With less than a week to go, NBA draft rumors are flying — Damian Lillard is watching workouts, the Thompson twins have a chance of ending up together and more.
NBA draft rumors: Damian Lillard attends workouts for player
According to Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden, Damian Lillard was in attendance for Cam Whitmore's draft workout.
This seems to be a situation where Lillard is doing his due diligence on the rookie class. If for some reason the Blazers were to keep the pick, Whitmore would be a perfect fit for this team. Additionally, a lot of teams try to get as much information as possible on players to know their weaknesses heading into the league.
This bit of news is more of a show that Lillard is taking up his role as a team leader rather than something that signals that Lillard may stay if they don't trade the pick. Also at the end of the day, this is most likely a smoke screen from the two parties (Blazers and Lillard) to increase the value of the third overall pick. As Kevin O'Connor mentioned a couple of days ago, the Blazers are open to trading the third-overall pick and Anfernee Simons for a list of superstars
NBA Draft rumors: Thompson twins have a small chance of getting drafted together
Ausar Thompson and Amen Thompson are most likely gonna end up being drafted as high lottery picks but a recent report has said that a team could make a move to draft both of them.
The report has said that there is a small chance of this happening. Still of the rumors out there, this is a very fun one to think about. Watching the Thompson twins in the Overtime Elite was incredibly fun and seeing them in the NBA together would be amazing
The only real option where this could happen is the Orlando Magic. The Magic have two lottery picks and could trade up for Ausar Thompson if the Rockets were not to take Amen Thompson at the fourth overall pick. The Rockets reportedly believe that Amen Thompson is a top-tier prospect and it would be shocking if they didn't take him. So both twins would most likely need to fall a couple of spots but it could possibly happen.
NBA Draft rumors: Raptors have a draft target if they stay at No. 13
According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Raptors have a draft target in sight if he falls to them at No. 13. Toronto is looking at drafting Grady Dick if he is still available, assuming they don't move up. In this case, Givony he mentions that the Raptors would be looking at other options if they moved up so they won't be reaching up or down for Dick, just taking him if he's there.
The only real situation where the Raptors get the former Kansas Jayhawks is if they were to keep going with the path that they have gone on for the previous couple of years. The only real reason to suggest this is the fact that they traded their 2024 first-round pick (lightly protected to the Spurs). Rather than retool or rebuild at the deadline, the team decided to double down on the core and invest future assets into the team.
This was not a good idea by the Raptors' front office as the player they acquired for the pick was Jakob Poeltl, a player who moves the needle from a middling team to a playoff or even a semi-contending team. Still, it signals that this team may try to compete now rather than later. If that happens, Grady Dick could be the guy that the Raptors selected if he falls to No. 13.
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