2024 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Lue, Little, Roddy, Suns’ Front Office, Kings

May 21st, 2024 at 8:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyronn Lue has a year left on his contract and the Clippers reportedly want to extend him, but The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on the Up & Adams show (video link) that the parties are not close to any agreement.

“To my knowledge there hasn’t been any progress in those conversations,” Charania stated. Lue stated shortly after the Clippers were eliminated from postseason contention that he’s eager to sign an extension.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns are hamstrung by reaching the second luxury tax apron, which severely limits what they can do in terms of personnel moves. Gerard Bourguet of PHNX Sports explores potential trades involving Nassir Little or David Roddy, noting that Little’s $6.75MM could force the Suns to explore three-team deals if they try to deal him to another team above one of the tax aprons. That’s because apron teams can’t take back more salary than they’re sending out. Roddy’s modest $2.8MM contract includes a team option but they might have to add a draft pick to trade him.
The Suns are making some changes to their front office. Assistant general managers Morgan Cato and Trevor Bukstein have not been retained, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
The Kings have the No. 13 pick but that didn’t deter them from interviewing some of the top prospects at the recent draft combine, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. The list of players who met with Kings representatives included Alexandre Sarr, Donovan Clingan, Dalton Knecht, Ja’Kobe Walter, Cody Williams and Sacramento native Jared McCain. Sarr is the considered the favorite to be chosen No. 1 overall, while many draft experts have Clingan in their top three.

Draft Notes: Clingan, Risers, Buzelis, Withdrawals

May 21st, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The “buzz and excitement” surrounding former UConn center Donovan Clingan seems to be growing, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes in a post-combine update of his 2024 mock draft. Wasserman had Clingan coming off the board at No. 7 overall in a mock earlier this month, but has bumped the big man up to No. 3 this week after he made a strong impression on NBA evaluators in Chicago.

Zaccharie Risacher (No. 2 to No. 1), Dalton Knecht (No. 10 to No. 7), Tidjane Salaun (No. 21 to No. 12), and Devin Carter (No. 18 to No. 13) are among the other notable lottery risers in Wasserman’s latest mock draft, while Matas Buzelis slipped from No. 5 to No. 11. Opinions are mixed on the G League Ignite forward, according to Wasserman, who says workouts with teams will be “extra important” for Buzelis.

Here are a few more draft updates:

Guard Xavier DuSell, who declared for the draft following his senior year at Fresno State, has decided to remove his name from the 2024 poll and take advantage of his extra year of eligibility, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. DuSell will be transferring to Nevada for his super-senior season.
Following a strong freshman season at Georgia Tech (12.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.1 BPG), forward Baye Ndongo will withdraw from the draft and return to the Yellow Jackets, per Rothstein (Twitter link).
Jacksonville guard Robert McCray will head back to school for his junior season rather than keeping his name in the draft, tweets Rothstein. McCoy had a breakout season in 2023/24, averaging 18.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG.
Guard Keyshawn Hall is pulling out of the draft and will transfer to his third college in three years, according to Rothstein (Twitter link). After playing at UNLV as a freshman and George Mason as a sophomore, Hall will head to UCF for his junior season in 2024/25.
VCU sophomore forward Toibu Lawal has officially withdrawn from the draft and will transfer to Virginia Tech for his junior year, tweets Rothstein.
As a reminder, the deadline for college early entrants to exit the draft pool and retain their NCAA eligibility is next Wednesday, May 29.

Draft Notes: Crawford, Jakimovski, Uzan, Scheierman, Carter

May 19th, 2024 at 7:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Louisiana Tech’s Isaiah Crawford is planning to stay in the draft, he told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein (Twitter link).

The 6’6” forward averaged 16.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.1 SPG and 1.7 BPG last season for the Bulldogs. He’s currently listed at No. 81 on ESPN’s Best Available rankings.

Crawford has already worked out for the Timberwolves after participating in the G League Elite Camp.

