2019 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Checking In On 2019’s Traded First-Round Picks

January 2nd, 2019 at 1:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Of the eight 2019 first-round picks that have already been traded, seven had some sort of protections on them from the moment they were dealt. The eighth – Sacramento’s first-rounder – started off as unprotected when it was sent to the Sixers, but Philadelphia added protections and swap rights to it when it was re-routed to Boston in 2017’s Markelle Fultz/Jayson Tatum blockbuster.

In other words, the destinations for all eight of this year’s traded first-round picks will hinge on the NBA’s 2018/19 league standings.

[RELATED: 2018/19 NBA Reverse Standings]

With the regular season nearing its halfway point, it’s worth checking in on those protected first-round picks to get a sense of which ones are likely to change hands and which ones may end up falling within their protected ranges.

Here’s a breakdown of where things stand right now:

Traded picks that are likely to change hands:

Kings‘ pick to Celtics
- Protection: Top-1
- Current draft slot: No. 14
Nuggets‘ pick to Nets
- Protection: Top-12
- Current draft slot: No. 28
Raptors‘ pick to Spurs
- Protection: Top-20
- Current draft slot: No. 29

The Nuggets and Raptors look like good bets to finish near the top of their respective conferences, so their late first-rounders will almost certainly be conveyed in 2019. As for the Kings‘ pick, it’ll head to Boston if it’s not the No. 1 overall pick and if it’s more favorable than Philadelphia’s first-round selection. Right now, the Sixers‘ first-rounder projects to be No. 24, so the Celtics will likely end up with Sacramento’s first-rounder.

Traded picks that are unlikely to change hands:

Cavaliers‘ pick to Hawks
- Protection: Top-10
- Current draft slot: No. 1
Bucks‘ pick to Suns
- Protection: Top-3 and 17-30
- Current draft slot: No. 30

Even with the NBA’s new draft lottery rules instituted for 2019, teams can’t fall more than four spots as a result of the lottery results. So the Cavaliers would need to have a pretty strong second half for their pick to be in any real danger. The Bucks, meanwhile, have the NBA’s best record, so the odds of their first-rounder falling between 4-16 are minuscule.

Traded picks that remain up in the air:

Mavericks’ pick to Hawks
- Protection: Top-5
- Current draft slot: No. 11
Grizzlies‘ pick to Celtics
- Protection: Top-8
- Current draft slot: No. 13
Clippers‘ pick to Celtics
- Protection: Top-14
- Current draft slot: No. 19/20 (tie)

If the season ended today and there were no major lottery surprises, these picks would all change hands. Given how close the Western Conference standings are, however, that outlook could change quickly. Of these three teams, the Clippers may be the most likely to hang onto their pick, since they’ll need to make the playoffs in order for Boston to get their first-rounder.

The other two look reasonably likely to change hands for now, but the NBA’s new lottery system shouldn’t be overlooked as a potential wild-card factor here. Let’s say the Mavericks finish with the NBA’s 10th-worst record — under the old system, they would have had just a 4.0% chance at jumping into the top three. Under the new system, they’d have a 13.9% at moving into the top four and keeping their pick.

2018/19 NBA Reverse Standings Update

December 21st, 2018 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the 2018/19 NBA season, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on what the 2019 draft order will look like. Our 2018/19 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, is updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the previous night’s games.

Our Reverse Standings are essentially a reflection of what 2019’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. We’ve noted each club’s odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, based on the league’s updated lottery format.

In instances where two non-playoff teams or two playoff teams have identical records, the order in our standings isn’t necessarily definitive — for draft purposes, the NBA breaks ties via random drawings, so those drawings would happen at the end of the year. Of course, the 14 non-playoff teams all draft before the 16 playoff teams, even if some non-playoff teams have better records than playoff teams. Our reverse standings account for that.

Traded first-round picks are included via footnotes. For example, the note next to Cleveland’s pick says that the Cavaliers will send their pick to the Hawks if it’s not in the top 10. As of today, Cleveland is in a tie for the NBA’s third-worst record, meaning that pick wouldn’t change hands.

The Suns had led our reverse standings for most of the season so far, but a recent four-game winning streak has taken them out of that “top” spot. They’re now tied with Cleveland for third. Currently, the Bulls (7-25) and Hawks (7-23) are in pole position for 2019’s top pick. Of course, under the new lottery format, the league’s worst three teams will all have equal odds for that No. 1 selection.

Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2019. So be sure to check back often as the season progresses!

Note: Mobile users are advised to turn their phones sideways when viewing the Reverse Standings in order to see team records and lottery odds.

