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International Prospects Withdrawing From Draft

June 13th, 2016 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

With the deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft just a few hours away (4:00pm central time), a number of international prospects have removed their names from consideration.

We’ll be updating this list today if and when more decisions are reported. For now though, nine international players whose intentions had been previously unreported have withdrawn from draft consideration, and won’t be eligible to be picked until at least 2017. According to ESPN’s Chad Ford (all Twitter links), the following prospects have removed their names from the 2016 NBA draft:

Diego Flaccadori, SG
Marko Guduric, SF
Ognjen Jaramaz, PG
Alpha Kaba, F/C
Emircan Kosut, C
Mathias Lessort, PF/C
Adam Pechacek, PF
Jordan Sakho, C
Kenan Sipahi, PG

Draft Notes: Selden, Onuaku, Richardson

June 10th, 2016 at 10:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s the latest happenings regarding the upcoming NBA Draft, which will be held on June 23rd in Brooklyn, New York:

Former Kansas shooting guard Wayne Selden has worked out for the Lakers, Rockets, Spurs and Bulls in addition to previously reported sessions with the Knicks and Bucks, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
Former Louisville small forward Damion Lee has participated in workouts for the Clippers, Celtics, Suns, Spurs, Wizards, Jazz and Raptors, plus, he has upcoming visits scheduled with the Mavericks and Thunder, Kennedy tweets.
The Grizzlies have workouts scheduled on Sunday with Ben Bentil (Providence), Isaiah Cousins (Oklahoma), Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Malachi Richardson (Syracuse) and Selden, the team announced via press release.
Draft prospects Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) and Joel James (North Carolina) have signed with Tandem Sports for representation, Kennedy reports (via Twitter).
Former Manhattan power forward Jermaine Lawrence will work out for the Warriors on Saturday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
The Jazz held workouts today for Julian Jacobs (USC), Payton, Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Dakarai Tucker (Utah), Alpha Kaba (France) and Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), the team announced.

Draft Notes: Labissiere, Poeltl, Murray

June 8th, 2016 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here are the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held on June 23rd in Brooklyn, New York:

The Nuggets have workouts scheduled on Thursday for Josh Adams (Wyoming), Kay Felder (Oakland), Brice Johnson, (North Carolina), Chris Obekpa, (UNLV), Malachi Richardson, (Syracuse) and Guershcon Yabusele (France), the team announced via press release.
The Suns held a group workout today for Johnson, Richardson, Alpha Kaba (France) and Maodo Lo (Columbia), the team announced in a series of tweets. Working out individually for Phoenix today was Skal Labissiere (Kentucky) and Jakob Poeltl (Utah).
Kentucky combo guard Jamal Murray said he intends to work out for just four teams: the Celtics, Suns, Timberwolves and Pelicans, Jay King of MassLive tweets. The teams on Murray’s list hold picks No. 3 to No. 6 in June’s draft, King notes.
The Wolves will bring in Damion Lee (Louisville) and Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova) as part of a group workout on June 14th, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN notes (Twitter links).

Draft Notes: Maker, Zimmerman, Richardson

June 4th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the upcoming 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held on June 23rd in Brooklyn, New York:

The Wolves held a workout on Friday for Matt Costello (Michigan State), Ryan Spangler (Oklahoma) and Mike Tobey (Virginia), Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN relays (via Twitter).
The Jazz have workouts scheduled for today with Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Damion Lee (Louisville), James Robinson (Pittsburgh), Josh Scott (Colorado), Malachi Richardson (Syracuse) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced.
Working out for the Grizzlies on Sunday will be Petr Cornelie (France), Julian Jacobs (USC), Alpha Kaba (Mega Leks), Abdel Nader (Iowa State), Josh Adams (Wyoming) and Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa), the team announced via press release.
The Pistons held workouts on Friday for Thon Maker (Australia), Cornelie, Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV), Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State), Isaiah Taylor (Texas) and Cat Barber (NC State), Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays (Twitter links).

