NBA draft rumors: Trade buzz, Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram and more
Your teams. Your favorite writers. Wherever you want them. Personalize SI with our new App. Install on iOS or Android.
The 2016 NBA draft is on Thursday, and the rumor mill continues to stay hot. With the pool of eligible players set, teams have finished conducting workouts and are concluding their evaluations of prospects before the big night.
Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram remain locked in as consensus top two selections, but beyond that, there’s plenty of room for chaos. Teams are trying to move up, and in some cases, into the draft, period.
Who’s rising? Who’s falling? Who wants to make a deal?
Keep tabs on this page for the latest news and rumors.
• SI ranks top 60 prospects | NBA draft notebook | Five sleepers to watch
Thursday
9:00 p.m. ET
• The proposed trade between the Bulls and Timberwolves will not involve Jimmy Butler, David Aldridge of NBA.com reports.
8:40 p.m. ET
• The Timberwolves and Bulls are still talking a trade involving Jimmy Butler and the No. 5 pick Kris Dunn, Wojnarowski reports.
7:50 p.m. ET
• The Minnesota Timberwolves have been shopping Ricky Rubio for the last week, Wojnarowski reports.
7:00 p.m. ET
• The Sacramento Kings will trade guard Marco Belinelli to the Charlotte Hornets for the No. 22 pick, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
• The Phoenix Suns are fielding offers for the No. 4 pick from teams looking to pick Providence’s Kris Dunn, according to the Arizona Republic.
• The Sacramento Kings are looking to move forward Rudy Gay, Wojnarowski reports.
5:05 p.m. ET
• Houston is trying to get into the 1st round and is offering Patrick Beverley, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
4:45 p.m. ET
• Philadelphia is shopping Nerlens Noel and its picks at No. 24 and No. 26 around to teams picking in the top eight, Mike Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports.
4:30 p.m. ET
• The Sixers have been talking to Minnesota and Sacramento, who hold the No. 5 and No. 8 picks, respectively, in addition to the Celtics, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
• The Raptors are in on Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere if none of the top eight prospects fall to Toronto at No. 9, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford.
• The Suns offered Eric Bledsoe and their lottery pick to the Utah Jazz for Gordon Hayward, ESPN’s Marc Stein reports.
3:45 p.m. ET
• Houston is pushing to get a first-round pick, and offering point guard Patrick Beverley, Frank Isola of the New York Daily Newsreports. The Rockets are also pursuing Jimmy Butler.
• The Thunder are shopping forward Serge Ibaka, ESPN’s Marc Spears reports.
• Milwaukee is “not likely” to make a draft day trade, though a move would not be impossible, Chris Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinelreports.
• Portland is trying “hard” to trade into the first round, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Heraldreports.
2:40 p.m. ET
• The Celtics have fielded many calls about the No. 3 pick, but haven’t found any reasonable offers yet, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globereports.
1:50 p.m. ET
• The Nets have traded forward Thaddeus Young to the Pacers in exchange for the 20th pick in the draft and a future second-rounder, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.
1:30 p.m. ET
• The Rockets are shopping around Trevor Ariza, Patrick Beverley and K.J. McDaniels, SI.com’s Jake Fischer reports.
• The Nets will attempt to move up and select Brooklyn native Isaiah Whitehead, Jonathan Wasserman of NBADraft.net reports.
12:30 p.m. ET
• The Sixers, Timberwolves and Pelicans all have interest in Kris Dunn, Jake Fischer reports.
12:15 p.m. ET
• Boston is growing on the idea of taking Kris Dunn at No. 3, though no final decision has been made, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. A trade may still happen.
• Greek center Georgios Papagiannis is quickly rising up draft boards and could go just after the lottery, The Vertical’s Chris Mannix reports.
Noon ET
• The Sixers are “ramping up” their efforts to trade for Boston’s No. 3 pick, Marc Stein and Chad Ford report. A trade involving Nerlens Noel is growing in likelihood.
10:30 a.m. ET
• Suns plan to move Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Knight before the start of next season, according to Marc Stein. Phoenix, in its attempt to get Gordon Hayward from the Jazz, tried to pair Bledsoe with a lottery pick.
• The Hornets are offering the No. 22 pick to any team willing to take on Jeremy Lamb or Spencer Hawes’s salary, Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
• Several teams believe prospect Thon Maker is anywhere from 21 to 23-years-old, and not 19, Jake Fischer reports. Some have entirely ruled him out.
• Fox Sports’ Olgun Uluc is also reporting that Thon Maker may not be 19-years-old. He could be as old as 24.
Wednesday
• If the 76ers proceed with their plan to select Ben Simmons with the No. 1 pick, the Lakers intend to select Duke freshman Brandon Ingram with the No. 2 pick, though a big trade could lead to a change in plans, reports Chad Ford and ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. The Lakers aren’t keen on trading the pick, but would consider a good offer, ESPN reports.
• Simmons says that he enjoyed wearing the Sixers practice jersey and “we’ll see what happens” with the No. 1 pick.
• Team needs for all 30 squads | Meet Dragan Bender, draft’s mystery man
• Philadelphia also holds the No. 24 and 26 picks, and general manager Bryan Colangelo is considering negotiating a trade to secure a higher pick, he said on ESPN’s NBA draft preview. Colangelo wants to draft a point guard to complement Simmons, and could be interested in Providence’s Kris Dunn or Kentucky’s Jamal Murray.
• As it appears the Celtics will be unable to trade their No. 3 draft pick, they are reportedly considering using it to select Dunn. If they bring Dunn to Boston, Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley could be traded to make room on the roster, reports Mike Petraglia of WEEI.
• The Celtics are also interested in Cal’s Jaylen Brown, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reports.
• Both Dunn and Brown told WEEI that they would be happy to be selected by Boston.
• The Kings were “completely shunned” by agents when trying to bring prospects in for workouts, reports Chad Ford. Only one top player—Wade Baldwin—worked out for Sacramento, Ford reports. The Kings told Ford that they acquired physicals for nearly all top-15 players from other sources. Sean Cunningham of ABC10 Sacramento reports the Kings have medicals on every player in the draft.
• The Hawks plan to shop around the No. 12 and No. 21 pick, reports Marc Stein. That pick was acquired in the three-team deal that sent Jeff Teague to the Pacers and George Hill to the Jazz.
• Atlanta is very interested in Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. SI’s latest mock draft predicts Hield will be picked seventh.
