2014 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Odom, Sixers, Patterson

April 5th, 2014 at 9:02pm CST by Cray Allred

Knicks president Phil Jackson met with Lamar Odom recently, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The conversation could have been about a potential signing, but the nature of the meeting is unclear. Odom, who played for Jackson when both were with the Lakers, had his NBA comeback stalled due to an injury while signed overseas. Jackson earlier met with Metta World Peace, another former Laker from his coaching past who is currently without a team. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers coach Brett Brown says having multiple players on 10-day contracts is a challenge, telling reporters including Tom Moore of Calkins Media it’s hard on everyone (Twitter links). “I want to help them audition, whether it’s for me here or somewhere else,” Brown said.
James Nunnally‘s second 10-day deal with the Sixers expires today. He told Moore, “You’ve just got to be confident in what you did and what you’re doing.” (Twitter link)
In a separate piece, Moore looks at the possibility of the Sixers not getting the top-overall pick in this year’s draft lottery, going through some of the players GM Sam Hinkie could target.
Patrick Patterson is back on the court for the Raptors after a tough injury sidelined him for weeks, and he tells Holly McKenzie of Raptors.com that he’s glad to make it back for the postseason run. Patterson was traded away from the Rockets last year to forestall what would have been his first playoff stretch, but was sent from the Kings to playoff-bound Toronto this season. “Not a lot of guys on this team have been to the playoffs. Those guys who have been to the playoffs have talked to us and told us what it’s like and I think that’s motivation for the rest of us to continue doing what we have been doing,” said Patterson, who has been impressed by the Raptors fan base. “Canada, I figured, of course it’s hockey. I never would have imagined that the fans would pretty much sell out every game we play here. Probably the most surprising thing I’ve seen here since I’ve been here, [is] the fan support.”

Draft Rumors: Payton, Baker, Walker

April 5th, 2014 at 12:04pm CST by Cray Allred

Oscar Robertson doesn’t agree with the league’s desire to increase the age limit for draft entry, telling Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press that “one-and-done” players aren’t hurting the college game. “These colleges are greedy, man. They want to keep a kid … in school if they start to win,” Robertson said. “They want to keep them in school because it helps them — it helps the coach, it helps the winning percentage.” Here’s a roundup of more draft rumors:

Wichita State’s Ron Baker will return to school for his junior year, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Baker explored his draft potential before making the decision, and multiple NBA executives tell Goodman he would have been a second round pick had he chosen to declare for this year’s draft.
An NBA executive told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Louisiana-Lafayette’s Elfrid Payton could go as high as the late teens in the draft should he declare. The junior hasn’t yet decided whether to forgo his last year of college to enter the draft.
Florida freshman Chris Walker says he will make a decision regarding this year’s draft after the Final Four, telling reporters including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv he’s focused on the tournament for now. “I haven’t really been thinking about it,” Walker said. “I’m just thinking about winning this UConn game and staying in the moment and hopefully winning that and advance to the championship game. And then after the season, me and coach [Billy Donovan] will sit down and talk about everything and all the options.” Walker has been considered by many to be a premier 2015 draft prospect, so it would be interesting to see where he would stack up if he declared for this summer’s draft.
In a subscription-only piece, ESPN Insiders Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton look at the draft stocks for Shabazz Napier, Frank Kaminsky, and Patric Young, who are all playing for Final Four teams this weekend.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports discussed the draft prospects of Kentucky’s freshmen in a video from yesterday.
We profiled Doug McDermott earlier today.

Prospect Profile: Doug McDermott

April 5th, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Cray Allred

Doug McDermott strongly considered entering last year’s draft, but opted to stay in school for one more year. As we detailed in our profile of Marcus Smart, a year can make quite a difference in a player’s draft value. While Smart’s stock has slipped from last year, when he declined to stay at Oklahoma State despite being projected near the very top of the draft, McDermott has seen his stock skyrocket after returning to Creighton for his senior year.

Last year, McDermott was seen as a late first-rounder or second-rounder at best, but he’s projected at No. 10 overall in the latest DraftExpress mock draft, and ranked No. 13 in ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Top 100 prospects list. Ironically, McDermott didn’t even consider a lottery selection to be a possibility when making his decision to return for his senior year. McDermott sought Creighton alum Kyle Korver‘s advice, telling Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports at the time, “[The 2014 draft] looks stronger at the top 15 to 18 picks, but after that it’s about the same. But that’s probably not going to be my range this year or next year, anyway. That helped me [decide].”

