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2014 NBA Draft

Semaj Christon To Declare For Draft

March 28th, 2014 at 9:58pm CST by Cray Allred

Xavier sophomore Semaj Christon has announced that he will declare for the 2014 NBA Draft, telling Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com of his decision (H/T Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). “It’s been my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA,” said Christon. “Xavier has been a great experience, but now it’s time for me to move onto a different chapter in my life for me and my family.” Christon is currently projected as a secound round pick, with Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranking him as the 45th best prospect, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress projecting him at 43rd overall. A veteran scout tells Zagoria that area in the second round is Christon’s range. The scout adds that Christon would likely spend time in the D-Leauge next year.

The 6’3″ point guard averaged 16.2 points and 4.4 assists per game for his college career with a .462/.388/.670 slash line. Christon finished sixth in Big East scoring this year at 17.0 points per game, earning Big East first-team honors. Christon’s length, athleticism, and ball handling are strengths he has displayed as an NBA prospect. He projects as a good defender and scorer, but hasn’t established himself as a distributor or shooter.

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Dario Saric’s Agent Wants Him To Enter Draft

March 28th, 2014 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The agent for Dario Saric is confident that his client is ready to play in the NBA and tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that he disagrees with the Croatian prospect’s apparent decision to sign a new deal in Europe and remain there through at least next season. Robert Jablan asserts that Saric’s father is exerting undue influence on his son, who turns 20 next month and had been in line to become a lottery pick this year.

Jablan said Saric’s father may prompt him to cut ties with his client, though Saric has been expected to hire a new agent for a while. Sporando’s Emiliano Carchia believes Saric will sign with Misko Raznatovic, another prominent European agent (Twitter link). Saric’s apparent deal with Efes Pilson in Turkey would give him $8.27MM over three years, an unusually high sum for a European pact and more than he would likely make over the same timeframe on an NBA rookie scale contract. The deal would include an escape clause that would allow him to head to the NBA in 2016, when he’ll be automatically eligible for the draft.

Saric is ninth on Jonathan Givony’s top prospects list at DraftExpress, and No. 14 on the Big Board that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles. He’s averaged 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists overall this season for the Croatian club KK Cibona. He declared for the draft in 2013, only to withdraw before the deadline to do so. He has until April 27th to change his mind about the Turkish contract and enter this year’s draft.

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LaQuinton Ross Declares For Draft

March 28th, 2014 at 2:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 2:11pm: Ohio State has formally announced that Ross is headed for the draft this year.

3:27pm: The announcement has been delayed until Friday, Zagoria hears (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 12:06pm: Ohio State has a statement ready and will likely announce today that Ross is headed for the draft, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

MONDAY, 3:29pm: Ross says via Twitter that he has yet to make up his mind about whether to enter the draft (hat tip to Connor Kiesel of Fox Sports Ohio).

2:13pm: Ohio State small forward LaQuinton Ross will declare his intent to enter this year’s draft, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Ross is not to be confused with former NBA player Quinton Ross, whose name was in headlines today after the New York Post incorrectly identified him as the victim of an apparent murder. The Buckeye standout just completed his junior season, but there’s a wide split on how well he’ll perform in the NBA. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him 32nd overall among this year’s prospects, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him at No. 65.

Ross became a starter at Ohio State just this season, putting up 15.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game. He was a career 36.4% three-point shooter, though he finished two for 21 behind the arc over his last eight games. Still, he has an impressive background, having been the top prospect of the 2011 high school class in the eyes of many recruiting analysts, as Givony points out.

The 21-year-old Ross found himself behind Deshaun Thomas, the 58th overall pick in last year’s draft, on the Ohio State depth chart after academic issues delayed the start of his collegiate career. His college playing days met an apparent end Thursday when the Buckeyes lost their opener in the NCAA tournament.

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Zach LaVine To Declare For Draft

March 28th, 2014 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

UCLA shooting guard Zach LaVine will enter this year’s NBA draft, his father tells Jack Wang of the Los Angeles Daily News. The freshman is the second Bruin to disclose his intent to turn pro, after Kyle Anderson did so late Thursday night following UCLA’s loss in the NCAA tournament. Lavine is No. 27 in Chad Ford’s rankings at ESPN.com, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 36th.

