2019 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Nassir Little Declares For 2019 NBA Draft

April 1st, 2019 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

UNC forward Nassir Little is entering the 2019 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility and going pro, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

“I am declaring for the 2019 draft with the intention to start my NBA career,” Little told Givony. “I am going to work extremely hard throughout the pre-draft process and my entire career to continue to grow as a player and person. I feel like I have a very high ceiling as a player and I plan to reach that ceiling through consistent hard work.”

A highly-touted recruit a year ago, Little had an up-and-down freshman season at North Carolina, averaging 9.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG with a shooting line of .480/.269/.770. Last November, the young forward was grouped with top Duke prospects Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett as a potential top-five pick, but he’ll likely fall a little further than that this spring.

Currently, Givony and Mike Schmitz have Little ranked 16th overall on their big board at ESPN.com, writing that the 6’6″ freshman has an “elite physical profile for a modern combo forward,” but also has a “limited feel for the game.”

According to Givony, Little will began to prepare for the pre-draft process right away and hopes to show teams that there’s more to his game than what they saw at UNC.

“I just want teams to see who I am as a player and person,” Little said. “I take a professional approach to everything I do, both on and off the court. I’m coachable. I am a good teammate. I think once everyone sees all these things and sees what I can do as a player, I’ll land in a great situation where I can grow and help a team win.”

Draft Notes: Roby, Nowell, Froling, Edwards

April 1st, 2019 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Nebraska forward Isaiah Roby is testing the NBA draft waters, reports Chris Heady of the Omaha World-Herald. A 6’8″ junior, Roby will put his name in the 2019 draft class without hiring an agent, clearing a path for him to return for his senior year and play for new coach Fred Hoiberg if he so chooses.

While Roby may ultimately decide to return to Nebraska, it’s certainly possible that the feedback he gets will be positive enough to convince him to stay in the draft. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Roby ranked as the No. 37 overall prospect in this year’s class after a strong junior season in which he averaged 11.8 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.9 BPG, and 1.3 SPG in 35 games (31.2 MPG).

Here are a few more notes on the 2019 NBA draft:

University of Washington guard Jaylen Nowell has elected to enter the 2019 NBA draft after his sophomore season, posting a message on Twitter announcing his decision. Based on the wording of his announcement, it sounds like Nowell fully intends to go pro, forgoing his remaining college eligibility. He’s the No. 89 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board.
After spending a year at Creighton, freshman forward/center Samson Froling will pursue a professional career in his home country of Australia, the program announced today. The seven-footer didn’t have a major role in his first and only season with the Bluejays, averaging 3.6 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 30 appearances. “We appreciate his contributions and respect his desire to play professionally,” head coach Greg McDermott said of Froling. “We will continue to support him in his future endeavors.”
In an Insider-only report for ESPN.com, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz take a lengthy look at which top-100 prospects are rising and falling after the latest NCAA tournament action. Most notably, Purdue’s Carsen Edwards had “arguably the most impressive four-game stretch of any player in the history of the tournament,” per Givony. Edwards has been bumped up to No. 25 in ESPN’s new rankings.

Possible First-Rounder Chuma Okeke Tears ACL

March 30th, 2019 at 6:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

Auburn’s Chuma Okeke, a potential first-round pick in this summer’s draft, suffered a torn ACL in his left knee in last night’s win over North Carolina, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Surgery is set for Tuesday, according to Tom Green of AL.com.

The sophomore power forward collapsed to the court on a drive to the basket late in Friday’s regional semifinal game. He grabbed his left knee and remained down for several minutes before limping to the locker room with help from trainers.

“It’s just hard to take in,” teammate Bryce Brown said. “I don’t think Chuma deserves that at all.”

Okeke is listed 29th on the latest ESPN big board of draft prospects. He averaged 12.0 PPG this season and led the Tigers in rebounding, steals and overall plus/minus.

Draft Notes: Reid, Knight, Enoch, Elleby

March 29th, 2019 at 9:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LSU freshman big man Naz Reid is expected to declare for the draft, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com reports. The 6’10” Reid averaged 13.7 PPG and 7.2 RPG for the Tigers, who were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Michigan State on Friday.

“Yeah, we’re expecting to lose him,” LSU assistant Greg Heiar told Zagoria. “If you’re a top-20 pick in the draft, you need to go.”

Reid has some work to do to reach that status. He’s rated No. 48 overall on ESPN’s Jonathan Givony’s list of the top 100 prospects. Reid told Zagoria that he would “think things over” in the next few weeks before making a final decision (Twitter link).

