First two rounds of NBA Draft held in Brooklyn

The San Antonio Spurs take Luka Samanic with the 19th pick

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ The San Antonio Spurs selected Luka Samanic with the 19th overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft.

Samanic is a 6-foot-10 power forward out of Croatia. The 19-year-old played for Petrol Olimpija last season.

San Antonio also had the 29th pick, which they received from Toronto as part of the trade for Kawhi Leonard, along with the 49th selection.

The Spurs are rebuilding after the franchise was turned upside down last offseason after relenting to Leonard’s trade demand and sending him and Danny Green to the Raptors for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl. Leonard was named the NBA Finals MVP after leading Toronto to the franchise’s first championship.

San Antonio had two picks in the first round for the first time since 1987, when they selected David Robinson first overall and Greg Anderson at No. 23.

The Spurs were without a lottery pick for the 22nd consecutive season, the longest streak in the NBA history. San Antonio has made the playoffs 23 straight seasons despite that.

 

Mavericks get forward Roby after trade with Pistons

By DAVE JACKSON

DALLAS (AP) _ The Dallas Mavericks traded down in the second round of the NBA draft Thursday night, ending up with Nebraska forward Isaiah Roby at No. 45 overall.

Dallas initially selected Deividas Sirvydis of Lithuania with their scheduled 37th pick, but agreed to trade his rights to the Detroit Pistons for Roby and two future second-round picks, according to a person with knowledge of the deal. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the trade was not yet official. Trades can’t be completed until the new league year starts July 6.

Dallas, which traded its first round pick to Atlanta as a result of last year’s draft-day trade for Luka Doncic, now brings in Roby, who averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game for the Cornhuskers.

He will join a young Mavericks team led by 20-year-old Doncic, likely to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, and 23-year-old Kristaps Porzingis, acquired during the season from the Knicks and coming off a knee injury.

Dallas finished 33-49 last year and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015-16.

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