2020 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers Notes: Porter Jr., Johnson, Avdija

February 25th, 2020 at 6:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Cavaliers have had a rough season, with a coaching change and struggles in their young frontcourt among the issues. However, they may have stumbled onto something special in their 2019 No. 30 overall pick.

“There’s no one on the [Cavaliers] with real All-Star potential,” a former scout told Hoops Rumors. “If you told me one player will take his game to that level, I’d bet on Kevin Porter Jr.”

Porter was expected to go much higher in the 2019 draft but the Cavaliers happily scooped him up with the last of their three selections in the first round. KPJ has appeared in 45 games for Cleveland this season, assuming a scorer/facilitator role off the bench.

The Cavaliers’ new coach J.B. Bickerstaff has impressed since taking over the role and he has the organization’s full support, as many believe in his ability to develop the young talent on the roster, which includes Porter.

Here’s more from Cleveland:

The Cavs had interest in coach Avery Johnson prior to inking John Beilein to a contract this past offseason, as I relayed on Heavy.com. Johnson previously played in the NBA in addition to coaching for the Nets and Mavs.
Bickerstaff believes the future is bright with Porter and No. 4 overall pick Darius Garland on the team, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com said. “I think the sky’s the limit for both of them,” Bickerstaff said.
GM Koby Altman is traveling overseas to scout draft prospect Deni Avdija, Fedor relays in a separate piece. Avdija, who is a 6’9″ wing playing in Israel, could be one of the top picks in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Draft Notes: Maker, Primo, Toppin, Azubuike

February 20th, 2020 at 4:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Having ruled earlier this week that Makur Maker – the younger cousin of Thon Maker – is eligible to enter the 2020 draft, the NBA and NBPA reached a revised agreement on the draft eligibility of players in similar situations to Maker, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com. Going forward, 19-year-old prospects who are still enrolled in high school won’t be eligible to enter the draft, clearing up an area of confusion for NBA teams.

As for Maker specifically, even though he’s now free to enter this year’s draft, there’s no guarantee he’ll do so. His guardian Ed Smith told ESPN that Maker will go pro if he’s projected to be a lottery pick. Givony currently has the young center ranked 77th overall on this year’s big board.

In an Insider-only ESPN.com article, Givony and Mike Schmitz evaluate which prospects had the biggest impact at last weekend’s Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Chicago. According to ESPN’s draft experts, Canadian guard Josh Primo “stole the show,” looking comfortable playing both on and off the ball. Primo, currently a high school junior, projects to be a first-rounder in 2021, says Givony.
John Hollinger of The Athletic identifies nine undervalued draft prospects that have piqued his interest, including Dayton forward Obi Toppin, Florida State forward Patrick Williams, and French guard Killian Hayes.
Elsewhere at The Athletic, Sam Vecenie makes the case for why Kansas big man Udoka Azubuike is the best center in the NCAA, while Mike Vorkunov takes a look at which prospects the Knicks should be targeting this spring, with some help from Spencer Pearlman of The Stepien.

Knicks To Target Scoring Point Guard In 2020 Draft?

February 18th, 2020 at 1:20pm CST by Luke Adams

With the Knicks‘ playoff chances for 2019/20 essentially dead, the team has its eye on the 2020 draft class. And according to Marc Berman of The New York Post, the Knicks’ scouting staff has been informed that the top priority for the club’s lottery pick is a scoring point guard.

Despite using their 2017 lottery selection on Frank Ntilikina and acquiring former top-10 picks such as Elfrid Payton and Dennis Smith Jr., the Knicks have been unable to secure a long-term answer at the point guard spot in recent years. It remains to be seen whether New York will find its answer in this year’s draft, but there should be some options, especially if the team remains in position to pick in the top half of the lottery.

Berman singles out LaMelo Ball as one possible target, noting that Leon Rose was expected to be Ball’s agent at CAA before Rose agreed to become the Knicks’ next president of basketball operations. Cole Anthony (UNC), Tyrese Haliburton (Iowa State), Tyrese Maxey (Kentucky), and Killian Hayes (France) are other young guards who figure to be on the Knicks’ radar on draft day, says Berman. All those players are projected to come off the board between No. 4 (Ball) and No. 12 (Hayes) in ESPN’s latest mock draft (Insider link).

With the Knicks’ front office in a transition period, it can be tricky to know what to make of reports like these, since it’s unclear whether they reflect the preferences of interim head of basketball operations Scott Perry or incoming head of basketball operations Rose.

