Chris Walker Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Aldridge, Jazz, Nuggets

June 4th, 2015 at 5:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, a report surfaced indicating that Blazers star LaMarcus Aldridge had put his Portland area home up for sale. Apparently, that is not the case. Yes, the house is up for sale, but the 29-year-old free agent isn’t the owner. It turns out that the West Linn, Oregon home is actually owned by former Blazers guard Damon Stoudamire and Aldridge was simply renting it, as John Canzano of The Oregonian writes. Stoudamire later confirmed as much on Twitter [sic]:

“eating lunch and my house in West Linn comes across the screen. Don’t know if LA is leaving PO but, thx for the pub! #4sale,” Stoudamire wrote.

While Blazers fans calm down a bit, let’s take a look at more news out of the Northwest Division..

The Jazz have a greater chance at bringing over Tibor Pleiss next year than Ante Tomic, ESPN700’s Andy Larsen tweets. However, it’s also possible that both players make the jump or that neither player does. Larsen notes that what Utah does with both players is very much dependent on who they draft (link). There won’t be much room for both players if they draft a big man at No. 12 later this month.
The Jazz formally announced on Twitter that they will work out six prospects on Friday. That group includes SMU center Yanick Moreira, UNC Asheville center Jaleel Roberts, Kentucky guard Aaron Harrison, Maryland guard/forward Dez Wells, N.C. State guard Trevor Lacey, and St. John’s guard Phil Greene. Hoops Rumors spoke with Greene and his former coach Steve Lavin recently about the guard’s NBA prospects. Greene is represented by veteran NBA agent Keith Kreiter.
In a press release, the Nuggets announced that they will audition seven players on Friday. The morning group will feature forward Darion Atkins (Virginia), guard Devin Booker (Kentucky), forward Sam Dekker (Wisconsin), guard Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), guard Pierria Henry (Charlotte), and guard/forward SirDominic Pointer (St. John’s).
The Blazers‘ second pre-draft workout includes Henry, George de Paula, Chris Walker, Joshua Smith, and Seth Tuttle, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (on Twitter). As previously reported, Jarell Martin will also be a participant.

Western Notes: Hornacek, Aldridge, Lakers

June 4th, 2015 at 2:51pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Kauffman, who is Suns coach Jeff Hornacek‘s agent, denied the reports that his client declined to interview for the coaching vacancy at Iowa State, Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com writes. A source confirmed to Parrish that it was Kauffman who posted on a message board linked to the initial report, “We represent Jeff Hornacek. Rarely do I post but I will simply say this story is inaccurate. Jeff loves his alma mater and the facts are simply wrong here. Under contract is the key. School knew they had to request permission in a certain manner from the Phoenix Suns. I do not wish to allocate the blame as to the parties at fault here. But it’s a shame.” Iowa State hopes to have a replacement in place for Fred Hoiberg, who was recently named coach of the Bulls, by next week, Parrish adds.

Here’s more doings from around the Western Conference:

The Suns held workouts Wednesday for Sam Dekker (Wisconsin), Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse), Brandon Ashley (Arizona), Juwan Staten (West Virginia), Bo Barnes (Arizona State), and Daniel Bejarano (Colorado State), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
Scheduled to work out for the Suns today are Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin), Trey Lyles (Kentucky), Kelly Oubre (Kansas), Daniel Mullings (New Mexico State), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), and Greg Whittington (Georgetown), Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter link).
The Lakers held workouts on Wednesday for Aaron Thomas (Florida State), Tyler Haws (BYU), Rashad Vaughn (UNLV), Sykes, Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green), and Chris Walker (Florida), the team announced (on Twitter).
Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge has put his Portland area home up for sale, Amy Schwartz of 750 The Game tweets. Aldridge is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and while his real estate dealings could be strictly a coincidence, they could also be interpreted as a harbinger of the 29-year-old’s intent to sign elsewhere this summer.
LSU forward Jarell Martin is scheduled to work out for the Blazers today, Scotto relays (Twitter link).

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.

Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Beverley, Smith

May 31st, 2015 at 6:07pm CST by Will Joseph

Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said he will make a push to add a player who is between 6’7″ and 6’9″ who can shoot 3-pointers in the draft, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal writes. The Grizzlies own the 25th pick. The Grizzlies’ workout on Friday featured Tennessee’s Josh Richardson, Arkansas’ Ky Madden, Florida State’s Aaron Thomas, Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton, Florida’s Chris Walker and Arizona’s Brandon Ashley, Tillery reports. Citing the team’s recent draft history, Tillery writes that the Grizzlies believe it’s very conceivable to find a player that is talented and ready to fill a need at that pick. Connaughton appeared to be the most intriguing player in the Grizzlies’ workout, Tillery adds, citing the 6’5″ guard’s 44-inch vertical leap, shooting ability and basketball savvy. GM Chris Wallace said that the pick has to end up being an asset.

