2016 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Sixers, Murray, Bender

June 3rd, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

LSU’s Ben Simmons, the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, may prefer to be a Laker, but he “has no issue” with the idea of being selected by the Sixers, a source close to the player tells Tom Moore of The Bucks County Courier Times. Sixers VP of player personnel Marc Eversley indicated on Thursday that the team has yet to make a decision on how it will use that first overall pick, but according to Moore, multiple sources suggest Philadelphia is leaning toward Simmons over Brandon Ingram and others.

Here’s more on that No. 1 pick, along with a few other Atlantic items:

Is there any chance the 76ers could select former Kentucky guard Jamal Murray with that first overall pick? Eversley suggested Murray is “in contention” for that top spot, and Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer suggests that some members of the Sixers organization believe he has more upside than anyone in this draft. Still, Pompey doesn’t expect Philadelphia to end up with Murray unless perhaps the team acquires another lottery pick.
Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com takes a closer look at the Jeff Teague/Nerlens Noel rumor that surfaced on Thursday, making the case that Noel is underrated and shouldn’t be moved in a deal that sends Teague to the Sixers.
Top international prospect Dragan Bender is coming stateside this month, but he may work out for just three NBA teams when he arrives, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link), who hears that the Celtics figure to be among those clubs.
The Nets are reportedly set to begin a mini-camp on June 6th, and the influence of new head coach Kenny Atkinson can be seen in the list of participants, as NetsDaily explains.

Pacific Notes: Suns Arena, Draft Workouts, Kings

June 3rd, 2016 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Potential plans for a new arena in Phoenix for the Suns could take a hit as a result of a legal protest against a rental-car tax the city has used to fund various construction projects, Dustin Gardiner of The Arizona Republic writes. Three companies have filed a notice of claim demanding the city stop collecting the sales tax and refund approximately $34MM that they estimate has been collected from car-rental businesses citywide since 2012, Gardiner notes. “Our clients view it as an unconstitutional tax, and the government has no authority to keep an unconstitutional tax,” said Shawn Aiken, a Phoenix attorney representing the companies.

If the tax is ruled unconstitutional, the city could then be forced to find a new income source to help fund major downtown facilities. Losing the rental-car tax would also complicate efforts to potentially construct a new sports and entertainment arena for the Phoenix Suns — a prospect city officials and the NBA team are negotiating, the scribe adds.

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns held a workout today for A.J. Hammons (Purdue), Shaquille Harrison (Tulsa), Eric McClellan (Gonzaga), Georges Niang (Iowa State), Diamond Stone (Maryland) and Guerschon Yabusele (France), the team announced.
Former Oklahoma point guard Isaiah Cousins has a workout scheduled with the Clippers on June 6th and will visit with the Lakers on June 8th, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
The Kings officially announced Dave Joerger‘s coaching staff for the 2016/17 season. Elston Turner will be the lead assistant, with Duane Ticknor, Bryan Gates, Corliss Williamson, Nancy Lieberman and Jason March rounding out the staff. “We’ve united a tremendously dedicated, hard-working coaching staff with a unique, collective set of experiences and strengths that I’m confident will serve the team well moving forward,” said Joerger.

Draft Updates: Dunn, Suns, Celtics, Pelicans

June 3rd, 2016 at 3:25pm CST by Luke Adams

Last month, we heard that former Providence point guard Kris Dunn may refuse to release his medical records to the Celtics and Suns, since he prefers not to land with a team with a young point guard or two already in place. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM is hearing similar rumblings, tweeting that Dunn isn’t interested in working out for Phoenix or sharing his medical records with the Suns — Gambardo hears that the point guard would like to land with the Timberwolves.

