NEW YORK (AP) — Markelle Fultz is still expected to be the No. 1 pick, though the destination has changed.
Lonzo Ball wants to stay home with the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 2, and it seems surer than ever he will.
The intrigue, then, starts with the No. 3 pick in the NBA draft Thursday.
That’s where the Boston Celtics are scheduled to pick after moving down two spots in a trade with Philadelphia, giving the 76ers the right to select Fultz with their second No. 1 pick in two years.
Forwards Josh Jackson of Kansas and Jayson Tatum of Duke are two players frequently mentioned as possibilities at the No. 3 spot, and Celtics president Danny Ainge said Boston could get the player there they might have taken at No. 1.
Jackson never thought that would be him, so he said he didn’t work out for the Celtics.
“Me and my agent talked and we just didn’t feel like they had much interest in drafting me at No. 1, so we felt like it would be sort of a waste of time for me to go out and work out if they were really not considering drafting me,” Jackson said. “After they got the third pick, we tried to schedule something for me to get out there. But it was just scheduling issues and it was a little delayed for me to get out there.”
He said he had been open to working out for the Celtics and said it was possible they might draft him, anyway.
Tatum and the Celtics seem to have more familiarity, with the 6-foot-8 swingman believing he’d be a good fit on the roster of the team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference.
“I talked about that with coach Brad Stevens,” Tatum said. “He just said guys that are my size and are versatile offensively and defensively, it’s hard not to play those guys. That’s what we talked about.”
Other things to watch from Barclays Center:
LOVING LONZO — AND LAVAR: Ball acknowledged that there might be a “target” on him entering the draft because of all his father’s comments. But if the Lakers want Lonzo — and it seems they do after trading point guard D’Angelo Russell to Brooklyn — they won’t be turned off by LaVar.
“They were just open arms,” Lonzo said of his Lakers workout. “They said they love my dad and left it at that.”
Read the full story at Associated Press
NBA legend and L.A. Clippers consultant Jerry West joined Fred Roggin and Rodney Peete on Wednesday to discuss what his arrival means for the Clippers, his plans for the team and how to approach competing with a team like the Golden State Warriors.
Listen to their full interview right here.
Read the full story at AM570 LA Sports