Corey Hawkins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Okafor, Suns, Jazz

June 9th, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers are looking at more than just basketball ability in their evaluations of draft prospects, and one of the most important intangibles to Los Angeles’ front office is overall character, Kevin Ding of BleacherReport writes. Duke big man Jahlil Okafor has impressed the Lakers in this regard, Ding notes. Mike Krzyzewski, Okafor’s coach with the Blue Devils, sings the praises of his former player’s off the court demeanor, saying, “He’s going to be a franchise player. And he’s going to be a franchise person.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Western Conference:

The Suns held pre-draft workouts for Treveon Graham (VCU), Ryan Harrow (Georgia State), Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), Corey Hawkins (UC-Davis), Yanick Moreira (SMU), and Gabriel Olaseni (Iowa), Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter links).
The Jazz will host a free agent minicamp on Thursday for 27 players, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. Attendees will include Brock Motum, Jarvis Varnado, Fuquan Edwin, and former Bulls first-rounder Marquis Teague, Genessy notes.
Former Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre may be too tempting for the Thunder to pass up with the No. 14 overall pick, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman opines. One aspect of Oubre’s physique that is garnering him attention is his 7’2″ wingspan, Mayberry adds. “Bringing length to a team is definitely something that can be one of my strong suits,” Oubre said. “And just being able to lock in on defense. My lateral movement is pretty good.” You can check out Hoops Rumors’ full prospect profile for Oubre here.

Western Notes: Hornacek, Blazers, Draft

June 3rd, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Now that Fred Hoiberg has been officially named as the Bulls’ new coach, there has been speculation linking Suns coach Jeff Hornacek to Hoiberg’s vacated post at Iowa State, Andrew Joseph of The Arizona Republic writes. But Hornacek, who played his collegiate ball for the Cyclones, declined an opportunity to interview for the position, Joseph notes. “[GM] Ryan [McDonough] and I came here for a purpose. We think we’ve got a good young crew that we can build with. We’ll work on getting some more veteran guys to help them but we’ve got a job to do here and that’s our plan,” Hornacek said when asked about the possibility of him departing Phoenix.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers held workouts today for Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Corey Hawkins (UC Davis), Stefan Nastic (Stanford), Christian Wood (UNLV), Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech), and Luis Montero (Westchester Community College), Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com reports (Twitter link).
St. John’s University swingman SirDominic Pointer worked out for the Thunder today, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
UC Santa Barbara forward Alan Williams displayed his wares for the Mavericks today, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (on Twitter).
Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker worked out for the Suns today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets. Phoenix is considering taking Dekker with the No. 13 overall pick this June, Scotto adds. You can check out our prospect profile for Dekker here.

Draft Notes: Towns, Russell, Ashley, Haws

June 2nd, 2015 at 11:33am CST by Chuck Myron

Karl-Anthony Towns answered affirmatively to DraftExpress in a video interview when asked if he thinks he should work out for the teams with the top four picks in the draft, adding that he has no preference that he be drafted by any team in particular. That lends further credence to what sources close to Towns told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders when they denied a report that he wouldn’t work out for any teams. D’Angelo Russell also said to DraftExpress (video link) that he expects to work out for the top four teams, though he’s not 100% sure that he will. While we wait to see what the teams in possession of those picks — the Timberwolves, Lakers, Sixers and Knicks — do, here’s more on the approaching draft:

Arizona power forward Brandon Ashley told reporters that the Spurs, Bulls, Suns and Warriors are among the teams on his workout schedule, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders relays (on Twitter).
The Lakers, Warriors and Grizzlies will audition BYU shooting guard Tyler Haws, as Haws told reporters, including Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).
Pincus adds the Mavs, Trail Blazers, Warriors, Suns, Grizzlies, Jazz, Wizards, Celtics and Cavs to the list of teams known to be among those working out UC Davis shooting guard Corey Hawkins (Twitter link).
Louisiana Tech point guard Kenneth “Speedy” Smith has auditioned for the Mavs and Suns, in addition to his Monday workout for the Lakers, and he’ll next show off for the Blazers, Pincus tweets.
The Spurs and Pistons are among the teams working out Nebraska swingman and Lakers fan Terran Petteway, as he said to reporters, including Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Bosnian swingman Nedim Buza, an early entrant from overseas, is in talks about a potential deal with Telenet BC Oostende of Belgium, according to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Buza can withdraw from the draft anytime between now and June 15th, or he can remain in the field and perhaps become a draft-and-stash pick if he indeed signs to continue his European career.

