Early on the morning of June 15, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson was only planning on meeting with the Washington Wizards ahead of this Tuesday’s first round of the NBA draft and no other teams.
That was notable, as the Wizards hold the top pick in the draft but are increasingly expected to select BYU Cougars wing AJ Dybantsa, with Peterson widely expected to be chosen by the Utah Jazz with the second pick.
On Monday, the predraft media day was held in New York City (site of the draft), giving reporters the opportunity to ask prospects questions. In this setting, veteran NBA reporter Jake Fischer reported that Peterson said he ended up meeting with the Jazz over the weekend.
According to Fischer, Peterson said the meeting was more of an interview than a workout, although he declined to say whether it took place in person.
That falls in line with a comment Dybantsa made on a podcast recently last week. Charania had reported last Monday that Dybantsa met with both Washington and Utah (those were the only two teams he met with) but that he didn’t actually work out for either of them and just interviewed.
At this point with the draft set for Tuesday evening, the wide assumption is that Dybantsa will be taken No. 1, Peterson No. 2, Duke’s Cam Boozer No. 3 (by the Memphis Grizzlies) and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson No. 4 (by the Chicago Bulls), with the draft uncertain after that.