Hoops Rumors Polls

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held recently and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

Nearing the lottery’s halfway point, we’ll continue on with the Kings, whose roster is relatively set for next season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Sacramento’s pick and check back Saturday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Raptors will select with the No. 9 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 8 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
3. Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
4. Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
5. Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
6. Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)
7. Nuggets — Jamal Murray (Kentucky)

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

The Pelicans’ choice came right down to the wire, with Kris Dunn narrowly edging out Jamal Murray. Nearing the lottery’s halfway point, we’ll continue on with the Nuggets, whose roster is relatively set for next season. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Denver’s pick and check back Friday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Kings will select with the No. 8 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 7 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
3. Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
4. Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
5. Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
6. Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

With the first few picks out of the way, things have begun to get interesting. We’ll continue with the Pelicans, who have plenty of needs to address. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for New Orleans’ pick and check back Thursday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Nuggets will select with the No. 7 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 6 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
3. Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
4. Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
5. Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

With the first few picks out of the way, things have begun to get interesting. We’ll continue with the Suns, who are looking to rebuild in the tough Western Conference. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Phoenix’s pick and check back Monday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Timberwolves will select with the No. 5 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 3 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
3. Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

Now that the first two picks are out of the way, things will start to really get interesting. We’ll continue with the Celtics, who are still seeking to land a star player to build around. While Boston is a prime candidate to make a trade involving the No. 3 pick, for our purposes today we’ll assume they keep it. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Boston’s pick and check back Saturday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Suns will select with the No. 4 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 3 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

We’ll continue with the Lakers, who have a number of roster needs, especially in the frontcourt. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Los Angeles’ pick and check back Friday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Celtics will select with the No. 3 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 2 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

We’ll begin with the Sixers, who are likely to choose between former LSU forward Ben Simmons and former Duke forward Brandon Ingram at the top slot, though GM Bryan Colangelo could look to address the team’s void at point guard by nabbing Kris Dunn or Jamal Murray instead. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Philadelphia’s pick and check back Thursday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Lakers will select with the No. 2 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 1 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

For the second consecutive season, the Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Leonard, a 6’7″ small forward, became the first noncenter to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons since Dennis Rodman did so in 1989/90 and 1990/91. The 24-year-old received 84 first-place votes and 547 total points from a panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters. He beat out the Warriors’ Draymond Green, who notched 44 first-place votes and 421 points to finish as runner-up for the second season in a row.  The Heat’s Hassan Whiteside came in third with 83 points, garnering two first-place votes.  Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote, according to the release.

Leonard, a first-time NBA All-Star this season, anchored a Spurs defense that led the NBA in points allowed (92.9 ppg) and defensive rating (96.6 points per 100 possessions).  The Spurs, who were a franchise-record 67-15 this season, were significantly tougher on defense with Leonard in the game. According to NBA.com, they had a defensive rating of 94.9 when the five-year veteran was on the court and 99.2 when he wasn’t — a difference of 4.3 points per 100 possessions. Leonard also averaged 1.78 steals, which was good for 12th in the NBA, 5.5 defensive rebounds and a career-high 0.99 blocks to go with career highs of 21.2 points and 2.6 assists on the offensive end.

Any time an award is handed out there will be some who disagree with the selected recipient and this year’s DPOY award choice is likely no different. We at Hoops Rumors want to know whom you thought was deserving of the award. Listed below are the players who received votes, as well as a number of players who were mentioned by readers in the comments section. Cast your vote below for whom you believe should have won this season’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

According to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports, the Kings are seriously considering firing coach George Karl. Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive and team executive Vlade Divac were livid enough after the team’s 128-119 loss to the Nets on Friday night, which was the team’s sixth defeat in its last seven outings, that the embattled coach’s job status is now seriously in question. Of course, this isn’t necessarily an earth-shattering revelation given that Sacramento was reportedly pondering Karl’s dismissal last June, merely six months after hiring him to replace interim coach Tyrone Corbin, who had in turn replaced the fired Michael Malone.

Karl has reportedly lost the support of the front office as well as a number of his players. Center DeMarcus Cousins seemingly called out the coaching staff for the team’s continued flaws on the defensive end after the loss to Brooklyn, telling reporters, “I’m not going to keep blaming these guys in the locker room. Energy and effort is a huge part of the game, but I’m not going to keep blaming it on that. We got a bigger issue, and we need to figure it out as a team. I’d rather keep [problems] in house, but we definitely have a bigger issue than just energy and effort. That can’t be the excuse every night. … We’re going to work it out as a team, and hopefully we can fix this.”

With the NBA All-Star break a week away, the timing is certainly ripe for Sacramento to make a move as it would give whomever was named interim coach a bit more time to prepare for the second half of the campaign. It’s unclear who would be in line to take the reigns in the event of Karl’s dismissal, though Marc Stein of ESPN.com relayed that current assistant coach and former player Corliss Williamson would be under strong consideration for the post.

Just how much of the team’s woes Karl is responsible is certainly up for debate. The Kings have played .500 ball when Cousins has been in the lineup, which is a winning percentage certainly in line with the franchise’s current level of talent. Sacramento is a deeply flawed team on the defensive end, a problem more to do with the team’s personnel than Karl’s system, though he is primarily known as an offensive-minded coach. Changing coaches isn’t likely to make the Kings an instant playoff contender, as the same holes and flaws in the roster will still exist no matter who is calling the sets out from the sideline. Dismissing Karl may make the locker room more harmonious in the short-term, but it won’t fix many of the team’s on the court issues.

But that’s my take on the situation and now we’re asking for yours. Should Karl be fired, or are other changes needed instead? Cast your vote below and then head to the comments section to share your thoughts on the matter. We look forward to what you have to say.