No Fairy Tales Here
For a minute, it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers had given Mikal Bridges a fairy tale ending. Bridges grew up in Philadelphia and then stayed home to play his college basketball at Villanova. His mom even works for the 76ers. Thus, it was the perfect moment when the 76ers drafted him 10th overall. However, they ruined everything by ultimately trading him to the Phoenix Suns. In exchange, Philadelphia got 16th overall pick Zhaire Smith and a first-round pick in 2021.
A Long Wait
It ended up being a longer wait than expected for Michael Porter Jr. If he had been draft-eligible last year, Porter would have likely been a top-5 pick. However, Porter ended up suffering a serious back injury in his season opener at Missouri last fall. He managed to come back and play toward the end of the season, but questions about his long-term health lingered. A number of teams were scared off, not wanting to risk a lottery pick on a player with questions about his health. Finally, the Denver Nuggets took that leap with the 14th overall pick, the last pick in the lottery.
Making Him Feel Welcomed
It wouldn’t be the draft if at least one fan base was upset at what their team did. Naturally, that was the New York Knicks in this year’s draft. Knicks fans booed when the team drafted Kentucky forward Kevin Knox with the ninth overall pick. It seems they wanted the team to take a chance on Porter. However, they’ll have to live with Knox, who’s still just 18 and has plenty of upside after flashing plenty of upside and a well-rounded skill set during his one season at Kentucky.
photos via @NBA
