2016 NBA Draft Grades: Sixers, 29 other teams did the best they could

2015 NBA draft grades for top five picks | SI Now

After 60 selections were made over two grueling hours in the 2016 NBA Draft, we have carefully considered how each team executed. Our serious, comprehensive analysis includes trades made before and during the draft in addition to the picks. We have incorporated robust assessment of teams" roster needs and applied rigorous tests to assumptions about how each new player will fit. We feel our model accurately assesses Thursday"s events looking ahead.

Here are your 2016 NBA Draft grades, with the teams broken into six distinct tiers by performance.

PASSED WITH FLYING COLORSSixers

Ben Simmons is a confirmed Australian. How very delightful! Timothe Luwawu"s last name reminds me of a Jimi Hendrix guitar solo. Furkan Korkmaz is both the 76ers" second ever player named Furkan and its first to share a name with a League of Legends champion. Well done, Sixers!

GRADE: A+

Knicks

The Knicks did not get into the draft, and went without a pick for the first time in decades. You know what that means? James Dolan could play his harmonica in peace, Phil Jackson could follow Brexit ballot results closely and Carmelo Anthony had no reason to shake his head. The Knicks: a calming presence in a world of chaos.

GRADE: A+

Wizards

No selections for the Wizards either. But that"s OK, because the District is currently in the throws of Nationals Fever! Very gracious of the Wizards to let the baseball team shine.

GRADE: A+

Blazers

Portland acquired the rights to Jake Layman, who grew up in Massachusetts, played at Maryland and has four brothers. Hey, that"s pretty cool!

GRADE: A+

Clippers

The Clippers aren"t typically known for draft savvy. But they landed Brice Johnson in the first round. Before the draft,he tweeted photos of himself receiving a haircut from SuperCuts. Thrift, what a great life skill to learn before joining the NBA!

GRADE: A+

EXCELLENT WORK!Lakers

L.A. grabbed Brandon Ingram at No. 2 and Ivica Zubac at No. 32. Ingram showed incredible style, wearing a short chain in place of a tie. That"s hip! Zubac is Croatian, which means the Lakers have finally captured the all-important Zach Lowe endorsement. The world is smiling upon Los Angeles this morning!

GRADE: A+

Kings

Wow! What a night for the Sacramento Kings! They drafted Georgios Papagiannis, whose name can be anglicized as George Dadjohn or perhaps George Johnfather. Papa John"s is definitely going to be expanding its presence in the Sacramento Valley now. Later on, the Kings picked up Malachi Richardson, who has some incredible hair and a great name (sense a trend?) and Skal Labissiere, another Kentucky big man with a phenomenal name. With the penultimate pick, the Kings took Isaiah Cousins, who is NOT DeMarcus Cousins" brother but would force the Kings to produce new Boogie Cousins jerseys that read "D. Cousins." You don"t want to be seen in a confusing old "Cousins" No. 15 jersey. The Kings are going to make money off of this selection. Smart move!

GRADE: A+

Bulls

Denzel Valentine could be the lead character in a Tyler Perry movie. Paul Zipser sounds fast.Jimmy Butler is still in town.

GRADE: A+

Pacers

The Pacerstraded out to get Thaddeus Young, who is just about the most pleasant combo forward you"ll ever meet. (Presuming you"ll ever meet Thad Young.) But in the second round, the Pacers took Georges Niang. Is that multiple Georges? Did Indiana get two Georges for the price of one? Bold move, Larry Bird!

GRADE: A+

Thunder

OKC traded Serge Ibaka and drafted Domantas Sabonis with part of the package. Does Arvydas Sabonis come along, too? Because if Arvydas Sabonis took this opportunity to join the Thunder"s broadcast team, well that would just be phenomenal.

GRADE: A+

NICE EFFORTNets

Whoa! Sean Marks is already making moves! Strong effort to get into the draft. Brooklyn took Caris LeVert, who showed his Michigan pride bywearing an amazing maize and blue suit. Local pride is really commendable. As such, what a thrill that the Nets picked up Coney Island"s own Isaiah Whitehead in the second round. The Brooklyn Nets are a model franchise in the changing NBA.

