2016 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Draft Notes: Pelicans, Nuggets, Wolves

June 14th, 2016 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans had a large workout group in on Monday, with a dozen players earning a look from the club. According to the team (via Twitter), the following players participated in the workout: Isaia Cordinier (France), Troy Williams (Indiana), Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Jake Layman (Maryland), Guerschon Yabusele (France), Wayne Selden (Kansas), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Yogi Ferrell (Indiana), Thomas Walkup (Stephen F. Austin), Kaleb Tarczewski (Arizona), Prince Ibeh (Texas), and Perry Ellis (Kansas).

While none of those prospects figures to come off the board at No. 6, when the Pelicans make their first selection, many of them could be in play in the second round — New Orleans currently holds the 39th and 40th overall picks, and is doing its due diligence on potential second-round prospects.

Let’s check in on a few more draft updates from around the Western Conference…

The Nuggets, armed with three top-20 picks, will work out former Michigan State forward Deyonta Davis on Wednesday morning, the team announced today in a press release. We profiled Davis, the 10th prospect on DraftExpress.com’s big board, in April, noting that Denver could be a fit. The Nuggets are also expected to bring in Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono for a workout later this week, tweets Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post.
The Timberwolves, who have the fifth overall pick in the draft, had Jamal Murray in for an individual workout on Monday, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link).
Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops passes along a pair of updates, reporting (via Twitter) that Domantas Sabonis (Gonzaga) worked out with the Jazz on Monday, and that Xavier’s James Farr participated in a group workout with the Thunder today.
The Clippers will work out Dayton’s Dyshawn Pierre, according to Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link). Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link) adds former Kansas forward Cheick Diallo to the list of prospects that will work out with the Clips.
Former Iona guard A.J. English has a workout lined up with the Warriors, tweets Camerato.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Raptors, Embiid, Kuzmic

June 14th, 2016 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The ESPN analytics department has used its NBA draft projection model to evaluate this year’s class, and found that the average draft grade for the top 50 college prospects this year is the highest it has been since the model began tracking in 2001. As Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes, that high average grade for the top 50 NCAA prospects suggests that this is a deep class, which is good news for a team like the Celtics — Boston holds eight of the 60 picks in the 2016 draft. The C’s surely won’t keep all those picks, but if there are still plenty of prospects drawing interest in the second round, it should increase the trade value of those selections.

Armed with those eight picks, the Celtics figure to strongly consider draft-and-stash prospects, a scenario that Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com examines. As Petraglia details, Austin Ainge is open to the idea of drafting a prospect who will continue to play overseas rather than coming to the NBA immediately.

“[Draft-and-stash talks] will be finalized kind of after you draft a kid, sit down and determine a plan of action, but those discussions go on all the time, year-round, contract situations, age, different levels of maturity and in the players’ game, all those come into play,” said the Celtics director of player personnel. “It’s a partnership with the player, his representatives and the team to try to make the best decisions for him.”

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic:

The Raptors, who hold a pair of first-round picks, have been busy working out prospects. According to the team (Twitter links), Julian Jacobs (USC), Rasheed Sulaimon (Maryland), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Justin Edwards (Kansas State), Brice Johnson (UNC), and Jalen Reynolds (Xavier) worked out for Toronto on Monday, with David Walker (Northeastern), Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Troy Williams (Indiana), Daniel Ochefu (Villanova), and A.J. Hammons (Purdue) working out for the club today.
Joel Embiid won’t be playing for the 76ers‘ summer league team this year, but Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer was impressed with how the oft-injured big man looked during a workout on Monday.
Ognjen Kuzmic, a former Warriors second-round pick who played 37 games with the club from 2013 to 2015, has agreed to play for the Knicks at the Orlando Summer League, his agent tells international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Draft, Zhou, Weems, Yabusele

June 14th, 2016 at 12:57pm CST by Luke Adams

With trade talks set to heat up next week as the 2016 draft approaches, ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider-only link) decided to create five hypothetical deals that he thinks should happen this offseason. Ford’s proposals include sending Jimmy Butler to the Timberwolves, Jahlil Okafor to the Pelicans, D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle to the Celtics, and Jeff Teague to the Kings. Ford also suggests a mammoth, three-team deal that would involve Carmelo Anthony, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Eric Bledsoe, and Brandon Knight. While we’ll likely see some major moves go down this summer, that particular proposal is probably a pipe dream.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

