One prevailing theory suggests that Whitmore’s performance in interviews with NBA teams may have played a significant role in his draft day slide. Throughout the pre-draft process, teams conduct extensive interviews with potential prospects to assess their personality, character, and overall fit within their organization. Reports have surfaced, albeit unofficially, that Whitmore struggled to make a strong impression in these crucial meetings. Perhaps his answers failed to resonate with teams, or he didn’t project the level of confidence and maturity they were seeking in a high draft pick. It’s a reminder that the draft is not solely about physical abilities but also about how a player fits into a team’s culture and values.

Another possible factor contributing to Whitmore’s draft day tumble could be subpar workout performances. Prior to the draft, prospects participate in individual workouts with various NBA teams, showcasing their skills, athleticism, and potential. These workouts can significantly impact a player’s draft stock, as they offer teams a chance to see the player up close and evaluate their abilities firsthand. If Whitmore failed to impress during these workouts, whether due to a lack of conditioning, inconsistent shooting, or any other on-court shortcomings, teams may have become wary of investing a high pick in him. Basketball is a results-oriented business, and teams are often looking for players who demonstrate the potential for immediate impact.

The final speculation surrounding Whitmore’s unexpected draft day slide revolves around a more intangible aspect: the impression he left on teams. Professional sports organizations invest significant time and resources into researching players’ backgrounds, including their behavior on and off the court. While no concrete evidence has emerged, there are whispers that some teams may have been concerned about Whitmore’s attitude or character. If rumors of past incidents or red flags surfaced during the scouting process, it could have influenced teams’ decisions to pass on him. These concerns may have ultimately overshadowed Whitmore’s undeniably impressive basketball skills.

It’s important to note that these speculations remain just that—speculations. The exact reasons behind Cam Whitmore’s draft day slide remain shrouded in mystery. It’s possible that a combination of factors, including bad interviews, underwhelming workouts, and concerns about character, played a part in his unexpected fall to the twentieth pick. However, it’s also essential to remember that the draft is an unpredictable process, and sometimes talented players don’t meet the expectations set by mock drafts and projections.

Regardless of the reasons behind his slide, Cam Whitmore now faces an opportunity to prove his detractors wrong and demonstrate his true potential in the NBA. Many players who have fallen in the draft have gone on to have successful careers and even become All-Stars. With his undeniable talent and a chip on his shoulder, Whitmore has the chance to turn this perceived setback into a launching pad for greatness. Only time will tell if his draft day slide was a mere anomaly or a foreshadowing of his future career in professional basketball.

So, I was poking around on the server and found the bones of the NBA Draft section still up and running and said, why not bring it back? A few hours later everything was updated and ready to go so of course I had to throw down a quick mock for the culture.

Check out my picks below or CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR OWN DRAFT!

My 2019 NBA mock below:

1. Suns: RJ Barrett SG Duke

2. Grizzlies: Zion Williamson PF Duke

3. Mavs: Sekou Doumbouya PF France

4. Hawks: Cameron Reddish SG Duke

5. Magic: Nassir Little SF UNC

6. Bulls: Romeo Langford SG Indiana

7. Kings: Charles Bassey C WKU

8. Nets: Bol Bol C Oregon

9. Knicks: Kris Wilkes SF UCLA

10. Lakers: Jaylen Hoard SF Wake Forest

Well, the team with the best odds is the Boston Celtics. Yes the same Celtics that are in the Eastern Conference Finals. Remember the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade to Brooklyn? Yeah, that trade resulted in a pick swap that may culminate with the Nets giving up the #1 overall pick. Wow. That was a lot of give up to move black and white jerseys.

But that pick won’t be the BIG BALLER. The #1 pick will be Markelle Fultz so let’s move further down the board. The #2 odds go to Phoenix. The Suns could really use a PG but I think they will target Josh Jackson, forward from Kansas.

So that leaves the #3 odds. Guess what team holds the #3 odds? The Los Angeles Lakers. Like Lavar Ball says, “They going to get that ball, then they’re going to get that Ball.”

It looks like the stage is set for Lonzo and the Lakers to become the story of this summer. It will be interesting to see if indeed the BIG BALLER goes to LA (and if the NBA Draft is in fact rigged.)

Stay tuned.

