Tag: NBA Draft

Did the Warriors uncover another gem in Quinten Post?

Will Quinten Post make an impact for the Golden State Warriors this season?

The Golden State Warriors drafted Quinten Post with the 52nd pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. The Boston College product is expected to provide floor spacing from the center position if he can crack Steve Kerr’s rotation and be the latest second-rounder that immediately makes an impact on Golden State’s roster.

The Warriors had originally traded the 52nd pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but re-acquired the selection for draft considerations before selecting Post. Golden State is now hard-capped at the second tax apron for the upcoming season. However, Joe Lacob has previously made it clear that he wants the Warriors to duck under the luxury tax.

In a recent video by “Warriors Digest,” the host breaks down Golden State’s decision to trade away and re-acquire the 52nd pick before diving into how Post could fit into Kerr’s offensive and defensive system.

You can watch the full video by clicking on the embedded video above.

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Isaiah Collier NBA draft fall had many reasons, not just Andy Enfield

It wasn’t just Andy Enfield’s bad season which pushed Isaiah Collier down the NBA draft board.

Why did USC’s Isaiah Collier fall so far in the NBA draft? USC having a bad season certainly contributed to that. Collier’s injury in January certainly was a factor as well. We have also noted that USC listed Collier as 6-5 (with shoes) when his height without shoes is 6 feet, 2.5 inches. A lot of different reasons created his fall from the late lottery (picks 10-14) to No. 29.

USA TODAY’s For The Win gathered some of those reasons:

Jonathan Givony (via ESPN): “Collier does have interest from teams in the late lottery, but there are realistic scenarios in which he falls toward the back of the first round. It can be difficult for competitive teams to find minutes for a point guard whose key areas for improvement are decision-making and long-range shooting — logically, Collier might need G League time, particularly if he lands with a playoff-level team.”

(snip)

Raphael Barlowe (via NBA Big Board): “His disappointing start to the season raised concerns about his inconsistent shooting, questionable basketball IQ, and puzzling turnovers.”

It’s not just the shooting, or the basketball IQ, or USC’s struggles, or Andy Enfield. A lot of different forces pushed Collier downward. The young man has a lot to work on as he prepares for the NBA summer league with the Utah Jazz.

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Phoenix Suns traded away one hometown player during NBA draft, then traded for another local standout

The Phoenix Suns were busy during the NBA draft, trading away the rights to former local high school player DaRon Holmes but drafting another, Oso Ighodaro.

Sometimes, professional teams like getting hometown heroes. Other times, it seeks talent from other places.

With the Suns’ NBA draft, the organization both picked a player who attended a local high school and traded away a pick that was used on another Phoenix-area standout. It wasn’t quite the Mikal-Bridges-Philadelphia-76ers Situation, but an interesting turn of events allowed the Suns to do so.

Phoenix traded its first-round pick, No. 22, to the Denver Nuggets for a package that netted them picks 28, 56, and two future second-rounders. With that pick, the Nuggets chose center DaRon Holmes, a former Millennium High School (Goodyear, Ariz.) star who was named Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior for his averages of 23.7 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.1 assists per game. While the Suns‘ needed another big, they chose to pass on the player from the Phoenix suburb.

They maneuvered with the 56th pick in the draft to move back up to No. 40, which they used on center Oso Ighodaro, another Phoenix native. Ighodaro was part of the 2020 Desert Vista (Phoenix) High School championship team, a season in which he averaged 15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.4 blocks per game.

In truth, the hometown rarely matters much. LeBron James would have been selected first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers regardless of his Akron connections; the Charlotte Hornets want Steph Curry because he’s Steph Curry, not just because he went to high school there.

But sometimes, the connection may play a role. The previous Phoenix management team selected Deandre Ayton, who played high school basketball at local Hillcrest Prep and college at the University of Arizona first overall in 2018 despite also hiring Luka Doncic’s former head coach that same offseason.

As for this Suns management group, it seems like trading Holmes was about collecting some much-needed assets, and drafting Ighodaro was about his fit and potential. It has little to do with the high schools.

