NBA Draft Blog – Page 22 – NBA Blog

Denver Nuggets may look to trade out of first round of NBA draft

The key question for the Nuggets in the NBA draft Thursday: Is a guaranteed three-year contract for $2.8 million — $899,000 in the first season — worth it?

That’s what the 27th pick in the draft will cost the Nuggets, should they select a player in that slot. And would that player even play?

The short answer to those questions is no, and the Nuggets are expected to try to trade out of the first round. But there are complications in doing so. They aren’t the only team drafting late in the first round looking to make a move out of it. If those teams can’t find a suitor, the Nuggets would have to make that selection.

In need of a shooter, the Nuggets could get one in the draft. Among the possibilities: California’s Allen Crabbe, Providence’s Ricky Ledo and Glen Rice Jr., who played in the D-League last season after problems at Georgia Tech got him dismissed from the team.

Reported by Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post

Kings enter NBA draft with little preparation time

From owner to general manager to coach, no other NBA management team has had as little time to prepare for the draft this year as the Sacramento Kings.

The Kings have had so much turmoil and turnover since the season ended that focusing on the future has been an ever-present process of acceleration. The uncertainty that clouded the franchise for so long hit its peak May 21, when Keith Smart represented the Kings at the draft lottery at the request of the Maloof family.

Smart has since been fired as coach and replaced by Mike Malone. Pete D’Alessandro took over as general manager for Geoff Petrie last week. And new owner Vivek Ranadive has wiped away just about every memory of the Maloofs inside Sacramento’s suburban arena as part of the franchise’s ”new era.”

The Kings can begin adding to that next chapter on the court come Thursday night, when they have the seventh and 36th overall picks in the draft.

”I see real potential in this draft,” D’Alessandro said.

Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

Blazers hope to strike gold again in NBA draft

The Portland Trail Blazers hope to strike gold for a second consecutive year during Thursday night’s draft.

A year ago, Portland used the No. 6 pick to select Weber State guard Damian Lillard, who became the NBA’s Rookie of the Year. The Blazers pick at No. 10 this year.

What Blazers management has thought about this year’s draft in recent weeks is anyone’s guess. Portland general manager Neil Olshey and coach Terry Stotts haven’t spoken to the media since the team’s first individual draft workouts in late May. But Olshey has often said the team’s preference is to take the best available player over need.

The Blazers’ needs include a defensive-oriented post player and depth. During a season in which Portland went 33-49, starters LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum and Lillard ranked among the NBA’s top 10 in minutes played because of a thin bench.

Though some have tabbed this year’s draft as weak to average, the Blazers believe there are players available who can improve their roster.

Reported by the Associated Press

Phoenix Suns face uncertain choices with 5th overall pick

The Phoenix Suns won’t have any problem drafting to meet a need. They have needs everywhere.

New general manager Ryan McDonough and new coach Jeff Hornacek brought in 74 players in preparation for their first draft.

With the exception of a few who were exempt due to injuries, the players went through strenuous workouts, usually in a 3-on-3 situation. Two of the players, shooting guard Ben McLemore and point guard Trey Burke, worked out individually at the insistence of their agents.

”You only draft 60,” McDonough said, ”so if nothing else, I guess we’re thorough.”

With a roster that compiled the second-worst record in franchise history, just about anybody they pick at No. 5 will help.

Reported by Bob Baum of the Associated Press

Cavs mulling options with top pick in NBA draft

Once again, the Cavaliers are facing a major summer ”decision.”

The last one was hard to accept. This one is difficult to make.

And while it doesn’t quite stack up with LeBron James’ infamous announcement that he was bolting from home three years ago and leaving Cleveland heartbroken and short of a title, the Cavs are faced with the challenge of picking another top-flight player to get them back to respectability.

For the second time in three years and third time over the past decade, the Cavaliers hold the No. 1 overall draft pick.

This year, it’s both a blessing and burden.

With no player emerging as the consensus first choice, the Cavs, who also own the No. 19 pick and two second-round selections (Nos. 31 and 33) have spent the past month doing their due diligence by meeting with players, assessing their needs and weighing their many options.

