2014 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Pistons, Knicks, Nets

May 13th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Cavs GM David Griffin was especially vehement when he told reporters today that Kyrie Irving wasn’t behind the team’s decision to fire Mike Brown, pounding the table in front of him as he spoke, observes Jodie Valade of the Plain Dealer. People close to Irving weren’t pleased with Brown, but Irving himself expressed a mix of positive and negative feelings on the former coach, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal details. Here’s more on the Cavs and the rest of the Eastern Conference:

Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and Bucks assistant GM David Morway were rumored to be in the mix for the Cavs front office job before the team removed GM David Griffin‘s interim tag, according to Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal.
Pistons owner Tom Gores was torn on what to do about Greg Monroe and Josh Smith in addition to how to fill his coaching and front office vacancies before Stan Van Gundy entered the picture, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt tweets. In any case, Gores has been looking to hire a “name,” according to Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
The Knicks are seeking to trade cash for a pick late in this year’s draft, as Marc Berman of the New York Post reports amid a story on the team’s pursuit of Steve Kerr. New York is without a pick in either the first or the second round.
The Nets hold the draft rights to Bojan Bogdanovic, but they don’t expect to sign him anytime soon, and Bogdanovic is nearing a new deal with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker that will cover two or three seasons, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. The pact will likely include a lower NBA buyout price than the $2MM called for in his existing contract with the team, Varlas adds.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks the Magic should consider trading up to pick Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid if Orlando misses out on one of the top three picks in the lottery. The Magic are in line for the No. 3 pick but could fall as low as No. 6.

Prospect Profile: Joe Harris

May 12th, 2014 at 7:02pm CST by Zachary Links

The Virginia Cavaliers didn’t get as far as they hoped in the NCAA Tourney, but they still turned in one of their best seasons in campaign history. Their success was in no small part due to the play of senior Joe Harris, who helped keep defenses honest with his dangerous outside shooting. The senior terrorized the ACC in his final season and he’s anxious to try and do the same at the next level.

“I can shoot the ball and defend at a high level and I think that’s a pretty good combination for any NBA team. You can never enough shooters on any team. i’m fortunate enough to bring that ability to the table,” Harris told HoopsRumors.com. NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-East Regional-Virginia vs Michigan State

Harris, who averaged 12.0 PPG and shot 40% from beyond the arc this season, stands apart from a lot of the other 2014 draft hopefuls. While this year’s class is deep overall and chock full of intriguing athletes, the general feeling is that there aren’t a ton of great shooters in the first round. If you want to come away with a jumper you can count on, you’ll likely have to scour the second round for players like the Virginia star.

Harris arrived on campus with an automatic shot but his play on the other side of the floor left much to be desired. He was tasked with upping his D and, with time, he morphed into a stout defender.

“I think the system that I played in taught defensive principals and the defensive mindset that you need to have. Of course, defense is more than a mindset, you have to have the lateral quickness too, but the principals and that mindset and helped me become a much better defender. Coach [Tony Bennett‘s] program made me better and I’ll carry that with me to the NBA,” said the small forward.

The 22-year-old is confident but knows that there is still a lot of work ahead of him. Harris says he’ll be working to improve his ball handling and overall athleticism, two of his commonly cited weaknesses. He’s currently training alongside fellow Mark Bartelstein clients Doug McDermott, Nik Stauskas, and Sean Kilpatrick in an effort to improve in not just those areas but “all areas.”

As a wing with range, some have been quick to compare Harris to Kyle Korver. Harris, who called the Hawks forward an “unbelievable shooter,” doesn’t see it, but he stressed that they are similar in that both can bring much more to the table than three-point shooting. In the coming weeks, Harris will be traveling to the West Coast for individual workouts with the Suns and at least one of the Los Angeles teams before heading to the Lone Star State for auditions with the Mavs and Spurs. Between those sessions and the combines, Harris is hopeful that he’ll find not only an NBA opportunity, but the “right fit” to help make his transition to the Association a seamless one.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mitch Kupchak On Draft, D’Antoni, Kobe

May 12th, 2014 at 5:09pm CST by Zachary Links

After finishing with the worst record in the Pacific Division, the Lakers are looking to turn things around in a major way. The Lakers bid farewell to coach Mike D’Antoni and they could be moving on from free agent Pau Gasol as well. In advance of the NBA Lottery, GM Mitch Kupchak took some time out from his schedule to talk with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com about the road ahead. The whole Q&A is worth reading but we’ll provide a few of the highlights here..

Does having only three players on the roster right now for next season change how you approach the coaching hire?

