NBA Draft Rumors: Smoke Gets Heavy Ahead Of Thursday’s Derby

Additionally, CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman reports that the Cavaliers are pushing for No. 2.

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The Kings are currently projected to pick Damian Lillard with the No. 5 pick in SB Nation’s Mock Draft.

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Follow our 2012 NBA draft results StoryStream for live pick-by-pick coverage. See our NBA draft rumors StoryStream for full coverage in the run-up. For more on the Rockets, please visit The Dream Shake and SB Nation Houston.

Follow our 2012 NBA draft results StoryStream for live pick-by-pick coverage. See our NBA draft rumors StoryStream for full coverage in the run-up. For more on the Bobcats, please visit Rufus On Fire.

Rivers is considered one of the best shooting guards in this year’s class, just a tier below Bradley Beal. He’s expected to go just outside the top 10 in the second half of the lottery.

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Follow our 2012 NBA draft results StoryStream for live pick-by-pick coverage. See our NBA draft rumors StoryStream for full coverage in the run-up. For more on the Kings, visit Sactown Royalty or SB Nation Bay Area. For more on the Rockets, please visit The Dream Shake and SB Nation Houston.

Ford also has Ohio State forward Jared Sullinger slipping all the way down to No. 22, and Baylor’s Perry Jones III unbelievably dropping to No. 24. Jones may have been a top-five pick had he entered the 2011 NBA draft, and has been projected to land in the lottery for the past year. Falling all the way to No. 24 would be a disastrous drop for Jones, though he would end up in a decent situation.

Smith has one year and $13.2 million left on his contract. He had another strong year in 2011-12, averaging a career-high 18.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game last year. However, he has made it be known several times that he would prefer to be playing elsewhere.

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Blair averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during the regular season, but averaged just 7.6 minutes per game in the playoffs and did not even make it into two games. The former 2nd-round pick would welcome a trade out of San Antonio, according to Wojnarowski.

It remains unclear how the Spurs will deal Blair without taking on another player to add to their roster. They could send him somewhere in a salary dump or for a future draft pick if need be, but that’s about the only avenue to make a deal happen under these conditions.

Welp, break out the bow ties and Scotch, because the 2012 NBA Draft is here.

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So at the very least, he’ll likely be off the board by No. 22. Nicholson is a 6’9 player with length, scoring abilities in the post, and an accurate shot beyond the three-point arc. He could be a good addition any team in the mid-to-late 1st round. ESPN’s Chad Ford had previously reported that one of the Celtics’ picks would go towards selecting Royce White, so we might already know their two selections.

However, Wojnarowski had one last tidbit about the Celtics’ plans:

Medical red flags are common, but they aren’t universal across the board. Some teams are more cautious with handing them out, while others tend to ignore them. It’s a safe bet that Jones’ medical issues are just a small reason why his stock is hitting a snag.

That said, the prospect of future knee issues isn’t helping Jones either.

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On Wednesday, Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley insisted that the team would not be selling the No. 25 pick to the highest bidder, despite salary concerns and the reality of guaranteed contracts for first-round picks heading into next season. On Thursday, Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported that with that No. 25 pick, the Grizzlies are receiving an internal push -- one we’ll attribute to Heisley -- for John Jenkins and Royce White.

White, a 6’9 forward from Iowa State, apparently canceled a workout with Memphis. He’s had a rough draft season due to anxiety with regards to flying. (That tends to be a problem when you need to work out for 10-15 teams in three weeks.) Jenkins is a 6’4 two-guard from Vanderbilt, and had excellent scoring and shooting numbers in three college seasons.

“This is Damian Lillard, from Oakland, California, Weber State University.”

He motions with his hands, moves in his chair and darts his eyes to the right for just a second, clearly uncomfortable with having to kick things off this way. Another deep breath follows as he leans forward, looking directly to the side this time.

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Dean of the NBA rumor mill Peter Vecsey* reports via Twitter that the Memphis Grizzlies are interested in bringing back Pau Gasol now that he’s done with that “championship phase.” The Viper says that Memphis offered up Zach Randolph to the L.A. Lakers in exchange for Pau.

If trading Pau is a financial decision, Z-Bo would not be an acceptable return. Randolph is due $50 million over the next three seasons, while Pau is due $38 million over the next two seasons.

While three first-rounders is very, very nice, Evans is two years removed from being Rookie of the Year and there’s sure to be a ton of talent available at No. 5. The Kings seem to be well aware that the will have to give up more to work this scenario out.

We’ll probably hear more from the Rockets before the draft is over: Daryl Morey has already shipped two players in return for three others and two draft picks, and definitely has more up his sleeve.

Via CBS Sports’ Ken Berger:

Berger suggests the Rockets’ goal is to move into the top 10 of the draft, either to select a star player or deal the pick in a package for Howard.

And again, Houston’s goal here would seem to be packaging these picks for a trade into the upper half of the top 10, and then packaging that pick in a deal for Orlando’s Dwight Howard. Will it work? Time will tell, but the Rockets are clearly leaving no stone unturned as the draft approaches.

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The NBA Draft is a day away, and the 2012 Draft gives us as strong a class as we’ve had in years -- but with just enough uncertainty to have us all totally confused. Who’s the second-best prospect in the draft? Can Michael Kidd-Gilchrist learn to shoot? Is Andre Drummond the next Amar’e Stoudemire or the next Hasheem Thabeet? Who trades for Dwight Howard?

Also, who is Damian Lillard?

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