- The Suns‘ selection with the first overall pick has been the main focus, but the team also has the 16th overall pick in their possession. Scott Bordow and Jay Dieffenbach of Arizona Central Sports gave their input on who Phoenix may target with the 16th pick.
With the deadline passing for underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA draft, pre-draft workouts are taking on a new level of importance. Here are a few notes to pass on as the draft looms 20 days from now:
- Villanova’s Mikal Bridges and North Carolina’s Theo Pinson will work out for the Hornets on Saturday, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell has sessions scheduled Monday with the Lakers and Wednesday with the Nuggets, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link).
- Marquette’s Andrew Rowsey has workouts upcoming with the Raptors, Mavericks, Lakers and Kings, tweets Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox.
- The Kings are welcoming six players for a session today, relays Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento (Twitter link). On hand will be Creighton’s Marcus Foster, West Virginia’s Daxter Miles, SMU’s Ben Emelogu and Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez, along with Missouri’s Alize Johnson and Jordan Barnett.
- The Jazz have a workout set for today with Oregon’s Troy Brown, West Virginia’s Jevon Carter, Georgia’s Yante Maten, Michigan’s Moritz Wagner and Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman, the team announced on Twitter.
- Newman was in Phoenix for a workout on Thursday, the Suns tweeted. He was joined by Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop, Virginia’s Devon Hall, Colorado’s George King, Xavier’s J.P. Macura and USC’s Chimezie Metu.
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.”
Forward Jalen McDaniels will return to San Diego State for his sophomore season, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. McDaniels is part of a crop of late decision makers who waited until shortly before tonight’s deadline of 11:59pm Eastern to announce whether they are staying in the draft.
“After thoughtful consideration with my family and coaching staff, I have decided to return to San Diego State for my sophomore year.” McDaniels posted on Twitter. “I’m looking forward to furthering my education and returning to the NCAA Tournament. Go Aztecs!”
McDaniels averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first year at San Diego State. He held workouts with Cavaliers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Jazz, Warriors, Celtics, Nets, Hawks, Bucks, Spurs and Bulls, according to Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
In another significant last-minute decision, Nevada stars Cody Martin and Caleb Martin will both return to school, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Cody is ranked 90th and Caleb is 91st in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, but Jeff Goodman of ESPN suggests the Wolf Pack could be a top 10 team next season with both staying (Twitter link).
There’s also news to pass along on pre-draft workouts:
- The Lakers have a session set for Thursday with Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham and Billy Preston, Wichita State’s Landry Shamet, Penn State’s Tony Carr, Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie and Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
- The Kings will hold a workout Thursday for SMU’s Shake Milton, Arizona’s Allonzo Trier, Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson, Rhode Island’s E.C. Matthews, Cincinnati’s Gary Clark and Missouri’s Jordan Barnett.
- On Tuesday, the Suns brought in Temple’s Obi Enechionyia, Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans, Arizona State’s Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice, Wyoming’s Alan Herndon and Australia player William McDowell-White.
- Donte Ingram of Loyola Chicago had “solid” workouts with the Bulls and Bucks last week, according to Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox (Twitter link). The Bucks also brought in UCLA’s Thomas Welsh.
- Texas center Mo Bamba will work out Friday for the Bulls, tweets Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago.
3:24pm: John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 disputes the notion that the Suns have any interest in a reunion with Beasley, tweeting that the report is just a case of an agent pushing his client.
8:23am: As Michael Beasley‘s one-year contract with the Knicks nears its expiration date, multiple teams are believed to be eyeing the veteran forward, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that the Hawks and Suns have interest in Beasley, who is expected to be pursued by at least five teams when he reaches free agency in July.
Beasley, 29, enjoyed one of his most productive NBA seasons in 2017/18, averaging 13.2 PPG and 5.6 RPG in 74 games (30 starts) for the Knicks. His .507 FG% and .395 3PT% were also well above his career rates.
According to Berman, Beasley is a fan of new Knicks head coach David Fizdale, whose time as an assistant in Miami overlapped with Beasley’s stint with the Heat. However, New York only has Non-Bird rights on the former second overall pick, limiting the team’s ability to offer him a raise — the Knicks would likely have to use their mid-level exception to sign Beasley.
“He definitely wants to come back to New York and play for Fizdale,” a source close to Beasley told Berman. “Fizdale is another plus. But it’s still a business.”
A source suggests to Berman that if the Knicks were to offer Beasley their full MLE, even for just one year, it “may be satisfactory.” I’d be pretty surprised if Beasley – who remains a defensive liability – receives a salary exceeding $8MM, but a one-year contract along those lines could make some sense for the Knicks, who will be without Kristaps Porzingis in the frontcourt to start the 2018/19 season.
New York isn’t expected to pursue top free agents this summer, and re-signing Beasley to a one-year deal would allow him to gain Early Bird rights for the summer of 2019. That would allow the club to make a longer-term decision on him a year from now, when the front office will have a clearer sense of how its cap room should be used.
Still, with the Hawks and Suns among the teams expected to kick the tires on Beasley this summer, and no guarantee that the Knicks won’t use their MLE on another player (or players), a return to New York is far from a lock.
The Jazz worked out Shake Milton (SMU), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Theo Pinson (North Carolina), Omari Spellman (Villanova), Thomas Wilder (Western Michigan) and Elijah Stewart (USC) on Monday, according to team’s Twitter feed. Milton, a borderline first-round guard prospect ranked No. 34 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, headlined that group.
The Jazz will host six more prospects on Tuesday — Kameron Chatman (Detroit), Sedrick Barefield (Utah), Kenneth Ogbe (Utah Valley), Dayon Goodman (Westminster), Tyler Rawson (Utah) and Ryan Richardson (Weber State) (Twitter links).
