The NBA is "very interested" in moving the draft after July 1 and packaging it with a season-ending awards show, possibly on consecutive nights.

The league would like to create more space between the end of the Finals and the draft in order to better promote the draft.

Moving the draft back will be difficult because it impacts free agency and the collective bargaining agreement. Also, the league needs to negotiate a change in the draft date with its TV partners.

The NBA season is already turning into a long year with the draft, free agency and summer league taking place shortly after the Finals.

The NHL has a season-ending awards show before its draft.

The 2014 NBA Draft had a 3.1 overnight rating, which makes it the highest rated telecast since it moved to ESPN.

The rating beat the 2.7 ESPN drew in 2003.

The NBA Lottery also drew a similarly high rating, which is believed to be helped by a good draft class and the presence of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Charlotte Hornets have traded the draft rights to Dwight Powell and Brendan Haywood to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The move saves the Hornets $2.2 million.

Powell played collegiately at Stanford.

Marcus Smart had a feeling the Boston Celtics were leaning towards taking him with the sixth pick if he was still available.

“Actually, I did,” Smart admitted when asked if he felt the Celtics liked him. “I worked out for Boston twice. So I’ve talked with Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens a lot. They told me they were very interested in me, and if I was still on the board, there’s a chance they might pick me.”

The Celtics already have a point guard in Rajon Rondo, but Smart feels he can play alongside Rondo and also learn from him.

“Rondo is a wonderful point guard, a wonderful player. He reminds me a little bit of me. He plays defense. He’s long, his wing span, and he has big hands,” Smart said. "Just being able to learn from a guy who’s been in the league and been in my seat and my situation. It’s an amazing feeling and a great opportunity.”

Stevens and his coaching staff have decisions to make, especially with Avery Bradley in the mix as well, but Smart isn’t bothered by the fact that he may no step into a starting role.

“No, not at all,” Smart said. “I understand that you got to come in, you’ve got to earn your spot and earn your keep. That’s who I am. I like to earn things, and I work hard to get where I’m at. That’s what I’m going to continue doing."

It was no secret that the Milwaukee Bucks and Jabari Parker shared mutual interest and the relationship became official on Thursday when the club drafted him with the No. 2 pick.

Parker smiled when the Cleveland Cavaliers took Andrew Wiggins first overall, and new Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens spent time at the player’s table in the green room prior to the pick.

“I was just going off what I was given,” Parker said when reminded that he said Wednesday that he expected to be in Milwaukee. “They told me that they’re all in. I can’t go in with any accusations of teams not telling me anything. I just went from what was accurate.”

Parker, who is a Chicago native, will play relatively close to home. He has yet to even put on a Bucks jersey, but moments after being drafted he pledged his allegiance to the rebuilding franchise.

“They’re a young team. I feel like I can contribute right off the bat,” Parker said. “I feel like I’m going to be able to grow with that organization, and I’m trying to be a throwback player, only stick with one team.

“This might bite me in the butt years from now, but right now I just want to stick with whoever’s rolling with me."

Noah Vonleh saw his draft position slide a bit on Thursday night, but was still a top-10 selection as the Charlotte Hornets took him ninth overall.

Vonleh, who told RealGM on Wednesday that he has been working on extending his range as an adjustment to the NBA, believes he fits in very well with Charlotte’s current roster.

“I think I can definitely complement [Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker], playing in the pick-and-roll with Kemba, being able to pop, hit the shot from 18 feet, step out, hit some NBA threes, catch the ball, be able to take guys off the dribble, and just use my versatility to the best of my abilities,” Vonleh said after he was drafted.

Vonleh didn’t work out for the Hornets, so he was humbled to have essentially been drafted by Michael Jordan.

“It’s a great feeling being able to be picked by the greatest to play the game,” Vonleh said. “He obviously saw something in me. I didn’t even come into Charlotte to work out, so I guess I was the best available on the board, and he saw something in me. They ended up choosing me, so I’m very blessed and excited."

Dante Exum didn’t expect to still be on the board when the Utah Jazz were on the clock with the fifth overall pic. Exum didn’t work out for the Jazz leading up to the draft.

“Looking at the draft and where I was placed, me and my agent thought that I wouldn’t get down to five,” Exum admitted. "Anything happens in the draft, and you see I’m lucky enough that Utah believed in me and picked me up at five.”

Exum will play alongside Trey Burke, who the Jazz selected in the lottery just a year ago. Exum believes his previous experience will help him work well alongside another lead guard.

“The Australian team has Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova, and I’m in that system, and those are both point guards. So you work around it.

“I already spoke to [coach Quin Snyder] and he’s excited to have me,” Exum said. “I’m excited to be there. I know we’re both going to give up something a little so everyone’s happy."

The Orlando Magic added yet another young, athletic player on Thursday night when they used the fourth pick on Aaron Gordon.

Gordon, 18, is the youngest player in his draft class and averaged 12.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in his lone season at Arizona. He will join Orlando’s current core of Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic.

“It makes it easy for me because Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris, they’re both good pros already. They’re young, and we can grow together,” Gordon told the media moments after being selected. "Very gritty, hard-working people. That’s who I am. I couldn’t be happier to be playing with them, man. I really couldn’t be.”

Gordon’s sister, who graduated from Harvard, immediately pointed out to the rookie that there is no state income tax in Florida — making him one of the biggest financial winners on Thursday night.

“She’s my manager,” he said. "That’s who’s going to be living out there with me.”

Gordon felt that he worked out well for teams selecting four-to-eight, the range he felt he’d be selected.

“When I got in a one-on-one circumstance with all the teams picking four to eight, I thought I did very well,” he recalled. "I showed them things that maybe they previously didn’t think I could do. When I got to Orlando, they just liked my game. They liked my skill set. They know how hard I worked, and I’m going to continue to do that. What I’ve done to get myself here will never fade away. That’s who I am. Everything else, I’m just going to start adding on and continue to add on."

The Cleveland Cavaliers have selected Andrew Wiggins with the top overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Wiggins is the second straight Canadian-born player to go first overall, following Anthony Bennett last year to the Cavaliers.

Wiggins spent one season in college at Kansas.

Chad Ford reports that the Cavaliers will keep Wiggins and they did not select him as part of a trade. The Cavaliers were previously planning on drafting Joel Embiid before injury concerns surfaced.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are asking for the No. 3, No. 10 and No. 32 overall picks from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for the No. 1 overall pick.

The 76ers are widely believed to want to draft Andrew Wiggins.

Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the 76ers could select Joel Embiid if they keep the pick.

Wojnarowski reported approximately one hour before the draft that the 76ers are no longer pursuing a trade with the Cavaliers to move up.