The NBA draft lottery threw a number of teams and agents for a loop. As we noted Tuesday in our Mock Draft, there are some awkward fits for teams if they draft the best player on the board. So, look for lots of trade talk and draft positioning over the next few weeks.Here's a look at some of what I've been hearing from NBA teams and agents.
Who do the Wizards want?
The Washington Wizards won the lottery, but GM Ernie Grunfeld was being coy with reporters about who the Wizards would take with the No. 1 pick by saying there were a lot of good players out there. Could he really be thinking of taking someone other than John Wall?
Don't read too much into it.
The NBA actually discourages teams from announcing ahead of time who they'll take with the No. 1 pick. Last year the league got testy with Clippers GM Mike Dunleavy after he spilled the beans to a reporter early that they would select Blake Griffin.
While some people have noted correctly that Wall isn't a perfect fit in Washington because of Gilbert Arenas, keep the following points in mind:
First, a source inside the Wizards has been telling me for months that Wall is atop their big board.
Second, many scouts believe that Wall and Arenas can play together. They believe Arenas is more of a 2-guard at heart and that together they'd be an explosive backcourt.
Third, despite the previous point, you can expect that the Wizards will shop Arenas hard over the next few months. They were going to try to trade him regardless, but Wall gives them even more incentive.
Arenas won't be easy to move. He has four years and $80 million left on his contract, has battled injuries the past few seasons and is coming off an embarrassing scandal. But he isn't impossible to trade, either. He's still one of the best scorers in the league and if the Wizards are willing to take back some junk in return, they could probably move him.
One team that I'm told will have interest if they strike out in free agency? The New York Knicks might consider swapping Eddy Curry (who will be in the last year of his contract) for Arenas.
Minny may move up
Look for the Minnesota Timberwolves to make a strong play to trade up to No. 2. The Wolves are very, very high on Evan Turner. They feel his versatility, scoring ability and court presence is the perfect fit for their young club.
The Sixers, on the other hand, aren't a perfect fit for Turner. Andre Iguodala and Jrue Holiday are versatile guards who can defend multiple positions and handle the ball. And like Turner, neither is a lights-out shooter.
With Minnesota pining hard for Turner, don't be surprised to see the Wolves offer up the No. 4 and either the No. 16 or the No. 23 pick to Philly to move up two spots.That would allow the Wolves to get the guy they've coveted all along in the draft and give Philly an extra pick and a shot at another guy they're high on -- Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins or Syracuse's Wesley Johnson.
Nothing for Nets? Not quite
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Derrick Favors is far from a poor consolation prize for the disappointed Nets.
I'm sure the Nets were disappointed they didn't land the No. 1 pick and the chance to take Wall. But not all is lost.
The team is also quite high on Georgia Tech big man Derrick Favors. While the team has invested a lot of time developing Yi Jianlian, Favors could be a better long-term solution. Pair him up front with Brook Lopez and the Nets will have a great front line for the future. With Devin Harris and Courtney Lee anchoring the backcourt, they'll still make a move for LeBron James ... but clearly it's not as persuasive now that they have no chance at Wall.
What might have been
How close were the Detroit Pistons to winning the No. 1 pick? The Wizards' winning ping pong ball combination was 8-7-11-4. The Pistons owned 8-7-11-6. They were essentially one ping pong ball away from moving up from No. 7 to No. 1.
Prospects picking up momentum
If you haven't checked out our latest mock, there's clearly been some momentum by a few players -- mainly Nevada's Luke Babbitt, Texas' Avery Bradley and Fresno State's Paul George.
At this point it's looking more and more likely that both Babbitt and Bradley will be lottery picks.The Jazz (at No. 9) and the Grizzlies (at 12) have both been high on Babbitt for a while and the consensus continues to grow daily. I'm not sure who Babbitt will guard in the league, but NBA teams like players who are ready to come in and score right away, and Babbitt fits the description.
Bradley has also gotten more positive reviews over the past few weeks as teams have gone back and looked at more video. The Clippers at No. 8, the Pacers at 10 and the Raptors at 13 are considering him.
George is another player whose stock is on the rise. That's in part the result of strong workouts in San Antonio and Chicago against Kansas' Xavier Henry. Sources say that George wowed onlookers in both workouts. Look for the Timberwolves to get to him ahead of both the Spurs and Bulls. They've been looking for a long, athletic 2 who can spread the floor.
Some love for Jeremy Lin
I got some interesting feedback from teams about Harvard's Jeremy Lin. I wrote last week that I didn't think Lin was ready for the NBA and I expected him to go undrafted after a workout I saw in Vegas. However, several teams have since told me that they are considering Lin with their second-round pick.
While they agreed with my assessment that he may struggle athletically, they also think his high basketball IQ and ability to score make him a legitimate prospect.
Tiny's game measures up
Finally, I saw Oklahoma big man Keith Gallon on Monday. His nickname is "Tiny" and if you've seen him play, you know he's anything but.
Gallon has been working out in New York for the past week after hiring agent Marc Cornstein. He's been in the gym with Serbian basketball coach Mihajlo Pavicevic in the morning and with strength and conditioning coach Oren Lippman in the afternoon.
Gallon was very intriguing. He's quite frankly the best long-distance shooter I've seen for a man his size. He was nailing 65 percent to 70 percent from the NBA 3-point line with ease. His stroke is effortless and he has deep, deep range. Gallon is also surprisingly light on his feet. He moves well in the post and clearly has the strength to play in the NBA paint.
With that said, Gallon isn't in great shape. He weighed in at 295 and probably needs to lose another 10-15 pounds. He got tired pretty early in both workouts, though he did get a second wind about 25 minutes into the workout and finished both of them.
The key for Gallon will be getting into great shape. Some of that will be diet (he told me he liked to snack on junk food all day) and some of that will be the sort of core conditioning Lippman is doing with him. For the most part, Lippman doesn't have him lifting weights. Instead he has him working on footwork and using ropes and bands to increase flexibility and core strength. The goal is to get him leaner and to improve his stamina.
If a team can persuade Gallon to continue this work, he could be a steal. A number of teams are looking at him as a potential first-round pick.
"We liked him in high school," one GM said. "We thought he could be a big-time player in college. It didn't work out. But after one year, we're not giving up on the talent."
When I spoke with Gallon after the workout, I commented on a tattoo on his neck. It said "Misunderstood." I asked him why he had his tattoo there.
"I think my whole life people have misunderstood me," Gallon said. "Everyone says I'm a bad guy or that I won't work hard. But then they get to know me and everything changes. I read stuff about me and I don't recognize it. I'm willing to work. I've just needed to understand what it was that I need to do. I'm getting that now for the first time in my career. It's hard, but I want to be the best. I think this is getting me there."/quote]
