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2019 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 15th, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Sixers and Celtics suffered disappointing losses in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and face uncertain futures, both teams can at least fall back on the fact that they’re still loaded with draft assets. Philadelphia and Boston are two of only three NBA teams – the Hawks are the other – that possess at least four picks in the 2019 NBA draft.

As our full 2019 draft order shows, there are five other teams that more than two selections in this year’s draft. On the other end of the spectrum, nine teams own just one pick in 2018, while two teams – the Nuggets and Rockets – don’t have any selections.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2019 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 60 picks by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

  • Atlanta Hawks (5): 8, 10, 35, 41, 44
  • Philadelphia 76ers (5): 24, 33, 34, 42, 54
  • Boston Celtics (4): 14, 20, 22, 51
  • New Orleans Pelicans (3): 1, 39, 57
  • Charlotte Hornets (3): 12, 36, 52
  • Brooklyn Nets (3): 17, 27, 31
  • San Antonio Spurs (3): 19, 29, 49
  • Sacramento Kings (3): 40, 47, 60

Teams with two picks:

  • New York Knicks: 3, 55
  • Cleveland Cavaliers: 5, 26
  • Phoenix Suns: 6, 32
  • Chicago Bulls: 7, 38
  • Minnesota Timberwolves: 11, 43
  • Detroit Pistons: 15, 45
  • Orlando Magic: 16, 46
  • Indiana Pacers: 18, 50
  • Utah Jazz: 23, 53
  • Golden State Warriors: 28, 58
  • Los Angeles Clippers: 48, 56

Teams with one pick:

  • Memphis Grizzlies: 2
  • Los Angeles Lakers: 4
  • Washington Wizards: 9
  • Miami Heat: 13
  • Oklahoma City Thunder: 21
  • Portland Trail Blazers: 25
  • Milwaukee Bucks: 30
  • Dallas Mavericks: 37
  • Toronto Raptors: 59

Teams with no picks:

  • Denver Nuggets
  • Houston Rockets
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Pelicans Win 2019 NBA Draft Lottery; Grizzlies, Knicks In Top 3

May 14th, 2019 at 7:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With Tuesday night’s lottery results now official, the top 14 picks in the 2019 NBA draft have been set. The lottery order is as follows:

  1. New Orleans Pelicans
  2. Memphis Grizzlies
  3. New York Knicks
  4. Los Angeles Lakers
  5. Cleveland Cavaliers
  6. Phoenix Suns
  7. Chicago Bulls
  8. Atlanta Hawks
  9. Washington Wizards
  10. Atlanta Hawks (from Mavericks)
  11. Minnesota Timberwolves
  12. Charlotte Hornets
  13. Miami Heat
  14. Boston Celtics (from Kings)

It’s a huge development for the Pelicans, who were facing the potential loss of franchise player Anthony Davis this offseason and only had a 6.0% chance of moving up in the draft. New head of basketball operations David Griffin will now have the opportunity to either sell Davis on staying in New Orleans by adding Duke forward Zion Williamson to play alongside him, or will be able to build around Williamson after trading AD.

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, moved up to No. 2 (6.3% chance), putting them in position to potentially select Murray State point guard Ja Morant. Mike Conley, of course, has been the longtime point guard in Memphis, but he has been the subject of trade rumors for the last several months — drafting Morant would be a terrific way to replace Conley if the Grizzlies decide to move the veteran this summer.

Because they jumped up to No. 2, the Grizzlies will keep their pick (top-eight protected) rather than sending it to Boston. Memphis will now owe the Celtics their top-six protected first-round pick in 2020.

Knicks fans will be disappointed not to land a top-two pick, but considering they only had a 40.1% chance to land a top-three selection, things could have been worse. Another Duke prospect, R.J. Barrett, is widely considered the favorite to be the third player off the board, but New York could dangle that pick in trade talks if the team wants to shift into contention mode immediately.