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Duke Blue Devils were one of two schools with a first-round pick in NFL and NBA drafts

With Jared McCain going to the Philadelphia 76ers, only one other athletic program can match Duke’s 2024 drafting feat.

When [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] got taken off the board with the 16th pick in Wednesday night’s NBA draft, he did more than simply realize a manifested dream from his childhood. He helped the Duke athletic program reach some elite company for the 2023-24 athletic calendar.

The Blue Devils became one of just two schools with a first-round pick at both April’s NFL draft and this week’s NBA draft.

Offensive lineman [autotag]Graham Barton[/autotag] went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 24th pick on the football side of things.

Only USC, the home of Heisman-winning quarterback Caleb Williams and basketball star Isaiah Collier, can say the same for the 2024 draft cycle.

McCain and Barton, despite teaming up for the rare accomplishment, traveled very different paths to reach the professional level. Barton spent four seasons with the Blue Devils, starting as a center during his freshman season before moving to offensive tackle for the next three years.

McCain, a former five-star prospect from California, spent less than 12 months on campus in Durham before heading to the Sixers.

Kentucky forward Tre Mitchell gets Summer League opportunity with NBA team

Tre Mitchell received a Summer League invitee from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Former Kentucky starter Tre Mitchell didn’t hear his name called during the 2024 NBA draft, but he still managed to line up an NBA opportunity. Mitchell received a Summer League invite with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

At 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, Mitchell averaged 10.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per night for the Wildcats in 2023-24. The team’s leading rebounder, he started 24 of Kentucky’s 27 games and was a 48.4 percent shooter from the field.

Mitchell, who played five college seasons with four different teams (UMass, Texas and West Virginia before transferring to Kentucky), also averaged 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocks per night last season. He was second on the team in minutes played with 30.2 per game.

Mitchell will make his debut during the three-day 2024 Salt Lake Summer League event, scheduled for July 8-10 at the Delta Center in Utah. The Thunder will join the host Utah Jazz as well as the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers at the event.

Afterwards, the Thunder will head to Las Vegas for the NBA’s annual Summer League event that features all 30 teams. Oklahoma City could then sign Mitchell to a G-League contract for next season.

The 2024 NBA draft saw three Kentucky players selected. Reed Shepard went third overall to the Houston Rockets before Rob Dillingham was selected eighth overall by the San Antonio Spurs. In the second round, Antonio Reeves was drafted 47th overall by the Orlando Magic.

Kentucky’s Justin Edwards went undrafted but signed a two-way contract with Philadelphia on Thursday.

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USC transfer Saint Thomas considered a 2025 NBA draft prospect

Saint Thomas gives USC basketball real upside.

Senior USC transfer Saint Thomas is a 6-7, 220-pound forward who comes to Troy after a season at Northern Colorado (2023-24) and two at Loyola Chicago (2021-22 and 2022-23).  He enters the coming season having started 73 career games between his previous two schools.

The USC Trojan forward averaged 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 32 games for Northern Colorado in 2023-24.

Thomas is a four-star prospect in the 247Sports transfer portal recruiting rankings. He’s USC’s highest rated transfer commitment as the No. 54 overall player and No. 11 small forward.

Saint Thomas is a projected early to mid first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft as of now, but we obviously have a long way to go in the process leading to next June’s big event.

The Nebraska native and former Gatorade State Player of The Year will be the projected leader in points and rebounds for USC in the upcoming season.

Eric Musselman and the Trojan basketball team won’t have many NBA prospects for this season, but I believe they will have more wins and Thomas’ success will be vital in leading them to a better record.

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Check out more NFL draft coverage with the USA TODAY Sports NFL Draft Hub.

Phoenix Suns sign former Florida forward Tyrese Samuel on Exhibit-10 deal

After going undrafted, former Florida forward Tyrese Samuel is joining the Phoenix Suns on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Former Florida forward Tyrese Samuel has signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Phoenix Suns, according to DraftExpress director of scouting Jon Chepkevich.

