The Whiteboard: The tl;dr primer for NBA Draft season
By Ian Levy
The Whiteboard is The Step Back’s daily basketball newsletter, covering the NBA, WNBA and more. Subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning.
It’s understandable. You’ve been busy, we all have. The NBA season was interrupted and the college basketball season was canceled. We’ve all been trying to avoid infection in a global pandemic and nobody was really thinking much about the NBA Draft.
You should probably still be wearing a mask and actively avoiding infection but with the NBA Draft date set (Oct. 16) and the order locked in, maybe you have some time to think a bit about what’s coming for your favorite team. You’re still busy though, so we’ve prepped a tl;dr guide to quickly answer some of your biggest questions and get you back to your day.
Who moved up and down in the NBA Draft Lottery?
The Timberwolves (No. 1), Hornets (No. 3) and Bulls (No. 4) moved up. The Warriors (No. 2), Cavaliers (No. 5), Hawks (No. 6), Pistons (No. 7) and Knicks (No. 8) moved down.
Who might the Timberwolves take with the No. 1 pick?
LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards are the most likely options. Onyeka Okongwu and Killian Hayes would be dark horse candidates.
Which teams are probably going to trade their picks?
The Warriors would probably like to package their pick and Andrew Wiggins to land a star(ish) player. The Timberwolves have also said they’ll consider trading No. 1.
Who’s the random guy I have never heard of that everyone on NBA Draft Twitter is going to be raving about for the next two months?
My team needs a 3-and-D wing. Who are the first-round guys I should be paying attention to?
Devin Vassell, Desmond Bane, Josh Green, Saddiq Bey and Aaron Nesmith.
My team needs a starting point guard. Who are the first-round guys I should be paying attention to?
Cole Anthony, Tyrese Maxey, Kira Lewis, and Tyrese Haliburton.
My team just needs a defensive stopper and I don’t even care if he can shoot. Who are the first-round guys I should be paying attention to?
Isaac Okoro and Deni Avdija.
Why doesn’t anyone like James Wiseman or Cole Anthony anymore?
Anthony had a disastrous season at UNC and Wiseman looks like the second-coming of Hassan Whiteside (the Kings version).
Where are all the Duke, UNC and Kentucky guys?
Again, Anthony was a train wreck at UNC. Tre Jones is probably an end-of-the-first-round guy. Tyrese Maxey is fun but only shot 29.2 percent on 3s.
Who is this year’s Bol Bol?
Last year’s Bol Bol. He’ll be eligible for Rookie of the Year next season.
Who is this year’s Duncan Robinson?
Maybe Killian Tillie?
Where can I go to find out more about some of these rando second-round sleepers?
Check out our NBA Draft Big Board.
What if I want to learn from someone who really knows their NBA Draft stuff?
Follow our NBA Draft experts on Twitter — Trevor Magnotti, Jackson Frank, Ben Pfeifer and Trevor Marks.
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If you’re looking for more NBA Draft coverage check out: trade options for the Golden State Warriors, our latest mock draft and our most recent big board with links to detailed scouting reports for every prospect.
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