Bulls Busy, Pacers Keep George During NBA Draft Night
BROOKLYN – The Chicago Bulls were busy Thursday night during the NBA Draft, while the Indiana Pacers made more news by not being busy. A former Warsaw product also had ties to the events leading up to the NBA Draft, which was held at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn.
The Bulls made the most noise at the Draft, trading superstar Jimmy Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal. The three-time All-Star was dealt with the No. 16 pick, which the Wolves took Creighton center Justin Patton. In return, Chicago got the No. 7 pick, which they took Arizona bigman Lauri Markkanen, as well as receiving 2016 first-round selection Kris Dunn and high flyer Zach LaVine. The Bulls took Oregan forward Jordan Bell with its 38th pick, but traded him to the Golden State Warriors for cash considerations.
The Pacers, on the other hand, didn’t see its superstar go packing just yet. Paul George, the subject of numerous trade rumors leading up to the Draft, stayed put for at least one more day despite a host of teams offering packages to get the All-Star talent. Holding put, it took UCLA forward TJ Leaf with the No. 18 pick. The Pacers stayed on the UCLA roster with its other selection, taking center Ike Anigbogu with the 47th pick.
Purdue forward Caleb Swanigan was taken by the Portland Trailblazers with 26th pick and Indiana’s OG Anunoby was taken 23rd overall. Swanigan was the Big Ten Player of the Year and helped the Boilers to a Big Ten regular season title. “Biggie” averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds as a sophomore in West Lafayette, two years removed from leading Homestead High School to a state championship. Anunoby was a promising player for the Hoosiers before tearing his ACL in January. Anunoby, who many experts felt could be a top-ten pick if completely healthy, played in 16 games for the Hoosiers, averaging 11.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per night.
Indiana had a second player taken in the Draft, Thomas Bryant going to Utah with the 42nd pick, but was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers with with Josh Hart for Tony Bradley. Bryant played in 34 games for Tom Crean, averaging 12.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per night.
The biggest deal before the draft included a former Warsaw Community High School player. Miles Plumlee, who was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 2012 after a solid career at Duke, was packaged with Marco Belinelli and the Charlotte Hornets’ second round pick (Tyler Dorsey) to Atlanta for Dwight Howard and the Hawks’ second round pick (Frank Jackson). Plumlee, who played for both Charlotte and Milwaukee in 2016-17, averaged just 2.5 points per game in just over 10 minutes per game.
Philadelphia took Washington guard Markelle Fultz with the overall No. 1 pick while the Lakers took UCLA guard Lonzo Ball at No. 2 and Boston took Duke forward Jayson Tatum at No. 3.