Happy NBA Draft morning, y'all. It's like Christmas, only we don't get presents.
Actually, we do get presents, but they come in the form of handy 140-character Tweets that report everything under the sun. The presents we've been getting this week aren't as sweet as the morning I woke up with a neatly-wrapped Furby, but at least they're giving us somethin' to talk about.
I did my best to round up at least one interesting rumor for every team after the jump. I'll probably be sleeping when this posts, though, so let's use it as an open thread throughout the day - dump every new, juicy tidbit under the sun in the comments (including those that I missed) and then, when the draft is over, we can see who we can trust next year.
And yes, this is worthwhile - don't you ever like to go back wonder if things ever had a chance?
Teams
The Washington Wizards have the Nos. 1 and 30 picks of the first round, but league executives says GM Ernie Grunfeld is trying to stockpile more picks. New owner Ted Leonsis had a similar philosophy with the Washington Capitals, and has insisted that building through picks and the draft will be his priority in the NBA, too. … -Woj
The Washington Wizards also have interest in Gallon – as well as Quincy Pondexter – with the 30th pick. -- Yahoo
Leonsis wants them to. Right now its a seller's market, though. RT @KeithEllis7: Do you think the Wizards will get another first round pick? -- Draft Express
Evan Turner says hed be "pretty shocked" if he's not a Sixer tomorrow -- Marc Spears
Wesley Johnson is moving up to 3, New Jersey, on our next mock coming shortly. Told New Jersey will take him and go for a PF in free agency. -- Draft Express
The Nets worked out Oklahoma’s Tiny Gallon for a second time on Wednesday and are considering him with the 27th or 31st pick. He’s an intriguing prospect, a talented player who weighs 300 pounds and needs to learn the proper nutrition to keep his weight down. Nevertheless, one Eastern Conference executive calls him, "a more talented, offensive Big Baby," who multiple teams believe is a worth project based on his talent. He’s an engaging personality too, and that’s helped him in the predraft process. -- Yahoo
Wes Johnson. RT @Muwu: NJ saying a lot of different things right now. Favors? Johnson? Monroe? Cousins? Who is it? -- Draft Express
Favors and Paul-George I think. Surprising they'd pass on Aminu. RT @uuords: what does minnesota want with a 4th and 7th pick? wes + monroe? -- Draft Express
T-Wolves are at No. 4 and badly want Johnson, and I'd been told all along that Turner, Favors and Cousins were the Nets' top three. -- Sam Amick
The Sacramento Kings are planning to select Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousins with the fifth pick in the draft, sources with knowledge of the franchise’s plan told Yahoo! Sports. -- Woj
As reported here a week ago, the Kings have Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins atop their wish list followed by Georgetown's Greg Monroe. -- Amick
Golden State taking a hard stance, "We told Cousins that there's no way he's slipping past six. We'll take him if he's there." -- Draft Express
If Cousins is off the board Golden State will be choosing between Greg Monroe and Ekpe Udoh. Only other two guys in their mix besides top-5. -- Draft Express
As the Golden State Warriors continue to deliberate what to do with the sixth pick, league sources say Baylor forward Ekpe Udoh has become the front-runnner in the eyes of team officials. -- Yahoo
NBA source: There's a firesale in Golden State & everyone's available except Curry. Owner trying to make team more attractive for new buyer. -- Draft Express
Hearing more and more that Ekpe Udoh is going 6th to GS. No final decision there but they seem to be leaning that way. Screws everything up -- Draft Express
Also heard that GS has a trade offer on the table to move Gadzuric and Biedrins to Denver for Kenyon Martin. Can't be done till August 22nd. -- Draft Express
GS impressed w/Udoh's defense, mid-range j, athleticism, work ethic. Somewhat undersized, but had great workout for GS and arrived in suit. -- Spears
