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The Phoenix Suns stayed close to home for their first No. 1 pick. The Dallas Mavericks looked all the way to Slovenia for the player they hope can be their next European superstar.

Shortly after the Suns took Deandre Ayton to start the NBA draft Thursday night Calvin Ridley Color Rush Jersey , the Mavericks traded up two spots for the rights to Luka Doncic.

The Atlanta Hawks swapped the rights to Doncic, the No. 3 pick who has spent the last year winning championships all over Europe, to Atlanta for Trae Young, the No. 5 selection from Oklahoma.

The Mavericks also gave up a future first-round pick to draft Doncic, who only arrived in New York on Wednesday after helping Spain’s Real Madrid win its league championship after he won Euroleague MVP and Final Four MVP honors when they won that title this year.

His lengthy European season kept him from working out for teams but he knew the Mavericks were interested in having him on their team for what’s expected to be Dirk Nowitzki’s final NBA season.

”I’ve been talking to Dallas a lot. They really wanted me, and they were very, very nice,” the 19-year-old said. ”They were very nice to me, and I think we had a very good relationship.”

The Hawks will get perhaps the most exciting player in college basketball last season in Young, the first player to lead the nation in scoring and assists in the same season.

”Whatever city I went to, I was going to be able to be comfortable in Erik Gonzalez Cleveland Indians Jersey ,” said Young, who wore suit shorts with his burgundy-colored jacket. ”I was just really excited to get to Atlanta.”

After that, it was a mostly straightforward draft with little fireworks, but plenty of national champion Villanova Wildcats.

The top of it was dominated by big men, starting with a pair of former high school teammates.

The Suns made the 7-foot-1 Ayton the first No. 1 pick in franchise history. The center from Arizona averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds in his lone season in Tucson, tying for the national lead with 24 double-doubles in 35 games.

He joined Mychal Thompson – father of Golden State All-Star Klay Thompson – in 1978 as the only players from the Bahamas to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

”Having my name called to be the first pick for the Phoenix Suns was mind-blowing,” Ayton said. ”Having all that confidence and leading up to that point when I saw Adam Silver came out, I was just waiting for my name, and when he called it, my mind went blank.”

The Sacramento Kings followed by taking Marvin Bagley III, the Duke big man who played with Ayton at Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix in 2015-16.

With Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. going fourth to Memphis http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-antonio-callaway-jersey , Texas center Mo Bamba going No. 6 to Orlando and Wendell Carter Jr. following to Chicago, it was an early run of big men in what’s increasingly become a perimeter-based league.

Then it was another guard with Alabama’s Collin Sexton going at No. 8 to Cleveland, triggering chants of Michael Porter Jr.’s name by Knicks fans who hoped they would take him with the No. 9 pick. But they ended up disappointed as New York went with Kentucky’s Kevin Knox.

”They booed (Kristaps) Porzingis (on draft night) and look where he is now. That’s the same mindset I’m going to have,” Knox said. ”They can chant Michael Porter all they want. But they got Kevin Knox, and I’m willing to work and I’m willing to get better.”

With concerns over back problems that limited him to only three games at Missouri last season, followed by a recent hip injury that he believe scared off teams, Porter ended up falling all the way to Denver at No. 14, the last lottery position.

There were a couple other trades involving lottery picks. Mikal Bridges, the No. 10 pick from Villanova who thought he was staying in Philadelphia with the 76ers – who employ his mother – but was dealt to Phoenix for the rights to No. 16 pick Zhaire Smith of Texas Tech and a 2012 first-round pick from the Miami Heat.

The Charlotte Hornets sent the rights to No. 11 pick Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – whose floral-patterned suit stood out among the selections – to the Clippers for No. 12 pick Miles Bridges and two future second-round picks.

After Bridges, Final Four Most Outstanding Player Donte DiVincenzo went to Milwaukee at No. 17 and Omari Spellman to Atlanta at No. 30, giving Villanova three first-round picks for the first time. National player of the year Jalen Brunson then was picked by Dallas with the third pick of the second round.

The Holiday brothers had an NBA reunion when Aaron Holiday was taken at No. 23 by Indiana. Brothers Jrue and Justin already play in the league.

Speaking of brothers Deadrin Senat Color Rush Jersey , Kostas Antetokounmpo of Dayton, brother of Bucks All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo, was the 60th and final pick by Philadelphia. That marked the first time three international siblings were drafted into the NBA, as Thanasis Antetokounmpo was the No. 51 pick in 2014.

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It took all 1,230 regular-season games to decide which 16 teams were going to the NBA playoffs.

Same goes for picking the 36 playoff-bound referees.

The NBA on Friday revealed the officials selected to work the opening round of the playoffs that start this weekend. The league got there with a process including everything from a study of analytics, ratings filed by teams and coaches, the assessments of retired veteran referees and much more.

”It’s definitely a different world to be a part of those who are doing the deciding, instead of those that are being decided upon,” said longtime referee Monty McCutchen, who left the floor this season to become an NBA vice president. ”And there’s a certain growth pattern for me in that regard, having to learn new skill sets and new ways of sort of approaching it.”

The five active officials with the most playoff experience are all headed back to the postseason this year: Ron Garretson Domingo Santana Milwaukee Brewers Jersey , Ken Mauer, Mike Callahan, Derrick Stafford and Scott Foster have combined to work nearly 1,000 playoff games.

There are three first-time referees selected in Kevin Cutler, Karl Lane and Kevin Scott. If form for rookie playoff refs holds, they’ll do no more than a handful of games.

”Like in most professions you’re given what you can handle at the time – well, you’re not given it, you’ve earned this opportunity that we want you to experience,” McCutchen said. ”I think it is important to point out someone getting in their first year not going to be working 14 of our playoff games. There’s a developmental stage here that they have shown an excellence that warrants them being a part of this.”

Most of the 12 referees who worked last season’s NBA Finals are back in this year’s playoffs, the exceptions being McCutchen and Danny Crawford, both of whom have retired from officiating.

Courtney Kirkland Kyle Freeland Colorado Rockies Jersey , who was taken off the floor for a week this season after an incident with Golden State’s Shaun Livingston , was selected for the postseason ref roster.

”Are they exhibiting the proper amounts of courage and strength without arrogance? Are they showing humility without weakness? Are they showing the proper amount of resoluteness and firmness to withstand crowd pressure?” McCutchen said, listing some of the things that he and others consider when deciding who gets the playoff call. ”Those are important aspects to being an effective referee.”

The NBA has been stressing better relationships between referees and players for months, and teams do provide some of the feedback that goes into the evaluation process for choosing which officials make the playoffs.

That process used to determine the first-round pool remains in play, as the group gets pared down for subsequent playoff rounds.

”Each referee has a dashboard of thousands of decisions that they’re rated on,” McCutchen said. ”And that gives a very clear picture of where people are being successful.”

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