Tag: NBA Draft

Isaiah Collier has a lot of work to do to elevate his NBA draft stock

Isaiah Collier has to find new ways of being effective while realizing he can help his team by being patient.

Isaiah Collier knows he is good. Andy Enfield and the USC coaching staff know he can be better.

Let’s start with the good stuff. The 6-foot-3 guard was the No. 2 overall prospect in his class as rated by 247Sports. He has used his unique blend of size, speed and strength to already become one of the best guards in the 2023 class.

Through his first four games with USC, Collier averaged 21 points, 3.8 assists, 3 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 52% overall, 42% beyond the arc and 81% from the free throw line. On Thursday against Seton Hall, Collier scored 14 points with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. That’s a lot of production. However, Collier also committed five turnovers and did not make a lot of good decisions.

In order for Collier to take the next step in his development he will have to cut down on his turnovers. In five games, Collier has turned the ball over 26 times.

The NBA draft analysis site Draft Express noted that “Collier’s feel for the game and flair in changing speeds and passing off a live dribble have obvious appeal combined with the competitive mindset he brings defensively and all-around basketball instincts. His perimeter shooting is the biggest question NBA scouts have about his game, something we’ll learn more about this season. He should have the keys to USC’s offense and a huge platform to show he’s worthy of consideration as the No. 1 pick.”

In USC’s last three games — against UC Irvine, Brown, and on Thursday against Seton Hall — Collier has fallen well short of that top-pick standard. He is going to be a lottery pick. He is almost certain to be a top-10 pick, but if Collier wants to at least stay in the top five and realistically move into the top three, he will need to be a lot more patient than he was against Seton Hall. He will need to show he can attack defenses in different ways. He will also need to help big men Joshua Morgan, Vince Iwuchukwu, and Kijani Wright get more involved in the USC offense.

Isaiah Collier has a lot of work to do, and Andy Enfield needs to help him see the game in a new way as USC’s season moves along.

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Re-drafting the Chicago Bulls recent NBA Draft picks

How have the Chicago Bulls done at drafting in recent years?

For the last couple of seasons, the Chicago Bulls have boasted a new-look core led by Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic, none of whom were drafted by the organization. But among the pack lies the likes of Coby White, Patrick Williams, and Ayo Dosunmu, who were selected by the Bulls in recent years.

Unfortunately, despite their overall lack of recent success, the Bulls have failed to draft any stars in the NBA Draft. Guys like Mikal Bridges, Tyler Herro, and Tyrese Haliburton have slipped through the cracks, going just a few picks after the Bulls made their selections.

The Bulls Central YouTube channel went through some of Chicago’s recent draft picks and rewrote history, re-drafting the Bulls’ picks.

What have been the Bulls’ worst draft mistakes in recent history?

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NBA fans hate the idea of the draft potentially being split into 2 days

An extra day added to the draft? You can keep that to yourself, NBA.

The NBA draft is already pretty good as is.

Like any draft, there’s plenty of drama to start — especially when you have no idea who the No. 1 overall pick will be.

Sometimes we get drafts like the one we just had where Victor Wembanyama was the surefire first choice for the Spurs at No. 1. Those drafts are fun, too, because everyone wants to see the guy get drafted. And then there’s so much intrigue the rest of the way as far as who goes behind him.

It doesn’t really feel like there’s much we need to add to the equation. The draft is great. It’s in a solid spot.

Yet, for whatever reason, the NBA is considering adding another day to all the action, according to the latest reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

The first immediate question you have to ask yourself is why? Why is the NBA trying to mess up a good thing here?

It’s not like there’s another round for the league to broadcast. What’s the sell here? The answer appears to be teams just want more time between draft picks — even in the second-round.

As it stands, teams get five minutes to make first-round picks and just two minutes to make second-round picks. From that perspective, sure, it makes sense.

But does that really require a second day of the draft? Couldn’t things just start a bit earlier at 7 p.m. instead? That way there’s an extra hour baked in instead of an entire day. 

This just doesn’t make a ton of sense. Fans weren’t here for it at all.

LA Clippers add Josh Primo to full-time active roster

Josh Primo’s two-way Clippers contracted converted to a standard NBA deal

Former Alabama shooting guard Josh Primo was one of the most promising prospects to come out of the program all-time as he was selected 12th overall by the San Antonio Spurs. At the time of the 2021 NBA draft when Primo was selected, he was only 18 years old and one of the youngest draft picks in the past couple of years. In 54 games with the Spurs, Primo averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 37.2 percent shooting in 19.6 minutes per game.