An Exhibit 10 contract is essentially a tryout contract that allows teams to bring in extra bodies for the summer. The ones who prove themselves worthy get their contract converted to a two-way deal. That’s the hope for Samuel, who was Florida’s most impactful big man in the 2023-24 season.

A grad transfer out of Seton Hall, Samuel started all 36 games in his lone season at Florida. He was named to the Associated Press All-SEC Second Team after averaging 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. His 11 double-doubles put him ninth on the school’s all-time leaderboard. He also posted the third-most offensive rebounds in a single season with 102.

Samuel is the second Florida Gator to sign a deal with an NBA team after going undrafted. First-Team All-SEC guard [autotag]Zyon Pullin[/autotag] signed a two-way deal with the Miami Heat on Thursday night.

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A bizarre twist might have cost Isaiah Collier several NBA draft slots

Listing a player’s height with shoes could have cost Isaiah Collier a few spots on the NBA draft big board.

The NBA draft is over, and USC’s Isaiah Collier fell to No. 29 on the big board, nearly tumbling out of the first round. Why did Collier, who was projected as a late lottery pick (10-14) in mid-May and then a top-21 pick for most of June, fall outside the top 25 and nearly the top 30? We can start with the most obvious reasons. He did not have a good season at USC. He suffered a midseason injury which slowed his development and limited the amount of film NBA teams were able to gather on him against quality competition. Yet, something else seemed to be part of the equation for NBA organizations who passed on Collier.

Longtime NBA reporter and beat writer Marc Spears noted that without shoes, Isaiah Collier is 6-foot, 2.5 inches tall. Yet, USC listed Collier as a 6-5 player. That’s quite a difference: two and a half inches with and without shoes. If any team or executive saw the 6-5 listing and then realized Collier was actually shorter than 6-3, the natural thought is: “Why was Collier’s height being inflated?” That certainly doesn’t inspire confidence.

Next year at the NBA draft, just list a person’s actual height — without the shoes.

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Former Notre Dame basketball standout signs with Oklahoma City Thunder

Good luck in the association!

The 2024 NBA draft has come and gone and no former Notre Dame players had their names called.

One did however agree to a short-term contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], who spent for years at Notre Dame after transferring from Stanford, is headed to the Sooner State.

Ryan was a valuable transfer portal addition to the North Carolina Tar Heels last season as he averaged 11.5 points per game and shot 35.5% from three-point range.  His biggest game of last season was when he hit six three-pointers and scored 31-points in a road win over Duke to close the regular season.

Ryan averaged 31.2 minutes and 10.5 points per game during his time at Notre Dame.

Related: Ranking the ACC basketball arenas from worst to first

Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick showered Bronny James with praise in Lakers’ behind-the-scenes draft video

The Lakers seem excited to have Bronny

For years, it’s been a foregone conclusion that Bronny James would be a Laker.

LeBron James made it his goal to play with his son. We can all say what we want and have opinions about it — we’ve surely got some questions ourselves — but the mission is accomplished.

RELATED: LeBron James had the perfect 1-word reaction to the Lakers drafting Bronny

It’s not just LeBron who is excited about the Lakers drafting Bronny. JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka seem to be pretty happy they managed to grab him, too.

They both praised Bronny the moment they called to let him know the Lakers were picking him up.

Rob Pelinka had a ton to say to Bronny on the phone.

“You’ve worked incredibly hard, man. You’ve put in a ton of work. When we had lunch up at the facility we talked about your work ethic and that means a lot to us. I think second to that, your’e a player of high character and a person of high character and that is valued at the Lakers. And so it’s important for coach Redick and I to let you know those qualities really stand out. And so the Lakers are going to draft you with the 55th pick in the draft and I just wanted to let you know. 

Redick kept things short and sweet with him, saying, “I just wanted to say congrats, man. Your hard work’s paid off. You’re going to have a long NBA career and I can’t wait to coach you, man.”

That’s high praise. What a nice moment.