2023 NBA Draft

And-Ones: Western Playoff Race, Trade Market, 2023 Draft, Miller

January 27th, 2023 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

The lack of separation in the Western Conference standings has further clouded the trade deadline outlook with the February 9 less than two weeks away, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic.

As Hollinger outlines, it seems safe to assume that the Nuggets and Grizzlies are contenders and the Spurs and Rockets are lottery teams, but beyond that, there has been little clarity through the first 50 or so games — the other 11 teams in the conference all have between 23 and 27 wins.

One reason that most in-season trades don’t happen until the week before the trade deadline, Hollinger observes, is because teams want as much information as possible about where they stand relative to the competition, but there’s not much time left for teams to glean that information. Plus, several Western clubs – including the Pelicans, Timberwolves, and Lakers – haven’t had their stars healthy together for long enough this season to have a good sense of how all their pieces fit together.

As we wait to see how a crowded Western Conference playoff race affects the trade market, let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world…

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report takes a closer look at the trade market for big men, considering which players might be available, which teams would have interest, and what it might cost to acquire them.
Within the latest edition of HoopsHype’s aggregate 2023 mock draft – which compiles predictions from nine different experts’ mocks – Michael Scotto of HoopsHype passes along some insights from NBA evaluators on several of this year’s top prospects, including one executive who compared Alabama wing Brandon Miller to Paul George. Another executive told Scotto he likes Miller more than Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson due to his shooting ability.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic spoke to 17-year NBA veteran Mike Miller about his post-retirement transition from player to agent and how he’s been able to build up a strong roster of clients, including No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. “Other agencies might know a lot about basketball, but to live it and to understand it — and I think at the end of the day, again, nothing against them, but me talking and projecting out a player or comping a player or doing those things as far as what it looks like for a player paints a little bit of a different picture,” Miller said.

And-Ones: Faried, CBA, Wembanyama, Thompson Twins

January 24th, 2023 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

In a conversation with Sam Yip of HoopsHype, Kenneth Faried admits that it has been “extremely difficult” to be out of the NBA since 2019, since he believes that he’s still capable of playing at that level and helping a team. Faried is currently suiting up for the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League as he seeks an NBA comeback.

“At the same time, patience is a virtue. I’m very patient,” Faried said. “I’m working hard towards showing that I can still do it at that level. … I’m ready, I’m focused, I’m locked in, I’m a better vet, a better person, a better leader and I don’t even need to be a leader. I can be quiet and sit back and just follow whoever the leader is.”

As Yip points out, Faried is one of several NBA veterans playing for Mexico City’s G League team. Shabazz Napier, Gary Clark, and Mason Jones are among the other Capitanes players hoping for a call-up.

“For us to now be on a team, and all trying to have the same kind of goal to make it back to the NBA and try to find a way is great, because we’re not trying to be selfish to each other,” Faried said. “We’re trying to help each other. And everyone’s here trying to help each other get better, trying to showcase that we’re still good enough in great shape and ready for whatever may happen, ready for a contract for real.”

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

Don’t expect the NBA’s next Collective Bargaining Agreement to include an upper spending limit (ie. a hard cap), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. The NBA was reportedly pushing a de facto hard cap earlier in CBA discussions, but Windhorst believes negotiations between the two sides would be far more contentious if the league was still prioritizing that concept. He does think there will be changes made to the luxury tax system, however.
Although the 2017 CBA improved the guidelines for veteran contract extensions and led to a huge uptick in those deals, the rule limiting players to a 20% raise for the first year of an extension is outdated, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN, who notes that it makes it virtually impossible for clubs to extend players who are coming off team-friendly deals. Marks suggests tweaking the rule to allow teams to offer the same amount in an extension that they’d be able to in free agency.
Top prospect Victor Wembanyama is expected to play for France’s national team in two World Cup qualifying contests next month, as Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops writes. The February 23 and 26 games conflict with the EuroLeague schedule, but Wembyanama’s Metropolitans 92 aren’t a EuroLeague team.
Twins Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, projected top-10 picks in the 2023 NBA draft, are looking forward to competing against other top players from their draft class and showing how the Overtime Elite program has benefited them, writes Jacob Polacheck of ZagsBlog.com.