Let’s check out a few more draft-related updates…

While the Celtics may not be Dunn’s preferred destination, ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider link) has the Providence product going to Boston at No. 3 in his latest mock draft, writing that he thinks the C’s will choose one of Dunn, Jamal Murray, or Marquese Chriss. Dragan Bender, who has also been viewed as a candidate for that No. 3 pick, goes sixth overall in Ford’s latest mock, with the ESPN.com scribe writing that the Pelicans are believed to be “pretty big fans” of the 18-year-old big man.
Also within his mock draft, Ford writes that Kings GM Vlade Divac and owner Vivek Ranadive love Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, and suggests that the Raptors have been “secretly hoping” Chriss falls to them at No. 9, which appears increasingly unlikely.
Former Seton Hall point guard Isaiah Whitehead has workouts with the Nuggets and Pistons lined up for June 10th and 15th, respectively, and will work out for the Bulls and Nets after that, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
After working out for Philadelphia on Thursday, Daniel Hamilton (UConn) will work out for the Rockets, Warriors, and Bucks, while Alex Caruso (Texas A&M) will work out for the Knicks, Wizards, and Celtics, per Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter links).

Southeast Notes: Peterson, Lee, Richardson

June 2nd, 2016 at 9:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hawks have promoted Jeff Peterson to assistant general manager, the team announced. “Jeff has been an integral part of our front office over the past few seasons. In that time, he has demonstrated the ability to identify players who fit our culture and system; build meaningful relationship across the world of basketball; while continuing to learn the complexities of team-building in the NBA,” GM Wes Wilcox said. “Jeff has a bright future in the NBA and we would like to congratulate Jeff on this opportunity.”

Peterson, who joined the Hawks as a seasonal assistant in 2012, was promoted to Director of Scouting before the start of the 2015/16 season. Prior to that, he served as a scout and coordinator of basketball Operations for the franchise.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Hornets swingman Courtney Lee is excited at the prospect of becoming an unrestricted free agent at the same time the league’s new TV deal kicks in, David Baumann of Basketball Insiders writes. “It’s going to be eye-opening,” Lee told Baumann. “I don’t think people understand how much money is involved with this new TV deal.”
Lee, who is expected to land a deal in the range of $11MM-14MM per year, believes the extra cap space Charlotte will have this offseason, courtesy of the TV deal, will help keep the roster intact, Baumann adds in the same piece. “The one good thing about this summer is there’s a lot more flexibility in the cap with the TV deal coming into play, so Charlotte should be in a position to make a play for the guys they want to keep,” Lee said. “With the chemistry with these guys, it was fun playing with them. There were no egos. Everybody played together and it was all about winning.”
Former Syracuse shooting guard Malachi Richardson worked out for the Hawks today, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
We relayed earlier this evening that the Hawks and Sixers are reportedly discussing a potential swap involving Nerlens Noel and Jeff Teague.

Western Notes: Bickerstaff, Fizdale, Brown

June 2nd, 2016 at 7:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Grizzlies have reached agreement for him to become associate head coach on David Fizdale‘s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The Lakers and the Suns were also interested in adding Bickerstaff to their respective coaching staffs, Wojnarowski adds. Bickerstaff had a 37-34 record with Houston after taking over for the fired Kevin McHale in November. He had pulled his name out of consideration in the Rockets’ coaching search prior to Mike D’Antoni being hired.

Here’s more from out West:

Fizdale’s deal with Memphis is for four years and approximately $10.2MM, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays. The head coach will earn $2MM in each of his first two seasons, $3MM his third year and the final season is a team option worth $3.25MM, Tillery notes. Former NBA player Nick Van Exel, who coached the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League, also accepted a position on Fizdale’s staff, Tillery adds.
Warren LeGarie, the agent for former Cavs and Lakers head coach Mike Brown, refutes the report that his client had any interest in joining the Grizzlies as an assistant, Tillery relays in the same piece. “It’s never been true nor was there ever a possibility,” LeGarie, said. “Mike was asked and politely declined. We have no idea why one writer from ESPN continues to feed the narrative. I’ve never been called by him to confirm or deny and it’s just pure speculation without any legitimacy. That’s just irresponsible.”
Former California swingman Jaylen Brown has a workout scheduled with the Pelicans on Friday, Brett Dawson of The Advocate relays (via Twitter).
Big man Marreese Speights, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, isn’t sure if the team will be able to re-sign him this offseason, but noted that he prefers to remain with the Warriors, Carl Steward of The Bay Area News Group relays. “It’s been a hell of a lot of fun,” Speights said. “I feel like I put myself in position on this team and in this city to make a name for myself and be one of the core guys who’s been here. It would be best to be back here, but I understand it’s a business. I’m going to give everything in these Finals, and after that, whatever happens happens.“