With the deadline for international prospects to withdraw from the NBA draft having passed, Chinese big man Zhou Qi has kept his name in the draft, according to Ford (Twitter links). The ESPN.com scribe notes that Zhou’s stock is hard to gauge because some teams believe he’s three or four years older than his listed age of 20.
Sonny Weems‘ two-year, $3MM deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv is now official, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick. Weems played overseas for several seasons before getting another NBA look from the Suns and Sixers in 2015/16.
French prospect Guerschon Yabusele has looked very good in his pre-draft workouts, and could play his well into the back of the first round in next week’s draft, writes Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com. Within his latest piece for CBSSports.com, Rothstein also examines the Ben Simmons/Brandon Ingram debate and Marquese Chriss‘ rising stock.
Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders takes a look at Adonis Thomas‘ efforts to get back onto an NBA roster. Thomas, who is participating in several free agent mini-camps, was in training camp with the Pistons last season before a leg injury sidelined him.

Kyler’s Latest: Rose, Bulls, Valentine, Draft

June 14th, 2016 at 11:38am CST by Luke Adams

A Monday report from ESPN indicated that the Timberwolves are eyeing Jimmy Butler as a trade target, but the Bulls may not be willing to deal their star forward. In fact, league sources at the annual Adidas Eurocamp in Italy tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that Chicago is much more open to the idea of trading Derrick Rose, rather than Butler.

With Rose entering a contract year and attached to a cap number of $21MM+, it’s not clear how much interest he’ll generate, or whether any teams have made a real offer yet. However, Kyler writes that there’s a sense around the NBA that teams unable to land a starting point guard in free agency could turn to the Bulls as a potential trade partner.

Kyler passed along a few more tidbits from Italy, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights…

Prospects like Wade Baldwin and Demetrius Jackson are viewed as potential targets for the Bulls at No. 14, particularly if the team gets serious about moving Rose, writes Kyler.
Kyler makes note of several draft prospects whose medical issues could have an impact on their value, writing that one NBA team compared Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine to Danny Granger due to questions about his knee. While Kyler’s sources still believe Valentine will be a first-rounder, many teams believe that knee could be a problem.
Kris Dunn is believed to have a “soft promise” in the top six, while Domantas Sabonis appears to have a similar promise from a top-12 team. A handful of international prospects, including including Ivica Zubac, Ante Zizic and Juan Hernangomez, are also believed to have promises later in the first round, according to Kyler.
More and more executives around the NBA believe the Celtics will take either Jamal Murray or Jaylen Brown at No. 3 if they keep that pick. A. Sherrod Blakely suggested earlier this week that Boston was strongly considering Brown.
Malachi Richardson and Demetrius Jackson are two prospects the Grizzlies have their eyes on, though their pick at No. 17 may come down to who’s still on the board at that point.

Eastern Draft Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Pistons

June 13th, 2016 at 10:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LSU forward Ben Simmons may not work out for the Sixers or any other team prior to the draft, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Media Network reports. Philadelphia, which has the top pick, is trying to get Simmons in for a workout, Pompey continues. Simmons is expected to be the Sixers’ choice over Duke forward Brandon Ingram. “It’s not a red flag,” Sixers president of basketball operation Bryan Colangelo told Pompey. “Everybody deals with the draft process differently.” The Sixers did not work out Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid or Jahlil Okafor before selecting them in the last three drafts, Pompey notes.

In other draft developments around the Eastern Conference:

The Sixers will bring in California small forward Jaylen Brown for a workout on Tuesday afternoon, the team announced via press release. Brown could be a darkhorse candidate for the top pick in the draft. He could also be an option if Philadelphia trades down in the lottery, or if they package their two late first rounders to acquire another lottery selection. He’s ranked No. 8 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Big Board and No. 5 by Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony. The Sixers will bring in six second-round hopefuls earlier in the day, including Iowa State forward Georges Niang, Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff, UC Santa Barbara guard Michael Bryson, Iona guard A.J. English, Mississippi forward Tomasz Gielo and Dayton swingman Dyshawn Pierre.
The Celtics worked out two projected lottery picks on Monday, Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield and Washington power forward Marquese Chriss, ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman tweets. The workouts were held in California, Goodman adds. Ford slots Hield at No. 7 and Chriss at No. 6 on his Big Board, while Hield is rated No. 7 and Chriss is ranked No. 11 by Givony. The Celtics have three first-rounders, including the No. 3 pick.
The Pistons worked out six players on Monday, the most prominent being Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson, according to Rod Beard of the Detroit News (Twitter links). The Pistons, who hold the No. 18 pick, need a backup point gaurd and Jackson is ranked No. 26 by Ford and No. 16 by Givony. Washington point guard Andrew Andrews and a quartet of big men — Greece native Georgios Papagiannis, Clemson’s Landry Nnoko, Purdue’s A.J. Hammons and Maryland’s Diamond Stone — also participated in the workout, Beard adds.
Marquette power forward Henry Ellenson will meet with the Bucks on Tuesday, Gery Woelfel of Woelfelspressbox.com reports. The Bucks have the No. 10 pick and the 7’0” Ellenson is rated No. 11 by Ford and No. 13 by Givony.

And-Ones: Robinson, Bargnani, Draft, Dunn

June 13th, 2016 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA guard Nate Robinson, who has expressed interest in making the leap from the NBA to the NFL, is getting his first shot at an audition. According to Master Tesfatsion and Mike Jones of The Washington Post, Robinson is trying out for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks on Monday, getting a look from the team as a defensive back.

Robinson, who last appeared on an NBA court in a couple games for the Pelicans this past season, is only 5’9″ and turned 32 last month, so the idea of him earning a spot on an NFL roster seems far-fetched. However, the Seattle native did play football at the University of Washington in 2002, playing 13 games at cornerback. For more on Robinson’s pursuit of an NFL roster spot, check out the story from our sister site, Pro Football Rumors.

Here are a few more Monday odds and ends:

Former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani, who is expected to consider NBA and international opportunities this offseason, has some interest in playing in Spain next season, sources tell Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Bargnani is also drawing interest from Turkey’s Darussafaka Dogus, who are now being coached by David Blatt.
Spanish forward Juan Hernangomez, French power forward Guerschon Yabusele, and French wing Isaia Cordinier are keeping their names in the draft, reports ESPN’s Chad Ford (all Twitter links). Hernangomez and Yabusele could come off the board in the first round, while Cordinier, who hopes to play in the NBA right away, projects as a second-rounder.
As international early entrants make their decisions on whether or not to remain in the draft, one NCAA underclassmen has made an interesting decision of his own. According to Ford, Providence point guard Kris Dunn has refused to work out for NBA teams unless he’s given the opportunity to compete one-on-one against Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, or Jamal Murray. As such, Dunn has yet to work out for any clubs.
Dragan Bender‘s previously-reported workouts with the Timberwolves, Suns, and Celtics will take place on June 16th, 18th, and 21st, respectively, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick.
Brad Ames, a player agent working for Priority Sports & Entertainment, has relinquished his certification as an NBA player rep, the NBPA’s Daren Jenkins tells Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link).

International Prospects Withdrawing From Draft

June 13th, 2016 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

With the deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft just a few hours away (4:00pm central time), a number of international prospects have removed their names from consideration.

We’ll be updating this list today if and when more decisions are reported. For now though, nine international players whose intentions had been previously unreported have withdrawn from draft consideration, and won’t be eligible to be picked until at least 2017. According to ESPN’s Chad Ford (all Twitter links), the following prospects have removed their names from the 2016 NBA draft:

Diego Flaccadori, SG
Marko Guduric, SF
Ognjen Jaramaz, PG
Alpha Kaba, F/C
Emircan Kosut, C
Mathias Lessort, PF/C
Adam Pechacek, PF
Jordan Sakho, C
Kenan Sipahi, PG

Draft Updates: Zizic, Zubac, Korkmaz, Washpun

June 13th, 2016 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

The deadline for prospects to withdraw from the 2016 NBA draft is today at 4:00pm central time, which means this year’s draft class will get a little smaller by tonight. The majority of the NCAA underclassmen who have decided not to remain in the draft made their decisions final several weeks ago, since the NCAA’s cut-off for retaining eligibility came earlier. Today’s deadline will have an impact on plenty of international players, however, as they decide whether it makes more sense to keep their names in the draft this year or try their luck down the road.