And-Ones: All-Star Voting, Moore, Sophomore Class, 2023 Mock

January 6th, 2023 at 8:41pm CST by Rory Maher

Superstar forwards LeBron James and Kevin Durant lead the Western and Eastern Conferences, respectively, in the first round of All-Star fan voting, the NBA announced on Thursday (Twitter link). Fan voting makes up 50% of the vote for the starting lineup, with players and the media accounting for 25% each.

The projected starting lineups, based on the initial round of fan voting, would be James, Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis in the West’s frontcourt, with Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic in the backcourt. The East’s frontcourt would be Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid, with Kyrie Irving and Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt.

Fan voting ends on January 21. The next round of votes will be released on January 12.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

Free agent guard E’Twaun Moore, a career 38.8% three-point shooter, believes he can still help teams. He’s working out and staying ready in case he gets a call, but he’s also making plans for his post-NBA career. “I got to be prepared if a team doesn’t want to pick me up,” he told Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “Then what am I going to do?” As Vorkunov details, the 11-year veteran views fellow East Chicago, Indiana, native and former NBA player Junior Bridgeman as a role model due to his successful business ventures — Bridgeman is worth an estimated $600MM. Moore earned more than $42MM during his career, but he’s already accumulated another $40MM in various business interests after spending $6MM to acquire them, per Vorkunov. “That’s just getting started,” said Moore, who graduated from Purdue with a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership. “I want to try get nine figures. I want to make way more off the court than I did playing basketball.”
The 2021 draft class has been largely disappointing in 2022/23, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. That’s a stark contrast from their rookie seasons, when players like Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Evan Mobley and Jalen Green looked like future stars. Cunningham’s second year was cut short by season-ending surgery, and while the other three have shown glimpses, they’ve been pretty inconsistent in year two, says Hollinger, who also evaluates several other players from the class.
In Jonathan Wasserman’s latest 2023 mock draft for Bleacher Report, Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson, twin brothers for Overtime Elite, go No. 3 and No. 4 behind Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson. Villanova’s Cam Whitmore rounds out the top five.

And-Ones: Wembanyama, L. Miller, Elam Ending, Lin

December 30th, 2022 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

While it’s not as if he needed to further cement his place as the top prospect in the 2023 draft class, Victor Wembanyama put on a dazzling performance in the LNB’s All-Star Game, per an Associated Press report.

Wembanyama was named the MVP of the LNB showcase, which pits the league’s top French players against its non-French stars. The big man racked up 27 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists, leading the French team to a 136-128 victory. The game was Wembanyama’s last as an 18-year-old — he’ll turn 19 next Wednesday before his Metropolitans 92 resume play on January 9.

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

Canadian forward Leonard Miller, currently a member of the G League Ignite, is planning to enter the 2023 NBA draft and go pro, he tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Miller is viewed as a potential first-round pick and currently ranks 26th overall on ESPN’s big board of 2023 prospects.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports is the latest reporter to take a closer look at the G League’s experimentation with a “target score” (also known as the Elam Ending). The NBAGL has used a target score in overtime all season long and employed it in the fourth quarter of games during its Winter Showcase in Las Vegas. The new overtime format has “strong supporters” in NBA front offices and the league office, according to Fischer. When we asked you last week whether the NBA should adopt the Elam Ending for overtimes, more of our poll respondents were against it than for it.
Veteran point guard Jeremy Lin, who had been playing for the Guangzhou Loong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association, has left the CBA for the rest of the season, he announced in an Instagram post. “I’m gonna go back to the U.S. to rest and reset before I make a decision with my family for my next step,” Lin wrote. He has appeared in 480 total NBA regular season games, but hasn’t played in the league since 2019, when he was a member of the champion Raptors.

And-Ones: G League Ignite, Henderson, Wembanyama, Thornwell

December 27th, 2022 at 2:08pm CST by Luke Adams

After attending the G League’s Winter Showcase in Las Vegas last week, John Hollinger of The Athletic came away curious about the long-term future of the G League Ignite.

A handful of top prospects – like Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Dyson Daniels – have played for the Ignite before entering the NBA draft in recent years, and current Ignite guard Scoot Henderson may end up being the best of the bunch. But many of the prospects on the Ignite’s roster only project to be borderline NBA players, as Hollinger observes.

“Why are we paying almost half a million (dollars) for a two-way guy?” one league source said to Hollinger.

Even if the Ignite were attracting only elite prospects, people around the NBA have questioned why the league is paying significant salaries to develop prospects who would simply develop elsewhere if the Ignite didn’t exist, Hollinger writes. The Ignite aren’t playing in front of packed houses and haven’t become must-see television relative to college basketball, where NIL money has helped the NCAA maintain a recruiting edge.

