that no team can or would even try to replace. As one of the game’s top young players and one of the best shooting guards in the game, Booker’s spot in Phoenix is safe even from a deal for Wembanyama.
9. Anthony Davis
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For the last two and a half seasons, Anthony Davis has been the subject of ridicule and criticism for his long list of injuries that have kept him off the court. When he has been healthy, Davis has done nothing but prove why he has always been considered a top 10 player in the game at a minimum. The case for Davis not being used as a trade piece for Wembanyama has already gotten stronger with every passing game during the NBA playoffs.
During these NBA playoffs in which the Lakers have advanced to the Western Conference Finals, Davis has averaged 22.6 PPG, 13.8 RPG, and 3.2 BPG. His blocks and rebounds lead all players during the postseason. He has shown why we recently named him the best defender in the NBA and displayed his all-around two-way talent to silence his doubters and critics. As expendable as he was even just a few short months ago, Davis is just too valuable to the Lakers to trade him for an unproven player such as Wembanyama.
8. Luka Doncic
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Over the last five seasons, you would be hard-pressed to find a player with as much superstar potential as Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks. After dominating the international game for a time with Real Madrid, Doncic has shown that he can dominate at the NBA level as well. He is in complete control of the game from start to finish as a playmaker and scorer, improving the play of himself and his teammates with every passing moment.
Since entering the NBA in 2018-19, Doncic has been a Rookie of the Year, four-time All-Star, and four-time All-NBA First Team selection. Doncic has shown he can make mediocre rosters true contenders, as he did in 2022 in advancing the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals. Doncic is the clear better prospect when it comes to the NBA and has already shown what his impact on the court means to his team. No NBA general manager or franchise is going to trade someone with that track record in exchange for a player who has yet to show what he will be on the court.
7. Joel Embiid
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It isn’t an occurrence that happens often, but trading the reigning MVP is something that has occurred before. In this case, the reigning MVP is Joel Embiid, who just secured his second straight NBA scoring title averaging over 33.0 PPG. Embiid is undoubtedly one of the top players in the NBA and especially at his position of center, where he unanimously sits top two. Despite concerns about injury and his play in important games, he is still irreplaceable.
Embiid clearly has a lot of work to do if he wishes to take the next step as an NBA champion, but he is right on the cusp of it. After missing his first two seasons with a foot injury, Embiid has earned two scoring titles, six All-Star appearances, five All-NBA Team selections, three All-Defensive Team selections, and the 2022-23 MVP. Clearly, he is doing something right. As for a trade for Wembanyama, there is just too much risk to try and replace an accomplished and valuable player such as Embiid is to the 76ers.
6. Jayson Tatum
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Another talented forward on our list who is untradeable at this point is the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum. For the last six seasons, Tatum has transformed the Celtics into a perennial contender with an appearance in at least the Eastern Conference Finals five times in the last six years. Tatum has been at the forefront of it since his rookie season and has averaged at least 23.0 PPG with an All-Star appearance in each of his last four seasons.
In 2022-23, Tatum made more Celtics history as he became the first player to average at least 30.0 PPG in a season for the franchise. In the second round against the 76ers, he broke the record for the most points in a Game 7 with 51 points to get back to the Conference Finals. Tatum is certainly a franchise player and one the Celtics believe they are ready to win with now. In any scenario, it would be illogical to trade that kind of talent for Wembanyama at this point in time.
5. Kevin Durant
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As we enter the top five of players that would not be traded for Victor Wembanyama, we come to quite possibly the most skilled player on this entire list. We have not seen an offensive player like Kevin Durant in decades who can score any way that he wants with the ball and with historic efficiency. Durant’s build as a 7-footer with guard skills is something that scouts and fans have been raving about when it comes to Wembanyama and his highlights. Wouldn’t you take the player that has been doing it for over a decade in the NBA, though?
I know I would. Durant became the first player in NBA history to shoot the ball on 55/40/90 splits in 2022-23. He has mastered the art of the mid-range shot and become one of the most underrated passers in the league. Sure, he hasn’t been able to win a championship since he left the Golden State Warriors in 2019 but is that worth replacing him with a player who hasn’t even played a game yet?
4. Stephen Curry
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I think that this next player needs no further explanation as to why his team would not trade him for Victor Wembanyama, or anyone for that matter. Since 2015, Stephen Curry has become the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history as well as one of the best point guards in NBA history. Curry has helped lead the Warriors to four NBA championships in the last nine seasons and claimed one Finals MVP award as well as two MVP awards.
With Curry’s style of play and being mostly a perimeter player, it is clear that he still has years of elite production left in his game. Even as he gets older, it seems like he has aged like a fine win, only getting better and exceeding expectations left and right. Curry will likely be a Warrior for life, and Golden State will do everything in their power to make sure it remains that way. Besides, what would be the point of trading for Wembanyama if Curry isn’t there? It doesn’t make too much sense if you ask me.
3. Nikola Jokic
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Over the last two seasons, it seems that Victor Wembanyama’s athleticism, skills, shooting, and handles have been at the forefront of making him one of the top draft prospects ever. Well, Nikola Jokic is all of those things and then some. Ok, maybe minus the athleticism, but everything else I said was true. As a two-time MVP and leader of a serious contender in the Denver Nuggets, Jokic isn’t going anywhere for anybody.
Not only is Jokic a talented scorer and talented rebounder, but he is also one of the most skilled passers ever, and forget about solely the center position. He is certainly one of the best passers in the NBA right now and nearly averaged a triple-double for the entire 2022-23 season. Let’s take a look at just his 2023 playoffs. Through 12 games, he is averaging 31.0 PPG, 13.5 RPG, and 10.1 APG. Do you mean to tell me that Denver would ship him off for Wembanyama at this point? Not in a million years.
2. LeBron James
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They say there are three things that are guaranteed in life. Death, taxes, and LeBron James being one of the best players in the NBA over the last 20 seasons. For two decades, we watched as LeBron went from the most hyped draft prospect in NBA history to exceeding those expectations placed upon him. He is the ultimate floor-raiser even at 38 years old, and became the greatest scorer in the game’s history along the way.
You just don’t trade LeBron James, period. With him on your roster, the team has an inevitable chance of competing for an NBA championship. Players want to play with LeBron, and opponents hate to face off against him. James is a four-time MVP, NBA champion, and Finals MVP who is aging backward like Benjamin Button did in the movies. Simply put, if a person in charge were to ever pull the trigger on a LeBron James trade, I would expect to see that person fired within the hour, no matter if Wembanyama was the piece in return or not.
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo
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Last but certainly not least is the man many have claimed is the best player in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo. It isn’t bold of me to say that Giannis has been the best two-way player in the game over the last five seasons. The facts tend to back me up. He is a two-time MVP and a Defensive Player of the Year who is always either a finalist or right outside the top three in those conversations. Giannis willed his Milwaukee Bucks to their first championship in 50 years in 2021 in one of the most dominant performances in NBA Finals history.
It is not just about who Giannis is as a basketball player but as a person as well. He has fully embraced Milwaukee as a city and as an organization which they have reciprocated for him. Giannis’ physical attributes, such as his size, strength, and athleticism, are something that cannot be replaced either and give him the leverage he has needed to be such an overwhelming force in the game today. Can Wembanyama do some things that Giannis can’t? I am sure he can. Can Wembanyama accomplish the things Giannis has in the NBA before turning 30 years old? That remains to be seen and is far too much of an assumption to lose a player like Giannis over.
