Dario Saric Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kennedy Notes: Draft, Gasol, Sixers

April 4th, 2014 at 8:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders held his weekly chat. He touched on a number of topics, and some of the highlights are listed below:

Kennedy believes the biggest sleeper pick in the upcoming NBA Draft is Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early. He also believes the player most likely to be taken too high is Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein.
Pau Gasol is most likely done with the Lakers after this season, opines Kennedy. He cites the Lakers’ desire to have cap flexibility heading into the summer of 2015, as well as Gasol’s reluctance to be part of a rebuild.
On who the Sixers will take in the draft, Kennedy believes the team will simply select the best two players available. His draft scenario has the team selecting Andrew Wiggins and Dario Saric.
He doesn’t believe that Victor Oladipo is the long term answer for the Magic at point guard. Kennedy believes the team should look at drafting Dante Exum and keeping Oladipo at shooting guard.
Kennedy also believes the rumors that Kyrie Irving wants out of Cleveland. He opines that Irving might sign an extension and then demand a trade from the Cavs.

Dario Saric Leaning Toward Entering Draft

April 4th, 2014 at 8:41am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s been plenty of back-and-forth about whether potential top-10 pick Dario Saric will enter this year’s draft, with rumors coming from his father, an agent who no longer represents him, and unnamed sources. Saric himself spoke to Jelena Trajković of B92.net, telling her that it’s his dream to play in the NBA and that he believes he’ll go into the draft, but the Croatian star cautions that he has yet to come to a final decision (translation via Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress via Twitter).

Givony ranks Saric as the ninth-best prospect for June’s draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com pegs him 14th. It’s around the same range where Saric found himself last year, when he entered the draft but withdrew before the deadline to so. There have been conflicting reports about whether he’d even test the waters this time around, with Ford reporting last month that he’d agreed to a three-year deal with a Turkish team that wouldn’t allow him to go to the NBA until 2016, when he’ll be automatically draft-eligible. Givony countered that he never reached such a deal, asserting that the 6’10” forward would almost certainly enter this year’s draft.

Agent Robert Jablan publicly called for Saric to declare for the draft, but Saric’s father and Givony say Jablan no longer represents Saric. Jablan was critical of Saric’s father, who has said that he wants to see his son stay in Europe for another two seasons. Around the same time his father initially made those comments, Saric agreed that it would be best for his development to remain overseas, though he added that he’d wait to make a decision. Ford said earlier this week that Saric was still leaning against declaring for the draft, but with four days to go until his 20th birthday, it appears he’s had a change of heart. Saric seems to indicate in his latest interview that he’ll make his decision in another 10 days, so it looks like we’ll have some resolution to the saga soon.

Draft Rumors: Saric, Parker, Brown, Clarkson

April 2nd, 2014 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jabari Parker‘s father tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Parker is still undecided on whether to declare for the 2014 draft. “He’s undecided and we know the [NBA’s Early Entry eligibility] deadline is the 27th [of April] so if he’s going to make a decision he has to make it by that date, but right now he’s undecided,” said the elder Parker. It would be a surprise if Parker, a consensus top-three talent, didn’t come out for the draft when all is said and done. Let’s look at some more draft notes:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in his weekly chat, insists that Dario Saric is still leaning toward staying out of the draft, in spite of a weekend report suggesting otherwise. Ford also hears from several scouts who say Parker will stay in school, but Ford believes the Duke star will ultimately enter this year’s draft.
Oklahoma State senior Markel Brown and Missouri junior Jordan Clarkson, who’s entering the draft, are set to sign with Andy Miller’s ASM Sports agency, tweets Darren Heitner of Forbes.
NBA front office types who told their owners that there was a franchise-changing player in this year’s draft are probably nervous now, an Eastern Conference executive tells Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who examines the falling stock of the 2014 class.
Some of the top prospects in the 2015 class don’t seem too enthused about commissioner Adam Silver’s push for a new NBA minimum age, as they tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Saric, Wiggins, Exum

April 1st, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The father of lottery prospect Dario Saric reiterated to Tomislav Gabelić of 24sata that he doesn’t feel his son is ready for the NBA, suggesting that Spanish team Real Madrid is in contention to sign the 6’10” forward, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com notes (Twitter links). That lends credence to the notion that his rumored deal with Efes Pilson of Turkey never came to fruition. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress recently wrote that Dario Saric is almost certain to enter the draft, and while sources confirm to Pick that Saric is indeed draft-bound, they believe he’ll nonetheless sign with a European club, becoming a “draft-and-stash” player. There’s more on Saric amid the latest on the draft, as we detail:

The stumbling block for many European teams that would pursue Saric is that only a few of them can afford his buyout from KK Cibona, the club for which he currently plays, tweets Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Saric’s father also confirms that agent Robert Jablan no longer represents his son, who is without an agent, Carchia notes via Twitter.
An earlier report indicated that Andrew Wiggins was expected to sign with agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, but Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears that Paul never recruited Wiggins. Instead, Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports and one other agency are contending for Wiggins, Haynes writes.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports lists his top 10 international prospects, with Saric right behind Australian point guard Dante Exum, who occupies the No. 1 spot.

