Former Florida point guard Tre Mann is heading to Oklahoma City, and an anonymous college basketball coach is a big fan of the pick.
Florida point guard Tre Mann ended a drought of Gators first-round picks in the NBA draft that dated back to 2012. Mann’s selection by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 18th overall pick also made him UF’s first drafted player, period, since Erik Murphy in 2013.
With most projections showing Mann in the early-mid 20s, he heard his name called a bit earlier than most expected. And though his skill set may not exactly translate to a starting-caliber guard, he has enough versatility for one anonymous college basketball coach to be a big fan of the signing, per a report from ESPN.
“He could be a really, really good pick,” the coach said. “He has Kyrie Irving-esque handle. I know that’s blasphemous, but it’s his finishing package, his handle, his creativity.”
Mann’s ball-handling is definitely a major reason why he was so successful slashing toward the basket last season, and though he’s considered a potential combo guard, he may see most of his reps at point for that reason.
He was one of seven SEC players to go in the first round, and the only one of those seven that wasn’t a one-and-done. It’s clear the league is gaining in stature, and coaching is likely a major reason why.
“It’s a testament to the players, but it starts from the leadership up top,” one SEC coach said. “Athletic departments making basketball a priority. The SEC is seen as a football conference, but you look up and down the league, whether it’s [Rick] Barnes, [Eric] Musselman, [John] Calipari, Nate Oats — the coaching in the league, you can put up against any league in the country. The combination of leadership and coaching is a huge, huge part of why the league has been able to take such a big jump.”
Mann wasn’t the only Florida player selected on Thursday night. He was joined by Scottie Lewis, who was taken with the 56th pick in the second round by the Charlotte Hornets. His selection came as a bit of a surprise, as many thought he would go undrafted.
In Oklahoma City, he likely won’t outcompete Kemba Walker and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for starting reps, at least not any time soon. However, the depth behind those two consists of Theo Maledon, Luguentz Dort and 2021 sixth overall pick Josh Giddey. Mann may struggle to see time as a rookie, but he could eventually develop a role off the bench with the Thunder.
Rookie Wire took a look at every NBA team and where their rosters stand ahead of summer league.
Now that the NBA draft has wrapped up, teams and players will now turn to free agency and the start of summer league next week across three different cities.
Of course, the Las Vegas Summer League features all 30 teams and will run Aug. 8-17 on the campus of UNLV. Teams will each play five games apiece during the 10-day, 75-game schedule with contests broadcast on ESPN or NBA TV.
Four teams — Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and two Jazz squads — will compete in the Salt Lake City Summer League Aug. 3-6. In addition, the California Classic will run Aug. 3-4 and feature the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat.
With dozens of notable players going undrafted, those individuals will now work to sign with teams or join summer league rosters in an attempt to earn contracts. Immediately following the draft, several players began joining teams with summer league next week.
Rookie Wire took a look at each team and where their rosters stand ahead of summer league based on announcements or reporting. We will continue to update the rosters as information becomes available.
Note: Rosters include drafted players, though that does not guarantee every draftee will play. Each player listed includes their previous team or school.
San Antonio Spurs rookie Josh Primo is going to work hard and he is going to work fast.
The biggest surprise of the 2021 NBA draft was when the San Antonio Spurs selected Joshua Primo with the No. 12 overall pick. Heck, even he didn’t believe his agent when he first heard the news.
Most analysts had Primo, who doesn’t turn 19 years old until Christmas and is the youngest player who declared for the 2021 NBA draft, pegged somewhere closer to the end of the first round in their mock draft projections. But as recently as April 2021, after the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Primo’s name didn’t appear on a single mock draft.
For some, the pick may be a bit confusing. Fortunately, after getting to know each other a bit during the pre-draft process, Primo and his team invited me to join them to watch the draft unfold.
