Caleb Swanigan

Southeast Notes: Skiles, Felder, Swanigan, Chriss

Already fired three times in his NBA coaching career, Orlando resident Scott Skiles was concerned how it might impact his family if he met that fate with the Magic, says Adrian Wojnarowski in a video on The Vertical. Wojnarowski reports that some officials in the Magic organization were “livid” after Skiles announced his decision to resign from his post today after one season of a four-year contract. Others were relieved, saying “every day was a battle” with Skiles, who became less enamored with his roster as time went on.

Skiles was never a fan of point guard Elfrid Payton, according to Wojnarowski, which put him at odds with GM Rob Hennigan. Ownership and Magic CEO Alex Martins pushed hard to hire Skiles last summer in an effort to bring more discipline to the team, but he and Hennigan never meshed and their partnership was strained to the end.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • The Magic have interviewed Kay Felder, a junior point guard out of Oakland, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Felder, who turned heads with his 44-inch vertical jump, said, “I never tested because I always felt I was a great leaper.” (Twitter link).
  • Purdue freshman power forward Caleb Swanigan plans a workout with the Hawks for after the combine, writes Nathan Baird of The Lafayette Journal & Courier. Swanigan suffered an injury to his left calf last week in a session with the Spurs and had to cancel workouts with other teams. He said he’s still deciding whether to stay in the draft or return to school. “If an NBA team tells me they think I have an opportunity to come and help their organization in the next few years, even if it’s not right away but it’s going to be soon and they have a vision for me, than I think that’s where I’ll go,” Swanigan said.
  • The Hawks met with Washington freshman power forward Marquese Chriss, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link).
  • Connecticut sophomore shooting guard Daniel Hamilton interviewed with the Hornets and expressed a desire to play with UConn alum Kemba Walker, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

Central Notes: Bird, Swanigan, Whitehead, Dunn

Larry Bird hasn’t started his search to replace fired head coach Frank Vogel, relays Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star. The Pacers‘ president of basketball operations, who spent several hours watching watching five-on-five competitions today at the draft combine, said he has not talked to agents for any prospective coaches. “I got a list of guys and I’m just putting it together,” Bird said. Vogel, who was fired last week, has talked to the Rockets about their open head coaching spot, but no formal interview has been scheduled. The Pacers, who hold the No. 20 pick in next month’s draft, have conducted interviews with several players and will start workouts next week.

There’s more news from the Central Division:

  • One of those players the Pacers interviewed is Purdue freshman power forward Caleb Swanigan, according to a tweet from Buckner. Swanigan says he will hold a predraft workout with Indiana.
  • Seton Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead has interviewed with the Bulls and Pacers, tweets Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
  • The Pacers also talked to Indiana junior small forward Troy Williams, according to Nathan Baird of The Lafayette Journal & Courier (Twitter link).
  • The Bulls interviewed Providence sophomore point guard Kris Dunn, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (Twitter link). Unless they get really lucky in the lottery, the Bulls would have to make a deal to rise into Dunn’s expected draft range. Chicago currently sits at pick No. 14.
  • Kentucky sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that he talked to the Pistons among nine team interviews (Twitter link).
  • Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson also met with the Pistons today, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
  • The Pistons interviewed Florida State freshman shooting guard Malik Beasley, Beard tweets. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy talked about toughness and what role Beasley might have in Detroit.
  • The Pistons also talked to Vanderbilt sophomore point guard Wade Baldwin, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Baldwin had an interview with the Bucks as well, tweets Matt Velazquez of The Journal Sentinel.
  • Michigan State freshman big man Deyonta Davis also met with the Bucks, according to Beard (Twitter link).
  • Virginia senior shooting guard Malcolm Brogdon interviewed with the Bucks, tweets Charles F. Garnder of The Journal-Sentinel. “I’m 23; I’m one of the oldest guys in the draft,” Brogdon said. “So I hope I come off as mature and experienced.” (Twitter link).
  • The Bucks also met with Washington freshman power forward Marquese Chriss, Velazquez tweets. Coach Jason Kidd was in the meeting as the team asked Chriss to write down his “personal pillars.”

Caleb Swanigan To Enter Draft

Purdue freshman Caleb Swanigan intends to test the waters and enter the NBA Draft, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports reports (Twitter link). The power forward doesn’t intend to hire an agent, Rothstein notes, which means that he’ll retain his college eligibility in the event he decides to withdraw before the May 25th deadline for him to pull out.

The powerfully built freshman was projected to be taken in the latter part of the first round next year, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him No. 25 in his latest mock draft for 2017. It does remain to be seen whether or not Swanigan’s girth will be an issue with NBA teams and scouts, given that the 6’8″ forward weighs in at a sturdy 275 pounds.

Swanigan appeared in 34 games for the Boilermakers this season, averaging 10.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 25.7 minutes per outing. The power forward’s shooting numbers on the campaign were .461/.292/.713.