2022 NBA Draft Results
The 2022 NBA draft is in the books, and we tracked all of this year’s picks in the space below, taking into account each trade agreed upon over the course of the draft.
Here are 2022’s NBA draft results:
First Round:
- Orlando Magic: Paolo Banchero, F, Duke (story)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Chet Holmgren, F, Gonzaga (story)
- Houston Rockets: Jabari Smith, F, Auburn (story)
- Sacramento Kings: Keegan Murray, F, Iowa (story)
- Detroit Pistons: Jaden Ivey, G, Purdue
- Indiana Pacers: Bennedict Mathurin, G/F, Arizona
- Portland Trail Blazers: Shaedon Sharpe, G, Kentucky
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Lakers): Dyson Daniels, G, G League Ignite
- San Antonio Spurs: Jeremy Sochan, F, Baylor
- Washington Wizards: Johnny Davis, G, Wisconsin
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Knicks): Ousmane Dieng, F, New Zealand Breakers
- Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers): Jalen Williams, G, Santa Clara
- Detroit Pistons (from Hornets via Knicks): Jalen Duren, C, Memphis
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Ochai Agbaji, F, Kansas
- Charlotte Hornets (from Pelicans): Mark Williams, C, Duke
- Atlanta Hawks: AJ Griffin, F, Duke
- Houston Rockets (from Nets): Tari Eason, F, LSU
- Chicago Bulls: Dalen Terry, G, Arizona
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Timberwolves): Jake LaRavia, F, Wake Forest
- San Antonio Spurs (from Raptors): Malaki Branham, G/F, Ohio State
- Denver Nuggets: Christian Braun, G, Kansas
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Jazz via Grizzlies): Walker Kessler, C, Auburn
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Sixers): David Roddy, F, Colorado State
- Milwaukee Bucks: MarJon Beauchamp, G, G League Ignite
- San Antonio Spurs (from Celtics): Blake Wesley, G, Notre Dame
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Mavericks via Rockets): Wendell Moore, F, Duke
- Miami Heat: Nikola Jovic, F, Mega Mozzart
- Golden State Warriors: Patrick Baldwin Jr., F, Milwaukee
- Houston Rockets (from Grizzlies via Timberwolves): TyTy Washington, G, Kentucky
- Denver Nuggets (from Suns via Thunder): Peyton Watson, F, UCLA
Second Round:
- Indiana Pacers (from Rockets): Andrew Nembhard, G, Gonzaga
- Orlando Magic: Caleb Houstan, F, Michigan
- Toronto Raptors (from Pistons): Christian Koloko, F/C, Arizona
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Jaylin Williams, C, Arkansas
- Los Angeles Lakers (from Pacers via Magic): Max Christie, G, Michigan State
- Detroit Pistons (from Trail Blazers): Gabriele Procida, G, Fortitudo Bologna
- Dallas Mavericks (from Kings): Jaden Hardy, G, G League Ignite
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Lakers via Spurs): Kennedy Chandler, G, Tennessee
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Spurs): Khalifa Diop, C, Gran Canaria
- Charlotte Hornets (from Wizards via Timberwolves): Bryce McGowens, G, Nebraska
- New Orleans Pelicans: E.J. Liddell, F, Ohio State
- New York Knicks: Trevor Keels, F, Duke
- Los Angeles Clippers: Moussa Diabate, F, Michigan
- Golden State Warriors (from Hawks): Ryan Rollins, G, Toledo
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Hornets): Josh Minott, F, Memphis
- Denver Nuggets (from Nets via Pistons and Trail Blazers): Ismael Kamagate, C, Paris
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Cavaliers): Vince Williams, F, VCU
- Indiana Pacers (from Timberwolves): Kendall Brown, F, Baylor
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Bulls via Kings): Isaiah Mobley, F, USC
- Minnesota Timberwolves (from Nuggets): Matteo Spagnolo, G, Cremona
- Atlanta Hawks (from Raptors via Warriors): Tyrese Martin, F, UConn
- New Orleans Pelicans (from Jazz): Karlo Matkovic, F, Mega Mozzart
- Boston Celtics: JD Davison, G, Alabama
- Washington Wizards (from Mavericks): Yannick Nzosa, C, Unicaja Malaga
- Golden State Warriors: Gui Santos, F, Minas
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Heat): Luke Travers, G/F, Perth Wildcats
- Portland Trail Blazers (from Grizzlies): Jabari Walker, F, Colorado
- Milwaukee Bucks (from Suns via Pacers): Hugo Besson, G, New Zealand Breakers
Note: The Bucks and Heat forfeited their second-round picks due to free agency gun-jumping. They would have been No. 54 and No. 55, respectively.