Detroit: Barring a trade or Cousins somehow falling past Warriors (not happening), Ed Davis will be going 7. Al-Farouq "doesn't make sense." -- Draft Express
The Detroit Pistons are expected to take North Carolina’s Ed Davis with the seventh choice. If Monroe drops to No. 7, the draft board changes in Detroit, league sources say, with the Georgetown star likely getting the edge over Davis. -- Yahoo
Definitely Clippers. They will have to reach for a wing, or trade down. RT @CoorZero Which top 10 team in the draft is hardest to mock for? -- Draft Express
Obviously they'd take him & be ecstatic, but I don't see him getting past Detroit. RT @TheRookieWall What if Aminu is on the board for LAC? -- Draft Express
Al-Farouq Aminu reportedly canceled his workout in Detroit. He much prefers going to the Clippers. Has a promise from them. Pencil him in. -- Draft Express
Utah "looking for a wing scorer who can come in and play big minutes right away." Dead heat between Babbitt (slight edge) and Hayward. -- Draft Express
Monroe, Babbitt, Hayward in that order I believe. RT @teebeebee: Top 3 or 4 possibles for Utah when you get a sec? -- Draft Express
No, but from my understanding they're lukewarm on him. RT @isaiahk: Would Avery Bradley at 18 just be too much of a stretch for Indiana? -- Draft Express
NBA sources tell Y! possible OKC-Indy trade was talked about but doubtful. "Indy going down line looking for a young guard," one source says -- Spears
The New Orleans Hornets’ front office hadn’t wanted to trade its No. 11 pick, but it appears the financial realities of the cash-strapped franchise are making it more likely the team will trade out of the lottery, league sources said late Wednesday. -- Yahoo
The New Orleans Hornets' board, from what I can gather, looks like this: Xavier Henry, Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich. Not 100% on order. -- Draft Express
Memphis probably ends up selling either 25 or 28 when it's all said and done. Waiting for last minute likely increases the quality of offers -- Draft Express
They're trying. So are a lot of other teams, though. RT @MR_Malice14: Any talk of Raptors acquiring another 1st rounder or moving up? -- Draft Express
Amongst likely still on board: Aldrich, Patterson, Henry, ??? RT @houtexmajorin: Houston's targets? -- Draft Express
Hammond told WSSP today that it was "probably not feasible" to keep four rookies on the roster going into next season, suggesting it was likely the Bucks would keep 15 and 37 but possibly move 44/47 for cash or future considerations. Makes sense--the Bucks already have nine veterans under contract, so they would only be able to add two more vets if they had three second rounders and their first going into camp. Still, remember that Hammond did not give up one of this year's picks in the CDR deal, either because he wants more ammo for the next 24 hours, New Jersey didn't want another pick this year (they already have #3, 27, 31), or both. -- BrewHoop
Heard about Bulls shopping Deng, not specifically to LAC though. RT @Regulan: Have you heard of the Clips 8th for Chi's 17th and Luol Deng? -- Draft Express
OKC likes Cole Aldrich apparently if they trade up to 10. Udoh would also be in the mix. Indiana would probably take Eric Bledsoe at 18. -- Draft Express
Aldrich. But I don't think the trade is happening. RT @MJamrozik: If OKC get the #10 pick from Indiana, who will be chosen probably?
No deal with Pacers, but Oklahoma City has been "relentless" trying to get into top 10. Why? Butler's Gordon Hayward, league source says. -- Woj
NBA teams (NYK, Dal, Cle, Was, Tor) looking to get into the first should talk to Boston. Price is a future first rounder. Pretty reasonable. -- Draft Express
Boston is dangling Kendrick Perkins and its No. 19 pick with the hopes of getting into the high lottery, according to a league source. -- Amick
The Indiana Pacers, who have the 10th overall pick, have made public their desire to trade down or out of the first round altogether, positioning themselves as one logical trade partner for the Spurs.
