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Western Notes: Matthews, Draft, Young

May 14th, 2015 at 10:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jabari Young of CSNNW.com wouldn’t be surprised if Wesley Matthews gives the Blazers a discount to re-sign him this summer. Young interprets GM Neil Olshey‘s tone from his season-ending press conference as a signal that the team will pursue a new deal with the shooting guard. “We know his value to us,” Olshey said, adding that “We also know he’s going to have market value around the league. That’s another competitive part of the free agent process that we’re going to have to participate in.”

Here’s the latest out of the Western Conference:

The Blazers are scheduled to meet with UNLV’s Christian Wood, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (Twitter links). Portland is also expected to take a close look at big man Myles Turner, Young notes.
Seth Curry will join the Pelicans‘ summer league squad, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. Curry made two appearances for the Suns during the 2014/15 season while on a lone 10-day contract.
Oregon senior guard Joseph Young interviewed with the Spurs, Pelicans, Knicks, Wizards, and Clippers today, Jabari Young tweets.
Sean Meagher of The Oregonian looks at Blazers point guard Tim Frazier, who inked a multiyear deal with the team this season, and what the player’s role might be next season. Frazier’s minimum salary arrangement with Portland is non-guaranteed.
The list of players whom the Thunder have interviewed during the combine includes Kelly Oubre, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyus Jones, Terry Rozier, Turner, and Stanley Johnson, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman relays (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Towns Headlines 7 Kentucky Players Off To Draft

April 9th, 2015 at 1:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns and six other Kentucky underclassmen are entering this year’s draft, as they formally announced today in a joint press conference. Towns, whom both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress project as the No. 1 pick, joins center Willie Cauley-Stein, power forward Trey Lyles, shooting guard Devin Booker, center Dakari Johnson, combo guard Andrew Harrison and shooting guard Aaron Harrison in declaring for the draft. Point guard Tyler Ulis, Ford‘s 47th-ranked prospect and Givony‘s No. 88, is staying in school, as are power forward Marcus Lee and injured combo forward Alex Poythress, neither of whom was a top-60 prospect for this year’s draft.

Towns, a freshman, passed Duke center Jahlil Okafor in Ford and Givony’s rankings during the NCAA Tournament, though it still appears it’ll be a close call among the two for whichever NBA team wins the draft lottery. The 7-foot Towns averaged only 10.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game, but it was chiefly the profoundly deep Wildcats roster that kept his numbers down.

Cauley-Stein could easily have been a second-year NBA player by now had he come out as a freshman instead of as a junior as he’s doing now. Givony has him sixth and Ford seventh in their respective rankings after he put up 8.9 PPG and 6.4 RPG in 25.9 MPG, another example of a Wildcat’s stats as a poor reflection of his talent.

Lyles is No. 18 with Ford and No. 19 with Givony after a freshman season spent in and out of the starting lineup. He put up 8.7 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 23.0 MPG. For more on Booker, Johnson, and the Harrison twins, click on their names in this sentence to see earlier reports indicating that they would declare for the draft.

The seven will collectively attempt to set a record for the most players drafted from one school in a single year. The current mark is six, shared by Kentucky in 2012 and UNLV in 1977, though the draft was an eight-round affair when UNLV pulled off its feat. The swing player would appear to be Aaron Harrison, who isn’t within the top 60 prospects in Ford’s and Givony’s rankings. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com nonetheless hears from many around the league who believe he’ll be drafted in the second round.

Draft Notes: Harrisons, Labissiere, Allen

April 8th, 2015 at 2:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

Preparations are well underway for this year’s NBA draft, and Thursday should be a landmark day, with Kentucky’s slew of prospects scheduled to formally announce their respective decisions about entering the draft or staying in school. Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison have reportedly already made up their minds to turn pro, and there’s more on them amid the latest draft news.

Just about everyone around the league to whom Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com has spoken believes that both Harrisons will be drafted in the second round (Twitter link). That jibes with the projections for Andrew, but it’s a surprise for Aaron, whom Ford and Givony have well outside their top 60 prospects.
Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns took over the top spot on 2015 draft boards last week, and now forward center Skal Labissiere, who’s committed to Kentucky, is the new No. 1 in the 2016 mock draft that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress maintains (Twitter link). An impressive showing at this week’s Nike Hoops Summit helped him vault over small forward Jaylen Brown and combo forward Ben Simmons.
Dozens of NBA personnel and at least one GM think Grayson Allen would be worthy of a first-round pick this year, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in a chat with readers. The Duke freshman shooting guard has reportedly decided to stay in school, and Ford believes there’s nonetheless incentive for him to remain at Duke, since the ESPN scribe thinks he has a decent chance to be a late lottery pick next year.

Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison To Enter Draft

April 8th, 2015 at 12:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kentucky sophomores Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison will enter this year’s draft, and each twin has decided upon the agency that will represent him, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). The news is not surprising, since Kentucky coach John Calipari said Monday that they were among five Wildcats likely to declare, but the father of the Harrisons told Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal today that they had yet to come to a decision and that they weren’t really leaning toward turning pro. Andrew stands the better chance of getting drafted, as he’s No. 53 in the rankings that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compiles and No. 57 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Aaron is 80th on Ford’s list and not within Givony’s top 100.

The more well-regarded Harrison, a combo guard, saw his minutes dip from his freshman season, though that wasn’t unexpected given the unprecedented depth that Kentucky had this year. He averaged 9.3 points and 3.6 assists in 25.5 minutes per game to go along with 38.3% three-point shooting this season. Andrew showed improvement this year in just about every conventional per-36-minute category. Still, his stock has fallen drastically since he entered Kentucky as the No. 5-rated high schooler in the 2013 Recruiting Services Consensus Index.

Aaron was only one spot behind him on that list, so his tumble has been even more profound. A full-time shooting guard, Aaron’s scoring average of 11.0 this season was better than his brother’s, but he made only 31.6% of his three-point shots, off from last season’s 35.6% mark. Still, he, like his twin, was a starter for a Wildcats team that carried an unbeaten record into a national semifinal loss to Wisconsin, as Calipari gave him the nod over freshman Devin Booker, a first-round draft prospect.

Draft Notes: Kentucky, Johnson, Jones

April 7th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kentucky coach John Calipari acknowledged Monday that Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison are all likely to declare for the draft, as Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal relays. Devin Booker and Dakari Johnson are still weighing their options, according to Calipari, Tucker notes, adding that the coach expects that Tyler Ulis, Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee will decide to stay. Calipari later addressed the idea of his own departure for the NBA, downplaying the idea in a piece on his own website, wherein he said he doesn’t have a desire to prove himself in the NBA. A recent report indicated that Calipari “desperately” wants an NBA job, and he apparently still has supporters within the Nets organization. Here’s more on those potentially making the college-to-NBA leap:

Projected lottery pick Stanley Johnson is on the fence as he decides whether to enter the draft this year or return to Arizona for a sophomore year, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com, with one source describing him as “really torn.” The small forward is the No. 9 prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 11 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
NBA personnel who spoke with Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com are in wide agreement that Final Four Most Outstanding Player Tyus Jones would go in the final third of the first round this year if he entered the draft, as Goodman writes in an Insider-only piece. Those sources also tell Goodman that the freshman point guard’s stock is peaking and that he wouldn’t benefit from staying at Duke another year, and even Jones’ father is encouraging him to declare. The Pistons, Pelicans, Sixers and Magic are among the NBA teams focusing on the Minnesota native, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Brice Johnson is returning to North Carolina, multiple sources tell Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The junior power forward was No. 50 in Givony‘s rankings, while Ford had the power forward 82nd.

And-Ones: Kentucky, Ballmer, Clarkson, Burke

April 4th, 2015 at 11:09pm CST by Arthur Hill

There should be a mass exodus of Kentucky players to the NBA after Saturday’s loss in the NCAA semi-finals, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. He speculated that the list of departing Wildcats should “minimally” include Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson and Devin Booker.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

Steve Ballmer’s bold $2 billion bid to purchase the Clippers last year was an “outlier,” writes Mike Ozanian of Forbes. Ozanian notes that Mikhail Prokhorov has been unsuccessful in his attempts to sell the Nets and the Barclays Center, while the highest current bid for the Hawks is $800MM.
The “Gilbert Arenas provision” applies to the Lakers‘ Jordan Clarkson after next season, note Eric Pincus and Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times, giving the Lakers an edge in keeping the young point guard long-term. Because Clarkson was a second-round pick, the provision limits the offers other franchises can make to four years and a projected $57MM. With a non-guaranteed contract for 2015/16 at the league minimum for a second-year player ($845,059), Clarkson is almost certain to return to the Lakers next year.
Jazz point guard Trey Burke is part of the reason the future is bright in Utah, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The second-year player out of Michigan has been a key part of the team’s second half surge, and he is looking forward to improving this summer. “I know that I have a high ceiling and have more potential to grow,” he said. “Like I said, this summer and this offseason will be very big for me. I look forward to coming back even stronger and even better next season. Being a young player, I know that these offseasons are really important in how much I’ll grow.” Burke is still on his rookie contract, which runs through 2016/17, and he’s under the team’s control through 2017/18.

