2014 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Knicks, Draft, Vasquez

March 8th, 2014 at 10:34pm CST by Cray Allred

Greivis Vasquez, traded to the Raptors in December, is finally feeling more like himself after undergoing ankle surgery in the offseason and experiencing a dip in production while playing for the Kings early this season, he tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I’m a little upset because I couldn’t really show the fans what I could really do. Last year, I led the league in total assists and was playing at a high level, and I wanted to do that in Sacramento,” Vasquez said. “I’ve been showing what I can do and getting better. The playoffs are going to buy me more time to show what I can do.” Here’s more from around the NBA:

Vasquez will become a restricted free agent this offseason if the Raptors extend a $3.2MM qualifying offer. In Jones’ piece, Vasquez says a return to the Kings isn’t out of the question.
Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders if the Sixers will struggle badly next season, even if they manage to upgrade their talent level through the draft and free agency. Moore is skeptical that massive roster turnover won’t create new challenges, and sees evidence of bad habits taking hold in Philadelphia, including in standout rookie Michael Carter-Williams.
A former GM tells Al Iannazzone of Newsday that Carmelo Anthony would help the Knicks more by leaving this summer than re-signing with them. The former GM says losing Anthony and enduring one more season at the bottom of the standings is worth it to maintain New York’s cap space for the summer of 2015, when they could take swings at a number of star free agents. “Guys want to go to play in New York. It’s going to hurt for a little bit,” he said. “But if you have cap space, it’s not going to be that hard to get a good player to come to New York.”
Aquille Carr discussed his hopes for the upcoming draft with Matthew Hochberg of Ridiculous Upside. The 5’5″ point guard chose to forgo college basketball, spending time in China and the D-League in preparation for this year’s draft.
Two NBA scouts are high on Kentucky’s James Young, telling Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Young will land in the first round (Twitter links). One of the scouts thinks he’s a lottery talent, while the other thinks Jones would be better served to stay in college another year despite his upside.

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Embiid, Cuban

March 8th, 2014 at 11:27am CST by Cray Allred

One NBA GM tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that uncertainty about entering the draft recently expressed by Jabari Parker, along with similar sentiments from Joel Embiid earlier this year, are par for the course. He says the high profile players will all say they are considering staying in college until after the NCAA season, when they will all declare for the draft (Twitter links). Here are more rumors surrounding the draft:

Mark Heisler of The Orange County Register says that not one NBA source he’s talked to likes Andrew Wiggins as a sure-fire blue chip player. Heisler says NBA personnel people are now only in agreement on Embiid as a top-level prospect.
Still, an anonymous Eastern Conference scout tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that the 2014 draft class is much better than last year’s, and should be important for the league. The scout also gives his take on Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, Dante Exum, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, and Noah Vonleh.
Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft stocks of Andrew Harrison, Rodney Hood, and Bryce Cotton.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban told reporters, including Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, that he wishes there were additional rounds in the NBA draft. “I’d like to see four rounds so you can draft guys overseas, get more guys drafted that are your property so you can try to develop them,” Cuban said. “You’ve got to realize that toward the bottom of the second round there are teams that pick for financial reasons, and that takes advantage of guys that might have otherwise been picked.”

Jabari Parker Uncertain About Entering Draft

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

Jabari Parker says that there is a possibility he doesn’t enter this summer’s draft, per Joedy McCreary of The Associated Press (H/T Adam Zagoria). The freshman, long hyped as a potential number-one-overall draft pick, says his development will be key in his decision.

“If I feel like there are things I could improve on or things I left, like during the season, then I will probably come back,” Parker said. “A deciding factor is where I’m going to grow the most, whether it’s in the NBA or even in college, the learning experiences that I need as far as [growing as] a basketball player.”

Speculation on Parker’s decision has churned all year, with NBA executives going back and forth on what they believe he will ultimately be in the draft. Most have maintained that they expect him to enter the draft, but a veteran NBA scout tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that he’s “buying” the possibility of Parker returning to Duke for his sophomore season (Twitter link). If Parker were to remain in college for another year, it would have a huge effect on the both the 2014 and 2015 draft. In addition to shuffling around the upper tiers in both draft classes, Parker’s prolonged college tenure could alter the exposure and/or development of a 2015 Duke roster likely to feature a handful of draft prospects.

