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April 13, 2018, 6:32 pmIn the 2018 NBA draft the Wolves are slated to pick No. 20 overall after the NBA determined the tiebreakers for a number of teams.
First tiebreaker: Oklahoma City Thunder gets the #20 pick (pick conveyed to Minnesota). Utah Jazz #21. New Orleans Pelicans #22 (pick conveyed to Chicago). #23 Indiana Pacers
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 13, 2018
The Wolves traded Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz last offseason and received Oklahoma City’s 2018 first round pick in return. It’s been well documented how tight the standings have been in the Western Conference, and in regards to the draft order things were just as clustered.
Four teams were tied at 48-34, including the Thunder, meaning the Wolves could pick anywhere from No. 20 to No. 24. Fortunately for the Wolves, the Thunder won the tiebreaker and were awarded the highest position among the four other teams.
There’s no guarantee the Wolves keep the pick. The Wolves are tight on cap space, meaning they might have to get creative in trades to acquire additional veteran talent as opposed to the free agent market, or if they want to ship out bad contracts they’ll need to attach the pick.
If the Wolves do elect to keep the pick, there’s a solid chance to get a useful player. In the past there have been notable players selected No. 20 overall, including Evan Fournier, Brendan Haywood, Jameer Nelson, and Larry Nance Sr. and, very recently, Tony Snell, Delon Wright and Caris LeVert.
Potential prospects that may be available around there, and would be solid fits on the Wolves, include Zhaire Smith, Troy Brown Jr., Chandler Hutchinson, Bruce Brown, Shake Milton and Jacob Evans, among many more. There will be a more in-depth look at draft prospects once the offseason begins and workouts are underway.
As for the Wolves’ original pick? They owe it to the Atlanta Hawks, as long as it wasn’t in the lottery. Wednesday’s playoff clinching win assured the Wolves they would not see that pick, but they’ll gladly trade that off for the result they got.
There was a tiebreaker for the pick with the Spurs as both teams were tied with a 47-35 record.
Second tiebreaker result: San Antonio Spurs #18, Minnesota Timberwolves #19 (pick conveyed to Atlanta)
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 13, 2018
The Spurs won that tie-breaker, meaning the Wolves’ pick fell to No. 19 overall, where the Atlanta Hawks will make their second of three first round selections.
Wolves’ fans are very familiar with the lottery system, so the top-14 picks aren’t set in stone, but the rest are, barring any trades, locked-in. They go as followed:
15. Washington
16. Phoenix (from Miami)
17. Milwaukee
18. San Antonio
19. Atlanta (from Minnesota)
20. Minnesota (from Oklahoma City)
21. Utah
22. Chicago (from New Orleans)
23. Indiana
24. Portland
25. Los Angeles Lakers (from Cleveland)
26. Philadelphia
27. Boston
28. Golden State
29. Brooklyn (from Toronto)
30. Atlanta (from Houston)The NBA draft lottery will be held on May 15 and the 2018 NBA draft will be held on June 21.
Fantasy News
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July 16, 2019, 3:29 pm
Richaun HolmesPF, Sacramento KingsThe Kings have announced the signing of Richaun Holmes.
Holmes is set to make $10 million over the next two seasons. He'll push for minutes in a crowded frontcourt, but if it's a true meritocracy then he should quickly rise to the front of the pack. Last season he was able to deliver standard-league value in only 16.9 mpg, so he's someone to target late in drafts on the expectation that he gets more burn in Sacramento. It's a potentially messy situation but we have faith that Holmes will make the most of it for fantasy purposes. For the Kings, it's a straight up steal.
Source: Sacramento Kings
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July 16, 2019, 2:03 pm
Marcus MorrisPF, New York KnicksThe Knicks have announced the signings of Marcus Morris and Reggie Bullock.
Morris is on a one-year, $15 million deal while Bullock is coming in on a two-year deal worth less than $4.7 million annually, with a second season that isn't fully guaranteed. While both players began the offseason as potential standard-league targets, there's not much to see given the sudden depth of the Knicks roster. Morris will be one of five players who should mostly be playing power forward, while Bullock will slot into a busy backcourt and is already expected to miss at least a month of the season. New York's rotations are going to be a mess and we'd steer clear.
Source: New York Knicks
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July 16, 2019, 1:43 pmReggie BullockSG-SF, New York Knicks
Reggie Bullock is expected to miss at least one month of the regular season, per SNY's Ian Begley.
