Maybe the biggest competition tonight will be as reporters Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania are battling the league and each other in order to spoil as many picks as possible on Twitter before NBA Commissioner Adam Silver officially makes the announcements.
This however, will remain a spoiler-free zone.
Timberwolves trade
Also we have a report that the Minnesota Timberwolves have traded up for the number six pick, trading Dario Saric and the number 11 pick to the Phoenix Suns. The Suns also traded the number 32 pick and TJ Warren to the Indiana Pacers for cash earlier today, so they’re essentially swapping Warren for Saric.
SportsCenter
(@SportsCenter)Minnesota traded up for the No. 6 pick.
The last time the Timberwolves picked 6th overall was 2009, when they took Jonny Flynn one pick ahead of Steph Curry. pic.twitter.com/8ki1flTEJp
Okay that’s not a great precedent.
Pelicans have already made a trade
No, they’re keeping the number one pick, don’t be silly.
Instead, the Pelicans will receive the No. 8, 17 & 35 picks from the Atlanta Hawks, who will pick up the No. 4 & 57 pick along with Solomon Hill and a future second-rounder. Basically, they are trading the biggest pick they received from the Lakers in the Antonio Davis trade and doubling up on their first-round picks tonight. Not a bad trade considering that after the Top Three, there are not a lot of certainties here and Hill was taking up $12.7 million next season. The Hawks clearly have someone they like there at number four (De’Andre Hunter is the rumor).
Andrew Lopez
(@_Andrew_Lopez)Anthony Davis has turned into:
– Lonzo Ball
– Brandon Ingram
– Josh Hart
– No. 8 pick in 19
– No. 17 pick in 19
– No. 35 pick in 19
– L.A.’ 21 pick if top 8
– L.A.’ 22 pick if not
– L.A. swap in 23
– L.A.’ 1st in either 24 or 25And got rid of Solomon Hill’s contract.
Preamble
Welcome to the 2019 NBA Draft, where teams select the stars, role players and (sadly) busts of the future. Over two rounds, franchises will select college standouts and hope to find the right pieces to improve their rosters (or package in trades). It’s a bit of a crapshoot, and it takes years before we know whether or not teams have hit the jackpot or if they’ve just set their hard-earned draft picks on fire.
Of course, that doesn’t prevent us from judging their selections almost immediately. It’s ridiculous but we do live in the Take Economy. Unfortunately, even the most judgmental of us (this writer included) is going to have trouble declaring winners or losers here given the fact that after the first three selections or so, this is one of the most question-mark filled drafts in recent memory. There are simply not enough known quantities on the board to know if any team is making the right decision here.
Unless, of course, the New Orleans Pelicans decide to pass on Duke’s Zion Williamson. That’s about as wrong decision as possible. Chances are that it’s not going to happen as there’s a 99.9% chance that they will choose Williamson to be the successor to Anthony Davis, who they agreed to trade to the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this week.
In any case, whatever happens over the course of the next few hours, we’ll be here documenting it. If you’d like to contribute to the liveblog, feel free to send us your thoughts, predictions, hopes and analysis either via email (to [email protected]) or Twitter (to @HunterFelt). The ESPN broadcast is about to start here at 7:00pm EST, but it will likely be a bit before teams start making their selections.
Hunter will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a look at the order for tonight’s first round.
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New York Knicks
- New Orleans Pelicans (from LA Lakers)
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Phoenix Suns
- Chicago Bulls
- Atlanta Hawks
- Washington Wizards
- Atlanta Hawks (from Dallas)
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Charlotte Hornets
- Miami Heat
- Boston Celtics (from Sacramento via Philadelphia)
- Detroit Pistons
- Orlando Magic
- Atlanta Hawks (from Brooklyn)
- Indiana Pacers
- San Antonio Spurs
- Boston Celtics (from LA Clippers via Memphis)
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Boston Celtics
- Memphis Grizzlies (from Utah)
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Cleveland Cavaliers (from Houston)
- Brooklyn Nets (from Denver)
- Golden State Warriors
- San Antonio Spurs (from Toronto)
- Detroit Pistons (from Milwaukee)
Updated