Pistons’ Procida, Cavs’ Diop Among Draftees Expected To Be Stashed Overseas
Italian wing Gabriele Procida, who was drafted 36th overall on Thursday night after spending last season with Fortitudo Bologna, is expected to be stashed overseas by the Pistons, reports James L. Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link).
While Procida is the highest of this year’s draft picks reported to be a likely draft-and-stash prospect, he’s hardly the only one. Here are a few more updates on 2022’s draft-and-stash candidates:
- After using the No. 39 pick to draft him on Thursday, the Cavaliers intend to keep 20-year-old center Khalifa Diop overseas for the 2022/23 season, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The Senegalese big man won the EuroCup Rising Star award playing for Gran Canaria in Spain this past season.
- The Nuggets plan to stash center Ismael Kamagate in Europe next season, a source tells Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports (Twitter link). The No. 46 pick on Thursday, Kamagate had an All-Star season playing for Paris in 2021/22.
- Italian shooting guard Matteo Spagnolo, drafted at No. 50 by the Timberwolves, will likely remain overseas next season, per president of basketball operations Tim Connelly (Twitter link via Dane Moore). Spagnolo is still just 19 years old.
- Crotian forward/center Karlo Matkovic, selected 52nd overall by the Pelicans, is expected to join New Orleans’ Summer League roster but will continue playing in Europe for another year or two, general manager Trajan Langdon told reporters, including Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).
- Wizards president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard said after the draft that No. 54 pick Yannick Nzosa will be a “stash guy” in the Spanish League next season, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Nuggets Trade JaMychal Green To Thunder
JUNE 23: The Nuggets and Thunder have officially completed their trade, according to a press release from the Nuggets.
The deal sends Green and a protected 2027 first-round pick to the Thunder in exchange for the draft rights to No. 30 pick Peyton Watson to the Nuggets and two second-rounders (one in 2023 and one in 2024).
The 2027 first-rounder the Thunder are receiving will be top-five protected for three years and would become a 2029 second-rounder if it falls in its protected range in 2027, 2028, and 2029, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).
JUNE 13: The Nuggets and Thunder have agreed to a trade that will send forward JaMychal Green to Oklahoma City, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Green will pick up his $8.2MM player option for 2022/23 as part of the deal.
According to Wojnarowski, Oklahoma City will also receive a protected 2027 first-round pick from Denver, while the Nuggets will get the No. 30 pick in this year’s draft, plus a 2023 second-round selection and a 2024 second-rounder.
The Thunder entered the week with four picks in the top 34 of this year’s draft — they also control Nos. 2, 12, and 34. They were always considered extremely unlikely to bring in four rookies for the 2022/23 season, so it comes as no surprise that they decided to move off one of their picks. Giving up No. 30 will allow them to land a future first-rounder and a potentially useful player in Green, who will be on an expiring contract.
Green had a down year in 2021/22, averaging 6.4 PPG and 4.2 RPG on .486/.266/.871 shooting in 67 games (16.2 MPG) for the Nuggets, but has proven to be an effective stretch four over the years. Entering ’21/22, he had knocked down 38.0% of his three-point attempts in his first seven NBA seasons.
