NBA Draft 2012: Latest Buzz and Rumors for All 30 Teams

The 2012 NBA draft is now just two days away, and anticipation is mounting.

Outside of Anthony Davis, who is a lock to be taken first overall by the New Orleans Hornets, the draft remains a puzzle that we won’t know the answer to until Thursday.

What we do know, however, is the latest buzz and rumors surrounding each team leading up to the draft.

Here are the latest headlines for all 30 NBA teams.

Atlanta Hawks

A lot of the news coming out of Atlanta lately has more to do with the organization, and staff itself, than with any specific draft targets.

According to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Hawks have signed Danny Ferry to a six-year contract as the team’s new general manager and president of basketball operations.

Ferry played 13 professional seasons in the NBA and previously worked in the front office of the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs organizations. He’ll succeed Rick Sund, who was Atlanta’s general manager since 2008.

In addition to the new-look front office, the Hawks have decided to bring back head coach Larry Drew after he led the Hawks to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference last season, according to Reuters (via yahoo.com).

This was perhaps Sund’s final decision as general manager.

Even though Sund no longer has his former job, Michael Cunningham is reporting that he may stay with the organization, although his future role with the team is uncertain.

In draft related news, Kris Willis of SB Nation is reporting that the Hawks recently brought in Memphis sophomore Will Barton for a pre-draft workout.

Barton is a 6’6”, 174-pound swingman who is projected to be drafted in the late-first, early-second round of the draft.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have a variety of options with their draft picks at No. 21 and No. 22 this year.

Paul Pierce is getting up there in age, and both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are free agents this summer, so they need to add depth at a lot of positions.

ESPN’s Chad Ford tweeted that the Celts made a draft promise to Iowa State point-forward, Royce White.

David Aldridge of NBA.com refuted that report, saying that not only have the Celtics not promised White their pick at No. 21, but they couldn’t even get him to come in to their facility for a workout. That certainly doesn’t sound like a team and player who have a draft promise in place.

The C’s have a ton of options on draft day, but Kevin Dillon of WEEI.com recently profiled Terrence Jones out of Kentucky as a possibility.

I doubt that Jones will fall to the Celtics in the draft, but they should have no trouble finding capable players at No. 21 and 22.

Brooklyn Nets

Thanks to the trade that brought Gerald Wallace to New Jersey, the Brooklyn Nets no longer have a first-round pick in this year’s draft. They won’t get a selection until the 57th overall pick of the second round, so the majority of the buzz surrounds the Nets regarding free-agent acquisitions.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, free agent point guard Deron Williams is deciding between just two landing spots: Brooklyn or Dallas.

You may as well flip a coin to decide where D-Will will wind up. He certainly hasn’t tipped his hand yet and likely won’t after months of speculation surrounding him.

Stefon Bondy of the New York Daily News recently reported that veteran point guard Jason Kidd would consider the idea of returning to the Nets, but only if Williams is there when he arrives.

Kidd played for nearly seven seasons in New Jersey before being traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Finally, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has reported that after yet another falling out with management in Orlando, Dwight Howard has requested a trade to Brooklyn before Thursday’s draft.

Keep in mind that the Nets have barely anyone signed to a contract at the moment and certainly nobody worthy of trading for Howard (unless you think a package deal of MarShon Brooks and Johan Petro is going to get a deal done).

It’s unrealistic for Howard to demand a trade to a team that doesn’t have any assets under contract to send back at the moment. Nevertheless, the chances that Howard plays for the Magic next season seem slim at this point.

Charlotte Bobcats

Nearly all of the chatter in Charlotte at the moment surrounds the Bobcats’ second overall pick in this year’s draft.

The Bobcats missed out on the Anthony Davis sweepstakes, so they’re now looking to add quantity (while still keeping quality) in this year’s draft, according to Matt Conner of SB Nation.

According to JP Starkey of SB Nation, the Bobcats recently brought in Andre Drummond and Thomas Robinson, two of the draft's best frontcourt prospects, for workouts.

Robinson has shown a desire to play for the lowly Bobcats next season (which is good considering he may not have much of a choice). He said:

"

I like (the Bobcats') potential. They've got a young point guard in Kemba (Walker) and also a bunch of young players surrounding him. I think they just need a couple more players to get over the hump and I would like to be one of those players. I think I would fit in perfect because the up-tempo game fits me perfect and I can also play in the halfcourt.

"

If you’re a Bobcats fan, you’ve got to love Robinson’s enthusiasm.

The Bobcats are looking to move back in the draft to acquire more picks. They could swap with Washington to move back to No. 3, or with Cleveland to move back to No. 4.

