In ESPN’s Jonathan Givony’s latest Mock Draft, he has the Sacramento Kings taking Purdue star Jaden Ivey. However, his explanation of the chaos that could ensue at this point in the draft is much more interesting.
Almost every team picking after Sacramento in the lottery and even beyond has approached the Kings in exploratory conversations, a source says, a group including Indiana (No. 6), Washington (No. 10), New York (No. 11), Oklahoma City (No. 12), Atlanta (No. 16) and others.
Rival teams say the asking price will be considerable, with a mix of established vets (Malcolm Brogdon, Kyle Kuzma, Jerami Grant, John Collins), a 2022 draft choice and rookie-scale contract players such as the Pacers’ Chris Duartebelieved to be some of the options teams have studied
Of the players mentioned above, none of them are as valuable as John Collins, who is under contract for four more seasons. A potential trade for the fourth pick could involve the Hawks dealing Collins and a player like Kevin Huerter. The 16th pick would also likely have to be included, and the Kings would probably include other pieces that would go to the Hawks to make the money work.
There is no guarantee that the Hawks would draft Ivey if they did pull the trigger on such a deal, but it would make the most sense. Atlanta has been very open to the fact that they are looking for another star to pair with Trae Young. In this draft, nobody fits that description better than Ivey, who would give the Hawks one of the youngest and most explosive offensive backcourts in the league.
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Photo: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
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