The Pacers ended up with Oregon’s Chris Duarte on draft night, using the No. 13 pick to select him. However, Duarte drew plenty of interest from other teams before Indiana snatched him up late in the lottery, writes J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star.
[RELATED: 2021 NBA Draft Results]
According to Michael, a Warriors official told Duarte on the way to the draft that he’d be their choice at No. 14. Golden State subsequently tried to make a trade with the Pacers after Indiana picked Duarte, says Michael. Meanwhile, the Knicks‘ “furious” attempts to move into the top 10 or the late lottery were believed to be focused on Duarte, according to Michael, who adds that the Jazz offered the No. 30 pick and Joe Ingles in a deal to get in position to draft the Oregon wing.
A Warriors source denied to Michael that Golden State tried to trade for Duarte even after selecting Moses Moody at No. 14, but Michael says two independent sources confirmed his report, and Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link) corroborated it.
Here’s more on the 2021 NBA draft, the day after:
- Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said there was huge demand for the No. 11 pick, which Charlotte used to draft James Bouknight. “There was as much demand for that pick this year as I’ve ever seen for a pick in my years,” the veteran executive said, per Jonathan M. Alexander of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- The Mavericks entered draft night without any picks, but president of basketball operations Nico Harrison said the team got “lots of calls” about getting into the first or second round. The price was ultimately “too rich for our blood,” according to Harrison (Twitter link via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News).
- A pair of second-round picks by Atlantic teams are expected to be draft-and-stash prospects. The Celtics‘ No. 45 pick, Juhann Begarin, will likely remain in France for another season, per president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic). And the Sixers’ No. 50 pick, Filip Petrusev, also isn’t expected to come over right away, as first reported by Rich Hofmann of The Athletic (Twitter link) and later confirmed by president of basketball operations Daryl Morey (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of The Athletic).
Hard to believe that San Antonio couldn’t have had Primo at 19, if NYK offered them 19 and 21 it should have gotten it done.
They would have taken Duarte at 12
Could have got Kai Jones at 19 and Primo 21 plus prob got Knox in deal
Spurs can get Josh Primo at second round
I’m still catching up on the draft and the prospects, but the little bit I’ve seen of Duarte so far, a few names come to mind in similarities…
Tyler Herro, Mike Miller, Rip Hamilton, Duncan Robinson, Klay Thompson
…I’d also say aaron afflalo should probably be in there on that list. If he was younger, he would have probably been talked about a lot more. Also, you see why the Knicks wanted him so badly b/c he would have been a perfect fit for what they needed last season
Very similar to Klay, skill and body wise, just a little older coming out.
For sure
Warriors want Chris Duarte
According to consensus, Moses Moody is 8
The consensus for Moses Moody is #14, not #8.
Moody may have been a few spots ahead of Duarte on the Warriors draft board but I would bet that in terms of their draft strategy that they wanted one of their two picks to be a guy who is more NBA ready than either Kuminga or Moody. ESPN happened to show the Warriors draft room shortly after Duarte was picked and Joe Lacob looked pretty frustrated.
Duarte was ahead of Moody on the GSW board.
Uh,.. according to the story above the Warriors are denying that. It doesn’t really matter unless the difference is huge.
It seems very plausible that the Warriors were pretty certain only one of the two of them would be there at 14. Despite the age difference, they play similar roles. So, they could have had Moody ahead of Duarte, but could tell Duarte they’d likely draft him at 14 because if he was still there Moody would likely have been gone.
The late demand for Duarte, across so many teams, was remarkable. Or at least demand that was not reflected in mock drafts or reports until the last week or two. Prior to that, he looked like he’d have been a reach in the late first round. Oldest top 15 pick I can remember. Basic 3&D game that translates, but that was known from the start.
Grimes is another version of the same type of player (3&D wing who’s been on journey). Hope the Knicks got that one right.
#11 Cam Johnson @suns
I believe he was “only” 23 at the time of the draft. I’m sure there’s been lots of 24 year olds, but not sure they’ve been picked high recently.
Nothing inconsistent about what the Warriors are saying. They would have taken Duarte at 14 but still had Moody higher on their board because it’s almost certain that if he were available that Moody wouldn’t have been.
Balloons your concept of a “board” is a strange one if it leaves out prospects considered unlikely. For one thing the rankings (ordinals) won’t match the assigned team slots. For another, execs would argue about who should be considered and who surely gone, wasting time.
GSW wanted Duarte more, but it’s in their best interest to lie about that.
DXC it’s about money with the popularity of Duarte. Duarte is ready faster than Moody— and neither are transcendent.
These young prospects need their TLC. Owners are figuring this out by draft day, setting aside the scouting fantasies that every 19-yo is the next Micl Jordan. Coaches may want to raise players ‘right’ but owners want their money put to use… for player training already done, and on someone else’s dime. Even Lacob.