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Draft Rumors: Embiid, Lavine, Gordon

May 23rd, 2014 at 9:10pm CST by Cray Allred

BDA Sports Management held workouts today for NBA teams to view some of the top prospects in this year’s draft. Here’s a roundup of tonight’s draft notes:

  • Joel Embiid took the first step in assuaging concerns about his back, working out for NBA scouts and executives to demonstrate his health, per Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Embiid impressed, leading one scout to tell Zagoria he belongs at the top of the draft. “He looks great. Running, jumping, dunking, bent up like a pretzel in warmups and stretching exercises,” the scout said. “He passed the eyeball test big time. Move him up.”
  • The Warriors were well represented in watching Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon at the workouts, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times. Golden State was a notable presence, since they do not currently possess a first-round draft pick.
  • Pincus relays in a separate tweet that the buzz around LaVine puts his floor in the 10-14 range of the lottery, and that he could get picked in the top 10.
  • One executive told Pincus that he prefers Gordon over Noah Vonleh and Julius Randle, the Los Angeles Times scribe relays in another tweet.
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Draft Rumors: Harris, Young, Robinson, Smart

May 23rd, 2014 at 2:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA executives are gathered in Southern California for a series of workouts involving draft hopefuls, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com passes along some intel in an Insider-only piece. Gary Harris has used hot shooting to impress and he’s a likely top-10 pick, Ford believes. He’ll work out for the Celtics and Bulls. among other teams, according to Ford. James Young is drawing interest from a slew of teams, including the Hornets, Sixers, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves and Suns, while many clubs are high on Glenn Robinson III after he performed well in a workout for the Bulls this past Monday, Ford writes. Here’s more on the draft:

  • Marcus Smart has workouts scheduled with the Magic and Celtics, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
  • Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times adds the Nuggets to the list of teams that interviewed Aaron Gordon at last week’s draft combine in Chicago.
  • The Clippers, Pacers, Pistons and Wizards are among the clubs interested in Virginia swingman Joe Harris, Woelfel writes in the same piece, reiterating that the Bucks are eyeing him, too. Harris spoke to Zach Links of Hoops Rumors recently for our Prospect Profile series.
  • Chane Behanan will work out for the Mavs next month, Goodman also tweets.
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Kyler’s Latest: Lee, Magic, Cavs, Bucks, Sixers

May 22nd, 2014 at 10:39am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic aren’t quite as high on David Lee as a report earlier this week made it appear, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who suggests trading for him is one of a number of options the team is considering. Kyler concentrates most of the rest of his NBA AM piece on the draft, and we’ll round up some of the highlights here:

  • The Cavs regard Jabari Parker as a notch below Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, Kyler hears.
  • Parker and Dante Exum are the top two prospects in the eyes of the Bucks, according to Kyler. That conflicts with Wednesday’s report from Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who identified Embiid, Wiggins and Exum as the first three on Milwaukee’s list.
  • The Sixers are “lukewarm” on Embiid, sources tell Kyler, who notes that Philadelphia is high on Wiggins and Exum. Noah Vonleh and Aaron Gordon are players who intrigue the team, too, Kyler writes, though the Sixers would probably have to trade up from No. 10 or down from No. 3 if they were to draft either of those two.
  • Wiggins, Parker and Exum seem like the Magic‘s top three targets, as Kyler indicates.
  • The Jazz appear to be among the most flexible teams, willing to trade up, down or out of the draft altogether, according to Kyler.
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Chad Ford On NBA Draft

May 21st, 2014 at 6:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the draft order now set, the speculation can truly begin as to what each team will do in June’s NBA Draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com held his weekly chat and here are some of the highlights:

  • Though the Cavaliers currently have Jabari Parker at the top of their draft board, Ford believes they will end up selecting Andrew Wiggins with the first overall pick.
  • The only way the Cavs trade the top pick is for a young, star-caliber player like Kevin Love, opines Ford.
  • The top three players on the Bucks draft board are Joel Embiid, Wiggins, and Dante Exum, per Ford.
  • The Magic are looking at taking a point guard with the number four overall pick, reports Ford. The team’s top two choices would be Exum and Marcus Smart. Ford also believes that with the 12th pick, the team will focus on acquiring outside shooting.
  • Ford believes the Jazz are likely to select Noah Vonleh with the fifth selection, unless they attempt to trade up to snag Exum.
  • Being slotted sixth makes the Celtics more likely to try and trade their pick for established talent, notes Ford. If they keep the pick, he believes that Aaron Gordon would be the choice of GM Danny Ainge.
  • The Lakers are in a similar position to the Celtics in regard to trading their pick, opines Ford. If they keep the pick, he sees either Julius Randle, Smart, or Dario Saric being their favorites.
  • Ford’s sleeper picks for the draft are Mitch McGary, Jarnell Stokes, and Elfrid Payton.
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Draft Notes: Ross, Adams, Gordon, McAdoo

