2015 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Demetrius Jackson Returning To Notre Dame

April 13th, 2015 at 4:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

Notre Dame sophomore point guard Demetrius Jackson is passing up a strong chance to become a late first-round pick this year, as he tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that he’s returning to school for next season (Twitter link). Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress lists Jackson as the 27th-best prospect, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him 29th.

The 6’1″ Jackson took on a more prominent role than he had as a freshman and averaged 12.4 points, 3.1 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 34.7 minutes per game for the Irish this season. He also chipped in 3.6 rebounds per contest, impressive considering his height, and he’s a 42.5% three-point shooter for his college career.

Jackson posted one of his four games of 20 points or more this season against Wichita State and its backcourt of pro prospects in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, nailing four of his five three-point attempts. He followed that up with just two points against Kentucky and its seven draft-bound players. Ford lists shooting as an area perhaps in need of improvement for Jackson, in spite of his strong numbers from behind the arc, and while he does have a nearly 6’5″ wingspan, he’d ideally have more size, Ford also writes in his profile.

Gary Payton II To Stay Out Of Draft

April 13th, 2015 at 3:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Second-round draft prospect Gary Payton II, the son of the Hall-of-Famer by the same name, will return to Oregon State rather than enter this year’s draft, his college coach, Wayne Tinkle, tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Payton is the 42nd-best prospect, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, though Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress offers a less optimistic projection, ranking him only 35th among college juniors. Givony does have the point guard 57th in his mock draft for next year, however.

Payton has the potential to become an elite defender, Ford writes, and indeed, his defensive rating and defensive win shares were tops in the Pac-12, according to Sports Reference. There are nonetheless questions about whether he fits as a point guard in the NBA, according to Ford. He averaged only 3.2 assists against 1.9 turnovers in 36.3 minutes per game for the Beavers this season, scoring 13.4 points per game. He didn’t display three-point touch in his lone season at Oregon State so far after transferring from junior college, knocking down only 29.3% of his attempts from behind the arc.

His 7.5 rebounds per game this year stand out as an eye-popping number for a 6’3″ guard. He also nabbed 3.1 steals per contest, the second-best mark in all of NCAA Division I, which suggests that he has a future in the NBA as a defensive specialist if he can at least perform competently on the other end.

Ron Baker, Fred Van Vleet Staying Out Of Draft

April 13th, 2015 at 1:53pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wichita State junior guards Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet plan to remain out of this year’s draft, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Baker, a 6’4″ shooting guard, is the 47th-ranked prospect in both Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings and Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress board, though Ford cast him as a “bubble” first-rounder in reaction to Goodman’s report (Twitter link). VanVleet, a 6’0″ point guard, is Givony‘s 84th-best prospect. Ford has him only 97th, though he called him a would-be second-rounder today (on Twitter).

Baker is a consistent outside shooter, having knocked down 38.0% of his three-pointers last season and 38.3% this year, when he averaged 14.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in 32.7 minutes per game. His 6’8.5″ wingspan would help him defend opposing shooting guards in the pros despite his lack of height, Givony writes.

VanVleet, who averaged 13.6 PPG, scored almost as much as Baker did this season, but his wingspan is only slightly larger than his height. The two helped Wichita State to the Final Four as freshmen, and presumably another such run would help their respective draft stocks for 2016.

Olivier Hanlan To Declare For Draft

April 13th, 2015 at 12:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

Boston College junior combo guard Olivier Hanlan will declare for this year’s draft, sources tell Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The 22-year-old has already begun preparing for predraft workouts, Givony notes, and it seems his performance in those auditions would be key if he is to hear his name called at the June 25th draft. He’s the 60th-best prospect on Givony‘s board, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him 75th.

The 6’4″ Hanlan led the ACC in scoring at 19.5 points per game, and he also recorded 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.7 turnovers per contest. He carried a heavy workload, leading the conference in minutes per game at 37.6 while putting up the ACC’s second highest total of shots from the floor for a Boston College team that finished only 13-19. He’s a versatile scorer, but his free-throw attempts per game dipped from 7.1 last year to 4.5 this year, and while Ford’s profile pegs him a good shooter, he’s made only 35% of his three-point attempts the last two seasons put together.

