ESPN NBA

• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: Russell Westbrook once again ruled the roost for the Thunder. So this doesn’t sound like a broken record, I try to ask a different teammate to share their thoughts on Westbrook whenever he turns in a superb performance, and Thursday night definitely qualified with 36 points, six assists, two steals and only one turnover. Tonight’s guest speaker on Westbrook is reserve center Nazr Mohammed: “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Russ. He’s been doing an unbelievable job trying to get the ball to guys, taking over the game. His pace of play, his leadership in the huddle, he’s just been off the charts these last 5-6 games.” ... Just in case there was any doubt, Perkins can’t stand Pau Gasol. Perk has said as much, which is why Perk was booed louder than any Thunder player all night, including pre-game introductions. Perk was called for his 12th technical foul of the season after he flared his elbows and was fouled by Gasol. The tech has a good chance of being rescinded. Remember, 13 techs bring a one-game suspension, as does every other tech thereafter.
• Mark Whicker of The Orange County Register: As Oklahoma City basketballs kept bouncing off Lakers heads, it became clearer just why the Lakers traded Derek Fisher. It wasn't strategic. It was humanitarian. Fisher is currently closer to his sixth NBA championship ring than Kobe Bryant is to his sixth, or Ramon Sessions to his first. He has taken a detour to basketball heaven on his way to retirement or Congress or his final destination. Who knew the angels would fly so high in Oklahoma City? With Russell Westbrook scoring 36 and turning Staples Center into his own Hawthorne backyard, Oklahoma City drilled the Lakers with extreme prejudice, along with a dash of contempt, 102-93, on Thursday. And if Fisher really was dispatched to OKC because he could no longer restrict the West's best point guards, Sessions' handcuffs were just as rusty. Westbrook scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Thunder, now 39-12, played with unity and strut. Time and again they broke down the Lakers defense, lured help, and hit large open people under the basket. And, time and again, Westbrook displayed the best first step in basketball. He also has the best second and third.
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: Roughly Roughly 90 minutes prior to Thursday's tip, Mark Cuban tried to enter through the door to the tunnel that passes the Heat locker room. The Mavericks owner wasn't trying to steal secrets; rather, apparently seeking a shortcut. Still, when a security guard stopped him, the casually-attired billionaire laughed and obliged, turning back the way he came. Once the game started, Heat players protected home court with the same purpose that the guard had protected their dressing quarters. In a continuation of one of the surprises of this strange season, Miami again looked like a much more determined and desperate squad at AmericanAirlines Arena than it has looked anywhere else. The 106-85 victory was the Heat's 15th straight in front of its fans. It doesn't seem to matter that the lower level doesn't fill until the second quarter. Nor does it matter that, since the Heat last lost here on Jan. 22 to the Bucks, Miami has dropped nine of its 19 games on the road -- including double-digit losses to Oklahoma City and Indiana in which coach Erik Spoelstra's squad appeared lethargic and lost. Nor does any of this make any sense to anyone who watched the Heat last season, as it won only two more games at home than on the road; this season, the splits are 21-2 and 14-11.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Unlike last June when they clinched their first NBA title with a Game 6 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena, this time there was no wild and crazy celebration by the Dallas Mavericks. Gone were the bubbly smiles -- and bubbly champagne -- that accompanied last year's championship season. That's what Thursday's 106-85 loss to the Miami Heat did to the Mavericks. LeBron James and Chris Bosh scored 19 points each, and the Heat used a suffocating defense to smother the Mavericks. "We had trouble getting the ball in the basket," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "Second-chance points hurt us, and then they hit a flurry of transition points at some inopportune times for us. "It was disappointing because our start to the third quarter was strong, and then they answered back. It was a tough loss."
• Matt Calkins of The Columbian: Two minutes into the second quarter, Nicolas Batum, the Frenchman who has established himself as the Trail Blazers' premier outside shooter, passed up a wide open 3-pointer ... and fed the ball to Luke Babbitt. "I was already running back on defense when he shot it," Batum said. "I knew it was going in." Portland beating New Orleans 99-93 Thursday night is far from a compelling story on its own — especially considering the depleted Hornets' roster which listed just eight active players. But when you look at the stat sheet, and see that 16 of those 99 points came from Babbitt, the Blazer who just two hours earlier was best known for knocking down an otherwise meaningless 3-pointer that gave the fans free Chalupas two months ago — then it becomes a tale worth telling. Nearly two years ago, when Portland selected Babbitt with the 15th overall pick in the draft, an anonymous poll revealed that the University of Nevada product's peers considered him the best shooter from their draft class. But when Babbitt followed with a rookie season in which he shot 27.3 percent from the field, 18.8 percent from 3-point distance, and an absurd 33.3 percent from the foul line, it would be hard to argue he was one of the top 50 shooters from his draft class. It's a much more sound argument now.
• Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: Another night on the road in a season winding down, and the Hornets found themselves again facing an opponent with similar unsettled storylines. And to make things more interesting for New Orleans, it had one less player than the night before. On Wednesday night in Oakland, New Orleans went against a team working through injuries and questions about whether it was coasting toward a more favorable lottery pick. Thursday night in The Rose Garden, the Hornets saw a Trail Blazers’ team that in the past two weeks fired its beloved coach Nate McMillan, named a 33-year-old interim replacement, and on Thursday afternoon faced news that it’s billionaire owner, Paul Allen, may be looking to sell the team. The 48-minute sanctuary on the court provided the Blazers with a 99-93 victory, but not without its scary moments against the thin Hornets. New Orleans played with just eight available players when it was determined less than 30 minutes before tip off that starting point guard Jarrett Jack would miss with a sprained right ankle.
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: It’s a good thing Thursday’s game against the Washington Wizards wasn’t based on style points because it would have been a toss up on which team would have won the game. Danny Granger said it best about their victory over the Wizards, “Very ugly game,” We clawed and scraped and got the win, so that was huge. A win is a win. We have to keep winning as many games as possible.” The Pacers will take a victory any way they can get one after losing at New Jersey on Wednesday. The Wizards shouldn’t have been able to stick around for most of the game. But there they were, a John Wall turnover over from possibly tying the game with less than a minute left. ... The Pacers get a day off before they start another six-game in eigh-night stretch when they head to the Lone Star state and play San Antonio and Houston on Saturday and Sunday. So don’t be surprised if you see some more ugly basketball from the Pacers. It’s all about wins and losses for them these days.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: In his 10th season, and back on a lottery team, Nene believes the Wizards (11-39) are going through similar growing pains as his team in Denver. And, after the Wizards lost, 93-89, on Thursday to the Indiana Pacers, Nene said he remained encouraged by how his new team is playing and drew a parallel to his challenging rookie season. “I learned,” Nene said. “This is a long process. It’s hard. I’m going to repeat this every time: This young team, a lot of second-year players, a lot of rookies. You need to learn. You need to get this type of game. See what you can learn from the loss and get better. To win, you need to learn from losing a game. It’s a big experience right now. We work, step by step, we’re improving in a lot of areas.” The Wizards have lost five in a row and are just 2-7 since acquiring Nene, but they have been a scrappier, more physical and more competitive team in defeat. And they have been staunch defensively. The Pacers became the seventh consecutive team that failed to score at least 100 points against the Wizards. The Wizards haven’t held seven straight teams below triple digits since December 2007.
• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: Before this year, college basketball players had until May 8 to evaluate their NBA options, then were given until one week before the June NBA draft to declare whether they were coming out for the draft or returning to school. This gave players several weeks to not only get feedback from the NBA, but go to the Orlando, Fla., pre-draft camp, work out for individual teams and get all the information necessary to make a smart decision. Here's the rule now: College players such as Indiana's Christian Watford have to declare they are looking into the NBA by April 3 and must declare or withdraw by April 10. Which, by the way, is one day before the spring signing period. According to the NCAA, this coach-inspired rule is being imposed "to help keep student-athletes focused on academics in the spring term and to give coaches a better idea of their roster for the coming year before the recruiting period is closed." Right. Academics. Truth is, it's all about the latter, all about protecting coaches and the college product. Also, those coaches want to go off and take vacation rather than talk to NBA scouts about their prospect. ... The NBA draft isn't until June 28. So why should kids have to rush into an important decision April 10? NCAA President Mark Emmert has said he wants to rid the organization of its dumbest rules, especially the ones that have a deleterious effect on athletes. Here's one that needs to be expunged.

