With the top three picks of the NBA Draft appearing to be Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero – likely in that order – the real fun begins with the Sacramento Kings at pick four.
The heavy favourite to be selected fourth overall is Purdue's Jaden Ivey, who projects as the top guard prospect in this year's class.
At 6ft 4in with tremendous athleticism, Ivey is a point guard that plays in a similar fashion to John Wall, although he is not the natural facilitator Wall is, leaning on his scoring and driving ability for his primary value.
Ivey was considered part of the top tier through early portions of the college basketball season until the three bigs elevated themselves further into their own conversation, but Ivey has been gaining so much steam throughout the pre-draft process that teams including the New York Knicks have reportedly been enquiring about trading up to the Kings' pick to select him.
Keegan Murray
After Ivey, the draft really opens up, although Iowa wing Keegan Murray will likely not fall outside of the top seven.
Murray is a 6ft 8in, highly skilled scorer who will be able to fill both forward spots in the NBA, and figures to be a player who will be able to create his own baskets in isolation situations.
He averaged 23.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game during his sophomore season, and shot a terrific 55 per cent from the field and 39.8 per cent from three-point range on 4.7 attempts per game.
Defense is the question with Murray, but he has the size and athleticism to contribute on that end, while the team that drafts him will hope he can fill a similar role to Milwaukee Bucks All-Star Khris Middleton as a low-maintenance scorer who does not need to be the centrepiece of every play to stack up points, but can also take over if needed.
Shaedon Sharpe
The mystery man of this year's class is 6ft 5in wing Shaedon Sharpe, who did not play a single game this past season at the college level.
Sharpe was viewed as a potential top-five pick in next year's draft, but opted to expedite his process to turn professional as soon as possible, and he will be rewarded with a top-10 pick barring any unforeseen red flags.
Strongly built, athletic, long-armed wings with the ability to aggressively hit pull-up three-pointers and defend multiple positions are probably the most valuable archetype in the game right now, and Sharpe fits the billing.
With a game that resembles Paul George, Sharpe arguably has a ceiling as high as anybody in the class, but a lot of future NBA wings look like Paul George when their only footage is against high school kids.
Bennedict Mathurin
Arizona wing Bennedict Mathurin also appears to be a lock for the top 10 after a dominant March Madness run that included a 30-point outburst in an overtime win in the Sweet 16, profiling as a high-level traditional shooting guard.
Clearly a score-first player, Mathurin – 6ft 6in with a 6ft 9in wingspan – will be able to defend opposing ones, twos and threes while his well-rounded offensive game should comfortably translate to an off-ball role at the next level.
Through his two seasons at Arizona, Mathurin shot 38 per cent from three on five attempts per game, including difficult, contested looks, while he also showed he can score at all three levels, and even dished seven assists with his 27 points in a key tournament win.
Maybe the safest pick outside of the top three, Mathurin will comfortably score in the teens as a rookie if he lands in a situation with minutes available. Think of him as a more athletic C.J. McCollum.
Dyson Daniels
Arguably the most unique guard in the class is Australian Dyson Daniels, who played with the G-League Ignite, and he also seems unlikely to fall out of the top 10.
Daniels was viewed as a decent prospect as a 6ft 5in combo guard who specialised in defense and lacked a jump shot – then he grew another three inches, cleaned up his jump shot and began assuming point guard responsibilities.
At 6ft 8in now with guard skills and elite defensive upside, Daniels is perhaps the hardest player in the class to find an NBA comparison for. He is so unselfish and pass-first that his play style resembles pure point guards like Tyus Jones or Monte Morris, but he is at least six inches taller and can realistically guard four positions.
Unlikely to ever become a true first option, Daniels is best served playing next to a primary scorer, making him an ideal fit with Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers if they decide to use pick seven instead of trade it.
Ousmane Dieng
Speaking of late risers in the draft process, teams seem to be deciding that someone with the tools of France's Ousmane Dieng may have no business falling outside of the top 10.
Dieng, a massive wing measuring at 6ft 10in, showed some extremely interesting flashes of skill this past season as an 18-year-old playing with the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL.
Playing for a professional team, he was not given nearly the kind of leash as college prospects to show what they can do, averaging 15 minutes and three points through his first nine games.