If I had to predict what the Bobcats will do on draft day, I think that they’ll trade back with the Cavaliers, adding the No. 4 and No. 24 picks in the first round, possibly, while adding one of the Cavs’ two second-rounders.

Chicago Bulls

There have been rampant talks that the Chicago Bulls could be looking to part ways with All-Star small forward Luol Deng to avoid luxury tax issues next season.

It’s been speculated that Deng could land with the Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Hornets, Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com.

While that seems like nearly a third of the entire NBA interested in Deng, at least one of those teams may be crossed off the list.

According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, the rumor of Deng landing with the Warriors is “nothing but hot air.” The reason for that is because of the luxury tax issues the Bulls face with Deng on board.

If they do decide to trade Deng, it will be in a move to cut salary, so trading him to a team that can’t absorb his contract would not be the right move for the Bulls at this point.

Who knows? Maybe Deng stays put in Chicago while they try and make one more championship run with the Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, Deng core.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Despite the fact that Kyrie Irving is reportedly good friends with North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes (according to Rick Noland of The Chronicle-Telegram) and that Irving won a state prep title in high school with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist as a teammate (according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer), it appears as if the Cleveland Cavaliers wish to trade up to grab Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal.

According to SI.com, the Cavs have their sights set on who many believe to be the draft’s best shooting guard prospect.

The Cavs are trying to trade up to No. 2 because they’re not positive that Beal will fall to them at No. 4 (smart thinking considering the Washington Wizards at No. 3 have been rumored to want Beal).

The Cavaliers need to weigh all of their options before making this decision, though, because they could be giving up three draft picks this year (or two draft picks and a player) for the price of just two spots in the draft.

If Cleveland is absolutely sold on Beal’s talent, they should trade up to get him. However, staying put at No. 4 wouldn’t be the worst case scenario, because the Cavs will still get a solid player like Barnes or Kidd-Gilchrist.

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks will enter this year’s NBA offseason with a distinct advantage simply due to the fact that Deron Williams is considering them as a team he may want to play for next season.

In addition to D-Will, former Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy, who has been planning an NBA comeback, may consider the Mavs as a possible suitor (according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports).

In addition to those two free agents from around the league, Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas is reporting that the Mavericks intend to bring back 6’10” forward Brandan Wright.

In draft related news, Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram recently reported that Mavericks general manager Donnie Nelson intends to draft a “rotation-type player.”

While that sounds like a lot of managerial mumbo jumbo, I think it’s safe to say that the Mavericks may draft for best player available, instead of for a specific need.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets don’t exactly have any glaring need, but as one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA last season, they’d be wise to draft a player with some defensive awareness.

Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes that many of the decisions the Nuggets make moving forward hinge on the play of Ty Lawson and whether or not Andre Miller chooses to return.

If the team decides that they want Lawson to be a score-first point guard who looks to put points on the board, that could change their draft philosophy. By contrast, if they choose to ask Lawson to be more of a facilitator in the offense, which has been Miller’s role, that could also shift their future plans.

The Nuggets could draft for backcourt or frontcourt depth, but appears that the team they choose to be in the future will be decided by the play from their floor general.

Detroit Pistons

The majority of draft experts believe that the Detroit Pistons will look for a complementary big man in this year’s draft to place alongside center Greg Monroe.

In my mind, the Pistons could have their minds set on two options.

The first is John Henson from North Carolina. Henson is a lanky power forward who could use some bulk, but he’s a great shot-blocker who some have compared to a poor man’s Anthony Davis (not a bad pickup with the ninth overall pick).

Scott Schroeder of SB Nation seems to think that Henson could be the pick, basing his evidence off one of ESPN's Chad Ford’s mock drafts.

Henson appears to be a high possibility for the Pistons considering they love the lanky string beans (Tayshaun Prince, Austin Daye), but there’s another dark horse candidate who could surprise fans on draft day.

David Mayo of mLive recently wrote about the possibility that the Pistons may have a big interest in Mississippi State’s Arnett Moultrie.

The athletic, 6’11” power forward plays above the rim and rebounds extremely well. If you ask Moultrie, Detroit may be his landed spot of choice. Moultrie said:

"

Detroit is a perfect fit. I know that they need a big. They're looking for an athletic big to play above the rim, to play alongside Greg Monroe. He's more of a skilled 4 and I bring my energy when I'm on the floor, blocking shots and rebounding the basketball.

I'd fit in very really [sic] well, just come in as a role player, because he's already established himself with that team. They have a lot of good guards that can score the ball, so I wouldn't come in and worry about scoring. I'd come in as a role player and do all the dirty work.