Here are some of Monday’s latest NBA draft updates, including a handful of notes on those international prospects…

Croatian big men Ante Zizic and Ivica Zubac will both remain in this year’s draft, and both players project to be selected in the 15-25 range, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford (Twitter links). Ford also provides an update on Serbian wing Rade Zagorac, who will keep his name in the draft. According to Ford (Twitter link), Zagorac figures to be picked in the 25-40 range.
Ford adds (via Twitter) that French wing Timothe Luwawu will remain draft-eligible as well, though his value is a little harder to pin down — Ford suggests that Luwawu could come off the board in the back half of the first round or early in the second.
Eighteen-year-old Turkish shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz will remain in the draft, reports ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla (Twitter link). Korkmaz will likely be one of the first international prospects to come off the board, perhaps even in the lottery.
Former Northern Iowa guard Wes Washpun is set to work out for the Timberwolves, Bucks, and Bulls this week, league sources tell Michael Scott of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link). Washpun didn’t earn a spot in Jonathan Givony’s or Chad Ford’s top 100 lists, so he projects as a potential undrafted free agent.
Ben Leibowitz of Graphiq (link via The San Jose Mercury News) takes an in-depth look at which NBA franchises have had the best and worst luck in the draft lottery since its introduction.

Nets Expected To Acquire First-Round Pick

June 13th, 2016 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics own the Nets’ first-round pick in this year’s draft, but that doesn’t mean Brooklyn won’t end up being involved in the first round next Thursday. According to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link), people around the NBA expect the Nets to acquire a first-round pick, with an agent and a rival executive both telling him with confidence that Brooklyn will get back into the first round.

The Nets likely don’t have the trade ammunition to land a pick in the top half of the first round, but there could be a handful of willing trade partners closer to the end of the round. The Celtics, Nuggets, Suns, and 76ers all have three first-round picks apiece, and likely won’t use all of them. The Raptors also hold an extra first-rounder, and are expected to move at least one of their two picks.

[RELATED: 2016 NBA draft picks by team]

Of course, Brooklyn won’t be the only club making an effort to move into the back half of the first round — the Nets aren’t even the only New York team in the market for a pick. We heard back in May that the Knicks plan on trading into the draft, either in the second round or late in the first.

With only about $47MM in guaranteed salary on their books for 2016/17, the Nets’ taxpaying days are likely behind them for the foreseeable future. Still, adding a young player on a rookie contract would help keep costs down as the team goes through its rebuilding phase.

Southwest Notes: Morey, Durant, Pelicans, Grizzlies

June 12th, 2016 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets already have several players on their roster who fit new coach Mike D’Antoni’s style, GM Daryl Morey told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Appearing as a guest on Wojnarowski’s podcast, Morey said D’Antoni has a very positive reputation with players and agents around the league because they know players can put up good offensive numbers in his system. “I think a lot of what we went through last year is guys weren’t as engaged on defense,” Morey said. “That’s because we were struggling from A to Z, and that impacted our defense overall.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Rockets are still hoping to meet with free agent Kevin Durant next month, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein reported this week that Houston isn’t among the teams that Durant is considering.
The Pelicans have workouts scheduled for 12 players Monday, according to John Reid of The Times-Picayune. On the list are French stars Isaia Cordinier and Guerschon Yabusele, along with Troy Williams of Indiana, Michael Gbinije of Syracuse, Jake Layman of Maryland, Wayne Seldon Jr. of Kansas, Gary Payton II of Oregon State, Yogi Ferrell of Indiana, Thomas Walkup of Stephen F. Austin, Kaleb Tarczewski of Arizona, Prince Ibeh of Texas and Perry Ellis of Kansas. New Orleans has the sixth pick in the first round and the 39th and 40th selections in the second round.
The Grizzlies held a workout today for Ben Bentil of Providence, Isaiah Cousins of Oklahoma, Brice Johnson of North Carolina, Payton, Malachi Richardson of Syracuse and Selden, according to Grizzlies.com. Memphis holds picks No. 17 and 57.
Johnson could be the young power forward the Grizzlies need, speculates Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Zach Randolph will turn 35 this summer, and Jarell Martin and JaMychal Green haven’t shown they can handle the position, Tillery writes. At 6’10” and 210 pounds, Johnson has a mixture of size and skills that makes him an intriguing prospect.