Chinanu Onuaku Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Borrego, Onuaku, Swanigan

May 25th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Grizzlies reportedly offering their head coaching spot to David Fizdale, the Rockets are set to be the lone NBA team without a head coach in place for the 2016/17 campaign. Spurs assistant James Borrego, who appears to have emerged as a serious candidate for Houston’s post, had his scheduled second interview today with team owner Leslie Alexander, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Houston is also believed to be considering Magic assistant coach Adrian Griffin, Sixers assistant Mike D’Antoni, and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas for its head coaching opening.

Here’s more from around the league:

Louisville sophomore center Chinanu Onuaku will remain in the NBA draft and will not return to school for his junior campaign, coach Rick Pitino informed Jeff Greer of The Courier Journal (via Twitter). The 19-year-old is a projected second round pick with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting him as the No. 38 overall prospect.
New Mexico State sophomore power forward Pascal Siakam intends to remain in the 2016 NBA draft, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com tweets. Siakam is the No. 54 overall prospect according to Givony.
Purdue freshman power forward Caleb Swanigan is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school next season, Rothstein relays (Twitter link). The 19-year-old is ranked No. 83 overall by Givony, who projects Swanigan as a late first-rounder in 2017.
Former Michigan State swingman Denzel Valentine is working his way up draft boards and is now a potential lottery pick, writes Michael Singer of USA Today. Valentine appeared in 31 contest for the Spartans this past season and averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 33.0 minutes per outing.
Nebraska junior small forward Andrew White will return to school for his senior campaign, Rothstein relays (via Twitter).
Sophomore point guard Melo Trimble is withdrawing from the draft and will return to Maryland next season, Rothstein tweets.

And-Ones: Diallo, English, Telfair

May 23rd, 2016 at 10:08pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Cheick Diallo has worked out for the Hawks today, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors mentioned Diallo as a first round possibility in Atlanta’s Offseason Outlook. Atlanta has the No. 21 overall pick in addition to two second-rounders.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft

A.J. English has worked out for the Lakers , Zagoria reports (Twitter link). The Iona product will work out for the Clippers on Wednesday and the Mavs on Thursday
Malik Newman will work out for the Knicks on Tuesday, Zagoria reports (Twitter link). Newman previously worked out for the Bucks and Nets.
Coach Rick Pitino told Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link) that he expects Chinanu Onuaku to remain in the draft.
Makai Mason will withdraw from the draft and return to Yale, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Ethan Telfair, the brother of former NBA player Sebastian Telfair, has withdrawn from the draft and will return to Idaho State, Goodman tweets.
The Kings will work out Venky Jois, Nick Faust, Mamadou Ndiaye, Mike Tobey, Codi Miller-McIntyre and Anthony Beene on Tuesday, reports James Ham of Comcast SportsNet (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Ainge, Colangelo, Draft

May 13th, 2016 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics would at least debate the idea of trading the pick Brooklyn owes them even if it winds up No. 1 after the lottery, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in an appearance on ESPN2 Thursday, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Still, Ainge knows he can’t over-reach and burn the team’s assets, as Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald relays. “I understand that,” Ainge said. “Look, we just want to spend our capital wisely. That’s all I’m saying. And we’ll try to do that. But sometimes you have to wait and you can’t do it when you want to do it. But we wanted to do it last [offseason]. We wanted to do it at the trade deadline. And now this summer, we want to do it. And I feel like the summer’s a better time than [the] trade deadline to do it, so I’m optimistic and I’m hopeful.”

See more from the Atlantic Division:

Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo expressed a willingness to consider trading a top-five pick if the team ends up with two, as Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com observes following his conversation with the new team exec. Philadelphia, which has a 26.9% chance of landing the No. 1 pick, also gets the Lakers pick if it falls out of the top three. “I think you should always be a little proactive, just in determining what your best course of action is,” Colangelo said. “You don’t want to leave anything on the table. If there was an opportunity to do something and you didn’t know that or realize it because you didn’t make a phone call, then that’s your fault. But I think we’ll explore everything in every regard, and that’s the good news about having the kind of flexibility and the number of assets that we have.”
Maryland small forward Jake Layman and Louisville center Chinanu Onuaku will work out for the Celtics, notes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link).
The Sixers interviewed Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson and Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, and Ulis plans to work out for Philadelphia, too, as Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com relays (Twitter links). Oregon State’s Gary Payton II is also on the Sixers interview list, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Regardless of whether a reported four-year, $4.5MM offer is in the works, the Knicks want draft-and-stash prospect Guillermo Hernangomez on their roster next season, reports international journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Agent Andy Miller dismissed the report of the offer, though New York can’t formally present a contract to Hernangomez until July.

