In a virtual press conference, GM Rafael Stone shared his perspective on the recent Rockets-Nets trade and Houston’s top draft selection of Reed Sheppard.
HOUSTON — In a virtual press conference outside the Toyota Center war room, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone shared his perspective on Houston’s recent trade with the Brooklyn Nets and its top 2024 draft selection of Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard.
Sheppard, a 6-foot-2 guard, shot over 52% on 3-pointers in his lone collegiate season with the Wildcats. He was drafted by Houston at No. 3 overall in Wednesday’s first round, which took place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
Meanwhile, in a trade with the host Nets the previous night, Houston acquired four future first-round draft assets from the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks (via Brooklyn) in exchange for a pair of first-round assets in 2025 and 2026.
As part of Wednesday night’s press conference, Stone shared his perspective on the implications of both of those moves and beyond.
Stone and the Rockets also have a pick coming up (at No. 44 overall) in Thursday’s second round of the 2024 NBA draft, which starts at 3:00 p.m. Central. It will be televised on ESPN.
USA TODAY Sports evaluates Isaiah Collier after his selection at No. 29 to the Jazz.
Isaiah Collier was picked late in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. He fell out of the top five, then the top 10, then the lottery (the top 14), then the top 15, then the top 20. He stayed in the first round, but only by the slightest of margins. USA TODAY Sports is covering the NBA draft. Here’s instant analysis of Collier and the Jazz’s pick:
At times during the 2023-24 season Collier was a projected lottery pick. The Trojans didn’t have a great season, and Collier, who averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 assists and shot 49% from the field, dropped in the draft. However, the 6-3, 205-pounder has an NBA-ready frame, is strong and gets to the rim and finishes. He needs to work on an inconsistent jump shot and can be a shut-down defender if he puts his mind to it. He could end up being a valuable pick at this point in the draft. — Jeff Zillgitt
If there’s a positive aspect of going to the Jazz, it is that Utah has had a lot of young players go through the organization in recent years. The Jazz are a player development franchise without win-now pressure. It’s also not a media fishbowl the way New York is. The Knicks had a chance to pick Collier at both No. 25 and 26, but passed. It’s probably for the best that Collier is going to Salt Lake City instead of the Big Apple. Still, No. 29 is not what Collier or USC wanted.
A player formerly projected as a top-five pick fell to 29. Now Isaiah Collier must try to prove his doubters wrong.
The NBA draft projections for USC’s Isaiah Collier were in the 10-14 range right after the NBA draft lottery in the middle of May. Then they started moving toward No. 17, then to No. 19, then to No. 21 in a recent College Sports Wire projection.
As it turned out, even those final few projections before the 2024 NBA draft which had Collier in the 19 to 21 pick range overestimated how much NBA teams would value him. The USC product fell all the way to No. 29 on Wednesday night. He did get a first-round selection, and he did avoid the ultimate disaster of being invited to the draft and then not hearing his name called at any point in the first round, forced to spend a night thinking about being snubbed by 30 NBA teams. Yet, the fall to 29 is still jarring for a prospect who was viewed as a potential top-five pick when the 2023-2024 college basketball season began in early November of last year.
Collier dominated Kansas State in his USC season opener. The Trojans looked, on that night, like a potential top-three seed in the NCAA Tournament. Collier did look like a top-five-caliber pick. He scored three and-one baskets in the first half of that KSU game. That’s hard to do. He was the best player on the floor by a large margin, playing his first college game as a freshman.
It never got better from there. Collier’s season was marred by injuries — that much has to be said — but he also never felt comfortable in Andy Enfield’s system. Now Collier gets a fresh start with the rebuilding Jazz. He is likely to go through a rough first season, but if he learns what he needs to learn, he could be a really good NBA player by 2027.
We’re definitely pulling for him here at Trojans Wire.