Hollinger adds that most people he has spoken to don’t believe the Ignite are particularly well coached or well run, with prospects like Jaden Hardy looking much better once he left the program.

For what it’s worth, Henderson told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype that he thinks his year with the Ignite has been good for him and that it has helped him develop “as a person” in addition to helping him develop as a player.

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

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) has updated his 2023 mock draft and provided fresh scouting reports for a handful of his non-lottery prospects, including UCF’s Taylor Hendricks, Ohio State’s Brice Sensabaugh, and Pepperdine’s Maxwell Lewis.
According to Givony, a number of NBA executives who attended last week’s G League Winter Showcase said they wouldn’t be surprised if Scoot Henderson, who is out with a nasal fracture, doesn’t play another game this season, since his spot near the top of the 2023 draft is already assured. However, Givony says G League Ignite officials “emphatically” shot down that line of thinking and said Henderson should be back on the court relatively soon.
Henderson is the consensus No. 2 prospect in the 2023 class behind Victor Wembanyama, who continues to impress fans and evaluators with his two-way talent. The young French star racked up 26 points and 18 rebounds for Metropolitans 92 in his last game of the calendar year on Monday (link via ESPN).
After signing in October with Frutti Extra Bursaspor, veteran guard Sindarius Thornwell has mutually parted ways with the Turkish team two months later, the club announced (via Twitter). Thornwell has appeared in 160 total NBA games, but hasn’t been in the league since 2020/21, when he played for New Orleans and Atlanta.

And-Ones: Suns’ Sale, Expansion, Udoh, Ignite, Warkentien

December 24th, 2022 at 10:47am CST by Luke Adams

There wasn’t a ton of trade chatter at the G League Winter Showcase in Las Vegas this past week, but the news of the Suns‘ sale to Mat Ishbia generated plenty of discussion, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic. Specifically, the franchise’s $4 billion valuation raised eyebrows, given how far above recent projections it was.

As Hollinger explains, that eye-popping sale price led to speculation on two fronts. For one, there were conversations about whether other franchises could find their way onto the market — for instance, Paul Allen‘s estate appears content to exercise patience before eventually opening the bidding on the Trail Blazers, but it’s possible the Suns’ valuation could help expedite that process. Hollinger adds that there have also been whispers over the years about whether Michael Jordan will sell the Hornets.

Perhaps more importantly, the Suns’ high sale price could be good news for the prospect of NBA expansion. As Hollinger observes, the existing 30 team owners are more likely to agree to bring in two new partners if their cut of the expansion fee high enough to offset their losses from splitting the NBA’s TV deal and other sources of revenue 32 ways instead of 30 ways. The Suns selling for $4 billion increases the odds of expansion fees for teams in cities like Seattle and Las Vegas reaching the neighborhood of $4-5 billion, says Hollinger.

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

Former NBA lottery pick Ekpe Udoh is resuming his playing career in Japan, according to Alessandro Maggi of Sportando, who relays that the big man has signed with the Shimane Susanoo Magic. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2010 draft, Udoh appeared in 384 total NBA games, but hasn’t played in the league since the 2018/19 season.
Scoot Henderson wasn’t available for the G League Ignite during the league’s Winter Showcase event in Las Vegas this past week, but Jeremy Woo of SI.com got a chance to scout several other Ignite players, including London Johnson, Leonard Miller, Sidy Cissoko, and Mojave King. Woo shares several of his key takeaways on the Ignite’s non-Henderson prospects, identifying Miller and Cissoko as players who have a chance to be selected in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft (Johnson will be draft-eligible in 2024).
Veteran NBA executive Mark Warkentien, who won an Executive of the Year award in 2009 as the Nuggets‘ head of basketball operations, has passed away at age 69 (Twitter link via the Nuggets). Warkentien most recently worked in the league as a special assignment evaluator for the Thunder. We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to his family and friends.

Lottery Prospect Nick Smith Jr. Out Indefinitely

December 22nd, 2022 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., who is projected to be one of the top picks in next year’s draft, has been sidelined indefinitely due to “right knee management,” writes Jeff Borzello of ESPN.

The 18-year-old freshman is No. 4 in ESPN’s latest draft rankings, making him the top prospect in college basketball. ESPN had him listed as the third-best recruit coming out of high school.