When will the underclassmen learn that there are only 60 spots in the draft and a number of those head overseas to players who are being stashed away for future consideration?

The potential lockout didn’t scare these Americans from leaving. Still, they bolted. And now they have been crushed.

The list:

• Stanford’s Jeremy Green. Green was ineligible for the spring quarter but was expected to be eligible for the fall, per coach Johnny Dawkins. Green now must find a home overseas or wait to see if he can get into a camp. That will be difficult considering that there is likely to be a lockout.

• Washington State’s DeAngelo Casto wasn’t going to go back to Pullman. So, he took a chance. It didn’t work out. Now he must find a home to play.

• Louisville’s Terrence Jennings was a surprise early-entrant. Too bad. Jennings would have seriously helped the Cardinals in their quest to win the Big East.

• Jereme Richmond had a chance to be an elite player at Illinois -- if he had stayed more than one season. He was a non-factor at the pre-draft combine in Chicago. And now he has nothing to show for his decision but a long road ahead. Once again, this was a poor choice by Richmond. He would have had a major role for the Illini next season.

• Fresno State’s Greg Smith could have shined for new coach Rodney Terry and assistant coach Jerry Wainwright. Smith would have been the most dominant player in the WAC in the Bulldogs’ final season in the league. Instead Smith will have to fend for himself.

• Notre Dame’s Carleton Scott stayed in the draft. But he had already graduated. He was done with the Irish. So, his decision isn’t a poor one.

• Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson never reached his potential with the Vols. Sure, there was a coaching change, but that shouldn’t have made his decision for him. Hopson could have been an anchor for new coach Cuonzo Martin. Instead, Hopson will have a hard time finding a home in professional basketball.

• Notre Dame senior Ben Hansbrough, who was the Big East player of the year, had an ankle injury during the draft process and wasn’t able to work out until eight days prior to the draft. That hurt his chances of being drafted. But his agent Jeff Schwartz said Hansbrough will have multiple offers to play overseas.

• Best story in the first round is Marquette’s Jimmy Butler. Butler deserved a first-round selection and got one with Chicago taking him at No. 30. Butler was kicked out of his home by his mother at 13, found a new home with friends in Tomball, Texas, and is a great success story.

• Boston seems committed to sticking with the Purdue tandem of JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore. If that happens that’s a fine continuation for two players who never had a shot for a national title because of Robbie Hummel’s knee injuries.

• Josh Selby stayed in the draft and landed at No. 49 Memphis. That can’t be what he thought would occur.

• I’m surprised Cory Joseph of Texas got selected in the first round by San Antonio at No. 29. Joseph appeared to be making a mistake. He can justify his decision now.

• Boston College’s Reggie Jackson was shut down due to a “knee injury” but had a promise all along from Oklahoma City. Maybe that’s the new trend. Don’t do anything and land in the first round at No. 24. Well, probably not.

• Denver did quite well to land Kenneth Faried at No. 22. He will rebound for the Nuggets.

• Iman Shumpert wasn’t a big winner for Georgia Tech. Let’s see if he can win for New York.

• Kemba Walker went to Charlotte and Jimmer Fredette to Sacramento. So, in the end, everything worked out quite well for the two biggest names in the draft. They told me that those were two locales that they would be pleased to play in next season.

• I was never sold on UCLA’s Tyler Honeycutt and Malcolm Lee or Georgia’s Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie staying in the draft. All four of them went in the second round and will have to earn roster spots in a more difficult manner.

• Darius Morris could have led Michigan toward a possible Big Ten title. Now he’ll have a hard time sticking with the Lakers.