And-Ones: Pitino, Giannis, A. Davis, 2019 Draft

December 20th, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Celtics and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is making a coaching comeback, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Agent Drew Rosenhaus tells Wojnarowski that Pitino has agreed to a deal to coach Greek club Panathinaikos for the rest of the 2018/19 season. He’s expected to make his debut on December 27.

Pitino’s lengthy stint at Louisville came to an abrupt end in 2017 as a result of the FBI’s probe into college basketball recruiting. He had spent most of the last two decades heading up the program, having previously coached the Celtics from 1997 to 2001. Since leaving Louisville, Pitino has been looking to re-enter the coaching ranks in the NBA, telling Wojnarowski earlier in the fall that he just wants to be “a part of an organization.”

“I want to develop young players,” Pitino said in October. “I want to be part of a team. I miss it terribly. I’m using this time to really study the NBA. If something opens up with a young basketball team, I’d have deep interest in it.”

While his new job isn’t an NBA position, Pitino is hoping that Panathinaikos can be a stepping stone back to the NBA, writes Wojnarowski. He’ll take over a club that ranks 10th in EuroLeague play so far, with a 6-7 record.

Former NBA players Nick Calathes, Georgios Papagiannis, and Keith Langford are among the players on Pitino’s new roster, along with Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the older brother of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Here are a few more basketball odds and ends:

Asked whether he’s ever had an issue like the Suns, Grizzlies, and Wizards did last week, when there was confusion over which “Brooks” was involved in a proposed trade, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck told NBC Sports Boston that he has. “With the same team, by the way, that was involved [in last week’s failed three-team trade],” Grousbeck said. “That’s another story – that I’m not going to tell.” Grousbeck didn’t go into any more detail, so it’s not entirely clear which of the three teams he was referring to.
In the wake of LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo openly recruiting Anthony Davis to their respective teams, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report explores whether their comments constitute tampering, and whether commissioner Adam Silver is likely to step in.
Speaking of Antetokounmpo and Davis, they’re the NBA’s two most valuable trade chips, in the view of Bill Simmons of The Ringer, who ranked his top 55 players in the league in terms of trade value.
SI.com’s Jeremy Woo has published his latest 2019 mock draft, with Duke prospects holding the top three spots.

And-Ones: China, 2019 Draft, FAs, Carmelo

December 11th, 2018 at 8:11pm CST by Luke Adams

During the 2018 offseason, NBA veterans like Cole Aldrich, Al Jefferson, and Marreese Speights were among those to sign contracts in China. As Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype notes in an excellent, in-depth look at Chinese basketball’s free agent system, teams in the Chinese Basketball Association can offer players more money than clubs in just about any other non-NBA league in the world, which appeals to unsigned vets.

“If you talk to players who aren’t in the NBA, just about every player’s first choice is China,” one agent told Kennedy. “The vast majority of players outside of the NBA want to sign in China. There are a lot of players who make seven figures in China. Even the smaller deals are solid, paying at least $300K after taxes. It’s also a relatively short season compared to other leagues. … When the CBA season ends, players can try to join an NBA team for the remainder of the season. It’s attractive for many reasons.”

While heading to China might be appealing to undrafted players who were unable to catch on with NBA teams, most Chinese clubs are focusing on players who have previous NBA experience, as another agent tells Kennedy.

“They think, ‘If this guy played in the NBA, he must be good,'” the agent said. “They also understand that fans will be more interested in a player if they can use the word ‘NBA’ to market him. It helps them sell tickets and things like that. I always tell players if they want to sign in China, they either need NBA experience or they need to be absolutely dominating wherever they’re currently playing.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

ESPN’s draft experts, led by Jonathan Givony, have updated their big board of 2019’s top 100 prospects and provided in-depth updates on five prospects whose stock has risen recently, including Stanford forward KZ Okpala (Insider-only link).
The Ringer’s staff recently revealed their picks for the NBA’s top 25 players through 25 (or so) games. The list is littered with players in potential contract years, including Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Marc Gasol, Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler, and Tobias Harris, among others, reflecting the strength of 2019’s free agent class.
On the other end of the spectrum, Frank Urbina of HoopsHype takes a closer look at four 2019 free-agents-to-be who may be hurting their stocks a little with their play so far this season.
As Carmelo Anthony seeks out his next NBA opportunity, Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN.com takes a deep dive into the numbers to explain why Anthony’s old-school game won’t appeal to analytically-minded NBA franchises.

Hoops Rumors’ 2018/19 NBA Reverse Standings

December 7th, 2018 at 8:50am CST by Luke Adams

Throughout the 2018/19 NBA season, Hoops Rumors will be maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on what the 2019 draft order will look like. Our 2018/19 Reverse Standings tool, which lists the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, will be updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the previous night’s games.