Unfortunately, things did not work out with the Spurs and he was ultimately released by the team in Oct. of 2022. After spending nearly a year away from the game, the Los Angeles Clippers swooped in to sign Primo to a two-way contract on Sept. 29. On Monday, Primo’s two-way deal was converted into a standard NBA contract meaning he will be entirely with the active NBA roster and won’t spend time playing with their G-League affiliate.

Between Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Paul George the Clippers have a lot of really expensive players on their roster. Meaning, that they will need young and cheap players like Primo to give them reliable minutes when the stars are sitting out as they get older. The Clippers especially have been notorious for allowing players to indulge in load management so I think Primo will get good minutes in LA.

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Matas Buzelis: Choosing the G League over college was the best choice for me

The NBA community is marveling at Victor Wembanyama, but next year’s draft promises fresh talent too, including Matas Buzelis. Buzelis is bypassing college to play for the G League Ignite, honing his skills for the NBA jump. The potential No. 1 …

The NBA community is marveling at Victor Wembanyama, but next year’s draft promises fresh talent too, including Matas Buzelis. Buzelis is bypassing college to play for the G League Ignite, honing his skills for the NBA jump.

The potential No. 1 draft pick sat down with HoopsHype to talk about his life as a professional basketball player, the different advice he’s gotten from NBA players past and present, the upcoming release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and more.

Where ESPN projects Houston’s 2024 NBA draft assets to land

ESPN’s @DraftExpress projects Houston to receive the No. 10 and No. 40 picks in the 2024 NBA draft from Brooklyn while sending No. 8 and No. 38 to Oklahoma City.

The Houston Rockets have a somewhat complicated NBA draft outlook for the 2024 cycle, which takes place in June.

As part of the ill-fated July 2019 trade involving Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook, Houston’s own first-round pick in 2024 is headed to the Oklahoma City Thunder in most scenarios. However, because that pick is top-four protected, the Rockets would retain it if they are bad enough and/or fortunate enough to secure one of the NBA’s top-four picks awarded in the May 2024 draft lottery.

On the other hand, the Rockets have an unprotected first-round selection headed their way from Brooklyn. The Nets have a very uncertain outlook for the 2023-24 season in the aftermath of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving each leaving the team last February.

In the second round, Houston’s own pick is headed to Oklahoma City, but it should have three picks coming in (with very light protections) from the Thunder, Nets and Golden State Warriors.

So, what types of picks are those likely to be, based on current rosters? Here’s a guess by ESPN draft guru Jonathan Givony:

  • Oklahoma City gets the No. 8 pick from Houston
  • Houston gets the No. 10 pick from Brooklyn
  • Oklahoma City gets the No. 38 pick from Houston
  • Houston gets the No. 40 pick from Brooklyn
  • Houston gets the No. 44 pick from Oklahoma City
  • Houston gets the No. 54 pick from Golden State

As it stands, Givony seemingly expects the Rockets and Nets to be in a very similar tier as it pertains to their records.

Should that be the case, the picks headed Houston’s way from the James Harden blockbuster in February 2021 would largely cancel out those headed to Oklahoma City in the much-maligned 2019 trade.

It’s far from a perfect draft outcome for the Rockets, but it would mitigate at least some of the damage, in terms of asset management.

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Is there a realistic path to the Boston Celtics drafting Bronny James?

We have our doubts, but some intrepid analysts broke down why it isn’t likely to go down.

As unlikely as it might seem, there have been NBA analysts trying to wrap their heads around what might happen if the Boston Celtics ended up drafting Bronny James — the son of longtime Celtics nemesis LeBron James — in the not-too-distant future.

The Celtics are likely to be picking in the range the younger James is projected to go in (toward the end of the first round), and LeBron has made it clear he wants to play a season with Bronny when he gets to the league. Could LeBron end up retiring a Celtic? These sorts of debates tend to see the light of day only when the news cycle is at its lowest, but the folks behind the “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast convened for a recent episode where they broke down just how unlikely this potential scenario would be regardless.

To hear this and about the trickle of news still making its way to the surface, check out the clip embedded below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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OKC Thunder ranked No. 1 in terms of draft assets

. @EricPincus ranked the entire league in terms of future draft currency.

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Over the last few years, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been well known for being one of the richest teams in the league in draft capital.

