Category: NBA Draft Blog

NBA Draft blog

On the Grizzlies and the 2022 NBA Draft

Here’s the Memphis Commercial Appeal on the Grizzlies heading into the 2022 NBA Draft, which is now less than one month away:

The Memphis Grizzlies are loaded with one of the best young rosters in the NBA, and they have the potential to add more in the 2022 NBA Draft.

The Grizzlies have three picks, including the 22nd and 29th overall selections in the first round. Picks at the back end of the first round are less likely to be home runs, but the Grizzlies have recently struck gold. They selected Desmond Bane with the 30th overall pick in 2020 and Brandon Clarke 21st in 2019.

Tyus Jones and Kyle Anderson are headed for free agency. If they’re not in the franchise’s future plans, Memphis could draft their replacements or it can bolster depth at other spots.

Either way, the 2022 NBA Draft on June 23 figures to be one in which the Grizzlies can maneuver around the board, be creative or stay put and strengthen the young core.

2022 Utah Jazz draft workouts

Here’s the Salt Lake Tribune on the Utah Jazz and the 2022 NBA Draft:

The Utah Jazz do not presently have a pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Which shouldn’t and won’t stop them from conducting offseason business as usual.

Thursday morning saw the Jazz host their first predraft workout session at Zions Bank Basketball Campus. The six participants — all considered likely to be either second-rounders or rookie free agents — were Connecticut guard R.J. Cole, Wichita State guard Tyson Etienne, UCLA guard Johnny Juzang, Seton Hall wing Jared Rhoden, Australian forward Akoldah Gak, and Purdue big man Trevion Williams…

The Jazz are slated to have a second batch of workouts this weekend.

Jalen Green goes from G League Ignite to Rockets

During Thursday’s 2021 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets selected guard Jalen Green with the second overall pick.

Green (6-6, 178), who turned 19 years old on Feb. 9, was the first player to sign with NBA G League Ignite, a team dedicated to the development and mentorship of top young prospects in preparation for the NBA Draft. In 15 G League games last season, he averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.53 steals, and 2.1 3-pointers made. Green tallied 30 points, 7 assists, 5 boards, and 3 steals in the Ignite’s lone playoff game vs. Raptors 905.

As a senior at California’s Prolific Prep in 2019-20, Green averaged 31.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He was ranked as the No. 1 high school prospect in the Class of 2020 by ESPN and was a McDonald’s All-American.

Green won gold medals with USA Basketball at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup, and 2017 FIBA Americas U16 Championship.

The only other time the Rockets drafted a player second overall was in 1970 with the selection of Rudy Tomjanovich. Houston also acquired the draft rights to Steve Francis, who was the No. 2 overall pick by Vancouver in the 1999 NBA Draft. Including Francis, the second overall pick has produced 16 Rookie of the Year winners, most recently Ja Morant in 2019-20 and Kevin Durant in 2007-08.

Sacramento Kings draft workout update

With the draft rapidly approaching, some player prospect workouts are announced, while others only come out as reports. As for the Sacramento Kings, here’s the Sacramento Bee:

Stanford small forward Ziaire Williams is one of the biggest mysteries in this year’s NBA Draft. He shined as a five-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon High School, but lost some luster in his lone college season during a pandemic year when many people struggled to do anything with any normalcy.

The Kings are among the NBA teams evaluating Williams’ game as the July 29 draft draws near. A league source told The Sacramento Bee that Williams participated in a pre-draft workout Wednesday in Sacramento, giving the Kings an opportunity to assess his upside as a pro prospect.

Williams is no longer projected as a top-10 pick, but he could be an intriguing option if the Kings trade back from No. 9 or acquire another first-round pick.

A look at the Knicks and the 2021 NBA Draft

The Knicks had themselves quite a season, beating all expectations before then falling short in the first round of the playoffs. Now on to the draft, where they have a lot to think about. Via the New York Post:

As it stands in the July 29 draft, the Knicks have two first-round picks at Nos. 19 and 21 along with the No. 32 overall pick.

There’s talk inside the organization of packaging their two first-rounders to move up. The feeling around the NBA is the Knicks could possibly get to the No. 12-to-13 range by doing so.

If the Knicks stand pat at 19 or move up slightly, Seth Greenberg, ESPN’s college-basketball guru, has got a couple of guys for the Knicks.

One is in their backyard – UConn sophomore 6-5 combo guard James Bouknight, a Brooklyn native who played part of his high school career at Manhattan’s LaSalle Academy. The other is out of the Pacific Northwest – Oregon 3-point shooting machine Chris Duarte.

Ties broken to establish selection order in 2021 NBA Draft

Six ties among teams with identical regular-season records were broken today through random drawings to determine the order of selection for NBA Draft 2021.

The drawings were conducted by NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations Kiki VanDeWeghe at the NBA office in Secaucus, New Jersey. The tiebreaker process was overseen by Marc Dieli, a representative from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.

The results of the drawings:

The Oklahoma City Thunder (22-50) won a tiebreaker with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Chicago Bulls (31-41) won a tiebreaker with the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings. Second and third place in the tiebreaker drawings went to Sacramento and New Orleans, respectively.

The Charlotte Hornets (33-39) won a tiebreaker with the San Antonio Spurs.

The New York Knicks (41-31) won a tiebreaker with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Dallas Mavericks (42-30) won a tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers. Second and third place in the tiebreaker drawings went to Los Angeles and Portland, respectively.

The LA Clippers (47-25) won a tiebreaker with the Denver Nuggets.

NBA Draft Lottery 2021 will be held on Tuesday, June 22 and air live on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET. NBA Draft 2021 will take place on Thursday, July 29.