McDermott played power forward in college, and is listed at 6’8″ and 225 lbs. A dynamic scorer, the 22-year-old averaged 21.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game with a slash line of .550/.458/.831 in his four years at Creighton. He upped his scoring average this year, but was actually a slightly more efficient scorer in his junior year. It’s possible that Creighton’s move from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big East had a hand in raising his profile, validating his status as one of the nation’s premier scorers. McDermott is already an extremely decorated athlete, holding Creighton’s all-time scoring record with more than 1,000 points more than the next most prolific scoring Bluejay, ranking third in career rebounds at the school, and becoming one of just a dozen players to earn First-Team All American honors three times in the history of the award.

McDermott is probably a bit undersized to establish himself as exclusively a power forward in the NBA, and isn’t quick enough to guard many of the league’s small forwards. The dreaded “tweener” label isn’t always a death knell, especially in a league utilizing more and more small-ball and unconventional lineups. However, some young frontcourt players with positional ambiguity have indeed struggled, for example Anthony Bennett (6’8″, 259 lbs.; designated a small forward) and Derrick Williams (6’8″, 240 lbs.; designated a power forward).

McDermott’s greatest strengths have been shooting and rebounding, two skillsets that tend to translate well from college to pro hoops. However, some scouts have questions about his size and lack of athleticism. Whether McDermott can survive defensively in the NBA is a concern. McDermott’s athletic limitations don’t preclude him from finding ways to effectively spot-up or even create his shot consistently, but it’s a tougher task to overcome the same limitations on defense.

There are plenty of elite shooters and scorers in the NBA who thrive despite being liabilities on the defensive end, although it is easier to hide or even utilize a physically overmatched wing in a team defense scheme than it is to accommodate for a limited frontcourt defender. David Lee of the Warriors is close to McDermott’s size, and his poor defense makes his value as a starter arguably a net loss despite his knack for scoring and rebounding, depending on how you value certain advanced metrics. Still, McDermott would be a huge success as a late lottery pick if his career paralleled that of Lee.

Whichever team selects McDermott will see whether he can continue to find ways to make his game work, taking a chance in the hopes that he will be able to produce somewhere north of 15 points per game in a best-case scenario. McDermott, a coach’s son, will no doubt work to make that team’s gamble worthwhile. Even in the case that he doesn’t pan out as a top-shelf NBA talent, there are greater risks than drafting an established shooter.

Kennedy Notes: Draft, Gasol, Sixers

April 4th, 2014 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders held his weekly chat. He touched on a number of topics, and some of the highlights are listed below:

Kennedy believes the biggest sleeper pick in the upcoming NBA Draft is Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early. He also believes the player most likely to be taken too high is Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein.
Pau Gasol is most likely done with the Lakers after this season, opines Kennedy. He cites the Lakers’ desire to have cap flexibility heading into the summer of 2015, as well as Gasol’s reluctance to be part of a rebuild.
On who the Sixers will take in the draft, Kennedy believes the team will simply select the best two players available. His draft scenario has the team selecting Andrew Wiggins and Dario Saric.
He doesn’t believe that Victor Oladipo is the long term answer for the Magic at point guard. Kennedy believes the team should look at drafting Dante Exum and keeping Oladipo at shooting guard.
Kennedy also believes the rumors that Kyrie Irving wants out of Cleveland. He opines that Irving might sign an extension and then demand a trade from the Cavs.

Roscoe Smith To Declare For NBA Draft

April 4th, 2014 at 6:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

UNLV junior forward Roscoe Smith intends to hire an agent and declare for the 2014 NBA Draft, the team announced via a press release. Smith led the Mountain West Conference and was ranked sixth in the nation with 10.9 RPG during the 2013/14 season. He also averaged 11.1 PPG for the Runnin’ Rebels, while recording 16 double-doubles, which was good for 10th in the country.

Smith said, “I had a great experience at UNLV and really enjoyed playing for Coach [Dave] Rice and his staff. I am ready to take the next step in my career, but I love UNLV and will always be a Runnin’ Rebel. I am planning to finish my classes this semester in addition to preparing for the draft.”

Rice praised Smith, saying, “Roscoe is such a hard worker and good player. We were fortunate to be able to see his work ethic first-hand these last two years. He was one of the best rebounders in the country and provided great energy and leadership. We appreciate all of his contributions to our program and wish him the best.”

