2014 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Damien Inglis To Enter Draft

April 23rd, 2014 at 8:53am CST by Chuck Myron

French league forward Damien Inglis is entering this year’s draft, reports Pedja Materic of BeoBasket (Twitter link). Inglis, who turns 19 next month, is the 38th-best prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him unranked.

Inglis has an intriguing build, with 6’9″ height and a 7’3″ wingspan, and several NBA scouts have told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that they’re high on his defensive ability. The native of French Guiana didn’t put up impressive offensive numbers for Chorale Roanne in France this season, scoring just 4.7 points in 15 minutes per game. Still, he shot 38.7% from three-point territory.

Inglis tells Spears that he might withdraw from the draft before the June 16th deadline to do so. He wouldn’t be automatically draft-eligible until 2017.

“I want to develop my game with a good team who is very interested and focused on me,” Inglis said. “I want to play in the league next year but it depends. I don’t really want [to] take my name out.”

Draft Links: 2015, Randle, McDaniels

April 22nd, 2014 at 6:11pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The 2015 NBA Draft could be abound with promising big men, as Josh Newman and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv discuss. Among those already garnering attention are Duke-bound Jahlil Okafor, incoming Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander, and Kentucky-recruit Karl-Anthony Towns; all three are currently projected to be in the top five according to DraftExpress‘ 2015 mock draft. Other potential lottery prospects include Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, Florida’s Chris Walker, and top uncommitted center Myles Turner.

Here are some other draft-related links that we’ll pass along this evening:

Julius Randle has had high expectations as a top ranked college player and should still be among the notable names selected on draft night. With that being said, ESPN Draft experts Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford go over some of the limitations that may cause Randle to fall out of the top five.
Clemson product K.J. McDaniels has hired Rival Sports to represent him, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Draft prospects C.J. Wilcox, Gary Harris, and Elfrid Payton have signed with Creative Artists Agency, an NBA source tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
Former Michigan State standout Adreian Payne is among a trio of fellow projected lottery talents who have signed with agent Mark Bartelstein, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

Isaiah Austin Enters Draft

April 22nd, 2014 at 4:31pm CST by Ryan Raroque

APRIL 22ND: Austin confirms that he’s entering the draft on his Twitter account, linking to the full announcement on Instagram.

APRIL 15TH: 8:11pm: Via his own Twitter account, Austin has denied that he’s made an official decision and says he’s still weighing his options.

7:53pm: Baylor big man Isaiah Austin will enter this year’s NBA Draft, sources tell Jason King of the Bleacher Report (Twitter link). The 7-footer is listed at No. 43 on Jonathan Givony’s Top 100 Prospects list and No. 59 on Chad Ford’s Top 100 rankings respectively. King adds that Austin would have left for the NBA last year if not for injury. Austin’s DraftExpress profile has him listed as 7’1″, 220-pound center, while Ford’s ESPN page has him described as a 7’0″, 215-pound power forward.

As a freshman, Austin averaged 13.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 1.7 BPG in 29.9 MPG. As a sophomore, his blocks per game average rose to 3.1, though his rebounding and scoring numbers dropped to 11.2 and 5.5 in 28.0 MPG. Once considered a potential lottery pick, the Baylor product’s inconsistency and lack of strength have drastically affected his standing, according to Ford. On the other hand, one scout tells SNY.tv’s Adam Zagoria that Austin projects as a “late first-round pick” who helped his draft stock at the end of the 2013/14 season and in the tournament (Twitter link).

Last month, Austin helped Baylor reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, posting 14.0 PPG on 53.8% shooting, 5.3 RPG, and 1.7 BPG in 27.6 MPG through three games.

And-Ones: Ratings, Kerr, Kings, Sixers

April 22nd, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

All five of the teams in the NBA’s three largest media markets saw declines in local ratings during the regular season, and local ratings fell about 5% leaguewide, report John Ourand and John Lombardo of Sports Business Journal. The news belies an otherwise rosy financial picture for the league, with the latest salary cap projection for 2014/15 coming in at $63.2MM, a more than 7.7% hike from this season. Here’s the latest from the Association:

Steve Kerr is concerned with the failure of the Knicks to capitalize on their resources in the James Dolan era, and Kerr intends to do his research before taking any offer from the team, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
Former New York Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum is likely to become Kerr’s agent, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports.
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro isn’t ruling out the idea of trading the team’s first-round pick, and he’ll also try to trade for a second-round pick, as he told reporters, including Ailene Voisin and Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (All Twitter links).
Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News would be shocked if Arnett Moultrie were back with the Sixers for 2014/15. Cooney sizes up the future for each Sixer and looks ahead to the draft, noting that Brett Brown is enamored with Dante Exum.
The Warriors‘ purchase of land in San Francisco for a new arena appears to end any hope that they’ll remain in Oakland, writes Matthew Artz of the Bay Area News Group. “I wish them well,” Oakland city councilman Larry Reid said. “It was my hope that the Warriors would build a new arena in Oakland, but there doesn’t seem to be anything we can do.”
Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune provides a taste of the local antipathy toward leading Jazz coaching candidate Jim Boylen.