Only two players remain in the NBA Draft green room ahead of the second round
The first night of the NBA Draft has come to a close. French forward Zaccharie Risacher went No. 1 overall to the Atlanta Hawks, Detroit provided an early stunner by grabbing Ron Holland at No. 5 and the Minnesota Timberwolvestraded up for guard Rob Dillingham at No. 8.
That means there’s still plenty to watch for when round two starts on Thursday — including a few players still in the building.
The NBA invited 24 of the prospects to the draft green room, but only two remain after Day 1: Kansas’ Johnny Furphy, and Duke’s Kyle Flipowski.
The two shouldn’t be on the draft board much longer, but they’ll at least have to endure another night before learning their future.
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USC’s Isaiah Collier now has his landing spot for the start of his NBA career. Collier was picked No. 29 by the Utah Jazz in the 2024 NBA draft on Wednesday night.
Collier fell quite a lot on draft night. He was projected in the 17-21 range by a lot of forecasters and mock NBA draft creators. He was generally expected to be a top-20 pick in the last two weeks before the draft.
Collier’s fall on draft night mirrored the long-term fall he suffered over the course of the past college basketball season and into the start of the offseason. Right after the NBA draft lottery several weeks ago (in mid-May), Collier was projected as a No. 11 pick to the Chicago Bulls. At the start of the college basketball season, Collier was widely seen as a potential top-five pick with a top-three ceiling. It was a steady decline for Collier from November to late June. His stock was never higher than after his dominant season-opening game against Kansas State on Nov. 6. That was the high point of his USC career and his NBA stock value. Everything went downhill from there, and Andy Enfield couldn’t develop him during the season. The injury he suffered in the middle of January didn’t help, but even if you account for the injury, Collier very rarely played at the level of a No. 1 recruit in his (2023) class, or at the level of an NBA lottery pick. He gets to start over in Utah on a young Jazz team which is unlikely to make the playoffs next season. Collier can learn on the job in a low-expectation setting.
Here’s why Bronny James wasn’t selected during the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
Bronny James didn’t hear his name called on Wednesday night during the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, but that’s not as much a surprise as a forgone conclusion with how things were expected to go.
The former USC player and son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has always been tabbed as a second-round talent in this year’s draft, and it’s very possible he’ll hear his name called Thursday afternoon when this year’s draft continues.
We’ll see how Thursday unfolds for the James family, as Bronny James will wait like the rest of us until then to see where his professional career begins.
Here’s a look at all the trades from the first-round of the NBA Draft.
The NBA Draft has barely started and the trade machine is already humming.
When the draft rolls around, there are always teams ready to wheel and deal draft picks away, whether to get a pick or two in the future or improve their individual teams right now. The 2024 NBA Draft is no different.
The Knicks and Nets have already shaken things up a bit ahead of the draft with the Mikal Bridges trade. That deal is just the tip of the iceberg. Buckle up, folks. We’re in for a wild ride.
As the deals continue to come in through the first round of the draft, we’ll track each one of them here.
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Deni Avdija trade
Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
The Wizards get: The No. 14 overall pick, a 2029 first-round pick and two second-round picks, per Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Trail Blazers get: Deni Avdija.
The Wizards are still at the very beginning of a complete rebuild after tearing this team down to the studs. After signing a team-friendly extension before last season, it seemed like Avdija might’ve been part of that future. But it’s hard to pass up on future draft capital when your cupboard has been bare for the last few years.
The Blazers are getting a do-it-all forward who played at a high level on both ends last season. He shot a career-high 37.6 percent from deep and 50 percent from the floor overall. He’ll be a nice go-between for the Blazers’ high-powered guard attack.
GRADES:
Wizards B-
Trail Blazers B
Rob Dillingham trade
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
The Spurs get: An unprotected 2031 first-round pick and a protected 2030 first-round pick swap
The Timberwolves get: The draft rights for No. 8 overall pick Rob Dillingham
This is an interesting move for the Timberwolves. Obviously, Mike Conley Jr. is currently slotted in as the team’s starting point guard right now. But he’s also 36 years old and in the twilight of his career. Dillingham can serve as a bridge their for that point guard position in the long term. In the short term, he’s a spark plug off the bench with some defensive questions that’ll need to be answered.
