June 22, 2017
The story of the 2017 N.B.A. draft was youth, with a record-setting 16 freshmen taken in the first 30 picks, compared to just two seniors.
Washington’s Markelle Fultz (No. 1, Philadelphia) got things rolling as the leader of an elite group of young point guards that also includes Lonzo Ball (No. 2, Lakers), De’Aaron Fox (No. 5, Sacramento) and Dennis Smith (No. 9, Dallas). And after the point guards were off the board, the night was spent discussing the league’s current favorite attributes: length and long-range shooting.
Markelle Fultz was selected first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers.
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While the various young players selected all represent huge potential for their teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves may have been the biggest winners of the night thanks to a trade for veteran all-star Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls. Butler barely squeaked into the first round when he came out of Marquette in 2011, but Coach Tom Thibodeau molded him into one of the game’s most spectacular two-way players. Butler and Thibodeau will now be reunited following a trade in which the Timberwolves got Butler and the draft rights to Creighton’s Justin Patton in exchange for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and the draft rights to Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen. nytimes.com