The Thunder’s Paul George trade with the LA Clippers jumpstarted that reputation. It gave them an historic number of draft picks along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Danilo Gallinari.

Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus recently ranked the entire league based on draft assets. The Thunder were No. 1. That strong endorsement shows how  OKC’s future could limitless considering how much currency the team could spend.

“The Thunder’s cache of draft picks is the largest in league history. And it’s not like the team is actively tanking. This season, they may make the playoffs with players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (All-NBA First Team), Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort and incoming rookies Chet Holmgren and Cason Wallace.

When the time comes to go shopping in trade, the franchise has all the ammunition it needs for a blockbuster (Joel Embiid, perhaps?). Can any other franchise compete with a motivated Oklahoma City?”

The full treasure chest of draft picks can be viewed below:

Own: 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030

Incoming: 2024 (Houston Rockets, protected), 2024 (LA Clippers), 2024 (Utah Jazz, protected), 2025 (Miami Heat, protected), 2025 (Philadelphia 76ers, protected), 2026 (Rockets, protected), 2026 (Clippers), 2027 (Denver Nuggets, protected), 2029 (Nuggets, protected)

Swaps: 2025 (Clippers, Brooklyn Nets or Rockets)

Traded Away: 2024 (lowest of Rockets, Clippers, Jazz and Thunder to Indiana Pacers)

Second-Rounders

Guaranteed: 19

Contingent: Six

Pincus’ team-by-team ranking of draft assets can be viewed here.

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Boston Celtics rated eighth-best team in terms of draft assets

This is unusual for a team in the thick of title contention.

When it comes to the ranking of NBA teams based on their future draft assets, the Boston Celtics are surprisingly well off for a contending ball club according to a recent analysis by Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus. Per the B/R analyst, the Celtics are “an oddity as a contender that also has a rich list of draft assets.”

“Outside of a pick swap to San Antonio in 2028 (with slight protection), the Celtics have all of their own firsts,” he adds. “The team also added one from the Golden State Warriors in 2024 in the Marcus Smart swap, bringing in Kristaps Porzingis.”

“The Celtics also have 8-10 seconds, which is impressive for a team that typically gets to at least the Eastern Conference Finals nearly every year,” relates Pincus — let’s take a look at what those assets are.

Rockets ranked No. 12 among NBA teams in future draft assets

Bleacher Report’s @EricPincus ranks the #Rockets at No. 12 among NBA teams in future draft assets, with incoming first-round capital from Brooklyn offsetting what is owed to Oklahoma City.

Though they’re still at least in some phase of a franchise rebuild, the Houston Rockets are clearly at a pivot point.

Starting with 2023-24, Houston’s next three years of its own first-round draft capital is largely controlled by Oklahoma City due to the ill-fated trade involving Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook in July 2019.

That’s a big reason the Rockets were so aggressive in signing veteran free agents Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks this offseason. Houston likely will not reap any rewards for being one of the league’s worst teams any longer.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that after the January 2021 trade that sent James Harden to the Nets, the Rockets control Brooklyn’s first-round assets through 2027. Here is Houston’s updated draft outlook through 2030.

There’s also the argument that Houston might not need prospects in future years. Talented young players Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason, Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore are already in place from first-round picks in recent drafts.

Even so, draft capital can facilitate a blockbuster trade (Joel Embiid, anyone?). With that in mind, where do the Rockets stand among the NBA’s 30 teams? As one might expect, they are somewhere in the middle. The incoming draft capital from Brooklyn largely offsets what’s owed to the Thunder.

In a list placing the Rockets 12th among all teams, here’s how Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report sees Houston’s situation:

The Rockets still owe draft capital for Westbrook but also have a couple of potentially valuable unprotected firsts from the Nets for Harden. Houston always seems involved with the more complex obligations in the league, like the higher of the lower of the higher of the lower type swaps.

The first in 2024 to the Thunder is only top-4 protected, which may be why the team was more aggressive in adding quality veterans like Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Even if the team tanked from the start, lottery odds wouldn’t guarantee that high a selection — and the addition of coach Ime Udoka wasn’t to continue mining the top of the draft for talent.

Houston also has a solid list of second-round picks, as two of the four contingent picks will likely stay, assuming the Rockets give their 2024 selection to Oklahoma City.

Pincus’ complete team-by-team ranking of future draft assets can be viewed here. Not surprisingly, with the Paul-Westbrook trade as a key factor, the Thunder rank No. 1 among the NBA’s 30 franchises.

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