“You’d love to have need and talent coincide,” Wallace said. “What you’re trying to do is get a player who is going to be with you for a while and help the team or someone that gains some interest around the league, and helps you make a transaction. Those are reasonable scenarios for picks in the 20s.”

Here’s more from out of the Southwest:

Like he has expressed previously, Patrick Beverley, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is hopeful he will be with the Rockets next year, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. “Hopefully it’s here,” Beverley said, per Berman. “I’m very loyal. This is the only team that took a chance on me. I understand it’s a business.” Reports in April indicated the Rockets would like to re-sign Beverley, who earned $915,243 this season.
Josh Smith is another free agent who has previously conveyed his desire to return to the Rockets next season, but the veteran understands how unpredictable the free agency climate can be, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “Coming into free agency, you never know what is going to happen,” Smith said. “You just hope for the best and stay positive. Just reflect right now and don’t worry about the future.” It was reported last month there there’s mutual interest between Smith and GM Daryl Morey in a new deal.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Heat, Draft, Magic

May 29th, 2015 at 3:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks aren’t quite sure what went wrong in the conference finals, where the Cavs dismantled them in four games, but coach and acting GM Mike Budenholzer tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe that he wants continuity to be a major part of the team’s improvement. Atlanta is apparently sold on its chances to re-sign Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, but Lowe isn’t so sure the Hawks can afford them both. “You can bet” that Atlanta’s front office would consider a sign-and-trade deal involving Millsap and fellow free agent Greg Monroe, Lowe writes, adding that rival executives get the sense that Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy is eager to climb up the standings next season. Shams Charania of RealGM reported back in December that Atlanta planned to pursue Monroe. There’s more on the Hawks amid the latest from the Southeast Division:

Lowe, in the same piece, identifies Gary Neal as a “name to watch” for the Hawks in the event the team goes under the cap and has the $2.814MM room exception to spend, though that’s likely just an educated guess. Neal, who finished up the season with the Timberwolves, used to play under Budenholzer, then a Spurs assistant coach, in San Antonio.
Small forwards Justise Winslow from Duke and Stanley Johnson from Arizona as well as former Washington center Robert Upshaw were among the players the Heat interviewed at the combine this month, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel notes. Heat personnel were also in attendance at an agent-run workout involving Johnson and Kansas small forward Kelly Oubre, while Florida big man Chris Walker and shooting guard Michael Frazier are expected to work out later for Miami, Winderman adds.
Florida Gulf Coast point guard Brett Comer worked out with the Heat earlier this week, as he told Seth Soffian of The News-Press.
The Magic reportedly expect to hire Scott Skiles, but Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel believes a relatively unappealing Magic roster and Tom Thibodeau‘s failure to get along with Bulls management make it tough to envision Thibs in Orlando even if Skiles doesn’t end up in the job.

Draft Notes: Spurs, Grizzlies, Payne

May 27th, 2015 at 10:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors has a full log of 2015 draft news that you can see anytime at the link here. You can also set that page up as an RSS feed to receive constant updates. All you’d need to do would be to add /feed to the url, like so: hoopsrumors.com/2015-nba-draft/feed. Other draft-related resources include our latest Mock Draft, the full list of early entrants, as well as our ongoing Prospect Profile series. Here’s more news regarding the 2015 NBA Draft:

League sources have suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that Murray State guard Cameron Payne has a draft promise from a team, and that there is a very good chance he is going to be a lottery pick. If Payne has indeed been targeted by a lottery team, his most likely destination is the Thunder, whom I predicted would be selecting the guard in my latest mock draft, though this is merely my speculation of course.
The Spurs brought in Syracuse forward Chris McCullough for an interview today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Scheduled for workouts this Friday with the Grizzlies are Josh Richardson, Ky Madden, Aaron Thomas, Pat Connaughton, Chris Walker, and Brandon Ashley, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (subscription required) relays.
Arkansas forward Bobby Portis has workouts scheduled with the Thunder, Heat, Pistons, Raptors, Pacers, Hornets, Bucks, Suns, and Jazz, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe tweets.
Former Colorado guard Askia Booker worked out for the Suns on Tuesday, and has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Lakers and the Jazz, Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post relays (Twitter link).
Booker said that he was asked about his refusal to play in this year’s College Basketball Invitational tournament by the Sixers, and also expects the subject to come up in other interviews, Dempsey relays in a series of tweets. “It’s something I’m willing to address no doubt. I have no issue addressing that. When the question comes I’ll be able to answer it,” Booker said. “It was a mutual decision. We came to an agreement, and the decision was made.” Booker reportedly passed on playing in the tourney to prepare for the upcoming draft instead.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Bogdanovic, Draft