Atlantic Notes: Dunn, Trimble, Wiltjer, Hart

May 12th, 2016 at 10:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Coach Brett Brown has promised Providence sophomore point guard Kris Dunn a chance to play right away if the Sixers draft him, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dunn met with Sixers officials Wednesday and both he and the team appeared to come away impressed. “They made me feel like they really wanted me there,” he said. “We all were very engaged. We talked about a lot of things. I appreciate them having me.” Philadelphia notched the NBA’s worst record this season and has a 26.9% chance at landing the top overall pick. That will probably be LSU’s Ben Simmons or Duke’s Brandon Ingram, but the Sixers will also get the Lakers’ pick if it falls outside the top three, which is where they might take Dunn.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers are interviewing a lot of guards, including Maryland sophomore point guard Melo Trimble, Pompey tweets.
Gonzaga senior power forward Kyle Wiltjer will work out for the Sixers later this month, Pompey tweets.
Villanova junior shooting guard Josh Hart plans a workout with the Sixers, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com. Hart is undecided on whether to stay in the draft or return to school. Philadelphia will also work out freshman small forward Dedric Lawson of Memphis on Monday (Twitter link).
The Celtics have met with several top prospects, including Ingram, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Other projected top-10 players that Boston has interviewed include Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, Kentucky’s Jamal Murray and California’s Jaylen Brown. The team has also scheduled an interview with Utah center Jakob Poeltl. According to Himmelsbach, the Celtics have either met with or are planning interviews with Oakland’s Kay Felder, Maryland’s Diamond Stone, Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin, New Mexico State’s Pascal Siakam, Michigan State’s Deyonta Davis, China’s Zhou Qi, Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw, Louisville’s Chinanu Onuaku, Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones, Mississippi State’s Malik Newman, North Carolina State’s Cat Barber, Kansas’ Cheick Diallo, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes and high school prospect Thon Maker.
Seton Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead, who has met with the Sixers, Celtics, Knicks and Nets among others, will “100%” leave college if a team offers him a first-round guarantee, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “You can’t give up opportunities like that,” Whitehead said. “I mean, when they tell you it’s time to go, you just gotta go.”
Assistant GM Allan Houston conducted the Knicks‘ meeting with Whitehead as team president Phil Jackson apparently skipped the draft combine, Zagoria writes in a separate piece.
Diallo is scheduled to meet with the Knicks, Celtics and Raptors on Friday, Zagoria tweets.

And-Ones: George Karl, Spurs Ownership, Draft

March 11th, 2016 at 1:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The overwhelming sense in the Kings organization is that George Karl is in his final weeks as coach, writes Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. That jibes with earlier reporting that cast doubt on the idea of Karl remaining in his position beyond this season, even though he made it through a near-dismissal last month. Players say the 63-year-old doesn’t appear to have the energy or vocal cords necessary to continue to face the challenge of coaching DeMarcus Cousins, whom the Kings suspended Thursday for his latest verbal clash with Karl, Voisin adds. Karl nonetheless downplayed the implications of Thursday’s cancer treatment, which removed squamous cell carcinoma on the left side of his neck, as Voisin relays. The columnist proposes moving Karl into the front office as a solution, and it’s an idea to which GM Vlade Divac is open, Voisin notes. See more from around the NBA:

Peter Holt’s decision to step down as owner of the Spurs was surprising, and the timing was odd, coming in the midst of another run at a title, but it’s in line with the 67-year-old’s gradual tapering of his professional responsibilities, sources tell Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio-Express News. Holt’s past history of alcoholism wasn’t a factor in his decision, said new co-CEO Rick Pych, who promised that he doesn’t plan any significant change for the organization, given his longstanding history with Gregg Popovich and R.C. Buford. New primary owner Julianna Hawn Holt, Peter Holt’s wife, long ago established herself with the team, minority-share owner Stephen Lang told Orsborn, lending further credence to the idea that no major overhaul is coming.
Louisville sophomore center Chinanu Onuaku will declare for the draft, coach Rick Pitino said, as Jeff Greer of The Courier-Journal notes. That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily draft-bound, as new rules allow underclassmen to again “test the waters” and take part in the NBA combine while still maintaining their college eligibility should they decide to withdraw from the draft. Onuaku, the younger brother of Arinze Onuaku, is the 51st-best prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and comes in 58th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Ford gives his take on the most likely pick for each team currently slated for a lottery pick in an Insider-only piece.