We have more draft-related news:

Andrej Jakimovski plans to withdraw from the draft and play for Colorado next season, Rothstein tweets. The forward is transferring from Washington State, where he played for four seasons. He averaged 9.7 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 2023/24.
Taking a similar approach, Milos Uzan is withdrawing from the draft and transferring to Houston, Rothstein adds in another tweet. Uzan played two seasons at Oklahoma, averaging 9.0 PPG and 4.4 APG last season.
Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman, who racked up 26 points, four assists and four steals across two games, was probably the one prospect who did the most to improve his stock in the on-court sessions at the draft combine, according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger. Scheierman will turn 24 by the time training camp opens, Hollinger notes, but his ability to be a plug-and-play wing could make him a popular target in the top half of the second round. Providence’s Devin Carter, who displayed superior leaping ability and bested all of his peers with his sprint time, likely moved into the top 20 of the draft, Hollinger adds.

Draft Notes: Bronny, Combine, Edey, Withdrawals

May 17th, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Bronny James‘ NBA draft stock continues to be one of the top storylines of the class, and he looked determined to establish himself as more than just a name at the combine. In the second day of scrimmage play, the USC guard led his team in scoring with 13 points in 23 minutes.

Bronny told reporters he’s trying to earn a roster spot individually of who his father is, according to Yahoo Sports’ Krysten Peek.

“Honestly, I feel like this is a serious business,” Bronny said. “I don’t think there would be a thought of, ‘I’m just drafting this kid because I’m going to get his dad.’ I don’t think a GM would really allow that. I think I’ve put in the work and if I get drafted it will be because of not only the player but also the person I am.”

According to The Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike, the Lakers’ No. 55 pick in the draft appears to be the floor for Bronny’s stock, which would allow him to play next to LeBron. However, there’s a chance he could go even higher than that.

According to Peek, the Jazz have expressed an interest in bringing Bronny in for an individual workout and could look to select him with their No. 32 overall pick. Peek also identifies Miami (No. 43 pick), San Antonio (No. 35) and Oklahoma City (who doesn’t own a pick past No. 12) as potential landing spots, though those appear to be more based in speculation than the Utah report.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has moved Bronny up to No. 54 on his best available list (Twitter link). He was previously at No. 98.

We have more notes on the 2024 draft:

ESPN draft experts Givony, Jeremy Woo, Jamal Collier and Bobby Marks teamed up to analyze days two and three of the combine, assessing major takeaways and standouts. Illawara’s AJ Johnson and Colorado’s KJ Simpson were the only two players to make the scrimmage standouts list in back-to-back days. All of ESPN’s analysts agreed it was a general positive for scouts to see more high-level players than usual participate in scrimmages.
Former Purdue big man Zach Edey recognizes there are questions about how his game will translate to the next level, according to The Associated Press’s Andrew Seligman. Seligman writes that, despite Edey’s college dominance (25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds last season), the 7’4″ center is viewed as a slow-footed defender who isn’t much of a floor stretcher. Edey said he knows he needs to reinvent aspects of his game at the next level. “I think I need to show people I can shoot the way I believe I can,” Edey said. “But I think, for the most part, teams kind of know what I’m good at. Teams have tons of film on me. Obviously, I think I’m quicker than teams think I am. I think I can shoot better than teams think I can. I have to show that. I’ve been in college four years. They’ve got a lot of film on me. They kind of know what I can do.” Edey is ranked as ESPN’s 15th-best prospect in the class on its best available list.
Former Tennessee big man Jonas Aidoo is withdrawing from the 2024 draft and will play for Arkansas next season, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein (Twitter link). He averaged 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks on 51.5% shooting from the floor last season for Tennessee.
Arizona’s KJ Lewis, a bright, young defender, is withdrawing from the draft and returning to play for the Wildcats next season, Rothstein reports (Twitter link). He averaged 6.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 18.3 minutes in his freshman season.
Seton Hall’s Scotty Middleton (transfer from Ohio State) and Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, two impressive freshmen, are also withdrawing from the draft (Twitter links via Rothstein). Middleton was a four-star recruit and averaged 4.4 points in 15.3 minutes at Ohio State. Burton was highly productive in his first season, averaging 17.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Fighting Irish.

Texas Notes: Sheppard, Knecht, Kentucky, Doncic, Game 5

May 16th, 2024 at 9:17pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Spurs hold two picks in the top eight (No. 4 and No. 8) of this year’s NBA draft. A fresh mock draft from Nick Moyle of The San Antonio Express-News sees San Antonio adding a pair of talented shooters by selecting Kentucky combo guard Reed Sheppard and Tennessee swingman Dalton Knecht.