And-Ones: Jianlian, McCullough, Draft

April 2nd, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Chris McCullough plans to enter this year’s draft despite tearing his ACL in January, but the player is confident he can sell NBA teams on his commitment to rehabilitating the injury, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. “This is the kind of injury that players come back strong from all the time in basketball now, and the process has gone good so far,” McCullough told Wojnarowski. “I’m working hard at the rehab, trying to eat the right foods. I’ll be back on the court later this year.” In 16 games for Syracuse this season, McCullough averaged 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from around the league:

Wizards guard Will Bynum thinks that 2007 Bucks lottery pick Yi Jianlian has improved his game and could play in the NBA once again, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets. Bynum played with the big man in China this season. Jianlian’s last NBA action came during the 2011/12 season when he appeared in 30 games for the Mavs. His career stats are 7.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 22.2 minutes per night.
Kentucky could lose as many as seven players to the NBA draft this season, an NBA scout tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “I think all seven leave,” the scout said to Zagoria. “If they win it all, there’s no doubt in my mind all seven of them leave. No doubt. The only ones who would stay [if they lose] would be a Trey Lyles, maybe a Devin Booker. The rest of them are all going, I don’t care if they win or lose. I think if they lose there’s maybe a moment [of pause] by Lyles or Booker. Those are the only two that I think may pause at all.” The other five players whom the scout believes will declare for the draft are Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Andrew Harrison, and Aaron Harrison.
Knicks GM Steve Mills says that the franchise has already received calls from two opposing teams that are interested in obtaining New York’s first round draft pick, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. The Ted Stepien Rule prevents the Knicks from trading this year’s pick, but New York could make the selection for another franchise and trade the player’s rights after the draft.
Team president Phil Jackson says the Knicks won’t solicit offers for their first-rounder, but admitted that they would “sit back and see what comes to them,” Begley adds in another tweet.

Draft Notes: Towns, Harrison Twins, Looney

September 9th, 2014 at 1:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

The 2015 draft is more than nine months away, but teams track prospects year-round in an effort to make the right decisions when the day finally arrives. All that work doesn’t prevent draft busts, as is proven time and again, but teams can still gather valuable information so they can limit their mistakes. Here’s the latest:

University of Kentucky coach John Calipari has invited all 30 NBA teams to send personnel to watch him put his star-studded roster through a two-day scouting combine of sorts next month, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Calipari is believed to be the first college coach to set up such a showcase for his players, but Wojnarowski adds that he won’t allow anyone from the league to observe his practices for an indefinite time thereafter.
There’s no shortage of NBA prospects on Kentucky, as nine fall within the top 43 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress ratings, but forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns, shooting guard Aaron Harrison and combo guard Andrew Harrison will be the main attractions at the team’s preseason showcase, scouts tell Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Duke center Jahlil Okafor remains the top-ranked player on the second version of Chad Ford’s ESPN.com Insider-only draft board, but 6’10” UCLA combo forward Kevon Looney vaults to the No. 8 spot after Ford left him outside his top 30 the first time around.

Draft Notes: Harrison Twins, Randle, Vonleh

May 9th, 2014 at 11:35am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s the thick of draft season in professional sports, with the NFL draft continuing today, the baseball draft less than a month away, and the NBA draft as the showstopper on June 26th. Our sister sites Pro Football Rumors and MLB Trade Rumors will keep you clued in on the football and baseball drafts while we zero in on the NBA. Alex Lee of Hoops Rumors debuted his initial 2014 mock draft today, and he’ll be posting updated versions in the weeks ahead as we continue our Prospect Profile Series, too. For now, here’s more as the NBA draft landscape begins to take shape:

At least three NBA teams told twins Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison shortly before they decided to return to Kentucky that they would be drafted between 15th and 25th this year, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. That’s surprising, since they were widely projected as second-rounders for 2014.
Several NBA scouts and front office executives expect Kentucky to break its record of five first-round picks next year, when the Harrisons will be two of more than a half-dozen players with first-round talent who could come out of the school, Deveney writes.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress took team needs into consideration for his latest mock, which agrees with the Hoops Rumors mock through the first four picks. Givony has the Celtics going with Julius Randle instead of Noah Vonleh at No. 5.

Harrison Twins Decline To Enter Draft

April 25th, 2014 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Kentucky freshman twins Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison have decided to return to school next season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The guards were highly touted entering the season, and Andrew was a particularly hot prospect, checking in at No. 8 on both Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and Chad Ford’s ESPN.com Big Board in late October. Aaron was at No. 32 with Givony at the time, but Andrew and Aaron have slipped to 39th and 53rd, respectively, in Givony’s ratings. Ford has Andrew 31st and Aaron 33rd.

The brothers were torn and went back and forth on the idea of entering this year’s draft as Sunday’s deadline to declare approached, Wojnarowski adds via Twitter. They were reportedly leaning toward going into the draft as of earlier this month, but people around the league weren’t enamored with them. The Harrisons heard from several teams that they would be late first-round picks, but they feel they can up their stock with another year in school, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.

Andrew, a combo guard, averaged 10.9 points, 4.0 assists and 2.7 turnovers in 31.7 minutes per game for Kentucky this season. Aaron, who plays shooting guard, put up 13.7 PPG in 32.6 MPG. They’ll compete for shots and playing time on a loaded Kentucky team that returns potential 2014 draftees Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress, Dakari Johnson and others to go along with another strong recruiting class, so there’s certainly no guarantee the Harrisons will be in better position for the 2015 draft.