NBA Notes: Second best player in the draft?

What do Andre Drummond, Perry Jones III, and John Henson have in common?

All three have met with the Sixers -- including Jones III and Henson at Saturday's six-player workout at PCOM (see story) -- and all three could wind up being the surprise second best player in the 2012 draft, according to ProBasketballTalk.

That could be good news for the Sixers. Drummond is projected as an early lottery pick, Henson as a mid-to-late lottery pick, and Jones III as a mid-first-rounder, but each could land in Philadelphia if the Sixers trade up or the player falls.

The lottery is brimming with high-risk, high-reward prospects, and the three PBT named are no exception. The site compared Drummond to Andrew Bynum, Jones III to Lamar Odom, and Henson to a poor man's Anthony Davis.

The scary part is that it's not difficult to see them ending up on the end of the spectrum -- as, say, Kwame Brown, Jonathan Bender, and Brandan Wright, respectively.

Deng to the Warriors?
The Warriors have been in and out of the rumor mill this off-season, and it remains unclear whether they plan to select at No. 7 or trade the pick for a veteran small forward. It would be a good year to choose the latter, as the veteran small forward market is flourishing.

The Sixers' Andre Iguodala and the Grizzlies' Rudy Gay have been among the Warriors' rumored targets. According to the Contra Costa Times (via ProBasketballTalk), you can add the Bulls' Luol Deng to that list.

Marcus Thompson reports that Golden State has not talked with Chicago yet, but the Warriors could package their pick with a high-salary player like Andris Biedrins or Richard Jefferson in a deal for Deng.

Hornets loaded
The New Orleans Hornets plan to match any offer restricted free agent guard Eric Gordon receives on the open market, writes The Times-Picayune's John Reid (via IamaGM).

That includes a max deal of five years, $80 million.

The plan is one of the many benefits of the Hornets' trade last week of Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor to the Wizards for Rashard Lewis, which saved them at least $19.2 million over the next two seasons. Their payroll currently sits at just $38.3 million, and they are expected to buy out Lewis' $23.7 million contract and waive him July 1.