NBA Draft recap: Fox, Monk and Bam picked in the lottery; other Cats enter free agency

(Below is a running recap of the 2017 NBA Draft with breaking news, observations and commentary.)

12:46 a.m.

Again I say: NBA Draft Twitter is the best.

12:41 a.m.

Here are a few videos Jerry Tipton shot from the NBA Draft.

De’Aaron Fox: “I feel like I’m flying now.”

Malik Monk: “Nothing’s a disappointment about getting drafted.”

12:36 a.m.

Pat Riley said Bam Adebayo made 30 out of 50 three-point shots during his workout for the Miami Heat.

12:32 a.m.

Sacramento Kings General Manager Vlade Divac on De’Aaron Fox: “It was a guy that we all loved and if we had the No. 1 pick he would he would be our guy.”

12:30 a.m.

Yahoo’s Shams Charania reported that Indiana’s James Blackmon Jr. agreed to an undrafted free-agent deal with the Philadephia 76ers. Blackmon is the son of former UK player James Blackmon Sr.

12:22 a.m.

The Atlanta hawks took Alpha Kaba (France) with the final pick of the NBA Draft. Isaiah Briscoe, Dominique Hawkins, Isaac Humphries, Mychal Mulder and Derek Willis were not selected.

12:18 a.m.

Malik Monk said that he “modeled some of my stuff” after Kemba Walker, with whom he’ll share a backcourt in Charlotte. “I got the step-back from him,” Monk said.

12:14 a.m.

A trade reported earlier in the week that sent Louisville native D’Angelo Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Brooklyn Nets became official during the draft Thursday night.

12:10 p.m.

Five picks left and five UK guys left on the board.

12:01 a.m.

Rookie cards for De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo and Donovan Mitchell are available through the Panini Instant website.

11:56 p.m.

Miami Herald writer Greg Cote: “Call Adebayo a “reach” if you wish, based on most mock-draft projections that had him going a bit lower. But you know what I call him? A 6-foot-10, 245-pound kid promising enough to be recruited by John Calipari, and then promising enough again to be drafted by Pat Riley. That earns a little benefit of doubt. Make that a lot.”

11:41 p.m.

Sixteen freshman were selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft, breaking the record of 14 selected in last year’s draft.

11:22 p.m.

Mark Story’s “new-employee kits” for De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo and Donovan Mitchell.

11:14 p.m.

Sacramento drafted De’Aaron Fox (Kentucky), Justin Jackson (North Carolina) and Harry Giles (Duke) with the 5th, 15th and 20th picks in the first round. The Kings picked Frank Mason with the 34th pick in the second. That means they drafted one player from each of college basketball’s winningest programs in a little under four hours.

11:01 p.m.

Assuming he doesn’t get traded, Bam Adebayo will be the 10th UK player to suit up for the Miami Heat. That’s the most of any college.

10:55 p.m.

Classy.

10:52 p.m.

Malik Monk plans to pick the brain of Michael Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets, when he arrives in the city. “Michael Jordan is the GOAT,” Monk said. “… I still can’t believe it. Maybe tomorrow I’ll believe it.”

10:45 p.m.

UK Coach John Calipari was in Brooklyn for the draft. Jerry Tipton captured video of Calipari talking about the three players — De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo — selected in the lottery.

Calipari didn’t take a break from social media.

During the ESPN broadcast, Calipari said that teams had been calling him about Isaiah Briscoe, who was not drafted in the first round.

10:36 p.m.

Replica jerseys for De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings) and Malik Monk (Charlotte Hornets) are available for pre-order on the NBA online store. (All mock-up images currently show “1” as the jersey number; the jerseys will ship with each player’s real NBA number once it has been assigned.)

10:27 p.m.

Where should this Sacramento Bee reporter send his application, BBN?

10:22 p.m.

NBA Twitter is great. NBA Draft Twitter is greater.