May 26th, 2015 at 6:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak indicated that he hasn’t heard any offers enticing enough to sway him to deal away the No. 2 overall pick this June, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “It would have to be a heck of an opportunity for us to consider doing something like that,” Kupchak said. “You have to weigh it against who you would get as the second pick. We’re a little bit impatient. So if you came across something that made your team better quicker, that would probably be a veteran. That’s something you would consider.”

But the GM also noted that even acquiring a solid veteran might not be enough for the franchise to make a trade, Holmes adds. “Something could be said for having the No. 2 pick in terms of building going forward,” Kupchak said. “You know you’re going to get a really good player. You know you’re going to get a player under a contract that you’ll be able to control for at least five years at a reasonable amount before you have to consider an extension. Those are pluses in addition to getting a heck of a talent.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

Suns draft-and-stash pick Bogdan Bogdanovic won’t be making the jump to the NBA next season, and he will remain with the Turkish club Fenerbahce, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. The 22-year-old was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
The Lakers held workouts today for T.J. McConnell (Arizona), Bryce Dejean-Jones (Iowa State), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), Dez Wells (Maryland), Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), and Maurice Walker (Minnesota), Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays.
Wyoming big man Larry Nance Jr. has a workout with the Lakers scheduled for next week, Robert Gagliardi of WyomingCowboysBlog.com reports.
The Suns worked out Askia Booker (Colorado), Branden Dawson (Michigan State), Kendall Gray (Delaware State), Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington), Le’Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State), and Chris Walker (Florida), Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic relays (via Twitter).

Q&A With Draft Prospect Chris Walker

May 11th, 2015 at 11:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Throughout the spring and summer, Hoops Rumors will be talking with some of the most intriguing prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft. Today, the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series continues with Florida product Chris Walker, whom Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks No. 52 in this year’s class and Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates 56th.

Chris Walker came to the University of Florida with a tremendous amount of hype behind him. Offered by top programs all over the country – including Kansas, Louisville, UNC, Ohio State, and many many more – Walker was arguably one of the most talented recruits ever brought into the fold by coach Billy Donovan.

How good was Walker? Top scouting services put the forward in their top ten nationally, ahead of names like Noah Vonleh, Joel Embiid, and James Young. Walker wasn’t an elite collegiate performer at Florida, but he showed glimpses of his tremendous talent over two years and NBA scouts know that the skills are still there. Now, Walker is gearing up for the workout circuit to convince a team to draft him and mine his vast untapped potential. Walker, a client of Travis King at Relativity Sports, spoke with Hoops Rumors about his time at Florida and what he hopes to do going forward.

Zach Links: You came out as sophomore this year. Did you wrestle with the decision to go pro early? What went into the decision? Were you hearing from NBA people that you had an excellent chance of getting drafted?

Chris Walker: It was a tough decision, but I wanted to focus on basketball and put 100% of my focus on my craft. Just from talking with my family and my agent, it was clear that everybody believed that I could do it and I did, too. I felt like if I could focus on basketball exclusively, then I could achieve great things in this sport.

ZL: You have the ability to drive to the basket and you don’t see that too often in a 6’10” big man. Have you always been strong at slashing to the hoop?

CW: That’s something that I’ve always done but I was actually told not to do that as much at Florida, because it didn’t fit in with the offense there. I’m excited to show that off now.

ZL: Do you have any regrets about how things played out at Florida?

CW: Of course I wish I could have done better, but I don’t know, I just feel like if I wanted to get better, I needed to go up a notch in competition to get better. I feel like everything happens for a reason and I have a great future ahead of me.

ZL: Are you a more mature person than you were when you came out of high school?

CW: I feel like I’m a way more mature person right now; I’ve grown physically and mentally. Mainly, I feel like I’ve grown a lot. I think some of the struggles actually woke me up a bit and humbled me and made me a tougher guy both on and off the court.

ZL: You’re fairly skinny at 6’10”, 220 pounds. Do you plan on getting bigger? How much bigger?

CW: I plan on getting bigger and getting up to the 235-240 pound range. At the same time though, I’m trying to keep my athleticism, explosiveness, and lateral movement. Right now I’m just being disciplined with how I eat and how I work out and taking all my supplements. I make sure that I take my creatine every day.