GRADE: A+

Nuggets

Look at all these new players! The Nuggets had three picks in the top 20: Jamal Murray (Kentucky guards almost never disappoint), Juan Hernangomez (whose brother w***y Hernangomez is slated to join the Knicks this season) and Malik "Don"t Call Me Michael" Beasley. Sounds like the Nuggets were busy. Nice effort, good follow through, way to play through the whistle.

GRADE: A+

Rockets

The Rockets picked up Chinanu Onuaku in the second round.He shoots his free throws underhanded. Rick Barry is now going to pick Houston over Golden State next season. The Rockets also got Zhou Qi. He looks nothing like Yao Ming, but that won"t stop a lucky shopper from seeing him inside Whole Foods in The Woodlands and racing to tell his friends all about the time he considered the ripeness of pluots next to China"s most famous athlete.

GRADE: A+

Hawks

Isaia Cordinier is almost assuredly in a French boy band. Coming soon to Apple Music and Spotify, no doubt. Can"t wait for the Future feature. Taurean Prince is positively royal. DeAndre Bembry -- hey, St. Joseph"s sure was a great place to get an education, eh?

GRADE: A+

Raptors

Jakob Poeltl is in fact NOT Austrian for Rafael Araujo.

GRADE: A+

WAY TO GO!Suns

As some hero tweeted on Thursday night, by adding Dragan Bender to a team with Alex Len, the Suns have created the BLENDER frontcourt. Nice! Marquese Chriss is from Sacramento; the city"s Great Humans Per Capita rating is out of sight, so there"s a strong probability Marq is awesome. Tyler Ulis was the Suns" second-round pick. He joins Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, Devin Booker and Archie Goodwin as Kentucky Wildcat guards on the Suns roster. Hey, aren"t Aaron and Andrew Harrison free agents this summer? HINT HINT.

GRADE: A+

Bucks

They got ...

THON MAKER /Shot taker, #TeamCaker? /Nice work Mil-wau-kee!

GRADE: A+

Mavericks

Dallas got A.J. Hammons, whomChad Ford described as having "second-round intangibles," which I don"t think was meant as a compliment but should ABSOLUTELY be taken as one. Try it out today. Someone holds a door for you? "Hey, thanks! You really have second-round intangibles!" A colleague responds to an email promptly? "Nice second-round intangibles, Martha!" Excellent service at the caf? "This macchiato looks lovely. Here"s a tip for displaying those second-round intangibles."

GRADE: A+

Hornets

The Hornets looked at this draft and said, "No, thank you.We"d prefer to have Marco Belinelli. We have a diverse roster, and would like to aggressively make it even more diverse. Plus, it"s time we allow other teams to have draft success. Have at it, NBA." What a considerate team.

GRADE: A+

Cavaliers

Kay Felder in the second round? Pretty cool! Maybe he canlet J.R. Smith borrow a shirt?

GRADE: A+

YOU HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURETimberwolves

Tom Thibodeau declared that Kris Dunn can play alongside Ricky Rubio. When has an announcement that a point guard could play alongside Ricky Rubio in Minnesota ever gone wrong before? Way to be bold, Thibs!

GRADE: A+

Magic

Serge Ibaka is pretty cool.

GRADE: A+

Grizzlies

Memphis traded into a spot to take Deyonta Davis (a lottery talent) in the second round, where the Grizzlies can attempt to squeeze him for every dollar. Money matters, and Memphis knows that. Perhaps they can pay him in pounds sterling? Anyways, Davis really stuck it out in the green room. Great sticktoittiveness.

GRADE: A+

Celtics

Lots of folks are giving the Celtics grief over picking Jaylen Brown at No. 3, taking some stash players later and generally not trading a bunch of minor assets for a superstar worldbeater. But hey, we might get to hear Tommy Heinsohn say Guerschon Yabusele someday. Look on the bright side of life.

GRADE: A+

Spurs

Of course the Spurs landed potential lottery pick Dejounte Murray at No. 29 overall. Of course.

