- In her latest mailbag, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic examines the chances of a Ricky Rubio reunion and considers other potential Cavaliers free agent targets. Rubio was highly effective before suffering a torn ACL, helping keep the Cavs in the playoff mix in the Eastern Conference.
Despite some chatter out of Europe regarding his future, veteran Bucks big man Serge Ibaka, an unrestricted free agent this summer, intends to remain in the NBA next season, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Carchia notes that Italian EuroLeague club Virtus Bologna, winners of the 2021 Italian Serie A, would be interested in adding Ibaka, but the team has not made any formal outreach to the 32-year-old. Before joining the NBA for the 2009/10 season, Ibaka played for two Spanish pro clubs: Bàsquet Manresa and EuroLeague powerhouse Real Madrid.
Last year while with the Clippers and Bucks, Ibaka posted his most modest numbers since his 2009/10 rookie season with the Thunder. For the regular season, the 6’10” power forward/center averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG across 16.2 MPG.
Ibaka, a former three-time All-Defensive Team selection and a champion with the Raptors in 2019, played even more minimally in the postseason for Milwaukee. He appeared in only six of the Bucks’ 12 playoff contests this year, averaging 1.5 PPG and 1.7 RPG in just 3.7 MPG when he did play.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Bucks may look to the upcoming draft to build out their bench depth for the 2022/23 season. Eric Nehm of The Athletic assesses four point guard prospects who could fit for Milwaukee behind 2022 All-Defensive Second Teamer Jrue Holiday: Kentucky guard TyTy Washington, G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy, Tennessee freshman Kennedy Chandler, and 6’7″ Arizona prospect Dalen Terry.
- An ankle sprain prevented Ohio State guard Malaki Branham from participating in a group workout with the Cavaliers, but the team was nevertheless intrigued by the NBA prospect following a dinner, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Fedor adds (via Twitter) that Cleveland intends to bring Branham back to its facilities for a healthy workout ahead of the June 23 draft.
- Due to a flight delay, three prospects missed their group workout with the Pacers on Friday, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan, Iraurgi Saski Baloia shooting guard Pavel Savkov and Urbas Fuenlabrada guard Ziga Samar were not able to participate in a team workout that also included G League Ignite prospect Dyson Daniels, Oklahoma guard Kameron McGusty and Villanova forward Jermaine Samuels. Given that most prospects have fairly busy schedules leading up to the draft, it is unclear whether this triumvirate’s Pacers workout will be rescheduled.
G League Ignite guard/forward Dyson Daniels, who worked out for the Pacers on Friday, believes he’d be good fit alongside Tyrese Haliburton, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Daniels is the sixth-best prospect on ESPN’s big board, and Indiana holds the No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft.
“For me, this offseason has been a big focus on my shooting, being able to knock down the shot so I can play off the ball,” Daniels said. “I’m confident in my shot now, so I feel like playing here with a guy like Tyrese, who’s a very good passer as well, I can play off the ball, cut to spots and knock down the shot. That’s something that’s come a long way in my game, and it’s definitely something I’ve worked on because every team usually has a primary ball-handler.”
Known as a well-rounded player who’s a solid rebounder, cutter and passer, Daniels is considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the draft and he said he hoped he showcased that during his workout.
“I think with my defense, you can see that on film and things like that, but coming here you play 1-on-1, you play 3-on-3, 2-on-2, so you can show that in the drills and stuff,” Daniels said, per Boyd. “Busting through screens, using your hands, getting deflections, things like that. … Showing that’s my main strength and showing that offensive stuff that I’ve worked on as well.”
Daniels has an upcoming workout with the Kings (No. 4), and previously worked out for the Pistons (No. 5) and Spurs (No. 9), as Boyd relays.
