As trade talks continue to build leading into Thursday’s NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs are trying to move up into a higher draft position, reports ESPN’s Chad Ford. The player being mentioned this time is not the Spurs’ starting point guard Tony Parker, but instead backup point guard George Hill.
Among the teams who have made calls? The Rockets (who are offering picks Nos. 14 and 23), the Pacers (offering No. 15 and Brandon Rush), the Knicks (No. 17 and Toney Douglas) and the Spurs (George Hill).
Sources say the Rockets and Spurs are interested in Jonas Valanciunas if he ends up sliding. The Spurs are also eying Washington State’s Klay Thompson, according to sources.
The Bobcats are in the most interesting situation. They are are actually trying to package picks Nos. 9 and 19 to move up a few spots to get a shot at drafting Leonard. However, if Leonard is off the board the Bobcats may be inclined to do a deal with Houston or San Antonio.
I don’t think the Bucks or Warriors are inclined to do the Spurs trade, as George Hill doesn’t hold a huge appeal to either team.
Jonas Valanciunas is a 6’11, 240 pound center from Lithuania. Klay Thompson is a 6’7, 206 pound shooting guard/small forward out of Washington State. The Milwaukee Bucks (10th pick) are projected to take Thompson while the Utah Jazz (12th) are projected to take Valanciunas. Both projections come from NBADraft.net.
Earlier in the day, Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) was the first to tweet the Spurs were looking to trade Hill for either: Milwaukee’s 10th pick, Golden State’s 11th pick, or Utah’s 12th pick. The rumored scenario makes more sense now, since the players Ford mentioned are expected to be picked in two of those three picks.
(Photo: NBA.com)
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