But once he found his footing, it was clear he was a serious prospect, showing off sharp ball-handling and the ability to attack off the bounce in an 11-game stretch where he averaged 24 minutes and 14 points per game, scoring at least 17 points in five contests and shooting 20-of-56 from long range (35 per cent).
A.J. Griffin
The son of former NBA player and current Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin, the only thing that can force A.J. Griffin to slide down draft boards is his injury history.
With essentially the perfect body for an NBA wing at 6ft 6in and 220 pounds with a seven-foot wingspan, Griffin is yet to turn 19 years old, and shot a blistering 44 per cent from long range on 4.4 attempts per game in his sole collegiate season.
If he can stay healthy, Griffin will be a solid starting wing at the bare minimum, with similar offensive upside to Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby and the defensive tools to guard at least three positions.
Teams will take a look at his medicals and decide if he is worth the risk, with multiple serious injuries during his high school career and more injury concerns during his one year at Duke.
The Portland Trail Blazers are reportedly hoping to trade the seventh overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft to the Toronto Raptors for starting wing O.G. Anunoby.
Chris Haynes' report came just an hour after it was announced that the Trail Blazers had acquired Jerami Grant in a trade from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for a Milwaukee Bucks first-round draft pick in 2025, which Portland received from the New Orleans Pelicans this past season in the C.J. McCollum trade.
Haynes is known to have a close connection to Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, and has often been accurate in his reporting on the team.
While it is likely the Trail Blazers are interested in such a trade, it remains to be seen if the Raptors have any interest in moving the ascending 24-year-old, who is one of the best wing defenders in the entire league and averaged 17.1 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game this past season.
Anunoby is young enough to still fit with the Raptors' timeline if they are in fact opting to reset and build around Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, so for this trade to realistically go ahead, the Trail Blazers would need to give up more than just one pick.
Fresh off their fourth NBA championship in eight seasons, the Golden State Warriors are planning to continue that run of success by bringing all their players back for a run at yet another title.
Championship teams rarely return exactly the same roster the following season and payroll issues need to be considered, but Warriors general manager Bob Myers would like to see the same team on the floor in 2022-23.
With seven free agents and the team already $24.6 million over the tax, Golden State has plenty of work to do this offseason.
The unrestricted free agents are Kevon Looney, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, Andre Iguodala, Damion Lee, Gary Payton II and Juan Toscano-Anderson. Looney, Porter and Payton are the key pieces of that group, with Iguodala possibly retiring.
"Our goal, our hope is to bring all those guys back and try to do it again," Myers said. "They were all great in different ways and all fill different needs for us. A lot of our free agents had big moments in the NBA Finals, which means they’re pretty important."
Also on Myers’ extensive to-do list is contract extensions for Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole, though they might not be settled for a while. Poole had a breakout third season with 18.5 points per game and is up for a rookie extension. Wiggins, meanwhile, is entering the final year of his five-year contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"All these negotiations take on a life of their own," Myers said. "They’re all different. But I know with a guy like Jordan, usually, those things come down to kind of training camp and end-of-the-line deadline. We’re a long way from figuring out what Andrew wants, but I do know what we want. We want to keep him, and we’re going to make every effort to keep both those guys. They were huge for us."
One key contributor that is sure to be back for the Warriors is assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, who backed out of the head coaching position with the Charlotte Hornets to stay with Golden State.
The Portland Trail Blazers have traded a 2025 first-round pick to the Detroit Pistons for 28-year-old forward Jerami Grant.
Grant, entering his ninth NBA season, will play for his fifth team after starting out his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, before more than two years with the Oklahoma City Thunder, one season with the Denver Nuggets, and finally signing with the Detroit Pistons for the past two seasons.
The pick Portland are trading is a Milwaukee Bucks first-rounder, acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Jrue Holiday, and then shipped to the Trail Blazers in the C.J. McCollum deal.
It is reportedly protected from picks one-through-four, which will only come into play if the Bucks finish as one of the worst teams in the league in the 2024-25 season.
As part of the deal, the Pistons also swapped second-round picks with the Trail Blazers, moving up from 46 to 36 in Thursday's NBA Draft.
Grant set new career-highs in both points and assists per game during his first year with the Pistons with 22.3 points and 2.8 assists, but both numbers dipped slightly this past season with the arrival of number one overall pick in the 2021 draft, Cade Cunningham.
