Jonathan Givony – Page 2 – Syndication Server

See where Johnny Davis goes in the latest ESPN mock draft

See where Johnny Davis lands in ESPN’s latest mock draft with the NBA draft less than a week away:

With the NBA draft less than a week away, ESPN writer Jonathan Givony released one of his final 2022 NBA mock drafts, which projects Jonathan Davis to go in the top 10 picks.

Similar to his earlier mock draft at the beginning of June, Givony projects the AP First-Team All-American to land at No. 10 with the Washington Wizards. Some may remember, that the Wizards were the first team to workout Davis earlier this month.

If Davis ends up landing with the Wizards, he wouldn’t be the first Badger to play there in recent years as former Wisconsin star Sam Dekker played for Washington in the 2018-19 season.

The Thunder viewed favorably by those within the league, per ESPN

This could help the Thunder bring in players via free agency.

In his latest mock draft, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony revealed interesting information about the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the article that dropped on Tuesday, Givony said the Thunder have suddenly become a destination market for players due to the team’s player development history and a stellar work environment where everybody within the organization is on the same page.

“OKC’s rebuild has been viewed favorably by players and agents thanks to the Thunder’s strong player-development infrastructure, coaching staff, organizational culture and a trove of players and future picks assembled that should allow OKC to quickly pivot toward respectability in the near future.”

It’s exciting for Thunder fans to hear this: The biggest knock on the franchise has been its location in small-market Oklahoma City. The Thunder will likely never become a top destination due to this, but if its reputation is improving, that will help the franchise tremendously.

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Recapping ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony’s appearance on ESPN Daily podcast

“Chet Holmgren is the toughest player in this draft in terms of the physicality that he wants to bring, and his will to win. And that’s what makes me think he’s going to be a great NBA player.”

ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony appeared on the ESPN Daily podcast on Monday with host Pablo Torre to discuss the 2022 NBA draft.

Let’s take a look at some of the more noteworthy quotes and paraphrases that relate to the Oklahoma City Thunder — who own three top-34 picks which includes the No. 2 and No. 12 picks.

Givony specifically mentioned that the Thunder — who own several draft picks — can essentially do whatever they want this draft as they have the luxury to overpay in trade packages with draft picks and current players other teams like that aren’t named Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey.

Order of top three in 2022 NBA draft unclear as ever, per ESPN

The only thing certain is that the top three will be made up of Jabari Smith Jr., Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero.

In his latest 2022 NBA mock draft, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony wrote that the order Auburn forward Jabari Smith Jr., Gonzaga forward Chet Holmgren and Duke forward Paolo Banchero will be taken remains as uncertain as it has been since the lottery.

“While the Big Three of Auburn’s Jabari Smith, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren and Duke’s Paolo Banchero have remained consistent, the order in which those three players are selected remains less than locked in as private workouts continue.”

For the longest time, the majority opinion held Smith Jr. would go to the Orlando Magic, Holmgren would go to the Thunder and Banchero would go to the Houston Rockets.

But that opinion has been shaken, and betting lines have shifted from Smith Jr. being the overwhelming favorite to Smith Jr. and Holmgren being a toss up for the first pick.

Givony, though, still has Smith Jr., Holmgren and Banchero going in that order in his latest mock. The 2022 NBA draft is just a week away on June 23, so the rumors and reports out there are only going to get louder.

Thunder conducted workouts with Chet Holmgren and Jaden Ivey in pre-draft visits, per ESPN

While it was a safe assumption to make, it’s now been officially reported.

In his latest mock draft, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony confirmed that the Oklahoma City Thunder have worked out or plan on working out top prospects Gonzaga forward Chet Holmgren and Purdue guard Jaden Ivey.

“The Thunder will conduct workouts with all of the top prospects in the class, including Smith, Holmgren, Banchero, Sharpe, Jaden Ivey and others.”

While it was a safe assumption to make that the team with the second overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft worked out and met with all of the top prospects, this is the first time it’s been officially confirmed by a draft expert that the Thunder have met with Holmgren and Ivey.

