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By InsideHoops.com | June 25, 2009
Key 2009 NBA Draft dates: NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline is April 26. The NBA Draft Lottery is May 19. The NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline is June 15. The 2009 NBA Draft is June 25.
June 18, 2009: InsideHoops.com's 2009 NBA mock draft is updated. First round is done. First round bubble players and upper second round coming in the next few days.
May 27-29, 2009: The NBA Draft Combine is underway. This event replaces the pre-draft camp. They're similar, except while the pre-draft camp featured games played by lesser players (the top players always sat out), the 2009 Combine has no games at all, just drills and measurements.
May 19, 2009: The NBA Draft Lottery took place Tuesday night. The Los Angeles Clippers beat the odds to win the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. The Memphis Grizzlies won pick #2, the Oklahoma City Thunder got #3, the Sacramento Kings received #4, the Washington Wizards have #5, and the Minnesota Timberwolves got #6.
May 18, 2009: The 2009 NBA Draft Lottery, where ping-pong balls supplant basketballs as the tools of determining supremacy, will be held on Tuesday, May 19, at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The 24th annual edition of the NBA Draft Lottery will determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks of 2009 NBA Draft. Fourteen ping-pong balls numbered 1 through 14 will be placed in a drum. There are 1,001 possible combinations when four balls are drawn out of 14, without regard to their order of selection. Prior to the Lottery, 1,000 combinations will be assigned to the 14 participating Lottery teams by a computer. Read more.
General NBA Draft Introduction: The NBA Draft happens once a year, always in June, and it's the event where NBA teams select players who have never actually played in the league, and gain the contract rights of each player they pick. There are two rounds in the NBA draft, so since there are 30 NBA teams, there are 30 picks in the first round of the draft and 30 in the second round. Any player drafted in the first round receives a guaranteed multi-year contract. Players drafted in the second round receive no such guarantee, and the team that selected them can choose whether to sign them, trade their rights, or just let them go. The NBA draft is the hottest event of the basketball year aside from the Finals and playoffs. InsideHoops.com provides full NBA draft previews, live coverage and recaps.
2008 NBA DRAFT
The 2008 NBA Draft resulted in the Bulls (#1 overall pick) getting their point guard of the future in Derrick Rose. The Heat (#2) added scoring, rebounding forward Michael Beasley. The Timberwolves (#3) got guard O.J. Mayo, but then traded him to the Grizzlies for #5 pick Kevin Love and talented swingman Mike Miller (more players were involved in deal). And the Sonics #4, in need of a point guard they can trust, took Russell Westbrook, a player who shot up the prospect rankings list over the last few weeks. The Grizzlies (#5) took Love and then traded him in the above deal.
October 20, 2009: The Boston Globe reports: "A Western Conference scouting executive recently gave the Globe his top five American college stars to keep an eye on this season: Oklahoma sophomore forward Blake Griffin, Arizona State sophomore guard James Harden, Gonzaga sophomore forward Austin Daye (son of ex-Celtic Darren Daye), Connecticut junior center Hasheem Thabeet, and Louisville junior forward Earl Clark. Asked about Thabeet, the executive said, "He has a feel for the game. He has to keep playing basketball. He's young to the game. Teams will covet his athleticism, size, and shot blocking. But he hasn't played a lot of basketball. He's more athletic than you imagine. He moves a little bit like Andrew Bynum does." The executive also said the top international prospect is DKV Joven guard Ricky Rubio, who made a name for himself playing for Spain in the Olympics."
Forward Danilo Gallinari, the only prominent international player in the Draft, went #6 to the Knicks. At #7, the Clippers added much-needed scoring punch in the backcourt by taking Eric Gordon -- though, they still need a point guard. At #8, the Bucks, who recently traded for Richard Jefferson, added super-athletic forward Joe Alexander. AT #9, the Bobcats, who needed point guard depth regardless of how they feel about Raymond Felton, took the Draft's best floor general not named Derrick Rose and selected tiny D.J. Augustin. At #10, the Nets got what many feel is a steal, taking the Draft's best center, Brook Lopez, who was expected to go no lower than #9. At #11, the Pacers, who need a point guard, got Jerryd Bayless, a scorer who insists he can be a true NBA point guard. At #12, the Kings took Jason Thompson much higher than he was projected (14-20something). At #13 the Blazers selected Brandon Rush, whose outside shooting can compliment Brandon Roy's game. And at #14, the final pick of the so-called "lottery" area, the Warriors selected skinny, versatile forward Anthony Randolph.