May 17th, 2014 at 12:47pm CST by Cray Allred

Celtcis GM Danny Ainge tells Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald that he isn’t sure that the team could find a premier scorer in this year’s draft. “There are a lot of good players in this draft, guys that can be starters and guys that can play major roles on really good teams,” Ainge said. “But I’m not sure that there are those 20-to-25-point-a-game guys.” Here’s more from the draft:

  • Adi Joseph of USA Today notes some of the more remarkable measurements taken at the combine. Joseph thinks LaQuinton Ross‘s draft stock will take a hit due to his poor conditioning being evident in drills and tests
  • UCLA guard Jordan Adams interviewed with the Magic at the combine today, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
  • NBA scouts are high enough on Aaron Gordon for Paul Coro of azcentral.com to consider the forward a “surefire” lottery pick.
  • Numerous NBA sources lead Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com to believe that James McAdoo could slide out of the draft completely. McAdoo is currently projected as a late second-rounder.
  • Noah Vonleh has been generating positive buzz during the combine, but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that he hasn’t gotten the sense that Julius Randle is in danger of being surpassed by the fellow big on teams’ draft boards.
  • Mark Deeks of Hoop365.com looks at the factors leading a player like the 7’5″ Sim Bhullar to leave school early and declare for the draft, despite not being projected to be selected.
  • While some of the scouting benefits of the pre-draft combine are diminished when elite prospects skip the event, Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer says that the gathering still holds value as a networking event for front office executives looking to discuss trades and make hires.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

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Draft Notes: Smart, Adams, Vonleh, Gordon

May 16th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Marcus Smart doesn’t regret returning to college for his sophomore season, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Smart said, “The reason I came back is my freshman year was the first time I played point guard. I wanted to embrace that role and become a better point guard, learn the position before I take my talents to the NBA where guys have been playing that role their whole life.“

More on the draft:

    • Two big winners of the Draft combine so far are Noah Vonleh and Aaron Gordon, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
    • Teams need to remember Doug McDermott‘s statistics when observing him at the combine, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. McDermott doesn’t have the type of measurements or athletic ability that jumps out scouts in combine settings, notes Brigham.
    • Marc D’Amico of NBA.com breaks down some of the best individual draft combine numbers of the day.
    • The Bulls are looking for shooters in this year’s NBA Draft, reports K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Two names being mentioned in connection with the team are McDermott and Rodney Hood, per the article.
    • Thanasis Antetokounmpo interviewed with the Nets, Pacers, Pelicans, Wizards, Bobcats, Cavaliers, and Knicks while at the combine, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
    • Patric Young interviewed with the Knicks, Pelicans, and Grizzlies, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. On speaking with Phil Jackson, Young said, “He didn’t say much the first 20 minutes. He was just being calm and being himself. He would eat some chips while everyone else was asking questions. Then he popped in a question every now and then and made some comments. But it was good. It was great. They seemed to really like me and be really intrigued by me as a person.”
    • UCLA guards Zach LaVine and Jordan Adams did enough athletically at the combine to improve their draft stocks, writes Michael O’Brien of The Chicago Sun-Times.
    • The key to the Lakers offseason will be the draft lottery, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. GM Mitch Kupchak said the team wouldn’t base their lottery selection by positional need, but rather the best overall player, notes Oram. Kupchak also said, “When you only have four or five guys on your roster, you really need seven to eight players, so we need to bring in players at every position really.”
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Draft Combine Updates: Friday

May 16th, 2014 at 2:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

We gathered a slew of reports connecting draft prospects with teams yesterday on the first full day of the Chicago draft combine, and we’ll do the same today with this post. The latest updates will be on top as we follow the action throughout.

  • Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders adds the Pistons, Kings and Suns to the list of teams interviewing Noah Vonleh (Twitter link).
  • The Pistons met with Rodney Hood, Ellis tweets, and the Thunder also met with him, Holmes notes (on Twitter).
  • Thanasis Antetokounmpo sat down with the Nets, Knicks, Pacers, Cavs, Wizards and Pelicans, according to Woelfel (Twitter link).