Atlantic Notes: Stevens, Austin, Hornacek

June 2nd, 2016 at 6:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who received a contract extension from the team this week, isn’t looking for a larger role or louder voice in the franchise’s decision-making process, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “My voice is plenty loud,” said Stevens. “I’m not worried about that.” The coach trusts not only the front office, but the members of his coaching staff as well, to do their jobs, leaving him to coach, Blakely adds. “Those guys have a lot of responsibility to help, grow and enhance young players,” Stevens continued. “We all have a role to play. Certainly my opinion is asked but I’m not involved in the day to day. It’s good. We all just try to play our role as well as we can. We have great ownership that allows us to do that.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Former Northwest Florida State swingman Brandon Austin worked out for the Sixers today and has upcoming workouts set with the Raptors on June 6 and the Knicks on June 10th, Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly relays (via Twitter).
French shooting guard Isaia Cordinier also worked out for the Sixers today and also has workouts scheduled with the Hawks, Celtics, Raptors and Pelicans, Camerato tweets.
With free agents reportedly turned off by the prospect of playing in the triangle offense last summer, the hope around the Knicks is that the addition of coach Jeff Hornacek and his faster-paced offense will attract players to New York, Ian Begley of ESPN.com writes.
The Celtics liked what they saw from Dragan Bender during their overseas scouting trip despite the big man only seeing limited action while playing on a talented Maccabi Tel Aviv squad, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald relays. “It’s a small body of work, but he was very good last year as a junior,” said Austin Ainge, Boston’s director of player personnel. “Combine that with the tools he has, and you can see it all come together in 10 minutes of playing time.”

Draft Rumors: Chriss, Kings, Trade Candidates

June 2nd, 2016 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Washington power forward Marquese Chriss figures to be one of the first several players to come off the board three weeks from tonight – the latest mock draft at DraftExpress has him being picked third by Boston – but it sounds as if Chriss wouldn’t mind still being available at No. 8. As Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes, Chriss grew up in the Sacramento area, and would love to play for the Kings, who hold the No. 8 pick and are “ready for any scenario” with that selection, per James Ham of CSN California.

“That would be everything,” Chriss said of the possibility of playing for the Kings. “It would be cool, my family could come to half the games. To be in an environment with a new arena, they’re rebuilding their program, that would be really cool.”

As we look forward to seeing where Chriss lands, let’s round up a few more draft rumors and updates, including a couple more from Deveney…

League sources tell Deveney that, while the 76ers and Lakers are expected to hang onto the top two picks in the draft, six other lottery teams may be looking to deal. The Timberwolves (No. 5), Raptors (No. 9), Bucks (No. 10), Magic (No. 11), Jazz (No. 12), and Suns (No. 13) are all believed to be open to trades involving their picks, per Deveney. Phoenix also holds the No. 4 overall selection, but likely wouldn’t want to move that one.
Texas A&M prospect Danuel House has a busy workout schedule, according to Deveney. House has worked out for the 76ers and Celtics, and will work out for the Knicks, Hawks, Lakers, Mavericks, and Timberwolves within the next couple weeks. The Suns and Pistons are also expected to be added to his list of visits, per Deveney, who says House looked good against Cal freshman Jaylen Brown at his workout with Boston.
Fran Fraschilla of ESPN (Twitter link) hears that the Raptors are “fans” of Isaiah Whitehead. Toronto holds the No. 27 pick, and while Fraschilla seems confident the Seton Hall guard will be a first-round pick, other draft experts aren’t so sure — Whitehead ranks 39th on Chad Ford’s big board at ESPN.com, and 57th on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress.com board.
According to the team’s official website, the Bucks had the following six prospects in for a pre-draft workout today: Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Josh Adams (Wyoming), Isaiah Miles (St. Joe’s), Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Tonye Jekiri (Miami), and Mike Tobey (Virginia).
Chip Williams of Upside and Motor identifies five prospects who benefited from the draft’s new rules and deadlines for early entrants.

