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With the selection order set for the 2022 NBA draft, teams are starting to formulate their plans for the annual talent grab.
Some of those plans are starting to leak out, too.
From the Orlando Magic’s choice at No. 1 to a prospect reportedly on the radar of a marquee franchise, we have rounded up the latest draft buzz in the basketball world.
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It isn’t officially decision time for the Magic, but their jackpot win at the draft lottery unofficially put them on the clock.
It sounds like they have done enough of their draft work already to have two prospects vying to become this summer’s top pick.
“We’ll see how this shakes out, but certainly I think Chet Holmgren of Gonzaga and Jabari Smith of Auburn… I think the consensus right now is those are really the two players competing for No. 1 with the Magic,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said (h/t RealGM).
Smith, a 6’10”, 220-pound power forward, might be the draft’s best shooter. Holmgren, a shot-blocker and floor-spacer, arguably offers the draft’s highest ceiling. Those players and Duke’s Paolo Banchero have been pretty universally regarded as the draft’s top prospects for a while now.
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Orlando’s lottery win gave the franchise its first No. 1 pick since it selected Dwight Howard first overall in 2004. The Magic seem eager to try adding another organizational centerpiece.
After that, though, it sounds like anything could be on the table with this draft.
“Other than No. 1, I think just about every team is going to be willing to talk about their picks in this draft,” an executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney.
That reportedly starts with the Oklahoma City Thunder at No. 2 and Houston Rockets at No. 3. With both teams knee-deep in rebuilding projects, it seems likely each would want to add blue-chip talent with a top-three pick. Then again, if they aren’t in love with this draft class, it’s conceivable they could have interest in moving down if it meant gaining more long-term assets.
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The New York Knicks have effectively been hunting for a point guard for the better part of three decades now.
Could their search finally yield a solution on draft night? That’s certainly possible, although the Knicks didn’t get the lottery luck needed to climb high enough for a shot at Purdue’s Jaden Ivey.
New York stayed at No. 11, which could still have the club positioned to pursue a point guard. Marc Berman of the New York Post reported one of the Knicks’ “considerations” is Dyson Daniels of the G League Ignite, a 6’8″ floor general who plays with a pass-first mentality and offers a good deal of defensive versatility.
Daniels isn’t much of a shooter yet, which could be tricky since Julius Randle and RJ Barrett are at their best as inside-the-arc attackers. Still, if New York envisions improvement in that department for Daniels, it could pounce now for the playmaking and pesky defense he could provide from opening night.
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