2014 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Drummond, Bulls, Bynum

March 22nd, 2014 at 11:08am CST by Cray Allred

Andre Drummond tells Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press that the many Pistons losses this season have taken their toll on the young big man. “That’s how it goes sometimes. Nothing good comes easy, and nothing starts off easy, either. Tough starts will help us build this team and this organization,” said Drummond. Ellis points out that if the Pistons finish low enough to keep their lottery pick, it would be little consolation if continued losing sours Drummond on the organization. Here’s more from around the Central:

Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times thinks speculation on Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau moving to the Knicks, or Carmelo Anthony signing with the Bulls, is a thing of the past, implying that Phil Jackson‘s tenure in New York will put an end to those possibilities.
Cowley adds that Gary Harris, Doug McDermott, K.J. McDaniels, and Zach LaVine could be good options for the Bulls in the draft. Barring a Bobcats late-season meltdown, Chicago will have Charlotte’s first round pick to go with their own in the 2014 draft, both of which are currently projected in the teens.
Carlos Delfino, lost for the year due to injury, won’t be joining the Bucks for the remainder of the year, per Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link). The guard is opting to rehab in his home country of Argentina, and is still under contract with Milwaukee beyond this season.
Pacers backup center Andrew Bynum is sidelined indefinitely while he receives treatment for swelling and soreness to his knee, per a team release. Bynum has only played two games with Indiana since signing there in early February, and it’s no shock that his chronic knee issues are limiting his time.

Draft Rumors: Parker, Wiggins, Nuggets

March 22nd, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Cray Allred

Jabari Parker called his college career “incomplete” after Duke’s upset loss in the NCAA tournament Friday, and the Blue Devils’ early exit could affect his decision about whether to enter the draft this year, he tells Andy Katz of ESPN (Twitter link). Scouts had held the belief that Parker was leaning toward declaring for the draft, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Here are more draft rumors:

Sean Highkin of USA Today doesn’t think Parker will skip the draft based on his disappointing tournament. Highkin says the farthest Parker could fall is to the third overall pick, so the small forward has more certainty of his selection (and payday) than players like Marcus Smart or Jared Sullinger had when deciding to return to school for another year.
Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider [subscription only] offer some analysis of Andrew Wiggins‘ upside, using both scouting information and advanced metrics. Both Ford and Pelton see Wiggins as a potential Paul George-type player.
Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post thinks that Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, and James Young are three players who would make sense for the Nuggets to draft this year. Kiszla notes that the Knicks‘ recent winning streak has hurt the Nuggets’ odds of landing a high lottery pick. The Nuggets will have the better of their own pick and New York’s pick.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Prospect Profile: Marcus Smart

March 21st, 2014 at 8:39pm CST by Eddie Scarito

What a difference one season can make. If Marcus Smart would have entered last year’s draft he would have been in the discussion for the first overall pick. He had earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors and was seen as the top player in an otherwise underwhelming draft class. Instead, Smart opted to return to Oklahoma State for another season, and now finds himself unlikely to even be the first point guard to come off the board.

Back in April of last year when he announced his choice, Smart said, “There’s a lot of speculation going. I’ve been bashed and criticized that I probably made a mistake of coming back here, the NBA will be there, I should have took it, and this year’s draft class is much weaker than next year’s. But I think I made the right decision. All that was telling me, from those people that said that, is they don’t have confidence in my ability and my game to compete with those players next year. You guys have given me that confidence to do that, so I chose to stay here. I’m aware of how much money I am giving up.”

Smart’s sophomore numbers have remained mostly in line with his freshman production. He did raise his shooting percentage slightly, from .404 to .425, which helped him increase his scoring average, but everything else is nearly identical. This can be looked at a couple of ways. The positive spin is that he has shown remarkable consistency in his game and proved last season was no fluke. The negative perspective would be that he hasn’t shown much growth offensively in his second year. Smart’s season stats are 17.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 2.8 SPG in 32.5 minutes per contest. His slash line is .425/.302/.736. His career numbers are 16.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, and 2.9 SPG over 33.0 minutes. His career slash line is .414/.297/.756.

