Associated Press
The NBA notebook …
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio ó After selecting an unknown with their first-round pick, the Cleveland Cavaliers have picked well-rounded forward Danny Green, who won a national title at North Carolina, with the No. 46 overall pick in the NBA draft.
Green, who played more games than any player in Tar Heels history, was the fourth UNC player taken in Thursday night’s draft. The 6-foot-6 Green averaged 13.1 points and made 77 3-pointers as a senior.
The Cavs’ big news on draft day was a trade that brought the Suns’ Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland.
LAWSON TRADED
DENVER ó The Denver Nuggets have traded a future first-round draft pick to Minnesota for the rights to North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson.
The Nuggets, who lacked a first-round pick for the fourth straight year, landed Lawson in exchange for a future first-round pick.
The Nuggets have coveted Lawson. Denver needed a reserve point guard to spell Chauncey Billups.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SONNEW YORK ó There must be something about basketball bloodlines.
Three players whose fathers played in the NBA were chosen in the top 15 picks of the draft.
Stephen Curry, whose father Dell played in the league for 16 seasons, was taken with the seventh pick by Golden State. The nation’s leading scorer last season as a junior at Davidson with a 28.6 average.
“You always dream that you want to do what your dad does, especially I went to the gym, shootaround, the locker room and all that stuff and that’s all I know,” Curry said.
At least one son of a former NBA player has been taken in the last seven drafts.
The run started in 2002 with Mike Dunleavy and continued with Luke Walton (2003), Jackson Vroman (2004), Sean May (2005), Ronnie Brewer (2006), Al Horford (2007) and Kevin Love and Patrick Ewing Jr. (2008).