"

If you love basketball, you’ve got to love that quote from Moultrie.

Golden State Warriors

Since the Golden State Warriors no longer seem to be in the running for Chicago’s Luol Deng (read the Chicago Bulls slide), they’ll have to look into other options.

It’s seems to be a high possibility that the Warriors could trade back from the No. 7 pick because they’re in the market for a wing player. The prospects at No. 7 appear to be either guards or big men, so if the Warriors could trade back to acquire more assets, while picking up a small forward (possibly Moe Harkless) in the process, that would be a positive step.

However, according to Aran Smith of NBADraft.net, the Warriors could go after Tyler Zeller with the seventh overall pick because Warriors executive Jerry West really likes the way he plays.

I expect the Warriors to trade back, but don't be shocked if Zeller is the pick.

Houston Rockets

Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld is reporting that the Houston Rockets could have a deal lined up to move Sam Dalembert and the No. 16 pick in the draft to hop into the top 10 picks.

Ingram says that it’s “no secret” the Rockets want to move one of their two picks (either No. 14 or No. 16).

The bigger news regarding the Rockets, however, comes from Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld via Twitter.

Kennedy reports that the Rockets could be in the running to acquire Dwight Howard via trade on a one-year rental during the final year of his contract. Apparently the Rockets feel confident that they can convince Howard to stay long term, but I think that’s wishful thinking.

Update: Marc Stein and Chad Ford of ESPN are reporting that the Rockets have traded Chase Budinger to Minnesota for the No. 18 pick in the draft. (My guess is they're making a strong push to trade for Dwight Howard.)

Indiana Pacers

John Canzano of The Oregonian has speculated that free-agent guard Brandon Roy may join the Indiana Pacers and former Portland Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard, who is now an executive with the Pacers.

Considering that both George Hill and Leandro Barbosa are set to be free agents this summer, targeting Roy to join the Pacers would be a smart move. There are a lot of teams in the running for Roy, but the Pritchard connection may give the Pacers an advantage over other teams.

In draft related news, Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted that Michigan State’s Draymond Green has a possibility to be the Pacers' first-round choice at No. 26.

Green, a 6’7” small forward, averaged 16.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for the Spartans last season.

Los Angeles Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are apparently on Jamal Crawford’s list of teams he’d like to play for next season according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.

Kurt Hellin of NBC Sports wrote about the possibility of Crawford joining the Clippers. The Clips will be able to offer Crawford the full mid-level contract of $5 million, but Hellin thinks it’s a bad fit as the Clippers need defense and not scoring.

In other news, Mo Williams has a player option for next season that would pay him $8.5 million next season. However, that’s an absurd amount of money for Williams to earn next year considering he isn’t even a starter.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles reports that the Clippers are “trying to find a solution.” Only time will tell how that situation gets rectified.

Los Angeles Lakers

Since the entirety of Los Angeles Lakers rumors seem to center around trades involving either Pau Gasol or Andrew Bynum, I’ll save you the headache.

Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio reports that the Lakers are willing to trade Metta World Peace for a late first-round pick.

According to Amico, the Lakers are targeting either Baylor forward Quincy Miller or Kentucky point guard Marquis Teague.

I don’t know how viable a World Peace trade will be for a first-rounder this year considering how deep the draft class is, but I suppose we’ve seen stranger things happen on draft day.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies may be in the market right now to re-acquire Pau Gasol from the Los Angeles Lakers, but according to Sporting News, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has zero intention of trading Rudy Gay. If they were to acquire Gasol, it may require three teams to get a deal done.

In news that I found quite interesting, Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld is reporting that the Grizzlies will match any offer extended to restricted free agent shooting guard O.J. Mayo.

As Ingram says, this may just be a ploy by Grizzlies management to scare away would-be suitors, but after back-to-back disappointing seasons by Mayo after two solid seasons to start his NBA career, I’m surprised that Memphis would want to invest so much money in him.

There’s a possibility that the Grizzlies could re-sign Mayo before trading him elsewhere for value in return, instead of simply losing him via free agency.

Miami Heat

The NBA champions may not choose to stay quiet this summer when free agency begins.

According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Miami Heat could look to target big-name, veteran free agents this offseason. One of the most popular names to this point is sharpshooter Ray Allen.

In the same report, Windhorst writes that the Heat will most likely look for a backup big man in the draft with their pick at No. 27.

Fab Melo, a seven-foot center out of Syracuse, has been the popular mock choice for the Heat; but his stock has been on the rise of late, and he may not be available at their spot.

If he isn’t there, the Heat may target Vanderbilt big man Festus Ezeli.