You do take into consideration the make up of your roster. Although I won’t rule out hiring a coach prior to the lottery on May 20, I think it’s likely that we don’t, because that’s really the first step in terms of additional information for this franchise. Let’s find out what kind of pick we have. That may even help us decide what direction to go with for our coach. It will be a consideration.

Does the search for D’Antoni’s replacement and the uncertainty over where you’ll pick effect your draft preparations?

As you mentioned, May 20 is the lottery, and it’s hard to focus 100% on the draft until you know where you’re drafting. If the stars all line up and you get No. 1 instead of No. 9, there’s a difference, and it’s impossible to schedule workouts because the agents won’t cooperate until they know where you’re drafting. That part of it has proved uneventful, and probably won’t change until the 20th. We are working on setting up some interviews, and we’ve been successful, but you’re not going to really get moving on it until the agents know where you’re drafting.

You’ve been criticized for the contract extension that was given to Kobe Bryant. How does it factor into the way you build this team over the next two seasons, with salary cap implications and so on, and how would things look different if you’d given him less money?

When we gave Kobe the extension, we took a lot of factors into consideration, including the factors you just mentioned. We felt it was the thing to do. We’re still in a position to be a big player in the free agent market. Signing Kobe when we did, we felt, gave us one of the top two or three free agents that would be available this summer. We had the rare opportunity to get that done and not have to wait until July 1. Everybody can debate whether they would have waited or not, but our mindset was: ‘This is somebody we can get done now, and we still have a chance to be a player financially with free agency.’ Cap space is valuable and you don’t want to misuse it. You do have to use it, but you don’t have to use it going forward unless you want to.

Draft Rumors: Wiggins, Payne, McGary

May 12th, 2014 at 12:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA has released its list of the participants in this week’s draft combine (link via Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress), and the names of Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins are missing, as expected. Wojnarowski reported Sunday afternoon that Parker and Embiid would skip the combine. He followed Sunday night with confirmation that Wiggins had also withdrawn (Twitter link), hours after Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe reported that Wiggins was unlikely to show up. Here’s more on the draft:

Payne and McGary are still expected to travel to the combine and take part in interviews with teams, even though they won’t do any physical work, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com clarifies (on Twitter).

Earlier updates:

Michigan State power forward Adreian Payne and Michigan big man Mitch McGary are on the list of participants, but they’ll miss the combine because of health issues, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links).
The absences of Wiggins, Embiid and Parker from the combine probably won’t knock any of them from the top three picks, but it presents an opportunity for players further down the rankings to impress, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
South Alabama junior Mychal Ammons entered this year’s draft, but he’s already signed a deal to play in Europe next season, officially inking a two-year deal with KK Feni Indistrija of Macedonia, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports. Fellow Sportando scribe Enea Trapani initially reported the agreement. Ammons can withdraw from the draft anytime between now and June 16th, but he’d be automatically eligible for next year’s draft if he were to do so.

Draft Notes: Combine, Parker, Embiid

May 11th, 2014 at 5:29pm CST by Charlie Adams

Next week’s predraft combine in Chicago will give prospects a chance to show off their skills for NBA clubs. Two players who have a chance of being the first selection in the draft, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid, declined their invites to participate in the combine, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Their absence isn’t likely to dramatically hinder their stock, but it does raise questions about Embiid’s back injury, Wojnarowski says. Here’s more on the combine and the 2014 draft:

Front offices around the league took note that Parker wasn’t in great shape last season, so his absence from the combine might be a concern, relays Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (via Twitter).
Andrew Wiggins is also unlikely to accept his combine invitation, passes along Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
Chane Behanan, Sim Bhullar, Eric Moreland, Jakarr Sampson, and Roscoe Smith are some notable early entrants that weren’t invited to the combine, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
David Nurse of Perfect Shots Shooting breaks down Embiid’s game and discusses his immense potential, noting he has the tools to excel at the next level but will need to work to refine his offensive game.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Brand, Celtics

May 11th, 2014 at 12:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If the Sixers pull the trigger on a trade of Michael Carter-Williams, their point guard of the future might be Dante Exum, writes Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Many believe that Exum has a higher upside than Carter-Williams, Ford notes, pointing to Carter-Williams as one of the Sixers’ most appealing trade chips.

Western Notes: Hollins, Nuggets, Butler

May 11th, 2014 at 11:04am CST by Eddie Scarito

Lionel Hollins will interview with the Warriors for their head coaching position, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. The interview will take place at the Chicago pre-draft combine that starts Thursday, according to the article. This confirms an earlier report made by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Prospect Profile: K.J. McDaniels

May 11th, 2014 at 9:50am CST by Eddie Scarito

The expectations for K.J. McDaniels were modest entering his junior season after averaging 10.9 PPG for Clemson in the 2012/13 season. But in 36 games this year McDaniels averaged 17.1 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 2.8 BPG in 33.7 minutes per game. His slash line was .459/.304/.842. For his career, McDaniels’ numbers were 11.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.9 SPG, and 1.9 BPG in 24.3 minutes per contest. His career shooting numbers were .450/.313/.767.