There's year-round Draft discussion on the InsideHoops NBA Draft Forum.
Check out the full 2008 NBA Draft results. And equally important is the list of transactions -- including all the Draft day trades that are now official.
Here is brief analysis of the first 15 picks blogged live from the Draft as it happened. It's raw and unedited, and will remain that way. The fun of blogging.
One surprise in this year's draft was the fall of Darrell Arthur. Word is, it was because of a scare about his kidney's health. He still went first round (#27 to the Hornets, though he's being traded), so Arthur has officially made the NBA (unlike second round picks, who are drafted but aren't actually signed to a contract unless their team decides to offer them one).
More reviews of the 2008 NBA Draft coming to InsideHoops.com Saturday night and all day Sunday.
EVENTS LEADING TO 2008 NBA DRAFT
The 2008 NBA Draft is on June 26 and once again takes place in the Theatre of Madison Square Garden in New York City. Each year the Draft is possibly the single biggest day of the entire basketball year, aside from the day a team wins the championship and maybe the NBA trade deadline. In the NBA Draft, teams select new players who are entering the NBA for the first time. They mostly come from American colleges, and some come from overseas. High school basketball players are no longer allowed to jump straight to the NBA.
June 23: The Draft prospects invited by the NBA for the annual day-before-draft special media session (the players who are also invited to the Draft's 'Green Room") are: Joe Alexander (West Virginia), Darrell Arthur (Kansas), DJ Augustin (Texas), Jerryd Bayless (Arizona), Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Danilo Gallinari (Italy), Eric Gordon (Indiana), DeAndre Jordan (Texas A&M), Brook Lopez (Stanford), Robin Lopez (Stanford), Kevin Love (UCLA), OJ Mayo (USC), Anthony Randolph (LSU), Derrick Rose (Memphis), Brandon Rush (Kansas) and Russell Westbrook (UCLA). What this means is the league expects these guys to be taken before the majority of other players. But every year there are always a few guys that drop lower than expected, a few players not on this list that go higher than expected, and it's quite possible that at least one of those players drops much further than expected.
June 23: The InsideHoops.com NBA Mock Draft shows what may happen if the draft was today. It's updated regularly. Prospect profiles, rankings by position and much more in-depth stuff coming soon.
May 27-30 was the 2008 NBA pre-draft camp. The NBA (via feedback from teams around the league) invite players who are the best candidates to get drafted. Though, players who consider themselves "locks" to go upper first round usually skip the camp and only attend it to shake some hands and let the league take their official measurements (height, weight, vertical leap, etc.). The players who attend and actually participate go through four days of drills and game scrimmages. Click the link to see who stood out
May 21: Here's the official 2008 first and second round NBA Draft order.
May 20: The 2008 NBA Draft Lottery was on Monday, May 20. That's the day the order of the first 14 picks in the NBA Draft are selected (surely you've heard about the ping pong balls). Teams that don't make the playoffs are called "lottery teams," because those teams get entered into the lottery, where the teams with the worst record have the best chance at getting the #1 pick. The results are in, and the Bulls beat the odds to get the #1 pick. The Sonics fell to the #4 pick.
May 1: The NBA Draft underclassmen early entry list was released, showing which college players who are not yet seniors, and which young international players, have declared themselves eligible for the 2008 NBA Draft. College underclassmen who have not signed with an agent and have not otherwise ruined their draft eligibility have until June 16 to withdraw from the Draft and return to college. The deadline is the same for young international players, who can return to doing whatever they're doing overseas (usually playing professionally already).
Aside from the official camp mentioned above, there's also the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (or P.I.T.), which the NBA recognizes, but does not actually run. That camp is only for college seniors. And the good seniors who think they're locks to be drafted usually skip it, so the players involved at Portsmouth are usually just second round hopefuls. Most won't get drafted.