They’ve discussed several trades to rid themselves of the top pick, move down and acquire veterans for one of the league’s youngest teams…

Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, Maryland center Alex Len, Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore, Georgetown forward Otto Porter Jr., UNLV power forward Anthony Bennett and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo are all in the mix and under consideration by the Cavs, who went 24-58 last season, finished 25 1-2 games out of first place and haven’t sniffed the postseason since James left.

Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press

NBA Draft: Wizards look at point guard Korie Lucious

The Wizards latest workout session with NBA Draft hopefuls doubled as a nightmarish trip down memory lane for fans of the Maryland and Georgetown men’s basketball programs. If former Michigan State guard Korie Lucious or Ohio’s all-time assists leader D.J. Cooper start their pro careers in Washington, perhaps they can make it up to those crossover supporters by serving key backup minutes behind John Wall.

The engaging Lucious, who played his senior season at Iowa State, extended a playful olive branch after the lengthy workout and speaking with Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Randy Wittman. Told that some locals might not be happy with him, the solidly built 5-foot-11 senior immediately knew the cause.

“Ah, the Maryland shot,” said Lucious, his smile expanding while thinking back to March 21, 2010. As a sophomore, his buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the top of the key pushed Michigan State past the Terps and into the round of 16.

Reported by Ben Standing of CSN Washington

First NBA workout a blast for Nemanja Nedovic

Nemanja Nedovic got his first taste of the NBA on Friday, and it came on the Milwaukee Bucks’ practice floor at the Cousins Center.

The 6-foot-4 Serbian guard was part of a draft workout that also included former Marquette guard Vander Blue and four others, including Serbian center Dejan Musli.

Nedovic is an athletic guard who is projected to be selected somewhere in the second round of Thursday’s NBA draft.

“Since it was my first workout, my first time in the States, it was very exciting,” Nedovic said.

He said his arrival in the U.S. was delayed about a week after he suffered an ankle injury in the adidas EuroCamp in Italy. He returned to Belgrade for some treatment before making the trip to the U.S.

Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Bucks seek wing players with shooting ability

Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney recently said the team is looking for wing players with shooting ability.

And two of the top draft prospects fitting that description will work out for the Bucks on Saturday at the Cousins Center: 6-foot-6 Georgia sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Providence’s Ricky Ledo.

Also included in the workout session are Southern Mississippi shooting guard Dwayne Davis, Florida State shooting guard Michael Snaer and Oklahoma power forward Amath M’Baye. Minnesota’s Rodney Williams was a late scratch and replaced by Milwaukee native Tyrone Gordon, a guard who played at Dakota State.

The Bucks may have to trade up if they want to grab Caldwell-Pope, who has impressed in other team workouts and at the league’s draft combine in May. The Minnesota Timberwolves, with the No. 9 pick, and Portland Trail Blazers, drafting No. 10, both are thought to have serious interest in Caldwell-Pope.

Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ricky Ledo says he can help Knicks

Ricky Ledo, one of the top recruits out of high school a year ago, spent all of last season at Providence unable to play because of eligibility issues with the NCAA. So, in order to show off his skills, Ledo has been doing somewhat of a barnstorming tour around the NBA’s practice facilities this spring, as curious teams see what the 6-foot-6 shooting guard can do.

“I just [want to] show them that I belong and that I am more than capable of playing at this level,” Ledo said yesterday after working out for the Knicks at their practice facility. “Especially with me not playing [last season], showing I can compete and hold my own against anyone.” …

Ledo said he thinks if he winds up in New York, he immediately will be able to give the Knicks help as a shooter off the bench — with a chance to develop into more than that.

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Trail Blazers continue NBA predraft workouts

The Trail Blazers on Friday continued their predraft workouts, evaluating six more players at the practice facility in Tualatin.

The group of prospects included multiple players with NBA bloodlines (Glen Rice, Jr., a 6-foot-5 guard from the D-League and Larry Drew II, a 6-2 guard from UCLA) and another with ties to Oregon (E.J. Singler, a 6-6 forward from Oregon). The rest of the workout included: Ian Clark, a 6-3 guard from Belmont; Ed Daniel, a 6-7 forward from Murray State; and Trevor Mbakwe, a 6-8 forward from Minnesota.

Reported by Joe Freeman of The Oregonian