The 2011 NBA Draft is officially one day away, meaning all of the mainstream media members are producing their Greatest Hits. Rumors of which players are rising and falling, which teams are trading up and down and which players may or may not have promises are all heating up like Karl Welzein's thighs.
The most interesting occurrence since the last roundup of NBA Draft rumors has the San Antonio Spurs attempting to trade into the high lottery -- either with the Toronto Raptors or Sacramento Kings -- while dangling point guard Tony Parker, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
Parker will be 30 by the time next seasons ends (hopefully it begins), but it seems like a pretty big risk to move the Frenchman and put the franchise in the hands of the mostly-capable George Hill. If Parker's dealt to the Kings for the No. 7 pick, which Wojnarowski reports the coaching staff is open to, they're reported to likely add Omri Casspi in the deal as well.
Thinking out loud, it seems the most Spurs-like players in that range are probably either Kawhi Leonard or Bismack Biyombo unless they want to move ahead of the Detroit Pistons in order to stash the talented Jonas Valanciunas.
Not to be outdone by Wojnarowski's report, ESPN's Andy Katz dished out a whole heaping helping of rumors he's heard as of late Tuesday night.
Kemba Walker seemed to be the most interesting mention in Katz's post as he reports the Connecticut guard could fall out of the lottery if he slips by the Kings pick (seventh overall). That would be quite odd considering it seems he could be in play with the Utah Jazz's No. 3 pick if they go with a guard coupled with his amazing NCAA Tournament run that typically makes general managers overrate prospects rather than underrate them.
It has apparently been rumored that Washington State's Klay Thompson had a promise to be selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the No. 10 pick, but Katz says that isn't true. He does believe that Kawhi Leonard has a promise within the top eight, however.
Following up on the Iman Shumpert talk from Tuesday, Gani Lawal talked to SB Nation Arizona about his former point guard. If I can be frank for a second, I'm going to assume that Lawal doesn't have a future in NBA scouting after comparing Shumpert to Scottie Pippen and a bigger Trevor Ariza. Umm, what?
While Shumpert will almost certainly play in the NBA next season considering he's all but locked up a first round pick somewhere, ESPN's Fran Fraschilla breaks down European prospects Bojan Bogdanovic, Nikola Mirotic, Davis Bertans and Adam Hanga. All but Bertans are under contract in Europe for at least one more season.
Speaking of ESPN personalities, Dick Vitale has a post up on his Super Six Sleepers. Considering there's a good chance that at least four of the six will be drafted in the first round, I'm not sure they're "sleepers," but who am I to judge Dickie V?
On the subject of sleepers, Andrew Goudelock probably does count as one. If he's not drafted, however, the Harlem Globetrotters would love to have him.
Last, but not least, does age matter? The answer is yes, in nearly every situation.
(Our good friend Dubbel also compiled a list over in the FanPosts that I didn't see when compiling my own)
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