10:15 p.m.

Herald-Leader sportswriter Jerry Tipton was in Brooklyn for Thursday night’s draft. De’Aaron Fox said, “You can’t really teach speed. You have speed trainers and things like that. But sometimes a person is fast or they’re not. That’s just a valuable asset if you’re just plain outrunning people”

10:11 p.m.

Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer: “Malik Monk, the most electric shooter in the NBA Draft, was the obvious selection for the Hornets’ first-round pick at No. 11 once the rest of the top 10 picks fell the way they did. And the Hornets didn’t mess it up — as they are often wont to do when it comes to drafting — in selecting the former Kentucky star who is already planning to be something special next season.”

9:41 p.m.

Probably going to be a while before another University of Kentucky player gets drafted (if at all). Isaiah Briscoe, Dominique Hawkins, Isaac Humphires, Mychal Mulder and Derek Willis are the remaining Cats in the draft. None of them were projected to be taken in the first round.

9:25 p.m.

Here are stories on the three guys Jon referenced in his “hot take.”

9:16 p.m.

“Seems good.” -JM

9:06 p.m.

Jay Bilas after Adebayo was selected by the Miami Heat: “Bam Adebayo is a good player. He’s got a Dwight Howard-type body. He’s a stud.”

9:03 p.m.

Pat Riley tapping him into his alma mater: The Miami Heat will select Bam Adebayo with the 14th overall pick, the final lottery selection of the draft, Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

8:56 p.m.

Cat for Card alert: The Utah Jazz traded former UK star Trey Lyles and the No. 24 pick to the Denver Nuggets for the No. 13 pick, which they used to draft Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell.

8:53 p.m.

Rece Davis says Luke Kennard (selected 12th overall by Detroit) knows every word to the Disney movie “Frozen.” The Pistons will hope the sharpshooter will let it goooooooo into the basket.

8:49 p.m.

Jay Bilas said of Monk after he was drafted by the Hornets: “In late game situations he’s unafraid to take a contested shot and knock it down.”

Jalen Rose compared Monk to Lou Williams and called him a heat-check guy. “He’s gettin’ buckets in bunches,” Rose said.

8:44 p.m.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist won’t be the only ex-Cat in Tar Heel country anymore: Charlotte is taking Malik Monk with the 11th overall pick, Yahoo’s Shams Charania reports.

8:38 p.m.

Optimism alert: But Sacramento could be going for the trifecta! Might the Kings take Monk if he falls to No. 15 and Bam Adebayo with the 20th pick? *insert chin scratch emoji*

8:30 p.m.

Sacramento won’t be doubling down on Cats in the 2017 draft: the Kings have traded the No. 10 pick to Portland for the No. 15 and 20 selections. The Trail Blazers will take Zach Collins (Gonzaga) with the 10th pick, Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

8:27 p.m.

Still no word on where Malik Monk is going. Dallas is reportedly taking Dennis Smith (N.C. State) with the ninth overall pick.

8:16 p.m.

Minnesota (drafting for Chicago) and New York will be taking Lauri Markkanen and Frank Ntilinkina with the seventh and eighth picks, respectively. Malik Monk is slipping. It’d be fun if he join his backcourt mate De’Aaron Fox in Sacramento, which owns the 10th pick.

8:10 p.m.

Jay Bilas after De’Aaron Fox was selected by the Sacramento Kings: “If this were a race, he would have won this thing. ... He’s John Wall fast, he just doesn’t have a John Wall body.”

Fox in his post-draft interview: “I can’t even describe it. I’m extremely happy. I’m finally where I wanted to be. But like they said all week, the hard work’s just beginning.”

8:06 p.m.

De’Aaron Fox will join former University of Kentucky stars Willie Cauley-Stein and Skal Labissiere in Sacramento. The Kings picked Fox, the first UK player off the board this year, with the No. 5 overall pick in the draft.

7:58 p.m.

