The NBA draft is a couple weeks away and trade rumors are starting to come up around the top 10 of the draft and teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, LA Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers could be making moves, as the Sixers covet Andrew Wiggins and could trade up with the Cavs for the number 1 overall pick, while the Bulls and Lakers are looking to move up and are targeting players like Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, Nik Stauskas and Gary Harris.
The draft is coming at the end of the month and the Cleveland Cavaliers are in as the number one overall pick for the second year in a row. The team finished with one of the worst records in the league, but they only had a 1.7 percent chance to win and somehow did it, while the Bucks were at 25 percent and ended up in the second overall pick. The Sixers are third in the draft and they also have a top 10 pick at number 10 from the Pelicans for the Nerlens Noel trade and that sets the team up for a trade if they want to pull one off.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, Chad Ford at ESPN.com writes that the Sixers and the Bulls are both looking to move up in the draft, with Philly targeting Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins comes in as the top overall prospect along with Joel Embiid and Parker and coming into the season Wiggins was looked at as the number one pick and that could play out if a deal goes down. The Sixers have the pieces to move up and Ford writes that they could use the top three pick and someone like Thaddeus Young to move up with the Cavaliers. The team really likes Wiggins and while they won't give up both number one picks, they could give up one of them.
The article also says that the Bulls are hoping to move up in the draft, as they see this class as very talented and worth trading up for. The report says that the team will offer the 16th and 19th picks for the 11th pick and that could put them in contention to get Gary Harris or Nik Stauskas. All the lottery picks in the draft this year have the potential to be impact players and that is another reason why the Bulls and many other teams are looking to move up.
The Cavaliers selected Anthony Bennett last season and many saw that as a surprise and while it could be too soon to say he is a bust, Bennett looked horrible last season and now the Cavs have a major decision to make. Moving to number three would enable the team to get Parker, Wiggins or Embiid while also adding more, but they may not want to risk losing the player they like the most. Rumors have Embiid going number one, but depending on who is asked it's three to five different players. The Cavaliers also feel like they are in on the Kevin Love trade talk, but only time will tell.
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