GRADE: A+

PERFECTLY CROMULENTPelicans

"My Buddy, My Buddy, My Buddy, My Buddy. Wherever I go, he goes. My Buddy, My Buddy, My Buddy, My Buddy. My Buddy and me!"

I can"t wait to see a Vine of Anthony Davis singing the single best jingle in world history to his new teammate Buddy Hield.

GRADE: A+

Jazz

The Jazztraded their first-round pick for George Hill, helping relieve Indiana"s infestation of Hills and giving a shout out to the Rocky Mountains.

GRADE: A+

Pistons

Henry Ellenson grew up in Wisconsin, played college ball at Marquette and is headed to Detroit. Finally, someone to bridge the Lake Michigan divide! The hero the upper Great Lakes region needs.

GRADE: A+

Heat

It"s supposed to rain next week on Miami Beach. How considerate of the Heat to avoid taking any players in the draft, which means no press conference on Monday will be necessary. Those beat writers in Miami could use a break.

GRADE: A+

Warriors

Damian Jones is not to be confused with Damion James, but I could see how that would happen.

GRADE: A+

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/2016/6/24/12018784/nba-draft-grades-2016-sixers-celtics-lakers

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After Brexit Vote, Britain Asks Google: "What Is The EU?"

What is the EUROPEAN UNION, Anyway?!

By a 52-48 percent margin, the popular vote in the United Kingdom last night moved to detach the country from the European Union.

It"s been a momentous event, building up for months with anticipation and anxiety domestically and abroad, marked by bitter campaigning, sharp regional disagreements and the murder of an anti-"Brexit" member of Parliament, Jo c*x.

But if you judge a country"s interests only by prevalent Google searches, it was after the polls closed when British voters started to think seriously about the implications of their choice.

According to data from Google Trends, the searches for "what is the eu" and "what is brexit" started climbing across Britain late into the night. The polls closed at 10 p.m. local time.

The search for "what is the EU" was popular across all parts of the U.K., in this order: Northern Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland.

Google Trends, on Twitter, has highlighted a few local spikes, too, with "what is Brexit" " a top search in both Northern Ireland and Scotland. Both of them voted in favor of remaining in the EU.

Londoners specifically did a lot of googling for "move to Gibraltar." (Gibraltar is a British territory in southern Europe.)

Like many in the U.K., people around the world are starting to figure out what Brexit is and what it means. Driven in large part by concerns about immigration, Britain"s unexpected decision to exit the EU won"t be settled for a few years and leaves a lot of uncertainty about the future of trade and cooperation.

Read more of NPR"s coverage of Brexit here.

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/06/24/480949383/britains-google-searches-for-what-is-the-eu-spike-after-brexit-vote

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Here"s to a (hopefully) trade-heavy 2016 NHL Draft

Jim Benning Talks Prior to NHL Draft (June 23, 2016)

BUFFALO, N.Y. We have a trade to report

Lets face it: Who wants to watch tonights first round and see all 30 clubs draft in order? Toronto is taking Auston Matthews, Winnipeg will take Patrik Laine, and Id be stunned if after all is said and done, Columbus doesnt select Jesse Puljujarvi.

But after that, wouldnt we rather have National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman speaking into the microphone at No. 4, than Edmonton general manager Peter Chiarelli?

The Edmonton Oilers have traded centre Leon Draisaitl and the fourth pick to the Montreal Canadiens for defenceman P.K. Subban!

Doesnt that get you going more than, The Edmonton Oilers are proud to select, from the London Knights, Matthew Tkachuk.

Or at No. 6: The Calgary Flames have traded the sixth pick to Pittsburgh for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins 55th and 61st overall picks

OK, both those deals might need a little fleshing out. But the market is open, and Edmonton needs top-pairing defenceman as badly as Calgary requires a goaltender.

They tell me its good to have one, joked GM Brad Treliving. Were in a bunch of different markets on that.

Its no secret were in the market for a defenceman, said Chiarelli a few moments later. Were fully engaged and weve got a pretty high pick. Itll ramp up (Friday).

Would he trade the pick?

I am listening to offers for it. I wouldnt rule it out.

