Mario Hezonja, a projected lottery pick in the 2015 NBA draft, is still undecided if he will enter the NBA next season or play another year overseas, David Pick of Basketball Insiders reports. Hezonja, who is currently ranked No. 7 by Draft Express, and who I have slotted as the No. 12 best prospect, believes he’d be a surefire top pick if he had attended school at Kentucky, Pick notes. “If I was in college I’d probably be the No. 1 pick,” Hezonja told Pick. “I had an offer from Kentucky. I’m European and I need to work harder to break into the U.S market.”
Here’s more from around the league and abroad:
- Tyrus Thomas made his return to the court Friday night, playing in a D-League game for the Iowa Energy, Memphis’ affiliate. Thomas is attempting to catch the eyes of an NBA team, and has missed being a part of the game since he was waived using the amnesty provision by the Hornets back in 2013, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes. “After I was amnestied, I felt I was left for dead, as far as the NBA world was concerned,” Thomas said.
- The Hornets need to trade Lance Stephenson, but it’s more about what a poor fit his game is for the team than how Stephenson affects Charlotte’s chemistry, Tom Sorensen of The Charlotte Observer writes. The Hornets need a wing who can stretch the floor with his outside game and who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective like Stephenson does, Sorensen opines.
- The Knicks had expressed interest in signing D-League big man JaMychal Green, whom the Spurs are reportedly inking to a 10-day deal, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. In the same article, Berman also notes that the Knicks are doing special research on why Andrea Bargnani has been unable to play more than two games this season due to injuries.