We have more draft news:

William & Mary 6’10” junior Nathan Knight has declared for the draft but will leave open the possibility of returning to college, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. Knight averaged 21.0 PPG, 8.6 RPG and 3.5 APG this season.
Louisville center Steven Enoch will test the draft waters, Jeff Greer of The Athletic tweets. The 6’10” junior transfer from the University of Connecticut averaged 9.4 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 34 games this season.
Washington State freshman CJ Elleby, who broke Klay Thompson‘s freshman scoring record, will enter his name into the draft pool. “I will use the new NCAA rule allowing me to have representation while maintaining my college eligibility,” he told ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony (Twitter link). The 6’6” swingman averaged 14.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 3.0 APG this season.

Ducks Center Bol Bol To Enter Draft

March 29th, 2019 at 6:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Oregon Ducks freshman center Bol Bol will enter the draft and is hiring Creative Artists Agency to represent him, ESPN’s Nick DePaula reports.

The 7-foot-2 Bol, the son of NBA legend Manute Bol, is ranked No. 12 on Jonathan Givony’s ESPN.com list of 2019’s top 100 draft prospects.

Bol’s college career lasted just nine games. He suffered an ankle injury in mid-December and eventually a stress fracture in his left foot that required surgery. He’s expected to return to full basketball activities sometime this summer.

Bol put up impressive numbers during his brief period of good health, averaging 21.0 PPG on 57% shooting, 9.6 RPG and 2.7 BPG.

CAA will overlook his ongoing rehab and pre-NBA draft meeting and interview schedule, DePaula adds.

Bol Bol has the ability to stretch the floor with his perimeter shooting. Mike Schmitz of ESPN writes in his pre-draft analysis that Bol is a fluid center who moves extremely well for his size. He also has excellent rim-protection potential, thanks to his huge reach, solid instincts and timing, along with an intriguing offensive skill set.

And-Ones: Nurkic, Bonuses, Draft, Poirier

March 29th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Jusuf Nurkic‘s season came to an early end this week when he suffered a horrific leg injury that figures to sideline him for much of the 2019/20 campaign as well. While it was a devastating blow for Nurkic and the Trail Blazers, the veteran center might get a bit of good news before the regular season.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN.com details in an Insider-only story, Nurkic will earn a $1.25MM bonus if Portland records at least 50 wins this season. The Trail Blazers’ record currently sits at 47-27, giving the team eight more games to win three more games, which seems like a reasonable bet. If Nurkic does earn that bonus, the Blazers’ projected tax bill will increase by more than $2MM and the big man’s cap hits in future seasons would rise, Marks notes.

Marks has the details on several other potential incentives within his article, noting that Clint Capela (Rockets) and Kyle Lowry (Raptors) will earn bonuses of $1MM and $500K respectively if their teams reach the conference finals. Lowry, who must appear in five of Toronto’s last six games to achieve his bonus, also gets a $500K incentive if the Raptors reach the NBA Finals and another $500K if they win the title.

Let’s round up a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world…

Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson are two of the most successful players in NBA history, but they’ve yet to achieve much success as executives for the Hornets and Lakers respectively. Shaun Powell of NBA.com takes a look at how the two NBA legends are trying to turn their teams into winners.
The NCAA has made some changes to its rules for early entrants this year, as underclassmen are now permitted to hire agents while they test the draft waters and retain their NCAA eligibility. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) breaks down the new rules, with multiple agents weighing in on the pros and cons of the changes for young prospects.
French big man Vincent Poirier, who plays for Baskonia in Spain, said in an interview with RMC Sports that there are NBA clubs with interest in him, as Orazio Cauchi of Sportando relays. It’s not clear which teams those are, or whether they’ll attempt to bring him stateside once his contract with Baskonia expires.

Draft Notes: McDaniels, Ponds, Oni, Nwora, Childs

March 29th, 2019 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

San Diego State forward Jalen McDaniels, the No. 36 prospect on ESPN’s big board, has elected to forgo his remaining college eligibility by hiring an agent and entering the 2019 NBA draft pool, the school announced this week.

“We appreciate the positive contributions Jalen made to our program and to the University,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “Jalen now has the opportunity to pursue his life-long goal of playing in the National Basketball Association. We wish him and his family well.”

McDaniels, who has a chance to be selected in the first round in June, entered the 2018 draft, but withdrew his name at the 11th hour and returned to the Aztecs for one more year. He averaged 15.9 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in his sophomore season.