This is the perfect recipe for a stunning draft day: A GM with a history of making big trades (as Bostons GM, Chiarelli dealt both Phil Kessel and Tyler Seguin); a team that has lost for long enough and is ready to make significant changes to its roster; and a nice high pick that just happens to make francophone centre Pierre-Luc Dubois available to Montreal, or defenceman Olli Juolevi, if ongoing conversations between Montreal and Edmonton about Subban get consummated.

Chiarelli wants a right-handed defenceman. Vancouver, which picks fifth, has as many needs as Edmonton just in different places. But GM Jim Benning may do his work on July 1.

Its going to take a lot to get that No. 1 pick away from us, said Benning, whose pedigree is built on drafting savvy. Besides, he has his eye on pending unrestricted free agent Milan Lucic, a chase that will begin after the draft concludes.

Hes from Vancouver, hes been a good payer in the league for a long time. A unique player, a power forward. We would definitely have interest in him.

Then it was Kevin Cheveldayoffs turn in front of the microphones. He would barely speak Laines name, but did admit that there have been plenty of GMs trying to lift that No. 2 pick in a deal.

Lots of conversations, he said, but nothing Im willing to step away from (making the pick for).

As we awake on draft day, clearly the sexiest story out there is the growing willingness of the Canadiens to move their superstar defenceman before his no-trade clause kicks in on July 1. Benning would move his No. 5 plus much more to get his hands on a Norris Trophy-level defenceman.

So would approximately half the GMs in the NHL, roughly the number of teams without a genuine No. 1 blue-liner on its roster.

How many true No. 1 D are there? asked Chiarelli, not speaking specifically about Subban. There are 30 teams and maybe there are 12 No. 1 D-men. To think youre going to get a No. 1 D (in a trade)? Its tough.

Should a deal of that magnitude go down tonight in Buffalo, it would be the continuation of a trend that saw Boston deal both Lucic and Dougie Hamilton in separate deals at last years draft. Or 2013, when Vancouver moved Cory Schneider to Vancouver, a deal announced while the Devils were on the clock for the ninth pick overall.

Toronto still has 11 picks, including two each in rounds two, three and four. The most difficult thing to do right now is move money, Benning said Thursday, yet surely Toronto is a place where a cap-cornered team could send a player under contract for draft picks in return.

Isnt that why Toronto hoarded all these draft picks in the first place? To augment their prospect pool with some players who can help right now?

Thats why youll be watching tonight. Its the only night all year when the hockey world wants to hear Gary Bettman talk.

Source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/heres-hopefully-trade-heavy-2016-nhl-draft/

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The best deals on Steam"s summer sale: Doom, Fallout 4, Call of Duty, and more

ВСЯ СУТЬ CS:GO РАСПРОДАЖ STEAM | STEAM SUMMER SALE 2016

The days are getting warmer, which can only mean one thing: it"s time to stay indoors and play lots of cheap games on Steam. Valve"s digital PC game store just kicked off its annual summer sale, and it includes some great deals on both new and classic titles.

You can getthe fantastic reboot of Doom for 40 percent off, for instance, whilethe sprawling post-apocalyptic world of Fallout 4 is now half price. It"s also a great time to dig into some series you may have skipped, with some big franchise sales: you can get a bundle ofevery Deus Ex game for 75 percent off, orbetween 50 and 67 percent off Call of Duty games. You can also get plenty of indie games for just a few bucks;the brutalHotline Miami 2 is 75 percent off, while cult hit farming gameStardew Valley is 20 percent cheaper than usual.

The sales run until July 4th and there doesn"t appear to be any daily deals as in years past so you have plenty of time to dig for the best sales.

What Fallout 4 and Doom are like in VR

• SourceSteam

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2016/6/23/12015200/steam-summer-sale-doom-fallout-4-call-of-duty

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Limited Upside podcast, Episode 43: The Serge Ibaka trade is incredibly fascinating

OKC Trades Serge Ibaka to Magic for Victor Oladipo

We evaluate Oklahoma City"s bold move, Chicago"s bold non-move with Jimmy Butler and another Celtics draft without any fireworks.

To atone for not delivering you a podcast after Game 7 of the NBA Finals (blame Mike for getting sick), we"ve returned strong to recap an odd 2016 NBA Draft. Among the topics discussed:

• Why would the Thunder actually trade Serge Ibaka?
• How good is Victor Oladipo? Are the Thunder overrating him?
• Why would the Bulls even think about trading Jimmy Butler?
• Should we really be surprised that the Celtics couldn"t complete a huge move?
• Why Jaylen Brown is the most fascinating player in this draft.

We also discuss some of the other interesting picks of the first round, including Thon Maker to the Bucks and DeAndre Bembry to Atlanta.

Subscribe to Limited Upside on iTunes (and leave us a review!)Follow Limited Upside on StitcherListen to past Limited Upside episodesFollow Limited Upside on Twitter

Source: http://www.sbnation.com/2016/6/24/12024610/serge-ibaka-trade-analysis-thunder-magic-nba-draft-podcast

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Obama: We respect the UK"s decision on Brexit

Why Negative Rates could send the S&P 500 to 925

President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.(Photo: Charles Dharapak, AP)

Though he opposed calls for a British withdrawal from the European Union, President Obama said Friday the United States respects the voters" decision for a "Brexit" and the referendum will have little effect on relations with either the United Kingdom or the EU.

"The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring, and the United Kingdoms membership in NATO remains a vital cornerstone of U.S. foreign, security, and economic policy," Obama said in a written statement.

As the American president and other world leaders reacted to the British vote to leave the EU, finance ministries across the globe monitored falling financial markets and tried to ease the worries of investors.

In his statement, Obama also expressed continuing support forthe European Union, saying it "has done so much to promote stability, stimulate economic growth, and foster the spread of democratic values and ideals across the continent and beyond."

Both the U.K. and EU remain "indispensable partners of the United States," Obama said, "even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security, and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the world."

During an Aprilvisit to the United Kingdom, Obama spoke out against the Brexit referendumand warned that it could affect economic relations with the U.S.

In a newspaper column and during a news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Obama said that the United States would be more interested in doing trade deals with a "big bloc" like the EU than a single nation like the United Kingdom.

The U.K. is going to be in the back of the queue" should Brexit come to pass, Obama said in April.

Cameron, who welcomed Obama"s opposition to leaving the EU, announced Friday he would resign in the wake of the referendum.

Brexit backers criticized Obama"s involvement in the British campaign.

Former London mayor Boris Johnson now a potential prime minister, post-Brexit said, "the Americans would never contemplate anything like the EU, for themselves or for their neighbors in their own hemisphere."

Vice President Biden, Treasury Secretary Jack Lewand a string of other government officials also lamented the Brexit votebut said they respected the voters" decision and pledged support for the British people in general.

"We will work closely with both London and Brussels and our international partners to ensure continued economic stability, security, and prosperity in Europe and beyond," Lew said.

The Group of Seven finance ministers issued a statement recognizing that "excessive volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates can have adverse implications for economic and financial stability," and they are workingto minimize the impact of Brexit.

"We will continue to consult closely on market movements and financial stability, and cooperate as appropriate," the ministers said.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/28VB8HL

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/06/24/obama-we-respect-uks-decision-brexit/86329452/

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EU referendum: UK science wakes up to new future

US gun control sit-in "publicity stunt" Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn - BBC News
Image copyright Dan Kitwood Image caption The changes that are coming will have a big bearing on UK science

UK science will have to fight to make sure it is not an after-thought as Britain renegotiates its relationship with the EU, say research leaders.

The science establishment expressed its "disappointment" on Friday with the referendum"s outcome.

It had been in the "remain" camp.

The decision to leave the EU now means new structures will have to be put in place if the science sector is to continue to enjoy favourable access to the union"s programmes and funding.

Jo Johnson, the minister for universities and science - an "in" supporter - was one of the first to react.

He took to Twitter in the early hours to say: "Big decision. Let"s make it work."

Britain"s science sector has done increasingly well out of the EU in recent years, receiving 8.8bn in research funding in 2007-2013 versus the 5.4bn it paid in over the same period. And UK-based scientists have won about a fifth of all the grants, in terms of value, from the top-tier programmes run by the European Research Council.