LaVine wasn’t on Givony’s preseason list of the top 100 prospects, but he zipped up draft boards early this season, mirroring his rapid ascent in the eyes of recruiters late in his high school career. Still, he slumped down the stretch, shooting just 23.5% from the floor over his last seven games. He was UCLA’s sixth man this season and his shots were limited, as he averaged just 9.4 points and 7.8 field goal attempts in 24.4 minutes per contest.

He, Anderson and Jordan Adams are all UCLA perimeter players who could wind up as first-round draft picks in June, though it’s unclear whether Adams, a sophomore, will follow the other two into the draft this year. The 6’5″ Lavine, who just turned 19 earlier this month, is capable of playing both guard spots, and he has a height advantage at the point.

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Kyle Anderson To Enter Draft

March 28th, 2014 at 8:05am CST by Chuck Myron

Versatile UCLA sophomore Kyle Anderson has decided to enter this year’s NBA draft, his father tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Anderson played point guard for the Bruins this season, but he appears more equipped to play small forward or power forward in the NBA. He’s the 20th-rated prospect on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list, and he’s No. 24 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

The 20-year-old led UCLA in rebounds (8.8) and assists per game (6.5), and his 14.6 points per contest were second to fellow potential first-round pick Jordan Adams. He showed significant improvement over his performance as a freshman, allowing him to surge from 79th in Givony’s preseason rankings. Critics most often point to his lack of athleticism, though he compensates for that with his wide range of skills.

UCLA’s season ended Thursday with a loss to Florida in the NCAA tournament. Anderson has until April 15th to withdraw and return to the Bruins.

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Tyler Ennis To Declare For Draft

March 27th, 2014 at 1:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis will enter this year’s NBA draft, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The freshman will probably be a late lottery pick, with fellow ESPN.com scribe Chad Ford slotting him ninth in his prospect rankings and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegging him 15th. The Orange’s upset loss to Dayton this past weekend in the NCAA tournament appears to have been his final college game.

Ennis is frequently mentioned along with Dante Exum and Marcus Smart as one of the top three point guards expected to be in this year’s draft, though it appears he trails both of them in the eyes of most teams for now. The 6’2″ Ennis averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 assists and 1.7 turnovers in 35.7 minutes per game this season, one in which Syracuse raced to a 25-0 start. The team won just three times in its final nine games, and perhaps that’s hurt the stock of the 19-year-old.

Still, Ennis made strides during the 2013/14 season. The Canadian native started the season just 45th in Givony’s rankings, and he wasn’t among the top 20 on Ford’s list, either. He was No. 27 on the Recruiting Services Consensus Index for the top 2013 high school prospects.

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Joel Embiid To Enter Draft?

March 27th, 2014 at 11:09am CST by Chuck Myron

11:09am: Embiid says via Twitter that he has yet to make a decision (hat tip to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders).

8:08am: Potential No. 1 overall pick Joel Embiid has decided to enter the draft, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, with a formal announcement to come soon. The Kansas freshman center hasn’t played since March 1st with a stress fracture in his back. Jayhawks coach Bill Self maintained that Embiid could have played in the later rounds of the NCAA tournament if Kansas had advanced, but NBA teams have some concern about the injury, which will undergo close scrutiny during predraft medical evaluations.

Embiid was widely considered the slight favorite to become the top pick before the injury. The native of Cameroon is the No. 2 pick on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress board and Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates him third. The 20-year-old is a raw talent and came off the bench for the first eight games of the season, but he has shown vast potential on both sides of the ball. He averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game this year.

The 7-footer gave indication in January that he wasn’t sure about heading for the draft, but it appears the chance to go in the top three picks, if not first overall, is too appealing to pass up. A loss to Stanford this weekend knocked Kansas out of the tournament, likely ending his college career. He has yet to select an agent, but this week he’s made progress toward a decision, according to Wojnarowski.

