NBA Draft updates: Three Kentucky Wildcats selected in first round
(Below is a running recap of the 2019 NBA Draft with breaking news, observations and commentary.)
12:45 a.m.: Signing off for the night. Thank you for following along for another entertaining NBA Draft. See y’all next year.
12:42 a.m.: UK had three first-round selections in PJ Washington, Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson. Reid Travis, the Wildcats’ only other draft entrant, was not drafted and plans to pursue a free-agent Summer League deal.
12:39 a.m.: The SEC finished with 12 total draft selections, six in each round. The ACC, which had 13 picks, was the only conference that had more total selections (10 of those came in the first round.
12:37 a.m.: Serbian Vanja Marinkovic was the final selection of the 2019 NBA Draft, going 60th overall to the Sacramento Kings.
12:34 a.m.: Tennessee’s Jordan Bone goes 57th overall to New Orleans, but was traded to Detroit. He was the third Volunteer drafted.
12:22 a.m.: Some first-round draft grades are out in the wild ...
The Ringer (Jonathan Tjarks): On Tyler Herro — “Herro could end up carving out a role for himself in Miami, but there were more talented players on the board.”
CBS Sports (Gary Parrish and Kyle Boone): On Keldon Johnson — “He might be the best prospect available, and the Spurs are perhaps the best place for a guy with potential to develop.”
New York Times (Benjamin Hoffman): On PJ Washington — “Washington doesn’t seem like a sure thing, and was a bit of a stretch this high, but if his improvement last year was real he is in a spot where he should have some time to develop.”
12:16 a.m.: Everything Keldon Johnson had to say after being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs.
12:14 a.m.: LSU’s Tremont Waters selected 51st overall by the Boston Celtics, the fifth SEC player picked in the second round.
11:55 p.m.: What can Ja Morant and the three Wildcats selected Thursday expect from their new teams? Mark Story has some answers.
11:50 p.m.: Oregon’s Bol Bol, a green-room invitee, finally selected by Miami with the 44th overall pick. The Heat reportedly will deal him to Denver.
11:41 p.m.: Tennessee gets another selection in this year’s draft: Admiral Schofield goes to Washington with the No. 42 pick.
11:32 p.m.: Oregon’s Bol Bol, a preseason top-five pick, is still on the board a third of the way through the second round.
11:25 p.m.: Next year’s NBA Draft is, well, next year, but that hasn’t stopped some sites from making projections. Four Kentucky Wildcats were included in 2020 mock drafts I found Thursday night.
11:08 p.m.: Here’s John Calipari’s congratulatory message to Keldon Johnson.
11:02 p.m.: What will PJ Washington, Tyler Jerro and Keldon Johnson make in their first year in the NBA? Click here to find out.
10:55 p.m.: Here comes the second round!
10:52 p.m.: What did Tyler Herro have to say after being picked by the Miami Heat?
10:47 p.m.: Cleveland makes a late deal for the No. 30 pick, previously owned by Detroit and Milwaukee. The Cavaliers take Kevin Porter Jr., a freshman out of Southern Cal and one of the more enigmatic prospects in the 2019 draft class.
10:42 p.m.: Johnson probably would have gotten more playing time with the Cavaliers out of the gate, but hard to argue against the Spurs being a bad spot to land — Hall of Fame coach and a franchise that’s on the verge of its fourth straight decade of major relevancy.
10:41 p.m.: The San Antonio Spurs come through for Keldon Johnson and UK: They select him with the No. 29 pick, giving the Wildcats three first-round selections in 2019 (again).
10:36 p.m.: Windler became the ninth player from an Ohio Valley Conference school to be selected in the NBA Draft. His selection, followed by Ja Morant’s selection at No. 2, gave the OVC multiple first-round picks for only the second time in its history (1954 was the only other year).
10:26 p.m.: Biggest loser of the draft? Shams Charania. =(
10:22 p.m.: Well, scratch that — Cavaliers “pivoted” at the last moment and selected Belmont University’s Dylan Windler. Wow. (For what it’s worth, I prefer Windler as a pick, but man that was quite a whiplash.)
10:16 p.m.: Keldon Johnson is headed to my Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 26 overall, according to Shams Charania, giving Kentucky three first-round selections in this draft. (I’m personally not super-high on Johnson, but that late he’s a great value, and he fills a position of need. Hope it works out. Go Cavs!)
10:11 p.m.: North Carolina’s Nassir Little goes 25th to Portland, giving UNC three first-round selections.
10:03 p.m.: Darius Bazley, another former Cincinnati high school standout, was picked 23rd overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He did not play for a college or pro team last year, instead training with New Balance as an intern.
9:59 p.m.: See what PJ Washington had to say after the Charlotte hornets drafted him.
9:55 p.m.: Tennessee star Grant Williams is going to the Boston Celtics at pick No. 22.
9:48 p.m.: Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade, who won three titles with the franchise, delivered some words of encouragement to Tyler Herro.
9:46 p.m.: Brandon Clarke, taken 21st overall by the Memphis Grizzlies following a trade with Oklahoma City, gives Gonzaga two first-round picks for the first time in its history.
9:38 p.m.: Malik Monk’s pleased with the Hornets’ selection of PJ Washington.
9:34 p.m.: It appears PJ Washington will wear No. 19 for the Charlotte Hornets.
9:26 p.m.: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a Virginia Tech sophomore and a cousin of former Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, was selected by the New Orleans Pelicans with the 17th overall pick.
9:19 p.m.: Chuma Okeke, who tore his ACL in this year’s Sweet Sixteen and was a source of motivation in Auburn’s Elite eight win against UK in March, was picked 16th overall by the Orlando Magic.
9:15 p.m.: Tyler Herro touted his “drip” during the ESPN broadcast. Lexington meteorologist Chris Bailey had some fun with that on Twitter.
9:13 p.m.: UK Coach John Calipari tweeted out congratulatory videos to PJ Washington and Tyler Herro.
9:10 p.m.: WKYT’s Brian Milam pointed out that this draft is the third in which UK has had back-to-back first-round selections: Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist went No. 1 and No. 2 in 2012 and Trey Lyles and Devin Booker went No. 12 and No. 13 in 2015.
9:05 p.m.: Romeo Langford was selected 14th overall — the last lottery selection — by the Boston Celetics. Indiana since 2010 has produced only three other lottery picks, two coming in 2013 (Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller).
8:59 p.m.: It looked like UK might go without a lottery pick, and now it’s got back-to-back selections: Tyler Herro is going to the Miami Heat at No. 13. Former Wildcat Bam Adebayo was drafted by Miami with the last lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
8:52 p.m.: The Charlotte Hornets, for whom former UK standouts Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Malik Monk play, have selected PJ Washington. That pick extends UK’s streak of drafts with a lottery selection to 10 straight years, all under John Calipari.
8:44 p.m.: This draft is the first under John Calipari in which UK did not have a top-10 selection.
8:40 p.m.: UNC’s Cam Johnson goes No. 11 to the Phoenix Suns (via a deal with Minnesota). He was not projected to go in the lottery by many pundits.
8:36 p.m.: Duke’s winning the 2019 NBA Draft lottery: Cam Reddish gives the Blue Devils three picks in the top 10 as the Atlanta Hawks pick him at No. 10.
8:31 p.m.: Rui Hachimura, a star for Gonzaga, goes No. 9 to the Washington Wizards. He is the first Japanese player drafted to the NBA in the first round.
8:26 p.m.: Eight picks in, still no Wildcats selected: Texas’ Jaxson Hayes, who played high school ball at Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, was picked No. 8 by the Atlanta Hawks (who have reportedly traded the pick to the New Orleans Pelicans).
8:16 p.m.: Chicago will reportedly take Coby White with the No. 7 pick, according to The Athletic’s Sham Charania. White becomes the fifth lottery selection out of North Carolina since 2010.
8:14 p.m.: Jarrett Culver picked No. 6 overall by Phoenix (a selection that, as of now, is reportedly going to Minnesota). The Texas Tech product will join Karl-Anthony Towns.
8:08 p.m.: Garland’s suit makes him look like a Jedi. I’m even more of a fan, now.