What I learned, and what can help clear up some confusion, is fairly simple. Many of the scouts and executives I have spoken with believed Primo could have been a lottery pick if he returned for another year of college basketball. So if that’s to be believed, then we already knew Primo bragged lottery-level talent. The question would be whether it would be developed in an NCAA system or an NBA system.
Once he was fully committed to staying in the draft, NBA teams no longer had the option of waiting to see how he would improve as a sophomore. If they wanted him in their organization, they had to strike now.
So when it was time for the No. 12 overall pick and San Antonio was on the clock, as Primo and his family and friends anxiously watched the screen, his agent came over to break the good news. San Antonio made the call. Primo was heading to the Spurs.
Life Sports
“All that hard work, all the moments that you have with your family, it all pours out. It kind of just flowed from there. I let it out,” Primo told For The Win, shortly after his lifelong dream had been realized. “I wasn’t going to hold it back at that point.”
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the number of prospects invited to attend the 2021 NBA draft was limited. Primo didn’t receive the invitation to Barclays Center. Prospects not invited to the green room were not permitted to come shake the commissioner’s hand if they chose to attend in the crowd, so he and his family wound up having their own party.
Though he was actually selected before eight of the players who were invited to the green room, he felt he was exactly where he wanted to be.
“I was able to have family and friends around me and the guys that I worked with over the past few months like Yves Pons and Justin Champagnie, guys that pushed me each and every day. I think it’s an even better situation. I’m here with the people I’ve been grinding with.”
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Ultimately, when San Antonio was on the clock, it was hardly a big deal that his body of work was still relatively limited. It didn’t matter that Primo didn’t begin his season at Alabama in the starting lineup or that he came off the bench during their two games in the NCAA tournament, too.
In fact, the track record of other young guards and wings selected in the first round without much first-unit experience in the NCAA is fruitful. Zach LaVine, who was an All-Star this past season, was selected at No. 13 overall in 2014 despite starting just one game for UCLA. Devin Booker, a two-time All-Star and reigning Western Conference champion, also went No. 13 overall without starting a single game at Kentucky.
Much like with LaVine and Booker, as I wrote in my article about the biggest risers in the draft, Primo physically fits the bill for what NBA teams are looking for. He is 6-foot-5 with a 6-foot-9 wingspan, ideal height and length for a prospect likely to play on the perimeter in the pros.
He also has the most marketable skill there is for a modern NBA: a lethal jump shot. He showed it when he played for Canada’s squad during the U19 World Cup in 2019 and it continued during his time at Alabama.
Primo averaged 1.25 points per possession on his jump shot this past season, per Synergy, which ranked 96th percentile among D-I players. With his size and his shooting, he checked enough boxes for San Antonio and always made sense as a long-term investment.
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“They know I’m able to play a lot of positions on the floor. I’m able to handle the ball and make plays. Of course, my shooting ability is great,” he explained. “They’re a team that is committed to the process. I think that’s what was big for them. I’m a young player coming into this league. They know I’m going to work. I know I’m going to work. We’re going to have fun with this whole thing.”
The main takeaway from my experience with Primo on Thursday night is how much of the pre-draft process doesn’t show up on paper with statistics or on film during the games. NBA organizations are investing millions of dollars into their first-round picks and want to make sure they are confident and believe in the individual they plan to select.
Whether it was from folks who spoke to him at Basketball Without Borders in 2020 or from teammates like Herbert Jones who played alongside him at the collegiate level, I had heard nothing but rave reviews of Primo. I wasn’t surprised when ESPN, SI.com, CBS Sports, BasketballNews.com and Chad Ford all listed Primo as one of the biggest risers following the NBA draft combine.
However, when I interviewed Primo during the pre-draft process, I still found myself blown away by the maturity and wisdom he carried in every answer. His anecdote about why he never quits at anything — except tennis, because he was a 12-year-old kid getting destroyed by 8-year-olds — made me laugh out loud.
