The latest NBA Intel ... most notably the view from Chicago on where Philadelphia goes from here
The Jake Fischer Latest goes in depth on the 76ers after Daryl Morey’s ouster
CHICAGO — Tuesday's NBA Draft Combine festivities began at 8 AM, when contingents from all 30 front offices met with as many as 20 individual draft prospects.
Some teams include their owner as part of that interview group. Every team tends to stock their space — picture a standard hotel room in the Marriott Marquis with the bed removed — with snacks, drinks and anything else they can imagine to spruce up the surroundings. I know of at least one team that brought plants into their temporary HQ to try to make it feel more cozy.
The rest of the day's action featured the endless side chats and huddles that you see throughout the hotel lobby and around the adjoining Wintrust Arena.
One byproduct of all those ongoing whispers is the Intel relayed to us that we have turned into our second dispatch from the Windy City to add to Sunday's scenes-from-the-lottery notebook that generated so much interest. Check it out here ICYMI:
And now to new material … which includes the latest from Philadelphia after the 76ers parted ways with lead decision-maker Daryl Morey.
But before we get to Philly …
With the long-anticipated trade sweepstakes for Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo poised to move into overdrive and smother the offseason leaguewide, there has been considerable discussion on the ground here about the valuation of future draft capital.
The NBA's much-discussed new “3-2-1” lottery format is expected to win approval in a May 28 Board of Governors vote to be implemented next season, which would present teams with the fourth-through-10th-worst records in the league with an equal 8.1% shot at winning the No. 1 overall pick. Those impeding changes have led various NBA executives here to tell me that they think we're going to see fewer future picks traded for star players in the near term … at least until front offices get a better feel for how the looming tweaks to the NBA's lottery system affect proceedings.
So what does that mean for the small-market Bucks as they prepare to navigate trade offers for Giannis?
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