NBA Draft Rumors: Will 'Promised' Prospects Still Be Available?

As Thursday’s NBA draft winds ever closer, we still know very little about how the draft will shake out. Apart from Kentucky’s Anthony Davis as a lock to be picked first overall, the remainder of the draft remains a mystery.

Draft day trades will certainly manage to mix things up, as they do every year, but an intriguing factor will be one to look out for in this year’s draft: the promises.

Certain NBA teams, both in the draft lottery (top 14 picks) and elsewhere, have been rumored to promise certain prospects a spot with their first-round picks.

This works out great for the prospects, as they’re able to shut down their pre-draft workouts to avoid sustaining an injury or hurting their draft stock. However, for the teams making the promises, it may only hinder their chances of seeing said player fall to them on draft day.

If a certain team is enamored enough with a prospect to promise them a selection, other teams around the league will take notice.

So, will prospects with rumored draft promises even fall to those teams doing the promising?

Here’s a breakdown of the chances “promised” players will be around for specific teams.

4. Arnett Moultrie, Detroit Pistons

Although this promise hasn't been around the rumor mill for a long time, it’s still an intriguing fit.

According to David Mayo of mLive, the Detroit Pistons may be impressed enough with Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie to take him at No. 9 overall in this year’s draft. Sean Corp of SB Nation is speculating that the Pistons have even made him a draft promise.

The Pistons are in the market for a complimentary big man to fit alongside center Greg Monroe, and Moultrie could fit that bill.

Moultrie is a lanky 6’11” power forward who rebounds extremely well and can even step out and knock down the three-ball. Almost like a Rashard Lewis 2.0, if you like NBA comparisons.

A rebounding power forward with the ability to stretch the floor with his shooting range seems like a great fit for the Pistons to place next to Monroe moving forward.

If you ask Moultrie, he certainly thinks he deserves a spot in the top 10.

“I’m a top 10 talent, for sure,” Moultrie said. “Anywhere from six to 10.”

As a young prospect, Moultrie is oozing with confidence, which bodes well for his NBA transition.

I’ve only mocked Moultrie as high as pick No. 15 to the Philadelphia 76ers, so it may be safe to say that Moultrie will be on the board for the Pistons choice at No. 9 if they want him.

3. Royce White, Boston Celtics

Well, does Royce White have a draft promise or doesn't he?

ESPN’s Chad Ford tweeted that the Iowa State small forward has a promise from the Boston Celtics to be taken at No. 21 overall in the draft.

According to David Aldridge of NBA.com, however, that rumor appears not to be true.

Jay King of SB Nation wrote about Aldridge’s contrary report, citing that the Celtics attempted to have White come in for a workout, but the team was turned down. That certainly doesn’t sound like there’s a promise in place between White and the C’s.

Nevertheless, if the Celtics do want White at No. 21, regardless of what reports suggest, there’s a high likelihood that he’ll be available.

His off-court issues, including a shoplifting charge, anxiety disorder and a severe fear of flying in an airplane, will likely be enough red flags to see his draft stock drop to late in the first round.

2. Austin Rivers, Lottery Team

While we are aware at this point that Austin Rivers has been rumored to have a promise from a lottery team, exactly what team that is remains somewhat of a mystery.

According to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Rivers’ promise is from a team late in the lottery. It could be the Toronto Raptors at No. 8, the New Orleans Hornets at No. 10, the Phoenix Suns at No. 13 or the Houston Rockets at No. 14.

If I had to put my money on it, I’d guess that the Raptors and Hornets are the two teams most likely to have promised Rivers a spot.

The Raptors desperately need more scoring output, and Rivers could instantly provide a spark in that department as a rookie. Drafting a one-dimensional shooter, however, may not be the best choice that high in the draft.

Some experts believe Rivers to be overrated, yet others find him to be underrated. Either way, he’s an extremely confident shooter who has time to develop other aspects of his game.

He’ll certainly be available at No. 8 for the Raptors, but he may not be around at No. 13 or 14 for teams later in the lottery.

1. Dion Waiters, Phoenix Suns

The rumor that the Phoenix Suns are the team that has promised Dion Waiters a spot in the NBA draft lottery is pretty widespread at this point.

Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reports that two NBA officials have told him the Suns are the team to have made the promise to Waiters, so the rumor seems credible and hasn’t been refuted.

Whether Waiters will actually be available for the Suns at No. 13 in the draft, however, doesn’t look promising.

In ESPN Chad Ford’s “Mock Draft, Version 8.2” (subscription required), Ford has Waiters off the board at No. 7 to the Golden State Warriors.

In my opinion, and the opinion of others, this seems both way too high for Waiters to go off the board and a bad fit for the Warriors.

Golden State has a pretty well solidified backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Throw in the fact that the Warriors may choose to re-sign Brandon Rush and a Waiters/Warriors marriage makes even less sense.

Waiters could be viewed as the Warriors’ future sixth man considering he came off the bench while playing at Syracuse, but seventh overall seems high to draft a future bench player.

Some other mock drafts have Waiters off the board at No. 8 to the Toronto Raptors, which makes sense given the fact that they need a dynamic scorer.

If Waiters doesn’t come off the board at No. 7 or No. 8 in the draft, there’s a possibility he’ll fall to the Suns at No. 13.

With the Suns poor luck and history of draft woes however, it may be safe to say that they’ll miss out on who they view as the guy.