It’s unclear whether the Thunder intend to keep Green for the 2022/23 season or if they’ll try to flip him to another team.
From the Nuggets’ perspective, the trade – Calvin Booth‘s first as the head of basketball operations – allows them to move off some salary for ’22/23 while acquiring an extra 2022 first-rounder in exchange for a future pick. Denver will now control the 21st and 30th overall picks in this year’s draft, giving the team some ammo if it wants to try to move up.
While it looks on the surface as if the Nuggets may be trying to duck below the luxury tax line for next season, Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) that’s not the case. According to Woj, Denver still expects to be a taxpaying team and now has more flexibility to use its mid-level exception or the $8.2MM trade exception that will be generated by moving Green.
The trade will be finalized sometime before the new league year begins at the start of July, since the Thunder will use a portion of their leftover cap room to take on Green’s salary — that cap room will go away in July when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s maximum-salary extension hits Oklahoma City’s books, as we noted in our offseason preview.
Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link) estimates that OKC will still have about $23.4MM in ’21/22 cap space after acquiring Green, so more salary-dump deals could be on the way within the next couple weeks.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), the Nuggets already owe their 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected) to the Thunder and their 2025 first-round pick (top-five protected) to the Magic. If either of those selections falls within its protected range, the 2027 pick that OKC is acquiring in this trade would have to be pushed back to 2028, since the Stepien rule prevents teams from trading consecutive future first-rounders.
Jalen Duren, Kemba Walker To Pistons In Three-Team Trade
10:55pm: The Knicks have officially announced their part of the trade with the Hornets, indicating that this deal will actually be split into two separate transactions. The Knicks and Pistons can’t complete their half of the trade until Detroit opens up cap room in July.
9:47pm: Zach Lowe of ESPN confirms (via Twitter) that the Bucks’ 2025 first-rounder is headed to the Knicks in the deal. That means the trade, as reported so far, looks like this:
- Pistons acquiring Jalen Duren and Kemba Walker.
- Knicks acquiring Bucks’ 2025 first-round pick (top-four protected; from Pistons).
- Hornets acquiring Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected), Knicks’ 2023 second-round pick, the Jazz’s 2023 second-round pick, either the Mavericks’ or Heat’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable), and the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick (all from Knicks).
9:29pm: According to Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), the Hornets are receiving the Nuggets’ 2023 first-round pick, the Knicks’ 2023 second-round pick, Utah’s 2023 second-round pick, either Dallas’ or Miami’s 2023 second-round pick (whichever is most favorable), and the Knicks’ 2024 second-round pick.
All of those second-rounders belonged to New York, while the Nuggets’ 2023 first-rounder (top-14 protected) was held by the Thunder — it’s presumably one of the picks headed to the Knicks in the Ousmane Dieng trade.
Boone’s report suggests that the Bucks’ 2025 first-rounder will go from Detroit to New York rather than to Charlotte, but we’ll await further confirmation to be sure.
8:26pm: The Hornets will trade Memphis center Jalen Duren to the Pistons after selecting him 13th overall in tonight’s draft, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link).
According to Fischer (Twitter link), it’ll be a three-team trade that also involves the Knicks. Sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that New York is sending Kemba Walker to Detroit as part of the trade.
However, it seems unlikely that Walker will remain with the Pistons for long, as sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that the two sides are expected to discuss a buyout of the final year of his contract, which is worth $9.17MM next season.
James L. Edwards III of The Athletic first reported (via Twitter) that a deal was close, while Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) that Charlotte is acquiring the 2025 Milwaukee first-round pick (top-four protected) that Detroit is receiving from Portland in the Jerami Grant trade.
Meanwhile, Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer reports (via Twitter) that the Hornets are acquiring four second-round picks in the deal. The details on those second-rounders have yet to be reported, but it seems likely that most, if not all, of them are coming from the Knicks as part of the price for dumping Walker’s contract.
