It’s that time of year, NBA fans! Executives around the league sending out signals through trusted beat reporters that they’re leaning in one direction for the upcoming draft when they’re actually planning to do something completely different.

Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough started things off right after the lottery when he said he would be willing to trade the No. 1 overall pick, and then reversed course just a few days later saying it was almost certain the Suns would make the selection.

But which player will they take?

Everyone assumes they’ll go with University of Arizona center Deandre Ayton, but remember, new Suns head coach Igor Kokoskov previously coached the Slovenian national team, and one of his star players just happened to be Luka Doncic. Ayton makes the most sense for Phoenix, but if Kokoskov can convince the front office Doncic has superstar potential, we could get a major surprise right at the start of the draft.

Speaking of Doncic, the talented 6-foot-7 swingman is also being coy about his future plans, hinting he could return to play for Real Madrid if he’s not happy with where he’s drafted later this month. That in turn has led executives in Sacramento and Atlanta to confide to media members they might pass on Doncic in favor of college big men like Marvin Bagley III, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Mo Bamba.

Surely, Doncic won’t fall any farther than fourth, where the Memphis Grizzlies are in desperate need of a shot creator to play alongside veterans Marc Gasol and Mike Conley. Would the Grizzlies consider moving up a spot or two to make sure they get Doncic? Only time will tell as we move closer to June 21st.

Here in Chicago, the Bulls are also involved in the pre-draft misinformation process. They’ve already brought in the players who make sense at the No. 7 overall pick for workouts; Bamba, Duke big man Wendell Carter and Villanova swingman Mikal Bridges.

But Bulls beat reporters are also hearing the front office has legitimate interest in a pair of point guards, Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Alabama’s Collin Sexton, even though that is one of the deepest positions on the roster with Kris Dunn, Cameron Payne and Jerian Grant all signed for next season.

Further intrigue was added to the Young fascination on Tuesday, when the New York Post’s Mark Berman reported the nation’s leader in scoring and assists this past season will only work out for the Hawks, Magic, Knicks and Bulls.

The Hawks are interesting because their best player, Dennis Schroder, plays the point guard position, but there have been reports Schroder wants out from a long rebuilding process in Atlanta. Would the Hawks consider Young at No. 3? Seems a little high, but a dynamic player like Young could bring some of the fans back to one of the league’s quietest arenas. The Hawks could consider trading down, but they already hold two other first round draft picks (Nos. 19 and 30), so that doesn’t seem likely. Best guess here is Atlanta will take Jackson to fill a gaping hole in the middle.

How about Orlando? The Magic are desperate for point guard help after trading former lottery pick Elfrid Payton to Phoenix. Either Young or Sexton would seem like logical choices for the Magic with the sixth overall pick, but we’re hearing they would love to draft Bamba, even though the center position has a pair of highly paid players on the roster in Nik Vucevic and Bismack Biyombo. Could be just another smoke screen. Young should be the pick for Orlando.

The Knicks drafted French point guard Frank Ntilikina eighth overall last year, but he projects as a defensive specialist who could see time at both backcourt positions, possibly clearing the starting PG spot for Young. Problem is, it’s unlikely Young will still be on the board when the Knicks draft at #9. With all their question marks up front, Carter makes a lot of sense for New York.

Back to the Bulls, John Paxson made it clear in his end of the season meeting with reporters that the team’s biggest need is a versatile wing player, who can defend multiple positions. It almost sounded like he was reading from Mikal Bridges’ scouting report in describing the player the Bulls would like to add at No. 7, but remember this is draft misinformation season.

As the Bulls enter Year 2 of the rebuild, it’s imperative to find another star to add to last year’s seventh overall pick, Lauri Markannen. If the Bulls think Young can develop into Steph Curry-lite with his crazy shooting range and creative ballhandling skills, it certainly would be a worthwhile gamble with their lottery pick.

The days of NBA teams going with traditional line-ups are over, and 3 guards-2 bigs looks are becoming commonplace. Young will be at the Advocate Center in the next week or so to workout for the Bulls, giving the front office and coaching staff a better idea of how he might fit playing with Dunn and Zach LaVine.

Young will meet with reporters and tell us how he would be a perfect fit in Chicago and would love to play in Fred Hoiberg’s offense. Then he’ll take off his Bulls practice gear and move on to the next city.

And, don’t forget about Bulls fans’ favorite Michael Porter Jr. His agents will control the workout process and sharing of medical information on Porter’s back surgery to try to get MPJ to the franchise they feel best suits his chances of developing into an NBA star.

Bottom line, don’t take anything you hear over the next two weeks too seriously. Players, agents, coaches and executives all have their own agendas in trying to set up the best possible scenarios for draft night.

We’re just trying to read the tea leaves, and hoping our favorite team drafts the player we like best.

Around the Association

With the Golden State Warriors closing in on their third NBA championship in the last four years, attention is already turning to the start of free agency on July 1st and the future of LeBron James. Former Cavs general manager David Griffin said in a recent interview family concerns and the chance to win more championships will probably carry equal weight in James’ decision.

Griffin suggested James’ friendship with 76ers rising star Ben Simmons (who’s represented by James’ childhood friend Rich Paul) could help Philadelphia’s chances, and the opportunity to stay in the East to team up with Simmons and Joel Embiid makes a lot of sense if LeBron still hopes to equal Michael Jordan’s six NBA titles.

Don’t count out Houston’s creative general manager Daryl Morey finding a way to add James to his All-Star backcourt of James Harden and Chris Paul. And, San Antonio can’t be ruled out either, given LeBron’s affinity for long-time Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

James currently owns two luxury homes in the Los Angeles area and we know Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson will be ready to deliver his sales pitch on July 1. The Lakers could have the cap room to add two max free agents (James and Paul George?), which would make them an immediate contender, even in the ultra-competitive West.

So, even though the Finals might end faster than basketball fans would prefer, the draft and the start of free agency will keep the NBA in the headlines well into July.

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With most of the coaching vacancies filled, it’s been interesting to see some of the names being mentioned in the Raptors and Pistons coaching searches.

Toronto GM Masai Ujiri just interviewed EuroLeague coach Sarunas Jasikevicius after previously meeting with Raptors G-League coach Jerry Stackhouse, Raptors assistant Nick Nurse, and Spurs assistant coaches Ettore Messina and Ime Udoka.

The Raptors finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference this past season, but then got swept by Cleveland in the second round of the playoffs, leading to the dismissal of long-time coach Dwane Casey.

It sounds like Ujiri is committed to working with the existing roster rather than starting over by trading away one of his high-priced backcourt stars, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.

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Speaking of Casey, he’s one of three finalists for the Pistons coaching job, along with Udoka and University of Michigan head coach John Beilein.

Beilein is the surprise name on this list after leading Michigan to the national title game in April. The 65-year-old coach has enjoyed a tremendous run in Ann Arbor, taking the Wolverines to the NCAA title game twice, while winning Big Ten regular season and tournament championships.

According to reports, Beilein has always been intrigued by how his system would work on the pro level and fans in Detroit know all about him because of his success at Michigan.

Casey would be the safer choice given his NBA experience with a consistent playoff team in Toronto, and the fact the Pistons are hoping to contend for a playoff spot next season around a veteran nucleus of Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and Reggie Jackson.

All three of the finalists have interviewed with Pistons’ executive/consultant Ed Stefanski, who’s leading the coaching search before naming a new general manager, which seems like the wrong order in replacing Stan Van Gundy, who previously held both roles.

Pistons owner Tom Gores will handle the next round of interviews with the coaching finalists.