“He’s out indefinitely. That’s what it is,” Razorbacks coach Eric Musselman said following Wednesday’s game. “There’s nothing else. He’s out indefinitely and he’s going to continue to rehab the best he can.”

Borzello notes that Smith missed the team’s first six games because of the knee, with the school calling it a precautionary measure. He played just six minutes in his debut November 28, then started the next three games, averaging 19.7 points and 3.0 assists.

Smith also started Saturday’s victory against Bradley, but played just 20 minutes and shot 1-of-8 from the field while scoring five points.

“Nick is a competitor, and he looked forward to playing for the Razorbacks,” Musselman told reporters, including Christina Long of The Fort Smith Times Record. “He’s kind of been in and out of the lineup, and we just want him to get healthy as quickly as possible and for him to be 100 percent.”

And-Ones: Richardson, Black, Stoudemire, Durant

December 18th, 2022 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Malachi Richardson has signed with Poland’s Tauron GTK Gliwice, according to Sportando. Richardson was the 22nd overall pick of the 2016 draft. He also played in Poland last season with King Wilki Morskie Szczecin. Richardson hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2018/19 season.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Arkansas freshman guard Anthony Black is trending toward being a top-10 pick in the next draft, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. That’s due to his ball-handling as a big guard (6’7”), his facilitating ability, and his defensive tools and instincts. Wasserman looks at a number of college freshmen and evaluates whether their draft prospects are rising or falling.
Former NBA All-Star and assistant coach Amar’e Stoudemire was arrested in Miami on Saturday, Fox Sports talk show host Andy Slater tweets. Stoudemire was charged with battery after he allegedly struck and slapped his daughter, according to another Slater tweet. His bond was listed at $1,500.
Kevin Durant feels the EuroLeague is a viable option for NBA hopefuls, BasketNews relays. “I try to tell a lot of guys that they should pursue that route as well along with trying to get to the NBA,” Durant said, adding that he has a lot of respect for the EuroLeague and enjoys watching its games.

Early Check-In On Traded 2023 First-Round Picks

December 14th, 2022 at 3:57pm CST by Luke Adams

As our list of traded 2023 first-round picks shows, a dozen teams have dealt their first-rounders in next year’s draft (either with protections or without) and another three clubs have surrendered swap rights to their picks. That means more than half of 2023’s first-rounders could theoretically be changing hands, with more potentially on the move as a result of in-season trades.

In actuality, due to protections on several of those traded picks or the fact that certain swap rights won’t be exercised, several of the first-rounders that could change hands won’t do so. It’s still too early to say with certainty which picks will be on the move and which will stay put, but with the NBA season at approximately the one-third mark, we’re starting to get a clearer picture.

Here’s an early look at the traded 2023 first-round picks:

Picks likely to be protected

Pistons‘ pick (top-18 protected) to Knicks
Hornets‘ pick (top-16 protected) to Spurs
Wizards‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Knicks

The Pistons and Hornets currently have the NBA’s two worst records and their picks have the heaviest protections of any traded 2023 first-rounders. In other words, it’s a pretty safe bet neither will go anywhere.

Assuming those picks fall in their protected range as expected, the Pistons will owe the Knicks their 2024 first-rounder with top-18 protection, while the Hornets will owe the Spurs their 2024 first-rounder with top-14 protection.

The Wizards‘ recent losing streak, meanwhile, has dropped them down to the NBA’s sixth-worst record. They’ll keep their first-rounder if they don’t make the playoffs, and it looks like earning a postseason berth will be an uphill battle at this point. If they keep their 2023 first-round pick, the Wizards will owe the Knicks their 2024 first-rounder with top-12 protection.

It’s also worth mentioning in this section that the Rockets have the ability to swap first-round picks with the Nets, while the Thunder have the right to swap first-round picks with the Clippers. However, neither of those swap rights appears likely to be exercised based on how those four teams have performed this season.

The most intriguing picks that could change hands

Lakers‘ pick (unprotected) to Pelicans via swap rights
Bulls‘ pick (top-4 protected) to Magic
Timberwolves‘ pick (unprotected) to Jazz
Mavericks‘ pick (top-10 protected) to Knicks

The Pelicans‘ ability to swap first-rounders with the Lakers doesn’t look quite as valuable today as it did at the start of the season when L.A. was off to a 2-10 start and at the bottom of the NBA’s standings, but there’s still a very real chance that pick will be in the lottery.

