Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell will hold a last-minute workout for the Knicks today, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. The sophomore out of Louisville, whose session was originally scheduled for Tuesday, is being considered with the No 8 pick, Begley adds, along with French point guard Frank Ntilikina, Kentucky guard Malik Monk, Arizona big man Lauri Markkanen and others. Team president Phil Jackson is intrigued by Mitchell’s defensive prowess and athleticism and likes the fact that he prefers to work out in a group setting to showcase his defense. Joining Mitchell today will be Villanova’s Josh Hart, Miami’s Davon Reed, Iowa State’s Naz Long and others.
There’s more draft news on the eve of the big event:
- The Celtics have received Josh Jackson‘s medical records, but the Kansas forward still refuses to work out for the team, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Boston appears to be leaning toward Duke’s Jayson Tatum with the No. 3 pick, Ford states, but no decision has been made.
- Ford still has Jackson as the third selection in his latest mock draft, which was released today. Markelle Fultz remains No. 1, followed by Lonzo Ball, with the rest of the top 10 as Tatum, Jonathan Isaac, De’Aaron Fox, Dennis Smith Jr., Monk, Zach Collins and Markkanen.
- Terrance Ferguson recently pulled out of workouts with the Pistons, Hawks and Bucks, tweets Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated. It’s possible that Ferguson received a draft promise from the Nuggets or Nets or he may have been responding to poor workouts (Twitter link).
- A 7-footer with a soft shooting touch, Markkanen is drawing comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki, writes Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Some scouts believe the 20-year-old Finnish star is the best 3-point shooter in the draft. “It’s probably not fair to him to have some young guy compared to a Hall of Fame player and champion,” Markkanen said of Nowitzki. “We have similarities because of the height, being from Europe and shooting. But I have a long way to go before I’m in the same category as him. Hopefully, I can get there one day.”
- The Wizards will work out six players today, the team announced on its website. They are French center Alpha Kaba, Cincinnati’s Troy Caupain Jr., VCU’s JeQuan Lewis, Eastern Michigan’s Jalen Ross, Niagara’s Tahjere McCall and East Tennessee State’s Hanner Mosquera-Perea.
Tatum with zero character issues but still a project same as Jackson. Neither player is going to help C’s improve in 2017/2018 and both play same position as Brown and UFA Hayward. If C’s draft then trade which player will bring the best return.
Both would play the 4, and Brown can also play multiple positions, and is more of a 3/4 right now
I know that Stevens likes players who can play multiple positions, but Tatum in particular will struggle defensively against NBA 4’s until he gets much stronger. I still think neither will be on C’s in 2018.
Tatum can’t defend 3s either, but Boston has a good team defense around him. That’s why IT works so well for them. I’d personally take Jackson or trade back for Isaac, but Tatum isn’t a reach at #3. He’s definitely more polisted offensively than those guys.. they could think he is the next Paul Pierce
Josh Hart is going to be this year’s Malcolm Brogdon. He will be a very good role player for whoever drafts him.
The Kings aren’t taking Isaac at 5. If Fox is there, they’re taking him.
I think Tatum is the better scorer and has the higher upside. Jackson is the better defender and has the possibility to go the way of Okafor with his character traits. The Celtics will win with either. But I really think they moved back for Fox to sit behind IT and b ready to take over when he leaves in free agency. I’d rather have Bradley, Heyward, and horford. Then IT instead of Bradley