Another big-market team, the Lakers, jumped up to No. 4 despite only having a 9.4% chance at a top-four pick (2.8% for No. 4). The Lakers could shop that pick for immediate help this spring, since they’re in win-now mode during LeBron James‘ tenure.

The Cavaliers, Suns, Bulls, and Wizards are among the losers of the night, having each slid down three spots in the draft order. The Hawks also moved down three spots, but they’ll still pick twice in the top 10, at Nos. 8 and 10.

Atlanta will receive the Mavericks‘ selection at No. 10 as a result of last year’s Luka Doncic/Trae Young swap. The pick was top-five protected, so Dallas would have retained it if it had moved up in the lottery. The Mavs will now own their 2020 and 2022 first-round selections — they’ll owe the Knicks their 2021 first-rounder (unprotected) and their 2023 first-rounder (top-10 protected) due to the Kristaps Porzingis deal.

The Celtics, rather than the Sixers, will receive the Kings‘ pick at No. 14. The 76ers would have swapped first-rounders if that pick had moved up to No. 1, but they’ll keep their own selection instead. Sacramento now has all its first-rounders moving forward.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Tony Parker Expected To Decide On Future In June

May 10th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After telling reporters a month ago during his end-of-season media session that he was “50-50” on continuing his career, Hornets guard Tony Parker reiterated that point during an appearance on French TV, as relayed by Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops (via BeBasket).

“It’s 50-50. I haven’t made my decision yet,” Parker said, addressing the possibility of retirement.

Repeating another point he made at the end of Charlotte’s season, Parker admitted that the Hornets’ regular season game in Paris next season is an incentive to return. While he’s still on the fence about what to do, the veteran point guard – who turns 37 next Friday – said he expects to make a decision before the 2019/20 league year begins in July.

“I told the club that I will give them an answer in June,” Parker said. “I really hesitate. I have nothing to prove. I want to spend time with my family. And there’s another part of me that wants to make one last season. There will be an NBA match in France, in Paris. It will be a beautiful event.”

If Parker decides to play one more season, the Hornets will have the opportunity to keep him on their roster — his two-year contract with the team features a non-guaranteed salary of $5.25MM for 2019/20.

It sounds as if Charlotte would welcome him back, and he’d get the chance to play in Paris if he’s still a Hornet. But it could ultimately be in the best interests of both sides to part ways, especially if Kemba Walker signs elsewhere.

Parker told reporters last month that he wants to play on a team that’s at least fighting for the playoffs, rather than a rebuilding club, and the Hornets would almost certainly be lottery-bound without Walker. They also may be looking to cut costs and develop younger players in that scenario, making them a poor fit for Parker.

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Hornets Work Out Prospects; Bonnell Examines Offseason

May 9th, 2019 at 4:58pm CST by Luke Adams
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Draft Notes: Zion, Norvell, Ponds, Tinkle

May 9th, 2019 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a ton at stake this offseason for many of the teams involved in next week’s draft lottery, but there’s plenty at stake for consensus top prospect Zion Williamson as well. As ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Mike Schmitz, Kevin Pelton, and Bobby Marks outline in an Insider-only article, not every team that has a shot at Williamson would be an ideal fit for him.

In the view of ESPN’s insiders, the Hawks, Mavericks, and Pelicans would be the most preferable landing spots for Williamson. The opportunity to play with up-and-coming play-makers – Trae Young in Atlanta, or Luka Doncic in Dallas – would help unlock Williamson’s potential.

On the other hand, ESPN’s panel doesn’t consider the Lakers, Bulls, and Sixers great fits for Williamson. Spacing is the primary concern for the Lakers and Sixers, and it’s unclear how a pairing with Joel Embiid would work. For the Bulls, Zach LaVine‘s ball dominance and Jim Boylen‘s “outdated” offense are viewed as red flags.