ZL: If you had to write your own scouting report, what would you say about yourself and what you can do on the court?

CW: I’m going to be a player in the NBA that is an energy guy. I’m going to give 110% every time. When the coach comes to me on the floor during practice I’m going to work out as hard as I can, pay attention to the veteran guys, and follow their lead. I want to learn from the best guys out there and I really feel that the sky is the limit for me.

ZL: While you’re writing your own scouting report, how about an NBA comparison for yourself?

CW: Right now I think I’m sort of an Anthony Davis type player, even if i’m not as polished as he is. He put on a lot of weight and I feel like we have the same frame and that’s who I want to pattern my game around.

ZL: So you must really pride yourself on your defense.

CW: I really enjoy playing D, even more than offense. I like blocking shots, rebounding the ball, and helping. Don’t get me wrong, I like the offensive end too and getting up and down the floor in transition. I want to work on post moves even more though so that I can really be effective in the halfcourt set.

ZL: What are you hearing about where you might get drafted?

CW: I’m not really hearing much specifically, but whatever team wants to take a shot at me, they won’t regret it.

ZL: Why did you choose Travis King and the folks at Relativity Sports to represent you?

CW: They’re like family to me. They have my back and it feels like a family connection, so that’s why I chose them.

Draft Notes: Combine, Montero, Osman

May 9th, 2015 at 3:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Turkish swingman Cedi Osman indicated that he is most likely two years away from joining the NBA, and that he wishes to gain more experience by continuing to play overseas, Mertkan Üçüncüoğlu of TalkBasket.net relays. “I’m moving in line with my targets,” Osman said. “Hopefully I’ll be selected from a very good place. If I don’t get selected the first round this is not a problem for me. Because I’ll stay here for two more years. I want to go to the NBA in a ready way . That’s what matters. I’ve always dreamed of playing in the NBA.” The 20-year-old is ranked by Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) as the No. 34 overall prospect and he occupies the No. 44 slot on Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress‘ top 100 players in the 2015 NBA draft.

Here’s more draft related items:

Bowling Green product Richaun Holmes will participate in the NBA Draft combine in Chicago, according to Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links (via Twitter). Zach spoke with Holmes late last month to kick off the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series.
Westchester Community College swingman Luis David Montero has qualified to enter the 2015 NBA draft, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The NBA league office relayed that Montero’s early entry letter was received prior to the declaration deadline, Spears notes. The 6’7″ Dominican isn’t currently projected to be selected come June.
With the NBA Draft combine set to begin next week, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders runs down six potential sleeper picks who will be participating in Chicago. According to Koutroupis, these players are Larry Nance Jr. (Wyoming), Norman Powell (UCLA), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Chris Walker (Florida), and Joseph Young (Oregon).
Utah point guard Delon Wright would be a solid draft selection this June for a contending team looking for a role-player who could contribute almost immediately, Ford, Kevin Pelton, and Fran Fraschilla of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) write in their profile of the 23-year-old. Wright is the No. 26 ranked prospect according to both ESPN.com and DraftExpress.

Draft Notes: Mickey, Kentucky, Walker

April 28th, 2015 at 1:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sam Dekker, Tyus Jones and Kevon Looney were among those who had better chances to see their respective draft stocks slip than improve if they were to have stayed in school instead of entering the draft, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com opines in an Insider-only piece. Caris LeVert, who opted to stay out of the draft, has a shot to go in the lottery next season, Goodman writes as he praises his decision. The ESPN.com scribe notes that he’s heard from NBA personnel who think Jordan Mickey goes undrafted as he argues the big man made a poor decision to declare for the draft. It’ll be years before we truly know whether their choices were wise, but less than two months remain before we find out just where everyone will end up on draft night. Here’s more on the draft:

The year’s first mock draft from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has Karl-Anthony Towns going to the Timberwolves, Jahlil Okafor to the Knicks and D’Angelo Russell to the Sixers. Givony’s mock shows all seven early entrants from Kentucky getting picked, including Aaron Harrison to the Sixers at No. 60.
The mock draft that Sean Deveney of The Sporting News put together is an unconventional one, with Okafor at No. 1 to the Wolves, Russell at No. 2 to the Knicks, and Towns at No. 3 to the Sixers.
Former Florida power forward Chris Walker has hired agent Travis King of Relativity Sports, as Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype hears (Twitter link). Walker is the No. 58 prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, while Givony has him at No. 73 in his rankings.