Milwaukee Bucks

After trading Andrew Bogut to the Golden State Warriors in the deal that sent Monta Ellis to Milwaukee, the Bucks will be in the market for a new center.

Ideally, the Bucks would like to draft either Tyler Zeller or Meyers Leonard to fill that void. Both are solid seven-foot centers, but Leonard arguably has more potential while Zeller could make a better impact right away.

If both of those two centers are off the board when the Bucks draft at No. 12, however, Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times has reported that the Bucks may still draft for need and take Fab Melo.

Taking a guy like Melo at No. 12 certainly seems high considering he’s incredibly raw on the offensive end, but he is a solid defender who can block shots, and he has the potential to develop an offensive game.

Minnesota Timberwolves

With breaking news from Marc Stein and Chad Ford of ESPN, a trade, pending league approval, will send Chase Budinger from the Houston Rockets to the Minnesota Timberwolves for the Wolves’ No. 18 pick in the draft.

Adding Budinger could end the Wolves’ question marks at the shooting guard spot moving forward, a position that likely would have been severely depleted at pick No. 18 anyway.

Budinger joins fellow Arizona Wildcat and last year’s second overall pick Derrick Williams on what is quickly becoming the best young roster in the NBA.

In related news, this will likely end the T-Wolves' pursuit of free-agent guard Jamal Crawford.

New Orleans Hornets

It’s a tale of two free agents right now for the New Orleans Hornets.

According to John Reid of The Times Picayune, free-agent forward Carl Landry hopes to return to New Orleans next season even though Anthony Davis may cut into his playing time.

By contrast, it’s been reported that free-agent guard Marco Belinelli wants to play for a contender, so the chances he re-signs with the Hornets at this point seem slim at best.

New York Knicks

The New York Knicks could be interested in a pair of free-agent shooting guards in the near future.

J.R. Smith, who signed midseason with the Knicks following a stint playing overseas during the NBA lockout, opted out of his contract and wants a long-term deal, but would like to stay with the Knicks.

Randy Foye, who had a solid year with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, is reportedly interested in joining the Knicks next year according to Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York.

Of the two, I think that Foye is the better option for New York. Since the Knicks already have two ball-stoppers on the roster in Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, keeping a third in Smith doesn’t seem all too viable.

Foye is a solid role player who can play both sides of the ball while knocking down open threes.

Oklahoma City Thunder

After making the NBA Finals and losing to the Miami Heat in five games, speculation has already begun to run rampant regarding the future of head coach Scott Brooks in Oklahoma City.

Thunder General Manager Sam Presti recently shot down any rumors that the team was interested in hiring Phil Jackson or Jeff Van Gundy, calling the reports “rubbish” according to NewsOK’s Darnell Mayberry.

Naturally, the rumor mill is going to overreact because the Thunder didn’t have enough in the tank to outlast the Heat in the finals.

However, the truth of the matter is that OKC has an extremely talented, young basketball team. Both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are still just 23 years old. As they say, patience is a virtue.

Orlando Magic

It’s no secret that the Orlando Magic will probably need to trade Dwight Howard sooner rather than later. He’s entering the final year of his contract and appears to have no interest in remaining with the team moving forward.

This is purely speculation on my part, but I think it’s quite telling that the Houston Rockets just acquired Minnesota’s No. 18 pick in the draft in exchange for Chase Budinger.

Conceivably, the Magic could now acquire those three picks from the Rockets for Howard. There’s also a possibility that the Rockets could use their three picks to move up in the draft and trade a higher choice in exchange for Dwight.

In non-Dwight related news, Orlando is reportedly interested in adding Matt Lloyd for their basketball operations department according to Evan Dunlap of SB Nation.

Philadelphia 76ers

In addition to the typical Andre Iguodala trade rumors, Sixers President and General Manager Rod Thorn has said that the team will look to draft for talent instead of choosing a guy to fill a specific need, according to John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sixers are slotted to draft at No. 15 overall, so there will likely still be a lot of talented players on the board for Philly to target.

Although the Sixers may be able to draft a solid frontcourt prospect like Arnett Moultrie or even Perry Jones III, they may not keep their first round draft choice after all.

A recent report suggests that the Sixers may be open to trading their first-round pick in this year's draft to add a veteran NBA talent. What type of "veteran" the Sixers may target, however, seems to be a mystery at this point.

In a deep draft, Philly fans have to hope that the organization doesn't underrate their choice at No. 15.

Phoenix Suns

There aren’t many rumors coming out of the Phoenix Suns camp lately. What we do know is that the Suns have reportedly promised to draft Dion Waiters out of Syracuse if he’s available for them at No. 13 in the draft according to Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times.

