The NBA offseason has officially kicked off with the NBA Draft. With the top pick being decided for a while now, the Suns took Center Deandre Ayton. The intrigue really then began. The Kings shook up the entire draft, which started becoming a swap meet. Teams dealt freshly drafted players all over the place. It really ended up becoming a steal heavy draft for the later teams.
Change Up In The Top 3
After the Ayton pick, the Kings were expected to take highly touted international prospect Luka Doncic, but they swerved everyone with a surprising pick with Forward Marvin Bagley III. The Hawks swooped in to snatch up Doncic, but that was for a trade with the Mavericks to swap for Trae Young and a future pick. No one projected it to fall like this, but all the teams in the lottery benefitted from this. It pushed some really elite talent down the board, and not just for question marks. Picks 4-14 could all have been mixed up and there would be few arguments about who got who. Almost every team leaves this draft happy about where the first round left them.
Porter Drops Due To Medical Concerns
After being a lock for the top 3, Michael Porter Jr. was this year’s Ben Simmons. But, Porter’s back was the big question mark, and it really was the story of the night. How far would he fall? There were reports that his agent was passing around medical charts and prognoses at the draft, hoping to get a taker. Eventually, the Nuggets at the end of the lottery took the chance and they might end up lucking out. Porter has all the skills to be a star, he just has to stay healthy. We have seen how the 76ers have treated Simmons and Embiid, and that might be what Porter needs. But, even with that concern, if he is healthy watch out for the Nuggets. They won’t be coming one game short of the playoffs any longer.
Trades Shake Up The NBA Draft
Trades, trades and more trades. Teams must have valued the players more than picks in the draft as many traded up after their selections and swapped players. But just as many teams collected extra picks and still grabbed a player they loved. It opened it up for steals to fall through, all the way down to the mid 20’s. This was a great year if you liked seeing unpredictability. For awhile, every pick was preceded by a trade announcement.
NBA Draft Full 1st Round Results
- Suns – C Deandre Ayton
- Kings – F Marvin Bagley III
- Hawks – G Luka Doncic (trade to DAL)
- Grizzlies – F Jaren Jackson Jr.
- Mavericks – G Trae Young (trade to ATL)
- Magic – C Mohamed Bamba
- Bulls – F Wendell Carter Jr.
- Cavaliers – G Collin Sexton
- Knicks – F Kevin Knox
- 76ers – F Mikal Bridges (trade to PHX)
- Hornets – G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (trade to LAC)
- Clippers – F Miles Bridges (trade to CHA)
- Clippers – G Jerome Robinson
- Nuggets – F Michael Porter Jr.
- Wizards – G Troy Brown
- Suns – F Zhaire Smith (trade to PHI)
- Bucks – G Donte DiVincenzo
- Spurs – G Lonnie Walker IV
- Hawks – G Kevin Huerter
- Timberwolves – G Josh Okogie
- Jazz – G Grayson Allen
- Bulls – G Chandler Hutchinson
- Pacers – G Aaron Holiday
- Trail Blazers – G Anfernee Simons
- Lakers – F Moritz Wagner
- 76ers – G Landry Shamet
- Celtics – C Robert Williams III
- Warriors – G Jacob Evans
- Nets – F Dzanan Musa
- Hawks – F Omari Spellman
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