JUNE 28, 10:33am: The Timberwolves will acquire a future second-round pick from the Grizzlies to move down from No. 53 to No. 57, and cash considerations from the Raptors for No. 57, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).
JUNE 27, 5:16pm: The Timberwolves are swapping the No. 53 pick to the Grizzlies for the No. 57 pick, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium tweets. Minnesota will then send the No. 57 pick to the Raptors, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
UConn shooting guard Cam Spencer was taken with the No. 53 and he’ll now join the Grizzlies. Spencer played a key role in UConn’s championship run this past season, averaging 14.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists after transferring from Rutgers. He also played three seasons at Loyola Maryland. Spencer shot 44% from beyond the 3-point arc for the Huskies and knocked 41.7% of his 3s in 132 college games.
He’s the fourth UConn player to get selected in this draft. Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan were chosen in the lottery and Tristen Newton was also selected in the second round.
Cameroon big man Ulrich Chomche was chosen at No. 57 and he’ll join Toronto. He spent this past season with the NBA Academy Africa. He only played three games during the Basketball Africa League qualifiers, in which he averaged 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal per game. Overall, he averaged 8.5 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 blocks in 26 games last season.
He’s the first player from the NBA Academy to be drafted.
Minnesota, in a cap-saving move, agreed to trade shooting guard Wendell Moore Jr. and the 37th pick to Detroit earlier in the day. The Pistons used that pick to select forward Bobi Klintman.
Essentially, the Timberwolves made three deals to trade out of the second round.
So the Grizzlies moved up 4 spots for absolutely nothing?! That’s amazing work for Memphis. Adding another potential excellent shooter. Sam Hauser vibes
Stil don’t know what Minnesota got in the trade with Memphis or the trade with Toronto. Maybe just cash. We’ll see.
NBA draft makes no sense. So many moves just because of salary. I feel like accountants are chomping down popcorn watching while fans are confused.
I’d like it more if teams drafted players they want or need. NBA forces teams to draft financial assets to be moved for other financial assets. They are people and fans are people.
Teams can always draft a European player and stash him overseas. You retain his draft rights and don’t have to add him to your roster and won’t cost you anything unless you bring him over.
A shooter …..