NBA DRAFT PLAYER RANKINGS Updated June 1, 2008
PG: 1) Derrick Rose, 2) Jerryd Bayless, 3) DJ Augustin, 4) Russell Westbrook, 5) Mario Chalmers
SG: 1) OJ Mayo, 2) Eric Gordon, 3) Brandon Rush, 4) Chris Douglas-Roberts, 5) Courtney Lee
SF: 1) Anthony Randolph, 2) Danilo Gallinari, 3) Joe Alexander, 4) Donte Green, 5) Nicolas Batum
PF: 1) Michael Beasley, 2) Kevin Love, 3) Darrell Arthur, 4) Marreese Speights, 5) JJ Hickson
InsideHoops.com is your source for complete 2008 NBA Draft coverage
2007 NBA DRAFT COVERAGE
The 2007 NBA Draft is June 28 in the theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This year's event features two highly-desired superstars in big-man Greg Oden and tall, lanky Devin Durant, and plenty of talent available from picks three down to a bit past the middle of the first round. Aside from those two players, who are almost guaranteed to be the first and second overall picks, the 2007 NBA Draft also features Joakim Noah, Al Thornton, Mike Conley, a tall Chinese propect named Yi Jianlian, Julian Wright, Jeff Green and other potential difference-makers.
NBA Draft Green Room Invitees: Corey Brewer (Florida), Michael Conley (Ohio St.), Kevin Durant (Texas), Jeff Green (Georgetown), Spencer Hawes (Washington), Al Horford (Florida), Yi Jianlian (China),
Acie Law IV (Texas A&M), Joakim Noah (Florida), Greg Oden (Ohio St.), Rodney Stuckey (Eastern Washington),
Al Thornton (Florida St.), Brandan Wright (North Carolina), Julian Wright (Kansas), Nick Young (USC).
Talk with other NBA Draft enthusiasts on the InsideHoops NBA Draft Forum. Enjoy year-round draft talk.
On June 19 the final, official NBA Draft early entry list was released, naming underclassmen who have declared themselves eligible for the NBA Draft as well as players who had declared early entry but have withdrawn. Players had until June 18 to withdraw.
The InsideHoops.com NBA Mock Draft is one of the web's top (and only) proven, reliable, professional looks at how the draft would go down if it was to happen today. It's compiled by InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner (who does radio around the country and also wrote the All-Star player profiles for the official 2007 NBA All-Star weekend event program) with help from a good dozen or so top sources, including assistant general managers, scouts and others. The entire NBA media world knows the InsideHoops.com mock draft is a trusted source of info.
The 2007 NBA Pre-Draft camp is from May 29 through June 1 in Orlando, Florida. InsideHoops.com is there and reporting every day. We've already posted some Day 1 notes, and the first day was just two hours long. The real action comes on days 2-4. We'll have daily notes plus tons of interviews, all worth reading.
The official NBA Draft order showing the complete first and second round team selection order is useful. This year, thanks to several trades, the Philadelphia 76ers have three first round draft picks.
The NBA Draft Lottery recently took place. Ping-pong balls and odds based on record determined the exact order that lottery teams -- teams that failed to qualify for the NBA Playoffs -- will pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. Of course, many teams have traded their picks, so some selections go elsewhere.
It's also worth reading NBA Draft lottery quotes, with reactions from several lottery team representatives after the lottery results became known.
To keep up with the latest 2007 NBA Draft stories, read the InsideHoops.com NBA Rumors page each day, and to see archived stories hit the NBA draft rumors page.
2006 NBA DRAFT COVERAGE
The 2006 NBA Draft was Wednesday, June 28, at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden. The NBA Draft Green Room invitees were LaMarcus Aldridge, Hilton Armstrong, Andrea Bargnani, Ronnie Brewer, Rodney Carney, Randy Foye, Rudy Gay, Adam Morrison, Patrick O'Bryant, J.J. Redick, Brandon Roy, Cedric Simmons, Tyrus Thomas, Marcus Williams and Shelden Williams.
For the first time in five years, the No. 1 overall pick this year played at least one season of college basketball. Andrew Bogut played two seasons at Utah. Cincinnati's Kenyon Martin was the last collegiate player to go first, to New Jersey in 2000. The first overall picks since then have been Kwame Brown (Washington), Yao Ming (Houston), LeBron James (Cleveland) and Dwight Howard (Orlando), all but Yao straight out of high school.
This year marks the first time three point guards – Deron Williams (#3), Chris Paul (#4) and Raymond Felton (#5) – were chosen in the Top 10 since 1999. That year, Steve Francis (#2), Baron Davis (#3), Andre Miller (#8) and Jason Terry (#10) all went in the Top 10.
North Carolina had four players selected in the first round – Marvin Williams (#2), Raymond Felton (#5), Sean May (#13) and Rashad McCants (#14). This has happened only one other time: Duke in 1999 – Elton Brand (#1), Trajan Langdon (#11), Corey Maggette (#13) and William Avery (#14).