We have more draft workout news:
- Wichita State’s Landry Shamet worked out for the Warriors on Sunday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. The point guard is ranked No. 42 by Givony.
- Syracuse swingman Tyus Battle, rated No. 32 by Givony, worked out for the Knicks on Friday, Zagoria reports in another tweet. Small forward Brian Bowen, who was ineligible to play college ball last season, worked out for New York the same day and the Lakers on Sunday.
- The Suns brought in UCLA’s Aaron Holiday and Anfernee Simons, who spent a post-grad year at IMG Academy, and four other prospects on Monday, the team tweets. Holiday is rated No. 17 by Givony while Simons is ranked No. 21. Hamidou Diallo (Kentucky), Tony Carr (Penn State), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Kansas) and Bruce Brown (Miami, Fla.) joined them.
With the deadline to withdraw from the draft coming on Wednesday, several players have reached their final decisions. Among them is Miami forward Dewan Huell, who will return to school for his junior season, writes Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald.
Huell, who made a formal announcement on Twitter earlier today, averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in 32 games this season. “I’m really excited to get back to work with my brothers so we can accomplish more than ever during the 2018-19 season,” he wrote.
Huell doesn’t appear in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and would have been a long shot to be drafted.
There’s more draft-related news to pass along:
- Shooting guard Quinton Rose will withdraw from the draft and return to Temple, writes Jon Rothstein of FRS Sports. Rose averaged 14.9 points per game as a sophomore.
- Jalon Pipkins will take his name out of the draft, but won’t return to Cal State Northridge, Rothstein tweets. The freshman guard will explore transfer opportunities after averaging just 3.1 points per game in a reserve role.
- Nevada’s Jordan Caroline will return to the team for his senior season, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. The 6’7″ swingman averaged 17.7 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Wolfpack.
- Ferris State’s Zach Hankins will exit the draft and will transfer to Xavier, Goodman adds (Twitter link).
- Arizona’s Allonzo Trier was among a group of players who worked out Friday for the Timberwolves, according to Darren Wolfson of Eyewitness 5 News (Twitter link). Also at the session were Stanford’s Reid Travis, Baylor’s Nuni Omot, Colorado’s George King, Kentucky’s PJ Washington and Nevada’s Cody Martin (Twitter link).
- The Suns held a workout Friday featuring Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett, Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham, Arizona State’s Tra Holder, SMU’s Shake Milton, Oakland’s Kendrick Nunn and Iowa State’s Lindell Wigginton (Twitter link).
- Six players participated in a workout today with the Bulls, according to the team’s website. Nunn and Bluiett were on hand, along with USC’s Elijah Stewart, Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder, Michigan’s Duncan Robinson and San Diego State’s Jalen McDaniels.
While nothing has been officially ruled out, Suns‘ general manager Ryan McDonough said it is “overwhelmingly likely” that the team keeps the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Scott Bordow of Arizona Central Sports writes.
“There’s a very small grouping of players we’d consider trading it for,” McDonough said of the No. 1 pick. “It would have to be a proven young star player with multiple years on his contract or multiple years of team control. Once you start whittling down the list, that list probably shrinks to a handful of players, if not fewer players than that, so I think the overwhelming likelihood is that we keep the pick.”
We relayed last week that Phoenix is considering a “handful” of options in the draft. Arizona’s Deandre Ayton is the likely first overall pick and has been heavily rumored to be the Suns’ choice. However, international star Luka Doncic and Marvin Bagley III have also been mentioned as possibilities. Doncic has a relationship with the team’s new head coach, Igor Kokoskov.
“It is difficult and I think people are jumping to conclusions as far as [thinking] there’s only one or two guys in the mix for us,” general manager McDonough said in an interview with ESPN. “There are more than that. There are a handful of guys.”
If the Suns are comfortable with several of the perceived top choices, McDonough can follow in the footsteps of the Celtics last season. Boston traded down from the top pick to No. 3, using it to select Jayson Tatum. Markelle Fultz went to the Sixers first overall.
Barring a change of heart, however, it is widely expected that the Suns keep the No. 1 selection, with Ayton viewed as the frontrunner to head to Phoenix.
- While it remains to be seen whether Mike Woodson will formally join the Suns‘ coaching staff, as rumored, the team has hired another assistant, bringing aboard Magic assistant Corliss Williamson. Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic has the story on the hiring of Williamson, who appeared in over 800 regular season games as an NBA player.
While the Grizzlies hold the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft, the group of prospects working out for the team on Thursday won’t be candidates to come off the board that early. Memphis also holds the No. 32 selection, so today’s workout participants will vie to receive consideration at that spot. According to a team release, Braian Angola (Florida State), Justin Bibbs (Virginia Tech), Chris Chiozza (Florida), Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech), Admiral Schofield (Tennessee), and Jonathan Stark (Murray State) are getting a look today from the Grizzlies.
Here’s more pre-draft workout news:
- Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado and Maryland guard Kevin Huerter each have workouts on tap with the Lakers and then the Jazz, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter links).
- In addition to his previously reported workouts, Arizona guard Rawle Alkins has an audition with the Suns scheduled for next week, according to Zagoria, who adds that Alkins will also have a Pro Day next Thursday.
- Zagoria provides another workout update, tweeting that Miami’s Dewan Huell has auditioned for the Thunder, Cavaliers, Bucks, Hawks, and Grizzlies so far. Huell, who is testing the waters without an agent, remains undecided about whether or not to stay in the draft.
- After working out for Washington this week, Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham will work out for the Suns, Hawks, Rockets, Grizzlies, and about six or seven teams after that, he tells Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).
- Xavier’s J.P. Macura, who has a workout lined up with the Spurs, met with the Bucks, Clippers, Magic, and Pacers at this week’s Pro Basketball Combine, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.