Dario Saric Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Hornets, Celtics, Saric

June 15th, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Hornets looking to add some scoring out of the small forward position, two of their prime targets might be Doug McDermott and T.J. Warren, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell compares and contrasts the two players and how they might fit in on the Hornets roster.

More draft rumblings:

Greek forward Michalis Kamperidis will keep his name in the NBA draft, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (hat tip to Giorgos Dimitropoulos). Kamperidis averaged 8.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG for Filathlitikos last season.
Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald looks at the Celtics options with the sixth and 17th picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Croatian NBA prospect Dario Saric doesn’t have any team workouts scheduled ahead of the draft, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) looks at the NBA prospects of Thanasis Antetokounmpo, brother of the Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the next bane of arena and television announcers across the league.

Kings Talk No. 8 Pick With Hawks, Eye Sanders

June 11th, 2014 at 12:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks have spoken with the Kings about a deal involving the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports amid his chat with readers today. Ford wrote Tuesday about Sacramento’s interest in Dennis Schröder, though presumably much more would have to be involved to motivate the Kings to give up their pick. Ford’s Tuesday report also notes that Sacramento is merely listening to offers about the selection, rather than actively shopping it, so it sounds like Atlanta is the team that made the initial inquiry. Dario Saric and Nik Stauskas are likely players the Hawks would target with that No. 8 pick, Ford adds.

Ford also answered affirmatively when asked if his report of Sacramento’s interest in point guard Brandon Knight applied to Larry Sanders, too, though it’s not clear if the Kings are seriously thinking of making a play at either member of the Bucks. The No. 8 pick has also drawn mention in connection to Sacramento’s pitch for Kevin Love.

Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro has proven aggressive in his first year in charge of the front office, and Hawks GM Danny Ferry has constructed a roster that gives him plenty of flexibility to make trades. Atlanta possesses the 15th overall pick this year, not far from the 17th overall position at which the club landed Schröder in last summer’s draft.

Sanders is “available,” according to Ford, and it seems the Bucks have gone back and forth on their willingness to trade the center who ran into all sorts of trouble after signing a four-year, $44MM extension last year. A December report indicated they were trying to trade him, but Milwaukee apparently began to rebuff offers shortly before he suffered a fractured orbital bone that prematurely ended his season. Sanders also broke his hand in a nightclub brawl and served a five-game drug suspension during his tumultuous 2013/14 campaign.

Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Griffin, Pistons, Saric

May 29th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

A source tells Ian Begley of ESPN.com that Carmelo Anthony would “embrace” playing for Mark Jackson, but that doesn’t mean he only wants to play for Jackson or would feel uncomfortable playing for anyone else, Begley cautions. Knicks president Phil Jackson hasn’t ruled out hiring the former Warriors coach, but it doesn’t appear as though there are plans for an interview. Jackson appears to be a leading candidate for the Cavs job, though no interview has been scheduled with Cleveland, either. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Adrian Griffin impressed the Cavs during his interview for the team’s coaching job this week, with one source telling Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that the performance as “fantastic” (Twitter link).
Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, former Heat GM Randy Pfund and former Pelicans GM Jeff Bower are among the candidates for the Pistons GM job, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Stu Jackson, who’s completed an interview for the job, and Otis Smith are the previously reported names.
Dario Saric reportedly would come to the NBA for next season if the Celtics or Lakers were to draft him, but the C’s consider him a candidate for their pick at No. 17, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, indicating that he’s not in the mix to go at No. 6.
Marcin Gortat is likely in line for $10-12MM salaries while Trevor Ariza will look for $8-9MM as both Wizards hit free agency this summer, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post.

Draft Updates: Saric, Celtics, Lakers, Raptors

May 29th, 2014 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s unclear whether early entrant Dario Saric wants to play in the NBA next season or remain in Europe, but if either the Celtics or Lakers draft him, he plans to come stateside, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Most projections have him going a little lower than Boston’s No. 6 pick or L.A.’s No. 7 pick, but perhaps the knowledge of his immediate willingness to play will prompt one of those teams to bite. Here’s the latest from a busy draft workout scene:

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is open to trading up in the draft and praised Toronto native Tyler Ennis, whom the team had in for a workout today, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The free agency of Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez won’t play into Ujiri’s decision about drafting a point guard, the GM added.
The Raptors released their workout list for today on their website, and they’re auditioning Jake Odum, Jordan Dykstra, Norvel Pelle, Jordan Bachynski and Chadrack Lufile in addition to names that have already been reported.
Casey Prather is the new name among those working out for the Heat today, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Goodman adds DeAndre Kane and David Wear to the list of players auditioning for the Suns (Twitter link).
Billy Baron has shown off for the Bulls and Hawks and will do so for the Jazz, Bucks and Knicks next week, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
Kendall Williams is among the players working out for Hawks today, Goodman tweets.
Victor Rudd and Jakarr Sampson are the new names on the list of players working out for the Bucks today that the team announced on its website.

