Grizzlies Rumors

Grizzlies Working Out Six Prospects On Wednesday

Kings, Grizzlies Reportedly Interested In Porter

Teams hoping to see Michael Porter Jr. slip in the draft may be in for a disappointment. A pair of reports indicate the Kings, who hold the second pick, and the Grizzlies, who have No. 4, plan to take a long look at the Missouri star.

Both teams will have representatives on hand Friday when Porter participates in Priority Sports’ pro day in Chicago. It will be his first time playing in a public setting since declaring for the draft, and it will allow teams to judge the condition of his surgically repaired back.

Sacramento has shown “significant interest” in Porter over the past year, league sources tell Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. A strong workout could move him up the Kings’ draft board, but maybe not all the way to No. 2. Woo speculates that Sacramento could be willing to trade down in hopes of landing Porter with a later pick.

Memphis was among several teams that met with Porter at last month’s Draft Combine, and the organization believes he can provide scoring and versatility, writes Michael Wallace of NBA.com. Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace looks forward to receiving Porter’s medical records and seeing him in action.

“He’ll be evaluated, and I’ll be up there in Chicago – several of us will – to see his pro day,” Wallace said. “And we’ll go from there.”

Porter has made progress with the condition of his back in the past two weeks, according to Woo, who adds that there is cause for long-term optimism. Porter has insisted that it won’t be a lingering problem, saying at the combine, “It was a very minimally invasive surgery. They just had to fix the discs, take about 10 percent off that nerve.”
One of the top recruits in the nation coming out of high school, Porter was injured in the first half of Missouri’s season opener. He returned for SEC and NCAA tournament games, but was used in a limited role. Although ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has him going to the Cavaliers at No. 8 in his latest mock draft, Porter’s physical condition makes it difficult to predict when he’ll come off the board.

Possible Targets For Grizzlies At No. 32

Wendell Carter Working Out For Six Lottery Teams

Duke center Wendell Carter Jr. has workouts on tap with six lottery teams in this year’s draft, he told reporters today. Carter, whose first workout of the pre-draft process took place today with the Bulls, also has auditions lined up with the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Magic, Knicks, and Cavaliers, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

It’s not clear if Carter will ultimately add more workouts to his schedule after completing those six sessions, but the teams he named today present a pretty clear picture of when he can expect to be drafted. Each club on his list holds a top-10 selection, ranging from No. 4 (Memphis) to No. 9 (New York). Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets that several people in the Knicks’ front office are “enamored” with Carter.

In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Carter coming off the board at No. 7 to the Bulls. For his part, the young center said today he has heard he could be drafted anywhere from No. 3 to No. 12, Friedell notes.

A freshman for the Blue Devils last season, Carter averaged an impressive 13.5 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 2.1 BPG, and 2.0 APG in just 26.9 minutes per contest. He also recorded a solid .561/.413/.738 shooting line in his first and only year at Duke.

Draft Notes: Antetokounmpo, Grizzlies, Sanon

Kostas Antetokounmpo suffered a groin injury during his workout with the Hornets, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets. Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s younger brother could not complete the workout, but Bonnell notes that the injury does not appear to be serious.

The Dayton product has a workout scheduled with the Grizzlies on Monday, though it’s unlikely he’ll participate in it after sustaining the injury. Here are more notes on the upcoming draft:

  • The Grizzlies will work out Jordan Barnett (Missouri), Demetrius Dyson (Samford), Obi Enechionya (Temple), Devon Hall (Virginia), and Malik Newman (Kansas) on Monday, according to a team press release. Memphis owns the No. 4 and No. 32 picks in the upcoming draft.
  • Bruce Brown Jr. (Miami) will work out for the Timberwolves on Monday, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News passes along via Twitter. Wolfson notes that Brown interviewed with Minnesota at the NBA Combine.
  • Ukrainian point guard Issuf Sanon has interviews with 24 teams at the NBA Global Camp in Italy, Fran Fraschilla of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The analyst adds that the 19-year-old would be a great draft-and-stash prospect.

Grizzlies Need To Get This Year's First-Rounder Right

Draft Notes: Hornets, Grizzlies, Blazers, Lakers, Nuggets

Villanova’s Mikal Bridges had his conditioning tested during his first pre-draft workout today in Charlotte, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges and St. Joseph’s James Demery were the only players at the hour-long session, which featured full-court sprints mixed with long-range shooting toward the end of the process.

“They pushed us,” Bridges said. “I’m really well conditioned and they [wanted to see me] shoot the ball while I’m tired. [It was about] showing them everything, like some ballhandling that they didn’t see” when he was in college.

Projected as a lottery pick, Bridges may still be available when the Hornets select at No. 11. However, Bonnell notes that the Cavaliers, Knicks and Sixers — the three teams directly in front of Charlotte — could all have interest.

There’s more draft-related news to pass along:

Canada Basketball Unveils 18 Training Camp Invites

Canada Basketball has announced its preliminary 18-man roster of players who have been invited to participate in training camp and exhibition play ahead of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Americas Qualifiers next month, reports Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network.

Among the 18 named individuals, eight played in the NBA last season – Khem Birch (Magic), Chris Boucher (Warriors), Dillon Brooks (Grizzlies), Cory Joseph (Pacers), Jamal Murray (Nuggets), Kelly Olynyk (Heat), Dwight Powell (Mavericks), and Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers).

The preliminary roster also includes former No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, as well as three other G League players – Aaron BestOlivier Hanlan, and Kaza Kajami-Keane.

The remaining six players are former first-round pick of the Magic, Andrew Nicholsonformer college standouts’ Iowa State’s Melvin Ejim, Baylor’s Brady Heslip, and Gonzaga’s Kevin Pangos, as well as brothers Phil Scrubb and Tommy Scrubb.

As also highlighted by Lewenberg, notable absences include Trey Lyles (Nuggets), Nik Stauskas (Nets), and most glaringly, Andrew Wiggins (Timberwolves). Per Lewenberg, multiple sources indicated that one factor in Wiggins’ decision to decline Canada Basketball’s invitation is his strained relationship with national team head coach Jay Triano, who left Wiggins on the bench during the final moments of a qualifying game for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Knicks To Host Trae Young For Private Workout

Oklahoma guard Trae Young has elected to grant the Knicks a private workout, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. Young, who intends to work out for “a handful” of clubs, is still figuring out his schedule, so the date of the workout remains unclear, per Berman.

Young, widely viewed as a top-eight prospect, isn’t expected to be on the board when the Knicks pick at No. 9. Even if he’s available, he may not be the first choice for a New York club with multiple point guards already on the roster and a more glaring need on the wing. Still, Young is very much on the Knicks’ radar due to his high upside, sources tell Berman.

According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link), the Suns, Kings, Hawks, Grizzlies, Knicks, and Sixers have already “passed through” Oklahoma to talk to staff and faculty about Young. The Cavaliers have also been in touch with the program about Young, Zagoria adds.

In Jonathan Givony’s latest mock draft for ESPN.com, he has Young coming off the board at No. 6 to Orlando, writing that the 19-year-old is a “highly skilled scorer and passer with unlimited range on his jump shot and tremendous instincts in the pick-and-roll.”