It feels like it has been eons since the NBA Finals concluded with the Warriors as champions. Maybe it was because it felt so premeditated, or maybe it has been the deluge of rumors and potential moves that has taken over the league in the past week. Either way, the 2017 NBA draft can move on several of the major storylines that have dominated the sport — though they’re not going away just yet.
We have everything from overly talkative dads, to traded No. 1 draft picks, to a severe depletion of big men. There may not be any generational talents, but the entire lottery is filled with prospects that make this a deep draft. And with the shape of the league potentially changing, this is as good of a time to pay attention as any.
1. Are the 76ers finally a complete team?
Philadelphia has pooled their assets for years now, trusting the process and carefully procuring players who can lead a future championship team. With a trade with the Celtics for the No. 1 pick and plans to select Markelle Fultz, they finally believe that they have a core in place that can lead them into the future.
Fultz, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and other assorted players that Philadelphia has accumulated is a core. There are reasons to believe it won’t work — and the 76ers have to actually make the pick — but this might be changing to The Results after years of The Process.
2. Will Lonzo Ball finally get linked up with the Lakers?
It’s destiny, isn’t it? Something like that.
Los Angeles actually went into the draft lottery with a slightly better than 50 percent chance of losing their draft pick, and they instead ended up with the second one overall — right where Lonzo Ball has been projected to go for months now. All of LaVar Ball’s bluster and the general fascination (or contempt?) with the Ball family could end up with Lonzo on the league’s most historically popular team, and the one he wanted to play for all along.
3. Do the Celtics shake up the draft?
Boston moved back from No. 1 to No. 3, and they could move back again. The consensus third pick has been Josh Jackson, but he hasn’t worked out with the Celtics (wanting a guarantee that the team wouldn’t give him).
It seems like Boston might be looking at Duke’s Jayson Tatum instead. Tatum is a similarly versatile wing who doesn’t have the greatest jump shot, but his ceiling is generally seen as lower than Jackson. Whatever they do at No. 3, that will set the tone for the rest of the evening.
4. What the heck are the Knicks doing with Kristaps?
New York has one very large, basketball-playing son who they care deeply about. Well, at least the fans do — the team has been decidedly lukewarm towards him for months now, it seems.
After calling the season “a lot of confusion” in March, Porzingis skipped his exit interview and went overseas to Latvia. The Knicks reportedly haven’t been in contact with their budding star ever since, and team president Phil Jackson hasn’t taken him off the trade market, even if there’s a small chance they actually deal him away.
“As much as we value Kristaps and what he’s done for us, when a guy doesn’t show up at an exit meeting, everyone starts speculating on the duration or his movability from a club,” Jackson said Wednesday night. “So we’ve been getting calls and we’re listening but we’re not intrigued yet, at this level. As much as we love this guy, we have to do what’s best for our club.”
New York shouldn’t trade him, but you never know with the Knicks. Maybe there’s a draft night blockbuster waiting to happen.
5. When does a trade for Paul George happen?
Unlike Porzingis, whose future is very much in the air, there’s no question about George. After telling Indiana that he wouldn’t be re-signing with them in 2018 when he becomes a free agent, the Pacers have actively looked to trade him. It’s only a matter of when and where.
George reportedly prefers to sign with the Lakers in 2018, even if he’s traded, which is scaring off most potential suitors and driving down his value. However, a few teams are still interested, trusting that their winning culture and team can win him over. Cleveland is the one who has garnered the most attention, while other teams — the Rockets, the Clippers — have at least had conversations with the Pacers. Still, George’s desire to be in Los Angeles might win out over everything else, which makes his situation rather volatile.
6. Which fans will be the saddest?
The Knicks. It’s always the Knicks.