Hanlan has been the leading scorer for the Eagles in each of his three college seasons, but none of those teams finished with a winning record. The last time Boston College finished above .500, in 2010/11, its leading scorer was Reggie Jackson, a combo guard like Hanlan. Jackson was a first-round pick, but he’s proven more valuable than most selected at No. 24, where the Thunder grabbed him in 2011.

Draft Notes: Stanley Johnson, Kris Dunn, 2016

April 13th, 2015 at 12:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sunday was the NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to the 2015 NBA draft to withdraw and retain their college eligibility, though that deadline isn’t one that spurred a lot of action. That’s because players who haven’t formally declared or signed with an agent don’t need to make a final decision until April 26th, the deadline the NBA has set for underclassmen to enter. In essence, prospects can just hang low until that deadline even if they’ve made up their minds so that they can turn back if they have a change of heart. Here’s the latest on a couple of players still weighing their options:

Arizona freshman Stanley Johnson is looking for assurances that he’ll be a top-10 pick this year before he declares for the draft, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress hears (Twitter link). Still, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com would be shocked if he stayed in school (Twitter link). Johnson, who was reportedly “really torn” as he pondered the decision last week, is Givony‘s ninth-ranked prospect while Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists him 11th. Jay Z has met with Johnson to try to recruit him to his Roc Nation Sports Agency, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.
Providence is pressing sophomore point guard Kris Dunn to return to school, telling him that he’d go late in the first round this year but would be a top-five pick in 2016, as Givony hears (Twitter link). NBA executives nonetheless view Dunn as a late lottery pick this year, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, backing up Givony‘s ranking of the 21-year-old as the 14th-best prospect. Ford has him 20th.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, in a pair of pieces, profiles the versatile and deft-passing combo forward Ben Simmons and the slick-shooting forward/center Skal Labissiere, two of the prime contenders to become the No. 1 overall pick in 2016.

Justin Anderson Plans To Enter Draft

April 13th, 2015 at 9:31am CST by Chuck Myron

Virginia junior small forward Justin Anderson plans to enter this year’s draft, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski reported this weekend that he was leaning toward doing so. The 21-year-old is arranging meetings with agents for later this week, Wojnarowski hears, cautioning that he’s yet to sign with one. Sunday was the last day that players who formally declared for the draft could withdraw and retain their NCAA eligibility, but Anderson has yet to make his entry official, so he remains in a flexible position as long as he doesn’t sign with an agent. The NBA gives underclassmen until April 26th to formally enter the draft.

Anderson is the 30th-best prospect on Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 32nd. He jumped into a more prominent role this season for Virginia with swingman Joe Harris, last year’s 33rd overall pick, off to Cleveland. Anderson put up 12.0 points and 4.0 rebounds in 27.8 minutes per game this year, with scintillating 45.2% shooting from behind the arc. He nonetheless shot only 29.4% on three-point attempts as a sophomore, and Ford lists consistency on his jump shot as an area in need of improvement.

A fractured pinkie and an appendectomy forced him to miss eight games, and he came off the bench for his last four appearances of the season after returning from an absence of more than a month. Anderson scored only eight points and grabbed just one rebound while missing all four of his three-pointers in Virginia’s loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament round of 32.

And-Ones: Rondo, Harris, Kaminsky

April 10th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The career of Mavs point guard Rajon Rondo has included a number of clashes with coaches, and the question persists if Rondo is a good enough player to act out the way that he does, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes in his in-depth look at the player. Rondo is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and Dallas will have to make a difficult decision regarding whether or not to re-sign him, and if so, what the limit will be regarding his salary cap hit. In 43 games with the Mavs since being acquired from Boston, the 29-year-old has averaged 9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists.

Here’s more from around the league:

Joe Harris has been recalled from the Canton Charge, the Cavs‘ D-League affiliate, the team announced. The guard appeared in one playoff game for the Charge on his latest assignment, logging 24 points and 11 rebounds. Harris also played in nine regular season contests for Canton, averaging 15.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 3.2 APG in 31.7 minutes per night.
Virginia junior swingman Justin Anderson is leaning toward entering the NBA draft, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The 21-year-old is projected to be a late first round or early second round selection if he chooses to enter June’s draft. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com rates Anderson as the No. 33 overall prospect and Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) places him at No, 36 overall.
Wisconsin senior Frank Kaminsky has hired Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports Management to be his agent, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Givony rates the big man as the No. 10 overall prospect and Ford‘s list has Kaminsky ranked 13th.