Shooting is the main aspect of Smart’s game that he will need to continue to improve on in order to become a more effective offensive player at the next level. He has solid form and looks to have good overall mechanics, but he is just not a consistent shooter at this stage in his development. He is a 30.3% spot-up shooter, 22% coming off of screens, and in isolation he shoots 30.8% from the field, according to NBA Draft Insider.com. Part of the issue is that Smart displays poor shot selection, which has been criticized during his college career. Smart would be better served to stop settling for long-range jump shots and to instead take better advantage of his explosiveness by driving to the basket more. He has shown a slight improvement in this area, raising his free throw attempts per game from 6.5 his freshman season to 7.7 this year.

Smart has the capability of playing either of the guard positions, but he’s spent most of his career at point guard. As a playmaker Smart is an excellent passer within the flow of an offense, but creating for teammates off the dribble isn’t his specialty. Smart is a score-first point guard. He’s also rates as just an average ball-handler, but he has improved in that area this season, cutting his turnovers from 3.4 to 2.5 per game.

His build is NBA ready, and at 6’4″, 220 pounds, he will be able to compete physically in the league right away. With his size and strength Smart is able to defend multiple positions. He has good body control and moves well with his man on or off the ball. When guarding ball-handlers he has shown quick hands that he uses to bother his man and force turnovers. When defending off the ball he tracks the ball well, gets in passing lanes to make plays, and applies timely double-teams to force turnovers. It is as a defender that Smart has the most immediate value in the NBA. His 3.4 steals per 40 minutes shows just how active a player he is on the defensive end. Smart has to use his basketball IQ and strength to his advantage as he isn’t the fastest player, and he may struggle against some of the quicker guards in the league.

Smart has shown flashes of immaturity during his time at Oklahoma State. There was an incident where he kicked a chair out of frustration during a game against West Virginia, which was a relatively minor flare-up. The major incident occurred a few weeks later during a game versus Texas Tech, when Smart pushed a vocal Red Raiders fan. The fan reportedly used a racial slur toward Smart, but the NCAA still suspended the point guard for three contests. “Unfortunately for Smart, there is going to be a fallout after this,” an NBA executive told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. “His reputation has taken a hit. That is all people and the media are going to want to talk about with him before and after the draft. Some teams won’t want to deal with that.” Yet when asked if the push affects Smart’s draft stock, an NBA GM told Spears that his decline on draft boards was solely because of concerns about his game.

NBA teams have shown a willingness to overlook incidents like these in lieu of talent. Smart also just turned 20 years old on March 6th, and he has plenty of time to mature. Based on recent mock drafts, Smart is still projected to be a top-10 pick. NBADraft.net has him being taken fourth, Draft Express has him sixth, and Smart also currently sits sixth on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s Big Board.

While he doesn’t have the unlimited raw athleticism of some of the other prospects in this draft, Smart’s strength and explosiveness coupled with his understanding of the game should assure him of being drafted in the middle of the lottery. There are no questions about his drive or overall skill set, but he’ll have to significantly improve his outside shot to be a star at the next level. Smart will also have to show he has matured and developed a thicker skin to quiet down any talk of him being a risky selection. Scouts have compared his game to Baron Davis and Jason Kidd‘s, and Draft Insider.com has projected his “ceiling” as Dwyane Wade and his “basement” as Marcus Banks. His ability to defend both guard positions will make him valuable, and that should guarantee him a roster spot for years, but if he can’t improve his outside shooting, he won’t achieve greatness at the next level.