Jordan Schultz of Yahoo! Sports reports that a league source has confirmed that the Sacramento Kings will take De’Aaron Fox with the fifth overall pick.

7:57 p.m.

Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Phoenix Suns will select Josh Jackson (Kansas) with the No. 4 pick in the draft.

7:54 p.m.

The Boston Celtics select Duke’s Jayson Tatum, a small forward, with the third overall pick.

7:47 p.m.

No surprise here: Lonzo Ball is a Los Angeles Laker after L.A. selects the UCLA star with the No. 2 pick.

As Mark Story noted on Twitter, in his head-to-head meetings with De’Aaron Fox, Ball had 24 points, 15 assists and 10 turnovers; Fox had 59 points, 13 assists and three turnovers.

7:44 p.m.

Minensota is trading Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the No. 7 pick to the Chicago Bulls for Jimmy Butler and the 16th overall pick. A “Big Three” of Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins and Butler seems formidable.

7:39 p.m.

ESPN’s Marc Stein reports on Twitter that the Minnesota Timberwolves “are close” to acquiring Chicago’s Jimmy Butler, who’s been the subject of trade rumors in the last week.

7:36 p.m.

Well, they’re on the clock now after a lengthy speech by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

7:30 p.m.

The Philadelphia 76ers are on the clock! They secured the No. 1 pick after a trade with the Boston Celtics. They’re going to take Markelle Fultz out of Washington.

7:21 p.m.

De’Aaron Fox when asked about Lonzo Ball being projected ahead of him in the draft: “I’m fine. We’re cool with each other. We’re gonna play each other in the NBA so it doesn’t matter who goes first.”

7:15 p.m.

Rece Davis referred to De’Aaron Fox as “The Kentucky Flash” during the ESPN pre-draft coverage. Not sure that’s as cool as Jamal Murray’s turn as “The Blue Arrow.”

7:11 p.m.

The latest mock draft from DraftExpress has Malik Monk dropping to the Denver Nuggets with the 13th overall selection.

7:07 p.m.

The draft will officially begin at 7:30 p.m. But the corny ESPN commentary leading up to it is in full gear.

NBA Draft coverage is on television at ESPN, and online at WatchESPN.com and NBA.com.

We’ll have updates throughout the draft here.

Also, John Clay, Herald-Leader sports columnist, is hosting a liveblog where fans can discuss the draft as it unfolds. Click here to join the conversation, which will get started around 7 p.m.

6:30 p.m.

We’re closing in on the start of the 2017 NBA Draft, with Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo all hand in New York — along with Coach John Calipari — to learn where they’ll start their professional careers.

UK and Coach Cal are trying to make it 21-for-21 on freshman draft entrants going in the first round.

Also, Isaiah Briscoe and Isaac Humphries could be late second-round picks.

UK has had 28 players drafted — more than any other school — since Calipari took over the program in 2010. The Cats’ 21 first-round picks and 14 lottery picks are also the most in that time frame.

In the meantime, here are a few links to check out beforehand, and during the draft.

ICYMI: Pre-draft links

▪  Check out our draft previews for all eight draft-eligible ex-Cats: De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Bam Adebayo, Isaiah Briscoe, Isaac Humphries, Dominique Hawkins, Derek Willis and Mychal Mulder.

▪  Here is our guide to all of the former Kentucky players on NBA rosters as of the end of the 2016-17 season.

▪  ESPN’s Sports Science crew gauged ex-Cat De’Aaron Fox’s speed to the basket as faster than Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving.

▪  Jay Bilas: Games “incredibly valuable,” but workouts like Bam Adebayo’s with Charlotte Hornets can make a difference on draft night.

▪  The Minnesota Timberwolves might find it hard pass on Malik Monk with No. 7 overall pick.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 6:32 PM with the headline "NBA Draft recap: Fox, Monk and Bam picked in the lottery; other Cats enter free agency."