nba-draft Page 11 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Why And How NBA Mock Drafts Are A Sham
This post originally ran at the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective. It is reprinted here with permission....

76ers Ask NBA To Delay Anti-Tanking Measures Until They're Done Tanking
A couple weeks back, it was reported that the NBA was attempting to push through changes to its draft lottery system: a re-weighting of the odds that would discourage tanking. The Philadelphia 76ers would reportedly like the NBA to hold on a sec, because they're not finished being terrible....

NBA Draft Prospect Skips College For China (And $1.2 Million)
Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay has the potential to be a lottery pick in next year's NBA draft, but he won't be spending a year in college before going pro. Mudiay's taking his talents to China for the required year between high school and the NBA, and he's getting a hefty chunk of money for his effort...

Report: NBA Wants To Re-Weight Draft Lottery Odds To Discourage Tanking
Everybody likes seeing shitty teams have the opportunity to get better, but nobody likes seeing those teams intentionally be shitty to land a top draft pick. The NBA is forever on the hunt for the happy medium, and according to Zach Lowe at Grantland, it has formally proposed a new system that would...

Based On Their Draft Picks, How Good <em>Should</em> The Cavs Be Next Year?
We have every reason to expect that the Cavs will improve over the next few years, especially since team is stocked with young, talented lottery packs. But given its draft position the last few years, how good could we have expected the Cavs to get? And how much of the improvement that any high-lo...

Changes In Player Heights And Weights In The NBA Draft, Year By Year
Out friend Ed Kupfer of the Houston Rockets made a quick animation of how the sheer size of the guys in the NBA draft have changed over the last 15 years. It's kind of surprising how much variance there is from year to year on short, tall, fat, and skinny players....

Julius Randle Made Everyone Feel Very Old After He Got Drafted
Julius Randle was pretty damn excited when the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him with the seventh overall pick last night. After the draft, he took to Instagram to let everyone know that he's always been a Lakers fan, and in the process he inadvertently made a whole bunch of basketball fans feel super,...

LeBron James Is The NBA's Invisible Hand
When the Miami Heat traded up two spots to select former UConn guard Shabazz Napier with the 24th overall pick in last night's NBA draft, the motivation seemed immediately clear, at least to those of us staring at goat entrails: Miami is doing everything it can to convince LeBron James to stay....

Bill Simmons Reacts To Miami Acquiring Shabazz Napier
The Hornets drafted Shabazz Napier, promising to unite the UConn star with fellow Huskies alum Kemba Walker. Alas, Napier was quickly traded to the Miami Heat. This is Bill Simmons reacting to the trade, stating that he's "tired of teams helping Miami."...

Adam Silver And The NBA Draft Isaiah Austin
Last Sunday, Isaiah Austin found out he wouldn't be able to start a career in the NBA. The Baylor center was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, and continuing to play competitive basketball would jeopardize his life. Tonight, he was still at the draft, and in the middle of the first round, Adam Silver ...

What Sixers Fans Should Know About Joel Embiid's Health
Philly took Joel Embiid with the third overall pick, as it continues to stock up on big men who do not play basketball. But hopefully, Embiid will be back and awesome before long. How likely is that? Our good friend Dr. Matt McCarthy went into some detail recently. ...

Joel Embiid Was Clearly On A Satellite Delay, But This Is Still Amusing
It took a minute before Joel Embiid, at home, saw that he was drafted by the 76ers, but for that minute, we all thought we saw how Embiid really felt....

Jabari Parker Goes No. 2 To Milwaukee Bucks
Not a huge surprise here: The Bucks took Jabari Parker with the No. 2 overall pick after Andrew Wiggins and Andrew Wiggins's suit were taken No. 1. ...

Cleveland Cavaliers Take Andrew Wiggins First Overall
The Cleveland Cavaliers took Andrew Wiggins with the first overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He's the second Canadian-born player to go first overall, after Anthony Bennett last year. Hopefully, he will be better than Bennett....

Andrew Wiggins And His Bitchin' Suit Are Ready For The Draft
Russell Westbrook is sitting at home right now like, "Who the fuck does this rookie think he is?"...

Get To Know The Guy Who Might Be The Steal Of The NBA Draft
One of the savviest picks of last year's NBA draft was made by the Milwaukee Bucks, when they grabbed Giannis Antetokounmpo with the 15th overall pick. The Greek Freak was just a bundle of springy limbs and a fresh face at the time, but he quickly became a player who matters. There is another baby-f...

Why Do NBA Big Men Break Down?
Joel Embiid, the University of Kansas seven-footer who was expected to be the first pick in tonight's NBA draft, just had two screws inserted into the navicular bone in his right foot.1 Embiid is expected to miss 4-6 months and the stress fracture—his second in three months—may cost him millions of ...

Isaiah Austin Diagnosed With Marfan Syndrome, Won't Play In NBA
Isaiah Austin left Baylor to declare for this year's NBA Draft, but his basketball career will sadly end there. The center was diagnosed with a genetic disorder that won't allow him to continue playing basketball....

Joel Embiid Did Not Sweat His Surgery
Not even surgery for a stress fracture in his foot—nor projections of him dropping precipitously in the NBA draft—can dent Joel Embiid's swagger:...