After the excitement of the NBA Finals that saw LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers bring a championship to the City for the first time in 50 years, all attention was quickly refocused towards the draft that took place on Thursday night.
Consensus suggested that Ben Simmons out of LSU would got first to the Philadelphia 76ers and that is exactly what happened before the Los Angeles Lakers selected shooting forward Brandon Ingram as a possible replacement for Kobe Bryant in the City of Angels.
Jaylen Brown went to the Boston Celtics at number three before the Phoenix Suns selected Croatian phenom Dragan Bender at number four. The Minnesota Timberwolves rounded out the top five with Kris Dunn from Providence being selected at that spot.
Much talk this off-season will likely involve Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and what kind of offers he gets in free agency when it opens in a weeks time. He might also opt to resign with the Thunder based on what they offer him in an effort to win a championship with a team that came agonisingly close to making the finals this year.
The Thunder went out and acquired Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and Domantas Sabonis while sending Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic for the package that includes a highly-rated point guard in Oladipo, and a former first round center in Sabonis.
Complete First Round
1. Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons (F, LSU)
2. Los Angeles Lakers: Brandon Ingram (SF, Duke)
3. Boston Celtics (from Brooklyn Nets): Jaylen Brown (G/F, California)
4. Phoenix Suns: Dragan Bender (PF, Croatia)
5. Minnesota Timberwolves: Kris Dunn (PG, Providence)
6. New Orleans Pelicans: Buddy Hield (SG, Oklahoma)
7. Denver Nuggets (from New York Knicks): Jamal Murray (SG, Kentucky)
8. Sacramento Kings: Marquese Chriss (PF, Washington) / Traded to Phoenix Suns
9. Toronto Raptors (from Denver Nuggets): Jakob Poeltl (C, Utah)
10. Milwaukee Bucks: Thon Maker (PF, Australia)
11. Orlando Magic: Domantas Sabonis (PF, Gonzaga) / Traded to Oklahoma City Thunder
12. Atlanta Hawks (from Utah Jazz): Taurean Prince (SF, Baylor)
13. Sacramento Kings (from Phoenix Suns): Georgios Papagiannis (C, Greece)
14. Chicago Bulls: Denzel Valentine (G/F, Michigan State)
15. Denver Nuggets (from Houston Rockets): Juan Hernangomez (PF, Spain)
16. Boston Celtics (from Dallas Mavericks): Guerschon Yabusele (PF, France)
17. Memphis Grizzlies: Wade Baldwin IV (PG, Vanderbilt)
18. Detroit Pistons: Henry Ellenson (PF, Marquette)
19. Denver Nuggets (from Portland Trail Blazers): Malik Beasley (SG, Florida State)
20. Brooklyn Nets (from Indiana Pacers): Caris LeVert (SG, Michigan)
21. Atlanta Hawks: DeAndre Bembry (SF, St. Joseph’s)
22. Sacramento Kings (from Charlotte Hornets): Malachi Richardson (SG, Syracuse)
23. Boston Celtics: Ante Zizic (C, Croatia)
24. Philadelphia 76ers (from Miami): Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (SF, France)
25. Los Angeles Clippers: Brice Johnson (PF, North Carolina)
26. Philadelphia 76ers (via Oklahoma City, via Denver & Cleveland): Furkan Korkmaz (SG, Turkey)
27. Toronto Raptors: Pascal Siakam (PF, New Mexico State)
28. Phoenix Suns (from Cleveland Cavaliers): Skal Labissiere (PF, Kentucky)
29. San Antonio Spurs: Dejounte Murray (PG, Washington)
30. Golden State Warriors: Damian Jones (C, Vanderbilt)
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