Bullock, who initially agreed to a two-year deal worth $21 million, re-worked his contract to clock in at two years (with a second year that isn't fully guaranteed) for under the $4.7 million exception. There's no word on what exactly Bullock is dealing with, though he suffered from neck stiffness and plantar fasciitis in his right foot late last season. There's no need to monitor Bullock in standard leagues to open the year.
Source: Ian Begley on Twitter
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July 16, 2019, 1:14 pm
Markelle FultzPG, Orlando MagicSpeaking to Sirius XM, Steve Clifford said that although there remains no timetable for Markelle Fultz (shoulder), he is making good progress.
Clifford said, "You know, right now we don't have a timetable for when he'll be back, but he's really doing a great job." Fultz simply wasn't ready to suit up, and even though we haven't really had any concrete updates on him since his last game on November 18, we're still expecting him to be ready to start the season. Fultz will make for a late-round flier on the chance that he finally gets healthy and puts it all together.
Source: Sirius XM NBA Radio on Twitter
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July 16, 2019, 1:06 pm
Blake GriffinPF, Detroit PistonsBlake Griffin (left knee) has been cleared to start light basketball activities after undergoing arthroscopic surgery in late April.
Griffin dealt with left knee soreness in the season's final games and missed the first two games of the playoffs. His issues were dealt with quickly after the season ended and he should be ready for the start of the season. Look for Griffin to come off draft boards in the early-middle rounds after he put up a career season last year, though there might not be much profit margin at that price. There's a definite 8-cat lean as well.
Source: Rod Beard on Twitter
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July 16, 2019, 11:59 am
Nicolo MelliPF, New Orleans PelicansPelicans forward Nicolo Melli underwent knee surgery and will not participate in Italy’s training camp at the end of July, ahead of the FIBA World Tournament.
This comes out of nowhere and the only relative information we have is that Melli will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis. The Italian big should be fine for the Pelicans training camp where he will compete for the backup power forward minutes as long as the surgery is not anything too serious.
Source: Sportando
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July 16, 2019, 11:32 am
Bam AdebayoC, Miami HeatBam Adebayo is envisioning himself as a better all-around player, with averages of 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists this upcoming season.
Adebayo, who turns 22 on Thursday, averaged 8.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23.3 minutes while playing in all 82 of the Heat’s games last season. With the Heat trading center Hassan Whiteside to the Blazers earlier this month, Adebayo is expected to be the clear-cut choice at starting center and a fantasy breakout candidate.
Source: Miami Herald
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July 16, 2019, 10:49 amReggie BullockSG-SF, New York Knicks
Reggie Bullock has agreed to sign a two-year deal with the Knicks for less than the $4.7 million exception.
It was reported that Bullock intitally had an offer for two years and $20 million so this is a considerable drop on the monetary terms. The two parties had to rework their agreement after unanticipated health issues that almost made the deal fall through. This is also the end of the domino that had Marcus Morris back off his initial agreement with the Spurs and sign a deal with the Knicks instead. New York seems to be loaded in the forward positions and it’s anyone’s guess who earns the minutes to become fantasy relevant next year.
Source: Shams Charania on Twitter
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July 16, 2019, 10:24 am
Dragan BenderPF, Phoenix SunsAs Dragan Bender continues to explore the NBA market, the Cavs and the Raptors are among the teams that have inquired about the former lottery pick.
The European market also remains an option for the Croatian forward as CSKA Moscow and Fenerbache are monitoring his situation. Bender is still only 21 years old and teams around the NBA could still take a chance on him after what has been a disappointing NBA career so far with averages of 5.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 131 career games.
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July 16, 2019, 9:36 am
Raul NetoPG, Philadelphia SixersRaul Neto could end up being Ben Simmons' backup to begin the 2019-20 season.
Right now, the two candidates to be the backup to starter Ben Simmons are Neto and former two-way player Shake Milton, a second-year combo guard who earned a lot of minutes at the point in the NBA Summer League. Neto started 53 of the 81 games in which he appeared as a rookie in 2015-16, but only started once over the past three seasons. He has averages of 4.8 points, 1.9 assists and 37.7 percent shooting from 3-point range in 14.2 minutes and it’s highly unlikely that he gains fantasy value even if he earns the backup job.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times