Winners of the lottery that determines the order of selection in the Draft for the second time in their history, Wolves were looking this year for a complementary fullback from D’Angelo Russell, five years after selecting interior Karl-Anthony Towns with their first “first pick”. They hope to have found him in Anthony Edwards, a rear shooter renowned for his power, rare in his post, and his technical panel, but whose defense and especially tactical sense raise questions after a season when his university, Georgia, knew disappointing results.
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This did not cool the Wolves, who preferred him to point guard LaMelo Ball. The latter campaigned to be retained in first place, one better than his brother Lonzo Ball (2nd in 2017), but he finds himself behind, in third. Ball was selected by the Charlotte Hornets, whose two best scorers are already leaders, Devonte Graham (18.2 points) and Terry Rozier (18 points). They were rather expected on an inside but were beaten by the Golden State Warriors, who had the second choice, for James Wiseman, the most highly rated pivot of this Draft.
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The first surprise of this evening which saw Oklahoma City and Detroit be particularly active on the transfer front, came from the fourth row, where the Bulls have retained Patrick Williams, capable of playing on the two winger positions. The last “mock draft” rather announced Deni Avdija to the Bulls but the Israeli was selected only in ninth place, by Washington, the most important fall with that of the leader Tyrese Haliburton, who did not join the top 10.
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Avdija ninth, the first European (and non-American player) in the Draft is therefore Killian Hayes, taken in seventh position by Detroit, where he joins Sekou Doumbouya. This is the only satisfaction of the French clan during this Draft since Théo Maledon was not selected in the first round, having to wait for the 34th choice by Philadelphia, and that the other French candidates, Killian Tillie (Gonzaga), Abdoulaye Ndoye (Monaco) and Mouhamed Thiam (Nanterre) were not called up.
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The first round of the Draft:
1. Minnesota Timberwoves : Anthony Edwards (arrière, Georgia/NCAA)
2. Golden State Warriors : James Wiseman (pivot, Memphis/NCAA)
3. Charlotte Hornets : LaMelo Ball (meneur, Illawarra Hawks/AUS)
4. Chicago Bulls : Patrick Williams (ailier, Florida State/NCAA)
5. Cleveland Cavaliers : Isaac Okoro (ailier, Auburn/NCAA)
6. Atlanta Hawks: Onyeka Okongwu (intérieur, USC / NCAA)
7. Detroit Pistons : Killian Hayes (leader, Ulm / ALL)
8. New York Knicks : Obi Toppin (intérieur, Dayton/NCAA)
9. Washington Wizards: Deni Avdija (winger, Maccabi Tel-Aviv / NCAA)
10. Phoenix Suns : Jalen Smith (intérieur, Maryland/NCAA)
11. San Antonio Spurs: Devin Vassell (back, Florida State / NCAA)
12. Sacramento Kings : Tyrese Haliburton (meneur, Iowa State/NCAA)
13. New Orleans Pelicans : Kira Lewis Jr (meneur, Alabama/NCAA)
14. Boston Celtics : Aaron Nesmith (ailier, Vanderbilt/NCAA)
15. Orlando Magic : Cole Anthony (meneur, North Carolina/NCAA)
16. Portland TrailBlazers (transferred to Detroit) : Isaiah Stewart (pivot, Washington/NCAA)
17. Minnesota Timberwolves (transferred to OKC): Alexei Pokusevsky (ailier, Olympiakos / GRE)
18. Dallas Mavericks : Josh Green (arrière, Arizona/NCAA)
19. Brooklyn Nets (transferred to Detroit) : Saddiq Bey (ailier, Villanova/NCAA)
20. Miami Heat : Precious Achiuwa (intérieur, Memphis/NCAA)
21. Philadelphia Sixers: Tyrese Maxey (back, Kentucky / NCAA)
22. Denver Nuggets: Zeke Nnaji (inside, Arizona / NCAA)
23. New York Knicks (transferred to Minnesota): Leandro Bolmaro (back, Barcelona / ESP)
24. Milwaukee Bucks (transferred to New Orleans) : RJ Hampton (meneur, New Zeland Breakers/NL)
25. Oklahoma City (transferred to New York) : Immanuel Quickley (meneur, Kentucky/NCAA)
26. Boston Celtics : Payton Pritchard (meneur, Oregon/NCAA)
27. Utah Jazz : Udoka Azubuike (pivot, Kansas/NCAA)
28. Los Angeles Lakers (transferred to Minnesota): Jaden McDaniels (inside, Washington / NCAA)
29. Toronto Raptors : Malachi Flynn (meneur, San Diego State/NCAA)
30. Boston Celtics (transferred to Memphis): Desmond Bane (full back, TCU / NCAA)
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