The 6’8″ small forward has been seen as perhaps the most polished player in the top tier of this year’s draft crop, and he began this season in a neck-and-neck projection alongside Andrew Wiggins for the first overall selection. He’s slotted fourth in Chad Ford’s latest Insider-only mock draft at ESPN, third in Jonathan Givony’s mock draft at Draft Express. Parker, who will turn 19 in a week, is averaging 18.8 PPG on .483 shooting, to go with 9.0 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 assists in 30.2 minutes per contest.

Draft Notes: Saric, Stauskas, Lakers

March 7th, 2014 at 5:57pm CST by Cray Allred

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and vice president of player personnel Jim Buss are expected to scout the Big 12 tournament next week, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (via Twitter). Prospects in the Big 12 for the 2014 draft include Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins, Marcus Smart, Isaiah Austin, Cory Jefferson, LeBryan Nash, and Markel Brown. Embiid, Wiggins, and Smart are projected in the lottery, where L.A. will likely be picking. The Lakers owe their second round pick to the Bucks, although they could certainly acquire one on or before draft night. Here are more rumors surrounding the draft:

Turkish team Anadolu Efes is set to offer NBA draft prospect Dario Saric a five-year deal worth 6 million euros, or about $8.32MM, a source tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, who notes that there are rumors the offer would cover only three years. Saric, a potential lottery pick, is undecided about whether to enter the draft this year, but he’s seriously considering the offer from Turkey, Carchia hears. The deal would include an NBA escape clause for 2016, when Saric will be automatically eligible for the NBA draft.
Saric is expected to hire a new agent at the end of the season, and his choice figures to significantly impact his call on his decision to declare for the draft, Carchia tweets.
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com has Saric at No. 10 on his latest draft board, which features Jabari Parker on top.
An NBA scout tells David Mayo of MLive.com that Michigan shooting guard Nik Stauskas would likely go in the late teens or early-20s if he entered the draft this year.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Minimum Age, Smith, McDermott

March 6th, 2014 at 8:35pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mark Cuban thinks the NBA would be wise to raise the minimum age for NBA players, but Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW opines it would be hard to justify to NCAA athletes that they need to wait to make their millions while athletes in other sports like golf can enter the pro circuit upon turning 18. Here’s the latest on a pair of senior prospects who have waited four years to enter the NBA draft by choice, not by rule:

Russ Smith’s draft stock is rising, but he still has a long way to go, writes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. One Western Conference executive is wary of Smith because he doesn’t think Smith is the type of guard who makes his teammates better.
Another executive told Mannix that any comparisons of Smith to Nate Robinson are inaccurate since Robinson is much more athletic. “The guys that are small combo guards that make it work… are few and far between,” said the executive. “It takes a really special guy to be a small spark plug off the bench, and I don’t see it in [Smith].“
Creighton’s Doug McDermott is another player with a rising draft stock. The 6’8″ forward is one of the most efficient college scorers in recent memory, but his questionable defense is leaving some executives unsure about his potential to succeed at the next level. Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com have the details in the latest Insider piece,
Pelton and Ford see the Grizzlies as the best landing spot for McDermott. They suggest that should Zach Randolph leave, the defensive-minded duo of Marc Gasol and Kosta Koufos would be able to lock down the paint on defense while McDermott stretches the floor with his shooting. Pelton notes the Magic had a similar setup in Orlando with Ryan Anderson and Dwight Howard.

