Dallas looks to build with another European star player
The Dallas Mavericks are going Euro with their rebuild, the same way they did 20 years ago with Dirk Nowitzki.
Dallas moved up two spots in the NBA draft Thursday night to get Slovenian guard Luka Doncic, who was selected by Atlanta at No. 3 while the Mavericks picked former Oklahoma scoring sensation Trae Young for the Hawks at No. 5 as part of the deal. The Mavericks are also sending a lottery-protected first-round pick in 2019 to Atlanta.
The Mavericks are coming off consecutive losing seasons for the first time in nearly 20 years, back when Nowitzki ended up being the centerpiece of a rebuilding project that led to 12 straight trips to the playoffs and the franchise’s only championship in 2011.
The big German is the highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history and one of seven overall with at least 30,000 points.
The Mavericks acquired Nowitzki during the 1998 draft, trading down to get the 7-footer who was taken ninth overall by Milwaukee.
The 19-year-old Doncic will be his teammate, with Nowitzki expected to become the first player in league history to spend all 21 seasons with the same franchise.
Nowitzki, who was in the draft room with the Mavericks two nights after celebrating his 40th birthday, quickly greeted his fellow European on Twitter, and Doncic replied in kind.
Donic arrived in New York on Wednesday after helping Spain’s Real Madrid win its league championship after he won Euroleague MVP and Final Four MVP honors.
Suns, 76ers swap first-round picks
The Philadelphia 76ers ended Mikal Bridges’ happy homecoming in a hurry, sending the Villanova standout to the Phoenix Suns for Zhaire Smith in a swap of first-round draft picks.
The Sixers selected Bridges with the 10th pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, with the national champion forward expected to make the short move down the road for the emerging franchise.
Bridges, whose mother works in human resources for the franchise’s parent company, was traded shortly after he wrapped a press conference expressing his excitement at playing for his hometown team. The Sixers also acquired an unprotected 2021 first-round pick in the trade.
Smith worked out twice for the Sixers during the draft process and should be a rotation player for the blossoming Eastern Conference playoff team. The 19-year-old Smith averaged 11.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists a game in his lone season at Texas Tech.
The Sixers also selected Wichita State guard Landry Shamet with the 26th overall pick.
He averaged 14.9 points and shot 44 percent from 3-point range in his sophomore season with the Shockers.
Cavs hope new point guard will persuade LeBron to stay
The Cleveland Cavaliers selected a point guard and pitch man.
Moments after the team selected Collin Sexton with the No. 8 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, the Alabama playmaker made his appeal for LeBron James to resign with Cleveland.
“Man, LeBron, let’s do it,” Sexton said during ESPN’s telecast from the draft in Brooklyn. “Let’s do it. I’ve you needed a few extra pieces this past season, and let’s do it. Let’s go back to the Finals.”
The Cavs are hoping Sexton — and perhaps a few more tweaks to their roster — will help convinces James that there is no reason for him to leave home for the second time in his career.
Sexton averaged 19.2 points and 3.6 assists as a freshman for the Crimson Tide, and the 19-year-old also led the school to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012.
The confident 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is a proven scorer and he addresses a major need for the Cavs, who traded All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to Boston last year and spent all season trying to replace him.
Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue started eight different point guards during the regular season.
Clippers get new backcourt via draft, trade
The Los Angeles Clippers came out of the first round of the NBA draft with a newlook backcourt.
They drafted forward Miles Bridges of Michigan State with the 12th overall pick Thursday night then quickly sent him and two future second-round picks to the Hornets for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, whom Charlotte picked at No. 11.
They used the second of their back-toback picks to select Jerome Robinson of Boston College at No. 13.
Nuggets think Porter worth the risk
The Denver Nuggets selected small forward Michael Porter Jr. out of Missouri with the 14th pick of the NBA draft.
Porter played in just three games for the Tigers due to a back injury, which required surgery. He averaged 10 points and played just 53 minutes at Missouri.
He canceled most of his workouts for NBA teams and fell to the last lottery spot in the draft, but Denver decided Porter’s talent was worth the risk at No. 14.