The Trail Blazers have also reportedly been testing the waters to see what they could get in return for the seventh pick in this week's draft, and may have more moves up their sleeves in coming days.
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has thrown his support behind Jayson Tatum despite the 2022 All-NBA First Teamer's down NBA Finals series.
Three-time NBA All-Star Tatum averaged only 21.5 points per game in the NBA Finals, shooting 50 per cent or better from the field only once in their 4-2 series loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Tatum also gave up 23 turnovers in the six games in the NBA Finals. The 24-year-old had a mixed playoffs, finishing with the most turnovers (100) by a single player in NBA postseason history.
However, Tatum was also outstanding in series wins over the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat, including a remarkable 46-point haul in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals facing elimination against the reigning champions.
"I just told him to go on vacation," Stevens told reporters during a videoconference call. "Go get some rest."
"This guy gave us everything he had. When you look at the minutes, when you look at the games played ... I've said this many times: He's a superstar that doesn't want to sit. He wants to play, he wants to play all the time.
"I thought that in the Finals, he would be the first to say that he would like to have some of those moments back, but I thought there were other contributing factors to how he played."
Tatum, who was named in the All-NBA First Team for the first time in 2022, averaged career-highs with 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game across the 2021-21 regular season.
The Celtics small forward shot at 45.3 per cent from the field across the regular season, dipping slightly to 42.6 per cent in the postseason.
During the playoffs, Tatum averaged 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 6.16 assists but with 4.16 turnovers per game.
"We're all subjective in every moment and react emotionally, but when you start looking at it objectively and more so historically, what Jayson and Jaylen [Brown] have done in the playoffs, historically at their ages, is rarified air," Stevens said.
"I think we're very cognisant of the fact that even though Jayson would admittedly not have played his best series, there's no chance we're there without him and without all of his great play all the way through.
"I think back to all of the times ... Game 6 in Milwaukee was one of the best games I've seen an individual play in my time, certainly in person and with the Celtics.
"Without that performance, we would have had this discussion a month and a half ago."
Houston Rockets guard John Wall has exercised his player option for the 2022-23 season, locking in a salary of $47.4million, The Athletic reported on Tuesday.
Wall was a healthy scratch all last season for the Rockets but will be tied with the Philadelphia 76ers' James Harden for the second-largest salary cap hit in the league.
Wall opting into the hefty payday is no surprise, but the timing of the move makes the 32-year-old point guard eligible to be traded before or during Thursday's NBA Draft, which annually brings a flurry of player and pick swaps.
Any potential Wall trade would need a sufficiently large salary coming back to Houston.
Russell Westbrook, who was traded for Wall in 2020 in a deal with the Washington Wizards, has been a frequent target of trade rumours, with the Los Angeles Lakers looking to improve on a disappointing 33-49 season in 2021-22.
National NBA reporter Marc Stein, previously of ESPN and the New York Times, reported earlier this month that the Rockets are demanding extra draft picks in another potential Wall-Westbrook swap.
Wall, a five-time All-Star, has seen his career derailed by injuries and has played just 113 games since being named Third Team All-NBA after the 2016-17 season.
Former Purdue star and NBA first-round draft pick Caleb Swanigan died on Monday in Indiana at the age of 25.
The Allen County Coroner's Office confirmed Swanigan died of natural causes.
"Our thoughts and prayers to Caleb Swanigan's family and friends," the Purdue men's basketball Twitter account wrote in a statement. "The world lost a gentle soul last night."
A former Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana, Swanigan spent two seasons at Purdue before embarking on a brief career in the NBA.
As a sophomore with the Boilermakers in 2016-17, Swanigan was named a consensus first-team All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year with averages of 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds. He helped lead Purdue to a Big Ten regular-season title and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Kansas in the Sweet 16.
Following a successful collegiate career, Swanigan was selected with the 26th pick of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.
He spent just over a season and a half in Portland before being traded to Sacramento and played 10 games for the Kings before being traded back to the Trail Blazers in January 2020.
He played his final NBA game on March 10, 2020. In three professional seasons, Swanigan appeared in 75 games, averaging 2.3 points and 2.9 rebounds.
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