With the first pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Atlanta Hawks select…well, we’ll find out in just a few hours.
The best NCAA and international basketball prospects have gathered at Barclays Center tonight, hoping to see their professional basketball dreams come true. With 30 picks on the docket tonight, there’s a good chance that many of them will get to walk across the stage and pose for photos with Adam Silver.
Some though, may get overlooked. Whether it’s because they don’t match a team’s current needs or an organization sees something in a different prospect, there’s a chance that some of the better players available wind up falling to Day 2.
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Here are the top prospects to keep an eye on as we approach the start of the draft.
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*Rankings via Jeff Zillgitt’s latest mock draft
After the Mikal Bridges trade news broke, news of a secondary deal between the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets also went down. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that this deal involved draft pick swaps between the two teams. This would give the Brooklyn Nets control of their next two first-round draft picks in exchange for as many as four possible draft picks from the Phoenix Suns. If the Rockets select Donovan Clingan with the No. 3 overall pick, they could offer Alperen Sengun and the Phoenix picks they recently acquired from Brooklyn to the Suns in exchange for Kevin Durant.
Although many considered Zach Edey, the two-time college basketball Player of the Year, a late first-round talent leading up to the draft, it seems that the Portland Trail Blazers may be willing to take a shot on the NCAA’s most dominant player.
The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor notes that the Trail Blazers recently worked Edey out and that the team is “extremely high on him.” Word around the water cooler is that the Blazers are looking for a center to pair alongside Scoot Henderson, and the team believes Edey’s tools will translate well to the NBA. Portland holds both the seventh and 14th overall picks in the draft. Edey could go at either of those spots.
French forward Zaccharie Risacher is expected to be the first overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, according to the BetMGM basketball odds. Looking to wager? Check out the best mobile sports betting apps offering sports betting promos in 2024.
Odds as of Wednesday afternoon.
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