Chad Ford On NBA Draft

May 21st, 2014 at 6:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the draft order now set, the speculation can truly begin as to what each team will do in June’s NBA Draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com held his weekly chat and here are some of the highlights:

Though the Cavaliers currently have Jabari Parker at the top of their draft board, Ford believes they will end up selecting Andrew Wiggins with the first overall pick.
The only way the Cavs trade the top pick is for a young, star-caliber player like Kevin Love, opines Ford.
The top three players on the Bucks draft board are Joel Embiid, Wiggins, and Dante Exum, per Ford.
The Magic are looking at taking a point guard with the number four overall pick, reports Ford. The team’s top two choices would be Exum and Marcus Smart. Ford also believes that with the 12th pick, the team will focus on acquiring outside shooting.
Ford believes the Jazz are likely to select Noah Vonleh with the fifth selection, unless they attempt to trade up to snag Exum.
Being slotted sixth makes the Celtics more likely to try and trade their pick for established talent, notes Ford. If they keep the pick, he believes that Aaron Gordon would be the choice of GM Danny Ainge.
The Lakers are in a similar position to the Celtics in regard to trading their pick, opines Ford. If they keep the pick, he sees either Julius Randle, Smart, or Dario Saric being their favorites.
Ford’s sleeper picks for the draft are Mitch McGary, Jarnell Stokes, and Elfrid Payton.

Draft Notes: Saric, Parker, Wiggins, Magic

May 10th, 2014 at 3:52pm CST by Charlie Adams

The 2014 draft is a little over a month away, and there’s no shortage of news and notes on this year’s deep class. Let’s round up the latest:

Dario Saric might be the most versatile offensive player in the 2014 draft, writes Jonathan Givony in his profile of the Croatian forward. However, Saric’s lack of a true position and perceived attitude issues might hinder his stock, says Givony.
Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com debate whether Jabari Parker should be the number one overall pick in the draft. They both think Parker would be the safe first-overall selection, but that Andrew Wiggins has a higher ceiling (Insider link).
The Magic place a high value on character, and they will utilize the pre-draft interviews to evaluate whether or not a potential draftee is compatible with their team, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (subscribers only). Orlando GM Rob Hennigan was impressed with how Victor Oladipo performed in his interview last summer, writes Robbins.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Dario Saric Declares For Draft

April 26th, 2014 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

APRIL 26TH, 1:24pm: Raznatovic announced that Saric has officially declared for the 2014 draft (Twitter link, hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).

APRIL 16TH, 8:29am: Dario Saric‘s new agent, Misko Raznatovic, says his client will declare for the NBA draft, as he tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Still, Raznatovic isn’t sure whether Saric will withdraw by the June 16th deadline, as he did last year, or remain in this year’s field of early entrants, suggesting that if he and Saric feel that the 6’10” forward will go within the top 10 to 14 picks, Saric won’t pull out. Saric nonetheless believes that he’ll sign with a European team and remain overseas for another year or two regardless of whether he’s drafted this year, though he hasn’t made a final decision about that, as Raznatovic explains.

Saric is No. 9 in Givony’s prospect rankings, and No. 14 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com, though Ford says he’d have Saric higher if it were clear that he’d play in the NBA next season. That seems to indicate that Saric will be drafted high enough to meet Raznatovic’s threshold for remaining in the draft, making him a likely “draft-and-stash” player. Some teams have been burned when they’ve used high draft picks on overseas players unwilling to immediately come stateside, most notably the Magic, who spent the 11th overall pick in 2005 on Fran Vazquez, who’s yet to play in the NBA. Raznatovic insists that Saric won’t go down that path.

“I really believe that after talking for five minutes with Dario, that doubt will be gone,” Raznatovic said. “He cannot wait to become a NBA player, and this is his ultimate goal. He will be in the league no later than 2016, and with good chances to start earlier.”