This is simply a move to acquire some future draft capital for the Spurs. Anytime you can get an unprotected first-round pick it becomes a valuable asset, even if it’s seven years down the road. This is something the Spurs will likely end up trading down the line for another player that raises its immediate ceiling.
GRADES:
Timberwolves B-
Spurs B
DaRon Holmes trade
David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports
The Nuggets get: The draft rights to DaRon Holmes
The Suns get: The No. 28 overall pick, the No. 56 overall pick and two future second-rounders, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
DaRon Holmes is a versatile big man who serves as an elite rim protector (2.1 blocks per game at Dayton) and a floor spacer (38 percent from deep on 2.5 attempts per game). Though he’s a center, he should also be able to play next to a versatile big man like Nikola Jokic.
The Suns traded back a few spots in this draft to replenish their coffers after making so many high-profile trades over the last few years. The Suns will add a second-round pick this year and two more in the future, which might seem small but could be very meaningful because of the NBA’s new stringent collective bargaining agreement.
GRADES:
Nuggets: A
Suns: A-
Kyshawn George trade
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The Wizards get: The draft rights to Kyshawn George
The Wizards must’ve really loved Kyshawn George because Washington spent a second-round pick to move up two slots to get him. George is a playmaking forward who profiles as someone who should be a good shooter on the NBA level. He’s a solid player who could be a solid pro.
The Knicks picked up an extra second-round pick just by moving down a couple of spots in the draft. Seconds don’t usually pan out, but in today’s NBA where plenty of teams are cash-strapped, that pick could be someone who cracks a rotation someday.
GRADES:
Wizards, C+
Knicks, B-
Dillon Jones trade
The Thunder get: The draft rights for Dillon Jones
The Thunder took a big swing here for Dillon Jones, but I’m not really sure what for. The Thunder seem to love his talent and it’s understandable why — he’s a 6-foot-5 guard with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and developed into quite the scorer at Weber State. But he’s a project for an OKC team with an already stacked backcourt.
The Knicks pick up five second-round picks, which they may move even further down the road.
Did Bronny James’ future path just change as a result of the Lakers’ unexpected Dalton Knecht pick?
A stunning turn of events gave the Los Angeles Lakers an amazingly unexpected opportunity in the 2024 NBA draft on Wednesday night. Dalton Knecht, widely viewed as a top-10-quality draft pick, slid all the way to No. 17 in the first round. Pat Riley and the Miami Heat passed on him at No. 15. Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers passed on him at No. 16. The Lakers were able to scoop up Knecht at pick No. 17, a tremendous pick and a remarkable stroke of good fortune for Rob Pelinka, new coach J.J. Redick, and LeBron James. Now, the big question emerges: With the Lakers unexpectedly getting Knecht, a wing player who offers quality shooting, will the NBA franchise still take Bronny James if he is available at pick No. 55 in Thursday’s second round, as most people expect he will be?
Bronny James has become such a point of fascination in this NBA draft because all the details of his situation make him one of the most unusual and exceptional draft-day stories in recent NBA memory. We’ll find out soon enough if Dalton Knecht alters the calculus for the Lakers at the NBA draft.
Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht is drafted by the Lakers in the first-round.
The NBA draft is being held Wednesday and Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Former Tennessee basketball player Dalton Knecht was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first-round (No. 17 overall) on Wednesday.
Knecht transferred to Tennessee from Northern Colorado ahead of the 2023-24 basketball campaign. In his only season with eligibility at Tennessee, he averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.
Knecht guided the Vols to a Southeastern Conference regular-season championship. Tennessee also advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the second time in school history.
Tristan da Silva is one of the most intriguing players in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Editor’s Note: This story was originally published June 20, 2024.
