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Come Fan with UsWednesday, August 5, 2026

Let’s review the wild NBA Draft

Good morning. Our NBA newsletter focuses on the annual amateur draft.

Good morning. What a night! Let’s basketball.

CHALK, UNTIL ... NOT: Wow! The 2016 NBA Draft started pretty calmly despite rampant Jimmy Butler trade rumors. Then things went off the rails. Butler never got traded, but the Suns did move up to No. 8 to get Marquese Chriss, the Kings got a first-round pick for Marco Belinelli, and, in the shocker of the night, the Thunder sent Serge Ibaka to the Magic for Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the No. 11 pick (which became Domantas Sabonis).

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I wrote about how brave Thunder GM Sam Presti is for pulling off the deal a week before Kevin Durant becomes a free agent.

The biggest surprises in the draft: Thon Maker to the Bucks at No. 10, Georgios Papagiannis to the Kings at No. 13 (DeMarcus Cousins loved that pick), Guerschon Yabusele to Boston at No. 16 and Caris LeVert to Brooklyn at No. 20. Here’s our draft tracker listing all 60 picks with links to team reactions.

Brooklyn? They had a pick? Yeah, because they sent Thad Young to the Pacers for No. 20. Full-on rebuild in effect. Brook Lopez, anyone?

Celtics fans at the draft did not seem entirely pleased by the stash picks taken outside the lottery.

Deyonta Davis was believed to be a lottery pick. He was in the green room. He fell to the second round and ended up in Memphis.

Early in the day, I wrote that how we value draft picks makes no sense whatsoever. The fact that Belinelli fetched a first and Tobias Harris (traded midseason) didn’t says everything.

OH NO: ESPN put up a graphic touting the NBA’s elite point guards while discussing point guard prospects. Steph Curry was not on the graphic.

BRRRRR: Kris Dunn’s Gucci shoes were icy.

RESPECTABILITY POLITICS: Obama uses his phone call to Tyronn Lue to ask him to tell J.R. Smith to put a shirt on.

NOT ROSEY: Ricky O’Donnell on why Derrick Rose IS Chicago. Plus, Seth Rosenthal (a Knicks fan) and O’Donnell (a Bulls fan) explain to each other why that trade is terrible.

THE PG SCRAMBLE: I wrote about how the Rose and Jeff Teague-George Hill trades were hedges against an extremely weak draft and free agent market for point guards. (The fight over Dunn between the Sixers, Wolves and Bulls fits that narrative, too.)

WINNERS AND LOSERS: Michael Lee spells out his draft day winners and losers.

HMM: Ken Berger writes that Ibaka was unhappy in Oklahoma City, precipitating a trade.

RIO BLUES: More NBA stars (LeBron, Lillard, Hayward) turned down Team USA’s roster offers for the 2016 Olympics. There are two spots left. One of them is waiting on Kyrie Irving’s decision. Currently, Kyle Lowry is the only point guard on the roster.

HMM PART 2: Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is investing in a “smart” basketball maker who ball transmits ball-handling data to smartphones.

Happy Draft Hangover Friday. We have a whole week until free agency. Take a breather, and see you next time.

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