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It doesn’t matter that much but with the draft drawing closer, the mock drafts all more or less agree on where Duke’s guys are expected to go:
- Zion Williamson - #1 New Orleans Pelicans
- RJ Barrett - #3, New York Knicks
- Cam Reddish - #8 Atlanta Hawks
CBS and Sports Illustrated are the latest two to agree on the three destinations.
Needless to say, other than Williams it may not happen. There are at least three major situations that could shake everything up:
#1: the Anthony Davis trade. It hasn’t happened yet but it will. He’s apparently very interested in New York and with one year left on his contract he has leverage. That would almost certainly affect Barrett who might then rejoin Williamson in New Orleans.
#2: the Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks now control the #8, #10 and #17 picks and also #35, #41 and #42 in the second. New York has reportedly looked at trading down if the Davis trade doesn’t work out. Again, that would obviously affect Barrett and possibly Reddish.
#3 the Boston Celtics. GM Danny Ainge has accumulated a pile of draft picks and a lot of young talent. He wants Davis too ( who doesn’t?) but would he pull the trigger on a one-year deal if Davis is unwilling to commit to Boston once his contract expires? If not, he could look down the draft options or engineer a trade. Food for thought: if Kyrie Irving does leave Boston, the C’s could swing a trade with Memphis for either Mike Conley or his likely replacement at point guard Ja Morant. And there are rumors that Memphis isn’t as crazy about Morant as they once were, possibly, or at least partly, because he’s having knee surgery.
#4 - Okay we said three but if it turns out that Kevin Durant ruptured his Achilles Monday night (and if he did he did it with the quietest response we’ve ever seen from an Achilles injury) that could completely change the free agency dominos which, in turn, could lead to movement in the draft. With New York again mentioned as one of his preferred teams, this could have serious ramifications for Barrett or possibly, if the Atlanta-New York trade goes through, Cam Reddish as well.
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