Here are more updates on early entrants for the 2019 draft:

St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds, who tested the draft waters a year ago, will enter his name in the draft pool again this year. This time around, the junior appears more likely to go pro, as he tells Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com (Twitter link) that he’ll hire an agent. Ponds is the No. 51 prospect on ESPN’s big board.
Yale junior wing Miye Oni, the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2019, has informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com that he’s declaring for the 2019 NBA draft. “I submitted my name to the Undergraduate Advisory Request to legally protect myself and my NCAA eligibility, but I have every intention of staying in the draft,” said Oni, the No. 53 prospect on Givony’s top 100. “I’ll be signing with agent Harrison Gaines of SLASH Sport.”
Louisville sophomore Jordan Nwora will test the draft waters, as Givony details at ESPN.com. Nwora, the 76th-rated prospect on ESPN’s top 100, will plan on going pro if he gets positive feedback from teams and evaluators this spring, but is leaving the door open to return to the Cardinals.
BYU junior forward Yoeli Childs, who withdrew from the 2018 draft after testing the waters, will once again enter his name in this year’s class, he announced this week (via Twitter). Based on his statement, it sounds like Childs intends to keep his name in the draft and go pro.

NBA Scouts Discuss NCAA Tournament Prospects

March 26th, 2019 at 1:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Central Florida’s Tacko Fall stepped into the national spotlight with Sunday’s game against Duke, but he may not have improved his draft status, relays Sam Amick of The Athletic. Amick talked to three unidentified NBA scouts about their impressions after the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and found opinions have changed on a lot of players, but not necessarily on Fall.

“I don’t think (it helped his cause), on the whole,” one scout said of the 7’6″ center, who had 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks against the Blue Devils before fouling out. “I think most scouts, most teams, are going to evaluate him based on (what came before). … Now if you liked Tacko Fall before the game against Duke, then you’ll probably like him a little bit more maybe. And if you didn’t, then I don’t think it’s going to sway you one way or another. He’s so unique that I think he’ll get a chance in some capacity. I don’t know if he gets drafted in the second round, or whatever it is, but I do think he gets a chance.”

The scouts’ consensus is that Murray State point guard Ja Morant has helped himself with his March performances and would likely be the second player taken if the draft were today. He held up well against larger schools and has been consistently good from game to game.

Duke’s Cam Reddish may have fallen the most, not only because of his March Madness games, but his output throughout the year. Once projected as a possible No. 3 pick, Reddish may be slipping out of the top five. “Even when Zion (Williamson) was out, he had opportunities where he could really take a step forward and take advantage of the opportunity,” one scout said. “And he did on a couple of games, but it wasn’t as consistent as you’d like him to be. He’s a tough one, man.”

Here are a few more takes from the scouts on prominent players:

Duke forward R.J. Barrett — “Yeah, I do think Barrett has the third spot. … I do think Barrett, the fact that he competes (is good). He’s got a little more, to me, obvious flaws in terms of shot selection. Obviously he has some tendencies, in terms of being all left and dominant where he’s going to have to get the right hand at the next level to be as good as he can be. The one thing about Barrett is that he competes and he gets after it and he wants to win, but there are moments when he falls asleep.”
Oregon forward Kenny Wooten — People know about (Wooten), but this is the time where owners start watching and other people — even GMs who don’t get a chance (to see them) — they start seeing these guys and (the prospects) start to jump off the page because they have a good game or they play well.”
North Carolina forward Nassir Little — “There are still question marks with his game, but it was the Washington game where he made a three and he was efficient, right? And he was efficient for multiple games. He didn’t have any assists or anything like that, but there are some signs there where if you want to find a reason to like Nas. I think you can go look at those two games and say, ‘Oh, ok.’ This guy is doing well.”
Michigan guard Jordan Poole — “He’s a good player, man. He knows how to play. He’s skilled. I think (an NBA team) could work on his efficiency. If he continues to play well, I think he could help himself throughout the rest of the tournament as well and be one of those guys who’s a late riser.”

And-Ones: Nogueira, Draft, Reese, Bosh

March 25th, 2019 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Lucas Nogueira, who appeared in 141 games for the Raptors over the course of four NBA seasons from 2014-18, recently spoke to Gustavo Faldon of ESPN Brazil about his battles with depression and alcohol. Nogueira, who returned to Spain – where he began his professional career – last year when his contract with Toronto expired, said he has been sober for three months, but admitted that his drinking habits were a problem earlier in his career.

“I went out a lot,” Nogueira said. “In Spain, we had one game per week. You’re young, you have some money and no limits. You would eventually find the party. It’s Europe. I had no work ethic whatsoever. When I went to the U.S. I saw that a 15-year-old kid had more discipline than I did. It is a cultural thing.”

Having returned to his home country of Brazil, Nogueira is currently training in Sao Paulo in the hopes of staying in shape and eventually earning tryouts with NBA teams.

