Current NCAA regulations forbid any player who declares for the NBA draft and signs with an agent to return to his college team, even if he goes undrafted. It’s a particularly cruel facet of an already exploitative system, and a rule that’s explicitly designed to keep players within the bounds of the NCAA, where they…
You’ve likely never heard of Joshua Simmons. You certainly hadn’t heard of him when he entered his name in the NBA draft. Five years ago, at 20 years old, Simmons was on the NBA’s official early entry list, despite having played just a handful of games at a junior college 30 minutes east of Greenville, S.C. By the…
By the time the NBA’s All-Star break usually rolls around, the standings are more or less set. It’s typically obvious which four or so teams will be contending for a championship, and it’s also apparent who will be spending the rest of the year in the toilet, tanking for superior lottery odds and draft positioning. As…
Last November, Michael Porter Jr., Mizzou freshman and one-time favorite to become the top pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, was forced to undergo surgery on his back. He played just two minutes of college ball, and at the time, it seemed that he would miss the rest of the season recovering from the injury.
Michael Porter Jr. will likely be one of the first five players taken in the 2018 NBA Draft. The general consensus pegs him as one of the elite prospects available next year, although unlike Marvin Bagley III, DeAndre Ayton, Mohamed Bamba, and Luka Doncic, Porter will have practically no experience playing against…
ESPN reported this week that Adam Silver and Michele Roberts are more open than ever to changing the NBA’s draft eligibility rules, which currently require American high school players to be a year removed from the graduation of their high school class by the time of the draft in order to be eligible. This is good…
Predicting how good an NBA draft class will be is a sloppy exercise, but as far as anyone can tell, the top of the 2018 NBA draft appears to be loaded. Incoming college freshmen Marvin Bagley III, Michael Porter Jr., Mohamed Bamba, and DeAndre Ayton are all considered to have star potential, yet the leading candidate…
Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy has arrived at the same conclusion as basically the rest of the NBA-watching world: this latest draft lottery adjustment probably won’t do much to curb tanking, its stated goal. Van Gundy’s suggestion is reportedly to get rid of the draft altogether:
The lottery reform proposal that was submitted to the NBA board of governors earlier this month has reportedly been approved. The new system, designed to curtail tanking, is unlikely to curtail tanking.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that a new NBA draft lottery system is one step closer to becoming a reality. According to Woj, the league’s competition committee has recommended a reform proposal that was created by the NBA, and the league’s board of governors will now vote on the proposal on Sept. 28.
What’s your favorite typo in this Howard Eskin tweet that seems like it was composed while the author was falling down the stairs?
Anyone with internet access can figure out the NBA Draft minutes before the picks are announced on TV. Adrian Wojnarowski used to spoil the ceremony, and now the task has been seemingly taken over by Wojbomb apprentice Shams Charania. But last night, even the people at the draft were spoiling the picks loudly enough…
The Minnesota Timberwolves managed to snag Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls last night, and the price they paid for him leaves me wondering how the hell no other teams snapped him up first.
With Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball sure things at 1 and 2, the biggest drama on draft night was the Celtics’ pick at No. 3. Danny Ainge, president of basketball operations, said Boston was going to get the same player at 3 that they would have wanted at No. 1. That was undoubtedly a wing, who would fit in better with…
1. Alpha Kaba (France, pick no. 60, Atlanta Hawks)
As expected, the Lakers selected UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick of tonight’s NBA draft. As expected, his father LaVar Ball had some grand proclamations to make beforehand. (Mainly that he had it on the good authority of Zeus and Jesus themselves that Lonzo would be drafted by the Lakers.)
The biggest story of the NBA draft’s first round was the Bulls and Timberwolves swapping picks as part of a trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota in an absurdly low package. Apart from that, things unfolded largely without incident. Kristaps Porzingis is still a Knick, Paul George is still a Pacer, the world still…
Sounds like this company needs to watch its spokespeople more closely. Ah, well. It’s a Philly sports tradition.
Days of frenzied Jimmy Butler trade rumors have apparently met their end, via reports from Adrian Wojnarowski and the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson, among others. The Bulls are sending Butler and their No. 16 draft pick to Minnesota in exchange for shooting guard Zach LaVine, point guard Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick…
ESPN’s Jay Williams just told a story absurd enough to rile up the typically unflappable Bob Ley: a top-15 draft pick said Knicks president Phil Jackson was falling in and out of sleep during his workout.
