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Barnes, Cunningham, Mobley Head All-Rookie Team

May 18th, 2022 at 7:28pm CST by Rory Maher

Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner and Jalen Green comprised this year’s All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced in a press release.

Barnes, Cunningham and Mobley were all unanimous selections, receiving the maximum total of 200 points each. Wagner received 183 points, followed by Green with 158. Strangely, one media member left Wagner off their ballot completely, as he received 99 of 100 possible votes.

Raptors wing Barnes, who narrowly edged Cavaliers big man Mobley for the Rookie of the Year award, ranked third in points (15.3) and rebounds (7.5) among all rookies, and fifth in assists (3.5). Mobley was fifth in points (15.0) and led all first-year players in rebounds (8.3) and blocks (1.67) per game.

Pistons guard Cunningham, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, was first among rookies in points (17.4), second in assists (5.6) and fifth in rebounds (5.5). Magic forward Wagner also had a great year, averaging 15.4 points (fourth among rookies), 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 79 games. Rockets guard Green finished the season strong, scoring 20+ points in 17 of his last 25 games on his way to averaging 17.3 points, second among first-year players.

Pelicans defensive ace Herbert Jones (123 votes) and Thunder floor general Josh Giddey (122 votes) headline the Second Team. Jones averaged 9.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals (first among rookies) and should at least receive votes for an All-Defensive nod, even if he doesn’t end up making one of the two teams.

In addition to averaging 12.5 points, Giddey was second among rookies in rebounds (7.8) and first in assists (6.4), but he only appeared in 54 of 82 games, having missed the final 23 contests with a hip injury, which is likely why he didn’t receive more First Team votes.

Here are both All-Rookie teams in full, with their voting point totals noted in parentheses. Players received two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

2021/22 All-Rookie First Team:

2021/22 All-Rookie Second Team:

Ten other rookies received votes — you can view the full voting results right here. Among the group that missed the cut, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (47) was just behind Duarte, with Kings guard Davion Mitchell (28) the only other player receiving a significant number of votes.

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Possible Targets For Cavaliers At No. 14

May 18th, 2022 at 1:59pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Adding wings and play-makers will be a top priority for the Cavaliers this offseason, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, who explores which prospects the team might target with the 14th overall pick. Malaki Branham (Ohio State), Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite), Tari Eason (LSU), and Jeremy Sochan (Baylor) are among the prospects the Cavs like, says Fedor, though it’s possible not all of them will still be available at No. 14.
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Lottery Notes: Magic, Draft Combine, Lottery Room, Pistons, Cavaliers

May 18th, 2022 at 9:51am CST by Arthur Hill

Tuesday’s lottery provided some hope for the Magic and their fans after a long season of losing, writes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. The ping pong balls bounced the right way for Orlando, giving the franchise its first number one pick since 2004. The Magic were among four teams that entered the lottery with a 14% shot at the No. 1 choice, and president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman called it a “privilege” to have the pressure of making the selection.

“These are hard seasons when you’re not winning,” Weltman said. “It takes a lot out of you and you’ve got to carry your belief in your team, players and the organization through. So when you get a break, it helps. That’s how teams are built. Tonight’s a good night for us.”

Orlando was 22-60, the second-worst record in the league, in its first full season after parting with Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier at the 2021 trade deadline. First-year coach Jamahl Mosley is looking forward to a quick turnaround and admits there were some tense moments as the final envelopes were being opened.

“I wasn’t trying to go too far ahead. I was just trying to work on just breathing and staying in the moment as best as possible,” Mosley said. “I was getting excited for our fanbase, the organization and how exciting it is for this group of young men to add another young talent to this group that’s already so tied together.”

There’s more lottery-related news to pass along:

  • Getting the No. 1 pick puts the Magic in a strong position heading into the draft combine, which takes place today through Friday in Chicago, Price notes in a separate story. While the top prospects usually don’t scrimmage or take part in drills, they’re all on hand to talk with team representatives and try to improve their draft status. Teams can interview up to 20 players during the combine, and each player is permitted to speak with 13 teams.
  • Zach Lowe of ESPN provides an inside look at the lottery room, which was filled with assorted lucky charms and other superstitions. Joel Glass, the Magic‘s chief communications officer, brought the three ping pong balls from the other years the franchise landed the No. 1 pick and grabbed a fourth with the team’s logo on his way into the room. He left with the four balls that gave Orlando a winning combination: 14, 1, 13 and 6.
  • The Pistons were among the teams in play for the top pick after the first three balls were pulled, Lowe states in the same piece. Assistant general manager George David recognized what was at stake during the 10-second interval before the final ball came up with a 6 and Detroit fell to fifth.
  • Teams with better records are typically assigned higher numbers, so there was some excitement when 14 was pulled first, Lowe adds. “I allowed myself to dream for 10 seconds,” said Jon Nichols, vice president of basketball strategy and personnel for the Cavaliers, who wound up staying at No. 14.
  • Lowe notes that there had been concerns throughout the league that there was too much movement on lottery night since the new system was adopted three years ago. But the biggest moves Tuesday were the Kings rising from seventh to fourth and the Pistons falling to fifth despite being tied for the best odds, so those objections are on hold for now.
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2022 NBA Draft Picks By Team