Nedim Buza, Adin Vrabac To Enter Draft

April 22nd, 2014 at 2:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bosnian small forwards Nedim Buza and Adin Vrabac are entering this year’s NBA draft, agent Alex Raskovic tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Buza is No. 61 on Givony’s list of the top 100 prospects, and while Vrabac doesn’t appear on that list, he checks in 55th in Givony’s 2015 mock draft.

Both play for KK Spars in their native Bosnia. Vrabac has posted better numbers than his more highly regarded counterpart, posting averages of 11.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while Buza checks in at 8.0 PPG and 2.7 RPG. The difference appears to be Buza’s superior outside shot, as he’s nailed 39.6% of his shots from behind the arc this season, compared to Vrabac’s anemic 23.8% mark from three-point territory.

Vrabac won’t be automatically draft eligible until 2016, and Buza can wait until 2017, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see either of them withdraw from the draft. International players who don’t play NCAA basketball have the luxury of testing the waters and going through workouts with NBA teams, since the deadline for them to withdraw isn’t until June 16th.

Julius Randle Declares For Draft

April 22nd, 2014 at 12:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kentucky freshman Julius Randle announced today that he’s entering the draft this year, in a press conference with the school. He’s the final member of a group generally regarded as the top five prospects for this year’s draft to declare, joining Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid and Dante Exum, as our list of early entrants shows. Randle is No. 4 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, and No. 5 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

The power forward averaged 15.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game for a loaded Kentucky team that made it to the NCAA championship game. He was second only to Wiggins on Givony’s rankings heading into the season, but he wasn’t quite as dominant as hoped and he struggled with consistency, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors wrote when he covered Randle for our Prospect Profile series. He had just 10 points and six rebounds in the title game loss to Connecticut.

Randle is 6’9″ with a 6’11” wingspan, limiting his defensive impact. He blocked just 0.8 shots per game and came away with 0.5 steals per contest. Still, his elite rebounding numbers and wide body suggest he’ll be tough to keep off the boards as a pro, and his scoring on a Kentucky team with plenty of other offensive options bodes well for him, too.

Randle joins James Young among Wildcats declaring for the draft this year, with the status of sophomore Alex Poythress and freshmen Dakari Johnson, Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison up in the air. Sophomore Willie Cauley-Stein and freshman Marcus Lee have decided to return to Kentucky.

Draft Rumors: Parker, Embiid, Wiggins

April 22nd, 2014 at 11:05am CST by Chuck Myron

Many have assumed that the top overall pick in the draft will be Kansas star Andrew Wiggins or teammate Joel Embiid, but ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman, for an Insider-only piece, surveyed 30 NBA execs and Duke’s Jabari Parker came out on top. Parker got 17 votes while Embiid got eight and Wiggins took home five. The uncertainty surrounding the top of the draft makes for plenty of intrigue with the June 26th event just a little more than two months away. Here’s the latest:

Mouhammadou Jaiteh is withdrawing from this year’s draft, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM, who reported last month that the French center was entering the field. It’s a little surprising to see the 19-year-old withdraw this early, before he had a chance to work out for NBA teams, as he did when he tested the waters last year. He’s ranked No. 63 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, and 98th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Spanish league big man Kristaps Porzingis won’t enter the draft this year, he tells Kārlis Krēgers of Latvian website LETA (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). That sets him up with a strong chance to become a first-round pick in 2015, as he’s ranked No. 15 on Givony’s 2015 mock. Ford has Porzingas as the 65th-best prospect for this year.
There are plenty of high-scoring small forwards available in this year’s class, writes NBA.com’s David Aldridge. Aldridge’s list starts with the obvious (Wiggins, Parker) but goes on to highlight mid-first round types like Duke’s Rodney Hood, N.C. State’s T.J. Warren, and Syracuse’s Jerami Grant.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com ranks the top point guards and summarizes their strengths, topping the list with Dante Exum.