The agent, who announced that he’d signed with Saric last week, is the latest to dispute a report late last month that Saric had agreed to a deal with a team in Turkey that wouldn’t allow him to go to the NBA until 2016. Raznatovic suggests that his ties to Dusan Ivkovic, another client of his who’s rumored to become the next coach of the Turkish team, fueled erroneous speculation that Saric was headed to Turkey.

Saric’s professional future has been clouded with mystery in recent weeks, with back-and-forth fueled by his father and a former agent, among others. Raznatovic downplays the significance of comments from Saric’s father, who’s advocated that his son stay in Europe, saying that the elder Saric isn’t anti-NBA and is just looking out for his son’s well-being. Raznatovic promises that the instability surrounding his client is over, though I suspect there will continue to be speculation about Saric until he signs with an NBA team.

Draft Notes: Parker, Saric, Ennis, Gordon

April 17th, 2014 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

There were dozens of scenarios in play for June’s draft order entering the final night of the regular season, as I outlined Wednesday, but many of them remain unresolved. Random drawings set for Friday will break the four ties shown in our Reverse Standings, while the May 20th draft lottery looms for the top of the order. Until then, here’s the latest on a handful of the top prospects:

Jabari Parker would go right to the top of the 2015 prospect rankings if he chooses to stay at Duke for his sophomore year, opines Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who answered reader questions in a chat Wednesday.
Dario Saric’s agent said the matter of whether his client will remain in the draft or withdraw will have much to do with their confidence that he’d be drafted in the top 10 or 14 picks. However, most teams would want to know for sure that he’d play in the NBA next season before committing a top-10 pick to him, as Ford writes in the same chat.
Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis is going with agent Mike George of Excel Sports Management for his representation, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Another projected lottery pick, Arizona forward Aaron Gordon, is set to sign with BDA Sports, reports Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star (Twitter link).
Purdue sophomore A.J. Hammons will return to school rather than entering this year’s draft, the Boilermakers announced. The center is the 40th-best prospect on the list that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compiles, while Ford puts him 72nd.

Draft Rumors: Saric, McDaniels, Agents

April 8th, 2014 at 7:00pm CST by Cray Allred

Now that March Madness is over, buzz surrounding the 2014 NBA Draft will no longer be generated by recent performances in the spotlight, but by workouts, interviews, game film, and team needs. Here’s the latest on the draft:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com updated his Insider-only Big Board today, noting that Dario Saric would be higher than No. 14 if there were more clarity on whether he intends to play in the NBA next season. Multiple sources tell Ford that he won’t, even though he’s reportedly leaning toward declaring for the draft. That seems to suggest that Saric may enter the draft, be selected, and still sign overseas.
Several GMs tell Ford that K.J. McDaniels is the “real sleeper” in the draft, as Ford writes in the same piece.
Cory Jefferson of Baylor has signed agents Mike Silverman and Brandon Grier to represent him heading into the draft, per Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). Jefferson is currently projected as a second round pick.
Kentucky’s Julius Randle selected agent George Bass to represent him, and Washington’s C.J. Wilcox will be represented by Aaron Mintz of Creative Artists Agency, per a tweet from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Randle is projected as a high lottery pick; Wilcox is projected to be taken in the second round.
St. John’s Orlando Sanchez has signed with agent B.J. Bass of RBA Sports, per a tweet from Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Saric, Napier, Harrison Twins

April 8th, 2014 at 11:47am CST by Chuck Myron

Connecticut finished off a surprise run to the NCAA title on Monday, and with the college basketball season in the books, the focus on the June 26th draft sharpens. Underclassmen who’ve declared for the draft have just one more week to withdraw without losing their NCAA eligibility, so decision time is drawing near for many. Here’s the latest:

Agent Misko Raznatovic of BeoBasket says he’s become the new representative for lottery prospect Dario Saric, adding that he expects to make an announcement about Saric’s future in the next couple of days (Twitter links; hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). He’ll partner with Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. A report last month indicating that Saric had agreed to a deal that would keep him in Europe prompted Carchia to tweet shortly thereafter that he expected Saric to sign with Raznatovic, but the European deal never came to fruition, and Saric said a few days ago that he’s leaning toward entering the draft.
Shabazz Napier won the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player award, but several NBA executives tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they still see the point guard as a second-round pick (Sulia link).
NBA types also continue to downplay the prospects of Kentucky freshman twins Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv details.