Report: Nets receive Landry Shamet for No. 19 pick in trade with Clippers

Landry Shamet is now a member of the Nets after Brooklyn traded the No. 19 pick to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Nets technically had to make selection at No. 19 in the 2020 NBA draft, but the pick was moved minutes before Brooklyn’s pick was in.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the Nets had moved the pick, but Saddiq Bey all but confirmed the move when he was announced as the No. 19 pick in the 2019 NBA draft, putting on a Detroit Pistons hat instead of a Nets cap after his name was called.

But while the No. 19 pick wound up in Detroit, Brooklyn didn’t receive anything from the Pistons.

Instead, the Nets received Landry Shamet from the Los Angeles Clippers, who took Brooklyn’s pick and flipped it and Rodney McGruder for Detroit guard Luke Kennard.

Shamet was the No. 26 overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft out of Wichita State, taken by the 76ers. Philadelphia then traded him in the middle of the 2018-19 season to the Clippers.

In his lone full season with the Clippers, Shamet average 9.3 points per game and shot 37.5% from deep while playing 27.4 minutes per game.

 

Twitter reacts to Isaac Okoro getting drafted 5th overall by Cleveland Cavaliers

Twitter was on fire after former Auburn star Isaac Okoro was drafted fifth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.

ISAAC OKORO HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN DRAFTED 5TH OVERALL BY THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS!

You all know what this means, in addition to being fans of the Orlando Magic we must now become fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers as well. The timeline went absolutely bananas when the news broke. Here’s how it began (WOJ BOMB SPOILER ALERT)!

And then it became official:

Side note: Bruce Pearl appears to have given an interview on the side of the road.

 

Just kidding, it was a parking lot. Still hilarious.

War Eagle! If anyone asks we have all been lifelong Cavalier fans (and Magic fans too). Congratulations Isaac!

Spike Lee had a priceless reaction to the Magic drafting Cole Anthony

Award-winning film producer Spike Lee was among those in attendance at Cole Anthony’s draft party on Wednesday.

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With the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic on Wednesday selected guard Cole Anthony from the University of North Carolina.

Anthony was widely projected to be selected in the middle of the first round and that proved to be true when NBA commissioner Adam Silver called his name at No. 15. Anthony said last week that the Magic were one of three teams he worked out with prior to the draft.

Following the selection, the camera panned to his draft party, which included his father, Greg, who played for the New York Knicks in the mid-1990s, and the rest of his family. However, one person caught fans a bit off-guard: Award-winning film director Spike Lee.

Of course, Lee has been a noted fan of the Knicks for several decades and often sits courtside at Madison Square Garden. He was in attendance in the mid-90s when Greg played with the Knicks and has known the Anthony family for quite some time.

As for Anthony’s reaction, the 20-year-old was visibly emotional after enduring a disappointing freshman season at North Carolina. He was excited to move onto the next step of his career and that will soon take place in Central Florida.

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Twitter loved Obi Toppin’s emotional reaction to Knicks drafting him

Toppin, who was born in Brooklyn, was overcome with emotion when the hometown Knicks selected him and Twitter loved it.

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On Wednesday, the New York Knicks selected Associated Press Player of the Year Obi Toppin from the University of Dayton with the eighth overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

The Knicks were reportedly high on Toppin throughout the pre-draft process and were even said to have been considering a trade up in order to select him. Toppin said last week the Knicks were one of four teams he had worked out with during the pre-draft process.

Following the selection, Toppin, who was born in Brooklyn, was overcome with emotion to join his hometown team. He said it meant everything in the world to play for the Knicks and he will now have that opportunity beginning next season.

To be the No. 8 overall pick didn’t seem all that likely to Toppin that long ago. He was unranked out of high school and was eventually forced to sit out his freshman year at Dayton. Needless to say, his journey to this point was unique and it will be a night he’ll never forget.

His reaction resonated with fans on social media as NBA Twitter immediately fell in love with him after the Knicks selected him with the eighth pick.

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Celtics take sharpshooter Aaron Nesmith with 14th pick of 2020 NBA draft

The Boston Celtics got their 3-point flamethrower.

The Boston Celtics got their sharpshooter in the 2020 NBA draft, taking Vanderbilt forward Aaron Nesmith with the 14th overall pick.

The Celtics evidently were not among the teams concerned with the forward’s injury history, rumored to push the prospect’s stock down as the draft drew closer.

Nesmith is among the draft’s best shooters, having hit an absurd 52.2% of his treys as a sophomore at Vanderbilt, which he launched to the tune of 8.2 per game to score 23 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

 

Check back shortly for more details about this developing story.

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BREAKING: Kira Lewis Jr. drafted by New Orleans Pelicans

Former Alabama guard Kira Lewis will begin his NBA career with the New Orleans Pelicans.

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Former Alabama guard Kira Lewis Jr. has been drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans with the No. 13 overall pick in the first round of the 2020 NBA draft.

