"The Stack" 6-21-18
The NBA Draft is tonight. It promises to be an entertaining and interesting night.
The Stack is back on this Thursday and the NBA Draft is upon us. We will have a mock draft of the top ten picks. If I get two or three right I will be happy. NHL awards were last night in Las Vegas. Taylor Hall won the Hart Trophy (MVP). He’s with the New Jersey Devils. Vegas came away with some awards as well. Fun night. Let’s see what we have in “the stack” for today, Thursday, June 21st:
NBA Mock Draft
The NBA Draft is tonight. When the NFL Draft comes around it’s a big deal. I have a complete first round mock draft. With the NBA, not so much. There is normally a handful foreign players that the average fan may not have heard of. So we will just go with a top ten for this year as we have in previous years. There are a lot of good players in the draft this year. Deandre Ayton from Arizona is likely the top pick. Everyone is fascinated by Luka Doncic. Then you have guys like Evan Bagley III (Duke), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Michigan State), Michael Porter (Missouri) and Trae Young (Oklahoma). It’s going to be tremendous. Here’s our top ten mock draft that is sure to be wrong.
1. Phoenix Suns: Deandre Ayton – Center (Freshman, Arizona)
2. Sacramento Kings: Luka Doncic – Guard (Real Madrid)
3. Atlanta Hawks: Marvin Bagley III – Forward (Freshman, Duke)
4. Memphis Grizzlies: Jaren Jackson Jr. – Forward (Freshman, Michigan State)
5. Dallas Mavericks: Mo Bamba – Center (Freshman, Texas)
6. Orlando Magic: Trae Young – Guard (Freshman, Oklahoma)
7. Chicago Bulls: Collin Sexton – Guard (Freshman, Alabama)
8. Cleveland Cavaliers: Wendell Carter Jr. – Forward (Freshman, Duke)
9. New York Knicks: Michael Porter Jr. – Forward (Freshman, Missouri)
10. Philadelphia 76ers: Mikal Bridges – Guard (Junior, Villanova)
Ayton seems like a pretty safe bet at one. Most have Doncic going three to Atlanta, but if he is really that good how can the Kings pass him up? If they snag Doncic, the Hawks are going to have a difficult time picking between Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marvin Bagley III. Mo Bamba went to school at Texas. Dallas should take the local product. Young going six to Orlando may be a stretch, but Orlando needs something to excite the fan base. Young would do that. The biggest question is Michael Porter Jr. Where will he go? And what will the Cleveland Cavaliers do? Do they make a move with LeBron James in mind or do they make a move that helps them for the future if LeBron isn’t there. All eyes will be on Cleveland when that pick comes up. Should be a fun night in Brooklyn starting at 7 PM ET on ESPN.
Wednesday World Cup results
Wednesday was not the best of days for World Cup action. We had three matches all finishing by the score of 1-0. Portugal beat Morocco (thanks to Ronaldo scoring his fourth goal of the tournament), Uruguay taking down Saudi Arabia (yawn) and Spain surviving Iran despite a more than three-to-one ratio in possession of the ball. Iran still has a chance to advance if they can beat Portugal. That should be good. Today looks like a much better day.
Thursday’s World Cup schedule
Denmark (3 points 1-0-0) vs. Australia (0 points 0-1-0) 8 AM ET FS1 (Group C)
France (3 points 1-0-0) vs. Peru (0 points 0-1-0) 11 AM ET FOX (Group C)
Argentina (1 points 0-0-1) vs. Croatia (3 points 1-0-0) 2 PM ET FOX (Group D)
Barry Trotz resigns
By now you should know the bizarre sports related story coming out our nation’s capital (have to emphasize sports with what has unfortunately unfolded this week outside of the world of sports) of the Washington Capitals and head coach Barry Trotz parting ways only days removed from the Capitals winning the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. Sounds like Trotz wanted a five-year extension and the Capitals weren’t willing to go that far. Pay certainly was a factor as well. If I were the Capitals I would ask Trotz how much he wanted to coach this year and give it to him within reason. He won you your first Stanley Cup in history. What is wrong with you? Sounds like the Capitals will promote an assistant coach to be the new head coach and Trotz will make his way more than likely to the New York Islanders, the only team currently without a head coach. A weird story, but hockey coaches get fired all of the time so I guess we really shouldn’t be take too far aback by this. Sounds like Trotz was looking to leave anyway. Still though, you win the Stanley Cup one day and then you’re gone the next? Weird man. Just weird.
Coming up Friday: NBA Draft reaction plus World Cup talk