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Draft Rumors: McDermott, Vonleh, Tournament

March 26th, 2014 at 8:12pm CST by Cray Allred

Former NBA team consultant Travis Heath writes at Basketball Insiders about being wrong as a scout. Watching a player like James Harden dominate in the NBA can be torture for him, since he was wrong about the Rockets star’s potential. Here’s a roundup of the rest of the night’s draft rumors:

  • A group post by several USA Today writers features their takes on tanking for this draft class, whether poor NCAA tournament performances from Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker hurt their draft stocks, and which players have boosted their draft stocks the most in the tournament. The USA Today scribes single out Kyle Anderson, Adreian Payne, and Shabazz Napier as players proving their NBA talent in March.
  • Doug McDermott has signed with agent Mark Bartelstein at Priority Sports, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders posted his own mock draft, slotting Joel Embiid down at the five spot and putting Wiggins, Parker, Dante Exum, and Julius Randle ahead of him. 
  • An NBA scout tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Indiana’s Noah Vonleh will be a high lottery pick and expects the big man to have more success in the league than Randle, who sits a few spots ahead of Vonleh in most draft projections.
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Early Entrants For 2014 NBA Draft

March 26th, 2014 at 2:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NCAA tournament has brought an end to the college season for many top prospects, leaving them with decisions about whether to enter the draft or return to college. Players from overseas have also begun to make their intentions known, and as the draft approaches, more names will appear below on the Hoops Rumors list of early entrants for the 2014 draft.

We already passed along the key dates on the calendar for early entrants, with the most important deadlines falling on April 15th, when underclassmen must withdraw from the draft to retain eligibility, April 27th, the final day for all early-entry candidates to declare for the draft, and June 16th, the last day non-college prospects can withdraw.

The NBA’s official list of early entrants doesn’t come out until May 2nd, but until then, we’ll be keeping track of reports on prospects declaring for the draft, and we’ll archive them all in a running list here, which will be accessible anytime under “Featured Posts” on the right sidebar.

The players below are in alphabetical order. For an idea of how they stack up against one another, check out the DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.

Updated 4-28-14

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Draft Rumors: Wiggins, Vonleh, Randle, Saric

March 25th, 2014 at 8:48pm CST by Charlie Adams

The latest mock draft from Jake Henson of Sheridan Hoops runs down Henson’s take on the likely 2014 lottery picks. Each player has a best and worst case scenario player comparison, and Henson opines that Andrew Wiggins‘ ceiling is around Tracy McGrady‘s talents, while his floor might project around Rudy Gay‘s skills. Let’s round up the latest rumors on the 2014 NBA draft:

  • Front offices around the league are intrigued by Noah Vonleh‘s size and upside, writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link). He might not be polished enough to have a strong rookie year, but it’s possible he has more potential than Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon, says Ford. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says he would still take Randle over Vonleh (on Twitter).
  • Kyler goes on to peg Randle as a mix between Zach Randolph and Paul Millsap (Twitter link). Randle has averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in his freshman year at Kentucky.
  • Dario Saric isn’t entering the 2014 draft, and Kyler believes his decision was based on money. Given the talent of this year’s draft class, Kyler notes Saric is due for a higher selection and a bigger payday if he waits to enter the draft until next season (Twitter links).
  • Ford, in another Insider piece, passes along that Wiggins is believed by executives around the league to be the number one pick, pending an absolute clean bill of health from Kansas teammate Joel Embiid.
  • Scouts believe Aaron Gordon is likely to return for his sophomore year at Arizona, says Ford, but the same scouts say if he declares for the draft, he’s likely to be selected as a mid-to-late first-round pick. Hoops Rumors’ Eddie Scarito recently profiled Gordon’s game.
  • Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe argues that the days of the polished NBA rookie are dying, as most one-and-done players who enter the league now need a few years to develop their game. Washburn points to the NCAA tournament performances of Wiggins, Marcus Smart, and Jabari Parker as evidence.
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