• Washington had quite a night. The Wizards got Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton and Shelvin Mack. Mack had played in consecutive national title games. There’s not much more he could do at Butler. He’ll stick with the Wizards.

• Duke’s Kyle Singler will follow the path of former Blue Devils Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon and stick out of the second round. Singler went to Detroit.

• Maryland’s Jordan Williams has a real chance to stay with New Jersey. So, not bad for him.

• Josh Harrellson may be the biggest success story in recent memory in college basketball to go from not playing much at all for the Wildcats two seasons ago, to only playing last season because Enes Kanter wasn’t eligible to being a second-round pick that ultimately went to the Knicks.

The Cavaliers have told both Kyrie Irving’s and Derrick Williams’ agents that they won't tip their hand on whom they are drafting, so we do have some real drama going into the No. 1 pick.

I’m continuing to hear both Bismack Biyombo and Brandon Knight at No. 5. Jan Vesley looks like a lock at No. 6. It looks like Tristan Thompson or Bismack Biyombo at No. 7 to the Bobcats.

The Pistons will likely take who is available among Thompson and Biyombo, with Thompson preferred.

Will it be Kawhi Leonard or Chris Singleton at No. 9 to the Bobcats?

Will it be Jimmer Fredette or Kemba Walker at No. 10 to the Kings?

Kemba Walker or Alec Burks at No. 12 to the Jazz? Markieff Morris, Kemba Walker or Iman Shumpert at No. 13 to the Suns?

Alec Burks or Markieff Morris at No. 15 to the Pacers?

• Read the full story here.

The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed in principle to a three-team trade with the Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Bobcats, multiple sources said Thursday.

The Bucks will get Sacramento's Beno Udrih, Charlotte's Stephen Jackson and Shaun Livingston and the 19th pick from the Bobcats in Thursday night's draft, while Charlotte obtains the No. 7 pick from Sacramento and forward Corey Maggette from Milwaukee.

The Kings will get guard John Salmons from Milwaukee and the 10th pick in the draft. Charlotte will keep the No. 9 pick.

• Read the full story here.

UConn's Kemba Walker continues to be in play from No. 7 to No. 17, with the New York Knicks as the apparent backstop after what might be a slide out of the lottery.

Utah general manager Kevin O'Connor relayed to Jimmer Fredette's camp Thursday that the Jazz are "terribly divided" on Fredette and whether to select him at No. 12, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Fredette's camp doesn't believe he will go to Sacramento at No. 7.

They are confident that if Utah passes on Fredette, he will go to either Phoenix at No. 13 or Indiana at No. 15.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the No. 1 and No. 4 picks in the draft. But will they also snag another lottery pick?

Sources say the Cavs have been very actively trying to do just that, with a massive $14.5 million trade exception as the device. The offer? Give us your pick and we'll take back a bad contract into our trade exception, which permits the Cavs to take back salary of more than $14 million.

In that scenario, the Sacramento Kings and the Detroit Pistons look like the most intriguing potential partners. Would the Kings be willing to give up the No. 7 pick if the Cavs gave them Ramon Sessions and took back Francisco Garcia? The Kings are already under the salary cap, but Garcia has $12 million over two years on his contract, and Sacramento would love to move him.

Or if it's Detroit at No. 8, Cleveland could swallow an even bigger contract, such as that belonging to Richard Hamilton ($12.5 million next season) or Charlie Villanueva (three years, $24 million remaining).

The Cavs would love to get Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Jonas Valanciunas in the lottery. Or they could also make a stab at getting Minnesota's No. 2 pick for, let's say, the No. 4 and No. 7 (or No. 8) picks.

• To see dozens of NBA rumors, check out NBA Rumor Central

The Boston Celtics are taking a hard look at Marquette's Jimmy Butler and Boston College's Reggie Jackson with the 25th pick in the draft. But there's another potential option for Boston.

The Celtics are open to moving out of the draft altogether if they can trade their pick for a young player. The Celtics have a $2.4 million trade exception that would allow them to take back a young player without having to send anything in return other than the 25th pick.