Four Overseas First-Round Prospects Enter Draft

April 11th, 2016 at 11:51am CST by Chuck Myron

11:51am: Raznatovic client and first-round prospect Ante Zizic has also entered the draft, as the agent says and Eurohoops.net confirms (Twitter link). Zizic, a 6’11” center who plays for Croatia’s KK Cibona, is No. 22 on Ford‘s list and No. 26 on Givony‘s. The 19-year-old’s athleticism and frame offer promise, but his offensive skills need work, as Givony examined in February.

8:58am: Swingman Timothe Luwawu, shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz and center Ivica Zubac are the first-round prospects among a group of nine overseas players who’ve entered the draft, as their agent, Misko Raznatovic, revealed (Twitter links). Small forwards Marko Guduric and Rade Zagorac, point guard Ognjen Jaramaz, forward/center Alpha Kaba and centers Emircan Kosut and Jordan Shako are the others who’ve declared. All of them have until June 13th, 10 days before the draft, to withdraw.

Luwawu, a 6’7″ 20-year-old from France, has a decent shot to become a lottery pick as the No. 12 prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings. Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists him 19th. His strengths include an emerging 3-point game, passing and intriguing defensive skill, while ball-handling and a lack of willingness to finish inside are his weaknesses, as Givony observed in February. Luwawu plays for Serbia’s KK Mega Vizura.

Korkmaz appears poised to be drafted in the same range. Ford ranks him 13th while Givony has him at No. 18. The 6’7″ 18-year-old combines a well-honed 3-point stroke with impressive athleticism, but his defense lags behind, as Givony also examined in February. Korkmaz is with Anadolu Efes of Turkey.

The analysts are split on Zubac, with Givony pegging him 25th while Ford has him all the way down at 71st. The physical tools of the 7’1″ 19-year-old, along with his offensive upside and productivity, are his strengths while his defensive fundamentals, lack of polish and history of injuries are the trouble spots, as Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress examines in a pair of videos. Zubac is a teammate of Luwawu’s on KK Mega Vizura.

The 6’8″, 20-year-old Zagorac, another KK Mega Vizura player, has the highest ranking among the other prospects, coming in 72nd in Givony‘s rankings, though Ford doesn’t list him. The 6’10”, 20-year-old Kaba is Ford‘s 83rd-ranked prospect and 49th in Givony‘s 2017 mock draft, though Givony doesn’t list him among the top 2016 hopefuls. He along with Jaramaz, who’s 6’4″ and 20 years old, also play for KK Mega Vizura. Guduric, a 6’6″ 21-year-old, plays for a rival Serbian team, KK Crvena Zvezda. Shako, a 6’10” 19-year-old, is with Torrelodones of Spain.

NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline Updates

June 15th, 2015 at 3:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

The deadline for college underclassmen to pull out of the draft and retain NCAA eligibility was way back on April 12th, but the NBA’s deadline isn’t until 4:00pm Central time today. That means that prospects from overseas who aren’t automatically draft-eligible finally have a decision to make. It’s possible that an early entrant from college or two will pull out, too, though that would force them to play in the D-League or overseas next season.

We’ll be tracking news of each player withdrawing from the draft today with this post, and we’ll pass along news about players deciding to stay in the draft here, too. A few reports came in over the recent days and weeks — Cyprus-born small forward Aleksandar Vezenkov is expected to withdraw, and so will German forward Paul Zipser, while South Korean center Jong-Hyun Lee is staying in the draft — but if the narrative changes on them, we’ll note it.

A few prospects changed their minds in the hours leading up to the deadline last year, so we’ll transfer names from one list below to the other if that happens again. Once it’s all settled, we’ll update our early entrants list with the final account as the draft, set for a week from Thursday, approaches.

So, here’s our list as it stands now. We’ll update it and bump it to the top of our home page as new information comes in.

