- In Chad Ford’s new mock draft at ESPN.com (Insider-only link), the first five picks off the board are Markelle Fultz (Celtics), Lonzo Ball (Lakers), Malik Monk (Sixers), Josh Jackson (Suns), and De’Aaron Fox (Kings).
The Celtics will pick first overall in the 2017 NBA draft, having won Tuesday night’s lottery one night after they advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. The C’s, who exercised their rights to swap with the Nets, entered the lottery with the best odds (25.0%) to land that No. 1 overall pick.
The Lakers were the other big winners in the lottery, moving up to No. 2, ensuring that they’ll keep both this year’s pick and 2019’s first-rounder. Had Los Angeles’ pick fallen outside of the top three, it would have been sent to the Sixers, and the Lakers would’ve owed their unprotected 2019 first-rounder to Orlando. Instead, the Lakers will keep this year’s pick and 2019’s, and will send Philadelphia their unprotected 2018 first-round selection.
The Kings also moved up into the top three, but the Sixers will acquire that pick, exercising their right to swap with Sacramento. The Kings will pick at No. 5, which is where Philadelphia would have selected. Sacramento will also land the Pelicans’ selection at No. 10. That New Orleans selection was acquired by the Kings in February’s DeMarcus Cousins trade and was top-three protected.
The Suns are the night’s biggest losers, having moved from No. 2 in the lottery standings down to No. 4 overall. The Magic, Timberwolves, and Knicks each moved down one spot as well.
Here’s the full lottery order for the 2017 NBA draft:
- Boston Celtics (via Nets)
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Philadelphia 76ers (swapped with Kings)
- Phoenix Suns
- Sacramento Kings (swapped with Sixers)
- Orlando Magic
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- New York Knicks
- Dallas Mavericks
- Sacramento Kings (via Pelicans)
- Charlotte Hornets
- Detroit Pistons
- Denver Nuggets
- Miami Heat
Tonight’s lottery results are fascinating on a number of levels, but particularly so for two of the NBA’s most-storied franchises, the Celtics and Lakers. Boston is in position to either pick a player like point guard Markelle Fultz, considered by draft experts to be a future star, or to dangle that No. 1 overall pick in a trade for an established veteran star next month. The Celtics are coming off a season in which they earned the top seed in the East, and they also own the Nets’ unprotected first-round pick in 2018, so the franchise is extremely well-positioned for the future.
As for the Lakers, they’ll breathe a sigh of relief after hanging onto their 2017 first-rounder, and they’re in position to create a union that has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks. UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball is widely viewed as the second-best prospect in this year’s draft, and he and his father LaVar have made no secret of the fact that Lonzo wants to play for the Lakers. Tonight’s lottery results make that a very real possibility.
The Kings are another winner tonight, having moved up from No. 8 to No. 5 and having also held onto the Pelicans’ pick at No. 10. Sacramento will be in a great position to pick two cornerstone pieces to kickstart the club’s rebuilding process.
The Hawks placed former team president Mike Budenholzer and former GM Wes Wilcox into new roles earlier this month and it appears the team’s search for new front office members is progressing out of its “infancy stage.”
Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link) hears that Sacramento’s Scott Perry is being considered for the open GM position. The Kings hired Perry as their executive VP of basketball operations less than four weeks ago.
Earlier today, we learned that the Knicks have granted the team permission to interview their Director of Player Personnel Mark Hughes for the Hawks’ open GM position. Like New York, Houston will allow Atlanta to interview a member of its front office. The Hawks have their eye on Rockets VP of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas.
Atlanta is reportedly also considering Cavs GM David Griffin and Joe Dumars. The team also plans on discussing the position with TV analysts Chauncey Billups and Brent Barry.
- Serbian star Bogdan Bogdanovic turned aside the latest question about whether he will join the Kings next season, according to Noel Harris of The Sacramento Bee. The inquiry came in an interview Monday with Turkish television. “I don’t like to talk about that during the season,” he said. “I have my goals here.” Bogdanovic has led his Fenerbahce Istanbul team to the Euroleague Final Four, earning all-league honors in the process. The Kings acquired his draft rights from the Suns in a trade last summer. “My interest is not only money,” he added. “I want to prove that I can play in the NBA. I don’t want to go there to sit on a bench.”
Warriors forward Andre Iguodala is listed as questionable for Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, the team’s PR department tweets. He underwent an MRI on his left knee Monday, according to ESPN.com’s Chris Haynes, and obviously the results were satisfactory even though the team has yet to provide details. Iguodala could still be rested as a precautionary measure, a source told Haynes. He did not practice on Monday. Iguodala was a non-factor in Game 1, playing just 10 minutes and scoring two points. Stephen Curry also sat out practice but will play in Game 2, acting coach Mike Brown told Haynes and other reporters.
In other developments around the Pacific Division:
- The Kings plan to move their D-League affiliate out of Reno after next season, according to Scott Howard Cooper of NBA.com. The Kings want their affiliate to be closer to Sacramento and playing games at multiple locations is a consideration, he adds. (Twitter links).
