Days before the 2018 NBA Draft, a number of outlets that are league partners supposedly agreed to not spoil draft picks on Twitter prior to when they happened on the television broadcast on ESPN.
However, that quickly went out the window when the draft started and reporters from other outlets that aren’t league partners were firing off tweets with what their league sources were telling them. Marc Stein of the New York Times dominated the first two picks, but once the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks agreed to the first major trade of the draft, all bets were off.
With the teams swapping the third and fifth overall picks, along with Atlanta collecting a 2019 pick from Dallas, the floodgates opened on Twitter as Yahoo’s Shams Charania and others quickly went back to their old ways. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski also jumped back into the game, but given that ESPN holds the actual broadcast rights to the draft he still had to tread lightly.
Woj, though, is a smart man and found a loophole in the policy he could expose by using his vocabulary to tip picks without outright saying the teams were going to select those players. The results were pretty hilarious as he dug deep into the thesaurus so he could change it up, pick-by-pick.
Memphis is locked in on selecting Jaren Jackson Jr., league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2018
Orlando is focused on selecting Texas center Mo Bamba with the sixth pick, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2018
Chicago is zeroing in on Wendell Carter with the seventh overall pick, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Source: Cleveland prefers Collin Sexton with the No. 8 pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Sources: New York has been focused on Kentucky's Kevin Knox with ninth pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Sources: Sixers are targeting Villanova's Mikal Bridges with No. 10.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Denver has been seriously considering Michael Porter Jr., with No. 14, league sources tell ESPN. They're deciding now.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Source: Denver has cleared the way to choose Michael Porter Jr. with the 14h pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Washington is locked on Troy Brown with the 15th pick, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Phoenix is determined to select Zhaire Smith with 16.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
The Spurs are fixated on Lonnie Walker with the 18th pick, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Atlanta has zeroed in on Maryland's Kevin Huerter with the 19 pick, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Source: Utah Jazz have no plans to pass on Grayson Allen with the 21st pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Source: Bulls are on Boise State's Chandler Hutchison. He was shut down in workouts with Chicago promise.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Eventually, Shams decided to poke a little fun at Woj’s tweet style.
Sources: The Indiana Pacers are focusing on Aaron Holiday with the No. 23 pick in the NBA draft.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2018
Source: Pacers are focused on Aaron Holiday at 23.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
After that, Woj upped the ante with “with a laser on.”
Source: Portland has a laser on Anfernee Simons.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Source: The Lakers are unlikely to resist Mo Wagner with the 25th pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Source: The Sixers are enamored with Landry Shamut at the 26th pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
Source: Boston is tantalized by Robert Williams with the 27th pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2018
