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Ford’s Latest: Cavs, Magic, Wizards, Suns, Kings

June 25th, 2013 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN.com's Chad Ford has published version 6.0 of his 2013 mock draft, with just over 48 hours remaining until draft night. As he has been for all six of Ford's mocks, Nerlens Noel remains in the No. 1 spot. The ESPN.com scribe wrote a lengthy piece last night on why he thinks the Cavaliers are still likely to select Noel, and provides details on plenty of other first-round teams in his new mock, so let's check out the highlights….

  • The Magic are prepared to leap on Noel if he's there at No. 2, but if the Cavs take him, Orlando's choice becomes trickier. Ford continues to hear that the Magic are leaning toward Victor Oladipo over Ben McLemore and others., though Cody Zeller could be a dark horse.
  • Otto Porter appears to be ahead of Anthony Bennett for the Wizards at No. 3.
  • Although Ford has the Suns selecting McLemore at No. 5, he says Phoenix prefers Oladipo and also likes Zeller and Michael Carter-Williams.
  • If Porter or Alex Len are still on the board at No. 6, the Pelicans will probably draft one of the two, but if not, the team may target a point guard like Carter-Williams or Trey Burke, says Ford.
  • C.J. McCollum has emerged as a potential selection for the Kings at No. 7.
  • The Trail Blazers wouldn't be opposed to drafting Carter-Williams if he slides to No. 10, since he has the necessary to play alongside Damian Lillard, according to Ford.
  • If the Cavs end up acquiring the Mavericks' 13th overall pick, Cleveland would probably use it to draft Sergey Karasev.
  • Ford has Shabazz Muhammad slipping all the way to No. 18 (Hawks) in this version of his mock.
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Draft Rumors: Jazz, McCollum, Bennett

June 22nd, 2013 at 8:29pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Jazz have a lot of question marks this summer, but with the 14th, 21st, and 46th picks in what many consider a wild card "down" draft, their chances of landing a quality starter with a high upside leaves a lot to be desired. 

Brad Rock of the Desert News writes about how rare it is to land anyone of merit with the 14th pick in the draft. Sure, there are exceptions, Rock mentions Tim Hardaway's selection by the Warriors with the 14th pick in 1989, but usually there's a dearth of talent in that position, with the pick being "unproductive at worst, respectable at best."

Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune reiterates what Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld wrote in his NBA AM piece: the Jazz will select a point guard, but there aren't a lot of options at their current picks. With few options for a point guard selected in their range, it's unlikely the Jazz will find a difference maker at point guard. When Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey was asked if he would be surprised if the draft came and went without the Jazz selecting a point guard, he said "Not at all."

But Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun said there's a lot of talent at point guard in the late first early second rounds, mentioning Dennis Schroeder, Myck Kabongo, Peyton Siva, Pierre Jackson, Isaiah Canaan, Nate Wolters, and Phil Pressey (Twitter). Here are a few more tidbits from the Jazz and the rest of the league with just five days before the 2013 draft. 

  • Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune believes the Jazz should move up if they're looking for a difference maker, largely mirroring what his colleague Oram wrote; the Jazz aren't going to land anything special, unless they luck out, if they stay put. 
  • ESPN.com's Chad Ford has a list of the 10 green room invites for ESPN's Thursday draft coverage: Nerlens Noel, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Alex Len, Anthony Bennett, Ben McLemore, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Cody Zeller & C.J. McCollum.
  • The selections perfectly align with the top 10 in Ford's latest mock draft, but Ford mentions the NBA is likely to add some more green room attendees as we get closer to the big night, and even offers some guesses as to who else will be invited (Twitter). 
  • About one of those confirmed green room invites, John Rohde of the Oklahoman has a piece on how far McCollum has come since he was a middle school phenom in Oklahoma City.
  • Another green room invite, Bennett, visited the Bobcats today, but he couldn't work out, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Bennett is recovering from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on his left shoulder, but he'll be ready to play in August. 
  • Marcus Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press ranks the Timberwolves' 24 years of draft picks–including Kevin Garnett, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love–in the days preceding their 26th pick in this, their 25th draft anniversary.
  • As the draft approaches, Scott Agyness of Pacers.com writes that University of Kansas 7-footer Jeff Withey (represented by Darren Matsubara) participated in his last predraft workout with the Pacers today.
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Draft Workout Updates: Friday

June 21st, 2013 at 10:30pm CST by Luke Adams

With just six days left until the 2013 draft, NBA teams continue to bring in prospects to work them out and gather as much information as they can. Here are the latest updates on workouts taking place today, over the weekend, and early next week:

  • Allen Crabbe will work out Tuesday with the Bucks and Wednesday for the Nets, reports Scott Howard Cooper of NBA.com. Crabbe, widely projected as a late first-rounder at best, made it a priority to visit the Bucks, who have the No. 15 pick (Twitter links).
  • Mason Plumlee wasn't on the list the Pistons released of players with whom the team has met, but he was scheduled to work out for Detroit on Friday, according to MLive's David Mayo.
  • We heard about Vander Blue's workout with the Bucks today (below), and Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel notes that Blue has also auditioned for the Mavs, Spurs, Hawks, Sixers, Pistons and Magic, with another workout on tap for Monday with the Grizzlies.

Earlier updates:

  • Anthony Bennett will visit the Bobcats on Saturday, though his injured rotator cuff will prevent him from working out, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
  • Pelicans GM Dell Demps traveled Friday to get a close look at Victor Oladipo, sources confirmed to John Reid of The Times Picayune.
  • Keith Langlois of Pistons.com passed along a list of players who met with the Pistons this past week: Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, C.J. McCollum, Cody Zeller, Derrick Nix, Dexter Strickland, Augusto Cesar Lima, Jared Berggren, Kenny Boynton and Karron Johnson (All Twitter links).
  • The Kings updated the workout schedule on their website, which shows Shabazz Muhammad, Doug Anderson, A.J. Davis, John Dickson, Mfon Udofia and Kwame Vaughn coming in Saturday. McCollum will be in for a workout on Monday, Cowbell Kingdom's James Ham tweets.
  • Today's workout for the Timberwolves is expected to be the last one for the team, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, adding that Mason Plumlee, Kelly Olynyk, Colton Iverson, and Christian Watford were in attendance.
  • Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution passes along a couple tweets from Gorgui Dieng, surmising that the big man appears to be in Atlanta for a workout with the Hawks.
  • The Suns' workout today is headlined by Glen Rice Jr., according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, who has the full list of participants in a pair of tweets.
  • Vander Blue, Grant Jerrett, Brock Motum, Dejan Musli, Nemanja Nedovic, and Andrew Smith are working out for the Bucks today, according to the team's PR Twitter feed.
  • Tim Hardaway Jr. and Erick Green will be among the prospects working out for the Nets on Monday, the team announced in a press release.
  • Hardaway Jr. was also among the prospects who worked out for the Clippers today, along with Tony Snell, Ricky Ledo, and Reggie Bullock (link via Eric Patten of Clippers.com).
  • The Pacers announced today that they'll work out a a handful of prospects tomorrow: Matt Dellavedova, Angel Sharpless, Jamaal Franklin, Zeke Marshall, and Jeff Withey.
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Draft Notes: Cavs, Pistons, Thunder, Blazers

June 19th, 2013 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2013 NBA draft just eight days away, various outlets continue to update their mock drafts, with Chris Mannix of SI.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com the latest experts to provide new versions of their respective mocks. Mannix and Givony actually agree on the top four – Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Otto Porter, and Alex Len, respectively – but starting at No. 5, their first rounds diverge significantly. Here are more of today's draft-related updates:

  • Mannix's latest mock draft includes a number of interesting tidbits, including word that the Cavaliers continue to shop the first overall pick, but "have completely overvalued it," according to one executive.
  • We already passed along one notable update from Chad Ford's latest chat at ESPN.com, but the entire chat was full of interesting answers, as Ford addressed nearly every first-round pick.
  • C.J. McCollum and Michael Carter-Williams worked out with the Pistons today, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
  • If Carter-Williams falls to No. 12, he'd be an ideal fit for the Thunder, says David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider-only link).
  • The Trail Blazers worked out Mason Plumlee, Archie Goodwin, Myck Kabongo, Phil Pressey, E.J. Singler, and Dewayne Dedmon today, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link).
  • The Grizzlies, who hold three second-round picks, will work out Erick Green, Elias Harris, Brandon Davies, Jason Jones, D.J. Stephens, and Mareks Mejeris tomorrow, the team announced in a release.
  • James Ennis was among the players who worked out for the Clippers today, according to the team's official site.
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Draft Notes: Magic, Pistons, Timberwolves

June 18th, 2013 at 10:30pm CST by Michael Pina

A few more notes on the upcoming NBA draft.

  • Holders of the number two pick in the draft, the Magic will host Otto Porter and Cody Zeller in the days ahead, tweets the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins.
  • The Pistons will work out former Michigan State center Derrick Nix, according to MLive.com's Diamond Leung. 
  • The Timberwolves worked out Lehigh's C.J. McCollum on Tuesday and liked what they saw, especially with his ability to shoot and handle the ball like a point guard, reports TwinCities.com's Marcus R. Fuller.
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Draft Rumors: Noel, Snell, Olynyk, Blazers, Adams

June 11th, 2013 at 5:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com delivered enough draft rumors for their own post this afternoon, and we rounded up more draft-related news in another post this morning. It's not hard to tell that the big event takes place just two weeks and two days from now. Here are tonight's updates, via Twitter unless otherwise noted:

  • In spite of rumors that the Cavaliers probably won't draft him first overall, Nerlens Noel will visit with Cleveland on June 20th, following Saturday's meeting with the Wizards, The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer reports.
  • Tony Snell's stock is on the rise, and two executives have told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the New Mexico swingman has solidified a spot in the first round.
  • Kelly Olynyk is the most prominent name among a group of six prospects working out for the Blazers today, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com passes along. John Allen, Chris Babb, Erik Murphy, D.J. Stephens and Khalif Wyatt were the others in attendance.
  • The Timberwolves will turn their focus to big men Thursday, when Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert and Mike Muscala will participate in a group workout for the team, observes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Cody Zeller will be in Minnesota the same day, but he'll work out separately. 
  • C.J. McCollum will participate in a workout Wednesday for the Jazz that will also include Scott Bamforth from nearby Weber State, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. 
  • Jared Berggren has shown off his skills in front of the Blazers and Suns, and the Wisconsin power forward will get to do so for the Bucks, likely on Thursday, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. 
  • Mason Plumlee is the headliner in a Wizards audition set for Wednesday, the team announced via press release. Karron Johnson, Bruce Massey, Brock Motum, Dexter Strickland and Kellen Thornton will join him.
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Draft Notes: Blazers, Muhammad, McCollum

June 10th, 2013 at 9:06pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's a look at the latest draft news as we close in on June 27th..

  • The Trail Blazers took a gamble on a mid-major guard last season when they drafted Damian Lillard and Joe Freeman of The Oregonian wonders if they might do the same in 2013 with Lehigh's C.J. McCollum.  Portland, who owns the No. 10 pick, worked McCollum out earlier today.
  • On paper, Shabazz Muhammad is just the type of player that the Kings need, but the outside issues could dissuade them from taking him at No. 7, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
  • Today's Suns draft workout featured North Texas small forward Tony Mitchell, Duke center Mason Plumlee, Murray State point guard Isaiah Canaan, USC center DeWayne Dedmon, Delaware power forward Jamelle Hagins, and Temple shooting guard Khalif Wyatt, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.  
  • The Nets released the workout lineup for their workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Jeff Withey of Kansas, Ray McCallum of Detroit, and Vincent Council of Providence are among the players who will audition in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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Draft Updates: Eurocamp, McCollum, Kings

June 8th, 2013 at 8:59pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy just completed its first day showing off the best players Europe has to offer NBA teams in this month's draft. Sports Illustated's Chris Mannix said that executives were raving about Giannis Antetokounmpo. According to Mannix, one executive said the 18-year-old Nigerian born "Greek Freak" point forward had "Kevin Durant-like ability" (Twitter).

