As usual, David Aldridge's weekly column at NBA.com is packed with items of interest, including discussions about declining salaries for head coaches and conspiracy theories surrounding the draft lottery. Leading off his piece this week though, Aldridge looks at the top 15 picks in the draft and predicts the players likely to be selected, based on what he's hearing. Alridge's column is just one of many draft-related links to round up today, so let's dive in….
The Southwest Division champion Spurs resume their series vs. the Thunder tonight, looking to hold serve at home in San Antonio. As ESPN.com's John Hollinger writes, the Spurs are very familiar with this situation, having entered a Game 5 with the series tied nine times already in the Tim Duncan era. Hollinger wonders what adjustments Gregg Popovich will make tonight, speculating that the team's changes could involve the use of Manu Ginobili and Matt Bonner. Here are a few more Monday updates out of the Southwest….
The draft lottery for the 2012 NBA Draft was held on Wednesday, with the New Orleans Hornets receiving the top overall pick and the Charlotte Bobcats coming in second. In a draft filled with uncertainty and divisive prospects, the one note that virtually every fan and analyst agrees on is the inevitability of Kentucky forward Anthony Davis' top overall selection. After that, however, it gets murkier, with several players in line for consideration by the Bobcats. Which of these do you think will end up being the second overall pick in the draft?
The Cavaliers will have the opportunity to rebuild their roster this offseason as they currently hold the fourth and #24 picks in the upcoming NBA draft. However, the Cavs aren't content with the fourth pick as they had their eyes on the draft's top spot and are currently exploring a variety of trade opportunities. Bob Finnan of The News-Herald has the latest news and rumors out of Cleveland with the draft looming mere weeks away…
With the eighth, 37th, and 56th selections in this upcoming NBA Draft, the Raptors could potentially draft three rookies in addition to bringing last year's draft pick, Jonas Valanciunas, into the fold for next season. Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld spoke with GM Bryan Colangelo, who is looking to explore multiple scenarios with his second round picks. Colangelo admits that bringing in three rookies may not be the best scenario, and that he will consider packaging picks in order to move up the draft board or possibly make a second round selection with the intention of developing that prospect in Europe for a few years. Here's more of what we're hearing from around the league this evening, including an update of the Bobcats head coaching search.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (via Twitter) confirmed that Evan Fournier will not participate in this year's NBA Draft combine (Fournier's agent, Bouna Ndiaye, first tweeted the news). The 19-year-old, 6'7'' wing player is currently rehabbing an ankle injury, but will still attend EuroCamp.
Fournier recently finished his second season in the Pro-A French League, averaging 14 PPG, 42.5% shooting, and 1.2 steals per game in 30 games. He is currently slotted to go #22 overall on the DraftExpress mock draft board.
At 6'11'', 235 lbs, and the ability to play either forward position, potential-lottery pick Perry Jones III from Baylor stands out as one of the most intriguing prospects among this year's NBA Draft crop. Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated takes a closer look at Jones' draft stock, acknowledging that it can significantly change depending on the impression he makes in his upcoming workouts and interviews. Amick adds that Jones and his representatives aim to put an emphasis on his small forward skills during workouts in order to better market himself to talent evaluators. In an interview, Jones elaborated about his newfound confidence, his current training at UC Santa Barbara, and the belief that he was not properly utilized at Baylor.
Here are some more tidbits from Amick's article, including a brief rundown of this year's top small forward prospects, Miles Plumlee's workout in Minnesota, and a guard prospect from Vanderbilt to keep an eye out for…
The Spurs are two wins away from the NBA Finals. The Mavs are courting Deron Williams in an attempt to get back into championship contention. The Rockets want to make a splash by going after a star player this summer. The Grizzlies have been a playoff team for two years in a row. The Hornets have the No. 1 and the No. 10 picks in the draft. The Southwest Division could be the league's toughest next season, particularly if the Hornets can re-sign Eric Gordon. Here's what's happening around the Southwest now.
This year's draft is generally regarded as a deep one, but several teams outside the lottery are looking to trade their first-round picks so they can avoid making financial commitments to players who won't contribute right away, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes. That should make for an interesting month ahead as the June 28 draft approaches.
As June 28th approaches, Hoops Rumors will preview the NBA draft by taking a look at a number of prospects expected to be selected. DraftExpress updated their top 100 ranking on May 25th, and our profiles are listed below accordingly. This list will continue to be updated in the coming weeks, becoming more comprehensive leading up to the draft, and can be found anytime under "Hoops Rumors Features" on the right sidebar.