Duren averaged 12.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.1 BPG in 29 games (25.3 MPG) during his first and only college season, earning AAC Freshman of the Year honors and making the All-AAC First Team. He won’t turn 19 until November after graduating from high school a year early, making him one of the youngest players in the draft class.
Woj: Paolo Banchero Frontrunner To Be No. 1 Pick
6:56pm: Wojnarowski (Twitter link) now classifies Banchero as the frontrunner to be the No. 1 pick.
6:48pm: Duke forward Paolo Banchero remains “very much” in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick, Adrian Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s draft broadcast. Wojnarowski has since reported on Twitter that Banchero has emerged as a “significant possibility” to be drafted first overall (Twitter links).
The Magic are expected to select either Auburn’s Jabari Smith or Banchero, according to Wojnarowski, who says there’s a “real chance” teams’ draft boards could be blown up.
Virtually all reporting leading up to draft night has had Smith as the favorite to go first overall, with ESPN’s Jonathan Givony suggesting earlier this week that it would be a major surprise to most teams around the NBA if Smith isn’t Orlando’s pick.
As we relayed earlier today, oddsmakers around the country briefly made Banchero the betting favorite to be the No. 1 pick late last night, but those odds shifted back strongly in Smith’s favor after Wojnarowski reported this morning that the top three – with Smith to Orlando, Chet Holmgren to the Thunder, and Banchero to the Rockets – looked “increasingly firm.”
Clippers’ Luke Kennard Available Via Trade?
6:34pm: Multiple league sources have told Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) that the Clippers aren’t looking to trade Kennard.
This doesn’t necessarily mean Kennard is off-limits in trade conversations — it’s possible the Clippers are willing to discuss him but objected to the idea that he’s being “shopped.” It’s also possible he’ll simply remain in Los Angeles to start the 2022/23 season.
9:10am: The Clippers are shopping sharpshooter Luke Kennard in trade discussions and may attempt to move him later in the offseason if they don’t find a deal they like ahead of Thursday’s draft, reports Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
Acquired and extended by the Clippers during the 2020 offseason, Kennard has been a regular part of the team’s rotation over the last two years and made a league-best 44.9% of his three-point attempts in 2021/22. He averaged 11.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in 70 games (27.4 MPG) this past season, while knocking down 2.7 threes per contest.
As valuable as Kennard is as a floor spacer, the Clippers will have a crowded rotation next season. Swingman Norman Powell, acquired at this year’s trade deadline, could cut into Kennard’s playing time, and if a fully healthy Kawhi Leonard is back in the lineup in 2022/23, that could result in fewer minutes for everyone else.
The Clippers also project to be far above the NBA’s projected tax line for next season, perhaps creating some incentive to move off a sizable multiyear contract like Kennard’s. The veteran wing, who will turn 26 on Friday, will earn approximately $30MM over the next two years, with a $15.4MM team option for 2024/25.
The Cavaliers and Clippers talked about Kennard last season before Cleveland landed Caris LeVert, according to Deveney, who suggests the Cavs could still be in the market for an outside shooter. The Bulls and Kings are among the other potential suitors for Kennard, sources tell Deveney.
Sixers Pursuing Eric Gordon, Talking To Blazers About Thybulle
The Sixers are making an effort to acquire guard Eric Gordon from the Rockets, league sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link).
As Pompey outlines, the 76ers are dangling defensive standout Matisse Thybulle in their talks for Gordon and are looking to involve a third team. According to Pompey, the Trail Blazers have interest in making a straight-up trade for Thybulle, but Philadelphia wants to turn it into a three-team deal in order to land Gordon (Twitter link).
