Rockets Take Jalen Green With Second Pick
Jalen Green, the dynamic shooting guard from G League Ignite, is headed to the Rockets with the second pick in this year’s draft. The 19-year-old bypassed college basketball to get a year of seasoning in the G League while waiting to become eligible for the draft.
He was the first high school prospect to join the new developmental team, and he quickly established himself as an offensive force. In 15 games in the Orlando bubble, he averaged 17.9 points per game while shooting 46.1% from the floor and 36.5% from three-point range. He had a 30-point effort in a playoff loss to Raptors 905.
Green joins a Houston team that has needed scoring punch from its backcourt ever since trading James Harden to Brooklyn in January. Green may not start right away, with veteran guards John Wall and Eric Gordon on the roster, but he will be the centerpiece of the rebuilding effort for a team that went 17-55 this season.
The Rockets looked closely at USC’s Evan Mobley and Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs before deciding on Green. The Pistons reportedly gave Green strong consideration for the top overall pick before opting for Cade Cunningham.
Pistons Draft Cade Cunningham With No. 1 Pick
7:09pm: The Pistons have officially drafted Cunningham.
12:42pm: The Pistons have decided to select Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham with the top pick in tonight’s draft, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
That was the expected outcome ever since Detroit won the draft lottery, but apparently the final decision wasn’t made until Thursday morning. Team officials traveled to New York on Wednesday to meet with Cunningham one more time, then finalized the decision to draft him during meetings earlier today, Wojnarowski reports in another tweet.
In a press conference earlier this week, Detroit general manager Troy Weaver said the team hadn’t made a final decision on whether the team would choose Cunningham, with Jalen Green also still in the mix and trade offers coming in.
It’s still not out of the question that the Pistons could trade the pick if they get an offer that’s too good to refuse, but otherwise Cunningham will be in a Detroit uniform next season, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Cunningham has been the consensus top pick for months among draft experts and the Pistons continued to field trade inquiries leading up to the draft. He’ll immediately become the face of a franchise that went into rebuild mode prior to the 2020 trade deadline, a process that accelerated when Weaver remade the roster after becoming the top executive in the franchise’s front office.
Given his status as the likely top pick, Cunningham only visited the Pistons prior to the draft. Cunningham attended a Tigers game, met with the team’s brass, and did a light workout early last week. He came away impressed by the team’s front office and coaching staff, as well as the city.
“The organization has a lot of great people within it,” Cunningham said last week. “I mean, starting from the owners, Troy Weaver is a great GM, and then, you know, all the way down. They got just great people throughout. So I learned a lot on my visit. If they take me, I’ll definitely be excited to be there.”
Trade Rumors: Reddish, Pacers, Knicks, McDaniels, Kemba, Bulls
The Hawks and Pacers have had exploratory talks about a deal that would send Cam Reddish and the No. 20 pick to Indiana in exchange for the No. 13 selection, writes Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer had previously reported that the Hawks and Pacers had discussed the No. 13 pick, and reported separately that Atlanta had offered Reddish and the No. 20 pick to teams in the late lottery, so it was safe to assume Reddish was on the table in those talks with Indiana. Scotto confirms as much, though it remains to be seen if the two sides will work out an agreement.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the league as the start of the 2021 NBA draft nears:
- Scotto and Marc Berman of The New York Post each confirmed that the Knicks have talked to the Magic about a possible Terrence Ross trade, as was reported earlier. Berman hears that the Knicks are offering draft assets and that Orlando has made Ross available for the better part of a year.
- According to Scotto, the Knicks have asked the Magic about the No. 8 pick, but didn’t gain any real traction. They’ve also talked to the Spurs about No. 12, per Scotto, who says the sense around the league is that New York is eyeing Chris Duarte.
- Multiple lottery teams have expressed interest in trading for Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels, according to Scotto. However, Minnesota remains reluctant to move McDaniels, whom the team views as part of its core going forward.
- The Thunder are exploring possible trades for Kemba Walker, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com. This had been expected, as Oklahoma City has made a habit in the last couple years of taking on unwanted contracts and then trying to flip them for positive value.
- The Bulls are eyeing draft prospects Miles McBride and Nah’Shon Hyland and may be looking to trade into the back half of the first round, tweets Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago currently only has the No. 38 pick in the 2021 draft.
Draft Rumors: Top Picks, Kuminga, Trade Talks, Pacers, Jazz
The top three picks appear set as the draft draws closer, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. We shared the news earlier today that the Pistons have decided to take Cade Cunningham with the first overall selection, and sources tell Woj that the Rockets “continue to trend toward” Jalen Green, while the Cavaliers are doing the same with Evan Mobley.
Those three selections have been been expected for a while, with most mock drafts listing Cunningham, Green and Mobley in that order. It appears that only an outrageous offer from a team looking to move up can add any drama to the very top of tonight’s draft, but the Cavs are sending out signals that they plan to keep their pick, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
There’s more draft news to pass along:
- Jonathan Kuminga‘s fate remains a mystery, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Once considered a possible top five pick, Kuminga’s stock has fallen in recent weeks, and Givony says teams are still debating where to rank him on their final boards. The Thunder at No. 6, the Warriors at No. 7 and the Magic at No. 8 are all considered possibilities, but Givony cautions that Kuminga could fall out of the top 10.
- Several teams have been hoping to trade their way into the top 10, but right now it looks as if that won’t happen, Givony adds (Twitter link). James Bouknight, Franz Wagner and Josh Giddey have risen up draft boards, causing the teams holding those picks to consider them more valuable.
- The Pacers have gained traction in possible deals to trade down or out of the first round entirely, but any move probably won’t be finalized until after the draft begins, tweets draft expert Chad Ford. Possible trade partners include the Knicks, Thunder and a “mystery team.”
- The Jazz are willing to trade the final pick of the first round, according to Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter link). The team is having trade discussions, but there’s one player who may be on the board that would make them consider keeping the pick.
Potential Westbrook Deal Not Viewed As Precursor To Beal Trade
The Wizards are reportedly engaged in serious talks to send Russell Westbrook to the Lakers, but that doesn’t mean Washington is looking to trade its other star guard too. According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link), a Westbrook deal isn’t viewed as a precursor to a Bradley Beal trade.
The idea behind a Westbrook trade for Washington would be to add some solid role-playing veterans around Beal and to unlock future cap flexibility to continue adding pieces around the NBA’s second-leading scorer, as both David Aldridge of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN have noted (Twitter links). Getting off of Westbrook’s $47MM+ salary for 2022/23 would put the Wizards in position to open up a significant chunk of cap room next summer.
While we don’t know for sure that Beal will be moved by that pitch, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic tweets that – based on what he’s hearing – the All-NBA guard will opt to remain in Washington.
Beal remains under contract with the Wizards for one more season before facing a player option decision in 2022, so even if he decides to stick with the franchise for the time being, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll have a long-term future in D.C.
For now though, it appears the most likely outcome is that Beal will be patient as Washington reshapes the roster around him and will assess how the new group looks in 2021/22. We will, of course, provide updates if and when that changes.
Montrezl Harrell To Exercise 2021/22 Player Option
Lakers center Montrezl Harrell is picking up his $9.72MM option for the 2021/22 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Harrell signed a two-year deal worth the mid-level exception last offseason with the Lakers. That deal included a guaranteed first year and a player option in year two.
The 27-year-old had an up-and-down season in Los Angeles, as his averages dipped to 13.5 PPG and 6.2 RPG following a 2019/20 campaign in which he put up 18.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG and won Sixth Man of the Year honors for the Clippers.
Harrell’s fit with the Lakers wasn’t quite as smooth as it had been with the Clippers. He virtually felt out of the rotation during the playoffs, logging just 39 total minutes in the team’s six-game series vs. Phoenix.
With no guarantee that he’d match or top his option salary on the open market, Harrell is opting in for 2021/22, but he may not be a Laker much longer.
The Kings and Lakers have reportedly made progress on a trade that would send Buddy Hield to L.A. in a package that includes Harrell, the No. 22 pick, and either Kyle Kuzma or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. That deal hasn’t been agreed to yet, but Harrell’s opt-in clears the path for it to be completed, and there’s been momentum toward that happening, Woj reports (via Twitter).
If Harrell is traded to Sacramento, he’d likely assume the rim-running center role that Richaun Holmes played this past season. The Kings are interested in re-signing Holmes but have limited cap flexibility to do so and will face competition for him on the free agent market.
Sacramento isn’t the only possible destination for Harrell, however. The Lakers have reportedly also gained serious traction on a deal with the Wizards for Russell Westbrook. If L.A. goes in that direction instead, Harrell could join Thomas Bryant in Washington’s frontcourt.
Warriors Reject Sixers’ Offer Of Simmons For Wiseman, Wiggins, Picks
The Warriors rejected a trade proposal from the Sixers that would’ve sent Ben Simmons to Golden State for Andrew Wiggins, James Wiseman, the No. 7 and No. 14 picks in the draft, plus two future first-round picks, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Golden State, who Pompey notes “basically assumed the Sixers’ offer as a joke,” is known to be open to discussing trades ahead of Thursday’s draft, but likely not for the price detailed above.
Pompey also confirmed a report from The Ringer that mentioned Philadelphia asked for four first-round picks, three first-round pick swaps, and a young player from the Spurs in exchange for Simmons. A league executive was cited in Pompey’s report calling the Sixers’ offers “totally outlandish” to this point.
Simmons, 25, is known for being one of the league’s top defenders and passers, but his shooting and half-court creation inconsistencies are well-documented. As of now, he and his camp remain “in step” with a potential trade during the offseason, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Spurs Eyeing Kyle Kuzma
The Spurs are believed to be interested in working with the Lakers on a potential sign-and-trade involving DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Kuzma, Marc Stein reports (via Twitter).
DeRozan, a Compton, California native, is reportedly interested in joining Los Angeles once he becomes a free agent. The Spurs could acquire Kuzma in a sign-and-trade scenario, though Stein notes the Lakers’ talks with the Kings have been the most serious.
Sacramento and Los Angeles have discussed a trade centered around Kuzma and Buddy Hield. Hield has spent the past five seasons with the Kings, averaging 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 34.3 minutes per game in 2020/21. He also shot 39% from three-point range.
As Stein mentions, while Hield would be an excellent acquisition for the Lakers, any deal could depend on whether Montrezl Harrell exercises his $9.72MM player option for next season. The 27-year-old big man has a July 31 deadline for that option.
Kuzma is under contract with the Lakers next season and the following at $13MM. He also holds a $13MM player option for the 2023/24 campaign.
Trade Rumors: Rubio, Ball, Knicks, Wizards, Simmons
Ricky Rubio is busy playing the point for Spain in the Olympics but a number of NBA teams are doing due diligence on a potential trade for the veteran point man, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets. The Celtics, Clippers and Lakers are keeping tabs on the Timberwolves guard. Rubio has a $17.8MM expiring contract for next season.
We have more trade chatter from around the league:
- The Pelicans and Pacers discussed a Lonzo Ball deal, Ian Begley of SNY.TV reports, though it’s unknown if those talks ever reached an advanced level. Ball will be a free agent, so a deal would only be possible via sign-and-trade.
- In the same piece, Begley writes that the Knicks plan to maintain enough cap flexibility to pursue top free agents in 2022, a class that could include Zach LaVine and Bradley Beal.
- The Wizards have received calls on their best young players, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington reports. Those players are presumably Rui Hachimura, Daniel Gafford and Deni Avdija. The front office could be motivated to move one or more of those players to appease Beal in a win-now scenario.
- There’s been plenty of speculation about a potential Ben Simmons trade. The latest from Mark Medina of USA Today (Twitter link) is that the Sixers are looking either for an All-Star talent in return or a starting-caliber player along with multiple draft picks.
Eastern Draft Notes: Nets, Cavs, Heat, Raptors, Pacers
The Nets own a first-rounder at No. 27 and three second-rounders, so expect them to be very active this evening, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Multiple teams are interested in guard Landry Shamet and the Nets would love to dump DeAndre Jordan‘s salary. Some of those picks could be dealt in one or more deals involving those players. General manager Sean Marks has developed a reputation of making deals on draft night, Lewis notes.
We have more draft-related news involving Eastern Conference teams:
- The Cavaliers continue to field calls with the No. 3 pick, but they’ll keep it unless they get an overwhelming offer, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. If they hold onto it, the Cavs will take USC big man Evan Mobley, assuming Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green are off the board. Cleveland also believes it can put together a package for another lottery pick in the top 10 by dangling some combination of Collin Sexton, Larry Nance Jr. and its 2022 first-rounder.
- The Heat do not own a draft pick but that could change, according to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Miami could not only make a trade, it could also buy a pick with the $5.6MM it has at its disposal for 2020/21 transactions before the NBA calendar flips on Monday.
- There’s growing speculation among lottery teams picking after the Raptors at No. 4 that they’ll pull a surprise and take Florida State forward Scottie Barnes, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report tweets. However, Jonathan Givony of ESPN claims in his latest mock draft that the league overwhelmingly expects them to select Gonzaga point guard Jalen Suggs, so the Raptors could be playing mind games with their competitors.
- The Pacers brought in Alex Antetokounmpo (Murcia CB in Spain) and Jaquori McLaughlin (UC Santa Barbara) for workouts on Tuesday, according to a team press release.