NBA Draft 2015: Latest Buzz on Top Players and Lottery Picks
The Golden State Warriors don’t have much time to celebrate their Finals victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, as the 2015-16 season opens with the NBA Draft on Thursday. Whether Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor will be called first seems to be much clearer, recent rumblings indicate that the opening minutes of the NBA Draft could still be stuffed with drama.
Before we completely dismiss that notion, let’s look at the rumors surrounding the top pick.
While nothing is set in stone until the names are called on Thursday, most experts believe the Minnesota Timberwolves have settled on their guy. Towns recently denied a report by Adam Zagoria that the T-Wolves had informed him that he’d be the top pick, but it’s widely assumed that he will be the choice.
Possibly the most telling sign of all that Towns will be in Minnesota is a report by Joe Rodgers of Sporting News. Rodgers states that Towns said he will only work out privately for Minnesota, denying the Los Angeles Lakers a chance to work him out.
This tweet from Chad Ford seems to indicate that the Lakers have given up on selecting Towns with the No. 2 pick.
"Hearing Lakers settling in on Jahlil Okafor at No. 2. Told 70-30 they'd take him on Friday. Up to 80-20 today.
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) June 22, 2015"
Beyond the top two selections, the draft seems to be wide open. The only other names consistently being placed in the top five in mock drafts are Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell and Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis.
The Philadelphia 76ers are reportedly trying to convince the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks to trade up into the No. 3 spot to land Porzingis, so a potential deal there could provide some draft-night drama.
Regarding international lottery picks, ESPN’s Jay Bilas had a particularly illuminating tweet.
"Since Yao Ming was drafted No. 1 in 2002, 19 international players were Lottery Picks, none were ever All-Stars. H/T ESPN Stats and Info.
— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) June 23, 2015"
By far, the most potential for drama seems to revolve around where Okafor really ends up. Recent reports have indicated that the Sacramento Kings coach George Karl is pushing hard for a DeMarcus Cousins trade.
Another report by ESPN states that the potential deal could be a three-way trade, involving the Kings, Lakers and Magic, with Orlando center Nikola Vucevic being Cousins' replacement in Sacramento.
Convoluting the proposed deal seems to be Sacramento's ownership, who according to ESPN, have blocked Karl from dealing Cousins. What makes that situation all the more interesting is that Cousins and Karl’s relationship was brought into question before Karl was even hired as the Kings coach.
The trade would seem to make a ton of sense for all three teams.
Reports have said that Los Angeles would be willing to part with the second overall pick and last year’s lottery pick Julius Randle to acquire the mercurial Cousins. Cousins would give L.A. the All-Star center it has missed since Dwight Howard spurned the Lakers for Houston two offseasons ago. Make what you want of the Lakers' actual title chances, but L.A. feels its window closing as Kobe Bryant closes in on retirement.
For the Kings, the trade could give them a proven young stud in Vucevic and possibly Randle depending on how things shake out. More importantly, the trade would squash the distraction that is Karl and Cousins. If the Kings think that relationship is going to get better next season, we could all be winners watching it play out in-season.
For the Magic, the trade doesn’t make sense on the surface. They’d be giving up a potential all-star and fan favorite in Vucevic. Vucevic turned out to be the star of the epic Howard trade two seasons ago, making Magic general manager Rob Hennigan seem like a crazy genius for landing him from Philadelphia.
But beyond the surface, this deal makes sense for the Magic too, if they can somehow land Okafor. The Magic have been stacking up young talent for two years now, most notably by drafting Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon in subsequent seasons.
Orlando’s perceived window seems to be closer to later than sooner. The Magic are likely at least two or three seasons away from truly competing, and Vucevic isn’t exactly going to be cheap.
The Magic extended Vucevic prior to last season with a four-year, $53 million deal. At $13.25 million, the annual value of Vucevic’s contract seems like a fair bargain for a player of his caliber, but when the Magic are actually ready to compete, one of two things will be true.
He’ll be ready to re-up his contract for much more than $13 million a season, or, he won’t be worth $13.25 million a season, which would indicate that the Magic missed the boat on maximizing his value when they could.
The Kings hired Karl for a reason. If they remember that reason and listen to their new coach soon, the NBA draft could become even more interesting than normal.
All stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.
Follow Aaron Brand on Twitter @AaronBrand47
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