NBA Draft Latest: French players, UConn stars and hometown standout among first-round picks

NEW YORK — The latest from the first round Wednesday at the NBA draft:

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AJ Johnson wasn't invited to the first-round, goes 23rd

AJ Johnson wasn’t invited to the NBA draft green room. He showed up as a fan, sat in the crowd -- and made his way to the stage anyway.

Johnson was the No. 23 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. The 6-foot-4 guard had a great NBA Draft Combine and opened plenty of eyes.

He spent last season playing in Australia, and now his development will continue as part of the Bucks.

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Another French player goes in the first round: Pacome Dadiet

Turns out, the New York Knicks will have some players who didn’t go to Villanova. And France’s huge night at the NBA draft continues.

French forward Pacome Dadiet was taken by the Knicks with the No. 25 selection. The 18-year-old averaged 6.8 points in Germany’s top league last season.

The Knicks added Dadiet one night after getting Mikal Bridges in a trade with Brooklyn. The Villanova alum will join a lineup that already included fellow Wildcats Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo.

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Stephon Castle’s suit matches his new team, the Spurs

Stephon Castle wore a suit that matched the black-and-silver colors of the San Antonio Spurs, who drafted him at No. 4 overall.

The former UConn star said it wasn’t planned.

“It wasn’t intentional. But I guess it all really worked out. I guess I kind of manifested it to happen for me,” Castle said.

He also wore a chain with his initials and a large castle at the base to honor his last name.

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‘Everybody won’: UConn’s Hurley celebrates Huskies’ picks

UConn coach Dan Hurley spoke often about how he recruited NBA lottery picks during the Huskies’ run to back-to-back national titles.

Two UConn players went in the top seven of this year’s draft. Stephon Castle was picked No. 4 by San Antonio and Donovan Clingan went to Portland at No. 7.

“Everybody won. We won championships, they won their dream,” Hurley said on ESPN.

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Viva, viva, viva La France! 3 picks in top 6 makes history

There are now two nations that have seen three of its native players taken in the top 10 spots of any NBA draft.

One is the United States.

The other is France -- which had three in the top six of this NBA draft, with Zaccharie Risacher going No. 1, Alex Sarr going No. 2 and Tidjane Salaun going No. 6.

It is a historic event for the French, who have seen both the quality and popularity of basketball soar in recent years. France will be considered a gold-medal possibility at the Paris Games this summer as well.

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Another French pick, with Salaun going to Hornets at 6

The run on French stars continues, with three now selected in the first six spots of the NBA draft.

Tidjane Salaun goes No. 6 to Charlotte, which grabbed the 6-foot-9 forward with good range from deep and good touch around the basket.

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Wizards trade Avdija to Blazers for 14th pick and Brogdon

The Portland Trail Blazers acquired forward Deni Avdija from the Washington Wizards for guard Malcolm Brogdon and the 14th pick tonight and a first-round pick in 2029, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.

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Matas Buzelis, born in Chicago, now will play for Bulls

Welcome home, Matas Buzelis. You are a Chicago Bull.

The Bulls took the G League Ignite forward with the 11th overall pick Wednesday night. He’s a Lithuanian kid -- his mother Kristina and father Aidas both played pro ball there -- but he was born in Chicago after his parents moved to the U.S. and settled in the Windy City.

Buzelis averaged 14.1 points for the Ignite last season.

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Risacher goes No. 1 overall to Atlanta

Another year, another French prospect goes No. 1 in the NBA draft. Last year, it was Victor Wembanyama to San Antonio and this year, it’s Zaccharie Risacher to Atlanta.

The 6-foot-9 wing technically was a teammate of Wembanyama in France during in the 2021-22 season -- though they never appeared in a league game there together.

But even then, Wemby was convinced that Risacher would be a star. And now we wait to see what the Hawks do next: Trading Trae Young, trading Dejounte Murray, or blowing it up completely by trading both and starting over all seem like options.

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Sarr goes No. 2 to Wizards, completing French sweep of top 2 picks

Bonjour, and bonjour.

Alex Sarr going No. 2 overall to Washington gives France a 1-2 sweep of the top picks, after Zaccharie Risacher went No. 1 to Atlanta.

Only 19, Sarr has seen the world already: the 7-footer born in France, and he’s played for Overtime Elite, Real Madrid and the Perth Wildcats in Australia.

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Cody Williams picked 10th by Utah Jazz

Oh, brother! Cody Williams, you have bragging rights now.

He was picked 10th by the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night -- going two spots ahead of where his brother Jalen Williams was taken by the Oklahoma City Thunder two years ago.

Cody Williams famously said he hadn’t seen snow before his one and only college season at Colorado. Hope he kept some gloves: it gets cold in Utah, too.

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Don’t expect much right away from the 2024 draft class

The numbers tell us that rookies need time.

The learning process for the class of NBA freshmen starts with the draft, and don’t expect much right away when next season starts.

Consider the 2023 draft class. Only two members of that group averaged 10 points per game in October. By April, that number was up to 14. Clearly, as the season went on, the picks were getting more comfortable.

The only 2023 draft picks who averaged at least 10 points in every month last season were Victor Wembanyama and Brandon Miller.

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Donovan Clingan wears family pictures in lining of his jacket

Donovan Clingan brought his family with him to the NBA draft as part of his sharp draft-night suit.

Clingan wore a shiny gray suit with a black bow tie. The lining of his jacket was decorated with a montage of pictures of his family.

Clingan is expected to be one of the top picks of the draft. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder was a huge part of UConn’s back-to-back national titles. He’s a load for opponents inside at both ends of the floor.

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Sheppard recalls watching Booker at Kentucky as ‘little kid’

When Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard arrived for the NBA draft, he was asked which former Wildcat he’s most looking forward to playing against in the NBA. His answer: Devin Booker.

“I remember watching him when I was a little kid,” Sheppard, “and he’s kind of one my favorite players to watch right now so it would pretty cool playing against him.”

Booker is 27 years old. Yes, Sheppard said he watched Booker as a “little kid.” And it adds up. Booker played his lone season for Kentucky in 2014-15, and Sheppard just turned 20 on Monday.