However, Berman writes that the Knicks’ aggressive pursuit of D’Angelo Russell at this month’s trade deadline was under Rose’s “consultation,” which suggests the veteran agent has had a voice in the front office even before he finishes tying up loose ends at CAA and officially joins the franchise. Russell, of course, would have perfectly fit the description of a scoring point guard.

According to Berman, the Knicks’ other priority in the draft will be a swingman with three-point range, something that RJ Barrett (.318 3PT%) hasn’t yet shown. Berman notes that New York could use the Clippers’ first-round pick to target that sort of player.

And-Ones: Mock Draft, Maker, G League Union, Bethea Jr.

February 17th, 2020 at 10:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Georgia guard Anthony Edwards heads to Cleveland in the latest mock draft compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Former Memphis center James Wiseman (Golden State), Auburn swingman Isaac Okoro (Atlanta), guard LaMelo Ball (New York) and Israeli swingman Deni Avdija (Charlotte) round out the top five. USC big man Onyeka Okongwu has firmly moved into the top 10 after a couple of big performances against top competition and Givony has him going to Detroit at No. 7.

We have more from the basketball world:

Makur Maker has been declared eligible for this year’s draft, Evan Daniels of 247Sports reports. The 6’11” Maker is a five-star recruit currently at Hillcrest Academy in Phoenix but he doesn’t plan to play any more games there, Daniels continues. The question about his eligibility stemmed from not receiving his diploma following his senior year of high school. Maker plans to play in the Iverson Classic All-Star game and the Nike Hoop Summit, Daniels adds.
NBA players have voted to support the formation of a union for G League players, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The vote was held at the NBPA meeting on Monday. Formal approval at the G League level will have to take place before the union can be formed (Twitter links).
Raptors 905 guard Michael Bethea Jr. is the subject of a feature story by The Athletic’s Blake Murphy on the life of a G League player.

2020’s Most Valuable Traded Second-Round Picks

February 14th, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Fans of lottery-bound NBA teams will be keeping a close on the league’s reverse standings down the stretch because of the effect they’ll have on the draft order and lottery odds for the 2020 first round.

However, it’s not just the first round of the draft that’s worth keeping an eye on. Those reverse standings will also dictate the order of the draft’s second round, and an early second-round pick can be nearly as valuable as a first-rounder.

Traded first-round selections like the one the Grizzlies are sending to the Celtics will ultimately be more valuable than any second-rounder, but it’s still worth taking a closer look at some traded 2020 second-rounders that project to be valuable picks.

Here are a few of those traded picks:

From: Golden State Warriors
To: Dallas Mavericks
Current projection: No. 31

This traded pick dates all the way back to the 2016 offseason, when the Mavericks acquired it along with Andrew Bogut. That deal gave them the option to eventually receive either the Warriors’ 2019 or 2020 second-rounder.

Dallas faced a little criticism at the time for helping Golden State clear the cap room necessary to sign Kevin Durant, but if the Mavs hadn’t done it, another team would have. Now they’ll benefit from the end of the Warriors’ dynasty, potentially acquiring the best non-first-round pick of the 2020 draft.

From: Cleveland Cavaliers
To: Charlotte Hornets
Current projection: No. 32

The Cavaliers first traded this pick to Orlando at the trade deadline in 2016 to acquire Channing Frye. It was later traded from the Magic to the Clippers, who eventually sent it to Charlotte on draft night in 2018.

The pick was one of two future second-rounders L.A. surrendered to move up a single spot in the lottery to draft Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 11 in ’18.

Considering the Cavs won a title with Frye and the Clippers eventually used Gilgeous-Alexander to acquire Paul George – and, indirectly, Kawhi Leonard – I don’t think either team is losing sleep about giving up this selection, but it’ll be a nice asset for the Hornets this spring.

From: Atlanta Hawks
To: Philadelphia 76ers
Current projection: No. 33

From: New York Knicks
To: Philadelphia 76ers
Current projection: No. 35

Philadelphia sent three second-round picks to the Warriors at the deadline for Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III, but did well to hang onto these selections, both of which could fall in the top 35 this spring.

The Sixers received both of these picks in deals that saw their trade partners move up in the second round to nab big men. The Knicks’ second-rounder was sent to Philadelphia in a 2015 deal for No. 35 pick Willy Hernangomez, while the Hawks’ second-rounder changed hands in last June’s swap for No. 34 pick Bruno Fernando.

