- The Blazers are planning to improve from within rather than making aggressive moves for high-priced veterans that could cost them major resources, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian reports. “We’re heavily invested in a lot of our young guys, so development will continue to be a focus,” GM Joe Cronin said. “We’re not going to win at an extremely high level until some of those guys are ready. But at the same time, it’s our job to give them the best environment to thrive in. And often that’s with additional help. I think this year there were some flaws in the roster, especially in some missing skill sets and just in general imbalance, where it made it complicated for those guys to reach their highest potential.”
- Jontay Porter‘s ban from the NBA for gambling-related violations has taken a toll on his brother, Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., Bennett Durando of the Denver Post tweets. “It has not been easy for him,” coach Michael Malone said. “That’s why I give him credit, because he’s carrying so much in his heart and in his mind.”
- Thunder big man and two-way player Olivier Sarr suffered a left Achilles tendon rupture during the G League Finals on Monday night, according to a team press release. In 15 games this season with the Thunder, Sarr averaged 2.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 6.5 minutes. Sarr also saw action in 18 games with the Blue and averaged 14.0 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 28.2 minutes.
- Bismack Biyombo fainted during a game in early March. The Thunder center revealed to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman that he was dehydrated due to fasting. Biyombo has fasted at various times throughout his career for religious reasons.
Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard announced (via Twitter) that he’s entering the 2024 NBA Draft and forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
Sheppard is a projected lottery pick, currently ranked No. 7 on ESPN’s big board.
“I’m going all-in,” Sheppard told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “The opportunity I have is great. I’ve gotten really good feedback showing where I can be in the draft. I had an unbelievable year at Kentucky. It was such a fun year. It’s not easy leaving the fans and the school I dreamed of playing at. I need to do what’s best for me, and that’s heading to the NBA.”
As Givony writes, Sheppard was a McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school, but he was not expected to be a one-and-done lottery pick entering his freshman year at Kentucky. That changed after an excellent 2023/24 campaign in which Sheppard averaged 12.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.5 APG and 2.5 SPG on an elite .536/.521/.831 shooting line in 33 games (28.9 MPG).
According to Givony, Sheppard grabbed the attention of NBA evaluators with his “shooting prowess, play-making acumen, defensive instincts, feel for the game, productivity and never-ending confidence.”
In his player profile, Givony writes that Sheppard doesn’t have an ideal physical profile for an NBA guard and there are questions about how that might translate to the next level. Sheppard also had one of his worst games of the season in Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Still, there’s a reason he’s viewed as a lottery pick, as he put up one of the best college shooting seasons from long range for a projected first-rounder since Glen Rice in 1988/89, per Givony.