Our Reverse Standings are essentially a reflection of what 2019’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. We’ve noted each club’s odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick, based on the league’s updated lottery format.

In instances where two non-playoff teams or two playoff teams have identical records, the order in our standings isn’t necessarily definitive — for draft purposes, the NBA breaks ties via random drawings, so those drawings would happen at the end of the year. Of course, the 14 non-playoff teams all draft before the 16 playoff teams, even if some non-playoff teams have better records than playoff teams. Our reverse standings account for that.

Traded first-round picks are included via footnotes. For example, the note next to Cleveland’s pick says that the Cavaliers will send their pick to the Hawks if it’s not in the top 10. As of today, Cleveland has the NBA’s fourth-worst record, meaning that pick wouldn’t change hands.

Our Reverse Standings tracker can be found at anytime on the right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features” on our desktop site, or on the “Features” page in our mobile menu. It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2019. So be sure to check back often as the season progresses!

Note: Mobile users are advised to turn their phones sideways when viewing the Reverse Standings in order to see team records and lottery odds.

And-Ones: A. Brown, Hanlan, Draft, Africa

November 29th, 2018 at 4:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA swingman Anthony Brown and Serbian team KK Partizan Belgrade have officially parted ways, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Brown’s deal was supposed to run through June, but the two sides agreed to terminate it just a month after it was finalized.

In other international basketball news, former Spurs second-round pick Olivier Hanlan has signed with German club Telekom Baskets Bonn, according to an announcement from the team (hat tip to Sportando). Hanlan signed with San Antonio in September, but was waived a few days later, so the Spurs no longer have his NBA rights.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have updated their 2019 mock draft (Insider link), with Zion Williamson now claiming the No. 1 spot, followed by Duke teammate R.J. Barrett at No. 2. Givony and Schmitz also zero in on players whose stocks have recently improved or fallen, with USC’s Kevin Porter (No. 21 to No. 9) and Murray State’s Temetrius “Ja” Morant (No. 16 to No. 10) among the big risers.
The NBA, which unveiled a new training facility at its basketball academy in Senegal this week, has “big plans” for Africa, writes Ken Maguire of The Associated Press. NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum suggests that the league believes the number of African players on NBA starting rosters (13) could double within a decade, Maguire notes.
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks examines some NBA roster moves or salary-cap decisions that didn’t receive a ton of attention at the time, but have paid off so far, including the Grizzlies‘ acquisition of Garrett Temple.

How New Lottery Odds Will Affect NBA’s Race To The Bottom

November 23rd, 2018 at 12:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2018/19 NBA season is the first league year that will use the Association’s new odds for the draft lottery. Up until 2018, the top three spots in the draft were determined by the lottery, with the NBA’s worst team receiving a 25% shot at the No. 1 pick and a 64.3% chance of a top-three pick.

That will no longer be the case in 2019, as the league has tweaked its lottery system to distribute the odds of a top pick a little more evenly throughout the NBA’s bottom 14 teams.

The top four spots in the draft will now be set by the lottery, which means the worst team could pick as low as No. 5. Additionally, that team now only has a 14% shot at the No. 1 overall selection, and a 40.1% chance at a top-three pick.

Here’s a full breakdown of how the lottery odds have changed. The new odds are indicated first, followed by the previous odds in parentheses.

Team	No. 1 pick (%)	Top-3 pick (%)
Team 1	14.0 (25.0)	40.1 (64.3)
Team 2	14.0 (19.9)	40.1 (55.8)
Team 3	14.0 (15.6)	40.1 (46.9)
Team 4	12.5 (11.9)	36.6 (37.8)
Team 5	10.5 (8.8)	31.6 (29.2)
Team 6	9.0 (6.3)	27.6 (21.5)
Team 7	7.5 (4.3)	23.4 (15.0)
Team 8	6.0 (2.8)	19.0 (10.0)
Team 9	4.5 (1.7)	14.5 (6.1)
Team 10	3.0 (1.1)	9.9 (4.0)
Team 11	2.0 (0.8)	6.6 (2.9)
Team 12	1.5 (0.7)	5.1 (2.5)
Team 13	1.0 (0.6)	3.3 (2.0)
Team 14	0.5 (0.5)	1.7 (1.8)

The new system doesn’t represent a total overhaul of the draft lottery, but the changes should still have a major impact on the lottery results going forward. The league’s three worst teams will all have equal odds at the No. 1 pick and a top-three pick, reducing the incentive to finish at the very bottom of the NBA standings.