Yet two NBA sources — each representing teams with a top-10 pick — told the Express-News that reports of the Spurs shopping Parker are overblown. Spurs general manager R.C. Buford has maintained the team would "be crazy not to want a player like Tony in our program for a long time." -- San Antonio Express-News
The most likely scenario remains the Spurs sticking with their original picks, which include the 49th overall selection in the second round. Even if the Spurs take the unsexy route, the night should be high on intrigue. -- San Antonio Express-News
Portland moves up to #34 in exchange for cash. My guess is they're going after either Gani Lawal or Trevor Booker at that spot. -- Draft Express
My educated guess would be Patterson. RT @JustinB21: If Portland was able to get #13 from Toronto, who would their target be?
Haven't heard much, but here's who they've worked out -- Peachtree Hoops
They're not trading for Gilbert Arenas -- OPP
Sources told FOXSports.com the Knicks trying to get into 1st round & buy the 23rd overall pick. 3 guys on radar: Darington Hobson, Craig Brackins, Sylven Landesberg. -- Jeff Goodman
Duke’s 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek has emerged as one of the top second-round prospects, and league executives believe he could be one of the New York Knicks’ back-to-back picks at Nos. 38 and 39. -- Yahoo
Its Darington Hobson I hear. RT @Jpdabrams: RT @FisolaNYDN: Sounds more & more like Knicks will buy 1st rd pick if player they want is there -- Draft Express
Players
Kevin Seraphin
Kevin Seraphin has a NBA Buyout of USD 750.000 and the article confirms the major interest of the Portland Trailblazers for the French Center. He would join another Frenchman in Oregon with Nicolas Batum who has been drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2008 and traded to Portland. -- EuropeanProspects.com
Elliot Williams
Apparently Elliot Williams had his 1st workout today. Even tweeted about it. An NBA source told me it was for Houston. In LA. Just shooting. -- Draft Express
Portland Trail Blazers have targeted University of Memphis guard Elliot Williams and are actively working to get an additional first-round pick in the 20s to draft him, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Tim Ohlbrecht
Telekom Baskets Bonn coach Mike Koch told the local press he is "nearly sure" that Tim Ohlbrecht stays plays for his team next season, even in the case he gets drafted. -- EuropeanProspects.com
Miroslav Raduljica
Serbian Media B92 reports a strange story around potential NBA Draft pick Miroslav Raduljica. We are not sure if we understood everything right as we read the article through Google Translate:
The transfer of Miroslav Raduljica to Efes Pilsen as it has been rumored over the last days seems dead. Efes Pilsen had already paid a 150.000 Euro buy-out advance in 2009 which apparently is not valid anymore today as it was revealed that Raduljica has a contract until 2013 with Reflex Belgrade. Additionally, the 150.000 Euro have "disappeared" and nobody knows where they are. -- EuropeanProspects.com
Ryan Richards
British center Ryan Richards isn’t expected to get past the Kings with the 33rd pick. -- Woj
Daniel Orton
Orton’s combination of knee issues, poor conditioning and personal turmoil surrounding his predraft process has raised multiple warning signs for NBA teams. A 6-foot-10 freshman, Orton had been considered a prospect for the middle of the first round, but several league executives suggested on Wednesday morning that he could drop into the second.
"It could be like one of those anvils falling in a cartoon," one Western Conference executive said.
"It’s a perfect storm of stuff happening with him – the knee, the conditioning, the stuff going on around him," one Eastern Conference personnel director said. "I think he drops right out of the first [round]."
"Unless there’s one team that’s fallen in love with him because of the size, the shot-blocking, he could fall a long way," a Western Conference general manager said.
Orton canceled several workouts in the past two weeks, leading some to speculate that a team had privately guaranteed to draft him. There’s no evidence that’s true. He finally worked out for Indiana on Tuesday. -- Yahoo
Nemanja Bjelica
Nemanja Bjelica looks a little less attractive after today. Signed a 3 year deal w/Benetton. One million dollar NBA buyout after each year. -- Draft Express
Craig Brackins
Hottest new name in the back end of the first round is Craig Brackins of Iowa State. Interest in trying to get him is rising. -- Spears
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