From: Detroit Pistons
To: Sacramento Kings
Current projection: No. 36

This pick has been involved in two trades, neither of which worked out particularly well for the Suns. It was all Phoenix received in return for Marcus Morris, Reggie Bullock, and Danny Granger in a cost-cutting trade during the 2015 offseason. Then it was part of the package the Suns sent to the Kings for 2016’s No. 8 pick, Marquese Chriss.

The two 2016 first-round picks the Kings got that in that Chriss trade (Georgios Papagiannis and Skal Labissiere) didn’t pan out for Sacramento. However, the package also included the rights to Bogdan Bogdanovic, making it a big win for the Kings. This year’s second-round pick is just an added bonus.

And-Ones: 2020 Mock Drafts, Stauskas, Deng, CBA

February 13th, 2020 at 9:39pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Georgia freshman guard Anthony Edwards has topped a new mock 2020 NBA draft from Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo. Guard LaMelo Ball of Australia’s Illawarra Hawks and Auburn small forward Isaac Okoro round out Woo’s top three.

The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie has also cooked up a new, post-trade deadline 2020 mock NBA draft. Though Vecenie notes that most NBA front offices believe this could be the weakest draft in several years, he notes that several players with high ceilings could be sleeper picks later in the draft.

Edwards (No. 1) and Ball (No. 3) make Vecenie’s top three as well, but sandwiched between them is James Wiseman. The 7’1″ freshman Memphis center played just three games for the Tigers before ultimately leaving the team to prepare for the draft after incurring a 12-game suspension.

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

Former NBA shooting guard Nik Stauskas has departed EuroLeague squad Baskonia following a season-ending knee surgery, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia and Alessandro Maggi. The 26-year-old Stauskas averaged 9 points a night in Euroleague play this season. Drafted No. 8 by Sacramento out of Michigan in 2014, Stauskas also enjoyed NBA stints in Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Cleveland.
The recently retired Luol Deng, a two-time All-Star with the Bulls, has been named a global ambassador for the Basketball Africa League, per ESPN. “I look forward to following some of the top African club teams when the inaugural season gets underway next month and supporting the BAL in expanding its footprint around the world,” the Sudanese-born Deng said in a statement. Deng, a 6’9″ defensive-oriented forward, logged 16 seasons in the NBA.
The Chinese Basketball Association will restart play on April 1, after play was suspended due to the coronavirus epidemic, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. It remains unclear if the CBA will run later than usual or merely have a condensed season.

And-Ones: Tax Bills, T. Young, Buyouts, Avdija

February 11th, 2020 at 4:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers, Heat, and Thunder all reduced their projected end-of-season tax bills with their moves leading up to the trade deadline, while the Rockets and Warriors got out of tax territory altogether. The Timberwolves ended up sneaking slightly over the tax line as a result of the D’Angelo Russell trade, but the league-wide tax penalties for 2019/20 will be very modest overall, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter).

According to Marks’ calculations, the Trail Blazers will have the highest bill, at around $5.94MM, followed by the Heat ($2.96MM), Thunder ($2MM), and Timberwolves ($1.34MM). If those numbers don’t change between now and the end of the regular season, it would mean the league’s other 26 teams receive approximately $236K apiece in tax distribution, which would be the lowest mark in league history, according to Marks.

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

Hawks point guard Trae Young was one of the notable omissions from the 44-player list of finalists released on Monday for Team USA’s 2020 Olympic roster. Young admitted that he would have liked to receive consideration, as Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution details. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurt by seeing it,” Young said. “Obviously I would have wanted to play on the team.”
The Hawks, Knicks, and Pistons project to have more than enough cap room for a maximum-salary player this summer, with the Heat and Hornets potentially joining them, says John Hollinger of The Athletic. As Hollinger observes in his preview of the NBA’s 2020 cap outlook, there are several other teams that could create some cap room if free agents walk or players turn down options, but there won’t be much league-wide space this offseason.
In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Marks and Kevin Pelton break down the buyout market, suggesting that Knicks forward Maurice Harkless would be among the most intriguing options if he reaches the open market.
Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) makes the case that 19-year-old forward Deni Avdija, who is currently playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in the EuroLeague, deserves to receive consideration as a possible top-three pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

Top Prospect Tyrese Haliburton Done For Season

February 10th, 2020 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton has been diagnosed with a left wrist fracture and will miss the rest of the 2019/20 college season, according to a press release from the team.