Withdrawing from the draft

Brazilian point guard George de Paula, aka George Lucas, has left the draft, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Rade Zagorac, a Serbian small forward is out of the draft, agent Misko Raznatovic says, as Givony reports (Twitter link).
Russian center Andrey Desyatnikov will withdraw from the draft, according to the ASM Sports Agency, Givony tweets.
Nedim Buza, a small forward from Bosnia and Herzegovina, will pull out of the draft, Givony tweets.
Combo forward Lucas Dias, aka Lucas Dias Silva, and small forward Humberto Gomes, both from Brazil, have withdrawn from the draft, according to their agent, as Givony tweets.
Point guard Miroslav Pasajlic, shooting guard Dusan Kutlesic and center Djoko Salic, all from Serbia, are pulling out of the draft, agent Alex Raskovic tells Givony (Twitter link).
Another Serbian, center Marko Tejic, will also withdraw from the draft, Raznatovic tells Givony (Twitter link).
Vladislav Korenyuk, a Ukrainian center, will pull out of the draft, agent Saulius Svetkauskas confirmed to Oleksandr Proshuta of basket-planet.com (Twitter link; hat tip to Givony).
Brazilian shooting guard Danilo Fuzaro will withdraw, agent Vinicius Fontana tells Givony (Twitter link).
Moussa Diagne, a center from Senegal, is out of the draft, according to agent Herb Rudoy, as Givony tweets.
French power forward Alexandre Chassang will pull out of the draft, according to agent Pedja Materic, Givony tweets.
Big man Alpha Kaba of France won’t keep his name in, either, Materic says, as Givony relays (Twitter link).
Swingman Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, another Frenchman, is also coming off the early-entrant list, Materic tells Givony (Twitter link).
Simone Fontecchio, a small forward from Italy, is pulling out of the draft, a source told Daniele Labanti of Corriere di Bologna (Twitter link).
French small forward Kevin Harley has decided to come off the draft board, agent Olivier Mazet tweets (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
Latvian center Andzejs Pasecniks is withdrawing from the draft, agent Artūrs Kalnītis tweets (hat tip to Givony).

Remaining in the draft

It’s no surprise, but Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis and Croatian shooting guard Mario Hezonja, both candidates to become top-10 picks, will stay in the draft, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Guillermo Hernangomez, a center from Spain, will stick on this year’s early entrants list, according to the ASM Sports Agency, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Serbian point guard Nikola Radicevic is staying in the draft, agent Alex Raskovic said to Givony (Twitter link).
Mouhammadou Jaiteh, a center from France, will remain draft-eligible, agent Herman Manakyan tells Givony (Twitter link).
Serbian center Nikola Milutinov will stay in the draft, agent Marc Fleisher says, according to Givony (on Twitter).
Satnam Singh, a center from India, is keeping his name on the draft list, agent Travis King tells Givony (Twitter link).
Macedonian-born small forward Cedi Osman will stay in the draft, tweets Can Pelister of Trendbasket.
Greek power forward Dimitrios Agravanis is staying in the draft, tweets agent Georgios Dimitropoulos (hat tip to Givony).

Draft Notes: Kaba, Nuggets, Rozier

June 7th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Alpha Kaba is expected to withdraw his name from the draft, sources informed NBADraft.net (Twitter link). The 6’10”, 19-year-old forward from France has participated in a number of NBA workouts in recent weeks, including the Celtics, Lakers and Sixers. Kaba, who is at the adidas Eurocamp this weekend, according to NBADraft.net, played for Espoirs Pau-Orthez in the French league last season and averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. Apparently, being ranked a second-round prospect was not enticing enough for him to leave Europe. Kaba is currently rated No. 42 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s list of Top 100 Draft Prospects and No. 44 by DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony.

In other news around the league:

The Nuggets will hold a solo workout for Kentucky big man Willie Cauley-Stein on Monday, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. Denver owns the No. 7 overall selection in the draft and Cauley-Stein could be an intriguing frontcourt option to pair with either center Jusuf Nurkic or power forward Kenneth Faried. Cauley-Stein has already worked out for the Lakers, who hold the No. 2 pick, and is scheduled to work out with the Knicks on June 16.
Louisville’s Terry Rozier has strengthened his status as a first-round pick, Spears reports in a separate tweet. As many as 17 teams have either worked out or are scheduled to work out Rozier, as we noted late last month. Ford has Rozier ranked No. 27 in his Top 100, putting him on the fringes of the first round, but the 6’2” point guard is rated as second-round material at No. 50 by Givony.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Blatt, Lalanne, Celtics

June 4th, 2015 at 10:27pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Nets will swap picks with the Hawks in the upcoming draft as a result of the Joe Johnson trade, meaning they’ll be selecting at 29th. Still, Brooklyn director of player personnel Gregg Polinsky doesn’t sound like he’s too worried about picking so low, as Roderick Boone of Newsday passes along, since Polinsky believes GM Billy King’s creativity will help the Nets land a difference maker late in the first.

And-Ones: Booker, Clippers, Sanders

June 1st, 2015 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker will work out for the Thunder on Tuesday, Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman tweets. Oklahoma City owns the No. 14 overall pick. The Suns, who have the No. 13 pick, brought in Booker for a workout on Monday. according to a tweet from Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com. Dez Wells, Josh Richardson, Derek Cooke, Vince Hunter and Jarvis Summers also participated in Phoenix’s workout, according to Scotto.

In other news around the league:

The Clippers, who don’t have a pick in the draft, nonetheless brought in several prospects for workouts on Monday, including Chris Walker, Dwayne Polee, Ralston Turner, Keifer Sykes, Shannon Scott and Richaun Holmes, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports.
Trevor Lacey, Dakari Johnson, Rayvonte Rice, Corey Hawkins, Kenneth Smith and Alpha Kaba worked out for the Lakers on Monday, according to the Lakers’ Twitter feed.
Jerian Grant and Delon Wright participated in the Wizards’ first pre-draft workout, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.
Larry Sanders has no regrets walking away from the Bucks and the NBA, he tells Gus Turner of Complex.com in a lengthy feature article. Sanders left approximately $27MM but has found peace and happiness outside of basketball, Turner adds. “I couldn’t function outside of the gym and my studio,” he told Turner. “I couldn’t be around my family; I couldn’t be around anybody else. I was creating from a place of anxiety and fear, suffering. I wasn’t creating from a place of joy or happiness or freedom. Everything I did was pure avoidance.”
Alvin Gentry’s four-year deal to coach the Pelicans is worth a total of $13.75MM, and that includes a team option of $4MM for the final season, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

And-Ones: Wolves, Lakers, Pacers, Celtics

May 28th, 2015 at 2:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

Several players and agents suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that any given Eastern Conference team would be more attractive than a comparable one from the Western Conference given the disparity between the conferences. One agent told Kennedy that players “absolutely” want to be the East and that he hopes his draft clients are taken by Eastern teams, though an executive cautioned that the presence of LeBron James might dissuade free agents from jumping out of the West. James is set to represent the East for the fifth straight time in the NBA Finals, and while we wait more than a week for tip-off, here’s more from around the NBA:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears D’Angelo Russell is in the mix for the Timberwolves at No. 1, says Karl-Anthony Towns, but not necessarily Jahlil Okafor, would be a lock for the Lakers at No. 2, and also writes in his chat with readers that the Pacers and Celtics would love to move up. Ford has heard chatter among GMs that the Thunder have promised Cameron Payne they’ll take him at No. 14, but he isn’t sure just how much truth there is to that, as the ESPN scribe writes in the same piece. Sources have suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Payne has a promise from some team. Our Eddie Scarito has Payne going to the Thunder in the Hoops Rumors Mock Draft.
UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn had an especially impressive workout this past weekend, Ford observes in an Insider-only piece, and Vaughn also opened eyes in his workout Tuesday for the Heat, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Ford adds in his piece that scouts have told him that French center Alpha Kaba is willing to stay in the draft rather than withdraw by the June 15th deadline if he receives a promise from a team.
The Bulls and Pelicans have interest in former 16th overall pick Royce White, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, though it’s not clear if they’re yet considering him for any sort of deal that would go beyond summer league.