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Pacific Notes: Bagley, Kings, Lakers, Wiggins

July 8th, 2021 at 9:26am CST by Luke Adams

During an episode of the Halfway Decent Pod, Kings forward/center Marvin Bagley III expressed no regrets about causing a stir on Twitter by liking a tweet that read “we gotta get @MB3FIVE outta Sac” and removing mentions of the Kings from his social media profiles, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.

“First of all, it’s my Twitter, bro,” Bagley said. “It’s my Twitter. It has my name on it. I can like whatever I choose and please, and whatever I feel like liking.”

According to Anderson, Bagley explained that he liked the aforementioned tweet out of frustration after watching Trae Young – who was selected three spots after Bagley in the 2018 draft – score 48 points against Milwaukee in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

“As a competitor, that just makes me want to get to that and I need to be there. I want to be there bad,” Bagley said. “… For me, my personal goals and where I’m trying to get to in my career, I’ve got to make it happen. I’ve got to do everything I’ve got to do to make it happen.

“I think liking that tweet, that’s where that came from and it is what it is. People (are) going to take it and run with it. It is what it is. I did it. It’s my Twitter. I can like and do whatever I want on my account. I’m not hurting nobody. I’m not harming nobody, but you already know how the fans take stuff and want to run with something.”

Bagley, who is extension-eligible this offseason, has one year left on his rookie contract with Sacramento.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

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Draft Notes: Juzang, Abmas, Last-Minute Decisions

July 7th, 2021 at 11:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

After leading UCLA to the Final Four, Johnny Juzang will withdraw from the NBA draft and return for his junior season. Juzang announced his decision on Twitter about an hour before the NCAA’s Wednesday deadline of midnight Eastern Time for early entrants to pull out of the draft and retain their eligibility.

“Going through the draft process has been an amazing experience,” he wrote. “I was blessed to connect with great people, learn and grow, and get a feel for life at the next level. I want to thank everyone who has helped me in this process including my family, trainers, school and especially my dad who helped me for countless hours!”

There was talk that Juzang might be a first-round pick after an outstanding performance in the NCAA tournament, but a disappointing showing at the combine hurt his status, according to Chad Ford (Twitter link), who speculates that he could be back in first-round consideration next year.

There’s more on last-minute draft decisions:

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Draft Notes: Maker, Hamilton, Riley, Green

May 28th, 2021 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Howard University freshman big man Makur Maker has declared for the draft but hasn’t hired an agent, leaving open the possibility of returning to college, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Maker, 20, played only two games for the Bison last season because of a groin injury, averaging 11.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 2.0 APG. The team played only five games before the university shut down the season due of COVID-19 issues. Maker is listed at No. 100 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft decisions and news:

  • UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton will remain in the draft process but plans to return to school, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. The Rebels guard averaged 17.9 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.0 APG last season as a junior.
  • UCLA’s Cody Riley will also enter the draft while retaining his college eligibility, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Riley, a junior forward, had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists against Gonzaga in the Final Four. In 31 starts last season, he averaged 10 PPG and 5.4 RPG. “I’ve encouraged Cody to take advantage of this time and this evaluation process. I know that he wants to see where he fits at the next level and where he needs to improve,” coach Mick Cronin told the Associated Press.
  • Cade Cunningham sits atop Jonathan Wasserman’s big board but the Bleacher Report analyst has a mild surprise in the No. 2 slot, with Jalen Green ranking above Evan Mobley. Jalen Suggs is a close fourth in Wasserman’s rankings.
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Draft Decisions: Happ, Matthews, Gabriel, Riley

May 30th, 2018 at 7:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

Draft decisions have been rolling in all day as we move closer to the 11:59pm Eastern deadline. While some prominent names such as Jontay Porter, PJ Washington, Brian Bowen, Tyus Battle and Lindell Wigginton have announced their choices, we’re still waiting to hear from prospects such as Kentucky’s Jarred Vanderbilt, Nevada’s Caleb Martin and Cody Martin and a few others.

Here are some of the players who reached decisions today:

  • Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ will return to the Badgers for his senior season, tweets Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box. He averaged 17.9 points and 8.0 rebounds this season and was a first team All-Big 10 selection for the second straight year.
  • Charles Matthews will return to Michigan for his senior season, according to Tom Wywrot of MGoBlue.com. Matthews averaged 13.0 points per night in helping the Wolverines reach the national title game. “I learned a lot throughout this process, but my main focus will now be completing my education at Michigan and leading my teammates to more success next season,” he said.
  • Kentucky’s Wenyen Gabriel plans to sign with an agent and remain in the draft, relays Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). He appeared in 38 games as a freshman, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds.
  • Cody Riley will play another season at UCLA, Rothstein adds (Twitter link). Riley was held out the entire year after being involved in an alleged shoplifting incident in China.
  • Iowa’s Tyler Cook will also leave the draft, according to Rothstein (Twitter link). He averaged 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds as a sophomore.
  • Noah Dickerson will return to Washington for another season, tweets ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. Dickerson earned first team All-Pac 12 honors as a junior, averaging 15.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
  • Wyoming’s Justin James has withdrawn from the draft, according to a story on GoWyo.com. The 6’7″ guard averaged 18.9 points and 6.0 rebounds as a junior. “I received some very promising feedback from around the NBA,” James said. “I will continue to grow my game here in Laramie and put myself in position to live my dream and play at the next level following one more season playing for the Cowboys.”
  • Robert Franks will play his senior season at Washington State, tweets the school’s basketball program. Franks posted a 17.4/6.6/1.9 line this year.
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236 Early Entrants Declare For 2018 NBA Draft

April 24th, 2018 at 5:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has released the official list of early entrants for the 2018 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 236 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 181 are from colleges, while 55 are international early entrants.

That number blows away the previous record for early entrants, established in 2017. Last year, 182 early entrants declared for the draft, though ultimately only 73 of those prospects remained in the draft by the final deadline.

This year’s total of 236 early entrants also figures to shrink significantly by May 30 and again by June 11, the two key deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like that pool will remain crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants likely exceeding 60, the number of picks in the draft.

Our list of early entrants is now up to date and can be found right here. Here are today’s updates:

College underclassmen:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our own list. For now, we’re assuming they haven’t yet hired agents.

The following players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.

International players:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our list.

  • Berke Atar, C, Turkey (born 1999)
  • Laurynas Beliauskas, G, Lithuania (born 1997)
  • Rihards Berzins, F/C, Latvia (born 1997)
  • Etienne Ca, F, France (born 1997)
  • Sigfredo Casero-Ortiz, G, France (born 1997)
  • Berkan Durmaz, F, Turkey (born 1997)
  • Aleksander Dziewa, C, Poland (born 1997)
  • Stephane Gombauld, F, France (born 1997)
  • Yoan Granvorka, F, Switzerland (born 1997)
  • Michal Kolenda, F, Poland (born 1997)
  • Antonios Koniaris, G, Greece (born 1997)
  • Leon Kratzer, C, Germany (born 1997)
  • Shekinah Munanga, F, France (born 1997)
  • Williams Narace, F, France (born 1997)
  • Marcel Ponitka, G, Poland (born 1997)
  • Leonardo Tote, F, Italy (born 1997)
  • Martynas Varnas, G, Lithuania (born 1997)
  • Filip Zagrajski, G, Croatia (born 1997)
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