Draft Notes: Ellenson, Yusta, Stone, Whitehead

June 1st, 2016 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s the latest news and notes from around the league regarding the upcoming 2016 NBA Draft:

The Sixers are holding pre-draft workouts tomorrow for Isaia Cordinier (France), Alex Caruso (Texas A&M), Daniel Hamilton (Connecticut), Brandon Austin (Northwest Florida State), Rosco Allen (Stanford) and Alex Poythress (Kentucky), the team announced via press release.
Former BYU point guard Kyle Collinsworth worked out for the Nets today, Jarom Jordan of BYU SportsNation tweets.
The Hornets have workouts scheduled on Thursday for Montay Brandon (Florida State), Retin Obasohan (Alabama), Goodluck Okonoboh (UNLV), Tim Quarterman (LSU), Adam Smith (Georgia Tech) and Diamond Stone (Maryland), the team announced.
The Pacers will bring in Robert Carter (Maryland), Julian Jacobs (USC), Marcus Paige (North Carolina), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Dyshawn Pierre (Dayton), and Isaiah Whitehead (Seton Hall) on Thursday for pre-draft workouts, the team announced.
Former Boise State small forward James Webb III worked out for the Wolves today, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
Spanish small forward Santiago Yusta has withdrawn from the 2016 NBA Draft, Encestando.com relays (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Former Marquette big man Henry Ellenson worked out for the Wolves on Tuesday and has workouts scheduled with the Lakers, Raptors and Suns next, Wolfson tweets.

Western Notes: D’Antoni, Arseneault Jr., Spangler

June 1st, 2016 at 8:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Rockets officially announced the hiring of Mike D’Antoni as head coach today, a move that team owner Leslie Alexander called a mutual decision between he and GM Daryl Morey, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com relays. “Daryl and I made this choice together,” Alexander said. “I’ve always wanted to play this way.” The team owner is also excited by D’Antoni’s up-tempo style of offense, Watkins notes. “Mike always says players love to play for him,” Alexander said. “Not only because they get better but they get paid. He’ll be a lucrative source for us in free agency.”

Here’s more from out West:

The Kings will not renew the contract of Reno Bighorns head coach, David Arseneault Jr., Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor relays (via Twitter). Sacramento’s D-League affiliate went 33-17 under Arseneault this past season.
The Trail Blazers have finalized their coaching staff for the 2016/17 campaign, with the team announcing that Dale Osbourne has been promoted to lead assistant and scout John McCullough has been moved to assistant coach.
The Rockets‘ new defensive coach, Jeff Bzdelik, discussing the criticism levied against James Harden‘s defense, noted that the shooting guard is a capable stopper, provided he demonstrates commitment on that end of the court, Watkins relays in a separate piece (ESPN Now link). “He can defend as all of them can when they want to and that goes back to everybody needs to be committed and there needs to be a trust,” Bzdelik said of Harden.
The Timberwolves worked out former Oklahoma power forward Ryan Spangler today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter). The 24-year-old is a longshot to be selected this June, with Spangler not appearing among the top 100 prospects according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
Mavs power forward Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t made a decision regarding his player option for 2016/17 yet, but has met with members of the front office to discuss his future, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.

Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 10)

June 1st, 2016 at 4:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The results of the 2016 NBA Draft lottery are in and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

We’ll continue on with the Bucks, who could stand to add some athleticism and outside shooting to their roster. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Milwaukee’s pick and check back Thursday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Magic will select with the No. 11 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 10 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)
Nuggets — Jamal Murray (Kentucky)
Kings — Henry Ellenson (Marquette)
Raptors — Marquese Chriss (Washington)