This funding flow-back has been described as being akin to having another Research Council to go with the seven national bodies that presently distribute UK government monies.

To maintain access to the EU stream, Britain will likely now have to get itself some kind of "associated country" status, similar to the positions held by other non-EU countries such as Norway, Switzerland and Israel.

Associated countries pay a GDP membership fee to "join the club", after which, in principle, their scientists can bid for support in the same way as those from full EU member states.

But the exact arrangements will need to be worked out, and are going to depend on wider economic and political factors.

Switzerland, for example, only has "partial" associated status currently because it is not allowing Croatian citizens free access to its labour market.

And having free movement to work collaboratively is central to the way modern science is done.

National dimension

Scientists for Britain is the group of researchers that has most prominently lobbied for Brexit.

It has argued that the policies of "political union" - and the regulations that flow from Brussels - are not a prerequisite for the UK playing a full role in European scientific collaborations.

The UK can survive and thrive outside full union membership, it contends.

And on Friday, its spokesman Dr Lee Upcraft said he was confident a new settlement would be found to maintain UK involvement in EU programmes and by extension the country"s world-leading position in European and global science.

But he also urged the research establishment to hold government to account on national funding.

He echoed a recent complaint from Stephen Hawking, that "we"ve become reliant on EU funding. We get back a little more than we put in, and associated status will need to address this. But the other thing we need to do, and what UK academia needs to do, is get much better at lobbying government."

EU funding had masked a stagnation in national support, he told BBC News.

Research reorganisation

Dr Sarah Main from the pro-remain Campaign for Science and Engineering said there would inevitably be a big uncertainty factor going forward - which comes on top of sector changes already being pushed through parliament in the form of the Higher Education and Research bill (this will bring the seven Research Councils into a single body).

"In the run-up to the referendum, people talked a lot about associated status," she said. "To what extent the EU will make a clear path to enable the UK to obtain associated status and join science programmes back in the EU, I think will be driven by the politics.

"You have to remember that every associated country that people have quoted in the arguments up till now - none was previously a member of the EU that then exited. So, it won"t necessarily be straightforward, but it would be welcome because we do want to compete in EU competitive funding streams, and as far as possible influence EU regulations, markets and the conditions for doing science and the training of scientists."

Prof Venki Ramakrishnan, the president of the Royal Society, agreed with Dr Main that ministers must not lose sight of science as they renegotiate Britain"s relationship with the EU.

"In the upcoming negotiations, we must make sure that research, which is the bedrock of a sustainable economy, is not short-changed, and the government ensures that the overall funding level of science is maintained," he said in a statement.

Image copyright NASA/ESA Image caption The European Space Agency is a separate legal entity

Areas that should not be affected directly by the Brexit vote include the big intergovernmental research organisations.

The likes of the European Space agency; the European Southern Observatory, which operates major telescopes; and Cern, which runs the Large Hadron Collider - these are all separate legal entities to the EU.

However, EU money has increasingly been directed at some of their work. For example, Brussels is now the largest single contributor to Esa"s budget, using the agency to procure the Galileo satellite navigation system and the Copernicus/Sentinel Earth observation constellation of satellites.

Britain"s science-related companies working in these kinds of fields will want re-assurance that a renegotiated future does not turn into a competitive disadvantage.

Patrick Wood is the managing director of Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, which assembles the navigation payloads for every Galileo spacecraft.

He told BBC News on Friday: "We are days away from submitting the proposal for the next follow-on order, to complete the Galileo constellation, and we will continue to work hard with our supply chain to do this.

"I would look for our UK politicians to unite together to continue to support this flagship European project containing key UK technology, knowhow and to help protect jobs here in the UK."

Likewise, the chair of the House of Commons Science and Technology committee, Nicola Blackwood MP, wanted to highlight the care now needed to ensure the commercial science sector was properly supported.

"My committee"s recent report into EU regulation of the life sciences pointed out that this sector alone comprises almost 5,000 companies employing 200,000 people in the UK, generating an annual turnover of 60bn. The Science and Technology Committee will want, in the coming weeks and months, to look at the consequences of this vote for British science," she said.

Find the result in your area

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36622842

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