Here are a couple more links detailing what went down during the first day of Adidas' Eurocamp:

Despite some excellent play at Eurocamp, ESPN.com's college basketball analyst, Fran Fraschilla, doesn’t think there are a lot of European prospects that will go in the second round. He does see a lot of NCAA candidates for possible second round selections (Twitter), so lets go through the rest of the draft updates with an emphasis on the college prospects:

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Draft Workout Updates: Thursday

June 6th, 2013 at 9:37pm CST by Luke Adams

We're now just three weeks away from the 2013 draft, so teams are busy bringing in prospects to meet with them and work them out, while we do our best to keep tabs on as many of those workouts as we can. Here's the latest:

  • Tom Housenick of The Morning Call reported that C.J. McCollum will visit Portland at some point for a workout before June 20th.
  • Chris Haynes of CSNNW tweets that Trevor Mbakwe will visit the Trail Blazers tomorrow. 
  • The Kings released a list of players who have worked out for them via their team website, noting that guards Will Cherry, Travis Releford, Brandon Triche, forward Chris Evans, and centers Rudy Gobert and Aziz N'Diaye took part in workouts this past Monday. Former Michigan star Trey Burke is scheduled to come in tomorrow. 
  • The Wizards plan to bring in C.J. Aiken, Junior Cadougan, Ella Ellis, Lamont Jones, A.J. Matthews, and Mike Muscala in for Friday workouts, as per the team's official website. 
  • Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweets that Steven Adams, Jack Cooley, Richard Howell, Kenny Kadji, Dennis Schroeder, and Peyton Siva are all scheduled for a pre-draft workout with the Jazz on Friday. 

Earlier updates:

  • Mason Plumlee, Shabazz Muhammad, Kelly Olynyk, Norvel Pelle, and Scott Wood worked out for the Sixers today, tweets Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
  • Plumlee will also work out for the Trail Blazers on June 19th and for the Pistons on June 21st, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
  • Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that Otto Porter will work out for the Wizards on June 14th.
  • The Timberwolves expect to bring in C.J. McCollum for a workout, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter).
  • Working out for the Suns today, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter): McCollum, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Shane Larkin, Zeke Marshall, and Korie Lucious.
  • Gorgui Dieng's agent confirms that his client will work out for both the Nets and Knicks, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com details.
  • The Grizzlies announced in a press release that James Southerland, Will Clyburn, B.J. Young, Dewayne Dedmon, Colton Iverson, and Sherwood Brown will work out for the club tomorrow.
  • The Knicks will work out the following prospects tomorrow, per the team's Twitter feed: Ricky Ledo, Tahj Tate, Adonis Thomas, Christian Watford, Tony Mitchell, and Grant Jerrett.
  • Jeff Withey worked out for the Bulls yesterday, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter).
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Kotoch On Bledsoe, Magic, Oladipo, Noel, Cavs

June 5th, 2013 at 5:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com has Nerlens Noel atop the latest version of his mock draft, and he has news about the Cavaliers, Noel and other potential lottery storylines. We'll round up the highlights here:

  • The Magic and Clippers have had conversations about Eric Bledsoe, according to Kotoch. Chad Ford of ESPN.com wrote a week ago that if Orlando took a shooting guard in the draft, the team would have interest in trading Arron Afflalo for Bledsoe and Caron Butler.
  • Speaking of the Magic and shooting guards, Victor Oladipo has eclipsed Ben McLemore on Orlando's draft board.
  • Noel's torn ACL won't allow him to work out, but he'll visit with the Cavs on June 20th. 
  • The Thunder are prioritizing centers at No. 12, unless C.J. McCollum falls to them.
  • An established wing player is what the Timberwolves are seeking as they reportedly dangle Derrick Williams in an effort to move up from No. 9.
  • The Trail Blazers are in search of a big man who can defend and rebound in exchange for the tenth pick. 
  • The Mavericks would also "love" to trade pick No. 13, Kotoch writes.
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