McDaniels is one of the more versatile players in this year’s draft class, but his decision to enter the draft still comes as somewhat of a surprise to some. With the sheer amount of top-tier talent in this year’s draft, especially at the wing position, McDaniels might have had a better chance at becoming a lottery selection next year. It’s difficult to imagine him cracking the top 14 this year, but a team using a late first-round pick might luck into a high-value player who doesn’t project to be a star, but should be able to contribute right away. Current mock drafts project McDaniels as a late first-round pick. Draft Express has him slotted 20th, Bleacher Report has him 22nd, CBSSports.com places him 24th, and NBA Draft.net sees him being taken 35th overall. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks McDaniels 22nd on his Big Board.

Aaron Brenner of The Post and Courier notes that Clemson head coach Brad Brownell didn’t put any pressure on McDaniels to stay in school, and the coach appreciated everything that McDaniels did for the program. The article quoted Brownell as saying, “At the end of the day, it’s his decision, his family’s decision. He’s the one who has to live with it. We just want him to hopefully be prepared that whatever decision he makes that he’s successful thereafter. He’s given an unbelievable amount to our school and our program over the last three years and I’m really proud of the way he’s handled everything this year. Not just playing on the court, but being a new leader, being a marked man, being an All-ACC guy, handling all the outside distractions and extra people trying to get a hold of him.”

McDaniels ultimately decided that it wasn’t worth the risk of incurring an injury to return to Clemson for his senior year. Of his decision, McDaniels said, “I’m thankful for the opportunity these past three seasons to grow as a player and person at Clemson. None of this would have been possible without the guidance and support of my coaches, teammates and family. This was not an easy decision, but I am excited to take the next step toward fulfilling my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA.”

McDaniels has every tool needed to be an impact starter at the next level, but his offensive game could hold him back. Offensively, he isn’t the most polished player, but his superior athleticism gives him a high upside. He’s extremely dangerous in transition and is a powerful finisher at the rim. McDaniels isn’t a good three-point shooter, connecting on only 30% of his attempts this season. Having an erratic jump shot could severely hamper his offensive production, especially in a more half-court dominated game.

He’s a decent ball-handler, but not strong enough to be a team’s leading play-maker. Avoiding turnovers and improving his off-the-dribble skills will be one of the keys to improving his offensive game in the NBA. His 2.3 turnovers per game against 1.6 assists attests to this deficiency. McDaniels is not a great passer, but he is willing to share the ball. He didn’t play with a wealth of talent around him at Clemson, so it’s difficult to judge him completely on this aspect of the game.

The part of McDaniels’ game that is NBA ready is his defense. McDaniels was named to both the first-team All-ACC and first-team ACC All-Defense squads. He also received the 2014 ACC Defensive Player of the Year award. McDaniels ranked first in the ACC in blocks (100), Defensive Wins Shares (3.1), and second in defensive rating (90.8). For his size he is also a excellent rebounder, which should translate to the next level and improve his positional value.

The 6’6″ small forward is a better shot-blocker than a vast majority of the big men that you’ll find in college basketball. McDaniels’ combination of speed, fundamentals, and athleticism will allow him to defend multiple positions at possibly an elite level in the NBA. His long arms and leaping ability will also allow him to be an effective interior defender. McDaniels’ abilities in this area have some scouts comparing him to Kawhi Leonard, who was also a high value pick late in the first-round.

As a player, I’m very high on McDaniels, and any team snagging him with a pick in the latter part of the first round will receive a high-value, high-energy player who is ready to step in and contribute to a rotation right away. He can play and defend multiple positions, has a high basketball IQ and a very good motor. I don’t see him becoming a superstar player, but if he can improve his offensive game, McDaniels will have a bright future in the pros. Out of the players projected to go late in the first round he will have the greatest opportunity to outperform his draft slot.

And-Ones: Free Agency, NBAPA, Lottery

May 11th, 2014 at 8:28am CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s free agent signing period begins in July, and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders breaks down where he thinks the big name free-agents like Carmelo Anthony, Luol Deng, Greg Monroe, and Kyle Lowry will end up and how much he thinks they will sign for.

