The Pistons are expected to draft Cade Cunningham with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday, but it hasn’t stopped some teams from trying to get into the mix.
The Thunder offered Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and No. 6 overall pick to the Pistons for the chance to draft the young phenom, but Detroit declined, according to Matt Babcock of basketballnews.com.
Gilgeous-Alexander, who is one of the young best point guards in the league, is considered available, but he won’t be cheap, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
“It’s going to take a f–king lot to get him, but he’s no longer impossible to get,” said one team executive. (via Bleacher Report)
Gilgeous-Alexander is eligible to sign a projected five-year, $168 million rookie-scale extension this summer.
More NBA Rumors
- The Thunder are looking for other ways to move up in the draft, with them possibly sending picks 16 and 18 to the Hornets for the 11th pick, per Fischer. Oklahoma City is also exploring options of swapping the fourth and sixth picks with the Raptors.
- The Knicks (No. 19 and 21) and the Rockets (No. 23 and 24) are both looking to move into the teens, according to Fischer. The Knicks are looking to win now, whereas the Rockets are looking to rebuild for the future months after trading James Harden.
- The Nets are another New York team looking to move up in the draft, as they’re dangling Landry Shamet and the 27th pick to try and make that happen, according to Fischer. Brooklyn is looking to win a championship next season and beyond, so they could be looking for a defensive-minded player to help them shore up their weaknesses on that end of the floor.
- The Kings’ ninth pick is considered available, according to Fischer. Sacramento has failed to make the playoffs since 2006, but has one of the better young point guards in the league in De’Aaron Fox.
- The Spurs (No. 12) and Pacers (No. 13) are both looking into trading back into the mid-teens or early 20s for the right value, per Fischer. Both teams lost in the first round of the play-in tournament this past season.
