Potential NBA Draft-day trades, Kenny Atkinson ditches the Hornets

Welcome back to another edition of Enjoy Basketball!

Isn’t it crazy that just one week after the NBA season officially ended, an entirely new crop of NBA players will be entering the league? This Thursday is the NBA Draft, which is shaping up to be extremely entertaining.

The top three picks are essentially locked in, but no one knows the order yet. Reports have indicated that the Orlando Magic will take Jabari Smith Jr., the Oklahoma City Thunder will draft Chet Holmgren, and the Houston Rockets will pick up Paolo Banchero, but anything could happen on draft night.

And on top of that, it looks like there could be a lot of craziness in the lottery/ Some players have risen up draft boards in recent weeks (like Ousmane Dieng), and others have fallen a bit (like Shaedon Sharpe).

The NBA Draft will be very fun based on the selections alone, but that’s not even considering the number of trades we could see. In fact, let’s dive into a few potential trade ideas for draft night.

Let’s get into it.

Kings deal 4th pick

It’s been heavily rumored that the Sacramento Kings are interested in trading the fourth-overall pick in this year’s draft. They want to compete for the playoffs, and dealing their pick in exchange for win-now players seems to be their mindset (whether it’s a smart one or not).

This was a note made by Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report on May 20:

There’s a strong belief among rival teams that Sacramento will explore trading the fourth selection, either out of the draft entirely for an impact veteran or down later in the lottery to net a contributing rotation player in the process."

With that in mind, let’s draw up a potential trade the Kings could make using the fourth pick that would accomplish their goal of adding win-now players.

Now, keep in mind, this trade proposal is based on what the Kings would consider. The same franchise that traded away Tyrese Haliburton this past year. But in all seriousness, having Julius Randle as a third option (instead of a first, like he was with the New York Knicks) doesn’t sound too awful.

New York has been searching for a point guard for years, and this trade would allow them to draft Jaden Ivey with the fourth pick, someone they have shown a ton of interest in. Sacramento gets to compete for the playoffs while still making a pick in the lottery while the Knicks get to reset.

Other ideas include a Malcolm Brogdon-Pacers trade, a Jerami Grant-Pistons trade, and a Kyle Kuzma/Kentavious Caldwell-Pope-Wizards trade.

Trail Blazers trade 7th pick

The other rumor floating around is that the Portland Trail Blazers are interested in dealing the seventh-overall pick. They want to build a competitive team around Damian Lillard and would likely choose to trade the pick in exchange for a win-now player (similar to what the Kings want to do with the fourth pick).

With that in mind, here’s a potential option they should look into.

This deal would net the Blazers two win-now players, both of whom would fit nicely alongside Lillard. Brogdon’s solid defense and reliable shooting (outside of this season, where he had an abnormally down year) make him an ideal backcourt partner. As for Myles Turner, he would give Portland some much-needed interior defense and allow them to explore sign-and-trade options for Jusuf Nurkic.

Meanwhile, the Pacers would be kickstarting their rebuild around Haliburton with two top-ten picks. They’re already exploring Brogdon trades (according to rumors), and this one would be a massive win for them.

We’ll defer to our resident Blazers fan here, though. How’d we do, Spencer?

Wild card trade

Those are the two trades that have been brought up time and time again. However, for the fun of it, let’s predict a random trade that could happen. A surprise deal that could come out of nowhere. Here’s a fun guess.

Let us start with this: This is not a realistic trade. It’s not realistic in the sense that blockbuster, three-team trades rarely happen. This is a 2K trade that would almost certainly never come to fruition in real life. But it kind of makes sense, doesn’t it?

The Utah Jazz would reset their roster a bit around Donovan Mitchell, with John Collins as his new partner for the future. Kelly Oubre Jr. would give them some much-needed wing help, PJ Washington would provide some solid floor-spacing, and they’d also get a pick just outside the lottery (that they could flip, if they wanted).

The Atlanta Hawks would get an elite defensive center who Trae Young could turn into one of the best lob threats in the business. The pick-and-roll with Young and Rudy Gobert could be deadly. The three-time DPOY would help transform their awful defense into something passable with his mere presence.

Lastly, the Charlotte Hornets would get the center that they desperately need. Clint Capela would thrive alongside LaMelo Ball (just as he’s thrived alongside Young in the past). If there were any team that could need to give up more in this deal, however, it’d probably be Charlotte.