Latest On Dario Saric

March 29th, 2014 at 11:52am CST by Cray Allred

Dario Saric will almost certainly declare for this year’s draft, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who writes in a series of tweets. This contradicts earlier information that Saric would not be entering the draft on the heels of agreeing in principle to a three-year, $8.27MM contract with his European team. Yesterday, we noted that the agent critical of Saric’s decision-making was expected to part ways with the Croatian forward, but Givony tweets that the agent’s relationship with Saric had ended before making the comments, and asserts that the criticism was based more on a personal grudge than accurate information.

Givony also casts doubt on the report of Saric’s contract agreement in Europe, saying that the news is “bogus” and comes from former agents who have an ax to grind. The deal that Saric was to have signed didn’t include an NBA escape clause until 2016, when he would have been automatically eligible for the draft.

Whatever Saric decides will significantly impact how the 2014 draft shakes out. The 6’10” scorer is ranked 9th overall by Givony at DraftExpress, and 14th on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s top 100. He could always enter the draft and still opt to remain overseas, so clarity on whether he intends to jump to the NBA immediately would certainly help his draft stock, as most teams with lottery picks would want to avoid selecting a talent they couldn’t immediately begin developing. If he does declare and slide down draft board, he could be appealing as a value for teams with the luxury to wait on a “draft and stash” prospect.

Dario Saric’s Agent Wants Him To Enter Draft

March 28th, 2014 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The agent for Dario Saric is confident that his client is ready to play in the NBA and tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today that he disagrees with the Croatian prospect’s apparent decision to sign a new deal in Europe and remain there through at least next season. Robert Jablan asserts that Saric’s father is exerting undue influence on his son, who turns 20 next month and had been in line to become a lottery pick this year.

Jablan said Saric’s father may prompt him to cut ties with his client, though Saric has been expected to hire a new agent for a while. Sporando’s Emiliano Carchia believes Saric will sign with Misko Raznatovic, another prominent European agent (Twitter link). Saric’s apparent deal with Efes Pilson in Turkey would give him $8.27MM over three years, an unusually high sum for a European pact and more than he would likely make over the same timeframe on an NBA rookie scale contract. The deal would include an escape clause that would allow him to head to the NBA in 2016, when he’ll be automatically eligible for the draft.

Saric is ninth on Jonathan Givony’s top prospects list at DraftExpress, and No. 14 on the Big Board that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles. He’s averaged 15.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists overall this season for the Croatian club KK Cibona. He declared for the draft in 2013, only to withdraw before the deadline to do so. He has until April 27th to change his mind about the Turkish contract and enter this year’s draft.

Draft Rumors: Wiggins, Vonleh, Randle, Saric

March 25th, 2014 at 8:48pm CST by Charlie Adams

The latest mock draft from Jake Henson of Sheridan Hoops runs down Henson’s take on the likely 2014 lottery picks. Each player has a best and worst case scenario player comparison, and Henson opines that Andrew Wiggins‘ ceiling is around Tracy McGrady‘s talents, while his floor might project around Rudy Gay‘s skills. Let’s round up the latest rumors on the 2014 NBA draft:

Front offices around the league are intrigued by Noah Vonleh‘s size and upside, writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link). He might not be polished enough to have a strong rookie year, but it’s possible he has more potential than Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon, says Ford. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says he would still take Randle over Vonleh (on Twitter).
Kyler goes on to peg Randle as a mix between Zach Randolph and Paul Millsap (Twitter link). Randle has averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in his freshman year at Kentucky.
Dario Saric isn’t entering the 2014 draft, and Kyler believes his decision was based on money. Given the talent of this year’s draft class, Kyler notes Saric is due for a higher selection and a bigger payday if he waits to enter the draft until next season (Twitter links).
Ford, in another Insider piece, passes along that Wiggins is believed by executives around the league to be the number one pick, pending an absolute clean bill of health from Kansas teammate Joel Embiid.
Scouts believe Aaron Gordon is likely to return for his sophomore year at Arizona, says Ford, but the same scouts say if he declares for the draft, he’s likely to be selected as a mid-to-late first-round pick. Hoops Rumors’ Eddie Scarito recently profiled Gordon’s game.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe argues that the days of the polished NBA rookie are dying, as most one-and-done players who enter the league now need a few years to develop their game. Washburn points to the NCAA tournament performances of Wiggins, Marcus Smart, and Jabari Parker as evidence.