And-Ones: Bulls, Harris, Jackson, Powell

March 20th, 2014 at 10:54pm CST by Charlie Adams

In his latest piece for ESPNChicago.com, Nick Friedell discusses with Jon Greenberg and Scoop Jackson what the Bulls’ offseason plan should consist of if they can’t land Carmelo Anthony. Friedell think bringing Nikola Mirotic from overseas makes the most sense, while Greenberg believes Lance Stephenson would be a great fit with coach Tom Thibodeau. Here’s more from around the Association:

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban confesses he regrets rescinding a contract offer he made to Devin Harris last summer that would have locked up the former All-Star for three years, reports Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW. Cuban decided to only offer Harris a one-year pact in wake of the news that the point guard would need foot surgery.
Bill Bradley was Phil Jackson‘s teammate on the Knicks’ two championship teams of 1969/70 and 1972/73, and he sees Jackson as a perfect fit as team president, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I think he’s got an unparalleled record,” Bradley said, “a good head on his shoulders, knows what’s important in building a winning culture. That’s a great combination“
Gregg Popovich is known for his tendency to blow off reporters, but the Spurs coach had no shortage of words on how beneficial he thought the hiring of Jackson would be for the Knicks, says Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. “To have somebody of Phil Jackson’s stature back in the mix is just a huge plus for everybody involved, so I think it’s great,” said Popovich. “When you put together a group and there’s synergy between the general manager, a president, as he’s going to be, and a coach… He just has to make sure that synergy exists and I’m sure that he will. He’s a smart man. There will be a system and a culture, for sure.“
ESPN’s 5-on-5 panel breaks down the NBA prospects they find most intriguing, and Brett Koremenos of Grantland writes that while Stanford forward Dwight Powell is often overlooked, a strong tournament showing by him and his team could boost his standing on scouts’ draft boards around the league.

Draft Rumors: Wilbekin, Young, Sixers, Embiid

March 20th, 2014 at 7:41pm CST by Charlie Adams

March Madness is officially underway, and Chris Dortch of NBA.com has complied a list of players who have the most to gain from a good performance in the NCAA Tournament. Gator seniors Scottie Wilbekin and Patric Young are among the players mentioned, and Dortch thinks a tourney title from Florida would greatly help their stocks. Let’s round up some more draft rumors:

Having lost 22 straight contests and sitting at 15-53, the Sixers are sure to receive a high lottery pick in June’s draft. Rather than addressing needs at a particular position, Philly coach Brett Brown‘s draft strategy is to “take the best player and figure it out,” reveals Tom Moore of the Intelligencer.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com breaks down each tournament team’s prospects (Insider link). The South region has the most NBA-talent, according to Ford, but the Midwest region isn’t far behind.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports gives an NBA scout’s take on 10 potential lottery picks. According to the scout, Joel Embiid will likely be the first player taken if his back problems prove to be a non-issue. “Teams don’t want to draft another Greg Oden,” said the scout. “Embiid will be No. 1 if there is no back issue. There is only one player in the draft that’s a potential franchise player, and that’s Embiid. It’s a deep draft. When I say franchise player, there are only eight or 10 of those in the league. Embiid has the potential to be one.”
The latest mock draft from Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders sees Embiid going third overall, behind Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.
Adreian Payne‘s 41 point performance today will do nothing but help the MSU Spartan’s draft stock, and Chad Ford tweets that a few more big games out of Payne could help boost him into a lock for the lottery. Ford notes Payne is particularly appealing because there aren’t many stretch fours in this year’s class. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com thinks Payne will be a mid-first-round pick, but that he won’t end up being a star in the NBA (Twitter link).
Michigan forward Glenn Robinson III needs to have a strong performance in the tournament to prove he’s not just coasting off his family name, opines Howard-Cooper. Robinson is the son of the former All-Star who shares the same name.

