The most famous player in the second round went at No. 55. Over half of the selections were traded. And the new NBA Academy in Africa made history.
Here are five takeaways from the second round of the NBA Draft.
One reason for moving the NBA Draft to two days this season was the idea that it would facilitate more trades. That seemed to come true, as a flurry of transactions defined Thursday’s second round. Starting with pick No. 34, when the Blazers traded Marquette’s Tyler Kolek to the Knicks, five picks in a row were traded. Sixteen of the 28 picks in the second round changed hands, as did a few veterans in salary dumps, namely Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov of the Kings, A.J. Griffin of the Hawks and Reggie Jackson of the Nuggets.
The wildest journey was made by the No. 52 selection, which the Warriors traded to the Thunder, who sent it and cash to the Blazers to move up to No. 40, who then sold No. 52 back to the Warriors, who selected Boston College center Quinten Post. The Thunder ultimately used No. 40 to move up to No. 38, the Suns got No. 40, and the Blazers traded out of the second round entirely. NBA transactions: They’re fan-tastic!
The two days of the draft couldn’t have gone better for the Lakers. First, Dalton Knecht fell to them at No. 17, He’s a big three-point shooting wing player who fits a need on the perimeter for the team. Plus, he’s already 23 years old, so he will get at least some of LeBron James’ cultural references.
But the highlight was securing the continued services of James by drafting his son Bronny with the No. 55 pick. He might not be a top prospect, averaging 4.8 points as a USC freshman coming off of a scary cardiac arrest, but the younger James is reportedly a hard worker, a smart player and a solid defender, despite standing 6-foot-2. Bronny may not help this upcoming season, but he’ll make history playing with his father. The pick also ensures that the elder James won’t be leaving Los Angeles.
San Antonio took a page from its own history with its moves in the second round. First, the Spurs moved back a slot to No. 36 to select Spanish point guard, Juan Nunez. He has the chance to join Tony Parker, Beno Udrih and Marco Belinelli in the pantheon of late-draft European guards who’ve helped the Spurs win titles, not to mention Argentine Manu Ginobili and Australian Patty Mills. Though, Nunez likely won’t get a chance to next season as San Antonio is likely to let him stay in Europe for now.
The Spurs also got a spiritual successor to Danny Green in Harrison Ingram, another mid-second-round lengthy wing from North Carolina. Like Green, he’s a good three-point shooter, and like former Spur Kyle “Slow Mo” Anderson, he’s not very fast. San Antonio seems intent on keeping roster spots clear — they even traded the No. 8 pick to do so — but since they’re thinking long-term, these players have years to develop.
Andrew Nembhard was a solid guard from a legendary college program at Gonzaga who transcended his second-round status to become a key starter for the Pacers. Indiana followed that blueprint Thursday, adding three standout performers from established college programs. It added two-time champion Tristan Newton from UConn at No. 49, last year’s Most Outstanding Player from the NCAA Tournament. Then the Pacers followed that up by adding Enrique Freeman, a former walk-on at Akron who became the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and a four-year All-Defensive team member.
The Pacers also traded up for Kansas’ Johnny Murphy, an Australian prospect who fits the same mold of quality college, intriguing talent. For a team that’s starting to get expensive with big deals for Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton, keeping a pipeline of college talent going will help Indiana maintain its excellent deep bench.
New York’s priority on Wednesday night seemed to be to preserve money for its free agents. The Knicks traded down from No. 24 and then out of the first round completely, and took a likely draft-and-stash candidate at No. 26. But the second round doesn’t have guaranteed deals, so they were able to make some savvy pickups without hurting their ability to pay up for Isaiah Hartenstein or Precious Achiuwa.
First, they moved up to get Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek, who had a stellar college career. He’s a little short, but he’s a reliable ball handler and solid passer who can spell Jalen Brunson for 10 minutes a game — and do so on a rookie minimum deal.
Later, they added Kevin McCullar Jr. from Kansas, whose injuries forced a slide down the draft board after a great college career. He’s a 6-foot-5 guard who rebounds above his size, plays relentless defense and hustles for every loose ball. In other words, he plays like a member of the Tom Thibodeau Knicks already.
It was a nice bit of second-day business for a team without much to spend.