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.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Bryant, Draft

May 27th, 2015 at 9:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Suns GM Ryan McDonough believes there is quite a talent dropoff in this year’s NBA Draft after the team’s pick at No. 13 overall, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. Phoenix hasn’t targeted a specific player, and if it retains the pick, will likely target the best player available, Coro adds. “As a non-playoff team, I think you need help everywhere,” McDonough said. “So we’ll take the best player, even if that goes against what some people think we should do in terms of conventional wisdom. I think, unless you’re a championship-level team, you always take the best available player. Our philosophy is if he’s better than the guys who are on your current roster, maybe he beats him out and you move one of the guys on your current roster. I think some mistakes, in the history of the draft, are made drafting for saying, ‘Oh, we need this. Let’s do the best player who does whatever.’ When you draft that guy, you tend to reach sometimes.”

Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Pacific Division:

McDonough also indicated that the Suns may be more willing to deal away their first round pick than in years past, Coro adds. “At some point, there is a saturation point for young players as you try to put together a team that is capable of competing and making the playoffs in the Western Conference,” McDonough said. “I think it [trading the pick] is something we’re more open to than in the past but, at the same time, we like the players that we think will be there at 13.“
In an radio appearance with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd (hat tip to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel), Jared Dudley spoke about NBA free agents not wanting to play with the Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant. Dudley said, “Most guys don’t want to play with Kobe. He gets in this thing where he doesn’t pass and then overpasses and then tries to get triple-doubles every night. …. That’s why I think it will be a while for the Lakers to get good because they’ve got no stars. I would be surprised if Kevin Love goes there.”
Former Minnesota guard Andre Hollins has a workout scheduled with the Clippers, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
The Kings have workouts scheduled for Friday with Corey Hawkins, Mikh McKinney, Shaquielle McKissic, Alan Williams, Charles Jackson, and Will Davis II, the team announced.

Eastern Notes: Thompson, Wizards, Hawkins

May 9th, 2015 at 12:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The connection between LeBron James and Tristan Thompson, who share Klutch Sports agent Rich Paul, could make Thompson’s pending free agency more interesting given James’ obvious influence on the Cavaliers‘ personnel decisions, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. The dynamic between the three men has also helped heal the wounds in the Cavs organization that stemmed from “The Decision” James had made back in 2010 to join the Heat, McMenamin adds. Thompson can become a restricted free agent this summer provided Cleveland tenders him a qualifying offer worth $6,777,589.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Wizards coach Randy Wittman took exception during a press conference to a report that point guard John Wall clashed with the team’s medical staff over the diagnosis of his injured hand, RealGM.com relays. “I have to get this off my chest,” said Wittman. “You guys that know me know I’m completely honest with you guys. I don’t always tell you everything, but I don’t ever come out here and tell you a lie. And what was reported today by Michael Lee [of the Washington Post] was a flat-out lie about John clashing with doctors and the training staff. That’s unfair to this kid. That is so far from the truth, I’ve got to say something. Your inside source is obviously not on the inside. Our doctors are busting their [expletive] to have something like that said. That’s not right. I have to stand up for those people in there.”
As for Wall, who was diagnosed with five displaced fracture in his left hand and wrist, there isn’t much optimism that the star can return to action for the Wizards during the 2014/15 NBA playoffs, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets.
UC Davis senior guard Corey Hawkins worked out for the Sixers this past week, an event which was confirmed by Hawkins himself via his Twitter account. The 6’3″ guard is the No. 97 overall prospect according to DraftExpress.