K.J. McDaniels Plans To Declare For Draft

April 22nd, 2014 at 8:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Clemson junior K.J. McDaniels plans to announce that he’s entering the draft this week, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The small forward is 21st in the prospect rankings that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compiles, and he’s 22nd with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

McDaniels showed significant improvement this year, with his scoring average jumping to 17.1 points per game from the 10.9 PPG he put up as a sophomore in spite of fairly similar playing time. He also grabbed 7.1 rebounds and blocked 2.8 shots per game this season, impressive numbers for the 6’6″ small forward who excelled on the defensive end of the floor.

On offense, the 21-year-old shot the ball from the outside a bit too much considering his 30.4% accuracy from behind the arc. McDaniels averaged 3.8 three-point shot attempts per contest.

And-Ones: Celtics, Rockets, Draft, Price, Parker

April 21st, 2014 at 10:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Celtics GM Danny Ainge says he doesn’t feel pressure from ownership to make a big trade like the one that brought Kevin Garnett to Boston, writes Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. “I don’t think that would be very smart, to put pressure on myself,” Ainge said. “That one happened to work out and we were very fortunate that Minnesota was moving in a different direction, that they loved Al Jefferson, and so we were able to get a deal done. But there’s been a lot of deals that I thought we had a way better chance of doing that we couldn’t end up doing.” More from around the Association..

The Rockets announced (via Twitter) that Robert Covington and Isaiah Canaan have been reassigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. Covington and Canaan have been bounced back and forth from the Rockets’ varsity squad to the D-League affiliate a number of times this season, as shown in our running list of assignments and recalls for the 2013/14 season.
Veteran Ronnie Price is happy to help take on a leadership role with the young Magic, writes Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida. “This year has been kind of refreshing for me in a lot of ways,” the 30-year-old guard said. “And I can’t really explain where it came from or why I feel that way. I feel like a kid again. I really enjoy the game.” Price will be a free agent this summer and if Jameer Nelson winds up elsewhere, Hornack writes that Orlando can’t afford to get too young at the point guard position.
Spurs stars Tony Parker and Tim Duncan have found success together, but their relationship did not start off on such spectacular terms, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “He didn’t talk to me for a whole year,” Parker said, reflecting on his rookie season in 2001/02. “It was kind of weird coming from France and you have your superstar player that doesn’t talk to you as a point guard, it’s kind of tough, you know? Because you’re supposed to talk to everybody.“

And-Ones: Carr, Jackson, Lakers, Sixers

April 20th, 2014 at 9:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Former high school standout Aquille Carr has officially declared for the 2014 draft, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY (on Twitter). Agent Joshua Wildes of Hazan Sports Management told Hoops Rumors via email that “Aquille is excited about this next chapter in his career and looks forward to fulfilling his dream.” The 5’6″ guard, who turned down a scholarship offer from Seton Hall to pursue overseas opportunities, is not featured on DraftExpress’ 2014 mock. Here’s tonight’s look around the Association..

According to an NBA source, new president Phil Jackson has talked recently about his disappointment in some of the Knicks’ conditioning — or lack thereof — this year, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. It’s unclear which players Jackson was talking about, though J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were coming off of offseason surgery and coach Mike Woodson mentioned that Shumpert was dealing with minor injuries throughout camp, which may have hindered him early on.
With the salary cap expected to rise to $63.2MM in 2014/15, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times looks at the decisions facing the Lakers this offseason. Waiving and stretching Steve Nash‘s salary would spread his salary over the next three seasons, reducing the Lakers spending power for 2015/16, when players like Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Rajon Rondo may be available, and 2016/17, when Kevin Durant could be a free agent.
The Sixers managed to have a remarkably bad season in 2013/14, but now comes the tricky part for GM Sam Hinkie, writes Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Philly figures to have two top ten picks in this year’s draft and it’ll be up to Hinkie & Co. to choose wisely.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports (on Twitter) agreed with a follower who says that the Bobcats never should have taken Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2 last year since he’s a perimeter player in today’s NBA who can’t shoot. However, he can’t fault them too much (link) since several teams were trying to trade up to get him.
Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype spoke with Euroleague standout Malcolm Delaney about his opportunity to sign with the Rockets earlier this year. Houston wanted to sign Delaney but FC Bayern, who was about to begin a playoff run, declined to let him out of his contract. The 25-year-old says he’s not bitter towards the German club and hopes to get another NBA opportunity this summer.