Sheppard, Moyle contends, could help as both a passer and shooter, though he may have limitations as a lead ball-handler at the pro level. Moyle approves of Knecht’s versatile scoring acumen, and thinks he’d complement Rookie of the Year center Victor Wembanyama and power forward Jeremy Sochan offensively, while cautioning he may struggle defensively.

Knecht, 23, aspires to be a day-one contributor to whichever club drafts him, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News.

“I can definitely be a guy to plug right in and be able to produce,” Knecht said.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

The Spurs are keeping tabs on both Kentucky lottery prospects, Sheppard and backcourt colleague Rob Dillingham, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I learned a lot from Reed,” Dillingham said of his teammate. “He taught me about being poised and helping my teammates, the little things.”
All-NBA Mavericks guard Luka Doncic played through a nagging knee injury to record an impactful 31-point triple-double and secure a key Game 5 win against the Thunder on Wednesday night, writes Tim Cato of The Athletic. “I just (went) out there and had fun,” Doncic said. “It was the old Luka.” Dallas now leads their series 3-2.
Following the Mavericks’ 104-92 Game 5 victory, Doncic reflected on how his teammates elevated their play alongside him, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “This team is special,” Doncic said. “We’ve only been together for what, five months? I’ve been having a lot of fun with this team.” Forward Derrick Jones Jr., who submitted 19 points of his own, revealed postgame that he could tell Doncic was in a rhythm even before Game 5 tipped off. “He came out earlier and was knocking down shots and I was just sitting back saying, ‘It’s going to be a long day for them,’” Jones said.

Heat Notes: Butler, Herro, FA Options, Rozier, Draft

May 15th, 2024 at 7:13pm CST by Rory Maher

As reported a couple weeks ago by Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, Heat forward Jimmy Butler is expected to seek a two-year, maximum-salary extension before the season begins. However, it isn’t certain how the team will respond to that request from Butler.

In a new story, Chiang reviews Butler’s fifth season with Miami, writing that there were both promising and worrying aspects of the campaign. Butler led the team most major advanced statistics even though many of his counting stats were down, and he was limited to just 60 regular season games, including being sidelined for the Heat’s entire first-round series with Boston after sustaining a knee injury in the play-in tournament.

As Chiang writes, a potential extension would mean paying Butler a projected $58.6MM for his age-37 season in 2026/27. Only two players — LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — have averaged 20-plus points per game in the postseason during a championship-winning campaign at age 35 or older (Butler will be 35 in September).

Butler has led the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances in his five seasons with Miami, but how much longer can he maintain his current level? And what will he do if the team takes a wait-and-see approach to his impending request? Those are just two of the myriad questions the Heat must weigh regarding their best player’s future with the organization, Chiang notes.

Here’s more on the Heat:

In a separate piece for The Miami Herald, Chiang provides his season in review for Tyler Herro, who missed 40 regular season games and struggled at times in the first-round loss to Boston. While Pat Riley said Herro needs to get stronger to hold up to the rigors of a long season, head coach Erik Spoelstra praised the 24-year-old’s work ethic and expects him to continue to evolve. “He’ll probably take about the same amount of days off that I’ll take and then he’ll get right back to work and learn from these experiences,” Spoelstra said. “Most young players when they make their big jumps, it’s usually from some disappointments that happen in the playoffs and it drives you with experience. It’s always the best teacher.”
As a team expected to be over at least the first tax apron, the Heat will have relatively limited options at their disposal in free agency, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. That’s largely due to the money ($51.56MM) owed to Terry Rozier over the next two seasons. When the Heat acquired him in a January trade, they were well aware of the future luxury tax ramifications, but believed he’d make a bigger impact than the players available on the open market for the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, according to Jackson, who points out that Rozier’s salary could be a useful matching piece in a star-level trade.
While many talent evaluators have stated the 2024 NBA draft class lacks top-end talent, VP of basketball operations and assistant GM Adam Simon pushed back on that notion, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Simon said he will continue to be focused on the best available players on the board when the team makes its selections — the Heat currently control the Nos. 15 and 43 picks, with Winderman noting they’ve had success drafting in the middle of the first round (Herro, Bam Adebayo and Jaime Jaquez). “I’m not drafting for the team we have,” Simon said. “I’m going to recommend the players one through 15, one through 58, based on who I think the best players are. … The last thing I want to do is we pass on a player who was better because we took a player based on need.”