Lewis spent two years with the Crimson Tide where he was often the youngest member of the squad, first joining the team in 2018 as a 17-year old.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats had high praise for Lewis, not only as a player, but also as a person.

“He’s got zero red flags as a kid. He’s a great person off the floor. He works hard. He’s in the gym. Teams can see how good he is on film,” Oats said.

Lewis was a consistent leader for the Crimson Tide, making plays himself, or being abe to create plays. The one ability he possesses that sets him apart from the others is his speed, which teams have most definitley factored into their decision.

Roll Tide Wire congratulates Kira and looks forward to keeping up with him as he begins his NBA career!

LaMelo, Lonzo Ball become first ever brothers drafted in top five of NBA Draft

Lonzo and LaMelo Ball made history on Wednesday night by becoming the first pair of brothers drafted in the top five in NBA history.

The Ball family has been paving untrodden path form much of their lives and that was the case once more on Wednesday. With LaMelo Ball being selected No. 3 overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2020 NBA Draft, he and Lonzo become the first set of brothers to be top-5 draft picks in league history.

Only one other set of brothers were selected in the top 10 in league history, Eugene and Purvis Short in the 1975 and 1978 NBA Drafts, respectively. Eugene was drafted No. 9 and Purvis was drafted No. 5. Conversely, Lonzo was the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers before LaMelo went one spot later on Wednesday.

LaMelo’s draft stock was murky at times but hardly ever seemed like he would fall out of the top five. His pair of workouts with the Minnesota Timberwolves individually and then a group workout with the Warriors, Hornets and Pistons solidified his spot in the top three and ensured the brothers could make history.

The Hornets drafted LaMelo Ball and NBA fans had lots of jokes about LaVar Ball and Michael Jordan

Oh boy.

LaVar Ball is famous for talking a big game. He once said that Lonzo Ball was better than two-time MVP Steph Curry two years ago when he was still playing at UCLA, for example.

He also told us that he would not only beat Michael Jordan in a game of 1-on-1, but he would actually destroy him. One of the greatest basketball players of all time. Destroy him.

That is some confidence. Now, though, he might get a chance to back it up. The Hornets picked LaMelo Ball with the 3rd overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, so he’ll definitely be seeing a lot more of Jordan soon.

The internet remembered LaVar Ball’s challenge from a couple of years ago and had so many jokes.

So good. We absolutely need this streamed.

 

Rockets plan to use larger mid-level exception after trading Ariza

By dipping further away from the hard salary cap, Houston opens up the potential of using the full mid-level exception for a free agent.

The Houston Rockets plan to use the largest mid-level exception (MLE) to sign a free agent this offseason after trading Trevor Ariza’s salary into Detroit’s cap space, according to media reports.

The full MLE is worth a starting salary of ~$9.3 million, which is what Houston will now be able to offer when free agency opens this Friday. Per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the Rockets believe this will allow them to sign a “significantly better player” than by offering the smaller MLE.

The tradeoff with using the “full” MLE is that it implements a hard salary cap at the luxury tax “apron” level of ~$138.9 million. Without shedding Ariza’s $12.8-million salary, Houston’s team payroll (with a full MLE addition) would have almost certainly exceeded the hard cap. Thus, Houston would have been limited to the “taxpayer” MLE (~$5.7 million).

The Rockets will also generate a sizable traded player exception (TPE) in the deal, since Ariza is being absorbed into cap space by Detroit. However, Houston probably can’t use the full TPE and the larger MLE this offseason, since using both would likely push them over the hard cap.

Depending on future moves by Rockets GM Rafael Stone that might alter team payroll, that TPE could potentially prove useful down the line. (The TPE will last until an equivalent point in the 2021 offseason.) Or it could be used in the interim, but in a smaller amount.

In the Ariza salary dump, the Rockets also traded the No. 16 pick in Wednesday’s 2020 draft for a future first-round selection (with protections) from Detroit. Houston believes that a future pick could have more value in trade talks, as opposed to a prospect that has already been selected, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

Free agency is set to open at 5:00 p.m. Central on Friday.

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Twitter reacts as Timberwolves pick UGA’s Anthony Edwards first

Social media reacted as the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Georgia Bulldogs star Anthony Edwards number one overall in the 2020 NBA Draft.

The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Georgia Bulldogs standout basketball player Anthony Edwards number one overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. Edwards is the first Georgia basketball prospect to be selected with the top pick.

Edwards is considered one of the top NBA prospects to ever come out of the University of Georgia. In fact, Edwards is the highest selected played in UGA basketball history. NBA legend Dominique Wilkins was the previous record. Wilkins was picked third overall in the 1982 NBA Draft.

Here’s how social media reacted to the selection of Georgia Bulldogs star Anthony Edwards:

It is a memorable day for Anthony Edwards, who honored members of his family: