2012 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: James, Gibson, Draft, Stuckey

March 27th, 2012 at 5:48pm CST by Michael Pina

It's being reported by ESPN.com's Chris Broussard that early on in Miami's 105-90 loss against Indiana last night, LeBron James may have dislocated the ring finger on his left hand. In 41 minutes, James scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in what was Miami's second straight loss.

According to the Associated Press, Georgetown junior Hollis Thompson is planning on hiring an agent, and will enter the NBA draft. This year he shot 43% from behind the three-point line, which led the entire Big East. Thompson finished the season as the Hoyas' second leading scorer, and third leading rebounder.
Cavaliers shooting guard Daniel Gibson has a torn tendon in his right foot and may miss the remainder of the season. Gibson is currently seeking multiple opinions pertaining to the injury's severity, but with only a month left in the season and Cleveland all but out of the playoff picture—not to mention the fact that they recently signed guards Donald Sloan and Manny Harris—it's more than likely he won't see the court again.
In a recent USA Today article, Rodney Stuckey told writer Jeff Zillgitt that he saw a psychologist in order to cope with all the recent losing he's experienced with the Pistons. Stuckey is in the midst of a resurgent season that last saw him hit a game-winning shot against the Wizards last night.
Since being traded to the Nets, Gerald Wallace has experienced loss after loss, but he's keeping a positive attitude, according to the Newark Star-Ledger's Colin Stephenson.
The Bobcats haven't found the most success this season. The Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell writes that if they don't turn things around, they could go down as the worst team in NBA history.

Odds & Ends: Draft, McCollum, Chandler, Magic

March 27th, 2012 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

As we approach the season's final few weeks, some teams will jockey for playoff spots while clubs on the other end of the spectrum jockey for draft position. Henry Abbott of ESPN.com's TrueHoop writes today about the issue of tanking that inevitably arises at this point in the season, and what can be done to avoid it. The piece is highly recommended, and includes a fascinating tidbit on four general mangers on non-playoff teams who reportedly only put in part-time hours.

Here are a few more links from around the Association for Tuesday afternoon:

Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum has declared his intent to enter the draft, according to a release from the University's website. McCollum won't hire an agent, so he could still withdraw by April 10th and retain his NCAA eligibility. In his first mock draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford had McCollum going early in the second round.
Stephen Litel of HoopsWorld talked to Wilson Chandler and the Nuggets about Chandler's return from China and the team's chances of qualifying for the postseason.
With a focus on Ryan Anderson and other upcoming free agents, Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida discusses how a player's height affects the sort of contract he signs.
Scott Schroeder of Ridiculous Upside updates his list of D-League players who could receive auditions from NBA teams over the remainder of the season.
Magic GM Otis Smith sat down for a question-and-answer session with Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

Draft Updates: Sidney, Waiters

March 26th, 2012 at 10:45pm CST by Daniel Seco

The flurry of underclassmen declaring themselves eligible for the 2012 NBA draft has continued well into Monday evening. Earlier today, Duke's Austin Rivers announced his decision to leave school for the NBA after only one season and sign with an agent. Let's see who else will be joining him in what is shaping up to be one of the deeper drafts in recent memory.

Mississippi State forward Renardo Sidney will forgo his senior season after signing with an agent and declaring himself eligible for the draft. Sidney had an impressive sophomore season with 14.2 PPG and 7.6 RPG, but saw his production slip as a junior as the Bulldogs went 21-12 on the season. The 6-foot-10 forward dealt with eligibility issues earlier in his career and was involved in a fight with a teammate this past season during a tournament in Hawaii.
Syracuse guard Dion Waiters announced on Monday his decision to leave school early and enter the draft. The sophomore from Philadelphia nearly doubled his offensive output from his freshman year by averaging 12.6 PPG while leading the Big East in steals for a Syracuse team that reached the Elite Eight during the NCAA tournament. Lauded for his gutsy leadership during an especially tumultuous start to Syracuse's season, Waiters projects as a mid to late first-round draft pick by many draft experts.

Rivers Officially Declares For NBA Draft

March 26th, 2012 at 6:53pm CST by Daniel Seco

Duke guard Austin Rivers has announced his decision to leave school and officially declare for the 2012 NBA draft. Rivers, 19, played one season for the Blue Devils in which he averaged 15.5 PPG and 3.4 RPG with a season-high 29 points coming in a buzzer-beating victory over the University of North Carolina. The consenus ACC rookie of the year will hire an agent and is projected to be one the first players selected in the draft.

"I would like to thank the coaches, my teammates and the fans for helping make this past year at Duke so special," Rivers said in a statement released by the university. "It was a difficult decision to leave Duke, but I am excited about chasing my dream of playing in the NBA."

The son of Celtics head coach Doc Rivers led his squad to a 2-seed in the 2012 NCAA tournament only to lose in the first round to 15-seed Lehigh University.

Draft Updates: Green, Beal, Kabongo, Cunningham

March 26th, 2012 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Associated Press announced its All-America team today (link via ESPN.com), with Thomas Robinson of Kansas leading the way as the only unanimous selection. Kentucky's Anthony Davis, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Michigan State's Draymond Green, and Creighton's Doug McDermott rounded out the AP's picks. Three of those players are still alive in the NCAA Final Four, but most prospects with NBA aspirations are looking ahead to the June draft. Here are the latest draft updates:

Michigan State's Green has signed with agents Ron Shade and Herb Rudoy, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). ESPN.com's Chad Ford had the Spartan senior going 28th overall in his first mock draft.
Ford also takes a look at how the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight may have affected a number of players' draft stocks (Insider link). Not good news for Harrison Barnes.
Like Ford, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld recaps the weekend action for a few top prospects. He also adds that the Wizards are "enamored with" Bradley Beal.
Freshman Myck Kabongo will return to Texas for his sophomore season, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports.
Jared Cunningham of Oregon State will test the draft waters, according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com. Cunningham won't officially declare or hire an agent right away, so he'll have until April 29th to make his decision. For more details on the deadlines facing underclassmen, click here.

Damian Lillard Expected To Enter Draft

March 24th, 2012 at 1:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

Weber State junior point guard Damian Lillard will enter this year's NBA Draft, sources have told Gary Parrish of CBS Sports. The 6'3" Oakland, California native averaged 24.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this year.

Lightly recruited out of high school, he projects as the 12th overall pick by NBADraft.net and 13th by Draft Express. It's a fast rise for a lightly recruited player out of high school who appeared in only nine games last season because of a broken right foot. Earlier this season, Walker Beeken of Draft Express examined his game, praising his shooting and ball-handling while wondering about his playmaking skills and abilities to play NBA-level defense. Tyler Ingle of NBADraft.net likes how he gets to the free-throw line, but doesn't think he's a true point guard, which his low assist total backs up.

Doc Rivers Denies Son Austin Is Entering Draft

March 23rd, 2012 at 6:26pm CST by Luke Adams

6:26pm: Austin Rivers is still deciding whether he will stay at Duke or enter the draft, according to his father, reports Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston (Twitter link)

10:15am: After one season at Duke, Austin Rivers will sign with an agent and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, reports Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. Doc Rivers' son will declare for the 2012 NBA draft and could be a lottery pick.

Rivers' Duke career ended prematurely when the Blue Devils were upset by a 15-seed, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In his freshman season, the 6'4" guard averaged 15.5 points and 1.7 three-pointers in 33.2 minutes per game.

Draft Updates: Davis, Wayns, Barton, Plumlee

March 22nd, 2012 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this afternoon, we looked at a number of deadlines facing NCAA underclassmen as they decide whether to declare for this year's draft. We also covered a report suggesting Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will enter the draft. Those aren't today's only draft-related updates though, so let's round up a few more, as June 28th creeps ever closer….

Anthony Davis of Kentucky remains undecided on whether or not he will declare for the NBA draft, according to Rick Bozich of Courier-Journal.com.
Maalik Wayns of Villanova will hire an agent and remain in the draft pool, says Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Said Wayns of the decision: "The NBA has been a lifelong dream of mine and I have decided now is the time to pursue it." One NBA scout told Zagoria that Wayns might be drafted in the "bottom half of the second round" (Twitter link).
Memphis guard Will Barton will announce his intentions to enter the draft today, according to Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com. Barton will hire an agent and has no plans to withdraw by April 10th.
Duke's Mason Plumlee will test the NBA waters, according to Steve Wiseman of the Herald-Sun.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld identifies some potential 2012 draftees to keep an eye on during the NCAA's Sweet Sixteen this weekend.
The latest mailbag from Keith Langlois of Pistons.com is heavy on questions about what Detroit will do in this year's draft.
Tom Ziller of SBNation looks at the current draft lottery odds, noting that the Blazers could end up with multiple top-ten picks in June.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist To Enter Draft

March 22nd, 2012 at 4:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will declare his intent to enter the 2012 NBA draft after the Wildcats' season ends, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

Kidd-Gilchrist, a certain lottery pick if and when he enters the draft, told reporters last month that he intended to stay in school. However, according to Ford's sources, that stance has changed.

"He hopes he'll be able to announce right after they win the NCAA championship," one source said. "But even if they don't win it all, he's coming. He knows he's going to be a top-five pick. He can't pass that up."

Mock drafts by Ford, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, and Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com earlier this week all had Kidd-Gilchrist projected to be selected in the top five.

Draft Deadlines Facing NCAA Underclassmen

March 22nd, 2012 at 12:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has written a piece breaking down the various deadlines NCAA underclassmen will face as they decide whether or not to declare for this year's NBA draft. Givony's extremely informative article begins with a list of the relevant dates, as follows:

April 3rd: NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee Application Deadline
April 6th: NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee Response Deadline
April 10th: NCAA Early Entry "Withdrawal” Deadline
April 29th: NBA Draft Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (10:59 pm CT)
May 3rd or 4th: NBA Draft Early Entry Candidates Released
May 30th: NBA Draft Lottery
June 6-8th: NBA Combine/Pre-Draft Camp (Chicago)
June 18th: NBA Draft Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline (4:00 pm CT)
June 28th: 2012 NBA Draft

As Givony explains, the major change this season involves that NCAA "withdrawal" deadline. In past seasons, NCAA underclassmen wishing to test the waters and get a sense of their draft stock didn't need to finalize their decision until May, allowing them to work out for NBA teams before perhaps deciding to return to school. However, this year, the NCAA has moved up its withdrawal deadline nearly a month. Now, if a player enters his name into the draft pool, he loses his future collegiate eligibility if he doesn't remove himself from consideration by April 10th — well before the NBA's deadline.

Givony argues that it doesn't make sense for a player to declare for the draft prior to the 10th unless he's 100% sure he'll stay in. If a player waits on the decision, he'd have the option to declare his intent by the NBA's April 29th deadline, without putting his NCAA eligibility at risk. Givony writes that there doesn't seem to be much benefit to declaring early; even if the April 29th deadline still doesn't allow players a chance to work out for NBA teams, it allows them a little extra time to privately explore their options.

The NBA's Undergraduate Advisory Committee allows players to get feedback on their draft stock from a committe of NBA executives that includes GMs, assistant GMs, and VP's of player personnel. Players don't have to declare their intent to enter the draft to receive that information. But as Givony points out, this feedback comes on April 6th, well before even the most plugged-in scouts and execs have an idea of how the June 28th draft will play out. Even the Committee itself admits this: "The Committee's evaluation is, of course, only an educated assessment and is not binding in any way or a commitment of guarantee that a player will or will not be drafted in a certain slot or at all."

The upshot of the NCAA's new rule, Givony says, is that players considering entering this year's draft will be forced to make career-altering decisions without necessarily having a sufficient amount of information. Given the uncertainty surrounding such an early decision, we may see more underclassmen than usual elect to stay in school and retain their collegiate eligibility for another year.

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2012 NBA Draft