Here are several more draft-related notes:

  • Gonzaga sophomore guard Zach Norvell Jr. told reporters today that he intends to keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Norvell was one of 66 prospects announced on Wednesday as a 2019 draft combine participant.
  • St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds, another one of those 66, has workouts lined up with the Warriors, Bulls, Kings, Jazz, Celtics, and Mavericks, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Ponds is ranked as the No. 51 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
  • After working out for Utah and Philadelphia, Oregon State forward Tres Tinkle has auditions this week with the Raptors, Celtics, and Hornets, and will work out for the Hawks next week, writes Nick Daschel of The Oregonian.
  • After turning in an impressive performance at the Portsmouth Invitational, forward Jarrell Brantley (Charleston) has workouts lined up with 10 teams, including the Celtics, Nets, Timberwolves, Hornets, and Clippers, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
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NBA Announces 2019 Draft Lottery Representatives

May 8th, 2019 at 11:47am CST by Luke Adams

With the NBA’s 2019 draft lottery set to take place next Tuesday night, the league has now officially confirmed who will represent each team on stage and in the lottery room on May 14.

While there are only 14 picks in the lottery – including four determined by the drawings of ping pong balls – there will be 15 team representatives in attendance due to various trades. The full breakdown of each club’s odds in this year’s lottery can be found right here.

[RELATED: Four More-Likely-Than-Not Draft Lottery Outcomes]

Here’s the full list of 2019 lottery representatives, with each team sending two reps — one will be in the lottery room during the actual draw, while the other will be on stage for the broadcast portion of the event.

  1. New York Knicks
    • On stage: Patrick Ewing (former player)
    • Lottery room: Allan Houston (special assistant to the GM)
    • Top-four odds: 52.1%
  2. Cleveland Cavaliers
    • On stage: Nick Gilbert (son of team owner)
    • Lottery room: Brock Aller (senior director of basketball operations)
    • Top-four odds: 52.1%
  3. Phoenix Suns
    • On stage: Deandre Ayton
    • Lottery room: Jim Pitman (CFO)
    • Top-four odds: 52.1%
  4. Chicago Bulls
    • On stage: Horace Grant (special advisor to president/COO)
    • Lottery room: Joey Reinsdorf (son of president/COO)
    • Top-four odds: 48.0%
  5. Atlanta Hawks
    • On stage: Jami Gertz (co-owner)
    • Lottery room: Michelle Leftwich (VP, salary cap administration)
    • Top-four odds: 42.1%
      • Note: The Hawks will also land a second lottery pick if the Mavericks’ pick doesn’t move into the top four.
  6. Washington Wizards
    • On stage: Raul Fernandez (vice chairman)
    • Lottery room: Tommy Sheppard (senior VP of basketball operations)
    • Top-four odds: 37.2%
  7. New Orleans Pelicans
    • On stage: Alvin Gentry (head coach)
    • Lottery room: David Griffin (executive VP of basketball operations)
    • Top-four odds: 26.3%
  8. Memphis Grizzlies
    • On stage: Elliot Perry (minority owner / director of player support)
    • Lottery room: Zach Kleiman (executive VP of basketball operations)
    • Top-four odds: 26.3%
      • Note: The Grizzlies will lose their pick if it falls outside of the top eight (42.6% chance).
  9. Dallas Mavericks
    • On stage: Cynthia Marshall (CEO)
    • Lottery room: Keith Grant (assistant GM)
    • Top-four odds: 26.3%
      • Note: The Mavericks will lose their pick if it doesn’t move into the top four.
  10. Minnesota Timberwolves
    • On stage: Gersson Rosas (president of basketball operations)
    • Lottery room: Brad Ruiter (VP of communications)
    • Top-four odds: 13.9%
  11. Los Angeles Lakers
    • On stage: Kyle Kuzma
    • Lottery room: Rob Pelinka (GM)
    • Top-four odds: 9.4%
  12. Charlotte Hornets
    • On stage: James Borrego (head coach)
    • Lottery room: Buzz Peterson (assistant GM)
    • Top-four odds: 4.8%
  13. Miami Heat
    • On stage: Alonzo Mourning (VP, player programs)
    • Lottery room: Andy Elisburg (senior VP of basketball operations / GM)
    • Top-four odds: 4.8%
  14. Boston Celtics
    • On stage: Rich Gotham (president)
    • Lottery room: Mike Zarren (assistant GM)
    • Top-four odds: 3.8%
      • Note: The Celtics will receive the Grizzlies’ pick if it falls outside of the top eight and the Kings’ pick if it falls between 2-14.
  15. Philadelphia 76ers
    • On stage: Chris Heck (president)
    • Lottery room: Ian Hillman (VP, strategy & analytics)
    • Top-four odds: 1.0%
      • Note: The Sixers will only receive a pick if the Kings’ first-rounder jumps up to No. 1.
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Mavericks Expected To Have A Shot At Kemba Walker