2:00pm updates:

  • The Pistons have met with Smart and Zach LaVine, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, respectively (Twitter links).
  • Smart is also among the players interviewing with the Celtics tonight, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, and the C’s spoke with Aaron Gordon, too, fellow Globe scribe Baxter Holmes notes (Twitter links).
  • Gordon also met with the Magic, who are set to meet with James Michael McAdoo, as well, according to Robbins (Twitter links).
  • Tyler Ennis is meeting with the Bucks today after interviewing with the Bulls on Thursday, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times and Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com report (Twitter links).
  • Jarnell Stokes already worked out for the Raptors, according to Wolstat (on Twitter).

12:02pm updates:

  • Dante Exum‘s interview with the Magic went well, he said, adding that the team would like to bring him to Central Florida for a workout, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins, in a full piece, added Marcus Smart to the list of top prospects who’ve interviewed with the Magic.
  • Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge expressed a fondness for Smart today in an interview with ESPN’s Andy Katz on the network’s coverage of the combine, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (on Twitter).
  • Gary Harris told Katz he met with the Raptors, Nuggets, Grizzlies and Pistons, as Zagoria once more passes along via Twitter.
  • The Raptors will interview Jordan Adams today, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, who says the team also spoke with James Young (Twitter links).
  • Zagoria adds the Sixers, Spurs, Clippers, Mavs, Nuggets, Warriors and Bulls to the list of teams that Kyle Anderson either met or is slated to meet (Twitter link).
  • Markel Brown said he’ll talk with the Celtics today, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link).
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Draft Combine Updates: Thursday

May 15th, 2014 at 10:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Chicago draft combine is underway, and teams can meet with up to 18 players. With 30 teams, that means there could be as many as 540 interviews this week. We’ll try to keep track of as many as possible here, and we’ll update this post throughout the day as news filters in. Here’s the latest:

  • Ennis will meet with the Bobcats and at least four other teams in addition to the organizations listed below, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports.
  • Vonleh interviewed with the Wolves, Bucks, Lakers, and Blazers, tweets Robbins, who adds that the big man is scheduled to meet with the Sixers.

Earlier updates:

  • LaVine shot very well, and Seth Davis of SI.com hears that he may have helped his stock more than any other prospect today (Twitter link; H/T Wolstat).
  • In Exum’s extended quotes transcribed by Sean Deveney of The Sporting News regarding the point guard’s willingness to pressure certain teams not to draft him, Exum said he doesn’t see any of his potential destinations as a bad fit, and is willing to play behind an established point guard.
  • LaQuinton Ross will work out for the Cavs on Monday, tweets Jason Lloyd of Akron Beacon Journal.
  • The Raptors plan to meet with K.J. McDaniels, McDermott, Payton, Anderson, McDaniels, and possibly Hood, reports Wolstat (via Twitter).
  • Hood will meet with the Bulls on Friday, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
  • Randle interviewed with the Cavs and will do so with the Bucks, too, as the Plain Dealer and Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel note (Twitter links).
  • Patric Young spoke with the Pelicans and has a sit-down with the Grizzlies scheduled, according to Robbins (Twitter links).
  • Blakely adds Hood and Noah Vonleh to the Celtics interview list, while Randle and T.J. Warren are talking to Boston, too, according to Holmes (All Twitter links).
  • Vonleh says he also has an interview scheduled with the Magic, Robbins notes, adding that Orlando wanted to interview Stauskas, but his meeting schedule is too full (Twitter links). The Magic sat down with Randle on Wednesday, Robbins adds (on Twitter).
  • Aaron Gordon met with the Sixers on Wednesday, Pompey tweets.
  • Exum will also interview with the Kings, according to Howard-Cooper (on Twitter).
  • Julius Randle is meeting with the Sixers today, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
  • Doug McDermott said he met Wednesday with the Bulls, Hawks and Timberwolves, Robbins observes, and McDermott added that he’s looking forward to a meeting with the Cavs, as Robbins and the Plain Dealer observe (Twitter links).
  • Rodney Hood is set to interview with the Wolves tonight, Zgoda tweets. Hood interviewed with the Bobcats on Wednesday, as Bonnell details (Twitter links).
  • Kyle Anderson met with the Celtics and he’ll also see the Wolves tonight, Washburn and Zgoda note (Twitter links).
  • The Pistons met with Glenn Robinson III on Wednesday, as he tells Langlois (Twitter link).
  • Add the Celtics and the Bucks to Exum’s interview agenda, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe and Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel report (Twitter links). Exum thinks he’ll sit down with the Cavs, too, the Plain Dealer notes (on Twitter).
  • The Wolves will interview Lavine on Friday after having spoken with James Young on Wednesday, Zgoda tweets.
  • The Bobcats have expressed interest in P.J. Hairston, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
  • Dante Exum‘s wingspan measured out at nearly 6’10”, and he’ll draw consideration for the No. 1 overall pick from some teams, ESPN’s Chad Ford said on the network’s combine coverage today, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (Twitter link). He denied that he’s angling for the Lakers in the draft, but he wouldn’t rule out pressuring some teams not to take him, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Exum met with the Sixers, Pistons and Suns on Wednesday, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The Celtics, Lakers, Magic and Jazz will also speak with him, report Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel and Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune (All four Twitter links).
  • Marcus Smart has interviewed with the Rockets, Raptors, Lakers, Suns and Nuggets, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The Cavs, Jazz and Bucks are also on his agenda, as the Plain Dealer, Falk and Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times report (All Twitter links). The Timberwolves won’t interview Smart in Chicago, but Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears the team is hoping to get him to come to Minnesota for a workout (Twitter link).
  • Ontario native Tyler Ennis is excited about the idea of playing for the Raptors and has interviewed with them, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. He’s also met with the Bobcats, Kings, Suns, Thunder and Nuggets, according to Kennedy (on Twitter).
  • Nik Stauskas has met with or will meet with the Kings, Pistons and Raptors, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (All Twitter links).
  • The Nuggets, Spurs, Warriors and Nets have met with Shabazz Napier, Kennedy tweets.
  • The Hawks, Spurs, Thunder, Raptors, Magic, Cavs and Timberwolves met Elfrid Payton, Kennedy reports (Twitter link).
  • Zach LaVine interviewed with the Celtics, among others, Wednesday, he tells Blakely (Twitter link).
  • Russ Smith sat down with the Suns, Celtics and Blazers, according to Kennedy (via Twitter).
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And-Ones: Hairston, Wolves, Draft

May 14th, 2014 at 10:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One player whose draft stock might benefit from the pre-draft interview process is P.J. Hairston, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. In 26 games this past season with the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League, Hairston averaged 21.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, and 1.5 SPG in 32.3 minutes per contest.

More from around the league:

  • The Timberwolves plan on interviewing Aaron Gordon, Gary Harris, and James Young this week at the Chicago Combine, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). All three players are projected lottery picks and you can check out our prospect profiles on each here.
  • RealGM takes a look at the Lakers lottery history.
  • The draft combine is crucial to the Magic despite the big names not showing up, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. The Magic are set to interview the league maximum 18 players while in Chicago, the article notes. These names will likely include Dante Exum, Julius Randle, Gordon, Noah Vonleh, and Marcus Smart, per Robbins.
  • Chad Ford of ESPN.com (video link) breaks down draft prospect C.J. Wilcox. The senior guard from Washington averaged 18.3 PPG this season and is a projected second-round pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
  • The Thunder, Bobcats, Lakers, and Cavaliers were among the teams that met with Rodney Hood at the draft combine, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
  • Jarnell Stokes met with the Knicks and the Hawks today, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Stokes is projected as a second-round pick.
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Draft Notes: Parker, Saric, Ennis, Gordon

April 17th, 2014 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

There were dozens of scenarios in play for June’s draft order entering the final night of the regular season, as I outlined Wednesday, but many of them remain unresolved. Random drawings set for Friday will break the four ties shown in our Reverse Standings, while the May 20th draft lottery looms for the top of the order. Until then, here’s the latest on a handful of the top prospects:

  • Jabari Parker would go right to the top of the 2015 prospect rankings if he chooses to stay at Duke for his sophomore year, opines Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who answered reader questions in a chat Wednesday.
  • Dario Saric’s agent said the matter of whether his client will remain in the draft or withdraw will have much to do with their confidence that he’d be drafted in the top 10 or 14 picks. However, most teams would want to know for sure that he’d play in the NBA next season before committing a top-10 pick to him, as Ford writes in the same chat.
  • Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis is going with agent Mike George of Excel Sports Management for his representation, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
  • Another projected lottery pick, Arizona forward Aaron Gordon, is set to sign with BDA Sports, reports Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star (Twitter link).
  • Purdue sophomore A.J. Hammons will return to school rather than entering this year’s draft, the Boilermakers announced. The center is the 40th-best prospect on the list that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compiles, while Ford puts him 72nd.
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