Former Oregon forward Jordan Bell will be a Golden State Warrior while teammate and guard Tyler Dorsey was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks. Dillon Brooks was the final Duck taken in the second round of the NBA draft Thursday night, selected by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Bell was the first Duck off the board when the Chicago Bulls drafted him with the 38th overall pick. The Bulls then traded him to the Warriors for $3.5 million, according to mercurynews.com.
Golden State will acquire Oregon’s Jordan Bell in a trade, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 23, 2017
Bell helped lead Oregon to the Final Four and became a national phenomenon with his athletic ability to block shots. He ended his three-year career with an average of 2.2 blocks per game. Entering the season, Bell was projected to be undrafted, but his impressive junior season and NCAA Tournament shot him into draft boards.
Many draft experts projected him to go in the late first round.
Pretty surprised Jordan Bell didn’t go in the first round.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) June 23, 2017
Instead, he went eight picks later with the Warriors paying into the draft for his rights.
“We just like the way he plays basketball. We’ll find a place for him.” – Bob Myers on Jordan Bell
— Marcus Thompson (@ThompsonScribe) June 23, 2017
Bob Myers on drafting Jordan Bell, said he didn’t expect him to be there pic.twitter.com/MWFmqOwVzI
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) June 23, 2017
Dorsey joined him in the NBA moments later when the Hawks drafted him with the 41 overall pick.
Like Bell, Dorsey made a name for himself with his performance in the NCAA Tournament. He earned the nickname “Mr. March” after clutch performances in the Tournament, which included a game-winning 3-pointer to beat Rhode Island in the second round. He scored less than 20 points just once in the month of March.
Glad to be apart of the family @ATLHawks all I needed was an opportunity #WakemUp
— Tyler Dorsey (@TDORSEY_1) June 23, 2017
The 2016-17 Pac-12 Player of the Year Dillon Brooks was taken with the 45th overall pick by the Houston Rockets, but was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sources: Houston is selecting Oregon’s Dillon Brooks and trading him to Memphis with the No. 45 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2017
Brooks was Oregon’s leading scorer at 16.1 points per game. His 48 percent shooting from the field made him one of the best scorers in the Pac-12. He missed the start of the season with a foot injury, but his performance throughout the year quelled any injury concerns.
Mr. Clutch is headed to Memphis. Congrats, @dbrookz8! @OregonMBB #ProDucks pic.twitter.com/q6P9Cb3QXQ
— CSN Northwest (@CSNNW) June 23, 2017
Another Duck joined the Warriors after the draft ended. Chris Boucher went undrafted but signed a two-way contract immediately following the draft. A two-way contract means he can freely move from the Warriors to their G-League team in Santa Cruz, California.
Boucher was a projected second round pick until he tore his ACL late last season.
The Golden State Warriors and Oregon’s Chris Boucher have agreed to a two-way NBA contract, league sources say.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2017
Follow Jack Butler on Twitter @Butler917