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, UCLA

March 19th, 2014 at 5:56pm CST by Alex Lee

In his latest chat with readers, Chad Ford of ESPN.com insists that Andrew Wiggins has solidified his position as the No. 1 draft prospect. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com disagrees, debuting his own Top 30 list based off discussions he’s had with league executives. It has Jabari Parker at the top. Howard-Cooper also touched on a multitude of other draft topics in another post. Let’s sort through his latest and more draft-related stuff here:

Front offices are wavering between Parker and Kansas’ Joel Embiid for the top spot, according to Howard-Cooper. He adds that no one has more at stake in the NCAA Tournament than Embiid, who only has a shot to return from back issues if the Jayhawks advance without him.
Austalian guard Dante Exum is right behind the troika of Parker-Embiid-Wiggins. That foursome is followed by Julius Randle and Marcus Smart, before a big drop off at No. 7.
Jusuf Nurkic is flying up draft boards, according to Howard-Cooper. The 19-year-old Bosnian center, currently playing in Croatia, is in one team’s top ten and may ultimately challenge Dario Saric as the first European off the board.
UCLA’s Zach LaVine has yet to convince scouts that he projects as a point guard in the NBA, Howard-Cooper writes. It doesn’t help than teammate Kyle Anderson has been handling the ball more as point forward lately, presumably boosting his draft stock. LaVine is still an attractive prospect, but his value will take a hit if his future looks to be on the wing. Both Bruins project as mid first rounders should they choose to come out.
USA Today’s Adi Joseph includes Embiid and Anderson on his list of eight NBA hopefuls with the most to gain in the NCAA Tournament, along with Keith Appling, Jahii Carson, Cleanthony Early, Tyler Ennis, Montrezl Harrell and Shabazz Napier.

And-Ones: Jackson, Draft, Parker

March 17th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Agents aren’t pleased with the notion of raising the NBA’s minimum age, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines. They feel shut out of the union’s search for a new executive director and they’re worried that whomever the union picks will be hurried to the bargaining table to discuss the age issue, Deveney writes.

Prospect Profile: Andrew Wiggins

March 17th, 2014 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Few players have entered their freshman season as hyped as Andrew Wiggins. Before he even set foot inside Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas, the media was anointing Wiggins as the next LeBron James, regardless of the fact that James never played one game at the collegiate level. That’s a tough pedigree for any young player to have to live up to, especially when his personality and game is so much different from James’. It’s turned out to be an up-and-down season for Wiggins, who just turned 19 last month, but he’s been playing his best basketball down the stretch and has regained his spot as the top-ranked player in the upcoming NBA draft. He’s currently ranked first in updated mock drafts at Draft Express and CBSSports.com, and he tops Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s big board.

The criticisms of his game and his production have been harsh and unforgiving at times, much harsher than the freshman deserves. After his first game in a Jayhawk uniform, a night that saw him score 16 points, his performance was deemed merely “adequate.” Those critiques continued as the season progressed and Wiggins has been called everything from “disappointing” to “underwhelming.”

Wiggins’ performance has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride, as he’s highly effective one night and comes up soft the next. NBA scouts have complained that he lacks a killer instinct, or desire to be the “alpha” on the court, and has been knocked for being too deferential to his teammates. Wiggins has been unselfish almost to a fault at times, and he has seemed hesitant to attack the basket and make the most of his great finishing abilities. He can be too willing to crank up shots from the perimeter, which lowers his overall production and efficiency. Even when he does take it strong to the rim, Wiggins tends to settle for lower percentage shots. He has also shown a tendency to pull up his dribble too soon and take to the air too far from the hoop, resulting in pull-up jumpers, runners, or scoop shots, rather than use his outstanding vertical to dunk or draw fouls.

One of the big questions about Wiggins entering college was whether he would exhibit the assertiveness to try to take over games on a regular basis against both elite and average competition. At Huntington Prep School, he often showed his immense potential and had some monster games. But there were other times when his coaches had to try different ways to motivate him, because he could seem complacent against competition that he deemed beneath him.

Wiggins’ numbers on the year are solid but not spectacular. He’s averaged 17.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.2 SPG in 32.6 minutes per contest. His slash line is .449/.350/.768. His highest scoring output was when he dropped 41 points on West Virginia, but he has failed to reach double figures in five contests, including a season-low three points on only five shots versus Oklahoma State.