Both players are expected to go in the top five, with Holmgren penciled in with the Thunder for the majority of the draft process. Although, that’s a bit less of a guarantee now in recent days due to changing Las Vegas odds and Givony himself admitting that the top three can go in any order.

With the draft just a little over a week away on June 23, it will be interesting to see how things shake out.

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Thunder aggressively trying to trade up in 2022 NBA draft for Shaedon Sharpe, Jaden Ivey, per ESPN

Would you trade Lu Dort if it meant getting one of Shaedon Sharpe or Jaden Ivey?

In his latest mock draft, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony reported that the Oklahoma City Thunder are aggressively trying to move up from No. 12 in the 2022 NBA draft in hope of being able to snag someone like Shaedon Sharpe or Jaden Ivey.

“The Thunder are said to be aggressively pursuing trade conversations for this pick, seeking to package it with future assets or existing OKC players in order to move into the mid-lottery, with players including Jaden Ivey and Shaedon Sharpe believed to be among the potential prospects they covet.”

In the same article, Givony has the Sacramento Kings taking Ivey fourth overall but adds that the Kings are not Ivey’s preferred destination. Givony then listed several teams who are interested in moving up to No. 4 with the Thunder being one of them.

Rival teams think a trade package that centers around Lu Dort could potentially entice the Kings to accept a deal as they are looking to contend for the playoffs this upcoming season.

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Vasilije Micic ready to play for the NBA but not for the Thunder, per ESPN

It appears that Vasilije Micic’s interest in the NBA is legit this time around.

There has been recent speculation surrounding former EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic finally wanting to make the jump to the NBA this upcoming season and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirmed those reports in his recent article that details the perfect 2022 NBA draft for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Those 15 contracts don’t include draft rights OKC holds in 28-year old Vasilije Micic, arguably the best point guard in Europe, who is intent on making his way to the NBA, a source told ESPN, but isn’t an ideal fit with the Thunder’s timeline considering the plethora of young talent the team already has in the backcourt.”

While Micic being interested in joining the NBA next season has been floated around several times throughout the years, Givony reporting it makes it essentially true this time around and isn’t just a ploy from Micic’s camp during contract negotiations with EuroLeague clubs.

It looks like Micic, who is 28 years old, does not want his waste time being in a backcourt logjam on a rebuilding team and would prefer to be on a contender. The feeling is probably mutual with the Thunder as it doesn’t make a ton of sense to add Micic onto the roster as player development will be the top priority next season. So a trade is the only solution to this predicament.

The only question left is figuring out what Micic’s trade value exactly is. The answer is probably worth around the same as a late first-round pick to a couple of second-round picks. While Micic is an accomplished basketball player, it’s unknown how he would play against NBA competition.

The Thunder acquired Micic in the Al Horford trade from the Philadelphia 76ers, who drafted him 52nd overall in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft.

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Shaedon Sharpe would love to be drafted by the Thunder, per ESPN

If Sharpe is there after 6, should the Thunder trade up?

In his recent article detailing the perfect 2022 NBA draft for the Oklahoma City Thunder, ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony. At the 12th spot, Givony surprisingly mentioned Kentucky guard Shaedon Sharpe being there and the Thunder taking him. The most interesting part of his analysis is the fact that Givony has heard that Sharpe welcomes being drafted to the Thunder for basketball reasons.

“Sharpe is conducting competitive 3-on-3 workouts for most, but not all of the teams picking in the top 10, with his floor likely being this spot for the Thunder, who will be getting a visit and have studied him more closely than any team in the NBA. Sharpe dropping to 12th on draft night would be surprising, but not unimaginable. Not every team picking in the 5-10 range has a great handle on what Sharpe’s game is, and not all would be willing to give him the freedom and reps he’d need to learn on the fly and make up for the experience he missed by skipping his senior year of high school, opting not to play at Kentucky and heading straight to the NBA. Sharpe’s camp also doesn’t sound overly concerned with where he’s picked, preferring to take a long-term view in steering him to an advantageous development situation in which he can maximize his significant potential and become an All-Star, with the Thunder being at the top of their list.”