Felton and May are the first set of college teammates to be drafted by the same team (Charlotte) since Todd Day and Lee Mayberry of Arkansas were each drafted by Milwaukee in 1992. In 2004, the Portland Trail Blazers traded for the rights to Viktor Khryapa of CSKA Moscow and drafted his teammate Sergei Monia.
There were seven international players selected in the first round, two shy of the record (9) set in 2003. This year’s selections are Andrew Bogut (Australia), Fran Vazquez (Spain), Yaroslav Korolev (Russia), Francisco Garcia (Dominican Republic), Johan Petro (France), Linas Kleiza (Lithuania) and Ian Mahinmi (France).
There were nine college seniors selected in the first round, up from five in 2004. They are: Channing Frye (#8), Joey Graham (#16), Danny Granger (#17), Hakim Warrick (#19), Julius Hodge (#20), Luther Head (#24), Jason Maxiell (#26), Wayne Simien (#29) and David Lee (#30).
This year, there were a record nine high school seniors chosen in the draft: Martell Webster (#6), Andrew Bynum (#10), Gerald Green (#18), CJ Miles (#34), Ricky Sanchez (#35), Monta Ellis (#40), Louis Williams (#45), Andray Blatche (#49), Amir Johnson (#56).
Players Invited to 2005 NBA Draft Green Room: Bogut, Felton, Frye, Granger, Green, Korolev, May, McCants, Paul, Vazquez, Villanueva, Warrick, Webster, Deron Williams, Marvin Williams, Wright.
ABOUT THE NBA DRAFT
The NBA Draft, which happens once a year (in June), is when NBA teams select new players (from college, high school and outside of the country) who will enter the NBA for the first time. The 2005 NBA Draft is on June 28 in New York's Madison Square Garden theatre. The 2005 NBA Draft deadline for "underclassmen" (early entry players: non-seniors in college, high school seniors, and young international players) to declare themselves eligible was on May 14 (see link above for the list).
The NBA's Chicago pre-draft camp is June 7-10. (it just happens to be in Chicago. It's for all teams, not just the Bulls.) That's the main NBA pre-draft camp. Players who feel they're a lock to be drafted in the first round usually don't play and just go to take a physical. The only other NBA pre-draft camp is the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.), for college seniors only. Very few P.I.T. players get drafted. The best college seniors usually skip the P.I.T. and only play in the Chicago camp - unless they skip that, too.
The 2005 NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline is on June 21. Underclassmen who made themselves eligible for the 2005 NBA draft have until that day to change their minds and postpone being a part of the NBA Draft. However, high school and college players who signed with an agent or otherwise ruined their amateur status won't be allowed back in school.
Official Draft Underclassmen
List
Official list of underclassmen who have declared themselves eligible for the 2003
draft, and a list of those who withdrew.
Draft
Lottery Interviews
Transcripts of media sessions with all the team representatives involved with
the draft lottery tonight. See what Cleveland said about getting the top pick
(allowing them to take LeBron James), and much more. May 23
NBA
Draft Order
Some coins have been flipped, and now the 2003 NBA draft order has been resolved.
Not the lottery, but the odds, and later picks, and this, and that, and the other
thing. Apr 29
High
School Basketball Player Rankings Since some of these kids will go straight to the NBA, you
might as well know who they are. InsideHoops ranks the prep kids.
2003 NBA Draft Lottery Chances Per Team:
Team 1 - 250
Team 2 - 200
Team 3 - 157
Team 4 - 120
Team 5 - 89
Team 6 - 64
Team 7 - 44
Team 8 - 29
Team 9 - 18
Team 10 - 11
Team 11 - 7
Team 12 - 6
Team 13 - 5
2002 Chicago
Pre-Draft Camp Roster The main camp for 2002 NBA draft prospects. Most players
who are a lock for the first round don't play. (June 6, 2002)
Key 2009 NBA Draft dates: NBA Early Entry Eligibility Deadline is April 26. The NBA Draft Lottery is May 19. The NBA Draft Early Entry Entrant Withdrawal Deadline is June 15. The 2009 NBA Draft is June 25.
The 2007 NBA Draft is June 28 in the theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. This year's event features two highly-desired superstars in big-man Greg Oden and tall, lanky Devin Durant, and plenty of talent available from picks three down to a bit past the middle of the first round. Aside from those two players, who are almost guaranteed to be the first and second overall picks, the 2007 NBA Draft also features Joakim Noah, Al Thornton, Mike Conley, a tall Chinese propect named Yi Jianlian, Julian Wright, Jeff Green and other potential difference-makers.