Recent mock drafts insist that Waiters will be off the board well before the Suns choose at No. 13, however. In one of ESPN's Chad Ford’s multiple mock drafts, he had Waiters off the board at No. 7 to the Golden State Warriors.

Knowing the Suns' history of draft woes outside of Shawn Marion and Amar’e Stoudemire, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them miss out on conceivably their No. 1 target.

In a surprising twist of fate, Marc Berman of the New York Post has reported that Steve Nash regards money as a big factor during his free-agency period this offseason.

This bodes extremely well for the Suns’ slim chances of retaining him considering Phoenix can offer him the most money.

Nash explains in Berman’s article that he feels a player’s contract is a sign of respect. He also notes that if he signs for a relatively small dollar amount and then gets traded, it would be the worst-case scenario.

I’d still rule a Phoenix reunion with Nash highly unlikely, but Suns fans have to like the sound of Nash’s latest comments.

Portland Trail Blazers

Again, not much to report here, but there is one bit of news that could prove huge for Portland.

Chris Haynes recently tweeted that the Trail Blazers’ former draft choice, Victor Claver, plans to leave Valencia Basketball and come to the NBA.

Joe Freeman of The Oregonian, however, has seen the rumors and has far less to report.

According to Freeman’s article, Trail Blazers general manager Neil Olshey had “nothing new to report.” We’ll hold off on the Claver rumors for now, but there’s a possibility he could be making the trip from overseas for next season.

Sacramento Kings

It appears that there are three new Sacramento Kings rumors to report, so I’ll go ahead and list them.

1. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express recently tweeted that the Kings could end up drafting Weber State point guard Damian Lillard at the No. 5 pick. This seems to me like an extremely odd choice for the Kings to make given the fact that they already have a tremendous logjam in their backcourt.

2. Givony has also tweeted that the Houston Rockets have offered Kyle Lowry as well as picks No. 14 and No. 16 in the draft in exchange for Tyreke Evans and the No. 5 pick.

3. Sam Amick, however, has tweeted that the above trade rumored by Givony has not been talked about. So, according to Amick, the Kings can disregard that rumor.

The Kings appear to have a lot going on at the moment, so don’t be surprised if they end up making a blockbuster deal on draft day (or sooner).

San Antonio Spurs

There are two relatively new rumors to report for the San Antonio Spurs.

First, according to Age.com (an Australian website) via Spurs Nation, Patty Mills is reportedly prepared to opt out of the second year of his contract to test free agency this summer.

Second, Mike Monroe of Spurs Nation reported that Tony Parker has said that his good friend Boris Diaw has hinted at wanting to stay in a Spurs uniform.

Admittedly, losing either one (or even both) of these players wouldn’t prove to be a huge loss for the Spurs moving forward. Especially when you take into account how great the Spurs are at drafting and signing underrated NBA talents.

Toronto Raptors

ESPN’s Chad Ford and Marc Stein are reporting that the Toronto Raptors desperately want an athletic wing player, and they’re willing to part ways with the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft to make that happen.

Stein and Ford list Rudy Gay and Andre Iguodala as possible trade targets, but as I’ve already said earlier in the slideshow, the Grizzlies’ owner has no intention of trading Gay (if we can take him at his word).

If the Raptors were to give up the No. 8 pick and get Iguodala in return to create a core of Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan and Iggy, they’d want to try and convince Steve Nash to join in on the action as well, according to Stein and Ford.

Overall though, I’d say it’s unlikely that the Raptors will be able to get a deal done. I’d rule it even more unlikely that they’d be able to land Nash this summer.

Utah Jazz

Last month the Utah Jazz discussed a deal with the Golden State Warriors to move up to the No. 7 overall pick in the draft. Unfortunately, the trade fell through and both sides have had to move on from that.

According to Mike Sorensen of Deseret News, the Jazz worked out three guards and three forwards in preparation for Thursday’s draft.

Evidently Iona point guard Scott Machado, who led the nation last season in assists per game, was among the prospects.

Washington Wizards

Not much to report for the Washington Wizards here after they already decided to shake up the roster by acquiring Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor from New Orleans.

Nevertheless, Sam Amico reports that if the draft stays as is, the Wizards will draft Bradley Beal at No. 3 overall.

Unfortunately for the Wizards, who reportedly want Beal, the Cleveland Cavaliers are in serious talks to move up to the Charlotte Bobcats’ selection at No. 2 to grab him.

The Wizards could ultimately decide to trade up one spot to ensure they’re able to draft Beal, but they have less desirable trade assets when compared with the Cavs.

It will be interesting to see how everything shakes out Thursday.