If the season ended today, the Lakers would be tied for seventh in the lottery standings, while the Pelicans would have either the No. 27 or No. 28 overall pick, resulting in a tantalizing swap for New Orleans. For what it’s worth, the Pelicans had the seventh-best lottery odds in 2019 when they won the No. 1 overall pick that was eventually used on Zion Williamson.

The Bulls, meanwhile, currently have the NBA’s ninth-worst record and could end up sending a second lottery pick to the Magic as a result of the Nikola Vucevic trade from two seasons ago. The first lottery pick Orlando received as part of that deal became Franz Wagner in 2021.

It seems safe to assume that the Timberwolves and Mavericks are better than they’ve played so far, but if the season ended today, Minnesota would be on the outside of the play-in picture in the West, while Dallas would have to win two play-in games to even make the postseason. It’s not inconceivable that one or both of those traded first-rounders could end up in the lottery if the second half doesn’t go well for the Wolves and Mavs. That would be good news for the Jazz and Knicks.

Later first-round picks likely to change hands

Trail Blazers‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Bulls.
Sixers‘ and Nets‘ picks (unprotected) to Nets and Jazz.
Cavaliers‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Pacers.
Nuggets‘ pick (top-14 protected) to Hornets.
Bucks‘ pick (unprotected) to Rockets.
Celtics‘ pick (top-12 protected) to Pacers.

If the season ended today, none of these picks would land in the top 20, with the Trail Blazers‘ and Sixers‘ first-rounders tied for No. 21 and No. 22. The Nets‘, Cavaliers‘, and Nuggets‘ picks would be 24th through 26th, respectively, while the Bucks‘ and Celtics‘ selections would be the last two in the first round.

That outlook could change, of course. Portland, for instance, is hardly considered a juggernaut and it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Blazers ultimately had to go through the play-in tournament to even earn a playoff spot. But with fairly heavy protections on their traded first-rounder, there’s no chance they’ll surrender a lottery pick to the Bulls in 2023.

One point of clarification here is that the Nets will have their choice of swapping their own pick for the Sixers’ selection, with the Jazz receiving the less valuable of the two first-rounders. If the season ended today, that means Brooklyn would move up to Philadelphia’s spot in the draft (No. 21 or 22), with Utah getting the Nets’ pick at No. 24.

And-Ones: Embiid, French National Team, 2023 Draft, Henderson

December 2nd, 2022 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

A native of Cameroon, Sixers star Joel Embiid also has U.S. and French citizenship, meaning his choice of which country to represent in international play will have a major impact on what the field looks like at the 2024 Olympics. Teaming up with Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama would give France the world’s best frontcourt and make Les Bleus a legitimate gold medal threat.

Speaking to Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Gobert was asked about the possibility of Embiid joining the French national team and said he’d welcome the addition of the MVP runner-up. However, Gobert’s answer wasn’t unequivocal, and he said he doesn’t plan to personally recruit Embiid.

“For me the most important thing is if his heart tells him to be a part of Team France,” Gobert told Vardon. “I want him to do it for the right reasons. As long as he understands that the French national team is different than the NBA. We have rules, we have things that we do. Sometimes we all have lunch and dinner together — it’s not everybody doing their own thing. These are two different teams.

“But I think the main thing for us, for him and for me is that I want to make sure that he does it from his heart. And if he does that, I think he would be an amazing addition for our team. … It has to come from him. You are either all in, or you’re not. You can’t just show up.”

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

The latest 2023 mock draft from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) moves Alabama’s Brandon Miller up to No. 7 and Arkansas’ Anthony Black up to No. 11. Reece Beekman has also moved into the first round, with Givony observing that the Virgina guard’s defensive ability gives him a “very high floor.”
Beekman also earned a spot on John Hollinger’s list at The Athletic of 10 returning NCAA players who have impressed him as potential NBA prospects. Iowa’s Kris Murray, Illinois’ Terrence Shannon, and Xavier’s Colby Jones are among the other college standouts singled out by Hollinger.
Mirin Fader of The Ringer takes an in-depth look at the consensus No. 2 prospect in the 2023 draft class, profiling rising G League Ignite star Scoot Henderson.
The NBA is now allowing sovereign wealth funds to invest in its franchises as minority stakeholders. Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explains exactly what that means and lays out why it might be risky, noting that the league could have to make decisions on sovereign wealth funds associated with autocratic countries.

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