NBA Draft Blog – Page 23 – NBA Blog

Bucks make no guarantees to draft prospects

There are no guarantees for draft prospects auditioning with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Literally.

Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney said Wednesday it’s not a tactic the team has used.

Some NBA teams do offer guarantees to players that they will be picked at a certain position in the draft. The thinking behind that is to prevent a player from working out for other teams before the draft, while also providing the player and his agent certainty of a draft floor.

But the negative side is a guarantee can severely limit a team’s flexibility on draft night.

“We haven’t done it,” McKinney said. “In fact, a couple years ago when Larry Sanders came in and worked out, somebody thought we had given Larry a guarantee.

“I talked about it after the workout that we hadn’t guaranteed Larry, and we didn’t guarantee Brandon (Jennings), either.”

Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ben McLemore thinks he would fit in with Orlando Magic

The Magic won the second overall pick in the June 27 draft.

If the Cleveland Cavaliers use the first pick to select University of Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, then the Magic would be able to pick McLemore, whom many experts regard as the best shooter in the draft and one of the top overall prospects in the draft.

“The Orlando Magic, I think that’s a great program,” McLemore said. “I think I could fit perfectly in that system and that organization and help that team in different kinds of ways.”

On May 16, McLemore met with Magic GM Rob Hennigan, assistant GMs Scott Perry and Matt Lloyd and coach Jacque Vaughn during the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

That 30-minute session served as a get-to-know-you meeting.

McLemore said he “can’t wait” to visit Orlando, work out individually for the Magic and have additional conversations with Magic officials.

Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel

Blazers enter next phase of offseason with predraft workouts

The next phase of the Trail Blazers’ 2013 offseason begins on Thursday, when the team hosts its first predraft workout in preparation for the NBA Draft.

Blazers GM Neil Olshey does not release the name’s of predraft visitors until shortly before workouts open to the media, so it’s unclear who the visitors will be or how many prospects will be roaming the practice facility in Tualatin. But it’s an important day, nonetheless.

NBA front offices place significant value on predraft workouts. Sure, Olshey and his staff have evaluated many of these players extensively for nearly a year. In some cases, they’ve been monitoring the players since they were in high school. But bringing them to Portland allows the Blazers’ brass to put them through tailor-made workouts and to test their athleticism and basketball ability in a variety of ways.

Reported by Joe Freeman of the Oregonian

2013 NBA Draft: Trey Burke to work out for Orlando Magic

For Trey Burke, the wait is officially on.

The NBA draft combine has ended, the lottery ping pong balls have been sorted and there’s more than a month between today and the 2013 draft (June 27).

And now, he’ll wait to see where the next chapter of his life will begin.

The former Michigan point guard has yet to formally work out for any NBA teams yet, and as of now, he says he’s only got one formal individual session scheduled — with the Orlando Magic, who hold the No. 2 pick in the draft.

Asked if he’ll go through any type of workout in front of the Detroit Pistons — who hold the No. 8 pick — Burke said he’s not sure.

Reported by Nick Baumgardner of Michigan Live

Timberwolves stay put in NBA draft lottery

The Wolves’ most glaring need is shooting guard, so they’ll take a shooting guard, right?

Not so fast.

Oh, the Wolves will have their options, even after the top shooting guards — Kansas’ Ben McLemore and Indiana’s Victor Oladipo — go top 5 probably.

They could choose Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum, who’s a great shooter but is point-guard sized at 6-3, or Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who would fill Wolves need for both shooters and real 2-guard size.

But don’t be surprised if the Wolves end up going for a shotblocker — Maryland center Alex Len if he drops that far, or maybe 7-2 French center Rudy Gobert — for a team that lacks a rim defender.

The Wolves could go that route if they think they can add a veteran shooting guard through a trade (Boston’s Courtney Lee perhaps?) or free agency (J.J. Redick, O.J. Mayo and Kyle Korver all will be on the market, but can the Wolves afford any of the three).

Reported by Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Blog)

Detroit Pistons may favor Ben McLemore in NBA Draft

The Pistons are content with their young big men — third-year power forward Greg Monroe and rookie center Andre Drummond, who will represent the Pistons on stage tonight when the TV lights pop on at Times Square Studios.

So whom would the Pistons select if Drummond provides the luck needed to parlay a 3.6% chance into the No. 1 pick when the draft is held June 27?