Dario Saric To Sign In Europe

March 23rd, 2014 at 10:29pm CST by Zachary Links

One of the top international prospects in the 2014 draft may take himself out of NBA consideration for multiple years. While Dario Saric hasn’t officially announced anything, multiple sources tell Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) that he has an agreement in principle with Efes Pilson that will pay him $8.27MM over the next three years.

There’s no word yet on what the NBA buyout clause in that contract looks like, Ford adds, but a deal like that would mean the forward won’t be able to come to the NBA next season. Sources also say it’s highly unlikely he’ll even declare for this year’s draft. Ford previously indicated that Saric’s stock could suffer since some clubs fear that his situation could resemble Nikola Mirotic‘s. While Mirotic has serious upside, the Bulls have waited on him for the past three years, meaning he’s no longer subject to the rookie scale and can demand higher salaries to join the team this summer.

The 19-year-old is currently projected to the No. 9 overall pick in the 2014 draft by DraftExpress. In the same piece, Ford notes that West Virginia point guard Juwan Staten has officially declared for the draft. Staten is outside the top 100 prospects at DraftExpress, and Ford calls him a second-round pick, at best. The ESPN.com scribe expects Staten will withdraw from the draft and return to the Mountaineers.

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, UCLA

March 19th, 2014 at 5:56pm CST by Alex Lee

In his latest chat with readers, Chad Ford of ESPN.com insists that Andrew Wiggins has solidified his position as the No. 1 draft prospect. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com disagrees, debuting his own Top 30 list based off discussions he’s had with league executives. It has Jabari Parker at the top. Howard-Cooper also touched on a multitude of other draft topics in another post. Let’s sort through his latest and more draft-related stuff here:

Front offices are wavering between Parker and Kansas’ Joel Embiid for the top spot, according to Howard-Cooper. He adds that no one has more at stake in the NCAA Tournament than Embiid, who only has a shot to return from back issues if the Jayhawks advance without him.
Austalian guard Dante Exum is right behind the troika of Parker-Embiid-Wiggins. That foursome is followed by Julius Randle and Marcus Smart, before a big drop off at No. 7.
Jusuf Nurkic is flying up draft boards, according to Howard-Cooper. The 19-year-old Bosnian center, currently playing in Croatia, is in one team’s top ten and may ultimately challenge Dario Saric as the first European off the board.
UCLA’s Zach LaVine has yet to convince scouts that he projects as a point guard in the NBA, Howard-Cooper writes. It doesn’t help than teammate Kyle Anderson has been handling the ball more as point forward lately, presumably boosting his draft stock. LaVine is still an attractive prospect, but his value will take a hit if his future looks to be on the wing. Both Bruins project as mid first rounders should they choose to come out.
USA Today’s Adi Joseph includes Embiid and Anderson on his list of eight NBA hopefuls with the most to gain in the NCAA Tournament, along with Keith Appling, Jahii Carson, Cleanthony Early, Tyler Ennis, Montrezl Harrell and Shabazz Napier.

Draft Rumors: Minimum Age, Exum, Saric

March 12th, 2014 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA’s minimum age won’t change in time for this year’s draft, but if it did, Chad Ford of ESPN.com, writing in an Insider-only piece, thinks Marcus Smart would be the No. 1 overall pick, followed by Doug McDermott, Rodney Hood, Nik Stauskas and Gary Harris. It illustrates how reliant the league has become on freshman talent, and how profoundly a rule change could devastate the draft the year it takes effect. There’s more on the minimum-age front and other news from Ford amid the latest on the draft:

Commissioner Adam Silver says he’s sought the input of NCAA president Mark Emmert on the effort to raise the NBA’s minimum age, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Silver also wants to discuss the way the draft affects players’ NCAA eligibility, as Michael McCann of SI.com notes via Twitter.
Ford doesn’t believe teams are too concerned about the notion that Dante Exum would try to force his way to the Lakers, as Ford writes in his latest chat with readers.
Dario Saric has hurt his draft stock with hints that he might stay in Europe, according to Ford, who suggests in his chat that teams might worry that Saric will become the next Nikola Mirotic. The Bulls have waited while Mirotic has remained overseas for the past three years, meaning he’s no longer subject to the rookie scale and can demand higher salaries to join the team this summer.
Most of the NBA prospects on Kentucky’s roster, including brothers Aaron and Andrew Harrison, want to enter the draft this year, Ford writes, adding that Julius Randle is nonetheless the only lock to declare.