Here are a few more workout-related notes on some projected first-round picks:
- Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji, the 16th overall prospect on ESPN’s board, has upcoming workouts with the Knicks (No. 11) and Hawks (No. 16). He previously worked out for the Thunder (No. 12), Cavaliers (No. 14) and Bulls (No. 18), according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- G League Ignite’s MarJon Beauchamp, another wing who ranks 23rd on ESPN’s board, has workouts scheduled with the Knicks, Pelicans (No. 8), Spurs (Nos. 9, 20 and 25), Hornets (Nos. 13 and 15) and Timberwolves (No. 19). He previously worked out for the Hawks, Bulls and Grizzlies (Nos. 22 and 29), tweets Robbins.
- Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley worked out for the Hawks on Friday, Boyd reports (via Twitter). Wesley, who is No. 27 on ESPN’s board, had a previous workout with the Nuggets (No. 21).
There were no surprises in the 11 green room invitations forwarded to the draft’s top prospects. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirmed that the list includes Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Bennedict Mathurin, AJ Griffin, Jalen Duren and Johnny Davis. Approximately four more green room invites will be sent out next week, a source tells Givony.
We have more draft news:
- Michigan’s Caleb Houstan and Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard, who both hail from Canada, will work out for the Raptors on Friday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. They’re both considered late first-round or second-round prospects and Toronto has the No. 33 overall pick.
- LSU forward Shareef O’Neal, son of Shaquille O’Neal, worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. The younger O’Neal will visit the Lakers, Cavaliers, Hawks and Wizards in the very near future.
- Villanova guard Collin Gillespie also worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. He’ll soon visit the Suns, Nuggets, Jazz and Trail Blazers. Gillespie is ranked at No. 64 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- The Cavaliers, who hold the No. 14 selection, took a look at G League Ignite wing and potential lottery pick MarJon Beauchamp on Wednesday, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Potential second-rounder Alabama’s Keon Ellis visited the same day. Wagner’s Alex Morales also had a workout with the Cavs on Wednesday, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. Florida State forward Malik Osborne worked out there on Tuesday, Bosco Institute tweets.
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are meeting in Boston on Wednesday to discuss the Collective Bargaining Agreement, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
As Wojnarowski explains, the league and union both have the ability to opt out of the current CBA this December, so the two sides are having a preliminary meeting as they prepare to engage in more serious talks about a new CBA in the coming months.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- John Hollinger of The Athletic lays out the top 25 free agents of 2022 based on his BORD$ formula. Hollinger’s valuation formula deviates from the consensus for several players, including Raptors big man Chris Boucher ($19.8MM), Nets guard Bruce Brown ($19MM), and Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton ($10.8MM).
- A team of HoopsHype writers ranked the top 100 players in the NBA by trade value, from Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo at No. 1 to Wizards big man Kristaps Porzingis at No. 100.
- Rookies typically don’t see a whole lot of action during the NBA playoffs, but the 2021 draft class has had a greater postseason impact than usual, according to Louis Zatzman of FiveThirtyEight.com, who takes a deep dive into the data.
- Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net takes a look at some of the top EuroLeague players who are candidates to make a move to the NBA this offseason, including several who already have some NBA experience under their belts.
LSU junior Shareef O’Neal is eligible to be selected in the draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The son of Shaquille O’Neal, Shareef O’Neal was mistakenly included in the list of withdrawals released by the league last week. He has upcoming team workouts, Charania adds.
We have more draft-related info:
- Another LSU player, wing Tari Eason, has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Cavaliers, Grizzlies and Spurs, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. He has already worked out for a number of teams, including the Bulls, Thunder and Knicks. Eason is ranked No. 18 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- The Lakers hosted six prospects on Monday, including UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. That group also included Remy Martin (Kansas), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech), Haowen Guo (Shanghai Sharks) and Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech).
- SMU’s Marcus Weathers worked out for the Spurs on Monday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard and USC’s Isaiah Mobley were also among the six prospects San Antonio hosted, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. Nembhard, a point guard, projects as a potential first-rounder. He’s ranked No. 35 on ESPN’s list.
