NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz Surrounding 2016 Lottery Teams
NBA lottery teams have the toughest decisions of all ahead of the 2016 NBA draft.
On paper, it seems like the teams lucky enough to reside in the top 14 picks have the most reason for optimism. Maybe it's a notion that's halfway true, but such a standing and reasonable expectation for improvement leaves the teams not only under more pressure, but more prone to error.
It's not always great to be a lottery team. Make one wrong pick or free-agent decision, and a trip to the lottery starts to become an annual event instead of a one-off appearance.
The risk-reward of the situation is what makes the lottery teams so interesting to watch on the rumors market. Here's a look at the latest.
Timberwolves Eyeing a Forward?
The Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the most interesting teams in the 2016 draft because of what the franchise has already been able to build.
With Ricky Rubio at the point, Andrew Wiggins floating around and Karl-Anthony Towns underneath the basket, all Minnesota has to do is make a smart decision at No. 5 and the franchise will have one of the league's most intimidating cores in place for a long time.
It's interesting, then, to hear about the team looking at a prospect like Providence's Ben Bentil, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500ESPN:
Now, Bentil isn't a bad prospect by any means. But he's a player perhaps ready to come off the board near the end of the first round, so unless Minnesota swings a trade one way or another, he's going somewhere else.
There's no arguing that he would be a good fit, though. At 6'8" and 229 pounds, Bentil posted averages of 21.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last year and has plenty of room to grow on the defensive end of the court.
Given Minnesota's need for bodies underneath the basket, the due diligence on Bentil makes sense.
The Celtics-Dragan Bender Connection
The Boston Celtics seem to love Dragan Bender.
Why not? General manger Danny Ainge and the front office lost out with the No. 3 pick, meaning it will take a miracle for Brandon Ingram or Ben Simmons to come to town. Such would explain why Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe detailed an interesting nugget about Bender:
And to follow that, pro basketball reporter David Pick revealed the Celtics might have decided to take matters into their own hands:
If true, the Boston front office wants to see Bender in live-game action up close and personal.
Due diligence or not, it's a notable development. Bender makes plenty of sense in Boston with a 7'1", 216-pound frame and an ability to stretch the floor for others with his shooting.
Viewed as one of the prospects with the highest upside in the class, the Celtics would be smart to roll the dice on Bender at No. 3 if one of their preferred guys doesn't fall. With Ainge clutching two more first-round picks, taking a roll on Bender for down the road after he develops is a smart way to balance the approach.
Chicago's Joakim Noah Drama
The Chicago Bulls have a Joakim Noah problem at the worst possible time.
Sounds dramatic, right? After all, Noah is 31 years old and only averaged 21.9 minutes per game last year, producing 4.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. The minutes output was his lowest since his rookie campaign back in 2007-08.
But from a logistics standpoint, the last thing the Bulls need is to lose Noah with Pau Gasol heading into a player option after a disappointing year.
According to some digging by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times, though, Noah is ready to move on: "Noah has been telling teammates in recent weeks that he was done with the organization once free agency begins, and 'has no trust in the front office getting this in the right direction,' according to a Bulls player."
First of all, that has to be a scary detail for the front office to hear. Not only is Noah apparently telling this to other players, it could also mean he's not the only one who feels that way.
Such a development changes how the Bulls might act at No. 14. Before, Chicago might have went out and got a small forward to help take some scoring pressure off Jimmy Butler. Instead, the team might have to look at big men, which puts them in a bad win-now spot with only high-upside guys like Thon Maker and Deyonta Davis likely available around No. 14.
Four or five months ago, this sort of development around Noah wouldn't have been such a big deal. Now it is, both for the Bulls and the NBA as a whole.
All stats and info via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
