A pair of NCAA freshmen, Duke’s Marvin Bagley III and Arizona’s DeAndre Ayton, are making strong cases to become the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. For now though, Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link) still has Real Madrid point guard Luka Doncic coming off the board first, writing that the international star would be a nice fit for the Bulls.
Givony’s mock draft also features Michael Porter Jr., who recently underwent back surgery, slotting in as the No. 4 overall pick. There was some concern in the wake of Porter’s injury that his stock might fall precipitously, but Givony’s blurb on Porter going to the Hawks doesn’t even mention the young forward’s health situation, which suggests that it’s not viewed as a major red flag at this point. NBA teams will get a closer look at Porter’s back in the spring, at which point it will become clearer whether or not he’s still a top-five pick.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Lonzo Ball‘s younger brothers, LiAngelo Ball and LaMelo Ball, are exploring the possibility of signing with a team overseas, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports that representative Harrison Gaines has initiated contact with international teams. LiAngelo, who was pulled out of UCLA’s program this week, isn’t considered an NBA prospect. LaMelo is viewed as a probable pick in the 2019 draft, but he’s still just 16 years old and probably isn’t ready to compete at a professional level, says Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com.
- Players on two-way contracts aren’t allowed to spend more than 45 days with their respective NBA clubs. However, the criteria for a day spent in the NBA are complicated, and most teams aren’t making service time information publicly available. That makes it difficult to keep tabs on how close two-way players are to their 45-day limits, as Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days details. One thing we know: Wednesday will mark Mike James‘ 45th day in the NBA, so the Suns will have to clear a roster spot in order to convert his contract to a standard NBA deal.
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders spent time with the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League affiliate, and provides an all-access look at what a day in the G League looks like.
Assuming the Ball brothers will not be playing in the Chinese professional league.
Realistically LiAngelo should head to a community college and LaMelo to a prep school.
With LaVar you really don’t know. I just wonder if he’ll shut up when LiAngelo doesn’t get drafted and their shoe company goes under! They say LaMelo won’t be eligible for college since he has his own shoe brand and promotes it. If the NBA changes the rule to you have to go to college for 2 years, LaMelo will have gone 4 years without basketball.
I think Jimmy Sexton of Alabama could slide into the top 5 in draft. Those I see falling are Mohammed Bamba-Texas, Robert Williams-Texas A&M, and anyone on Kentucky.
Pretty sure you mean Colin Sexton