- The Lakers should try to trade for Pacers star Paul George this offseason rather than waiting to pursue him as an unrestricted free agent after next season, according to a panel of ESPN basketball experts. All but one of the five members on the panel believe that acquiring George now is worth the risk of losing him after just one season. Baxter Holmes opines that the Pacers would want a package of young players, including Brandon Ingram, and a draft pick in return.
- Rudy Tomjanovich is no longer with the Lakers’ organization, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Tomjanovich has served as a consultant in various capacities for over a decade and was also a scout for the team’s analytics department last season. Tomjanovich’s son, Trey, has also lost his job as a consultant and statistical analyst.
- Georgia guard J.J. Frazier has workouts lined up with the Bucks, Kings, and Lakers after getting a look from the Timberwolves today, tweets Adam Zagoria. L.J. Peak and Antonio Blakeney are among the prospects joining Frazier at Minnesota’s group workout today, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
The NBA confirmed each team’s representatives today for this year’s draft lottery, which will take place on Tuesday night. As confirmed by the league (via Twitter), here are this year’s reps for lottery teams:
- Boston Celtics: Wyc Grousbeck (owner)
- Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker
- Los Angeles Lakers: Magic Johnson (president of basketball operations)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Joel Embiid
- Orlando Magic: Frank Vogel (head coach)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Andrew Wiggins
- New York Knicks: Walt Frazier (MSG Network broadcaster)
- Sacramento Kings: Dave Joerger (head coach)
- Dallas Mavericks: Michael Finley (assistant VP of basketball operations)
- New Orleans Pelicans: Alvin Gentry (head coach)
- Charlotte Hornets: Rich Cho (GM)
- Detroit Pistons: Jeff Bower (GM)
- Denver Nuggets: Gary Harris
- Miami Heat: Alonzo Mourning (VP of player programs)
Additionally, the NBA also announced that it will reveal several award winners and award finalists later this week. The league will unveil its three All-NBA teams on Thursday. Then, prior to the Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday, the NBA will name its three finalists for each major award: MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Coach of the Year.
Those individual awards won’t be officially announced until June 26, during the NBA’s inaugural awards broadcast on TNT. However, the All-NBA announcement on Thursday will be an intriguing one. A team’s ability to offer a player a more lucrative Designated Veteran Extension hinges on whether or not he earns an All-NBA nod. So teams like the Pacers and Jazz will be watching very closely to see if Paul George and Gordon Hayward earn All-NBA spots and become eligible for those super-max extensions.
- As we wrote about earlier, a lousy reputation hasn’t exactly helped the Kings land talent. This year, however, the franchise is looking to use the combine as a way of chipping away at the “anywhere but Sacramento” mentality, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes.
A report from ESPN’s Chad Ford this weekend details just how far player agents will go to keep their clients from being drafted into what they perceive to be less than ideal conditions. Specifically, Ford writes, that agents have been actively avoiding the Kings and the Celtics for two very different reasons.
Ford writes that this year, just as last year, agents are keeping their players away from Sacramento’s front office, refusing workouts and, in the case of Wade Baldwin IV, even declining to share medical records. The hiring of reputable Scott Perry as the organization’s new general manager, has had little impact in that regard.
“It would be malpractice to let my clients play for them,” one longtime agent told Ford. “I’ve had clients there. It’s still the most dysfunctional front office in the league, by a mile. How can you trust those guys with one of your players? It’s going to take a long time to build that trust.”
A similar movement is afoot with regard to the Celtics. According to Ford, the agents of top prospects are reluctant to approve their players working out for the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, citing concern over future playing time.
Agents fear that their clients, like Jaylen Brown in this year’s rookie class, may be faced with a loaded depth chart to navigate through before earning any consistent starter’s minutes.
“I have deep respect for the Celtics,” another agent said. “They may have the best GM and head coach in the league. But I’d have to understand what the plan would be for my client before I let them come. They are loaded at every position. There’s a real danger that they take a player and either he plays a limited role off the bench, or he becomes an asset to be traded to a situation that we’re uncomfortable with. It’s tough.“
MAY 12, 11:53am: A day after suggesting that the Kings were a strong contender for Teodosic, Pick has shot down his own report, citing a Sacramento executive who says the team won’t be in the mix to sign the Euroleague star (Twitter link).
MAY 11, 1:10pm: The Kings are a legitimate contender in the Milos Teodosic sweepstakes, a source tells international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). As Pick observes, Sacramento GM Vlade Divac has a strong connection to Teodosic, a fellow Serbian.
Teodosic, who is primarily a point guard but can also play off the ball, will be coming off another strong season with CSKA Moscow this summer. In 27 Euroleague games, the veteran guard has averaged 16.2 PPG and 7.0 APG en route to leading his club to a spot in the Euroleague Final Four.
We heard way back in September that Teodosic was eyeing a potential jump to the NBA in 2017. The 30-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract with CSKA Moscow, suggested at the time that he was ready to “compete against the best players in the world” in North America, and he has received plenty of NBA interest since then, having been linked most frequently to the Nets.
The Kings, who only have about $35MM in guaranteed salaries on their books for the 2017/18 league year, will certainly be able to compete financially with any other suitor, including the Nets. But, while money will obviously be one factor Teodosic considers, he has also stated that the team he joins will have to meet his “competitive ambitions.” Neither the Kings nor the Nets are expected to be a legit contender in 2017/18.