FRIDAY, 1:20am: The deal is official, the Pacers announce.
THURSDAY, 11:40pm: The Knicks have struck a deal to acquire 57th overall pick Louis Labeyrie from the Pacers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter). New York sends cash in return for the French big man, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
FRIDAY, 12:24am: The deal is official, the Hawks announced in a press release. It’s a 2015 second-rounder headed to the Bucks, according to the release.
THURSDAY, 10:51pm: Milwaukee gets a future second-round pick in the deal, Ford tweets.
10:49pm: The Bucks and Hawks have agreed to send the No. 48 pick to Atlanta, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter link). It’s unclear what Milwaukee’s getting, but deals at this stage of the draft often involve cash. University of Pittsburgh shooting guard Lamar Patterson is the selection, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The Spurs agreed to send the 58th pick to the Sixers, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Philadelphia used the pick on Tennessee shooting guard Jordan McRae, according to RealGM (on Twitter).
9:28pm: The trade is official, the Bulls announced via press release. It’s McDermott and Randolph to Chicago, while Jusuf Nurkic (the 16th pick) and Gary Harris (the 19th pick) head to Denver along with the least favorable of the Bulls’ pair of second rounders in 2015 (Chicago has both its own second-round pick and Portland’s second-rounder that year).
8:58pm: Anthony Randolph is also set to go to Chicago in the swap, tweets Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post.
8:15pm: The Bulls are also sending a future second-round pick to Denver, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
7:48pm: The Nuggets will trade Doug McDermott to the Bulls after taking him 11th overall, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). The Nuggets get picks Nos. 16 and 19 in exchange, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
9:21pm: Several teams have interest in trading for Swiss power forward Clint Capela, whom the Rockets took with the 25th pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
8:33pm: The Rockets are dangling tonight’s No. 25 overall pick in trade talks as they look to unload salary, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The development is no surprise, given Houston’s desire to clear cap room for a run at marquee free agents like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kyle Lowry.
The 25th pick in this year’s draft represents a cap hold of $991K. Most first-round draft picks sign for 120% of the rookie scale, which in this case would mean a salary of $1,189,200 for next season, though some toward the end of the round wind up settling for less than that. Andre Roberson signed for the minimum 80% of the scale after Oklahoma City took him 26th last year.
7:29pm: Sacramento isn’t looking to trade Nik Stauskas, whom the team took with the eighth selection, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets. That’s a bit curious, given that he plays shooting guard, just like McLemore.
7:03pm: The Kings will keep their selection at No. 8, Wojnarowski hears (Twitter link).
6:50pm: The Kings and Celtics are discussing a trade that would send Ben McLemore to Boston and the No. 6 pick to Sacramento, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That comes amid discussion of a pick swap between the Kings and Nuggets involving the eighth and 11th picks, and such a trade may involve current players, too, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
McLemore was last year’s seventh overall pick, so it appears his stock has risen. The Celtics and Kings have been two of the most active teams in chatter leading up to the draft, and the Nuggets have reportedly been shopping the No. 11 pick.
6:21pm: The Cavs turned down Philly’s offer of picks Nos. 3, 10 and 32, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
5:43pm: All signs point to the Cavs taking Wiggins with the top pick, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
4:54pm: The Cavs are set to keep the pick and choose between Parker and Wiggins, unless a last-minute offer comes around, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
3:58pm: Nothing is expected to happen with the Kings outside of a multiple team deal, Amico tweets. Meanwhile, the Celtics want the top pick, but they lack the parts to get a deal done.
3:53pm: The Cavs are talking with the Kings, Celtics, and Sixers about the No. 1 pick but not the Wolves or Magic at this stage, tweets Amico.
2:56pm: Nothing is close in terms of a deal for the No. 1 pick, but the Cavs expect it all to come down to the wire, tweets Amico.
2:06pm: The asking price for the No. 1 pick is as high as picks Nos. 3, 10, and 32 from the Sixers, Tom Moore of the Courier Times tweets. If Philly stays at No. 3, meanwhile, Dante Exum will likely be their choice.
Technically speaking, we are past the 1pm CT deadline where teams can officially trade picks, but the Cavs can draft someone for the Sixers or another club to complete a trade.