Draft Notes: Topic, Top Five Picks, Combine, Bronny

May 14th, 2024 at 8:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Projected top-10 pick Nikola Topic avoided a serious injury after a scary incident during the Adriatic League finals, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reports (Twitter link).

Topic suffered a non-contact injury, with an initial diagnosis of a sprained left knee that will likely rule him out for the remainder of the Adriatic League tournament. However, he should be a full participant in NBA pre-draft activities in June, Givony adds. The Serbian point guard is currently ranked No. 5 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft-related tidbits:

How will the top five picks shake out now that the lottery is behind us? The Athletic’s trio of Kelly Iko, Josh Robbins and James Edwards III put their heads together and took educated guesses on that topic. They have 7’1” Alexandre Sarr going No. 1 to the Hawks, wing Zaccharie Risacher at No. 2 to the Wizards and forward Matas Buzelis heading to the Rockets.
The combine is going on full tilt and Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report shares his early observations on Donovan Clingan, Sarr, Zach Edey, Reed Sheppard, Dalton Knecht and several other top prospects. Bronny James, Edey and Devin Carter were among the prospects who stood out on Monday, the first day of the combine, according to ESPN’s Insiders.
Speaking of LeBron James‘ son, Bronny is focused on getting to the NBA but not necessarily to play with his father, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets (video link). “My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and, of course, get to the NBA. Which is what everyone’s end goal is here. I’ve never thought about playing with my dad, but of course he’s brought it up a couple of times,” he said.

Scotto’s Latest: Wizards, Kuzma, Hawks, Bridges, Brogdon, DeRozan, More

May 13th, 2024 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The Wizards already hold a pair of picks in the first round of this year’s draft at No. 2 and No. 26, but there’s an expectation that they’ll try to acquire another 2024 first-rounder, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

As Scotto explains, the Wizards’ current front office – led by president Michael Winger and general manager Will Dawkins – is focused on building through the draft and developing young talent. The group made its first lottery pick last year when it used the No. 7 selection to nab Bilal Coulibaly, who was one of the NBA’s youngest players this past season. It sounds like Washington is in no hurry to accelerate its rebuild and won’t be opposed to taking fliers on more young, raw prospects, with Scotto indicating that the club also has its eye on the 2025 draft class.

Within his discussion of the Wizards’ next steps, Scotto adds that forward Kyle Kuzma is expected to generate interest on the trade market again this summer after being included in some discussions leading up to the February deadline. Prior to the trade deadline, Washington reportedly brought a Mavericks offer to Kuzma and asked him if he wanted to be moved — he opted to remain in D.C.

Here’s more from Scotto:

Echoing previous reports, Scotto says there’s a “widespread belief” from rival executives that the Hawks will break up their starting backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray this offseason by trading one of the two guards. Those execs also believe that Atlanta will be more open than ever to moving Young, though Scotto’s sources say the Spurs didn’t have “substantive” discussions about the three-time All-Star earlier this year and are skeptical that will change this summer.
In addition to the Hornets, the teams expected to have interested in free agent forward Miles Bridges this summer include the Pistons and Jazz, league sources tell Scotto.
Rival executives are keeping an eye on Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon as a potential offseason trade candidates, Scotto says. Brogdon will be on a $22.5MM expiring contract and there’s an expectation that Portland will be looking to shed some salary.
There’s a belief around the NBA that DeMar DeRozan will ultimately re-sign with the Bulls rather than changing teams as a free agent, according to Scotto, who notes that the veteran forward is comfortable in his role in Chicago and the Bulls are seemingly willing to pay him.
Scotto refers to G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis as a “notable” candidate for the Pistons with the No. 5 overall pick, pointing out that Buzelis is represented by agent Michael Tellem, the son of Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem.