Central Notes: George, Mohammed, Pistons

April 10th, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Paul George is looking at the remaining games on the Pacers‘ schedule as a “test drive” to see how well he has recovered from the devastating leg injury he suffered last summer while scrimmaging for Team USA, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. “That’s exactly what it is [a test drive], it’s just seeing where I’m at and then getting ready for more rehab this summer and getting ready to build off these last couple of games of the season,” George said. “It’s been tough. There were days when I told myself I wanted to shut it down and get ready for the summer. But it’s great having the staff that we have here to push me here and keep my going. I’ve had days when I’m sure they hated me. And I hated them. But we got through it and they did a great job with being in my corner.”

Here’s more out of the Central Division:

Veteran big man Nazr Mohammed has been making his presence felt on the Bulls with his vocal leadership, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. Mohammed’s spark and guidance was integral in snapping Chicago out of its stupor after a terrible second quarter against the Heat last night when the Bulls were outscored 33-12, Friedell adds. “I think you got to be accountable and you got to play for each other,” guard Aaron Brooks said. “I think one thing that Naz brought up was you’re letting your teammate down when you’re not getting back or you’re not helping. You’re not letting the coach, you’re not letting the fans. You’re letting your teammate down, and you got to have your brother’s back.” The center is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
The Pistons are likely to target a forward in the first round of this year’s NBA draft, David Mayo of MLive.com opines in his weekly mailbag. Detroit currently is in line for the No. 8 pick, according to Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings. Potential targets at that spot for the team could include Justise Winslow, Stanley Johnson, and Frank Kaminsky, Mayo notes.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy hopes to go to Spain after the NBA season ends to get a first-hand look at guard Mario Hezonja and power forward Kristaps Prozingis, both of whom are projected top 10 picks this year, Mayo adds.

Latest On Tyus Jones, Draft

April 10th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Duke freshman point guard Tyus Jones is “proceeding toward plans” to declare for this year’s draft and is setting up meetings with agents, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM. Jones is No. 21 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 24 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. The Minnesota native, who turns 19 next month, told Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune on Wednesday that he hadn’t made up his mind about leaving school, fresh off his Most Outstanding Player award-winning performance in the Final Four. NBA personnel recently told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that Jones’ stock doesn’t stand to climb much higher than it already is, making the case that he should declare this year.

The 6’1″ Jones has averaged 11.8 points in 33.9 minutes per game this season, but he’s been most impressive with his skills as a pure point guard, juxtaposing 5.6 assists against 1.9 turnovers per contest. He’s also displayed a decent outside touch, hitting 37.9% of his three-pointers for the season, though he could stand to work on his perimeter shooting, as Eddie Scarito wrote as he ranked him 20th in the latest Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Power Rankings.

The Pistons, Pelicans, Sixers, Magic and Rockets have paid particularly close attention to Jones, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities has reported. Jones breaks the mold of recent highly regarded NBA prospects from Duke, almost of whom have played other positions. Fellow point guard Kyrie Irving came from Duke, but he saw action in only 11 games in his lone season as a Blue Devil.

Sam Dekker To Enter Draft

April 10th, 2015 at 10:40am CST by Chuck Myron

Wisconsin junior small forward Sam Dekker has told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that he will enter the draft. Dekker is up to No. 15 in the rankings that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compiles and No. 15 with fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford. No player had helped his draft stock as much during the first two weeks of the NCAA Tournament as Dekker did, Ford wrote at the time.

The 6’9″ 20-year-old’s numbers dropped off a bit in the national semifinals and the championship game, but it was nonetheless clear as Wisconsin made a strong bid for the title that Dekker has plenty of talent. He rose from a player expected to go in the final 10 picks of the first round to the 10-20 range, Goodman tweets. Dekker put up 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game for the season, but he averaged 19.2 PPG for the tournament as he nailed 15 of 26 three-point attempts, much greater than his 33.1% accuracy on three-pointers for the season.

It wouldn’t be altogether shocking for his stock to cool a bit once he goes through workouts and the memory of his tournament run fades, though that’s just my speculation. Still, it’s not as if Dekker’s stock is reaching unprecedented heights, since Givony had him at No. 11 before the season. He was the 19th-best recruit coming out of high school three years ago, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index.