The NBA Draft was a little over two weeks ago. Today all eyes are on the Summer League in Las Vegas, where the Class of 2022 rookies are taking their first steps. But we continue to learn things about the ceremony on June 23 at the Barclays Center. Possessing the first and third picks respectively, the Magic and the Rockets were notably on the phone during the final minutes before Adam Silver arrived on the stand…
Last night in Vegas, Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith Jr. offered a much-anticipated head-to-head between the first and third pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. A head-to-head won by Magic rookie Paolo taking over Jabari. But tell yourself that there is a parallel universe in which Banchero wears the jersey of the Rockets and Smith Jr. that of the Magic. This is what was expected at the Barclays Center a fortnight ago. Because during the hours and days preceding the big night of the Draft, the trend was clear: Orlando will take Smith Jr. through his first pick, Oklahoma City will select Chet Holmgren second, then Houston will draft Banchero with the third. In short, not a lot of suspense, Adrian Wojnarowski ofESPN even announcing the order of the Top 3 in the middle of the afternoon on June 23rd. Thanks for the spoiler Woj!
And then everything changed.
First we had the bookmakers announcing Paolo Banchero as number 1, which inevitably tipped off the leaders of the Rockets. Then, as we got closer and closer to the first selection, the rumors suggested that Smith Jr. was less and less untouchable with the first pick, and that Banchero could finally pass him at the buzzer. In the War Room of the Rockets, we were preparing to live a relatively quiet evening with the selection of Paolo in number 3 behind the prospect of Auburn and Chet Holmgren, until these unexpected changes.
“We didn’t know what the Magic were going to do ten minutes before the start of the draft. »
– Rockets general manager Rafael Stone
So Stone, the GM, grabbed his phone to speed-dial the Magic in an attempt to set up a last-minute transfer. This is Tim MacMahon et Brian Windhorst d’ESPN who share this crisp anecdote with us. The Rockets’ goal? Trying to find a way to move from pick 3 to pick 1 to take the guesswork out of their draft choice. Their fear was of finding themselves unexpectedly with Chet Holmgren, when they had prepared to take Banchero or Smith Jr.. Not that Houston considered Chet a potential bust, but the Rockets did not possess the unicorn’s medical records, which had only been shared by the player’s agent to Magic and Thunder. The Rockets had Banchero’s and had managed to get Smith Jr.’s a few hours before the ceremony, but weren’t very confident about Holmgren. As our insiders atESPN, if Houston had been certain that Jabari fell to number 3 after the selection of Holmgren by Oklahoma City, the Texas franchise would not have attempted to set up a trade with Orlando. Except that doubt suddenly took hold of this evening and reshuffled certain cards. We do not know today what the Rockets have really put on the table to win the first choice, but we know that the discussions did not last very long. And pretty quickly, Orlando said no.
In the end, everything ended well for Houston. The Magic, which hesitated for a long time for its first choice, therefore decided to take Paolo Banchero. The Thunder bet on Chet Holmgren with his No. 2 pick, leaving the Rockets to pick Jabari Smith Jr. in third. That way everyone is happy.
Source texte : ESPN