There are some missing details here, including which other players the Sixers would send out in such a trade — even fully guaranteeing Danny Green‘s $10MM contract for 2022/23 and attaching him to Thybulle wouldn’t quite get the team into salary-matching range for Gordon, who will earn $19.6MM next season. But presumably the 76ers’ thinking is that if there’s a team willing to give up a first-round pick for Thybulle, that selection could be rerouted to Houston for Gordon.
The Sixers’ interest in Gordon was first reported by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst earlier this week. Gordon and P.J. Tucker have been the targets most frequently linked to Philadelphia in recent days, which perhaps shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that both veterans played key roles on Daryl Morey‘s most successful squads in Houston.
If they can land Gordon, the Sixers would secure a solid outside shooter and ball-handler who can hold his own and handle switches on defense. The Suns are among the other teams said to have interest in the 33-year-old.
The Blazers, meanwhile, are known to be in the market for strong wing defenders, even after agreeing to acquire Jerami Grant from Detroit. Portland has been connected to players like OG Anunoby and Luguentz Dort, but the asking price for Thybulle would likely be more reasonable.
Draft Rumors: Pistons, Mathurin, Duren, Eason, J. Smith, More
People around the NBA have been “gossiping” about an incredible workout Bennedict Mathurin had with the Pistons, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who says there’s chatter that members of Detroit’s front office are “infatuated” with the Arizona guard.
Jaden Ivey and Keegan Murray have long been considered the favorites to join Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, and Paolo Banchero in the top five, but perhaps the Pistons will upend that expectation by targeting Mathurin. For what it’s worth, however, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) still believes Murray is the favorite over Mathurin at No. 5 if Ivey is off the board.
Within his latest mock draft, Givony also reports that Pistons general manager Troy Weaver is one of Jalen Duren‘s biggest fans in the NBA. While Duren likely won’t be under serious consideration at No. 5, the Pistons could consider trading back into the first round if he slips at all, according to Givony, who points to the Hornets (No. 13 and No. 15) as a possible trade partner for Detroit in a deal involving Gordon Hayward.
Elsewhere in his mock draft, O’Connor writes that the Nuggets (No. 21 and No. 30) and Grizzlies (No. 22 and No. 29) have both made attempts to package their picks in an effort to move up in the first round.
O’Connor suggests Denver’s picks probably aren’t enough to move into the middle of the first round unless the team is willing to include a young player or another future pick. However, he writes that the Grizzlies have been exploring picks as high as the Knicks‘ selection at No. 11. In order to get that high, Memphis would presumably have to take on some unwanted salary or include another asset beyond the team’s two 2022 first-rounders.
Here’s more on the 2022 NBA draft, which is now just hours away:
- Executives around the league keep connecting LSU forward Tari Eason to the Rockets at No. 17, according to O’Connor. Meanwhile, Zach Harper of The Athletic has heard from sources that the Celtics are also high on Eason and could try to trade into the first round using a young rotation player to draft him. An earlier report indicated Boston was open to discussing Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard, and Harper adds Aaron Nesmith to that list.
- Auburn’s Jabari Smith tells Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he’ll be surprised if he’s not drafted first overall tonight. Virtually every major sportsbook made Paolo Banchero the favorite to go No. 1 late last night, but those odds have since swung back in the other direction. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report speculates (via Twitter) that the Banchero buzz may have been related to contact he and his camp had with the Magic on Wednesday after a Monday visit was canceled, but Fischer — like ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski — reiterates that Smith remains the favorite to be the No. 1 pick.
- Ian Begley of SNY.tv (video link) views Duke’s AJ Griffin as the most likely pick for the Knicks if they remain at No. 11.
- The Raptors, who moved down from No. 20 to No. 33 in the draft as a result of their Thaddeus Young trade in February, don’t view the gap between those two selections as significant, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic. As Koreen observes, there’s less of a consensus on prospects further down draft boards than there is at the very top, so several of the players drafted between Nos. 20 and 32 may not be at or near the top of Toronto’s board.
