The rumors are swirling fast and furious a little over a week before the NBA Draft, aaaaaaaaaaand I suspect almost all of them are complete and total garbage. The first rumor is that the Kings are considering trading 5 and 10 to get the 3rd pick from the Sixers. I never bought into this rumor when it was first floated out weeks ago. The Kings are reported to be heavily interested in De'Aaron Fox and want to secure the ability to draft him. For one, he'll very likely be available with the 5th pick, so trading up is unnecessary. Secondly, the Kings are so far from contending, they need to add as many talented players as they can. Sacrificing another lottery pick to move up two spots for the 3rd pick seems like overkill for them. Oh, and as bad as Vlade Divac is at his job, there is this thing called personal pride, and I highly doubt he wants to get ripped off in another trade with the Sixers.
I don't even think it makes that much sense for the Sixers either... if they have a guy they highly covet at #3. The Sixers are loaded with young players and picks already, it's far more important they add the superior talent, than settling for lesser talent and more players. However, if their favorite player is someone they think would be available at 5, that changes things obviously.
Count me as someone who still doesn't buy the Lakers passing on Lonzo Ball for Josh Jackson. I have no doubts they are probably intrigued by Jackson's talents, but Ball is a perfect fit for them. As much as I don't like his form, he can shoot, and the Lakers desperately need shooting. He also gives them that floor general they lack. Watching the Lakers this past season way more than I should have to follow their draft pick status, they have no idea where they are going or what they're doing on the court. They have no direction and Ball would bring that instantly. I just don't see where Josh Jackson fits on their roster unless they truly don't care about fit at all and want to throw a bunch of guys together. He plays the same position as Ingram, and even if they moved Josh Jackson to the 2 they'd still have a horrible shooting lineup. Plus, the Lakers seem to think Paul George ending up there eventually is a formality at this point. If that ends up being the case, where does Jackson fit in 2018-19? I think the Lakers still take Ball at 2, and then the draft gets serious with the Sixers at 3.
Where do the Sixers go at 3? My gut still says Jackson, but I haven't been able to shake this Jayson Tatum feeling I've had for a week or so now. All this talk about "shooting" and "fit" coming from the Sixers whenever they speak has altered my thinking a bit. Plus, Jayson Tatum is the safe and "least sexy" pick of any potential pick at 3, and doesn't it always seem like when it's time to get super excited about the Sixers, something always happens to derail it? Ben Simmons getting hurt before the season, Embiid getting hurt after dominating as a rookie, Okafor not getting traded when it was looking like a trade was imminent, etc. Embiid is healthy, Simmons is healthy, so what could derail our excitement more than a pick that is considered least sexy? I'm not saying Tatum would be a bad pick, he could very well end up being better than Jackson, but it would leave a lot of Sixers fans feeling very "meh" heading into the summer leagues. Right now all we have is excitement headed into the season. My gut tells me the top 3 guys in consideration at 3 will be Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, and Dennis Smith Jr. If Lonzo Ball falls, insert him into the mix too.
Current big board:
1. Markelle Fultz
2. Josh Jackson
3. Dennis Smith Jr.
4. Jayson Tatum
5. Lonzo Ball
6. Malik Monk
7. Jonathan Isaac
8. De'Aaron Fox
9. Frank Ntilikina
10. Donovan Mitchell
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