Anyone interested in the NBA draft, and NBA news in general, knows to follow Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports’ “The Vertical” on Twitter. [Wojnarowski would later write for ESPN before retiring from journalism on Wednesday.]
You know, the guy who on Thursday night consistently tweeted teams’ intended draft picks well before they were officially made. In many cases, ol’ Woj’s Twitter timeline was one, two, even three picks ahead of NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s official announcements.
Except in the Mavericks’ case.
Dallas owner Mark Cuban often points out to us how airtight his franchise has been over the years when it comes to revealing news before he wants the world to hear it. And Cuban took no chances when it came to Thursday’s selection of Dennis Smith Jr. with the No. 9 overall pick.
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On Friday, after Smith’s introductory news conference to Dallas media, Cuban laughed while detailing the Mavs’ draft-room scene to Smith’s agents, Glenn Schwartzman and Kim Grillier of Paramount Sports & Entertainment.
“The closer it gets to the [No. 9] pick, the more tense it became,” Cuban said.
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Flashback: How Mark Cuban thwarted Adrian Wojnarowski during 2017 NBA draft