The likelihood of a team in the 6-14 range jumping up to snag the top pick has been increased significantly as well. There’s now a 35% chance that one of those clubs will pick first overall — under the previous system, those odds were just 18.8%.

So what will the practical effects of these changes look like? Well, for one, we shouldn’t be quite as invested in the very bottom of the NBA standings. For instance, if the Suns, Cavaliers, and Hawks end up in a three-team race for the league’s worst record, it doesn’t really matter which team is the worst of the worst — they’d all end up with the exact same lottery odds.

Meanwhile, teams with picks in the middle of the lottery will have a better chance to make a leap in the draft order. For example, Sixers and Celtics fans may be discouraged by the Kings‘ hot start, since Sacramento’s pick will go to Philadelphia (if it’s No. 1) or Boston (if it’s No. 2 or lower). However, the revamped lottery odds could make that pick a little more interesting even if the Kings keep playing well.

Let’s say the Kings finish eighth in the lottery order. In past seasons, that pick would have had a 2.8% chance of landing at No. 1 and a 10% chance of jumping into the top three. This year, the odds of becoming the first overall selection would increase to 6%. It would also have a 19% chance of being a top-three pick, and a 26.2% of landing in the top four. It’s still a long shot to improve, but those odds aren’t nearly as long.

We’ll have to wait until later in the season to get a better sense of how the new lottery odds may impact situational tanking around the league. Whatever happens though, it looks like lottery night should be more interesting than ever going forward, with one extra top pick up for grabs and a shake-up in the draft order more likely than ever.

And-Ones: Lecque, Anthony, West, G League

November 17th, 2018 at 7:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Potential first-round pick Jalen Lecque will likely sign a national letter of intent this week, but he hasn’t given up on the NBA draft, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. Lecque is still a high school senior, but he is expected to be granted draft eligibility because he is a year removed from his graduating class. He committed to North Carolina State in October and could put that in writing before the early signing period ends on Wednesday.

A 6’4″ guard, Lecque put his talents on display this weekend at the National Prep Showcase with representatives from 16 NBA teams watching. He is projected at 25 in the latest mock draft compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

“I’m not really focused on the NBA right now,” Lecque said. “I’m focused on first steps first with high school and then next steps with college. I’m getting everything out of the way, graduating and looking to perform my best every game.”

Lecque added that he has no interest in the new G League “select” path that will enable some players fresh out of high school to make $125K.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

Regardless of his NBA future, Carmelo Anthony has a standing offer from the Puerto Rican national team, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Anthony, who already has three gold medals and a bronze with Team USA, announced his retirement from international basketball after the 2016 Olympics. He hasn’t expressed an interest in playing for Puerto Rico, but federation president Yum Ramos plans to offer an invitation. “With his connection to Puerto Rico, his NBA stardom and his experiences, our fans would love it,” said Mavericks guard J.J. Barea, a star with the Puerto Rican team. “We tried a bunch to get him in the past, but of course nobody blamed him for playing for Team USA. But if he ever wants a chance to represent us, it would be awesome to have him.”
David West, who retired from the NBA in August, will be the first chief operating officer for the Historical Basketball League, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The new college league, which will debut in 2020, intends to compensate and educate players based on their market value.
Two former NBA players were involved in a G League trade this week, notes a story on the South Bay Lakers’ website. The Lakers acquired the returning player rights for Joel Bolomboy from the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for similar rights to Vander Blue. Bolomboy played 18 combined games for the Jazz and Bucks, while Blue has 10 games of NBA experience with the Celtics and Lakers.

Poll: Celtics’ 2019 First Round Picks

November 14th, 2018 at 9:45pm CST by clarkcrum

Before the 2018/19 season started, the Celtics looked like they were primed to receive two first-round draft picks in next summer’s 2019 NBA draft – their own selection and the first-round pick of the Kings or Sixers (Boston gets the most favorable of the two, or the least favorable if one is the No. 1 pick).

However, a strong start to the season for both the Clippers and the Grizzlies has put the C’s in position to realistically pick up both those clubs’ 2019 first-round picks as well for a total of four 2019 first-round picks.

As it stands currently, the Celtics will receive the Grizzlies’ selection if it falls between picks 9-30, and Memphis is currently tied with San Antonio for the NBA’s ninth-best record. Meanwhile, the Celtics will also receive the Clippers’ 2019 first-round selection if it falls between selections 15-30, with Los Angeles currently tied with the Thunder for the league’s sixth-best record.