Haliburton suffered the injury during the first half of Saturday’s game vs. Kansas State. An MRI on Sunday confirmed the fracture, which will bring Haliburton’s sophomore season to an early end.

“We are disappointed for Tyrese and his family and we are focused on helping him in his recovery,” Cyclones head coach Steve Prohm said in a statement. “Tyrese is a great teammate, leader and valuable member of this program and university in so many ways. There is no doubt in my mind that Tyrese will face this setback with the same energy and passion that we have all come to appreciate and that he will return from this better than ever.”

It’s possible that Haliburton has now played the last game of his NCAA career. The second-year point guard had been in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 15.2 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.5 SPG with a .592/.419/.822 shooting line in 22 games (36.7 MPG). The performance had helped boost his draft stock — he currently ranks sixth on ESPN’s big board, ahead of prospects like Cole Anthony and RJ Hampton.

Haliburton’s season-ending injury is the latest factor teams and scouts will have to take into account as they evaluate this year’s top prospects. A handful of players expected to be drafted in the top 10 haven’t played much this season — James Wiseman left Memphis after three games, Hampton and LaMelo Ball returned from Australia early due to injuries, and Anthony missed nearly two months with a knee injury of his own.

Top-10 Prospect RJ Hampton Leaves Australia To Prep For Draft

February 3rd, 2020 at 7:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Projected lottery pick RJ Hampton has returned to the U.S. to continue rehabbing a hip flexor injury and prepare for this June’s draft, according to an NBL.com post.

The 18-year-old point guard chose to play in Australia’s National Basketball League rather than be a one-and-done college prospect. Hampton posted modest stats in 15 NBL games, averaging 8.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 2.4 APG. He played his final game with the Breakers on January 12.

Hampton is currently ranked No. 7 overall by ESPN and fourth among point guards behind LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton and Cole Anthony. Hampton’s explosiveness and versatile offensive game, along with his length and size at 6’5”, make him an intriguing combo guard, according to ESPN’s Mike Schmitz.

NBL Commissioner Jeremy Loeliger offered a positive assessment of Hampton upon his departure.

“RJ leaves the NBL as a projected top ten pick in the NBA Draft. There is no doubt the time he has spent in a world class league in the NBL has helped prepare him for the next step in his professional career. Like all NBL Next Stars, we are proud to have played a part in his journey to the NBA and have enjoyed getting to know him and his family. We wish him every success and look forward to following his career in the years to come.”

Hampton is the second lottery-level prospect to leave the NBL within the last week. LaMelo Ball recently returned stateside after spending most of the season with the Illawarra Hawks.

LaMelo Ball Leaves Australian Team

January 29th, 2020 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

Top draft prospect LaMelo Ball has returned stateside after an abridged season with the Illawarra Hawks in Australia, according to a report from Timothy Fernandez of ABC Illawarra (hat tip to NBC Sports).

Ball’s season came to an early end when he suffered a foot injury in December and was subsequently shut down in January. Although he wasn’t going to suit up again for the team, it sounds like the Hawks were caught off guard by the timing of Ball’s departure. According to Fernandez, captain Todd Blanchfield didn’t know about it until he was asked for comment by ABC Illawarra.

“It’s news to me, but [Ball’s camp has] got an agenda they have to take care of,” Blanchfield said. “At the end of the day he’s thinking of the bigger picture and has bigger things in mind. … We were teammates for half the season while he was playing, and we had our ups and downs, but it would have been good to say goodbye.”

Team owner Simon Stratford said he was “really disappointed” that Ball didn’t say goodbye to his teammates or coach, per Fernandez. Still, when the Hawks officially announced Ball’s departure, they wished him the best in his preparations for the draft.

“LaMelo has had a big impact on our club and the league and we thank him for everything he has done for the Hawks and the Illawarra community,” Hawks general manager Mat Campbell said in a statement. “He has a very bright future ahead of him and the Hawks are proud to have played a part in that journey. LaMelo and his team will always be a part of the Hawks family and we wish him the very best ahead of the NBA Draft.”

Ball averaged 17.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 6.8 APG in the 12 games he played prior to his injury, making himself a contender for the No. 1 overall pick in 2020. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony currently has Ball ranked atop his big board, though he notes that the guard’s work ethic and level of focus have been called into question. Ball’s abrupt departure from the Hawks could be another factor for NBA teams to consider as they evaluate his draft stock this spring.