Tons of NBA executives have been in Chicago the past two days for the NBA pre-draft combine, and we've been following the updates throughout. Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com was on hand for the event, which wasn't nearly as revelatory as it could have been, he says, since several top prospects didn't participate in on-court action. Still, teams learned plenty about the draft-eligible field, and Goodman shares his list of winners and losers from the camp.
The Nets may be looking to find a way into the first round of this month's draft, but a number of teams are considering moving their first-rounders. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (via Twitter), every club besides the Cavs that has multiple first-round picks is trying to trade one of them for a young player. The Blazers, Celtics, Warriors, Rockets, and Hornets all fit the bill, with two first-rounders each. Let's round up a few more of today's draft rumors….
- Teams inquiring on the 10th overall pick are being told by the Hornets that taking on a contract like Emeka Okafor's or Trevor Ariza's won't be enough to land the pick, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
Following the Hornets' lottery win, ESPN.com's Chad Ford published his newest mock draft, which includes a handful of interesting scenarios, including Dion Waiters jumping to eighth overall and Austin Rivers slipping to 18th. With less than four weeks until draft day, Ford continues to talk to sources and visit workouts to get a better sense of how things will play out on June 28th. His latest draft blog (Insider link) explores potential options for the top 10 picks and is chock-full of interesting tidbits. Let's round up some of the highlights….
We're just a little over 24 hours away from tomorrow night's draft lottery, aka the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. While fans of the Bobcats, Wizards, Cavaliers, Hornets, and the rest of the lottery teams hold their breath, let's round up a few of today's draft-related items:
- The Celtics may be trying to package their two first-round picks to move up in the draft, tweets SI.com's Zach Lowe.
- Damian Lillard appears to be a likely top-10 pick, writes ESPN.com's Chad Ford in an Insider-only piece that also touches on Terrence Ross, Arnett Moultrie, Fab Melo, and a number of other prospects.
- Ford also fielded draft questions in his weekly ESPN.com chat earlier this afternoon.
- Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio identifies his picks for the sleepers of this year's draft class.
- Seven-footers Tyler Zeller and Meyers Leonard highlighted the participants at the Trail Blazers' first draft workout today, and interim Kaleb Canales had compliments for both players, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com writes.
With just four days to go until the NBA draft lottery, the Memorial Day weekend might be filled with anxiety for teams hoping to land a high pick. It's not a restful time for many prospects, either, as they continue to try and impress future employers. Here's the latest on the draft:
- North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall says that he broke his elbow, but hopes to be cleared for contact in time for the NBA combine, as documented by Dan Tierney of the IMG Basketball Academy Blog. Zach Links took a look at Marshall's draft stock as a part of our Prospect Profile series earlier this week.
- Marshall's competition for top point guard honors in the draft is Damian Lillard, who looked impressive in a public workout today, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (All Twitter links).
- Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News believes landing the top pick in the draft could be transformative for the Nets. Lawrence says adding presumptive No. 1 pick Anthony Davis could persuade Deron Williams to re-sign and would eliminate the need to pursue Dwight Howard.
Yesterday, Sam Amick of SportsIllustrated.com ran down the "safe bets" of the 2012 draft class, a list of eleven prospects including Weber State's Damian Lillard. The point guard might not be the next Deron Williams or Chris Paul, but he has a proven track record of success and, as his inclusion on the list implies, doesn't seem likely to backfire in the face of the GM who tabs him. While the Big Sky conference isn't known for pumping out top-notch NBA talent each year, Lillard is unquestionably a first-round talent. Exactly how high can Lillard go? In a draft class devoid of elite one-guards, the 6'2" slasher could go inside of the top ten.
Lillard wasn't featured on national television on a weekly basis like many of his peers in the top half of mock drafts, but the guard made himself known as one of the nation's top scorers with 24.5 points off of 46.7% shooting. The junior seems to have a knack for finding the smallest of seams and attack the basket but can also sit back at knock down the long-range shot when given enough breathing room. Lillard was always an adept three-point shooter but in 2011/12, he shot 40.9% from downtown, a collegiate career best.
Scoring is what Lillard does exceptionally well, but his distribution skills could use a little bit more seasoning. Like a quarterback, a one-guard has to be able to evaluate multiple options at once, rather than lock on to just one recipient. That's not to say that Lillard is overly turnover prone, but his passing game would improve by leaps and bounds with greater peripheral vision. Lillard turned the ball over 2.8 times per contest in his sophomore season but chiseled that number down to a more economical 2.3 per game in his junior campaign.
You'll be hard-pressed to find a draft expert that doesn't consider Lillard to be one of the two best point guards in the 2012 class. The Weber State standout was also loved by John Hollinger's favorite metric as he had the second-highest PER in the nation to go along with being the No. 2 scorer. It's a two-horse race between Lillard and Kendall Marshall to be the first one-guard off of the board – expect to see the little guy beat to beat out the North Carolina floor general.
This June's NBA draft will take place at the Prudential Center, but it appears the May draft lottery will be moving from New Jersey to New York. Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that the venue for the draft lottery will switch locations for the first time since 1994. We'll see if the new location turns out to be a good-luck charm for the Bobcats, Wizards, Hornets, or another club on May 30th. In the meantime, you can keep an eye on our tentative 2012 draft order to follow the latest odds on which lottery team will land that first overall pick.
Here are few more draft-related updates:
- Sophomore Meyers Leonard will forgo his final two years at Illinois and enter the draft, the team announced (hat tip to Scott Powers of ESPNChicago.com). The 7'1" center is expected to be selected in the first round, with ESPN.com's latest mock draft slotting him at 20th overall.
- Point guard Damian Lillard will leave Weber State a year early. We heard last month that the junior was expected to declare his intent, and Martin Renzhofer of the Salt Lake Tribune says Lillard made the decision official today. The 6'3" Lillard is considered perhaps the top available point guard in this year's draft, and could be a lottery pick.
- Washington freshman Tony Wroten will hire an agent and enter the draft, the school announced today. Said Wroten: "I love the University of Washington, but I just feel that it's best for me to make the jump." The 6'5" guard is expected to be a first-round pick, ranking 19th among ESPN.com's top 100 prospects and 23rd on DraftExpress.com's list.
- ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) talks to scouts and GMs to get an idea of which players helped or hurt their stocks in the Final Four.
- Wizards point guard John Wall spoke to Michael Lee of the Washington Post about the possibility of Washington landing Anthony Davis in the draft.
Weber State junior point guard Damian Lillard will enter this year's NBA Draft, sources have told Gary Parrish of CBS Sports. The 6'3" Oakland, California native averaged 24.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this year.
Lightly recruited out of high school, he projects as the 12th overall pick by NBADraft.net and 13th by Draft Express. It's a fast rise for a lightly recruited player out of high school who appeared in only nine games last season because of a broken right foot. Earlier this season, Walker Beeken of Draft Express examined his game, praising his shooting and ball-handling while wondering about his playmaking skills and abilities to play NBA-level defense. Tyler Ingle of NBADraft.net likes how he gets to the free-throw line, but doesn't think he's a true point guard, which his low assist total backs up.