Prospect Profile: Zach LaVine

May 10th, 2014 at 8:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

UCLA’s Zach LaVine wasn’t among the top 100 prospects entering his freshman season, but he has worked his way up the draft board projections based on his athleticism and upside. This led LaVine to declare for the 2014 NBA Draft despite not being a starter this year. It was most likely a difficult decision for the 6’5″ shooting guard, but ultimately it came down to his future. LaVine disappeared at times on the Bruins bench and was not guaranteed a more prominent role in his sophomore season. LaVine’s father, in an interview with Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News, likened the decision to a breakup: “It’s like a marriage. If it doesn’t work out, you get a divorce. I don’t blame anybody.”

LaVine’s season was primarily defined by his inconsistency. His 18-point, eight-rebound, three-assist outburst against Oregon in late February displayed what he is capable of contributing, but he also had games like the Bruins season-ending loss to the Gators where he logged just five points and two rebounds. That illustrates the maddening inconsistency of LaVine, but his ceiling might make it difficult for teams looking for value in this year’s draft to ignore him. The potential reward with him is very high, but that doesn’t make him a sure thing at the next level.

In 37 games played, LaVine averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, and 0.9 SPG in 24.4 minutes per game. His slash line was .441/.375/.691. These aren’t numbers usually linked to prospective first round draft choices, but with LaVine, all the talk revolves around his athleticism and potential. “Athleticism, size, scoring ability and [being] a combo guard” is what one NBA scout told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv when explaining why LaVine’s name has been so hot in draft circles.

Up to this point, all LaVine has demonstrated is the ability to catch, shoot and dunk. He hasn’t displayed much in the way of advanced offensive skills yet. That isn’t necessarily his fault, since Coach Steve Alford didn’t run many pick-and-rolls or isolation plays LaVine’s way. According to Kenpom’s advanced stats (subscription required), the percentage of possessions LaVine was used in was just 19.3 percent. Seeing how infrequently he was asked to create, it would be unrealistic to expect that LaVine would be ready to significantly contribute to an NBA rotation in his first season.

NBA teams love players who can shoot, and based on LaVine’s numbers, along with his high-flying athleticism, that’s what he looks to be able to provide. But despite having elite quickness and athleticism, LaVine only averaged 1.6 free-throw attempts per game and rarely took the ball to the basket in half court sets. This is a required skill to be an effective scorer in the NBA. With his physical tools it is a part of the game that LaVine should be able to improve on with hard work and adding weight to his 180-pound frame.

The biggest bonus to his game might be his ball-handling ability. LaVine didn’t get many opportunities at UCLA to demonstrate his skill, but when he had the chance, he showed an excellent ability off the dribble. This gives him the label of a combo-guard, but not in the way used to describe a scorer too small to play the 2. If LaVine can show he can handle the ball like a point guard, this would make him a very tough defensive assignment in the NBA.

The player that many scouts compare LaVine to is former Bruin Russell Westbrook. His combination of size, speed, athleticism, and ability to play both guard positions is what draws those references. Westbrook was far from a finished product when he left UCLA, but was further along in his game than LaVine, who could have benefited greatly from a second collegiate season like Westbrook did.

Outside of his offensive inexperience, LaVine is extremely raw defensively as well. UCLA ran a lot of defensive zone schemes that aren’t utilized in the pro game, and observers have noted that LaVine appeared lost when the Bruins would switch to man-to-man defense. Sam Vecenie of Orlando Pinstriped Post wrote, “He [LaVine] just legitimately has no idea where to be and when to help in a man scheme.”

LaVine does have the physical potential to become an effective perimeter defender, with his quickness, athleticism, and long arms. But having the potential and realizing it can be two very different things. Even if LaVine is able to make strides, I believe he’s at least a couple of seasons away from being an adequate NBA level defender and he’ll require some serious time in the D-League to make those improvements.

Whichever team selects LaVine will need to be patient, which is not always something that lottery teams or those picking in the middle of the first-round can afford to be. In current mock drafts he is slotted as a mid-to-late first round choice. NBA Draft.net and CBSSports.com have LaVine going 17th, Bleacher Report places him 24th, and Draft Express has him going 29th. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks LaVine 14th on his Big Board.

I’m a fan of a team taking LaVine in the mid-20s where he could potentially turn into a steal down the line. He has tremendous upside and potential, but he needs a lot of development time. LaVine also needs to add at least 15-20 pounds to his frame to be able to physically compete in the league. With another season at UCLA I could see him entering the discussion as a late lottery pick. Instead, he’s going to have to learn on the job, which will lower his immediate impact and value as a pick. I’m high on LaVine’s athleticism and upside, but he’ll need whatever team that drafts him to show patience in letting him develop as a player.