ESPN’s Chad Ford ranks Smith as the 24th best small forward, and as the 110th overall ranked prospect. He is projected as a possible second round pick.

Updates On Protected 2014 First-Round Picks

April 4th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

There were five protected first-round picks that appeared up for grabs a month ago when I last looked at the 2014 selections that could change hands. Now, there are only two. The Pistons have little to play for, suggesting their free fall will help them keep their pick, protected for the top-eight selections, from going to the Bobcats. The Mavs, fighting for a playoff spot, are in a much more intriguing position, with their pick headed to the Thunder if its not in the top 20.

Dallas sits 22nd in our Reverse Standings, and the Mavs are in line for the seventh playoff seed in the Western Conference. They’re also just a half-game up on the Grizzlies and Suns, who are tied for eighth. Missing the playoffs would guarantee that Dallas keeps its pick, but that’s clearly not the ideal outcome for the franchise.

The disparity between the conferences has much to do with the uncertainty. Normally, a team with the ninth-best record in the league would be a shoo-in for the playoffs, but that’s not the case this year. Dallas has a better record than all but two Eastern Conference teams, and that could still be true even if the Mavs miss the playoffs. The Bulls and Raptors are tied for 19th and 20th in our Reverse Standings, and their records are a game and a half inferior to Dallas’ 45-31 mark. Memphis, at 44-31, is a game better than the Bulls and Raptors, but the Grizzlies would be out of the playoffs if they started today.

In all likelihood, either the Bulls or Raptors will have to finish well to give the Mavs a shot to make the playoffs and keep their pick. It would help the Mavs if they, the Suns, and the Grizzlies all struggle in the season’s final days, but that seems unlikely, given their strong records and how much is at stake.

It’s so much simpler for the Pistons. They’ll be rooting for the Cavs, who are ninth in the Reverse Standings, to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race and keep winning. The Pistons have a realistic shot to finish with the sixth-worst record in the league. If they finish in the eighth position, they’d run a slight risk of having a team behind them in the order jump ahead of them during the May 20th draft lottery.

The fate of the rest of the picks is more or less decided. The Timberwolves sit 13th in the Reverse Standings, and they’d have to give their pick to the Suns if it’s No. 14 or lower. But, Minnesota is six and a half games worse than Memphis, which is currently in the 14th spot. It appears that unless the Grizzlies, or whoever finishes in the 14th spot at the end of the regular season, gets incredibly lucky in the lottery, the Wolves will keep their pick.

Here’s a rundown of all the protected picks, sorted by the likelihood that they’ll change hands:

Up in the air

Detroit Pistons (to Bobcats if not in top 8). Current projection: tied for 7th/8th.

Dallas Mavericks (to Thunder if not in top 20). Current projection: 22nd.

Will change hands (mathematically certain)

Washington Wizards (to Suns if not in top 12). Current projection: 17th.
Indiana Pacers (to Suns if not in top 14). Current projection: 26th.

Likely to change hands

New Orleans Pelicans (to 76ers if not in top 5). Current projection: 10th.
Charlotte Bobcats (to Bulls if not in top 10). Current projection: 16th.
Portland Trail Blazers (to Bobcats if not in top 12). Current projection: 24th.

Unlikely to change hands

Minnesota Timberwolves (to Suns if not in top 13). Current projection: 13th.
Sacramento Kings (to Bulls if not in top 12). Current projection: tied for 7th/8th.

Will not change hands (mathematically certain)

Philadelphia 76ers (to Celtics if not in top 14). Current projection: 2nd.

Dario Saric Leaning Toward Entering Draft

April 4th, 2014 at 8:41am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s been plenty of back-and-forth about whether potential top-10 pick Dario Saric will enter this year’s draft, with rumors coming from his father, an agent who no longer represents him, and unnamed sources. Saric himself spoke to Jelena Trajković of B92.net, telling her that it’s his dream to play in the NBA and that he believes he’ll go into the draft, but the Croatian star cautions that he has yet to come to a final decision (translation via Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress via Twitter).