Draft Notes: Embiid, Wiggins, Parker

March 5th, 2014 at 5:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver’s desire to raise the minimum draft age by another year has fueled plenty of talk about the most effective way to develop NBA prospects. Tom Ziller of SB Nation takes a look at Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s recent assertion that the D-League should supplant the NCAA. College basketball isn’t going away, as Cuban suggests it should, but Ziller thinks a higher minimum age could result in greater use of the D-League as a conduit to the draft. In the meantime, here’s the latest from a landscape still dominated by one-and-done collegians:

Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker are Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Jonathan Givony’s updated mock draft and top-100 prospects list at DraftExpress. Givony has Jahlil Okafor atop his new 2015 mock draft.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com agrees with Givony through the first two picks for this year, but Ford has Dante Exum going No. 3 to the Magic in his Insider-only mock draft.
Ford and Givony place Arizona shooting guard Nick Johnson 54th and 60th, respectively, in their prospect rankings for this year, but sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that the junior is leaning toward entering the draft (Insider link).

Updates On Protected 2014 First-Round Picks

March 5th, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

College basketball takes center stage this time of year, but the NCAA Tournament might not have as much effect on what happens this June as the final six weeks of the NBA regular season will. Lottery position is in flux, as our Reverse Standings show, but a few teams that aren’t anywhere near the top of that table will jump up there at season’s end, thanks to trades that took place years ago.

The Nuggets are salivating with each Knicks loss, since New York owes Denver its pick, almost certain to end up in the lottery, from the Carmelo Anthony trade. The Nuggets’ own stumble from playoff contention is cause for smiles in Orlando, since the Magic get the least favorable of Denver’s own pick and the one the Nuggets receive from the Knicks. With New York and Denver having but a ghost of a chance at the playoffs, the Magic will almost certainly wind up with a lottery pick to go along with their own selection, which figures to be near the top.

The Jazz could also wind up with a pair of lottery picks, since the Warriors are surprisingly in a fight for one of the last playoff spots in the Western Conference. Golden State sent Utah its unprotected first-round pick this past summer. The Hawks also have an unprotected first-rounder coming their way, but the resurgence of the Nets has cooled Atlanta’s excitement.

All of the other traded 2014 first-rounders have protections attached to them. Following up on December‘s look at the likelihood each of those draft choices has of changing hands, here’s how they stack up with just a month and a half to go in the regular season:

Likely to change hands:

Washington Wizards (to Suns if not in top 12). Current projection: 18th.
Portland Trail Blazers (to Bobcats if not in top 12). Current projection: 26th.
Indiana Pacers (to Suns if not in top 14). Current projection: 30th.

Indiana’s magic number to clinch a playoff berth is one, so the Pacers’ pick will soon be guaranteed to head to Phoenix. The Wizards appear to have accomplished what they set out to do in trading their 2014 first-rounder for Marcin Gortat, since they’re likely headed for the playoffs. The Blazers cooled a bit after their hot start, but they’re still among the elite in the Western Conference, and it would take a complete collapse for them to miss the playoffs by a margin wide enough to keep their pick from going to Charlotte.

Unlikely to change hands:

Philadelphia 76ers (to Celtics if not in top 14). Current projection: 2nd.
Sacramento Kings (to Bulls if not in top 12). Current projection: 7th.

The Sixers weren’t sniffing the playoffs even before they traded Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes at the deadline. The Kings have a reasonable chance to make up the four games separating them from Denver, which holds the 12th draft position, but there’s a nine-and-a-half-game chasm between Sacramento and spot No. 13.

Up in the air:

Detroit Pistons (to Bobcats if not in top 8). Current projection: 11th.
New Orleans Pelicans (to 76ers if not in top 5). Current projection: 10th.
Minnesota Timberwolves (to Suns if not in top 13). Current projection: 13th.
Charlotte Bobcats (to Bulls if not in top 10). Current projection: 16th.
Dallas Mavericks (to Thunder if not in top 20). Current projection: 22nd.

The Pistons and Timberwolves are caught between uphill battles to make the playoffs and the prospect of keeping their lottery picks if they slide back far enough. There’s a strong chance that either team could wind up in no man’s land, without a playoff berth or a first-round pick. The Pelicans don’t have a realistic chance at the playoffs, but they’re three games up on the fifth draft position. The Bobcats have a three-game lead for a playoff berth and a three-and-a-half-game lead on the team with the 10th-worst record in the league. Dallas is in an unusual position, since the Mavs are fighting for a playoff berth even though they have one of the 10 best records in the NBA, thanks to the imbalance between the conferences. They could finish eighth in the West and still have to give up their pick.

Draft Notes: Pittman, Melvin, Exum

March 4th, 2014 at 8:36pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Here are a few draft-related links worth passing along tonight:

Recent Marshall basketball standout Elijah Pittman has entered the NBDL player pool, according to Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest.com. Pilato adds that the 6’9 forward is eligible for the 2014 NBA Draft and will look for an opportunity to impress NBA executives via a stint in the D-League.
Former DePaul star Cleveland Melvin has been claimed from the NBDL player pool by the BayHawks, which serves as the Knicks’ D-League affiliate (Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside reports). Like Pittman, Melvin will also be eligible for the 2014 NBA Draft.
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla offered his thoughts on Dante Exum during a recent interview with John Ireland of ESPN 710 and surely turned a few heads (hat tip to Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders): “He reminds me of a young, 1982 circa North Carolina Michael Jordan…He’s not going to be as great, obviously, unless I’m wrong… but he kind of reminds you of a young colt that’s just about to run his first claimer race, and you’re looking at him (thinking), ‘This guy could win the Kentucky Derby someday.”
More from Fraschilla on Exum: “He’s got great basketball instincts…He’ll drive in, and when you think he’s going to use his right hand, he’ll switch to the left hand at the last minute. He’ll take off about a half step earlier than you think he should, but then he’ll hang in the air and bank it off the glass…Getting your own shot in the league is a skill…If I had to pick today, it would be in some order of Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker and (Exum).”
On ESPN’s Mike and Mike Show, the unquestionably outspoken Charles Barkley offered his solution to the issue of tanking: give every lottery team one ping pong ball instead of rewarding teams with the worst record (hat tip to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv).

Odds & Ends: Arthur, Murphy, Mekel

March 4th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Darrell Arthur isn’t completely sold on exercising his player option for next season, worth more than $3.457MM, but he’s strongly leaning toward picking it up and remaining with the Nuggets, as Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post observes.

“I’m just going to wait until the season is over with and talk to (Nuggets GM) Tim (Connelly) and see what’s up and go from there,” Arthur said. “But I’m looking forward to coming back here. I like it here. I feel like when we’re healthy, we have a great team to build with, and I want to be a part of it.”

Here’s more from around the NBA:

Former Jazz swingman Kevin Murphy received multiple NBA training camp invitations this past offseason, but he didn’t think any of them gave him a fighting chance to make an opening night roster, as he tells Cameron Schott of RealGM. Murphy has instead split the season between a French team and the D-League, where he’s putting up impressive numbers for the Idaho Stampede.
The Mavericks have sent Gal Mekel to the D-League, the team announced. It’s a rehab assignment, notes Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The rookie point guard has missed the past 21 games for Dallas after having surgery on his right knee.
Bucks 10-day signee Tony Mitchell admits he has a “strange game,” but coach Larry Drew explains how it fits what the team was looking for. Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the details.
Even if Canisius point guard Billy Baron goes undrafted, several NBA teams say they’d invite him to training camp for next season, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher writes.

Jahii Carson To Enter NBA Draft

March 2nd, 2014 at 3:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Jahii Carson has played his final home game for Arizona State, coach Herb Sendek told reporters, according to Bob Baum of The Associated Press. The point guard is currently projected as a high-end second round pick by DraftExpress but could work his way up the boards with strong workouts.

The guard offers tremendous explosiveness and a wicked first step, but his height (5’11” or 5’10”, depending on who you ask) is likely to hurt his stock. While his stature could limit his upside at the next level, it hasn’t hampered him in college much. This season, Carson has averaged 18.4 PPG and 4.6 APG. He’s not as efficient as he was last season, however. He shot 47.3% from the floor in 2012/13 but he’s shooting 43.6% from the field so far in 2013/14.