May 18th, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

Not only did the Thunder move up in Tuesday’s draft lottery to claim this year’s No. 2 overall pick, but they’re also one of just three teams with four picks in the 2022 draft. No team’s 2022 selections are more valuable than Oklahoma City’s — in addition to the second overall pick, the Thunder control No. 12, No. 30, and No. 34.

The Spurs and Timberwolves also each own four 2022 draft picks, with San Antonio controlling three first-rounders and No. 38, while Minnesota has No. 19 and three second-rounders.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, four clubs don’t currently own any 2022 draft picks. The Lakers, Suns, and Jazz are three of those teams, and either the Sixers or the Nets will be the fourth, depending on whether Brooklyn decides to acquire Philadelphia’s first-rounder or defer it to 2023.

To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2022 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 58 selections by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…

Teams with more than two picks:

  • Oklahoma City Thunder (4): 2, 12, 30, 34
  • San Antonio Spurs (4): 9, 20, 25, 38
  • Minnesota Timberwolves (4): 19, 40, 48, 50
  • Orlando Magic (3): 1, 32, 35
  • Sacramento Kings (3): 4, 37, 49
  • Indiana Pacers (3): 6, 31, 58
  • Portland Trail Blazers (3): 7, 36, 57
  • New Orleans Pelicans (3): 8, 41, 52
  • Charlotte Hornets (3): 13, 15, 45
  • Cleveland Cavaliers (3): 14, 39, 56
  • Memphis Grizzlies (3): 22, 29, 47
  • Golden State Warriors (3): 28, 51, 55

Teams with two picks:

  • Houston Rockets: 3, 17
  • Detroit Pistons: 5, 46
  • Washington Wizards: 10, 54
  • New York Knicks: 11, 42
  • Atlanta Hawks: 16, 44

Teams with one pick:

  • Chicago Bulls: 18
  • Denver Nuggets: 21
  • Philadelphia 76ers: 23
  • Milwaukee Bucks: 24
  • Dallas Mavericks: 26
  • Miami Heat: 27
  • Toronto Raptors: 33
  • Los Angeles Clippers: 43
  • Boston Celtics: 53

Teams with no picks:

  • Brooklyn Nets
  • Los Angeles Lakers
  • Phoenix Suns
  • Utah Jazz
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Magic Win 2022 NBA Draft Lottery; Thunder, Rockets, Kings In Top Four

May 17th, 2022 at 7:26pm CST by Luke Adams

With Tuesday night’s lottery results now official, the top 14 slots for the 2022 NBA draft have been set. The lottery order is as follows:

  1. Orlando Magic
  2. Oklahoma City Thunder
  3. Houston Rockets
  4. Sacramento Kings
  5. Detroit Pistons
  6. Indiana Pacers
  7. Portland Trail Blazers
  8. New Orleans Pelicans (from Lakers)
  9. San Antonio Spurs
  10. Washington Wizards
  11. New York Knicks
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
  13. Charlotte Hornets
  14. Cleveland Cavaliers

It’s great news for the rebuilding Magic, who finished dead last in the Eastern Conference this season and had the NBA’s second-worst record (22-60). They entered the night tied for the best odds of landing the No. 1 overall pick at 14.0%, and will be picking first in the draft for the first time since 2004, when they selected Dwight Howard.

This time around, the Magic appear likely to draft a big man once again. Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, Auburn’s Jabari Smith, and Duke’s Paolo Banchero, all power forwards or centers, are widely considered to be the top prospects in the 2022 class. Orlando could add one of them to a core that includes 2021 lottery picks Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs.

The Thunder are one of the night’s other big winners, moving up from fourth in the pre-lottery order to No. 2 overall. The rebuilding squad is loaded with first-round picks over the next five years, and will have the opportunity to draft a potential franchise player next month to complement guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey. Oklahoma City is the only team with two picks in this year’s lottery, having acquired the No. 12 overall selection from the Clippers.