The rumored trade between the Lakers and Kings is a three-way trade scenario in which the Orlando Magic join in the fun of helping the Lakers return to relevancy for no apparent reason! If you cannot tell, this is sarcasm. Crazier things have happened in the NBA so lets not completely write this possibility off as multiple outlets are reporting it.

Here is how the trade breaks down:

Still in talks but initially sounds like Kings get 5 pick, Vucevic, & other picks, Magic get 2nd pick & take Okafor, Lakers get Cousins & 6.

— Probasketballdraft (@Probballdraft) June 22, 2015

Trading for Demarcus Cousins gives the Lakers a veteran to pair with Julius Randle and a guaranteed star player after Kobe retires. There is always the possibility the Lakers pull a Celtics and not only trade this pick, but Randle as well to create a big three with Kobe and make one more run.

The good part is that we only have to wait a few days to see if this trade is real. The NBA draft is this Thursday!

Part of this plan will be to give the draft a few more weeks of breather time after the finals and add and awards show. I think this would be awesome, except for the awkward moment when a guy gets and award and then gets traded in the same night.

The NBA Draft might be getting pushed back, as the league is “very interested” in moving it into July in order to promote it better, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt. It could also reportedly be packaged with “a season-ending awards show possibly on consecutive nights.”

Moving the draft back will be difficult because it impacts free agency and the collective bargaining agreement. Also, the league needs to negotiate a change in the draft date with its TV partners. The league’s TV deal with ESPN/ABC and Turner Sports, the parent company of TNT and NBA TV, expires after the 2015-16 season.

The league is also concerned about delaying free agency and pushing that period even deeper into July. The NBA season is already turning into a long year with the draft, free agency and summer league taking place shortly after the Finals.​

The NBA is negotiating with its television partners, as well as prospective new partners Fox and NBC, and this is a part of those discussions. The league reportedly does not want this to bump free-agent transactions back too far because of this, as August has traditionally been the start of the NBA’s quieter period.

Moving the draft back doesn’t seem like a crazy idea. It’s one of the league’s biggest nights of the year, and there’s almost no time in between it and the end of the NBA Finals. An awards show sounds a bit unnecessary, though, doesn’t it? Does this mean we find out the regular-season MVP more than two months after it’s over? I’d like to hear more details about that.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on…sted-in-pushing-back-draft-adding-awards-show

Domestic:

Jordan Adams, UCLA
William Alston, CC of Baltimore County Dundalk
Mychal Ammons, South Alabama
Kyle Anderson, UCLA
Isaiah Austin, Baylor
Chane Behanan, Louisville
Sim Bhullar, New Mexico State
Khem Birch, UNLV
Jabari Brown, Missouri
Jahii Carson, Arizona State
Semaj Christon, Xavier
Jordan Clarkson, Missouri
DeAndre Daniels, Connecticut
Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado
Joel Embiid, Kansas
Tyler Ennis, Syracuse
Aaron Gordon, Arizona
Jerami Grant, Syracuse,
P.J. Hairston, North Carolina/Texas (D-League)
Gary Harris, Michigan State
Rodney Hood, Duke
Nick Johnson, Arizona
Alex Kirk, New Mexico
Zach LaVine, UCLA
James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina
K.J. McDaniels, Clemson
Mitch McGary, Michigan
Eric Moreland, Oregon State
Johnny O’Bryant III, LSU
Jabari Parker, Duke
Elfrid Payton, Louisiana-Lafayette
Julius Randle, Kentucky
Glenn Robinson III, Michigan
LaQuinton Ross, Ohio State
Antonio Rucker, Clinton JC (SC)
Jakarr Sampson, St. John’s,
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Roscoe Smith, UNLV
Nik Stauskas, Michigan
Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee
Noah Vonleh, Indiana
T.J. Warren, North Carolina State
Andrew Wiggins, Kansas
James Young, Kentucky
Ta’Quan Zimmermann, Thompson Rivers (Canada)

International:

Eleftherios Bochoridis, Aris (Greece) / Greece
Matias Bortolin, Regatas Corrientes (Argentina) / Argentina
Nedim Buza, Spars Sarajevo (Bosnia)/ Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bruno Caboclo, Pinheiros (Brazil) / Brazil
Berkay Candan, TED Kolejliler (Turkey) / Turkey
Clint Capela, Chalon (France) / Switzerland
Joonas Cavén, Joventut (Spain) / Finland
Nemanja Dangubic, Mega Vizura (Serbia) / Serbia
Moussa Diagne, Fuenlabrada (Spain) / Senegal
Tomas Dimša, Zalgiris (Lithuania) / Lithuania
Marcus Eriksson, Manresa (Spain) / Sweden
Danté Exum, Australia,
Ilja Gromovs, Ventspils (Latvia) / Latvia
Damien Inglis, Roanne (France) / France
Nikola Jokic, Mega Vizura (Serbia) / Serbia
Michalis Kamperidis Filathlitikos (Greece) / Greece
Artem Klimenko, Avtodor (Russia) / Russia
Rasmus Larsen, Manresa (Spain) / Denmark
Lucas Mariano, Vivo Franca (Brazil) / Brazil
Vasilije Micic, Mega Vizura (Serbia) / Serbia
Jusuf Nurkic, Cedevita (Croatia) / Bosnia & Herzegovina
Mateusz Ponitka, Oostende (Belgium) / Poland
Kristaps Porzingis, Cajasol (Spain) / Latvia
Marko Ramljak, Zadar (Croatia) / Croatia
Dario Šarić, Cibona (Croatia) / Croatia
Ojars Silins, Reggio Emilia (Italy) / Latvia
Alejandro Suarez, Joventut (Spain) / Spain
Devon Van Oostrum Vitoria (Spain)/ Holland
Guillem Vives, Joventut (Spain) / Spain
Adin Vrabac, Spars Sarajevo (Bosnia) / Bosnia & Herzegovina

Either click at the top of the page or here to see the latest 2014 NFL mock draft and NBA mock drafts.

On the NFL side, a lot had to be adjusted for the underclassmen who returned to school. A record number underclassmen declared but yes there were some who returned as well.

On the NBA side it’s all about one man… and that man isn’t Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, or Julius Randle…..

But for now, enjoy the mock:

1. Cleveland – Alex Len (7’1”, C, Maryland, Soph.)
Cleveland covets the big man and his potential as an offensive threat in a fast paced offense lead by Kyrie Irving.

2. Orlando – Anthony Bennett (6’8”, PF, UNLV, Fresh.)
Quietly he may be the most coveted player in the draft. The Magic need a guard but take the young big man banking on his potential.

3. Washington – Otto Porter (6’8”, SF, Georgetown, Soph.)
The Wizards need to get John Wall some help and Nerlens Noel isn’t the right fit. Otto Porter is local and will contribute immediately. Can John get them in the playoffs and earn that max? We’ll see.

4. Charlotte – Nerlens Noel (6’10”, PF, Kentucky, Fresh.)
The player the Bobcats need the most gracefully slides to them. Noel is already good friends with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kemba Walker so he’ll fit right in.

5. Phoenix – Victor Oladipo (6’5”, SG, Indiana, Jr.)
The Suns need a scorer in their long term plans.

6. New Orleans – Trey Burke (5’11”, PG, Michigan, Soph.)
Austin Rivers will probably end up becoming the next Monta Ellis, because he’s not quite a shooting guard and not quite a point. Burke is the best pure point in the draft.

7. Sacramento – Ben McLemore (6’5”, SG, Kansas, Fresh.)
In the event Tyreke Evans is traded McLemore will make the blow a little softer. Will the Jimmerman step up?

8. Detroit – Shabazz Muhammad (6’6”, SF, UCLA, Fresh.)
Detroit has a nice core, adding Muhammad’s size and scoring ability will give them more versatility which they lack.

9. Minnesota – CJ McCollum (6’3”, SG, Lehigh, Sr.)

10. Portland – Cody Zeller (7’0”, C, Indiana, Soph.)

11. Philadelphia – Rudy Gobert (7’1”, C, France)

12. Oklahoma City – Michael Carter-Williams (6’5”, PG, Syracuse, Soph.)

13. Dallas – Steven Adams (7’0”, C, Pittsburgh, Fresh.)

14. Utah – Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (6’6″, SG, Georgia)

15. Milwaukee – Dennis Schroeder (6’1”, PG, Germany)

The Cleveland Cavaliers reached out to the Portland Trail Blazers and offered their Nos. 1 and 19 picks in the NBA draft for LaMarcus Aldridge, according to sources.

The Blazers rejected the proposed trade.

Source: Real GM

What do you think?

Video below: