The Latest from the NBA draft at Barclays Center in New York (All times local):
9:35 p.m.
Kentucky coach John Calipari is one of the busiest men at the NBA draft, and he says it’s all about the kids.
When Devin Booker went to Phoenix at No. 13, it marked four Wildcats taken in the lottery during a single draft. It tied the record set by North Carolina 10 years ago.
And it also gave Calipari another line in his recruiting pitch to next year’s class of McDonald’s All-Americans.
Just before hugging Booker, Calipari stood still long enough to be interviewed.
The Kentucky says, “Results matter and we want to win. But not at the expense of these kids.”
Or at least not until every college graduate makes what NBA first-round picks do.
There may be more hugging for Calipari with three more Wildcats still waiting to hear their names called.
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9:20 p.m.
Philadelphia president Sam Hinkie is known for pulling off draft night surprises. Trading Jahlil Okafor won’t be one of them.
The Sixers picked Okafor, the talented Duke center, with the third overall pick of the draft.
Okafor, 6-foot-11, 270-pounds, joins a frontcourt already stocked with Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. Embiid was the No. 3 pick last year and missed the entire season with a broken right foot.
A Sixers official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the team was not publicly discussing their plans, told The Associated Press the team expects to keep Okafor and not use him as draft night trade bait.
Embiid quickly welcomed Okafor on Twitter, saying: “Aye my boy is in philly with me #AfricanConnection.”
Embiid is from Cameroon, while Okafor was born in Chicago with a grandfather who immigrated to the United States from Nigeria.
— Dan Gelston in Philadelphia
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9:07 p.m.
An estimated 10,000 people filed into Target Center to watch the long-suffering Timberwolves make the first overall pick in the NBA draft, and they didn’t go home disappointed.
When Commissioner Adam Silver announced Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns, everyone was on their feet. With reigning rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio returning healthy and slam dunk champ Zach LaVine already on the roster, Towns’ arrival has finally given these worn out fans some reason for hope.
Wolves president and coach Flip Saunders addressed the crowd after making the pick, and they put Towns on speakerphone to speak to the masses.
Saunders asked Towns if he had anything to say to those in attendance. Towns replied quickly “We’re going to the playoffs!”
They haven’t been there in 11 years. And next year may be asking a lot. But for the first time in a long, long time, it doesn’t sound completely impossible.
— Jon Krawczynski in Minneapolis
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9 p.m.
If you’re counting, Frank Kaminsky is the eighth player that owner Michael Jordan has a hand in selecting. To say it’s an undistinguished group is an understatement.
Kaminsky will be wearing the team’s new uniforms, the fourth they’ve unveiled since changing their name back to the Hornets last season.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, one of MJ’s better selections, did the unveiling honors this time around during a draft party at the team’s downtown arena. The mostly black uniform has the words “Buzz City” written across the front with the numbers in teal.
At some point, Jordan will run out of crayons. Whether he improves as a talent assessor remains to be seen.
__ Steve Reed in Charlotte, North Carolina
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8:38 p.m.
Phil Jackson’s philosophy as a coach was to under promise and over deliver. As the Knicks mastermind, he’s taken the opposite tack.
Getting picked No. 4 pick in the NBA draft already made Kristaps Porzingis, a 7-1 Latvian by way of Spain’s pro league, a marked man. The locals let him know about that.
“BOO!” the crowd at the Barclay’s howled. “BOO!”
He might be the next Dirk Nowitzki. But he might be Frederic Weis, too.
Can’t say he wasn’t warned.
Porzingis says that’s how it is in New York, “and I’m ready for it.”
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8:10 p.m.
Well, that didn’t take long.
The Lakers pulled off the first surprise, albeit a somewhat mild one, and went small with D’Angelo Russell out of Ohio State, arguably the most dynamic player available. He’s not short on wattage, either. Good thing, since he’ll be cast as the understudy to LA’s current star, 37-year-old Kobe Bryant.
That opened the door for Philadelphia to grab the draft’s other consensus talented big man, Jahlil Okafor out of Duke. Never mind that the 76ers already have two big men in need of minutes — Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel — and a third, Dario Saric, stashed in Europe until 2016.
Philadelphia general manager Sam Hinkie has a reputation for being unconventional. But this time, he took the best player available.
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7:15 p.m.
Red, or some shade of it, appears to be the “in” color this year.
So much so that the green room at the NBA draft is starting to look like a Vegas card table. There was Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell in Buckeye red … er scarlet. Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis went with maroon.
The other dominant look around the Barclays Center is blue — that of the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Knicks fans filled the plaza outside the arena a couple of hours before the start. The draft used to be held inside Madison Square Garden, and at times Thursday it looked like it still was.
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6:30 p.m.
New Magic coach Scott Skiles is already working the media, with an assist from his wife, Kim.
When members of the media arrived for the draft night they found a tray with homemade cookies from the Skiles.
The cookies were wrapped with basketball print ribbon and two tags: “From the Kitchen of Kim Skiles” and “A Gift From Kim and Scott.”
Well played, coach. Well played.
The Magic are slated to pick fifth and 51st tonight and has lots of needs to fill. The coach has already taken care of buttering up the reporters.
— Kyle Hightower in Orlando, Florida
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Litke contributed from Chicago; AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report in New York.
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