It’s still early in the season, of course, and both the Grizzlies and Clippers may eventually move back into position to retain their picks, but both Memphis’ and L.A.’s fast starts have made the issue an interesting discussion.

So, with that being said, how many picks with the Celtics end up with in the first round of the 2019 NBA Draft? Vote in the poll below and share your thoughts in the comments section!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

How Early Hot, Cold Streaks May Impact Traded Draft Picks

November 9th, 2018 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors, Nuggets, Bucks, Grizzlies, and Kings are among the NBA teams that have made the strongest impression in the first month of the 2018/19 season, outperforming expectations early in the year. On the other end of the spectrum, the Cavaliers and Mavericks have been among the league’s worst teams, underperforming expectations that weren’t all that high to begin with.

These teams all have something in common — they’ve traded away their 2019 first-round picks, often with protections on them. We still have about 70 games to go in ’18/19, so it’s way too early to determine exactly where those picks will fall, or even whether or not they’ll changes hands in many cases. However, based on what we’ve seen from those teams so far, we have a better idea of what to expect the rest of the way than we did a month ago.

Let’s take a look at how some of those early-season trades may affect 2019’s traded first round picks…

Toronto Raptors (11-1)
First-round pick traded to Spurs (top-20 protected)

Even with top-20 protection, this pick looks like a very safe bet to change hands. If the season ended today, it would be No. 30, since Toronto has the NBA’s best record.

Denver Nuggets (9-2)
First-round pick traded to Nets (top-12 protected)

After a season in which the Nuggets narrowly missed the playoffs, it wasn’t unreasonable for Brooklyn to hope this pick would fall in the mid-teens. Instead, with Denver looking like one of the Western Conference’s best teams so far, it may land well into the 20s.

Milwaukee Bucks (9-2)
First-round pick traded to Suns (top-3 protected; 17-30 protected)

The unusual protections on this pick will likely to prevent it from changing hands for a second consecutive year, since it projects to fall in the 17-30 range. If Milwaukee’s 2019 first-rounder doesn’t convey, the Bucks would owe the Suns their 2020 first-rounder, with top-7 protection.

Memphis Grizzlies (6-4)
First-round pick traded to Celtics (top-8 protected)

After finishing last season with a 22-60 record, the Grizzlies were no lock to take a major step forward in 2018/19. In the early going though, the club looks like a legitimate playoff contender. Assuming Memphis can remain in the postseason mix, even if it’s just on the outskirts, this pick should stay out of the top eight and get sent to Boston.

Sacramento Kings (6-5)
First-round pick traded to Sixers (if it’s No. 1 overall or if it’s less favorable than Sixers’ pick) or Celtics (if it’s more favorable than Sixers’ pick and isn’t No. 1 overall)

The Kings, who were expected to be one of the NBA’s worst teams entering the season, would generate some fascinating drama between the Sixers and Celtics if their pick ends up in play for No. 1 overall. However, Sacramento’s young roster has created more problems than anticipated for opponents so far, with the team occupying a playoff spot for now.

Despite the Kings’ hot start, a finish in the lottery still seems likely, but if Sacramento keeps exceeding expectations, the team’s first-round pick will almost certainly end up in Boston instead of Philadelphia, avoiding that No. 1 spot.

Los Angeles Clippers (6-5)
First-round pick traded to Celtics (top-14 protected)

This could be one to watch all season long — the Clippers currently hold a playoff spot in the West by one game, but teams like the Jazz, Lakers, Pelicans, and Rockets are right on their tail. If the Clips eventually fall out of the top eight in the West, they’ll keep their 2019 pick and would owe Boston their top-14 protected 2020 first-rounder. If L.A. keeps winning, the Celtics have a real shot at ending up with four first-rounders next spring.

Dallas Mavericks (3-8)
First-round pick traded to Hawks (top-5 protected)

After drafting NBA-ready prospect Luka Doncic and signing DeAndre Jordan, the Mavericks hoped to contend for the postseason and expected to lose this pick. Given the way Dallas has struggled so far, that no longer looks like a sure thing. I don’t view the Mavs as a bottom-five team in the NBA, but if they don’t turn things around soon, an aggressive second-half tank is a possibility. The Hawks would love for this pick to land in the back half of the top 10.

Cleveland Cavaliers (1-10)
First-round pick traded to Hawks (top-10 protected)

While Atlanta may luck out with the Mavs’ pick, the Hawks will probably have to wait at least one more year to get anything from the Cavaliers, who have the NBA’s worst record so far and aren’t exactly in position to turn things around. If the Cavs keep their 2019 first-rounder, they’ll owe the Hawks their top-10 protected 2020 pick.