The Rockets will have a top-three pick for a second straight year after nabbing Jalen Green second overall in 2021. They’ll be followed by the Kings, who moved up from seventh in the pre-lottery order to No. 4 in the draft, making good on their 31.9% chance to jump into the top four.

It’s the fourth consecutive time that the seventh team in the lottery standings has moved into the top four. The Pelicans (Zion Williamson), Hornets (LaMelo Ball), and Raptors (Scottie Barnes) did it in 2019, 2020, and 2021 after the NBA revamped its lottery format ahead of the 2019 event.

The Pistons, Pacers, and Trail Blazers were among the biggest losers on lottery night. Detroit moved down two spots, from No. 3 to No. 5, while Indiana and Portland both dropped one spot from their place in the pre-lottery order, landing at No. 6 and No. 7, respectively.

Since the Lakers’ first-round pick stayed at No. 8, it will head to the Pelicans rather than the Grizzlies — Memphis would have received it if it had fallen out of the top 10.

The rest of the lottery played out as expected, with the Spurs, Wizards, Knicks, Thunder, Hornets, and Cavaliers rounding out the top 14.

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NBA Looking Into Alleged Domestic Incident Involving Rajon Rondo

May 17th, 2022 at 9:34am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA is aware of an alleged domestic incident involving veteran guard Rajon Rondo and is in the process of gathering more information, league spokesperson Mike Bass told Malika Andrews of ESPN on Monday.

As first reported by TMZ, Rondo’s former partner – and the mother of his two children – filed for an emergency protective order against him on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky, alleging that the 36-year-old threatened her with a gun and has a history of “volatile, erratic (and) explosive behavior.”

The order was granted later in the day, with a judge ruling that Rondo must stay at least 500 feet away from the woman and their children, and must temporarily give up any firearms.

According to the emergency protective order, obtained by both TMZ and ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, the woman said that Rondo, who was playing video games with his son, became enraged when she asked the child to finish separating his laundry. Rondo allegedly ripped the game console out of the wall, smashed a number of items in the house, and began yelling and cursing.

The woman said that Rondo told her, “You’re dead,” briefly left the house, and came back with a gun, demanding to see his son. He then demanded to see his daughter, and when both children were outside, he yelled at them for being afraid of him, the woman alleged. She eventually called the police and Rondo reportedly left the scene after Louisville Metro Police Chief Yvette Gentry arrived.

According to TMZ, Rondo hasn’t been arrested and doesn’t face any criminal charges at this time, so it’s unclear if the NBA’s investigation into the matter would result in any discipline from the league. However, the allegations will certainly be taken into account by teams considering signing Rondo this offseason when his contract with the Cavaliers expires.

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Cavs To Add To Coaching Staff?

May 17th, 2022 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has talked to president of basketball operations Koby Altman about possible additions to his coaching staff, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscriber-only link), who says Bickerstaff keeps a running list of potential targets that he adds to every year.

Sources tell Fedor that Bickerstaff would be looking for a well-rounded candidate with experience, and wouldn’t necessarily be seeking an offensive coordinator. Fedor identifies Steve Clifford, Paul Hewitt, Chad Forcier, Tyrone Corbin, and David Fizdale as some names to watch, though some of those coaches may not be inclined to leave their current positions for an assistant role with the Cavaliers.

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2022 NBA Draft Lottery Primer

May 17th, 2022 at 6:47am CST by Luke Adams

The 2022 NBA draft lottery will take place on Tuesday night prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Heat and Celtics. The half-hour event will be broadcast on ESPN beginning at 7:00 pm central time.

This year’s draft pool features a group of four prospects generally considered by experts to be a level above the rest of the class: Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith Jr., Paolo Banchero, and Jaden Ivey. Teams that move into the top four on Tuesday night will have the opportunity to snag one of those potential future stars.

Here’s what you need to know heading into tonight’s lottery:

Pre-Lottery Draft Order:

The top 14 picks in the 2022 NBA draft would look like this if tonight’s lottery results don’t change the order:

  1. Houston Rockets
  2. Orlando Magic
  3. Detroit Pistons
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder
  5. Indiana Pacers
  6. Portland Trail Blazers
  7. Sacramento Kings
  8. New Orleans Pelicans (from Lakers)
    • Note: The Grizzlies will receive this pick if it falls to No. 11 or No. 12.
  9. San Antonio Spurs
  10. Washington Wizards
  11. New York Knicks
  12. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Clippers)
  13. Charlotte Hornets
  14. Cleveland Cavaliers

For the full pre-lottery draft order, click here.

Draft Lottery Odds:

The Rockets, Magic, Pistons, and Thunder have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick. Each of those four teams has a 14.0% chance to pick first overall.

Typically, only the top three teams in the lottery standings would have a 14.0% shot at the No. 1 overall pick, but the Thunder join that group by virtue of holding two lottery picks — there’s a 12.5% chance that their own pick will move up to No. 1 and a 1.5% chance the Clippers’ pick, which they also control, will be No. 1.

From there, the Pacers (10.5%), Trail Blazers (9.0%), Kings (7.5%), and Pelicans (6.0%) have the best odds to receive the first overall pick.

For the full draft lottery odds for all 14 spots, click here.

Trades Affecting The Draft Lottery:

The Clippers and Lakers are the only non-playoff teams that have traded away their lottery picks this year, and neither team put protections on its traded first-rounder.

The Thunder will receive the Clippers’ pick, as detailed above.

The Lakers’ pick technically still remains up for grabs, depending on the lottery results, due to a trade between New Orleans and Memphis. Here are the details on that deal:

Pelicans/Grizzlies

The Pelicans will acquire the Lakers’ pick if it lands in the top 10, while the Grizzlies will receive it if it ends up at No. 11 or 12.

Since the Lakers finished eighth in the lottery standings, there’s approximately a 99.5% chance that New Orleans will hang onto the pick. At least three teams in the 9-14 range would have to jump into the top four in order for Memphis to receive it.

Draft Lottery Representatives:

The representatives for each of this year’s lottery teams are as follows, according to a pair of announcements from the NBA:

  1. Houston Rockets
    • On stage: Rafael Stone (general manager)
    • Lottery room: Clay Allen (general counsel)
  2. Orlando Magic

    • On stage: Jeff Weltman (president of basketball operations)
    • Lottery room: Joel Glass (chief communications officer)
  3. Detroit Pistons

    • On stage: Richard Hamilton (former Pistons player)
    • Lottery room: George David (assistant GM)
  4. Oklahoma City Thunder

    • On stage: Nick Collison (former Thunder player / special assistant to GM)
    • Lottery room: Sam Presti (executive VP / general manager)
  5. Indiana Pacers

    • On stage: Kelly Krauskopf (assistant GM)
    • Lottery room: Chad Buchanan (general manager)
  6. Portland Trail Blazers

    • On stage: Damian Lillard
    • Lottery room: Dewayne Hankins (president of business operations)
  7. Sacramento Kings

  8. New Orleans Pelicans

    • On stage: Swin Cash-Canal (VP of basketball operations)
    • Lottery room: David Griffin (executive VP of basketball operations)
  9. San Antonio Spurs

    • On stage: David Robinson (former Spurs player / strategic partner)
    • Lottery room: Niraj Mulji (director of basketball strategy)
  10. Washington Wizards

    • On stage: Wes Unseld Jr. (head coach)
    • Lottery room: Tommy Sheppard (president of basketball operations / general manager)
  11. New York Knicks
    • On stage: William Wesley (executive VP / senior basketball advisor)
    • Lottery room: Brock Aller (VP of basketball and strategic planning)
  12. Charlotte Hornets
  13. Cleveland Cavaliers

    • On stage: Anderson Varejao (former Cavaliers player / team ambassador)
    • Lottery room: Jon Nichols (VP of basketball strategy and personnel)

Lottery Format:

This will be the fourth year that the NBA uses its revamped lottery system, which reduces the odds that the league’s very worst teams will land a top pick and makes the top four selections available via the lottery, instead of the top three.

Before the NBA changed its lottery format, there was a 60.5% chance that one of the league’s bottom three teams would secure the No. 1 pick, and only a 27.6% chance that a team in the 5-14 range of the lottery standings would do so. Now, those odds are 42.0% and 45.5%, respectively.

The results since the new format was implemented have shown that the smoothed-out odds have the potential to create a little more mayhem on lottery night.

In 2019, the Pelicans, Grizzlies, and Lakers claimed three of the top four picks despite ranking seventh, eighth, and 11th, respectively, in the lottery standings. In 2020, the Hornets and Bulls each moved up four spots, from Nos. 7 and 8 to Nos. 3 and 4, respectively.

A year ago, the results were more by-the-numbers. However, the seventh spot in the lottery standings was lucky again, this time for the Raptors, who moved up to No. 4 and grabbed eventual Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes.

For full details on the revamped lottery format, click here.

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Darius Garland Discusses Thrill Of “Playoff Experience”

May 14th, 2022 at 6:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cavaliers guard Darius Garland set three lofty goals before the start of the season and he achieved them all, he says in an interview with Tyler R. Tynes of GQ. Garland wanted to be a finalist for the Most Improved Player trophy, to be an All-Star and to reach at least the play-in tournament. He finished third in the MIP voting, played in the All-Star Game in Cleveland and got to experience the play-in atmosphere, even though the Cavs lost both of their games.

Cleveland got off to a strong start and remained in contention for one of the top seeds in the East for most of the season. But a string of injuries caused the team to slip to the eighth seed, leading to an early exit. Now that he’s had a taste of the postseason, Garland wants to go even farther next year.

“Being there, feeling the playoff experience, that atmosphere with the whole city behind you, you could barely hear in the arena,” Garland said. “It was lit the whole time, in Brooklyn [and in] the second game against Atlanta at home. That was probably the most intense basketball I’ve ever had in my life. So it was cool having that experience, but I definitely want to get into the playoffs.”

Garland, who will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension this summer, said he loves being in Cleveland and hopes for a long-term future there. He touches on that and several other subjects during the interview:

On coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who trusted him to take control of the team:

“Going into my second year, he literally told me, ‘You have the keys, this is your team, you just have to drive the car.’ That’s the analogy he gave me. I had to learn how to drive this car, with this team, coming in as one of the youngest guys on the team and I had to be the leader and talk the most. Being more vocal, being a leader, putting people where they want to be and try to be the best on the court at all times. Be the first on the court. Be the last one to leave. It’s all the little things we talk about.”

On lessons from veteran guards Ricky Rubio and Rajon Rondo, who both spent part of the season with the Cavs:

“Rondo gave me the mental part of the game. We watch film throughout the entire season. Every game, on the road, on the plane, in the room, at dinner. We watching film no matter what with ’Do. With Ricky, it was the game inside the game. He would tell me to play a game while we’re playing a game. Put people in pick and roll situations, go at him and see what he does. The next play: put him in the same pick and roll situation and see what happens. He was teaching me how to pick apart a defense. I picked those things up easy from those two.”

On Collin Sexton, who is headed for restricted free agency this offseason:

“I hope Collin stays around. I really like playing with him. He’s super cool off the court and we have a lot of similarities: we both like shoes and clothes and we love the game of basketball. He was like my big brother coming into the league. So, hopefully, Collin sticks around. Hopefully we get more some more years to play with each other and make some playoff appearances.”

On becoming Cleveland’s biggest star since the departure of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving:

“I never really thought about it. I try to stay in the present moment and work on myself. I’m trying to get better. I’m trying to get this team better. I’m trying to get this organization better. I’m working on myself. Those guys are true legends in Cleveland and the NBA so all respect to them, but I’m just working on my team and myself right now. I talk to ‘Bron and Ky after games and stuff, but nothing really ever about Cleveland.”

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Kevin Love Stung By Criticism From Colangelo

May 14th, 2022 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Following heavy criticism from his experience with USA Basketball prior to the Olympics, Kevin Love finally spoke out on the subject in an interview with Taylor Rooks posted on Twitter by Bleacher Report, and said some people “threw me under the bus.”

The Cavaliers power forward said he was still recovering from a calf injury when he committed to play. Love eventually withdrew from Team USA before the squad headed to Tokyo.

“I was not able to be in the best shape I could have been because I couldn’t fully run yet with my calf, I couldn’t really push off,” he said. “I still could really shoot the ball, I could space the floor, I could rebound but as far as switching one-through-five and how they wanted to play, it just wasn’t appropriate for me.”

Jerry Colangelo, the former managing director of USA Basketball, criticized the 2012 gold medalist last summer for not being in shape when he showed up to camp.

“I didn’t think Kevin Love was going to play. I wasn’t even sure he had much left to play,” Colangelo said. “He reached out to us and said he was in shape and said he felt he owed us. And on the basis of that, we’re looking at someone with international experience who at one time was a heck of a rebounder and could still shoot the ball. You know, being like a 12th man on a roster. Well, it didn’t work out. He wasn’t in shape. And he was way behind as it turned out. So you move on. Call it a mistake.”

Love said those comments stung.

“People that I’ve had relationships with throughout USA basketball for that long, threw me under the bus. And I didn’t like that,” Love said. “I felt that I did the right thing by coming to the landing spot and landing point that I eventually got to. I just thought it was very unfair and coming from this elite fraternity that we have in our 450 players. You would think, like, you take care of each other. … I hope I’m a part of that family from here on out.”

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