CHANCES NBA LOTTERY TEAMS HAVE AT WINNING THE FIRST OVERALL pick

Houston 14.0%
Detroit 14.0%
Orlando 14.0%
Oklahoma City 11.5%
Cleveland 11.5%
Minnesota 9.0%
Toronto 7.5%
Chicago 4.5%
Sacramento 4.5%
New Orleans 4.5%
Charlotte 1.8%
San Antonio 1.7%
Indiana 1.0%
Golden State 0.5%

Note that the Houston, Minnesota and Chicago picks may change hands.

Key 2021 NBA Draft dates announced

The NBA announced today that the 2021 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday, July 29, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

The first round will be televised by ESPN and ABC, and the second round will air on ESPN.

The NBA also announced additional key dates relating to the 2021 NBA Draft:

The 2021 NBA Draft Combine: Subject to evolving public health conditions, Microsoft Surface NBA Draft Combine 2021 is scheduled to take place Monday, June 21 through Sunday, June 27. ESPN networks plan to televise the NBA Draft Combine, with coverage featuring five-on-five games and strength and agility testing.

The 2021 NBA Draft Lottery will take place on Tuesday, June 22, airing on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The 2021 NBA Early Entry Application and Withdrawal Deadlines: The deadline for an early entry player to apply for this year’s NBA Draft is Sunday, May 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The deadline for an early entry player to withdraw from the NBA Draft is Monday, July 19 at 5 p.m. ET.

Wizards select Deni Avdija at No. 9 in 2020 NBA Draft

The Washington Wizards selected Deni Avdija (pronounced Denny AHV-dee-uh) from Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) with the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Avdija, a 6-9, 225-pound forward, becomes the highest-drafted Israeli player in NBA history. He averaged 18.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.4 blocks and 2.1 steals to earn MVP honors at the 2019 FIBA U-20 European Championships and helped Israel win the gold medal in back-to-back FIBA U-20 European Championships in 2018 and 2019.

“We were absolutely thrilled to get the opportunity to select Deni at the ninth pick and add his versatility, toughness and effort on the defensive end to our roster,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “While he is a young player who is still developing, he has great experience playing at a high level both professionally and in international competition.”

Avdija has played professionally the last three seasons with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He averaged 12.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 26.6 minutes in 2019-20 Israeli League play, shooting .555 overall from the field while ranking third in two-point percentage (.673) and 21st in three-point percentage (.375). Avdija was named MVP of Basketball Without Borders Europe in 2018 and the BWB Global Camp in 2019 and earned All-Event honors at the 2018-19 EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament while playing for Maccabi’s Under-18 team.

“I love Deni’s competitive spirit and feel for the game and I’m excited to help him continue to improve when we begin camp in a few weeks,” said Wizards Head Coach Scott Brooks. “His toughness and overall skill set will allow us to use him in multiple lineups and allow him to seamlessly blend in with our team.”

And from the Washington Post:

Now 19 and 6-foot-9 with a guard’s ballhandling skills, Avdija should be able to bolster the Wizards’ defensive presence on the perimeter and, at times, play alongside forward Rui Hachimura, the international pick the Wizards took at No. 9 last year.

Washington loved how many different boxes he ticked. Sheppard called Avdija a “blend player,” and Wizards Coach Scott Brooks highlighted his professional experience playing in pro leagues and for the Israeli national team.

“I love his toughness. I love his IQ. As a coach, you never have to worry about a player playing hard,” Brooks said. “That’s what [Avdija] does. He steps on the court and he competes. He’s going to make our practices better and our games better. … The thing that I like is most of his career you play against guys who are older than you. He’s played against men in the leagues that he’s played in.”

The youngest player to ever play for Maccabi’s Senior Team (debuting at 16 years, 320 days), Avdija played with several former NBA players during his tenure, including Amar’e Stoudemire, Omri Casspi, Quincy Acy and Tarik Black. His father, Zufer, won bronze at the 1982 FIBA Basketball World Championship with Yugoslavia and was a pro in Serbia and Israel in the 1980’s and 1990’s while his mother, Sharon Artzi, is a former championship runner.

Background and bio info on Pistons rookie Killian Hayes

The 2020 NBA Draft was Wednesday night, and with the 7th overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Killian Hayes. Here’s the Detroit Free Press:

Even though he was raised in France, Killian Hayes had the most Detroit Pistons connections of any player the organization could’ve targeted in Wednesday’s 2020 NBA draft.

Hayes, 19, began training with former Pistons point guard Will Bynum last summer, thanks to a connection with former Pistons guard and president Joe Dumars. And Hayes is good friends with Sekou Doumbouya, his fellow Frenchman.

On Wednesday night, it became official. The Pistons selected Hayes seventh overall, giving them one of the best point guard prospects in the draft to kick off their retooling.

Hayes, 6-foot-5 with a 6-8 wingspan, established himself as one of the draft’s more versatile players, bringing both size, playmaking and scoring upside to Detroit.

And the Detroit News:

Weaver stuck to the draft board and set the Pistons up at a needed position. With Derrick Rose as the only experienced point guard on the roster, Hayes doesn’t have to step into the starting lineup immediately and can learn the ropes.

“We stayed true to the board, absolutely. It pretty much went the way we thought we would go,” Weaver said. “We were fortunate enough that our guy was at No. 7 and we were excited about that.”

Hayes has extensive international experience and is known for his pick-and-roll ability and with his 6-8 wingspan, he can become a solid defender for the Pistons on the perimeter.

The only stars on the current Pistons roster played better basketball in the past: point guard Derrick Rose and power forward Blake Griffin. Most other spots in the rotation are up for grabs.