Tier 2: Expected All-Stars
7. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
6. Zach LaVine, Chicago Bills
5. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
4. Dejounte Murray, Atlanta Hawks
Ingram played the 2-guard role a good chunk this season with New Orleans, and he’s hitting his stride at just the right time. Murray will need to make a position change to accommodate Trae Young, but one of the league’s best all-around players should make that adjustment without much of a fuss.
Both LaVine and Beal are elite scorers who will be trusted to score at least 25 points per game for their respective teams. Fresh off signing new max contracts, both of them will be locked in with their respective teams for the next few years. Trent will need to move mountains to jump above players like this in their athletic primes.
Tier 1: All-NBA
3. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
1. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Brown is a few months removed from being the clear No. 2 scoring option on a Celtics team that came within a few games of winning the Finals. Anyone arguing against his inclusion in this most selective of tiers is being stubborn at this point.
Mitchell and Booker are fairly even in this regard, but Booker gets the edge for being a bit more effective when push comes to shove in the playoffs over the last two years. Trent could see a kindred spirit in Booker, as modeling parts of his game after the Phoenix star could help him soar to new heights.