He was somebody who understood the proverbial it and is willing to accept whatever role it takes for him to take the next steps in his path to success. All things considered, it was very easy to see why San Antonio decided he was worth the pick. I asked him what his first thoughts were when he put on the hat.
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“Family,” he said. “That’s what they preach. I went to their workout and it’s guys who are going to work hard and they’re going to work with you. When I put that hat on, I knew that they got me and I got them. We’re a part of a huge family organization now.”
When the pre-draft process began, Primo told his agent that he wanted to end up on the Spurs. It’s easy to see why. After all, San Antonio won three titles just in between the time he was born and when he turned five years old.
Even the most casual basketball fan knows the success the organization has had with the likes of longtime players like David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. In terms of development, few prospects flourished after the draft as much as Kawhi Leonard did during his time with the organization.
Primo is well-aware of it all and eager to be next in the lineage of players to thrive on the Spurs.
“I know what they’re about. They have sustained winning for a long period of time and they put in work for the development of their players. That’s very attractive to me,” Primo said. “I’m going to work hard and I tend to work fast. Watch me prove what the Spurs already knew.”
With the NBA draft in the books, Rookie Wire went through and graded all 60 picks.
The NBA draft is officially in the books as 60 prospects heard their names called by teams after a long and grueling process between workouts, interviews and other training.
Of course, the evening had some twists and turns with teams executing trades and other related moves. The draft saw some players taken in their projected range, while others went higher or lower than initially expected to make for one entertaining event.
After the NBA held the draft virtually last year, the festivities returned to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and allowed for some incredible moments. From players’ suits to some wholesome family moments, it was nice to see things return to some form of normalcy.
Now that we’ve had some time to evaluate the picks and trades from Thursday, Rookie Wire went through and graded all 60 picks in the NBA draft.
Former Alabama guard John Petty jr. saw two two of his former Crimson Tide teammates get drafted last night, Josh Primo to the San Antonio Spurs, and Herb Jones to the New Orleans Pelicans. Petty, however, did not hear his name called.
Well, Petty did not have to wait long to receive an opportunity. He will be reportedly joining the Detroit Pistons Summer League roster, a chance for him to show the organization he is able to contribute.
Jonathan Skinner of WBRC news in Birmingham reported the news, but claims Alabama coach Nate Oats was the one to make it public.
Alabama coach Nate Oats says John Petty Jr. will join the Detroit Pistons summer league team after going undrafted last night. pic.twitter.com/SpC96OZ9e4
Former Alabama guard John Petty jr. saw two two of his former Crimson Tide teammates get drafted last night, Josh Primo to the San Antonio Spurs, and Herb Jones to the New Orleans Pelicans. Petty, however, did not hear his name called.
Well, Petty did not have to wait long to receive an opportunity. He will be reportedly joining the Detroit Pistons Summer League roster, a chance for him to show the organization he is able to contribute.
Jonathan Skinner of WBRC news in Birmingham reported the news, but claims Alabama coach Nate Oats was the one to make it public.
Alabama coach Nate Oats says John Petty Jr. will join the Detroit Pistons summer league team after going undrafted last night. pic.twitter.com/SpC96OZ9e4
Do you think Washington can do enough to earn a solid spot on an NBA roster?
Former Ohio State guard Duane Washington, Jr. will have to break into the NBA as an undrafted free agent. His name was not called during the two-round 2021 NBA draft on Thursday night, but shortly thereafter news broke that he was picked up by the Pacers according to sources close to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
It comes by way of a two-way deal. That means Washington will be able to play in the NBA G-League but also spend up to 45 days on an NBA roster. There’s still that chance that Washington does enough while with the team or playing in the G-League that he gets on the active roster with a standard contract.
Ohio State's Duane Washington has agreed to a two-way deal with the Indiana Pacers, source tells ESPN.
Washington going undrafted isn’t really a surprise. He hasn’t shown up on many NBA mock drafts and was always going to be a late-round pick if he went at all. He led Ohio State in scoring last season at 16.4 points per contest but often showed a lack of judgment, especially at end of game situations. His defense also needed work.