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Considering Options For Future
Nets star Kevin Durant is monitoring Brooklyn’s situation and “considering options with his future,” sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). While Charania’s report is vague, it suggests Durant may not be completely satisfied with his current situation despite being under contract for the next four years.
The Nets’ negotiations with Kyrie Irving figure to be a crucial factor in Durant’s deliberations, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN detailed earlier this week. Irving and the Nets were said on Monday to be at an impasse in their contract talks, and Kyrie and KD are close, so their futures may be connected — if one leaves Brooklyn, the other would likely be more inclined to follow suit.
According to Charania, Durant’s deliberations open a path for Irving to look more seriously at finding a new home via opt-in and trade.
Meanwhile, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link) that Irving has a list of teams he would like Brooklyn to consider in sign-and-trade scenarios if he and the Nets don’t reach a new agreement, including the Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavericks, and Sixers. Those are teams Irving is interested in, though not all of them would necessarily reciprocate that interest and make him a top priority, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).
Irving has a $36.9MM player option that he must make a decision on by next Wednesday. Picking up that option would mean he either returns to Brooklyn or relies on the Nets to trade him. Declining it would make him an unrestricted free agent, in which case he could either re-sign with the Nets or join a new team, possibly via sign-and-trade.
Teams that will be over the tax apron (projected to be approximately $155MM) for the 2022/23 season would be ineligible to acquire a player via sign-and-trade. Of the teams on Irving’s wish list, the Lakers, Clippers, and Mavericks are all on track to be well above the apron, while the Heat and Sixers also aren’t locks to stay below it. That would complicate sign-and-trade scenarios, so Irving’s best route to changing teams without taking a massive pay cut would be with an opt-in-and-trade.
As ESPN’s Bobby Marks observes (via Twitter), Irving’s current contract includes a 15% trade bonus, so if he were to exercise his player option and be traded without waiving that bonus, his salary for 2022/23 would increase to over $42MM, with the Nets responsible for paying the extra $5.5MM.
Irving is seeking a lucrative long-term contract this offseason, while the Nets have reportedly been pushing for a shorter-term deal. If the two sides can find common ground, Irving and Durant both seem like good bets to remain in Brooklyn, but the fact that both stars are now said to be considering their options isn’t great news for a Nets team that already had to trade away one superstar earlier this year when James Harden asked out.
Knicks Notes: Brogdon, Sharpe, Barrett, Draft
While Indiana and New York have had conversations about Malcolm Brogdon, some Pacers officials came away from those talks under the impression that the Knicks are exploring a lot of point guard options and Brogdon isn’t necessarily at the top of their wish list, says Ian Begley of SNY.tv.
That doesn’t mean that the Knicks won’t ultimately make a deal for Brogdon, but most recent reports – including those from Begley – have suggested that Jalen Brunson is New York’s preferred target at point guard this summer.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Jaden Ivey isn’t the only player on the Knicks’ radar in possible trade-up scenarios, according to Begley, who writes in a separate SNY.tv story that Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe also “fans in high places” within the organization. Sharpe appears likely to come off the board in the top 10, though that’s not a lock.
- Fred Katz of The Athletic notes that the Knicks’ cap situation for the 2023 offseason will be impacted by where the NBA’s estimated average salary for 2022/23 ends up, since RJ Barrett‘s cap hold will depend on whether his ’22/23 salary ($10.9MM) is deemed to be below or above the league average. If his salary falls below the league average, his cap hold in 2023 would be $32.7MM; if it’s above the league average, his cap hold next year would be $27.25MM. The issue would be moot if Barrett signs an extension this offseason, since his cap hold for 2023/24 would be replaced by the first-year salary in his new deal.
- In another story for The Athletic, Katz and draft guru Sam Vecenie explore how Thursday night might play out for the Knicks, who control the 11th and 42nd overall picks.
- Zach Braziller of The New York Post also takes a look at the myriad options the Knicks will have available to them on draft night.