Draft Notes: Combine, Mocks, Holland, Trade Rumors, Osobor

May 13th, 2024 at 1:03pm CST by Luke Adams

Boogie Ellis (USC), Isaac Jones (Washington State), Jesse Edwards (West Virginia), Nae’Qwan Tomlin (Memphis), and Enrique Freeman (Akron) are among the prospects who stood out at the G League Elite Camp over the weekend and earned invitations to participate in the NBA’s combine this week, according to a series of tweets from Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The G League officially confirmed Givony’s reporting (Twitter link).

The combine got underway in Chicago on Monday, with all participants taking part in shooting drills and undergoing strength, agility, and performance testing.

Language in the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement requires all prospects to participate in those aspects of the combine, though they’re still permitted to opt out of this week’s scrimmages. Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) identifies several of the fringe first-rounders who have decided to pass on scrimmaging, including Kyshawn George (Miami), Carlton Carrington (Pittsburgh), Kevin McCullar (Kansas), and Johnny Furphy (Kansas), among many others.

As Chase Hughes of Monumental Sports Network tweets, prospects whose international teams’ seasons haven’t ended are permitted to miss the combine, but those players – including Zaccharie Risacher of JL Bourg and Nikola Topic (Crvena Zvezda) – will be required to complete “pre-draft activities” at a later date.

Here are several more draft-related notes:

Wasserman, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, and Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com updated their 2024 mock drafts following the conclusion of Sunday’s lottery to reflect the new order. All three mocks have the Hawks using the No. 1 overall pick on French big man Alexandre Sarr.
John Hollinger of The Athletic has shared his rankings of the top 20 prospects in the 2024 draft class, with plenty of choices that deviate from the consensus. Hollinger has G League Ignite guard Ron Holland at No. 1, with Sarr at No. 5 and Risacher (ESPN’s top prospect) all the way down at No. 13.
Zach Lowe of ESPN (Insider link) and Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, two of the media members who were in the draft lottery drawing room on Sunday, share some behind-the-scenes observations from the event and consider what’s next for the teams most impacted by Sunday’s results. Sources tell Lowe that the Rockets (No. 3) and Grizzlies (No. 9) are expected to be among the teams that explore trade possibilities with their picks, though both teams could ultimately end up hanging onto their lottery selections. Meanwhile, Wizards general manager Will Dawkins told Fischer that he thinks “there are multiple All-Stars in this class.” Washington holds the No. 2 pick.
Coming off his junior year at Utah State, forward Great Osobor is testing the NBA draft waters, but it sounds like he’ll end up transferring to a new school for his senior year. According to Givony, Osobor has an NIL deal in place with Washington worth $2MM, which is the most lucrative known deal in college basketball this season.
A series of ESPN’s NBA reporters explore the biggest questions facing every lottery team.

Bronny James Receives Medical Clearance, Expected To Remain In Draft

May 13th, 2024 at 8:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Bronny James‘ heart issues won’t prevent him from potentially playing in the NBA, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski and Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who report that the son of Lakers star LeBron James has received medical clearance to be drafted.

The league office will inform teams today that James has been evaluated and proclaimed healthy by three physicians from the NBA’s Fitness To Play Panel, according to the authors’ sources. That will allow him to fully participate with other top prospects in this week’s Draft Combine in Chicago.

Wojnarowski and Givony hear that James is expected to play in the combine’s 5-on-5 scrimmages, which will begin Tuesday. He’s hoping to make an impact on scouts, coaches and team executives following an underwhelming season at USC, where he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game.

James was projected as a potential first-round pick in some circles last fall, but he’s now viewed as a marginal prospect to be drafted. He’s ranked 98th on ESPN’s Big Board, though teams may be tempted to select him in hopes that it will help lure his father in free agency.

His disappointing performance could have been related to his medical problems that began last July when he collapsed on the court during a workout and suffered cardiac arrest. James underwent a procedure to treat a congenital heart defect and was eventually able to resume playing with no restrictions.

He will enter the pre-draft process with an option to return to college if he’s not encouraged about his draft prospects. The deadline for that decision is May 29, and the authors note that he has decided to explore the transfer portal if he opts to withdraw from the draft.

However, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic that James is expected to remain in the draft regardless of what happens at the combine and beyond (Twitter link).