NBA Blog: The NBA basketball news blog section of Inside Hoops
The New Orleans Hornets announced Thursday that the team has extended a qualifying offer to guard Eric Gordon for the 2012-13 season, making him a restricted free agent.
Gordon averaged a team-leading 20.6 points in addition to 3.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in nine games (all starts) while shooting 45.0% from the field. The Hornets were 6-3 when Gordon played this season and he led the team in scoring in all but one of those contests.
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Lillard’s workout wowed the Blazers’ officials, cementing the Weber State product’s spot at the top of their wish-list for the No. 6 pick, which Portland used to draft him Thursday. Even with North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes — a player many ranked higher in the draft pecking order — still available when Portland’s spot came up, general manager Neil Olshey said there was not strong sentiment in the draft room to shift the pick to Barnes.
“Not as much as you’d think,” Olshey said.
The Blazers were that focused on Lillard as their top choice for the No. 6 spot. In fact, Portland’s second choice for the No. 6 pick was gone by the time the Blazers turn came (Olshey declined to identify the player, but did confirm he was drafted ahead of Lillard).
Although the Blazers performed a lot of advance work in getting down to Lillard, the June 15 visit was the tipping point. Buchanan said the Blazers put Lillard through a variety of situations that tested his footwork and his ability to get his shot off – coming off screens, on the run, off the catch, and so on.
— Reported by Mike Tokito of the Oregonian
No one-and-done for Kentucky’s kids in the NBA draft. The Wildcats instead became the first school to go 1-2.
After the Hornets selected forward Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick Thursday night in Newark, the Bobcats followed by taking fellow freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
The Wildcats are the first school to have the top two picks, part of what they hoped would be perhaps five or even six players selected in the first round. The number ended up being four — Terrence Jones, 18th to the Rockets, and Marquis Teague, 29th to the Bulls.
Coach John Calipari has been criticized for recruiting ‘‘one-and-done’’ players — they stay the required one year and leave — but he looked thrilled hugging his two lottery picks.
UCLA had the first and third picks in 1969, when the Bucks took Lew Alcindor and Lucius Allen went to the SuperSonics.
— Reported by the Associated Press
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The Charlotte Bobcats could have invested the No. 2 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft on a shooter such as Florida guard Bradley Beal or North Carolina forward Harrison Barnes. They could have drafted a rebounder such as Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson. They could have drafted a scorer such as Syracuse guard Dion Waiters.
Instead, the Bobcats invested the No. 2 pick on a player whose jump shot would not distinguish him in a pickup game at suburban Charlotte’s Morrison YMCA.
The absence of a jump shot is the reason drafting Kentucky small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a gamble.
This is why the Bobcats had to gamble. Kidd-Gilchrist played as hard last season as any player in college basketball. He tried to impose himself every time the Wildcats had the ball, and every time their opponents did.
— Reported by Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer
The Philadelphia 76ers announced that they have traded the draft rights to Tornike Shengelia, who was the 54th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, to Brooklyn in exchange for cash considerations.
More on this on the morning.
The Philadelphia 76ers announced that they have acquired the draft rights to Arnett Moultrie, who was the 27th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, from Miami in exchange for the draft rights to Justin Hamilton (45th overall pick) and a protected future first round pick. Moultrie was an early entry candidate for the draft following his junior season at Mississippi State.
Moultrie (6-11, 249) was named First Team All-SEC after averaging 16.4 points,10.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists this past season while shooting 54.9% from the floor. He led the conference in rebounding and ranked tied for 10th in the nation. Moultrie also shot 78.0% from the line in 2011-12 after shooting 58.7% his first two seasons combined.
The 21-year-old averaged 3.7 offensive rebounds this past season,grabbing 6-plus seven times including a career-high 11 vs. Northwestern State. Moultrie recorded 18 double-doubles in 30 games.
Moultrie spent his first two seasons at UTEP before transferring to the Bulldogs. He sat out the entire 2010-11 season due to NCAA transfer regulations. Moultrie was born in Queens but grew up in Memphis. He shot over 70% from the floor during his final two seasons of high school.
The Los Angeles Lakers have acquired the draft rights to Darius Johnson-Odom (55th overall pick) from Dallas in exchange for cash considerations and have selected Robert Sacre with the 60th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft, it was announced today.
Johnson-Odom, a 6-2 guard out of Marquette, averaged 15.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 105 career games. As a senior, the Raleigh, North Carolina native led his team in scoring (18.3ppg) and earned First Team All-Big East honors in addition to being named an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press.
Sacre, a 7-0 Center from Gonzaga finished his career with the Bulldogs ranked second all-time in school history in career blocks (186) while averaging 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 135 games. As a senior, Sacre was named the 2012 WCC Defensive Player of the Year as well as an All-WCC First-Team honoree while averaging 11.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
The Portland Trail Blazers selected point guard Damian Lillard out of Weber State with the sixth overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.
Lillard, the Big Sky Conference player of the year last season, averaged 24.5 points, five rebounds and four assists as a junior with the Wildcats before declaring early for the draft.
The 6-foot-3 guard had a solo workout with the Blazers earlier this month and reportedly dined with Portland owner Paul Allen afterward.
— Reported by Anne M. Peterson of the Associated Press
The Sacramento Kings selected Kansas forward Thomas Robinson with the fifth pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.
Robinson was considered perhaps the most NBA-ready player in the draft and the Kings need plenty of immediate help after missing the playoffs for a sixth straight season.
Robinson, the first unanimous first-team All-American since Blake Griffin, led the Jayhawks to the national championship game against Kentucky, where they lost 67-59. He averaged 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds per game in 31.8 minutes in his junior season and led the nation with 27 double-doubles.
Robinson broke down and hugged his 9-year-old sister, Jayla, after Commissioner David Stern announced the Kings had drafted him in an emotional scene.
— Reported by Josh Dubow of the Associated Press
The Cleveland Cavaliers have selected Syracuse guard Dion Waiters with the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA draft.
The Cavs envision Waiters as a perimeter scorer and backcourt running mate for point guard Kyrie Irving, last year’s No. 1 overall pick who didn’t disappoint this season and was named rookie of the year.
Waiters didn’t start a single game last season for the Orange, averaging 12.6 points in 37 games. At 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, he’s not afraid to drive to the basket and many feel he’s got a pro-ready game.
— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press