In conversations with sources around the NBA, John Hollinger of The Athletic noticed two reasons being frequently cited to explain Cam Whitmore‘s draft-night slide from possible top-five pick to being selected at No. 20 by the Rockets.
According to Hollinger, some teams red-flagged Whitmore’s medicals due to concerns about his knees. Clubs were also underwhelmed by his pre-draft workouts and interviews, with one source who spoke to Hollinger using the descriptor “comatose.”
Within his post-draft wrap-up, Hollinger also praised the Mavericks for the modest price they paid to move off Davis Bertans‘ contract in one salary-dump trade (moving down from No. 10 to 12) relative to the nice return they got for accepting Richaun Holmes‘ contract in a second salary-dump deal (the No. 24 pick, which became Olivier-Maxence Prosper).
Additionally, Hollinger believes the Trail Blazers no longer need to “cower in fear” about the possibility of Damian Lillard requesting a trade, since the duo of Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe looks like the team’s backcourt of the future and is a strong foundation to build around. Whatever happens with Lillard going forward figures to have a ripple effect on Anfernee Simons, according to Hollinger, who notes that it’s probably untenable to have Simons making $20MM per year in Portland as a fourth guard.
Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Assuming they suit up in Las Vegas, the top two picks in the draft will go head-to-head on the first day of the Vegas Summer League. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, the Spurs (Victor Wembanyama) and Hornets (Brandon Miller) are scheduled to face one another on July 7. Reynolds also provides details on some of the other most notable matchups on the newly announced Summer League schedule.
- Breaking down the restrictions that teams above the NBA’s new second tax apron will face beginning next offseason, cap expert Albert Nahmad tweets that those clubs won’t be permitted to trade for a player who was previously acquired via sign-and-trade.
- While details on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement keep trickling out publicly and teams have seen the term sheet, the NBA has yet to distribute the full CBA to clubs, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. The CBA set to take effect when the new league year begins next Saturday (July 1), so the league is taking it down to the wire. According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), the NBA had hoped to have the CBA completed in full by Monday of this week.
4th guard? Smh. That’s clearly ridiculous
Simons should be moved. I’m wondering if they will sign Grant. Cause if they go full rebuild. I don’t see Grant coming back. He’s better off elsewhere.
I think Mavs did well. They picked up two guys who will play D. And a premier rim protector that will change that team.
See tanking does pay off …….
As long as they are stuck with Kyrie it’s pretty pointless…
They’ll be in the lottery again next season…
Not a Kyrie guy at all. But besides the Lakers. And there’s no way they can get him, I think. Mavs are his only option. He’s got no choice but to play. If he wants redemption and $$$$
Kyrie has no choice…
Mark from Cuba had plenty of choices, just goes to show how lucky he has been…
Unfortunately, the Mavs did well at your Knicks’ expense. They should have been penalized one draft spot for intentionally holding out players when they still had a legitimate chance at a play-in spot. The league moved to this post-season scenario, they should maintain its integrity. It was obvious what they were doing.
On top of that, they teased a hometown kid by drafting him, putting their hat on him, then immediately trading him. This is not as egregious as the play-in situation, but it’s still in poor taste.
Not sure why you expect more from a mark cuban run business. There is a reason the mavs are a laughing stock despite having one of the top offensive players in the game.
If they drop Dallas a spot for tanking what about Utah? They were in the top 4 in the west for about a third of the season then traded almost all their vets for spare parts along with shutting down what was left so they could lose games. Or how about Portland they decided shut down Nurk and Lillard to lose more games and give playing time to Sharpe and Simons.
Teams tank every year and the NBA secretly wants it that way. It gives the fans of bad teams hope, draws interest in the draft and spreads the top talent around the league.
Definitely tanked. But I get it. They had no other options. Man !! that pick would have been nice after signing Brunson.
I really like their picks ….. not kidding
The nba rewards tanking and fixes the lottery almost every year, spurs 3 1st picks in 30 years. This was the most obvious fix since Cleveland got gifted 3 1st overall picks in 4 years to get lebron to come back before he bolted again.
Dallas did have a very nice Thursday night, but I still see that roster in peril- Unless they are going to lean more into a 4 out system (not advisable Imo) I just don’t see Lively producing that much value this year and probably even next to help Luka all that much
Prosper was a homerun, but again rooks aren’t gonna cut it in June. He is def a guy Id want longterm doing some dirty work next to Luka tho ,A+ there
Nice night for the long-term but for shorterm wise its some really choppy waters ahead still imo –
They actually added 7 mill on next years ledger with Holmes over Bertans, don’t like that but kick the can is what they adore
I was thinking the framework of a deal includes, Keldon Johnson and Anfernee Simons could help both parties
I was saying before the draft that I would have tried to trade Simons to Orlando. Maybe something like Gary Harris, Bol Bol, Cole Anthony, Orlando 2024 1st, Denver 2024 2nd, Memphis/Boston 2025 2nd, and Milwaukee 2026 2nd
Somewhere like Detroit could also make some sense for him, but I dont know how much better Portland could do than something like that where they get salary relief off his bad deal, plus the draft capital
Now I would have to circle back b/c of the drafts moving parts, but moving Simons needs to be their biggest priority. They had a great draft night, in my opinion, getting Rupert late like that. They need another 3 and D wing shooter at the 2/3 spots, and possibly a floor spacing big, and a rim protecting, pick and roll defending big
They should try to use Simons plus 2 of the several similar options they have at the 4 to get those things
Blazers should trade Simons, Walker and Nurk to Orlando for Bol, Carter and Anthony. Then Lillard to Miami for Hero, Vincent and change.