Colorado Buffaloes forward Tristan da Silva is a versatile forward whose shooting and basketball IQ will make him a fascinating player in the pros.
He was one of the breakout stars during March Madness, helping to lead his team to multiple victories in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Now, he looks to bring many of those skills he displayed during the Big Dance to the pros.
It wasn’t just a brief hot streak during the postseason that help him elevate his draft stock, though. After averaging 16.0 points and 5.1 rebounds with 2.4 assists per game while shooting 39.5 percent on 3-pointers, he was named Second-Team All-Pac-12 last season.
Although he isn’t necessarily going to jump out of the gym or blow anyone away with his speed, da Silva elaborated on the beautiful simplicity to his game during a recent interview with For The Win .
“I’m someone who goes out there and gets the job done,” da Silva said. “I have athleticism and I’m much more athletic than people think I am. But it’s just my smooth play style and my shot selection isn’t to try to dunk on people every single play.”
Da Silva also played soccer, which is how he developed a lot of the footwork that he uses on the basketball court.
He added that growing up in Germany, he was inspired by his brother, former Stanford forward Oscar da Silva. He said his father, a former Brazilian pro boxer, was an inspiration for him as well.
“My brother plays in the EuroLeague for Barcelona. He was the reason why I started playing basketball,” da Silva explained. “My dad being the athlete that he is, he lived the lifestyle that you should be living as an athlete. He’s a big part of my habits.”
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Watch Episode 4 of Prospect Park, a video series featuring future NBA players brought to you by USA TODAY Sports and For The Win:
What should NBA teams know about you?
The consistency aspect is definitely a part of it. I would say definitely my versatility is something that’s kind of unique at my size, being able to play multiple positions and multiple actions from different situations and guarding twos, threes and fours, being able to switch on to guards and stuff like that. The experience that I bring as well. Offensively and defensively, I’ve been playing this game for a long time now.
How do you describe your style of play?
I’m an IQ player. I like to keep it simple as much as possible and get myself going and get other people going through easy baskets, just doing the right thing, making the right plays. Playing multiple positions helps with that because you know the game from different angles. I can create for myself and I can create for others. I’m really just out there playing, making the right reads. I can stretch the floor. My shooting is very appealing to NBA teams. So those are some of the things that are key to my game.
How will your range help you in the NBA?
That’s essential in today’s game, being able to shoot the ball and space the floor. It opens up so much in the game. I’m aware of that. Teams are aware of that. So I feel like that is a huge part of how I can contribute to teams. It’s not the only way, of course, but it definitely helps to get my foot in the door and get out there and contribute. I’ve been working on it. That’s why I brought up the consistency aspect to make sure I’m reliable within the range that we’re working in new with different basketballs and different spacing.
I’d love to hear more about your passing
I’ve been doing it. As soon as I get to the next level where if you get an open shot, it’s a higher chance of going, that’s going to increase my numbers from an assist standpoint. I’m able to find the open guy. I’m able to find the little advantages and keep those advantages and make the high IQ plays. It’s going to make my life a little easier because I’m going to be playing with people who know how to play and kind of think the same way I think. I feel like this next step is going to give me the opportunity to showcase it even more.
What do you like to do off the court? I’ve heard you speak five languages.
I don’t know about the five languages, to be honest. I do speak German. I do speak English. My Portuguese is just what I know from being raised by my dad and spending summers in Brazil. I also learned French and Spanish in school. I wouldn’t necessary say I’m fluent in either of those two. I did play the trumpet for about seven to eight years. I played in two orchestras. I did a musical. I played in school band. It was really fun. I kind of miss it. I’m probably going to pick that up once I get my own little place set up and all this grind is over. I do the regular stuff everybody else does. I keep myself busy. I’m reading some German thrillers right now. I watch shows obviously. I play a little games to keep my mind off whatever. I don’t listen to much classical music. I like playing classical music. Every now and then, when I crave it or when I want to listen to it, I’ll put it on when I’m feeling artsy. But it’s not part of my playlist.
