The NFL draft trade chart is famous. Invented by Jimmy Johnson during the early 1990s when he was head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, the chart is now used by teams throughout the league to value their disparate picks while negotiating trades to move up and down.
No such ubiquitous chart exists in the NBA. Some teams, though not all, have their own trade charts. Because there are just two rounds in the NBA draft -- the NFL draft has seven -- and teams trade up and down somewhat less frequently, there hasn't been the same need, and NBA teams have preferred to make individual judgments based on the talent available. Still, standardizing the value of picks can be useful as we evaluate potential trades. So let's put together an NBA draft trade chart.
