- Nets rookie guard Tyshawn Taylor is recovering from a strained right quad, but remains anxiously eager to prove himself to the team's coaches. The former Kansas Jayhawk also said that watching the team practice while being sidelined is helping him become acquainted with how the team is expected to run (Tim Bontempts of the New York Post writes).
- According to John N. Mitchell of Philly.com, Spencer Hawes is excited about playing power forward next to Andrew Bynum. The former Washington Huskies big man has mostly been playing center since entering the league, but believes he has the skill-set to mesh well with the former Lakers star.
- John R. Finger of CSN Philly writes about how Maalik Wayns can contribute to the 76ers with his speed and scoring ability. Dei Lynam of CSN Philly says that Dorell Wright has been impressive in camp, especially with his shooting and playmaking ability. Also, Max Rappaport of NBA.com looks at how Dorell, Jason Richardson, and Nick Young form a remarkable combination of viable outside shooters.
- Knicks point guard Raymond Felton has lost 20 pounds since leaving the Trail Blazers and currently weights 207 pounds, according to Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge. Felton admitted that his conditioning issues to start the 2011-12 season significantly affected his play early on.
Contracts for first-round picks have minimal variance from team to team, as most first-rounders sign for 120% of the rookie scale amount, with two guaranteed years and two team options. However, deals for second-round picks aren't quite as predictable. While second-rounders generally sign for the rookie minimum, which is $473,604 for 2012/13, certain teams are more willing to give guaranteed years than others. Mark Deeks of Sham Sports has tweeted the details on a few contracts for second-round picks, so we'll round them up below….
The Nets have signed second-round pick Tyshawn Taylor, according to the team (via Twitter). Brooklyn acquired the 41st pick from the Trail Blazers on draft night in order to select the Hoboken native.
As a second-rounder, Taylor figures to earn the rookie minimum of $473,604. Adding a charge that small to the cap will have a negligible impact on the Nets' flexibility as they look to re-sign their own free agents or pursue a larger fish, such as Dwight Howard.
The Blazers will select Tyshawn Taylor with the No. 41 pick and send him to the Nets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). The Nets will send cash to Portland in the deal, tweets Wojnarowski.
The Nets, who didn't send out any cash at the trade deadline, were expected to use that money tonight in order to facilitate a deal.
Well, we're here. After weeks of following draft rumors and speculating on which player will be picked by which team, we're just hours away from the 2012 draft. Before things get underway tonight though, we're sure to hear plenty more draft rumors, so be sure to follow this page for the latest updates throughout the day. And to fully immerse yourself in tonight's draft, you can also check out our most recent mock draft, the complete draft order, our Prospect Profiles series, and all the rest of our draft content. Here are today's updates, with the latest up top:
- The Kings and Warriors will make decisions on whether to trade their picks while they're on the clock, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says (Twitter link).
- It's highly unlikely the Grizzlies use the 25th pick on a point guard, the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
- The Grizzlies, Rockets and Celtics are all interested in Royce White, says Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Warriors may trade up from No. 30 to land him, Rothstein also tweets.
- The Bobcats are "getting closer" to trading the No. 2 pick, tweets ESPN.com's Andy Katz (hat tip to Tom Ziller of SBNation).
Earlier updates:
In case you missed it yesterday, we published our first 2012 mock draft. Be sure to check out our projected first round and jump into the comments section to tell us which choices you like or dislike. In the meantime, we'll continue tracking the latest draft news and rumors. Tuesday's updates can be found right here, with the newest items added up top throughout the day….
- John Reid of The Times Picayune writes that the Hornets will likely keep their 10th pick. GM Dell Demps says that he hasn't received any offers warranting any serious consideration to trade the pick and believes that they can come away with a good player at that slot.
- Jared Sullinger will work out for the Cavaliers on Friday, writes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. Fab Melo is also scheduled for a workout this week and could join Sullinger.
Yesterday's roundup of draft links included a ton of updates on workouts and speculation on where certain players may land. We expect more of the same today, so we'll track today's draft notes right here, adding new items to the top of the list throughout the day….
- Anthony Davis has decided to hire Wasserman Media Group to represent him, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The former Kentucky star will work out for the Hornets on Tuesday, tweets Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com.
- The Jazz will host six players on Saturday for a pre-draft workout, according to a team press release. The participants will include Kim English, Jorge Gutierrez, Noah Hartsock, Robbie Hummel, Toure' Murry and Malik Wayns.