• To see dozens of NBA rumors, check out NBA Rumor Central

The Raptors love Brandon Knight, but would they take Bismack Biyombo even if Knight is on the board at No. 5? I'm hearing it's a real possibility.

If Knight doesn't go fifth, there's almost no chance he gets past Sacramento at No. 7. If that's the case, then Kemba Walker could be in for that Jimmer-Kemba showdown in Utah at No. 12.

• To see dozens of NBA rumors, check out NBA Rumor Central

The Cavs have some serious stat guys on their staff. That may explain why they are so high on Tristan Thompson, who John Hollinger has rated third in his Draft Rater.

If the Cavs take Thompson at No. 4, I'm hearing Jonas Valanciunas, who I currently have in the 4 spot in Mock Draft 7.0, probably goes No. 8 to the Pistons.

• To see dozens of NBA rumors, check out NBA Rumor Central

We just published our Mock Draft 7.0, where a number of areas are still a bit hazy. Although I'm feeling pretty solid on picks 1-3, the Cavs are still trying to decide between Jonas Valanciunas and Tristan Thompson at No. 4. They had both players in town this week to meet with owner Dan Gilbert.

Picks 5 and 6 also feel very solid right now depending on what happens at the top. The Raptors have been high on Brandon Knight for weeks, and the Wizards have been high on Jan Vesely for months.

To me, the biggest wild card right now is with the Kings at No. 7. I don't think they are in love with anyone on the board. Not Kemba Walker. Not Kawhi Leonard. Not Jimmer Fredette. They're clearly talking to a number of teams about a trade. Walker is our default pick right now, but there's a good chance he won't be the pick.

If Walker doesn't go No. 7, he could slide ... but how far? The Bobcats will look at him at No. 9. But to me, the most intriguing scenario of the entire draft will happen if Walker and Fredette are both on the board for the Jazz at No. 12. If the Jazz take Enes Kanter at No. 3, they are likely to go with a guard here.

There will be enormous pressure on Utah to draft Fredette here and good reasons to do so. But would the Jazz really pass on Walker, a guy whom they seriously considered at No. 3, to take the hometown hero? I don't think so. I think if both players are on the board, the Jazz would take Kemba. It wouldn't be a hugely popular decision in Utah, but Jazz GM Kevin O'Connor isn't afraid to do the unpopular thing.

• To see dozens of NBA rumors, check out NBA Rumor Central

Is Thunder point guard Eric Maynor worth a lottery pick? Sources say the Thunder have been quietly gauging interest in Maynor during the past few days in an attempt to move up into the top half of the first round. They've spoken to the Kings (No. 7) and Bobcats (No. 9) in particular in the past few days.

Maynor was the 20th pick in the 2009 draft, which was one of the most loaded point guard drafts. With so few quality point guards on the board this year, would a team covet him more than Kemba Walker or Jimmer Fredette?

Who are the Thunder after? Like a lot of teams, it seems they are in hot pursuit of Lithuanian big man Jonas Valanciunas.

• To see dozens of NBA rumors, check out NBA Rumor Central

More nuggets from reporting through sources with direct knowledge Wednesday afternoon:

Kentucky's Brandon Knight wants to go to Cleveland -- as the No. 1 pick. When given the choices of Cleveland, Toronto, Utah or Sacramento, Knight said he wants Cleveland but as No. 1, even though he’s only being considered by the Cavs at No. 4.

• BYU's Jimmer Fredette said there will be a “Jimmer Jam” at the Glens Falls, N.Y., Civic Center on Thursday night with 6,000 fans watching the draft. He said he will be eagerly watching what happens at No. 3 to see whether the Jazz go big with Enes Kanter instead of Knight. But he said he is more than fine going to Sacramento at No. 7 and is anticipating being at No. 12 (Utah), No. 13 (Phoenix) or No. 15 (Indiana). He anticipates New York would have to move up from No. 17 if he were to go to the Knicks.

• Toronto has narrowed its choices to four -- Knight, Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo and Kawhi Leonard.

• Florida State’s Chris Singleton has moved into a strong position for Charlotte at No. 9. There is a pull here with multiple connections to Leonard Hamilton, the Florida State coach, whom Michael Jordan once hired to run the Washington Wizards.