May 5th, 2019 at 11:29am CST by Arthur Hill

Barring any surprises, the Spurs‘ starting five for next season appears set, writes Jeff McDonald of The Athletic. Dejounte Murray, returning from a torn right ACL, should take over at point guard, with Derrick White joining him in the backcourt. DeMar DeRozan will move to forward, alongside LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl, who impressed the coaching staff after a midseason move into the starting lineup.

That means, if he returns, Rudy Gay will continue in a bench role, along with Bryn Forbes, who started much of this season. Coach Gregg Popovich wants DeRozan to become more proficient from 3-point territory to make up for not having Forbes as a starter.

“That’s what the league is all about now,” Popovich said. “End of the game, the first thing that you look at is 3-point shooting, and it covers up a whole lot of warts. You can get beat on the boards —  I mean, in one of the games that we beat Denver, they had 28 second-chance points, but they shot horribly, and we shot very well. Game over. It’s not very interesting. It’s not much fun. But that’s the way the league is.”

There’s more NBA news from Texas:

  • The Spurs may be ready to add draft-and-stash project Nikola Milutinov to their roster, McDonald adds. The 26th pick in 2015, Milutinov has been playing for Olympiacos B.C. of the Greek Basketball League, where he averaged 10.7 PPG and 6.8 RPG this season. The Spurs will explore the 24-year-old center’s market value before bringing him to the U.S., and McDonald expects them to let him adjust to the league gradually, just as they did with Boban Marjanovic and Davis Bertans.
  • Kemba Walker appears to be the Mavericks‘ most realistic option in free agency, Marc Stein of the New York Times said in a recent radio interview in Dallas. Stein said the Mavs are “legitimately intrigued” by Walker, and he believes they will get a meeting with him when free agency begins in July.
  • Rockets associate head coach Jeff Bzdelik has found a way to balance basketball and family after briefly walking away from the game last fall, relays Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Houston convinced him to return in November and he helped fix the defense after a disastrous start. “He was kind of resolute for a little while,” said Rockets CEO Tad Brown. “Fortunately for us, we were able to wear him down and end up bringing him back. The first thing was always, let’s make sure everything is OK, personally, with he and his family. And then, secondarily, how do we handle this, how do we move forward? But at the same time, he’s a key part of what we do. How do we get him back to (our) family?”
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Southeast Notes: Kemba, Beal, Heat, Hawks

May 2nd, 2019 at 3:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Kemba Walker‘s free agency will be a fascinating situation to watch this offseason, since it’s hard to determine what the best-case scenario is for the Hornets, writes Yaron Weitzman of Bleacher Report. Re-signing Walker to a maximum salary contract would limit Charlotte’s ability to acquire help around him, but one scout thinks the Hornets would “be like an expansion team” without him, per Weitzman.

Complicating matters further? Walker will become eligible for a super-max contract, worth an extra $30MM+ over five years, if he earns a spot on this year’s All-NBA teams, which is a distinct possibility. Only the Hornets could offer him that super-max, but doing so would mean paying the point guard an average of $44MM annually through 2023/24.