Teams looking for perimeter help — like the Pistons — might turn to Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore.

McLemore, 20, who spoke to reporters at the NBA predraft combine last week, knows he is close to realizing a lifelong dream.

— Reported by Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press

Kings have not gotten lucky in NBA Draft Lottery lately

In the last six lotteries, the Kings never improved their selection.

They had the worst record in 2008-09 but ended up with the worst possible pick, No. 4.

“You certainly can’t say the gods of chance have been smiling on us in that regard,” Petrie said.

The Kings had the fifth-worst record in 2011-12 and stayed in the fifth spot. That pick was used on Kansas forward Thomas Robinson, who was traded to Houston in February.

This year’s draft is considered to be lacking in potential superstars.

— Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Magic try to follow Dwight Howard trade with NBA Draft Lottery luck

Pat Williams is pretty good at being lucky, and he’s got a hunch.

”I got a funny feeling that this could be another Magic year, here. For some reason, I’ve just got the feel,” Williams said.

Orlando sure could use it.

Following a difficult first season after trading Dwight Howard, the Magic are hoping Williams can bring them more lottery luck.

Armed with the best odds and their three-time winner back on stage, the Magic will try to jump-start the rebuilding process Tuesday night by landing the rights to the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

Williams has won four times, including victories in 1992, ’93 and 2004 with the Magic. They used the most recent one to draft Howard, and no team since has entered with the best odds and won the lottery.

The Magic were back in the lottery the next two years but were busy playing in the postseason every spring since until this one, when they finished an NBA-worst 20-62 after sending Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers last August in a four-team deal.

That gives them a 25 percent chance at winning the rights to choose first in a draft that appears uncertain. Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel is considered the top choice, though he could miss the first two months of the season while recovering from a torn ACL.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Ties broken for 2013 NBA Draft order

Four ties among teams that finished the 2012-13 NBA regular season with identical records were broken today through random drawings to help determine the order of selection for the 2013 NBA Draft, which will be held on Thursday, June 27.

The drawings were conducted earlier today in New York City by Jason Cahilly, NBA executive vice president, strategy and chief financial officer, and Dan Rube, NBA senior vice president and deputy general counsel. The tiebreaker process was overseen by Denise Pelli, a partner in the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

The results of the drawings:

• Detroit (29-53) won a tiebreaker with Washington.

• Philadelphia (34-48) won a tiebreaker with Toronto.

• Houston (45-37) won a tiebreaker with Chicago and the L.A. Lakers; the Lakers then won a tiebreaker with Chicago.

• L.A. Clippers (56-26) won a tiebreaker with Memphis.

2013 NBA Draft Lottery info, date, time

The 2013 NBA Draft Lottery will be held at the Disney/ABC’s Times Square Studios in New York on Tuesday, May 21, and will be televised on ESPN at 8:25 p.m. EDT.

The 2013 NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the 2013 NBA Draft, which will be held at Barclays Center, the home of the Brooklyn Nets, on June 27 at 7 p.m.

The NBA Draft Lottery’s origins trace back to June 1984, when at an NBA Board of Governors meeting in Salt Lake City, the league voted to adopt a lottery system among the non playoff teams to determine the order of selection in the first round of the NBA Draft beginning in 1985. This year will mark the tenth time in the event’s 29-year history that it is conducted in New York City.

The inaugural lottery was held on May 12, 1985 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, but from 1994 until last year, the event had been held at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus, N.J. however the league’s facilities in New Jersey no longer house a television studio.

2013 NBA DRAFT LOTTERY ODDS
(Chances of winning the No. 1 overall pick)

1) Orlando Magic: 25%
2) Charlotte Bobcats: 19.9%
3) Cleveland Cavaliers: 15.6%
4) Phoenix Suns: 11.9%
5) New Orleans Pelicans: 8.8%
6) Sacramento Kings: 6.3%
7) Detroit Pistons: 3.6%
8) Washington Wizards: 3.5%
9) Minnesota Timberwolves: 1.7%
10) Portland Trail Blazers: 1.0%
11) Philadelphia 76ers: 0.8%
12) Toronto Raptors: 0.7%
13) Dallas Mavericks: 0.6%
14) Utah Jazz: 0.5%

InsideHoops.com will provide full previews, coverage and recaps of all aspects of the 2013 NBA Draft