The Cavaliers are hosting Ohio State’s Malaki Branham for a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cleveland holds the No. 14 overall pick and Branham, a shooting guard, is ranked 13th on ESPN’s Best Available list. He averaged 13.7 PPG and knocked down 41.6% of his 3-pointers in his lone college season.
- The Cavaliers are considering about 10 or 12 players with their first-rounder, including a couple of wild cards, Fedor writes in a separate Cleveland.com story. Arizona point guard Dalen Terry, rated No. 25 by ESPN, is firmly in the mix along with G League Ignite shooting guard MarJon Beauchamp, ranked No. 23.
Echoing what ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported last month, Jeremy Woo of SI.com says the “general expectation” around the league is that Jabari Smith is the favorite to be picked first overall by the Magic in the 2022 NBA draft. Woo notes that Orlando is doing its due diligence on several prospects at the top of this year’s draft class, but his “gut feeling” is that the team will ultimately land on Smith.
Woo’s latest mock draft for SI.com includes several other interesting tidbits. Here are a few highlights:
- Keegan Murray and Jaden Ivey are the two prospects most frequently linked to the Pacers by rival teams, though it’s unclear if either of them will still be available when Indiana picks at No. 6, Woo writes, adding that No. 6 appears to be Murray’s floor.
- Shaedon Sharpe earned some buzz at last month’s draft combine, but “some of that excitement has turned to trepidation” since teams left Chicago, according to Woo who suggests that Sharpe’s individual workouts will go a long way toward determining how he’s regarded by lottery teams.
- Woo has heard that Serbian wing Nikola Jovic would like to come to the NBA right away, so he won’t necessarily be a draft-and-stash pick.
- Some people around the NBA believe the Thunder may look to package their No. 12 pick and a future pick or two to acquire a second top-10 selection, says Woo. Oklahoma City also controls the second overall pick.
- Rival teams believe the Knicks will likely target a point guard or a big man at No. 11, per Woo, who believes it’s possible both Mark Williams and Jalen Duren will be available at that spot. TyTy Washington‘s name has also come up in Woo’s conversations as a player to watch at No. 11.Washington worked out on Monday for the Knicks and told reporters, including Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link) that he also workouts on tap with the Pelicans (No. 8), Spurs (No. 9), Wizards (No. 10), and Cavaliers (No. 14).
Reaching an extension with Darius Garland figures to be among the offseason priorities for the Cavaliers, but the third-year guard didn’t want to speculate on the possibility during a public appearance Saturday, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Garland, who has become part of the young foundation in Cleveland, is expected to receive a five-year max-level extension offer this summer.
“We will see,” Garland responded when asked about an extension. “I hope I’m part of (the team’s future). Not anything set in stone yet. Hopefully.”
Garland is coming off a career-best season in which he averaged 21.7 points and 8.6 assists per game and helped the Cavs become a surprise contender in the East. He was stung by back-to-back losses in the play-in tournament and said he couldn’t stand to watch the first round of the playoffs, but now he looks back at the season as something positive.
“It definitely gave me a taste. Just being there. Feeling that atmosphere. The fans packing the arena. That was super cool,” Garland said. “Felt like the playoff atmosphere that I want to be in. Next year hopefully we will be back. We have a bright future. Just coming down the stretch we had a lot of bad timing with injuries and stuff like that. No excuses. We’re headed in the right direction I believe.”
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Pistons forward Jerami Grant will be a popular name on the trade market this summer, so Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press looks at four potential destinations. Sankofa proposes deals that would send Grant to the Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, Hawks and Grizzlies.
- After a first-round exit this season, the future doesn’t look much brighter for the Bulls to make a long playoff run, contends Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Even if Chicago is able to re-sign free agent Zach LaVine, Cowley doesn’t believe the current core has enough star power to compete with the Celtics, Heat, Bucks, Nets and Sixers.
- The Pacers have a $1.8MM option on Oshae Brissett‘s contract for next season, but Tony East of Forbes explains why it might be more beneficial for Indiana to decline that option and make him a restricted free agent now rather than allowing him to become unrestricted in 2023.