Some scouts have compared him to Rudy Gay. His greatest strengths are his quick first step, superior athleticism, and long, gliding stride, all of which should make him an offensive threat at the next level. He stands 6’8″, but he has a 6’11” wingspan, and though he’s a bit thin, he can add muscle to his 200-pound frame as he matures. Wiggins has a good outside shot but is a streaky shooter. His favorite area on the floor is the corner, where he likes to spot up or cut along the baseline for lobs. He’s shown the ability to create separation off the dribble for pull-up jumpers, but this will be more difficult to accomplish against the larger and more physical defenders in the NBA. Wiggins also has displayed good court vision, and he’s an able and willing passer.

The weaknesses in Wiggins’ game are his inconsistent motor and tendency to drift at times. Wiggins isn’t a physical player, which will make guarding small forwards difficult, and because of this he projects more as a shooting guard. His lack of strength also affects his ability to be a productive rebounder. But at only 19, he has plenty of room to improve in this area. He’s still unrefined as a ball-handler, and sometimes he has trouble against aggressive ball pressure. Scouts have also noted that he has difficulty converting on drives to his left.

The final verdict on Wiggins is that he is an extremely athletic prospect with loads of potential. He has shown remarkable improvement during the course of his freshman season, and there is no reason to think that he won’t be a successful pro. He needs to become more of an aggressive player if he wants to reach superstar level, but playing against NBA-caliber talent every night should keep him motivated. He has handled all the hype and criticism very well, which shows a maturity beyond his age. If Wiggins continues his hot play in the NCAA tournament, he will further solidify his standing at the top of the draft rankings. He is guaranteed to be a top-three pick, and no one will be surprised if he is taken first overall.

Draft Rumors: Gordon, Parker, Wiggins

March 17th, 2014 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com has used his insider-only “Tank Rank” column to pass along rumors connected the plans that teams have for this season, but this week’s edition is all about how clubs view the top prospects for the draft. We’ll pass along the highlights from Ford here:

The Celtics and Jazz are high on Arizona power forward Aaron Gordon, according to Ford.
Ford consistently hears that the Pistons would draft Jabari Parker No. 1 overall if they scored the No. 1 overall pick. That seems to assume that Joe Dumars would still be in charge of the team’s basketball operations, which isn’t a given.
The Pelicans believe Parker would be the “perfect fit” for them, Ford writes.
The Cavs envision using Andrew Wiggins, a small forward, as a shooting guard next to Kyrie Irving if they’re able to land the Kansas star, Ford suggests.
If the Magic wind up with the No. 1 overall pick, they’d probably use it on Wiggins, Ford writes, identifying Dante Exum and Marcus Smart as others the team will likely target.
The Lakers appear to have Joel Embiid, Wiggins, and Exum as their top three prospects, according to Ford, who pegs Parker fourth and Julius Randle fifth on L.A.’s board.

And-Ones: Ilyasova, Embiid, Jackson

March 16th, 2014 at 10:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Bucks big man Ersan Ilyasova admits that he was frustrated by being involved in trade talk around the deadline but he says that he still sees himself with Milwaukee in the long run, writes Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders. “When you go through a season like this and your name comes up [in rumors] it is a little frustrating,” Ilyasova said. “But I still feel myself as part of this franchise. I’m hopeful we can find the right pieces for the team so we can play much better because we really need it. I want to be part of a playoff team and that’s what I’m looking forward to, [the franchise] building a better team – a playoff team.”

One NBA scout told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that Kansas’ Joel Embiid is the “only potential franchise player” in the 2014 draft. Meanwhile, Spears believes that Duke’s Jabari Parker will prove to be one as well.
If Phil Jackson hopes to emulate Pat Riley‘s success with the Heat, he must be an active and visible face of the Knicks organization, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
There’s a long list of coaches who have moved on to the front office and they’ve had mixed results, write USA Today Sports’ Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick. Of course, Jackson hopes to follow the path of Riley, Danny Ainge, and Red Auerbach rather than the likes of Isiah Thomas.