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Detroit Pistons select Ausar Thompson 5th overall in 2023 NBA Draft

The Detroit Pistons announced that the club has selected Ausar Thompson with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Detroit has also agreed in principle to acquire the draft rights to No. 25 overall pick, Marcus Sasser, as part of a larger trade that is not yet final.

Thompson, 6-7, 215, averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks in 29.1 minutes across 20 games for the City Reapers of Overtime Elite in 2022-23. He was named Overtime Elite MVP and later named Finals MVP after averaging 21.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the playoffs. In his second year in the league, Thompson led the City Reapers to a 14-1 regular season record and their first OTE Championship while earning Player of the Week honors twice. The combo guard finished second in the league in assists while collecting at least three steals seven times.

A native of Oakland, Calif., Thompson was named the Broward County 5A Co-Player of the Year at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In addition to Overtime Elite, Thompson participated in The Basketball Tournament for Team Overtime in July of 2022. Thompson was selected one pick after his identical twin brother, Amen, who went No. 4 overall to Houston. Thompson’s older brother, Troy Thompson Jr., played collegiate basketball at Prairie View A&M and participated in training camp with the Stockton Kings.

Thompson is the fourth top-five selection for the Pistons since 1995 (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Darko Milicic) and the third in the last three seasons.

Houston Rockets select Amen Thompson 4th overall in 2023 NBA Draft

In last night’s 2023 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets selected guard Amen Thompson with the fourth overall pick and Cam Whitmore with the 20th overall pick.

Thompson (6-7, 215) spent the past two seasons with Overtime Elite, (OTE) an Atlanta-based league which offers players ages 16 through 20 a pathway to becoming professional athletes. This past season, the 20-year-old teamed with his twin brother, Ausar, to lead the City Reapers to the championship with Amen hitting a game-winning buzzer beater in Game 2 of OTE’s best-of-five Finals. Ausar was selected fifth overall by Detroit in tonight’s draft.

During the Reapers playoff run, Amen averaged 17.2 points, 9.2 assists and 7.2 rebounds up from his season averages of 16.4 ppg, 5.9 apg and 5.9 rpg. He ranked third in the league in assists and sixth in scoring.

Prior to the start of last season, Thompson represented a collection of OTE draft eligible players in a series of games overseas against professional teams from Spain and Serbia. In five games played, he averaged 17.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.8 apg and 2.0 spg while shooting 56.1% from the floor. Following that tour, Thompson also had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in an exhibition game against the Adelaide 36ers from Australia’s National Basketball League.

Whitmore (6-7, 235) finished his freshman season at Villanova averaging 12.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.4 spg and 1.4 3-pointers made. Over the past 15 seasons, he was one of four Division I freshman to have averaged at least 12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.00 spg and 1.0 3FGM while playing fewer than 28.0 mpg.

In the 20 games Whitmore played at least 24 minutes, he averaged 14.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.6 spg and 1.8 3FGM while shooting 50.2% from the floor and 38.5% from 3-point range. At the 2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship, he averaged 18.7 points and was named MVP after leading USA Basketball to the gold medal.

Whitmore, who was born in Maryland and was a McDonald’s All-American, will turn 19 years old on July 8. He was measured with a 40.5” max vertical leap at the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

Portland Trail Blazers select Scoot Henderson third overall in 2023 NBA Draft

The Portland Trail Blazers selected guard Scoot Henderson with the third overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA Draft.

Henderson, 19, arrives in Portland after spending two seasons with NBA G League Ignite. During the 2022-23 season, Henderson averaged 17.6 points (44.4% FG, 32.4% 3-PT, 75.0% FT), 5.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 25 games (24 starts). Henderson (6-2, 196) competed in the Rising Stars game at NBA All-Star Weekend in both 2022 and 2023.

A native of Marietta, Ga., Henderson accrued averages of 16.1 points (44.5% FG, 76.2% FT), 5.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks in 46 games (28 starts) in two seasons for NBA G League Ignite. In 2020-21, Henderson was named Class 6A Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a junior at Kell High School.

Charlotte Hornets select Brandon Miller second overall in 2023 NBA draft

The Charlotte Hornets selected forward Brandon Miller from the University of Alabama with the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The 6-9 Miller was named First Team AP All-America, Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and NABC Freshman of the Year this season. He became the first player in conference history to win SEC Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP in the same season.

Miller led the Crimson Tide to the 2022-23 SEC regular season and tournament titles, the No. 1 ranking in the final AP poll and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

He poured in 18.8 points per game, tops in the SEC and the most among all freshmen nationally. Miller ranked first in the SEC and 13th nationally with 106 made 3-pointers, the second-most in a season in Alabama history. He shot 38.4 percent from 3 and 85.9 percent from the free-throw line, both of which represented the second-highest marks in the conference. Miller also ranked fourth in the SEC in rebounds per game (8.2) and 10th in blocks (32).

A consensus five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American out of Cane Ridge High School in Antioch, Tenn., Miller was named Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021 and 2022. His father, Darrell, played football at Alabama in the early ‘90s.

