NBA Draft Rumors: Three-Way Deal Shakes Up Top 10; Tristan Thompson, Kawhi Leonard On The Block?

Here’s how it breaks down, according to Sam Amick.

To recap, here’s where the bodies and picks moved.

Miller’s contract for next season is unguaranteed, which means that Denver frees up salary in the deal, depending on the other pieces. Felton is signed for only one more year, and will serve as a strong defender and solid playmaker for Portland. He’s not a great shooter, though, and that’s what the Blazers have needed in the backcourt.

The 2011 NBA Draft rolls on through Thursday night. Stay with this StoryStream for all of the 2011 NBA Draft results, check out our 2011 NBA Draft rumors and trades StoryStream for all the latest news from the NBA’s craziest day, and hit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were often mentioned as an active trade partner before the 2011 NBA Draft, but most speculation centered on the T’Wolves shopping their second pick around to half the NBA. Instead, David Kahn seems to have solved his backcourt problem by swapping Jonny Flynn to the Houston Rockets for Brad Miller, as Yahoo!‘s Marc Spears tweets.

Flynn’s departure from Minnesota would pave the way for Ricky Rubio to be handed the keys to the Timberwolves’ offense in his rookie season in the NBA, and Flynn gives the Rockets a dynamic scorer at point guard, even though Flynn’s grasp of how to run an offense can charitably be described as rudimentary. Miller just adds depth to a tall Minnesota frontcourt.

San Antonio has been one of the teams most rumored to make a move -- looks like it wasn’t all just smoke.

The 2011 NBA Draft rolls on through Thursday night. Stay with this StoryStream for all of the 2011 NBA Draft results, check out our 2011 NBA Draft rumors and trades StoryStream for all the latest news from the NBA’s craziest day, and hit our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

Jackson canceled several workouts in the days before the draft after one team apparently told him he wouldn’t stay on the board past their time on the clock. The Heat have long been rumored to be the mystery team that promised to select Jackson -- a rumor Katz supports, by the way.

Miller has an unguaranteed contract for the 2011-12 season, which means that should the team waive him, the Nuggets could see real immediate cap savings in such a swap. Felton’s contract only lasts one more year, but Felton is much younger.

The pick swap isn’t major: Portland is slated to pick at No. 21 (where Morehead State big man Kenneth Faried has been a constant rumor) and Denver picks No. 22.

For more on both teams, visit Canis Hoopus and Golden State of Mind.

See our 2011 NBA Draft hub for full coverage of the draft, trades and the aftermath on Friday.

The Utah Jazz are trying to trade up with the Detroit Pistons to get the eighth pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, according to the Salt Lake Tribune’s Brian T. Smith. And the Jazz might be doing so to snag BYU’s Jimmer Fredette.

The Jazz, thin at point guard behind Devin Harris, have long been linked to Fredette, who became a national sensation while at BYU. But Utah likely won’t be able to take Fredette with the No. 12 pick it currently has, as most mock NBA Drafts have him coming off the board earlier, perhaps to the Sacramento Kings at the No. 10 slot; Tom Ziller’s mock NBA Draft from Thursday morning had Fredette falling to No. 12 and Utah, but that preceded this afternoon’s three-way trade that sent the No. 10 pick to Sacramento.

The 2011 NBA Draft is mere hours away, and we’re close to the final editions of the mock NBA Drafts that will no doubt be torn up very shortly into tonight’s proceedings. But two of the more prominent draftniks are predicting the same first six picks.

That would be ESPN.com’s Chad Ford ($) and DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony, who each have a top six that begins with the Cleveland Cavaliers selecting Kyrie Irving with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and ends with Czech big man Jan Vesely being selected by the Washington Wizards.

The Wizards also have the No. 18 pick in the first round. If Washington does pick Vesely at No. 6, they could opt for a big man at No. 18 or look to bolster the backcourt rotation.

For more on the Wizards, visit Bullets Forever and SB Nation D.C.

For more on the Bobcats, visit Rufus On Fire.

With the deal, the Bobcats now have the No. 7 and No. 9 picks in the first round. It’s unclear what new GM Rich Cho’s aim is here. He could pick up a wing (Kawhi Leonard, Chris Singleton) and a big man (Bismack Biyombo, Tristan Thompson), or package both picks to leap up to grab a higher-profile prospect.

The Bucks, meanwhile, shed quite a bit of salary in Maggette and Salmons, pick up an affordable back-up point guard in Udrih, and only moved from No. 10 to No. 19 to do so. Jackson will be an interesting fit to say the least.

The Hawks do not currently have a first-round pick.

For more on the Hawks, visit Peachtree Hoops and SB Nation Atlanta.

The Kings have more cap space than any other team in the league, and as such can absorb quite a bit of salary in a deal for a veteran player. For more on the Kings, visit Sactown Royalty.

Bismack Biyombo, a popular lottery pick for Thursday’s 2011 NBA Draft, has a buyout with Spanish team Fuenlabrada of $1.5 million, reports ESPN’s Andy Katz. Under FIBA rules, Biyombo won’t be able to sign an NBA contract until the buyout issue is settled. Given that under the current NBA rookie scale most of Biyombo’s salary would have to go to the buyout, and that NBA teams can only contribute $500,000 toward a buyout, the issue could keep the Congolese big man out of the NBA for a season.

It’s unclear whether Biyombo’s Fuenlabrada contract extends beyond 2012.

Things are getting nuts.

The Cavaliers met with Valanciunas in Cleveland on Tuesday, DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony reported Thursday. That meeting may have convinced Cavs brass that even if Valanciunas has to remain with his Lithuanian club Lietuvo Rytas for the 2011-12, as expected, he’d be worth such a high pick.

For more on the Cavs, visit Fear The Sword and SB Nation Cleveland.

That makes it sound like something might be brewing. If so, the motivation could be financial on Orlando’s part.

Of course, it would also leave the Magic without a point guard, but the money savings might be too good to pass up.

For more on the Thunder, visit Welcome To Loud City.

The rumored Kings deal would play awful in Sacramento, where the Kings already have more cap space than any team in the league and where fans are anxious about the Maloofs’ finances and ability to fund the pending rebirth of the franchise. The Pistons could use the cap space, however, as Joe Dumars attempts to improve the team under new ownership.

The Blazers would be getting a point guard who more fits their team, since Nelson is an excellent jump shooter. He also has a fairly affordable contract, with one more year at $7.8 million and a player option for $7.8 million in 2012/13. Nelson, though, hasn’t quite been the same player since he injured his shoulder during a breakout season in 2008/09.

For the Magic, this appears to be a money-saving move, though they have been rumored to be after Miller in the past. Miller’s contract is fully ungaranteed for next season, so if Orlando doesn’t want him, they can waive him and save $7.8 million from their increasingly large payroll. However, general manager Otis Smith has long been a Nelson fan. It remains to be seen if that has changed.

Two major prospects are dropping fast in the last round of 2011 NBA Mock Drafts, and one is touted Final Four Most Oustanding Player Kemba Walker from UConn. In its latest mock, DraftExpress slots Walker to the Utah Jazz at No. 12, far below where the Husky had been projected over the past few months.

Wherever Walker falls, it’ll be one of the biggest stories of the night ... especially with Jay Bilas and Dick Vitale chiding teams that pass him up.