NBA Trade Rumors: Teams Not Valuing 1st-Round 2024 Draft Picks for Alex Sarr's Class

It appears the value of a first-round NBA draft pick in 2024 isn't as high as in previous years.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast (4:25 mark) that NBA teams "are not valuing 2024 picks very highly" right now:

"Somebody may take a pick in the 20s in this draft and may end up drafting a Hall of Famer. Every year, there are good players in the draft. However, right now, teams are not valuing 2024 picks very highly. So, if you say, 'he got traded for three first-round picks' and just leave it at that, it's not really building in the nuance. It's not like Jrue Holiday getting traded for three unprotected Bucks picks for when Giannis is going to be in his 30s or the unprotected picks that the Suns gave to the Nets when Durant would be in his late 30s. Just not a fair assessment."

The 2024 draft class is highlighted by three international standouts in Perth Wildcats forward Alexandre Sarr, KK Crvena Zvezda guard Nikola Topić and JL Bourg forward Zaccharie Risacher.

In his latest mock draft, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman has the trio being selected first, second and third overall, respectively.

Should an international player be selected with the No. 1 overall pick, it would mark the second straight year that a college player was not picked first overall as France's Victor Wembanyama was 2023's top selection.

In fact, Wasserman doesn't have a college player being selected in his mock draft until No. 7 overall with Kentucky's Rob Dillingham.

With 2024 first-round picks not being highly valued, it'll also be interesting to see how trades unfold ahead of the Feb. 8 deadline. Maybe teams will have to give up more than a few first-round selections in exchange for a top player, for example.