The issue I have with UFRPs are that they don’t necessarily mean high picks they are just unprotected in case it does turn out to be one.
The reality is that very few times have we seen an unprotected pick turning into a good pick (the lakers pick this year being an exception, and it was protected to begin with just that not protected high enough) and in any given draft there are maybe three or four players who are real actual blue chippers.
The spurs definitely got their draft picks worth as they turned late first founders like Derrick white and DJM into good trading prospects but the reality is are we really expecting to get players better than them in return bin future picks? DJM, being a borderline allstar is likely one of the best three or four players in any given draft, in fact in his draft class, he’s at worst number seven and at best third best player, even after taking the injuries of players like Simmons and Murray into account. In Derrick whites year, there were maybe four or five players better than him and most of those were late lottery players (Mitc , bam). There were some ghastly players drafted in the high lottery for both teams.
Point is, UFRPs would:
A) require the pick to be in the unprotected range in the first place to mean anything
B) high enough in the draft to really be worth anything (top five or so) so the opposition has to either really suck or be incredibly (Un)lucky. A player who you can trade for an UFRP should keep the other team from being that bad to begin with so this is literally like playing the lottery.
C) be able to draft properly to get a decent enough player to replace the player you traded away for that pick in the fist place.
D) be able to develop that player into a player who was good enough to replace the player you traded away in the first place, along with a few years of lost time with that player
E) have the pick actually stick around afterwards.
The biggest upside with trading away a player for picks is to tank, whether you get an UFRP back is like playing the lottery. It means a lot to the team giving up the pick but not as much to the receiver.
Back to portal, zero chance any team can give a UFRP for him, I’d be happy with a top ten protected pick.