“It’d be like the John Wall deal,” one front office source told Weitzman. “They should have traded him last year, when his value was high. They could have just reset.”

With lucrative deals for Bismack Biyombo, Marvin Williams, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist all set to come off the Hornets’ books in 2020, the team wouldn’t necessarily be mired in salary-cap hell for years if it re-signs Walker. Still, there’d be no obvious way to add a capable No. 2 option behind the point guard anytime soon.

“The surrounding pieces aren’t so bad,” another front office source said to Weitzman. “They just need another guy in there so they can all slide down a role.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

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2019 NBA Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Charlotte Hornets

May 2nd, 2019 at 9:51am CST by Luke Adams

Despite having had Kemba Walker under contract at a rate of $12MM annually for the last four years, the Hornets were unable to build a legit contender around him, loading their cap with long-term, oversized contracts for role players. Now, after another season in the lottery, the Hornets enter the summer with many of those pricey contracts still on their books and Walker headed for unrestricted free agency.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Hornets financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000

Offseason Cap Outlook

  • Realistic cap room projection: $0
  • If Williams or Kidd-Gilchrist unexpectedly opt out, perhaps the Hornets could carve out a little cap room. But assuming both players return, Charlotte would only be able to get up to about $8.2MM in cap room by renouncing all their free agents and waiving all their players on non-guaranteed contracts. The mid-level exception will be worth more than that, so the Hornets figure to just remain over the cap.
  • Should the Hornets re-sign Walker to a maximum salary contract, they’ll likely have to shed a little salary to stay out of tax territory.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Trade exception: $7,819,725 (expires 7/6/19)
  • Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 5
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,619,000 5

Footnotes

  1. Parker’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after July 4.
  2. Hernangomez’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after June 28.
  3. Bacon’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 1.
  4. Roberts’ and Paige’s cap holds remain on the Hornets’ books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018/19. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
  5. These are projected values. If the Hornets are at risk of going into tax territory, they may forfeit the bi-annual exception and have to use the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,711,000) rather than the full mid-level exception.

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Hornets Notes: Batum, Walker, Offseason Plans

April 19th, 2019 at 6:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hornets coach James Borrego isn’t sure how Nicolas Batum fits into his plans for next season, Borrego admits to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Batum was placed in a variety of roles but had another disappointing season and was briefly benched by Borrego. The team’s highest-paid player has two years and $52.5MM remaining on his contract, making him virtually untradeable unless Charlotte sweetens the pot with a first-round pick or young player. Bonnell suggests making Batum a utility player where he sees minutes at shooting guard, small forward and power forward.

We have more on the Hornets:

  • Unrestricted free agent Kemba Walker was unhappy that an attempt to acquire veteran center Marc Gasol from Memphis before the February trade deadline fell through, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (hat tip to NBC Sports’ Dan Feldman). The outline of the proposed deal would have sent out center Bismack Biyombo, forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and a protected first-round pick for Gasol. Memphis instead chose to make a deal with playoff-bound Toronto.
  • If Walker re-signs with the club, Jeremy Lamb will likely be a cap casualty, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks points out in his offseason preview. Getting a commitment from Walker would push Charlotte past the luxury tax threshold. Re-signing Lamb for a conservative estimate of $11MM in the first year would trigger an approximate $27.5MM in additional luxury tax penalties. The team also has to make some hard decisions on non-guaranteed contracts, including Tony Parker‘s deal. The Hornets are unlikely to give forward Frank Kaminsky a $4.5MM qualifying offer before the June 30 deadline, Marks adds.
  • Walker’s chances of returning are pegged at 30% by Bonnell in his player-by-player breakdown of the roster. Those odds will rise only if GM Mitch Kupchak can pull off a blockbuster deal before free agency to entice Walker to stay.
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