“If you asked me the same question four months ago, I’d say I didn’t know,” Nogueira said when asked about a potential NBA comeback. “Now I say I will be back. What makes me so confident is my training and my attitude. I’m ready for the challenge like I’ve never been.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

With all but 16 teams eliminated from 2019’s NCAA tournament, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz (Insider link) took a look at which players’ stocks increased or decreased over the last week. Besides obvious standouts like Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, the ESPN duo highlights impressive performances from Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Nassir Little (UNC), and Mfiondu Kabengele (FSU).
Former Canisius guard Isaiah Reese, who was suspended by the program in February for conduct detrimental to the team, informed the school that he’ll withdraw to seek representation and go pro (Twitter link). Reese tested the waters a year ago, but appears set to keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft class.
Chris Bosh will have his jersey retired this week with the Heat and is giving up on the idea of returning to the NBA as a player. He also has no plans to transition to a front office role in Miami – or for any other NBA team – anytime soon, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel details.
USA Basketball issued a press release today announcing the 12-man World Team roster for next month’s Nike Hoop Summit, which pits top high school prospects against one another. Josh Green and Nico Mannion, two of the top eight players on the ESPN100, headline the roster.

Checking In On Protected 2019 First Round Picks

March 25th, 2019 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

With just over two weeks left in the 2018/19 regular season, we’re getting a clearer picture of what this year’s draft order might look like. We’re also getting a pretty clear sense of which of the traded 2019 picks with protections will or won’t change hands this spring.

Using our 2018/19 Reverse Standings as a reference point, here’s our latest check-in on where things stand for those traded 2019 first-rounders, based on their protections.

Locks to change hands:

Kings‘ pick to Celtics (unprotected)
- Current projection: No. 14
- Note: Pick will instead be sent to Sixers if it jumps to No. 1 (current odds: 0.5%)
Clippers‘ pick to Celtics (top-14 protected)
- Current projection: No. 22
Rockets‘ pick to Cavaliers (top-14 protected)
- Current projection: No. 25
Nuggets‘ pick to Nets (top-12 protected)
- Current projection: No. 27
Raptors‘ pick to Spurs (top-20 protected)
- Current projection: No. 29

The Raptors‘ and Nuggets‘ have been sure bets to change hands all season long. The Rockets‘ and Clippers‘ picks have now joined them in that group due to impressive surges by both teams — Houston has won 14 of its last 16 games and clinched a playoff spot last night, while the Clippers have lost just one of their last 11 contests. Both of those picks appear likely to end up in the 20s.

The Kings, meanwhile, will definitely lose their first-round selection, but its eventual destination is the only unresolved question for this group of picks. The Sixers will receive it if it’s No. 1 overall; otherwise it will head to the Celtics. As long as Sacramento remains at No. 14 in the lottery order, the odds of the pick jumping all the way up to No. 1 would be just 0.5%, so it’s probably safe to assume it’ll end up in Boston.

Locks to be protected:

Cavaliers‘ pick to Hawks (top-10 protected)
- Current projection: No. 3
Bucks‘ pick to Suns (top-3 and 17-30 protected)
- Current projection: No. 30

The Cavaliers are unlikely to fall further than No. 4 in the lottery order, which means the furthest that their pick could slip would be to No. 8. They’ll keep their pick, and will owe the Hawks a top-10 protected pick in 2020.

As for the Bucks, they’ll almost certainly convey the first-rounder they owe to the Suns next season, when it’s just top-7 protected.

Still up in the air:

Grizzlies‘ pick to Celtics (top-8 protected)
- Current projection: No. 6/7 (tie)
Mavericks‘ pick to Hawks (top-5 protected)
- Current projection: No. 6/7 (tie)

Currently, the Grizzlies and Mavericks are deadlocked at 29-44, so the final nine games for the two teams could go a long way toward determining whether or not they’ll keep their first-rounders. The Celtics and Hawks could each end up receiving top-10 picks, depending on how things play out.

The Grizzlies would actually prefer to convey that pick this year so that they can move forward with their rebuild without worrying about a future commitment. If they can win some games down the stretch, their odds of giving up that first-rounder should increase drastically — Washington (30-44) and New Orleans (31-44) are both bunched up with Memphis and Dallas in the 6-9 range of the lottery standings.

The difference between finishing sixth and ninth in the lottery order is significant. The No. 6 team will have a 37.2% chance at a top-five pick and a 96.2% chance of remaining in the top eight. The No. 9 team will have just a 20.2% chance of moving up.

This race is one worth keeping a close eye during the final two weeks of the season, though each pick’s owner won’t be officially finalized until lottery night.

Information from RealGM was used in the creation of this post.