8:06 p.m.: Darius Garland, who played five games before an injury ended his season at Vanderbilt, is the first SEC player off the board: He goes No. 5 overall to the Cleveland Cavaliers (a pick this resident Cavs fan fully endorses!). Garland is the highest player picked out of Vandy since Clyde Lee went No. 3 overall in 1966.
8:01 p.m.: The ACC claims three of the top four picks — R.J. Hunter goes to the Atlanta Hawks (via the Lakers) at No. 4 overall.
7:57 p.m.: Louisville has had just one lottery selection since John Calipari’s been at UK — Donovan Mitchell, who was drafted in 2017. Second in the in-state lottery rankings since 2010? Murray State, which moments ago saw its total number of lottery selections in that time grow to two: former Racer Cameron Payne was selected with the 14th pick in 2015.
7:51 p.m.: R.J. Barrett, another Duke freshman, is off the board to the New York Knicks at No. 3 overall.
7:50 p.m.: Josh Allen, selected seventh overall by Jacksonville in April’s NFL Draft, showed support for PJ Washington on Twitter earlier today.
7:46 p.m.: Murray State star Ja Morant is the No. 2 overall pick. He’ll head to the Memphis Grizzlies, who play about three hours south of Murray. I got to watch Morant when Murray State played at Eastern Kentucky University this season; I think he’s a sure bet.
7:42 p.m.: Williamson is the third player from Duke to be selected No. 1 overall and the second since John Calipari came to UK. New Orleans also selected Anthony Davis, in 2012.
7:40 p.m.: Zion Williamson is officially the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, taken by the New Orleans Pelicans. Kentucky has had three top picks, all under John Calipari: John Wall (2010), Anthony Davis (2012) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2015). De’Aaron Fox, picked fifth overall in 2017, is UK’s highest draft pick since Towns.
7:38 p.m.: Minnesota reportedly is already shopping the No. 6 pick it acquired earlier tonight from Phoenix, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
7:33 p.m.: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver congratulates the Toronto Raptors, with whom ex-Cats Jodie Meeks and Jamaal Magloire won championship rings last week. They won the title without a lottery pick on their roster.
7:30 p.m.: Highlight reel of former Wildcats drafted under John Calipari airs as the UK live show starts. Here’s the direct link.
7:26 p.m.: The teams of ex-Cats Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker were involved in a pre-draft trade: Minnesota traded the No. 11 pick and Dario Saric to Phoenix for the No. 6 overall pick. The Timberwolves are expected to draft a point guard.
7:22 p.m.: Tired of the talking heads on ESPN? Some alternative draft shows include a live reaction shows from The Ringer and UK Athletics, which will have real-time analysis from UK assistant coach Joel Justus and CoachCal.com editor TJ Beisner.
UK sophomore Ashton Hagans is the official draft correspondent for the UK broadcast.
7:17 p.m.: The Atlanta Hawks earlier tonight traded for the No. 4 pick, held by the New Orleans Pelicans after the deal that sent Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers. Atlanta will be considered a third team as part of that trade, which won’t be considered official until at least July 6. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Atlanta sent New Orleans the No. 8, 17, 35 and 57 picks in addition to Solomon Hill, a future second-round pick and a heavily-protected 2020 first round pick via Cleveland.
7:09 p.m.: As we wait for Zion Williamson to be officially announced as the No. 1 overall pick, check out his ridiculously-expensive watch.
7 p.m.: Howdy, y’all! Keep this page open for continuous updates throughout the night as the NBA Draft gets revved up. It’s always a fun time.
Draft preview coverage
▪ On NBA Draft eve, a roundup of mock drafts
▪ From NBA Draft to NBA All-Star? Only a small percentage make it.
▪ On eve of NBA Draft, Kentucky freshman says it all began with a sibling rivalry.
▪ Stay tuned: PJ Washington says NBA will see more than he showed at Kentucky
▪ NBA Draft profile: Get to know Kentucky basketball’s PJ Washington
▪ NBA Draft profile: Get to know Kentucky basketball’s Tyler Herro
▪ NBA Draft profile: Get to know Kentucky basketball’s Keldon Johnson
▪ NBA Draft profile: Get to know Kentucky basketball’s Reid Travis
This story was originally published June 20, 2019 at 7:03 PM.