Former Oklahoma star Buddy Hield is taking part in day-one activities at the NBA draft combine today, but he’ll leave for graduation ceremonies and miss the athletic testing portion of the predraft showcase that runs through Sunday, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter link). So, the combine for the shooting guard will consist of interviews with teams, measurements and medical tests, Ford notes. The ESPN scribe has Hield at No. 6 in his prospect rankings, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegs him seventh.
See more from the draft scene:
- European superagent Misko Raznatovic has negotiated an NBA buyout clause into the contract of each of his draft entrants (Twitter link), including first-round prospect Furkan Korkmaz. Givony, who first reported the existence of Korkmaz’s clause, pegs its value at $2MM. The 18-year-old shooting guard would likely withdraw from the draft if he doesn’t get assurances that he’ll become a lottery pick, sources told Givony for a piece on The Vertical. Korkmaz is Ford‘s No. 15 prospect and No. 17 with Givony.
- The Magic and Bulls have expressed interest in drafting Seton Hall sophomore shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead, and the Sixers have him on their radar as well, according to Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press. Still, Whitehead isn’t a contender for the lottery picks that those teams hold, as Carino points out. Instead, he’s a second-round prospect, ranking No. 35 with Ford and only No. 65 with Givony. He has the ability to pull out and return to college ball within the next two weeks if he doesn’t hire an agent.
- Kent State junior forward Jimmy Hall has withdrawn from the draft, as he announced on Twitter (hat tip to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com). Hall was a long shot to be drafted, ranking outside the top 100 on Ford’s and Givony’s lists.
- Junior college power forward Emmanuel Malou has hired agent Daniel Moldovan and is staying in the draft, as Moldovan told ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla (Twitter link). Signing with an agent wipes out his remaining college eligibility, but concern had already existed about whether the NCAA would clear the 6’9″ Australian who’d committed to Iowa State, Goodman notes (on Twitter).