1:15pm: The Cavs know who they’re selecting with the first pick in the draft and there’s no great internal debate going on today, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. The club still has multiple trade opportunities in front of them, however.
12:44pm: A league source tells Bob Cooney of the Daily News (on Twitter) that the Sixers are in full court press mode with Cleveland to get the No. 1 pick. “They really, really, really want Wiggins,” the source said.
10:47am: There’s a lot of skepticism that the Cavs are at all serious about trading the No. 1 pick, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
9:44am: The two sides have exchanged proposals on the No. 1 pick, but there’s nothing that has gained traction, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
9:35am: The Cavs and Magic aren’t anywhere close to a deal for the No. 1 pick, team sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
8:15am: Buckle up, this is going to be one crazy day leading up to the draft. As we learned yesterday, the Cavs are still split on whether to take Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick. General Manager David Griffin and other execs are pushing for Parker while outspoken owner Dan Gilbert wants to take Wiggins. Of course, they might not keep the pick at all.
Sources tell Chad Ford of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that the Cavs have been calling teams and offering up the Magic’s picks at No. 4 and No. 12 for different players. The Magic would take Parker with the No. 1 overall pick but the Cavs were just gauging the value of those picks and a deal is not yet completed, Ford tweets. The Sixers are also upping their offer for the top pick.
Meanwhile, sources out of Orlando tell Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter) that the Cavs have inquired about Magic guard Victor Oladipo during their exploratory trade talks.
There’s a “tremendous” chance that the Sixers take Joel Embiid at No. 3, though they’re still deciding, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Still, a source who spoke to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com threw cold water on the idea that Philly was zeroing in on the Kansas big man (Twitter link). Regardless, it won’t be long until we find out. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
Zach Links contributed to this post.
6:02pm: Sources deny to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops that the Hornets offered Henderson for Afflalo (Twitter link).
3:43pm: As the draft draws near, the Hornets are shopping Gerald Henderson, sources tell Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d). Sources say Charlotte offered the No. 24 pick and Henderson to the Magic for Arron Afflalo before the guard was shipped to Denver.
That’s not the only rumored trade proposal involving Henderson that we’ve heard today. This morning, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times reported that Charlotte was discussing a deal that would have sent Henderson to the Clippers for Jared Dudley, another player, and the No. 28 pick.
Last season, Henderson played in a career-high 77 games and averaged 14.0 PPG with 4.0 RPG in 32 minutes per contest.
THURSDAY, 5:36pm: Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders continues to hear that Mitch McGary has a promise from a team (Twitter link). Some believe it is indeed the Hornets, as Kennedy wrote earlier, while Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times hears from some who believe the Bucks, picking 31st, have promised him (Twitter link). The Thunder are “strongly considering” McGary at No. 29, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
WEDNESDAY, 8:24pm: A source tells Sean Deveney of Sporting News that McGary has been “all but assured” of being selected by a team in the 20s. Deveney mentions the Hornets and Thunder as possibilities.
TUESDAY, 3:12pm: Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer suggests that the Hornets are also targeting LSU’s Johnny O’Bryant III (Twitter link). That seems to contract the notion that Charlotte has issued a promise to McGary, though Bonnell doesn’t explicitly say so.
2:24pm: The Hornets have given former University of Michigan center Mitch McGary a promise to draft him with the 24th overall pick Thursday, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The 22-year-old has reportedly worked out for only one team prior to the draft, but that club is the Bucks, who are reportedly interested in him for the 31st overall pick. Still, it appears Charlotte has zeroed in on the big man in spite of back surgery that limited him to just eight games this season and a drug test that revealed his use of marijuana prior to the NCAA tournament.
McGary was a potential lottery pick prior to the back injury, so in a sense Charlotte might end up with a steal at No. 24. In any case, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress lists McGary as the 24th best prospect in the draft, suggesting the Hornets would at least receive fair value. He’s 29th in the Insider-only rankings of Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Still, the promise is no guarantee that the Hornets will draft McGary, and there are no binding agreements involved, even if Ford’s reporting is indeed accurate. Another team could draft McGary earlier, and the Hornets might receive an enticing offer that prompts them to trade the pick, among the possible scenarios.