In conversations with sources around the NBA, John Hollinger of The Athletic noticed two reasons being frequently cited to explain Cam Whitmore‘s draft-night slide from possible top-five pick to being selected at No. 20 by the Rockets.

According to Hollinger, some teams red-flagged Whitmore’s medicals due to concerns about his knees. Clubs were also underwhelmed by his pre-draft workouts and interviews, with one source who spoke to Hollinger using the descriptor “comatose.”

Within his post-draft wrap-up, Hollinger also praised the Mavericks for the modest price they paid to move off Davis Bertans‘ contract in one salary-dump trade (moving down from No. 10 to 12) relative to the nice return they got for accepting Richaun Holmes‘ contract in a second salary-dump deal (the No. 24 pick, which became Olivier-Maxence Prosper).

Additionally, Hollinger believes the Trail Blazers no longer need to “cower in fear” about the possibility of Damian Lillard requesting a trade, since the duo of Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe looks like the team’s backcourt of the future and is a strong foundation to build around. Whatever happens with Lillard going forward figures to have a ripple effect on Anfernee Simons, according to Hollinger, who notes that it’s probably untenable to have Simons making $20MM per year in Portland as a fourth guard.

Here are more odds and ends from around the NBA:

  • Assuming they suit up in Las Vegas, the top two picks in the draft will go head-to-head on the first day of the Vegas Summer League. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, the Spurs (Victor Wembanyama) and Hornets (Brandon Miller) are scheduled to face one another on July 7. Reynolds also provides details on some of the other most notable matchups on the newly announced Summer League schedule.
  • Breaking down the restrictions that teams above the NBA’s new second tax apron will face beginning next offseason, cap expert Albert Nahmad tweets that those clubs won’t be permitted to trade for a player who was previously acquired via sign-and-trade.
  • While details on the new Collective Bargaining Agreement keep trickling out publicly and teams have seen the term sheet, the NBA has yet to distribute the full CBA to clubs, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. The CBA set to take effect when the new league year begins next Saturday (July 1), so the league is taking it down to the wire. According to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), the NBA had hoped to have the CBA completed in full by Monday of this week.

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