However, there’s no denying his ability to score in bunches, and if he can develop those areas the NBA-types like to see, he could carve himself out a spot in the league.
We’ll continue to follow Washington’s career as he tries to get things off the ground.
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The Philadelphia 76ers are selecting Tennessee guard Jaden Springer with the 28h overall pick.
The Philadelphia 76ers began the offseason process on Thursday night with the 2021 NBA draft being the first opportunity to add to their roster. After a long couple of weeks of looking at mock drafts and where the team looked like they would trade the No. 28 pick, they have made their selection.
With the 28th pick, the Sixers are selecting Jaden Springer out of Tennessee. Springer is a good athlete with a solid jump shot as he shot 43.5% from deep with the Volunteers as a freshman. He can bring a lot of good things to Philadelphia’s bench moving forward as a 3-and-D option.
Along with his solid 3-point shot, Springer averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.9 assists and he also averaged 1.2 steals per game. He is a player who can provide production on either end of the floor and he can be a rotational player fairly quickly in Philadelphia with some work.
The Sixers still do have two more picks in this draft in order to add to this roster so it will be interesting to see what president Daryl Morey will do with those selections. Of course, the team could also trade both of those picks as they look to add some win-now players.
Usman Garuba and Josh Christopher join Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun as first-round picks for Houston in the 2021 NBA draft.
The Rockets concluded a massive first-round haul in the 2021 NBA draft by selecting Real Madrid forward Usman Garuba and Arizona State guard Josh Christopher at No. 23 and No. 24 overall, respectively. Houston had acquired those picks via prior trades with Portland and Milwaukee.
Here’s a quick summary of both Garuba and Christopher from Kevin O’Connor’s 2021 NBA draft guide at The Ringer:
Garuba (6-foot-8, 230 pounds) is young but has clear upside. He’s a boulder driving to the rim, a good playmaker, and he’s made steady progress as a shooter. Long-term, he could end up being a steal. There’s a chance he could also help sooner as a strong, versatile defender in the frontcourt.
Christopher (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) could become a microwave scorer in the NBA, but he also brings great defensive potential. He’s a good player to bet on.
O’Connor’s draft guide lists OG Anunoby and Kenneth Faried as players that Garbua has “shades of,” while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nick Young are listed as comparables for Christopher.
Stick with Rockets Wire throughout Thursday night for reaction from Houston general manager Rafael Stone and interviews with each of the four first-round prospects selected by the Rockets. Earlier in the round, Houston took Jalen Green at No. 2 and Alperen Sengun at No. 16 (via a trade with Oklahoma City). All four are only 19 years old.
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Top players available on my big board midway through the first round:
Cam Thomas Usman Garuba Kai Jones Keon Johnson Jalen Johnson Day'Ron Sharpe Sharife Cooper Jaden Springer
The Hornets trade up to No. 19 with the Knicks to draft the Texas big man.
The Charlotte Hornets are having themselves a busy draft night.
Following trading for Mason Plumlee and No. 37 before the NBA draft and selecting James Bouknight with the No. 11 pick, the Hornets jumped back into the first round for a big man.
Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Hornets traded a future first-round pick to the New York Knicks for the No. 19 pick, where Charlotte selected Kai Jones out of Texas.
Kai Jones is 6-foot-11 with tremendous mobility and athleticism for a big. Though Jones is still somewhat raw and growing as a player, he checks off a lot of boxes. Jones pairs his ability to defend multiple positions with his rebounding and rim-running strengths.
With the acquisition of Mason Plumlee, Jones has time to come off the bench, take his licks, and learn. If Jones can continue to grow as an offensive talent and keep improving as a floor spacer, he can become an absolute steal at No. 19 for the Hornets and the center of the future.
Stay tuned to Lonzo Wire to see who the Hornets select with their three second-round picks.
