- The Warriors saved some money by getting the No. 2 pick in the draft lottery rather than the top spot. They’ll save approximately $4MM toward the luxury tax for next season, if the rookie scale remains the same, ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets.
- The Warriors hold the rights to Israeli forward Lior Eliyahu but he’s retiring, Sportando’s Alessandro Maggi relays. He won several championships overseas during his career and played most recently of Maccabi Ashdod. Eliyahu, 34, was drafted in the second round by Magic in 2006 and his rights were traded numerous times.
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic examines the Warriors’ options in the 2020 NBA draft, with the team being awarded the No. 2 overall pick last week. The current front-runner to be drafted by Golden State appears to be 7’1″ center James Wiseman, though no decisions have been finalized yet — and that’s if the team decides to even keep the pick. “I know there’s a lot of narrative around us trading our pick and what we’re going to do with it, but we don’t really know anything,” general manager Bob Myers said. “At this point, we found out half an hour ago we had the No. 2 pick, so that’s the first step as far as getting some clarity.”
- Warriors president of basketball operations Bob Myers has yet to tip his hand as to whether or not the team will draft a new young player with the No. 2 pick in the 2020 draft or package it in the trade for a skilled veteran, Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets. “I don’t think I’ll know that anytime soon,” Myers said. Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area posits that the Warriors, just one year removed from five consecutive NBA Finals runs, should move the pick for instant help, due to both the age of core Warriors Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, and the lack of a clear future superstar in this year’s draft.
Thursday’s lottery results could produce a wave of trades before draft day, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. The former Grizzlies executive believes the Warriors, who landed the second overall selection, will try to swap the pick for more immediate help and lists the Hawks, Knicks, Wizards, Suns, Kings and possibly even the Timberwolves as other lottery teams that may be active on the trade market.
Hollinger proposes a couple of moves for Golden State, which also has a $17MM trade exception from last summer’s Andre Iguodala deal. He suggests offering the second pick to the Thunder for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or to the Hawks for John Collins, although Atlanta hopes to make the playoffs next season and may not be interested in dealing for the future.
Hollinger adds that the Knicks may want to package their picks at No. 8 and 27 to move up in the draft for one of the top point guards, the Wizards have incentive to improve quickly before Bradley Beal gets a chance to leave again and the Suns possess cap space to take on another player and have playoff aspirations after going undefeated in Orlando.
There’s more draft news to pass along:
- Salary cap concerns may make it difficult for the Warriors to find an appealing deal, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN. Counting its draft pick, Golden State already has more than $150MM in committed salary for next season, which puts the franchise far into the lottery tax, even if the threshold remains at this year’s figure of $132.7MM. Trading the No. 2 pick for a player with a $17MM salary could leave the Warriors with a record-setting $103MM tax bill and a total payroll of nearly $270MM.
- The eight teams not in Orlando were relieved that the Grizzlies, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, Suns and Wizards didn’t move up in Thursday’s lottery, notes Zach Lowe of ESPN. He cites resentment among some of the non-invited teams that they didn’t get a chance to form chemistry the way Phoenix did, and one general manager said it would have been “our worst nightmare” if any of those teams had jumped into the top four.
- Georgia guard Anthony Edwards tops the latest mock draft released by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. Most NBA executives agree that Edwards is a top-three prospect, Vecenie writes, and many think his physical tools give him the highest upside in this year’s class. LaMelo Ball is the No. 1 choice in a mock draft compiled by Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
In addition to claiming the top three spots in the 2020 NBA draft based on this year’s lottery results, the Timberwolves, Warriors, and Hornets are three of eight teams that will own more than two draft picks this fall.
As our full 2020 draft order shows, the Sixers lead the way with five picks, while the Kings, Pelicans, and Celtics have four apiece. Like Minnesota, Golden State, and Charlotte, the Knicks also hold three selections. On the other end of the spectrum, the Rockets are the only team without a 2020 draft pick.
To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2020 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:
- Philadelphia 76ers (5): 21, 34, 36, 49, 58
- Sacramento Kings (4): 12, 35, 43, 52
- New Orleans Pelicans (4): 13, 39, 42, 60
- Boston Celtics (4): 14, 26, 30, 47
- Minnesota Timberwolves (3): 1, 17, 33
- Golden State Warriors (3): 2, 48, 51
- Charlotte Hornets (3): 3, 32, 56
- New York Knicks (3): 8, 27, 38
Teams with two picks:
- Chicago Bulls: 4, 44
- Atlanta Hawks: 6, 50
- Washington Wizards: 9, 37
- San Antonio Spurs: 11, 41
- Orlando Magic: 15, 45
- Portland Trail Blazers: 16, 46
- Dallas Mavericks: 18, 31
- Brooklyn Nets: 19, 55
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 25, 53
- Toronto Raptors: 29, 59
Teams with one pick:
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 5
- Detroit Pistons: 7
- Phoenix Suns: 10
- Miami Heat: 20
- Denver Nuggets: 22
- Utah Jazz: 23
- Milwaukee Bucks: 24
- Los Angeles Lakers: 28
- Memphis Grizzlies: 40
- Indiana Pacers: 54
- Los Angeles Clippers: 57
Teams with no picks:
- Houston Rockets
With Thursday night’s lottery results now official, the top 14 picks in the 2020 NBA draft have been set. The lottery order is as follows:
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Golden State Warriors
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Atlanta Hawks
- Detroit Pistons
- New York Knicks
- Washington Wizards
- Phoenix Suns
- San Antonio Spurs
- Sacramento Kings
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Boston Celtics (from Memphis Grizzlies)
The Timberwolves, who entered the lottery with a 14.0% shot at the No. 1 overall pick, will get the opportunity to add a top prospect to a core that already includes D’Angelo Russell – the team’s draft representative on Thursday – and Karl-Anthony Towns, who is a former No. 1 pick himself.
Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas will face a fascinating decision with the No. 1 pick, since the 2020 draft class has no consensus top prospect — Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, LaMelo Ball, and Obi Toppin are among the players expected to receive consideration at the top of the draft board. With Russell and Towns as anchors, some of those players look like better fits than others for Minnesota.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to land the first overall pick in this year’s draft, marking only the second time in franchise history,” Rosas said in a statement. “We are excited for the possibilities ahead of us to bring in a high caliber player now that we secured the first overall selection. As a front office, we are proud of what we’ve built here in Minnesota so far and we are looking forward to continuing to build upon that foundation in this year’s draft.”
The Warriors, who were tied with the Wolves for the lottery’s best odds, claim the No. 2 pick, which will give president of basketball operations Bob Myers and his team plenty of options this offseason. With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson coming back from injuries, Golden State hopes to return to contention in 2020/21, so the club is expected to consider trading its lottery pick for immediate help if a favorable deal arises.
The Hornets and Bulls entered the lottery with the eighth- and seventh-best odds, so they got lucky in moving up to No. 3 and 4, respectively. Charlotte had a 6.7% shot at the No. 3 pick, while Chicago’s odds for No. 4 were 8.5%.
Charlotte is in rebuilding mode and president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak has repeatedly stated that the club will prioritize adding the best player available rather than focusing on a specific need. New Bulls executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has expressed a similar sentiment, and is in position to put a stamp on the franchise with a top-four pick in his first year on the job.
The Cavaliers are perhaps the biggest loser of the night, having slipped from second in the lottery standings to fifth. This will be the second consecutive year in which Cleveland has had the No. 5 overall pick — the club will look to add to a young core that features Collin Sexton and Darius Garland.
The Hawks, Pistons, and Knicks each slid two spots in the lottery to Nos. 6, 7, and 8, respectively. Those picks will represent the first draft picks for new Detroit general manager Troy Weaver and New York’s new president of basketball operations Leon Rose.
The remaining lottery selections – for the six lottery teams who were part of the NBA’s summer restart in Orlando – played out as expected. However, the Wizards‘ fate is worth noting — they technically finished with the league’s eighth-worst record, but were locked into the No. 9 spot in the lottery standings because the eight teams not invited to Orlando were assigned the top eight spots.
If the order had instead been based on records after the summer seeding games and the Wizards had entered the evening at No. 8 in the lottery standings, it would’ve been Washington – not Charlotte – that moved up to claim the third overall pick.
Assuming it’s not postponed again, the 2020 NBA draft will take place on October 16. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, teams are expected to have to make their picks without having evaluated any prospects in person for the last few months.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have finalized an agreement that will allow the eight teams who were not invited to Orlando to conduct voluntary group workouts at their team facilities, according to a league press release.
The teams will each reside in a campus-like environment under controlled conditions. The agreement includes comprehensive health and safety protocols.
The workout program is scheduled to take place Sept. 14–Oct. 6 and will be implemented in phases. The first phase, which will be held Sept. 14-2o, will consist of voluntary individual workouts at team facilities and the commencement of daily COVID-19 testing for all players and staff planning to participate in group workouts.
The second phase will occur from Sept. 21–Oct. 6. It will consist of group training activities in market, which may include practices, skill or conditioning sessions, and intra-squad scrimmages. Daily coronavirus testing will continue during that phase and each team will create its own campus-like environment in its home city.
The “campus” will include the team’s facilities and private living accommodations for all participating players and team staff. In order to participate in group training activities, players and team staff must remain on the campus.
In addition to players under contract with the team, each of the eight teams may also include up to five players who are not currently under an NBA contract, but who were under an NBA G League contract and assigned to the team’s NBAGL affiliate this season.
Discussions about organized team activities (OTAs) – including group workouts and scrimmages – for those eight clubs have been ongoing for weeks. There was plenty of speculation that the teams would convene at one site but obviously both the league and NBAPA decided it would be easier and safer to keep the teams in their home cities.
The Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pistons, Knicks, Bulls, and Hornets were the eight teams left out of the restart.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers admits it’s a little unsettling potentially drafting a player that he may have not seen in person or viewed in an individual workout due to the pandemic. Myers’ comments were posted on the team’s website.
“It’s a rare thing to not have … I would have liked to see more guys than I did, but if you’re talking about me, that’s a possibility,” Myers said. “If you’re talking about our group, I think between us all, somebody will have seen the person at least play.”
Myers also says it’s too early to speculate whether he might trade his first-round pick until the lottery is drawn on Thursday: “Nobody is talking about trades. … Even assuming we had the pick number in hand, it’s premature to even know the value of it, for us or for another team, so we’ll have to wait and see kind of how things go in that direction.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Clippers guard Rodney McGruder has signed with Octagon Sports as his representative, the entertainment management organization tweets. McGruder is signed through next season but his $5MM salary for 2021/22 is not guaranteed.
- Veteran Lakers assistant Lionel Hollins was not permitted to coach at the Orlando campus but he’s still involved in the team’s planning and preparation, as Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times details. Hollins watches practices live and prepares scouting reports with two other assistants, one of whom is in Orlando. The 66-year-old was deemed a high risk for the coronavirus due to preexisting conditions.
- Joe Dumars, now the interim GM with the Kings, has a lot on his plate this offseason, as Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee details. Along with the draft, Dumars will try to work out a contract extension with point guard De’Aaron Fox. Bogdan Bogdanovic is headed to restricted free agency, while Kent Bazemore, Harry Giles, and Alex Len will be unrestricted. Dumars could also explore trades involving Buddy Hield, whose large extension kicks in next season after a very disappointing 2019/20 season.
The Kings won a key NBA draft tiebreaker that took place today, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The league conducts tiebreakers when two teams finish the season with the same record. The winner of the tiebreaker gets the higher pick or the higher spot in the lottery standings.
In Sacramento’s case, the team entered the March 11 hiatus with a 28-36 record, identical to the Pelicans‘ 28-36 mark. Because the NBA is sorting its lottery standings based on non-playoff teams’ pre-hiatus records, the Kings and Pelicans had been tied for the 12th spot.
As a result of today’s tiebreaker, Sacramento will get the 12th pick in the draft, assuming neither of the two teams behind them jump into the top four; the Pelicans would receive the 13th pick in that scenario. The two teams’ draft lottery odds will be nearly identical, though Sacramento will have the slight edge, with the Kings receiving 13 of 1,000 available ping-pong ball combinations on lottery night, compared to 12 combinations for the Pelicans.
In the second round, the order will be flipped — the Pelicans will get the No. 42 pick and the Kings will be at No. 43.
Meanwhile, the Thunder finished the season tied with the Rockets and Jazz in the standings at 44-28, so a tiebreaker was required to determine their draft order.
As a result of today’s tiebreaker, the Oklahoma City pick will be No. 21, according to Charania, who adds that Houston’s pick will be No. 22, followed by Utah’s at No. 23.
Of those three teams, only the Jazz actually still own their 2020 first-rounder. The Sixers will receive OKC’s No. 21 pick, while the Nuggets will get Houston’s pick at No. 22. It’s an ideal outcome for Philadelphia, considering that Thunder pick was top-20 protected.
In the second round, Utah’s pick will be No. 51, Houston’s will be No. 52, and Oklahoma City’s will be No. 53. However, the Jazz and Rockets don’t own their second-rounders. Instead, it’ll be the Warriors drafting at No. 51 and the Kings at No. 52.
Discussions about organized team activities (OTAs) – including group workouts and scrimmages – for the eight clubs left out of the NBA’s 22-team Orlando restart are ongoing, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link), who says those talks continue to center on in-market workouts that would start in September.
Over the course of the summer, there have been rumblings that the NBA was considering setting up a second bubble in Chicago for its bottom eight teams to conduct group workouts and scrimmages. The league was also said to be exploring the idea of bringing those eight clubs to the first bubble at Walt Disney World once several of the teams involved in the restart are eliminated.
However, the most likely outcome is a scenario reported by The Charlotte Observer last month, which would allow the Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Hawks, Pistons, Knicks, Bulls, and Hornets to conduct offseason workouts for about three weeks in their respective home markets and facilities. No inter-squad scrimmages would take place in that scenario, but intra-squad scrimmages would be permitted.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), the NBA and NBPA are in serious talks about moving forward with that plan for September. It would look something like this, per Charania:
- One week of individual workouts
- Two weeks of group practices
- One hour of 5-on-5 play per day
- Daily coronavirus testing
Presumably, any team that has a player test positive for COVID-19 during that three-week period would have to at least temporarily shut down its facility in an effort to avoid a more significant outbreak.
Those workouts are also expected to be voluntary, which means that certain star players or other veterans, including players eligible for free agency, likely won’t participate. However, rebuilding teams like the Cavaliers, Hawks, and Timberwolves are eager to get their young players some organized offseason reps, since they’ll likely go at least nine months – or more – between regular season games.