Givony ranks Saric as the ninth-best prospect for June’s draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com pegs him 14th. It’s around the same range where Saric found himself last year, when he entered the draft but withdrew before the deadline to so. There have been conflicting reports about whether he’d even test the waters this time around, with Ford reporting last month that he’d agreed to a three-year deal with a Turkish team that wouldn’t allow him to go to the NBA until 2016, when he’ll be automatically draft-eligible. Givony countered that he never reached such a deal, asserting that the 6’10” forward would almost certainly enter this year’s draft.

Agent Robert Jablan publicly called for Saric to declare for the draft, but Saric’s father and Givony say Jablan no longer represents Saric. Jablan was critical of Saric’s father, who has said that he wants to see his son stay in Europe for another two seasons. Around the same time his father initially made those comments, Saric agreed that it would be best for his development to remain overseas, though he added that he’d wait to make a decision. Ford said earlier this week that Saric was still leaning against declaring for the draft, but with four days to go until his 20th birthday, it appears he’s had a change of heart. Saric seems to indicate in his latest interview that he’ll make his decision in another 10 days, so it looks like we’ll have some resolution to the saga soon.

James Michael McAdoo Enters NBA Draft

April 3rd, 2014 at 1:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

North Carolina junior James Michael McAdoo has announced his decision to enter the NBA draft, according to the school’s website. The 6’9″ power forward is No. 60 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings and No. 80 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. ESPN.com scribe Jeff Goodman nonetheless hears from multiple NBA executives who consider him a late first-round pick who could fall into the early part of the second round.

The 21-year-old’s stock took a tumble this season, one in which he showed little, if any, improvement. He was a potential top-five pick to open his sophomore season, and was No. 18 in Givony’s rankings in the preseason this year. He averaged 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game this season, numbers almost identical to the ones he posted in 2012/13.

The father of the 6’9″ McAdoo is a second cousin of Bob McAdoo, a Heat assistant coach and Hall-of-Fame player. Both played at North Carolina, and James Michael’s college career presumably ended with a loss to Iowa State last month in the NCAA Tournament round of 32. The deadline for him to withdraw from the draft while still retaining his college eligibility is April 15th.

2013/14 NBA Reverse Standings

April 3rd, 2014 at 8:57am CST by Chuck Myron

As the regular season winds down, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on how the summer’s draft order will play out. Our 2013/14 NBA reverse standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, are updated daily to reflect the outcomes of the games from the previous day.

These reverse standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what this year’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. Traded picks are also included via footnotes, so, for instance, the note next to the Mavs’ pick indicates that it will be sent to Thunder if it doesn’t fall within the top 20. Given those conditions, the Thunder probably wouldn’t mind seeing the regular season end today, since the pick is currently projected to land 21st overall.

With less than two weeks to go in the regular season, that and other battles for draft position have become paramount for some teams, and unlike last year, when there were no legit blue chip prospects to dream about, there’s a lot at stake. This year’s draft class figures to include Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Julius Randle, Dante Exum, and Marcus Smart. The general consensus among draft experts is that any one of those players, and perhaps others, would have had been selected first overall if they’d been available in 2013. So, it’s worth getting excited if your favorite team has a shot at a lottery pick.

Our reverse standings feature can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands this year. Be sure to check back often!

Categories:
2014 NBA Draft

Draft Rumors: Saric, Parker, Brown, Clarkson

April 2nd, 2014 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jabari Parker‘s father tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Parker is still undecided on whether to declare for the 2014 draft. “He’s undecided and we know the [NBA’s Early Entry eligibility] deadline is the 27th [of April] so if he’s going to make a decision he has to make it by that date, but right now he’s undecided,” said the elder Parker. It would be a surprise if Parker, a consensus top-three talent, didn’t come out for the draft when all is said and done. Let’s look at some more draft notes:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in his weekly chat, insists that Dario Saric is still leaning toward staying out of the draft, in spite of a weekend report suggesting otherwise. Ford also hears from several scouts who say Parker will stay in school, but Ford believes the Duke star will ultimately enter this year’s draft.
Oklahoma State senior Markel Brown and Missouri junior Jordan Clarkson, who’s entering the draft, are set to sign with Andy Miller’s ASM Sports agency, tweets Darren Heitner of Forbes.
NBA front office types who told their owners that there was a franchise-changing player in this year’s draft are probably nervous now, an Eastern Conference executive tells Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who examines the falling stock of the 2014 class.
Some of the top prospects in the 2015 class don’t seem too enthused about commissioner Adam Silver’s push for a new NBA minimum age, as they tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.