• Multiple teams expect Leonard to be gone by Sacramento at No. 7.

• A number of teams are trying to figure out where Boston College’s Reggie Jackson could go in the first round, but the consensus is that he is a lock for No. 31 Miami with a multiyear guaranteed deal. Jackson hasn’t done anything since the end of the season, bypassing the draft process without working out or conducting any interviews. His camp said he has jumper’s knee and didn’t have surgery.

• Boston brought back Marquette’s Jimmy Butler for another workout Wednesday, and he’s in play for the Celtics at No. 25.

• The two names that might end up slipping deeper in the lottery than expected are UConn's Kemba Walker and Colorado’s Alec Burks.

• Cleveland did its due diligence and made multiple calls to check on Kyrie Irving’s toe, including checking again with the Duke medical staff. Irving said he has been given a clean bill of health and said that once he played well in the NCAA tournament, he felt he was ready to enter the NBA draft and quash any rumors about his not being healthy.

A number of nuggets from reporting through sources with direct knowledge Wednesday afternoon:

• Minnesota has four trade scenarios on its board for the No. 2 pick. As of midday Wednesday, the Timberwolves now are leaning toward Arizona’s Derrick Williams over Kentucky’s Enes Kanter of Turkey. But the Wolves are actively listening to offers for No. 2. Phoenix and Washington are two teams that aren’t involved, but Houston, which owns pick No. 14, has proposed at least 10 different options for Minnesota's No. 2.

• San Antonio has offered George Hill to at least one team in the late lottery in an attempt to get into the first 14 picks if it can’t move Tony Parker to Sacramento or Toronto for a spot in the top 10. The Spurs obviously can move only one of the two points -- if at all -- and are attempting to include Richard Jefferson in the deal.

• BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, the consensus national player of the year, worked out for only five teams -- Utah, Sacramento, Phoenix, Indiana and New York -- but a sixth is suddenly showing serious interest: the Golden State Warriors. The new Warriors ownership has Fredette on the board, and if its top choices, notably Washington State’s Klay Thompson, are gone, Fredette becomes a viable alternative at No. 11, even with the Warriors already guard-heavy with both Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis in the backcourt.

• Cleveland hasn’t told Duke’s Kyrie Irving that he’s the No. 1 pick, according to Irving. But the Cavs are leaning heavily toward Irving and then possibly going with Jonas Valanciunas at No. 4 if Kanter is off the board.

• Kanter said he wants to play in Washington and said there are Turkish nationals actively lobbying for him to play for the Wizards. He said he loves Washington, D.C., and wants to play with fellow Wildcat John Wall. But he said he knows the Wizards would have to trade up from No. 6 to get him.

• Williams said he would love to play in Minnesota and said he can fit in quite well next to Kevin Love.

• UConn’s Kemba Walker is anxious and said he doesn’t want his agent, Jeff Schwartz, to tell him what he’s hearing from teams. He said he wants to be surprised Thursday night.

What's the hottest place to be right now in the NBA draft? It appears to be the mid-lottery.

The Pistons, Bobcats, Bucks and Warriors are getting flooded with calls from teams looking to move into that range.

Among the teams that have made calls? The Rockets (who are offering picks Nos. 14 and 23), the Pacers (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 also are eying Washington State's Klay Thompson, according to sources. The Knicks are looking at both Thompson and Jimmer Fredette with that pick. For the Pacers, it's Fredette.

The bigger question is, will any of them make a deal?

The Pistons are seriously considering the Rockets' offer -- especially if Kawhi Leonard and Tristan Thompson are off the board. The target at No. 14?
Markieff Morris. Morris wowed the Pistons in a big workout Tuesday, and they feel he could still be on the board there.

The Bobcats are in the most interesting situation. They are 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 might 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 Hill doesn't hold a huge appeal for either team. The Rockets trade might hold some interest, but not until certain players are off the board. Both the Bucks and Warriors have interest in Valanciunas if he falls, and both teams also are fans of Thompson.