We’ll leave it up to y’all, though. What are your thoughts?

Kenny Atkinson backs out of Hornets job

One week ago today, we wrote about how Kenny Atkinson was just hired as the new coach of the Hornets. But now, that’s no longer the case. Reports came out that Atkinson backed out of the Charlotte job in favor of staying with the Golden State Warriors as Steve Kerr’s top assistant.

He reportedly made the decision due to family matters, but it definitely leaves Charlotte in a sticky situation. (Especially considering there were reports that some members of the organization found out about his decision via Twitter.)

What are they supposed to do now? Call up Mike D’Antoni and ask him to be the coach? Terry Stotts? Both will know that they were the second choice, which is so awkward. With less than a week left until draft day, the Hornets have to restart their coaching search. Ouch.

Wizards eyeing star point guards

According to Quinton Mayo, the Wizards are interested in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dejounte Murray, and Malcolm Brogdon. They are searching for a new starting point guard to pair alongside Bradley Beal in hopes that he returns this summer.

While Brogdon is a very realistic option who they could explore trades for, the other two are not. The Wizards being “interested” in SGA and Murray is like the Lakers being “interested” in trading Russell Westbrook for Bradley Beal. It’s great to have “interests”, but not all of them are realistic.

Lakers interested in Bradley Beal

Oh… Um… So this is a thing. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Lakers are interested in bringing Beal to Los Angeles. He is “a guy they want.” Beal has a player option for next season that he’s expected to decline. Beal could still return to Washington, which he has expressed heavy interest in recently, but anything is possible.

Again, just because a team has “interest” in something doesn’t mean that thing is realistic. In this case, the Lakers would have to trade either Westbrook or Anthony Davis for Beal. Neither of those trades is going to happen.

Jazz unveil new jerseys

No words. Just the image. Form your own opinions…

Enjoying the journey, through the lens of Jayson Tatum - Nekias Duncan (Basketball News)

For Andrew Wiggins, fatherhood is the heart and soul behind his NBA journey - Marcus Thompson II and Jon Krawczynski (The Athletic)

The Anthony Davis trade continues being bountiful for Pelicans - Christian Clark (NOLA.com)

Reminiscing on Boban Marjanovic’s best moments - Sam Guertler (Mavs Moneyball)

The good, the bad, and the purple - taking a look at the new Utah Jazz jerseys - James Hansen (SLC Dunk)

Since this is the space usually reserved for game-day predictions, let’s do a little prediction before the NBA Draft. Last year, Herbert Jones emerged as one of the top rookies of his class, despite being a second-round pick. Here are two prospects projected to go in the second round who we believe could be impactful players immediately.

Jabari Walker - Colorado

The 6’8 wing is currently ranked 68th on ESPN’s best available big board. He averaged 14.6 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in his sophomore season. Walker is a decent three-point shooter, but where he really thrives is on the defensive side of the ball. His above-average rebounding and active defense could make him a coach’s favorite.

Christian Braun - Kansas

If Walker were to follow in the path of Jones, Braun would be following in the path of Duncan Robinson. The three-year Jayhawk shot the ball at a 38.6% clip from distance in his final collegiate season. He moves well off the ball and thrives when coming off pick-and-rolls or dribble-handoffs. Plus, at 6’7, he has the size to shoot over defenders. Think of a potential Robinson-type with more speed and much more athleticism.

The NBA Draft is always one of the most fun times of the year. It’s a time when young kids’ dreams come true and NBA fans get to predict the next potential superstar. Plus, there’s something for everyone.

Not every fan’s team will have a pick in the first round, and some teams don’t have a pick in the draft at all. But that doesn’t mean they can’t find effective players. Seeking out quality undrafted free agents has been crucial in recent years, and this draft class could be filled with sleepers.

Let us know who you think is the biggest sleeper in the draft.

That'll be it for us. Thanks for reading. See y'all next time.

- Jack Simone

Last Trivia Answer: The answers to Friday’s question were Kobe Bryant and Kawhi Leonard. Bryant pulled down 15 boards in a 2010 Finals game against the Celtics, and Leonard grabbed 116 rebounds in a 2013 Finals game against the Heat.

Trivia Question: With the NBA Draft right around the corner, let’s keep things simple with a draft-related question. Which player holds the record for most points scored in a single game for a second-round draft pick?