Hornets take Brandon Miller with No. 2 pick in 2023 NBA Draft

Via ESPN.com:

The Charlotte Hornets had whittled their choices to two players on the eve of the 2023 NBA draft, but in the end they selected Alabama forward Brandon Miller with the second pick Thursday night…

In Miller, the Hornets add a 6-foot-9 playmaker who won SEC Freshman and Player of the Year honors at Alabama last season after averaging 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 43% from the field and 38% from 3-point range. He also won the SEC tournament’s MVP award and was named a second-team All-American.

San Antonio Spurs select Victor Wembanyama with first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft

The San Antonio Spurs today selected Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The first French player selected No. 1 overall in NBA Draft history, Wembanyama (Wem-ban-YAH-muh) joins David Robinson and Tim Duncan as the only top overall picks in Spurs franchise history.

Wembanyama, 7-3/225, most recently played with French-club Boulogne-Levallois Metropolitans 92 in the LNB Pro A French League during the 2022-23 season, where he helped lead the team to the LNB Pro A Finals and a 23-11 regular season record. In 34 regular season games with Mets 92, he averaged 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3.0 blocks in 32.3 minutes. In 10 postseason games, Wembanyama averaged 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.7 assists.

The Le Chesnay, France native wrapped up the season being named league MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Best Young Player, Scoring Champion, Blocked Shots Champion and was named to the All-LNB First Team. Throughout his career, he’s earned Best Young Player three times (2021, 2022, 2023), is a two-time LNB All-Star (2022, 2023), named to the All-LNB First Team twice and won the 2022 LNB Pro A Championship with ASVEL Basket.

Wembanyama played his first games in the United States in October 2022 during a pair of exhibition games against the G League Ignite in Las Vegas. In his U.S. debut, he recorded 37 points, 4 rebounds and 5 blocks. In the second game, he had 36 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in a Metropolitans 92 win.

The 19-year-old started his professional basketball career at the age of 15 with Nanterre 92 in the Euro Cup League from 2019-21. Prior to joining the Mets 92 for the 2022-23 season, Wembanyama played for the French club ASVEL Basket from 2021-22.

Wembanyama will wear No. 1 for the Spurs.

Spurs select Victor Wembanyama first overall in 2023 NBA Draft

Via ESPN.com:

The Victor Wembanyama era has officially begun in San Antonio, as the Spurs made him the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft.

Wembanyama, a 7-foot-5 French phenom with an 8-foot wingspan, walked across the stage at the Barclays Center in New York to shake NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s hand and formally mark the start of his new career.

Wembanyama, 19, is considered by many to be a generational talent — a player who can defend and play above the rim but also move with such fluidity that he can also hit step-back 3-pointers off one leg.

When the Spurs won the right to draft Wembanyama by winning the lottery on May 16, Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt leaped with joy from his seat on stage inside Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center.

Mike Dunleavy Jr. making quick moves as new Warriors GM

Via the SF Gate:

He bought himself a little bit of breathing room. The Poole contract may have been one of the very worst in the NBA, and by getting the team out from under it, Dunleavy may have enabled the Warriors to avoid future steep penalties that come with the “second apron” cap line in the new collective bargaining agreement, which is two steps beyond the already punishing luxury tax threshold. (Poole’s enormous four-year extension kicks in this season, while Paul’s contract is not guaranteed past this year.)

So even if these are the twilight years for this Warriors era, Dunleavy has already bought himself significant goodwill with owner Joe Lacob. The Athletic reported Wednesday that the goal was to be able to be under the second apron within a year, and this trade appears to set up the Warriors to get there on schedule. ESPN cap expert Bobby Marks came to the same conclusion, leading his instant trade analysis with, “Blame the second apron,” and explaining that this trade gets the Warriors under the second apron for much of the next half-decade.

Chris Paul being traded to the Warriors

Via the Bay Area News Group:

Chris Paul — yes, that Chris Paul — is now a Golden State Warrior. He was traded Thursday by Washington for Jordan Poole, Ryan Rollins, and draft picks.

It’s going to take a while for us to collectively wrap our heads around this one.

But at the core of it all is the well-known fact that everyone can overlook things when they’re desperate.

The Warriors were desperate to rid themselves of Poole. The four-year, $123 million contract extension he signed before the start of last season was proven to be a mistake for the team. Not only did Poole fail to perform like a nine-figure player and future face of the franchise this past season — particularly in the playoffs — but the emotional damage that rippled through the team following Draymond Green’s punch of Poole in the preseason never healed.

NBA trade discussions involving Paul George

Via the LA Times:

The Clippers and Knicks have had conversations about a potential trade for wing Paul George, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, talks that were initiated by New York.

Though George was an All-Star forward as recently as February, multiple league insiders this week expressed doubts about what return value the team could get for him, if the Clippers are truly motivated to deal him, and believed a top draft pick in exchange for George was not within range. Those doubts, the sources said, centered on his history of injuries and contract status.