ESPN’s Chad Ford writes that Chriss the most agile big man since Detroit’s Andre Drummond. Additionally, the Dawgs have had 53 overall picks in the NBA Draft, including Romar’s selection in 1980. “A lot of things happened and I got slotted down a little bit, but I’m just thankful to be in this position that I’m in”.
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The SEC player of the year was once considered a lottery pick before slipping to being projected in the middle of the first round. The first Croatian selected by the Suns in team history, Bender becomes the highest Croatian ever selected in the NBA Draft by being selected fourth overall.
The Suns took Bender with the No. 4 pick overall Thursday night and got Chriss at No. 8 in a trade with the Sacramento Kings.
The Hornets will be Belinelli’s seventh National Basketball Association team. He finished second on the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game and led the team in rebounding (6.0 per game) as a 6-foot-5, 170-pound guard.
Then the Vertical tweeted the Kings would be trading the pick to the Phoenix Suns.
“When they passed on me, I was like, ‘aw, man, ‘” Chriss said.
The Hornets selected Richardson on Sacramento’s behalf. Bender will eventually fill out but coach Earl Watson may be hesitant to let him play right away.
“I respect them for [trading for me], and I’m truly grateful they went to that amount of effort to get me onto the team”, Chriss said. As a senior at Pleasant Grove High School in Elk Grove, Calif., Chriss averaged 21.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks to earn an invite to play in the 2015 Ballislife All-American Game. I can score many different ways offensively.
While mentioning those people in attendance with each player, Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough finished up by jokingly mentioning second-round pick Tyler Ulis’ “other agent”, fellow former Wildcat Devin Booker.
“There was (DePonte’s assistant coaches) Jeremiah Taylor and Bill McCoin and the seniors his freshman year who really took him under their wing”, DePonte said. Boston has eight picks in the two-round draft, starting with one it acquired from Brooklyn in 2013 in the deal that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets.
A couple of the draft’s best shooters went next, with New Orleans grabbing All-American Buddy Hield from Oklahoma, and Denver picking Kentucky freshman Jamal Murray at No. 7.
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“I had to sit a long time, but I didn’t pout”, Murray said during a postdraft interview.