Hearing that Sharpe — the biggest mystery of the draft — has the Thunder at the top of his list of preferred teams to be drafted by must be music for the fanbase’s ears. While second overall is too rich for taking Sharpe, having him available at No. 12 is way too good to pass up on. One can even argue that if Sharpe is available after No. 6, then the Thunder should give max effort in attempting to trade back up.

The 2022 NBA draft is scheduled to be held on June 23.

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ESPN reports most within the league believe the Thunder will take Chet Holmgren second overall in 2022 NBA draft

Most teams within league believe Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren will go first and second, respectively, in 2022 NBA draft.

In his latest article, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports those within the NBA expect the Orlando Magic to select Jabari Smith Jr. first and the Oklahoma City Thunder to select Chet Holmgren second.

“Tuesday’s lottery removed one of the big questions from the 2022 NBA draft — who is picking first? — and cleared a path for Smith to make a short trip from Atlanta to join what’s becoming one of the most interesting young rosters in the NBA in the Orlando Magic. While Magic executives have made it clear they will conduct a thorough process — even extending beyond the widely believed top three prospects in Smith, Holmgren and Paolo Banchero — most NBA teams firmly believe that’s a formality and that Smith is all but assured to become the top pick. Smith, for his part, appears thrilled with that development. So is Holmgren over his looming marriage with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is also the overwhelming expectation from NBA executives with whom we spoke at the draft combine.”

All the pieces to the puzzle were there for one to safely conclude that Holmgren was going to be taken by the Thunder. Following the 2022 NBA draft lottery, most draft experts had Holmgren going to the Thunder in their post-lottery mocks. Givony — one of the best NBA draft experts out there — just added a ton more legitimacy to this with his recent article that detailed many teams inside the league expect Smith Jr. and Holmgren to go first and second.

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Speculation surrounding the Thunder potentially promising former Michigan forward Caleb Houstan a draft selection

Caleb Houstan, who was once considered a top-10 prospect, could potentially go 30th overall by the Thunder in 2022 NBA draft.

In their article that dropped on Monday discussing the 2022 NBA draft combine, The Athletic’s John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie talked about the possibility of the Oklahoma City Thunder once again promising a draft prospect they will select them in the draft.

Michigan forward Caleb Houstan did not participate during the combine, leaving many league insiders to believe that he has gained a draft promise from an NBA team.

“Finally, Oklahoma City’s pick at No. 30 was the topic of other speculation. Michigan forward Caleb Houstan was notably absent from the week’s proceedings, with many league insiders suspecting he had a promise from a team in return for shutting down his draft process. Suspicion immediately went to the Thunder, given their surplus of picks and long history of making their draft pick in April. Houstan wouldn’t even be the first Michigan guy they did this with. (Hello, Mitch McGary!)”

Like the article mentioned, the Thunder have a history of making promises to draft picks with Aleksej Pokusevski being the most recent notable example of this. With that said, this does not mean Houstan is a lock to go to Oklahoma City; plenty of other teams make draft promises too, it’s just that the Thunder are one of the more widely known teams to do so.

For what it’s worth, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony also had Houstan mocked to the Thunder for similar reasons in his post-lottery mock draft article.

“The Thunder have precious few roster spots at their disposal and four draft picks (three first-rounders), meaning there is a decent chance they won’t be making this selection ultimately. One of the big mysteries surrounding the 2022 NBA draft will be where Caleb Houstan, a onetime projected top-10 pick, ends up. Houstan declined his invite to the NBA combine, indicating there might be something to the rumors of a first-round promise, or that Houstan has a landing spot he’s comfortable with. Houstan’s positional size, defensive awareness and perimeter shooting gives him a high floor as a prospect, despite his disappointing freshman season at Michigan.”

If the Thunder are to select Houstan, it will likely be with one of their latter picks at 30th overall or 34th overall.

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