NBA Draft rumors: Andrew Wiggins, Dante Exum schedule workouts with No. 2 Bucks, No. 3 76ers

The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs are showing the best the NBA has to offer with a terrific Finals series through two games, but the rest of league has already moved on to next season. Believe it or not, the 2014 NBA Draft is only 16 days away. With the Cleveland Cavaliers on the clock, and the rest of the teams at the top of the order are going through with workouts and interviews with the most highly regarded prospects.

Kansas wing Andrew Wiggins is set to work out for the Milwaukee Bucks this weekend, the Philadelphia 76ers next week and the Cavaliers closer to the draft, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford. Australian point guard Dante Exum is also set to begin workouts. He’ll meet the Bucks this upcoming weekend, and then have workouts with the 76ers and Magic, per Ford.

Wiggins has been firmly projected to go in the top three since he declared for the draft. The Bucks, picking second, have been rumored to prefer Jabari Parker over Wiggins, but it’s possible the Kansas forward’s spectacular athleticism will swing Milwaukee in his favor after the workout.

Exum remains the draft’s most mysterious top prospect. Few have seen the 18-year-old point guard much, so private workouts could determine where he gets selected. The Magic are thought to be debating between Exum and Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart with the fourth pick.

The latest projection from Draft Express has the Cavaliers selecting Kansas center Joel Embiid No. 1 overall, but admits “Cleveland could theoretically select any of Wiggins, Parker or Embiid, as all fit a specific need on the Cavs’ roster”.

Embiid is thought to be the leader in the clubhouse at the moment, but it’s worth noting how hard it is to decipher what the Cavs are thinking in the draft. The decision to select Dion Waiters at No. 4 overall in 2012 registered as a surprise, and Cleveland one-upped itself the next year by taking Anthony Bennett with the top pick.

Draft Express has Parker at No. 2 to Milwaukee, Wiggins at No. 3 to Philadelphia and Exum at No. 6 to Boston. Arizona forward Aaron Gordon is the only top player to stumble a bit. He’s projected to go No. 10 to Philadelphia.

The Croatian forward pulled out of last year’s draft late in the process, but it wasn’t because teams lacked interest. Saric had a “lottery promise” from the Dallas Mavericks, who picked No. 13, and could have gone as high as No. 10 to the Portland Trail Blazers last year, according to Ford.

Saric is an unconventional prospect out of the Adriatic League. He has great size at 6’10 and is considered to have a tremendous basketball IQ. But he isn’t a big-time athlete or a great shooter yet. The ability to man either forward spot and see the floor like a point guard is still enough to make Saric a potential lottery pick, but Ford reported teams are concerned about how long it will take Saric to leave Europe and come to the NBA.

Charlotte picks ninth in the draft, and latest rumblings have the Hornets connected to Creighton forward Doug McDermott. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, Marc Spears of Yahoo! and Ford have each said the Hornets are likely to consider McDermott at No. 9.

Only five teams made fewer three-pointers per game than Charlotte last season. McDermott and Michigan guard Nik Stauskas are considered the top two shooters in the draft. Both will likely be options at No. 9.

If shooting is what the Hornets are looking for, it’s hard to do better than McDermott. The 6’8 forward shot 44.9 percent or higher from downtown in his last three years of college. He ended his career at Creighton as college basketball’s fifth all-time leading scorer.

The Utah Jazz hold the No. 5 and No. 23 pick in the first round. The team recently had Michigan State forward Adreian Payne in a workout, and reportedly liked what they saw:

The issue here is that Payne is projected to go later than No. 5 and earlier than No. 23. Utah could trade back in the draft and target Payne. They could also throw a wrench into everyone’s mocks by taking the 23-year-old forward at No. 5.

Payne’s age is one of the few things working against him. Payne is the best shooting big man in the draft after hitting over 42 percent of his three-pointers as a senior. Though he averaged less than one block per game last year for the Spartans, his 7’3 wingspan leads teams to believe he could be a solid interior defender.