Dario Saric Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Dario Saric To Enter NBA Draft

April 14th, 2013 at 3:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Croatian forward Dario Saric has decided to enter the NBA draft in June, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The 19-year-old previously planned to spend one more season with the Adriatic League's KK Cibona Zagreb before joining the NBA but has apparently changed his mind.

Saric can still change his mind and pull out of the draft before June 17 and re-apply in 2014. He can use this time through to weigh his projected draft status, which NBA executives say could rise as high as the mid-first round. Marc Cornstein of Pinnacle Sports is set to represent Saric in the NBA.

The youngster has advanced passing skills and an improving perimeter shooting game. DraftExpress rates Saric as the No. 1 international player in his birth year (1994).

Draft Updates: Thomas, Saric, Burke, Final Four

April 5th, 2013 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

In our latest round of draft updates, one potential first-rounder has declared for the draft, while another appears unlikely to do so and a third remains undecided. Let's dive in….

Ohio State forward Deshaun Thomas will forgo his senior year of NCAA ball and declare for the draft, the school announced today in a press release. Thomas, who averaged 19.8 PPG for the Buckeyes this season, is ranked 48th among this year's prospects by ESPN.com's Chad Ford and 57th by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, but at least one veteran NBA scout thinks the 21-year-old could be picked late in the first round, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
In a conversation with Esteban Novillo of Marca.com (English link via Sportando), international prospect Dario Saric indicated that he's not expecting to enter this year's draft, despite reports to the contrary. Saric wants to spend more time improving his game and hopes to eventually be a top-15 pick.
Trey Burke's mother, Ronda Burke, tells Eric Adelson of Yahoo! Sports that her son hasn't made a decision about entering this year's draft yet. It's no surprise that the Michigan guard and his family would want to delay any announcements until after this weekend's Final Four to avoid any distractions.
Burke will be one of the prospects to watch this weekend in Atlanta, according to ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link), who takes note of a few players who have a chance to increase their respective draft stocks in the Final Four.

Draft Updates: Thomas, Smart, Nash, Saric, Burke

April 4th, 2013 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to what should be a fun Final Four in the NCAA Tournament this weekend, let's check in on the latest updates on the 2013 NBA draft….

Memphis forward Adonis Thomas will forgo his last two years of NCAA eligibility and enter the draft, coach Josh Pastner confirmed to L. Jason Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Thomas, who will hire an agent, is ranked just outside of Chad Ford's top 100 list at ESPN.com, and Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) questions his decision to leave Memphis.

Earlier updates:

ESPN.com's Chad Ford isn't ruling out the possibility that the No. 2 prospect on his board, Marcus Smart, returns to Oklahoma State, but Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com says Smart is leaning toward declaring for the draft. Within the same tweet, Goodman adds that Smart's teammate, LeBryan Nash, will remain in school.
Croatian prospect Dario Saric will enter the draft, reports Ford. The 18-year-old is being eyed as a "potential sleeper" by a number of teams, according to the ESPN.com scribe.
Michigan's Trey Burke is up to 7th on ESPN.com's big board, and could continue to rise with a strong performance against Syracuse this Saturday, according to Ford.
Gary Harris of Michigan State is believed to be leaning toward returning to school and undergoing shoulder surgery this summer, says Ford.
Multiple sources tell Ford that Kelly Olynyk is expected to declare for the '13 draft, though the Gonzaga big man hasn't made it official yet.
College coaches and players are aware that the NCAA's April 16th withdrawal deadline is relatively meaningless, writes ESPN.com's Andy Katz. Last month, we passed along Jonathan Givony's explanation for why that's the case.
Isaiah Sykes of Central Florida will declare for the draft, but won't hire an agent, giving him an opportunity to withdraw, tweets Goodman.

Odds & Ends: Saric, Draft, Murphy, Collins, Lakers

November 26th, 2012 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's check out a few items from around the Association as we prepare for an eight-game evening slate….

Although we heard on Friday that Dario Saric's contract in Croatia wouldn't have an NBA out until 2014, Saric confirmed today that his new deal will include an NBA out after every season. Saric, who ranks 16th on DraftExpress.com's big board for 2013, indicated that he'd declare for the draft next season if he receives a top-10 guarantee, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando writes.
NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper notes (on Twitter) that one NBA executive has Saric in his current top 10, but that he's hardly a lock, and plenty can change between now and next June.
In an Insider piece at ESPN.com, Jay Bilas and Chad Ford debate which college prospect is the early favorite to be picked first overall next June, and discuss a few more draft topics.
Kevin Murphy, who was assigned to the D-League today, will be with the Reno Bighorns for at least five games, according to Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey (Twitter link via Jody Genessy of the Deseret News).
Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops fills out a hypothetical roster made up of the NBA's worst contracts.
Mardy Collins, who played in parts of four seasons for the Knicks and Clippers after being drafted 29th overall in 2006, has reached an agreement to play for Israel's Maccabi Ashdod, reports David Pick of Sportando.
Lakers offseason acquisitions Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison have begun to thrive under new coach Mike D'Antoni, says Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Medina adds that there's still no set timetable for Steve Nash's return.

Odds & Ends: Gasol, Billups, Batum, Heat, Cavs

November 23rd, 2012 at 11:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni had some harsh words for Pau Gasol in response to a question about the thought process that led him to keep Gasol on the bench in the fourth quarter of the team's loss to the Grizzlies tonight. "I was thinking I'd like to win this game, that's what I was thinking," D'Antoni said, as Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register tweets. The coach also questioned Gasol's conditioning, Ding also tweets, and this will seemingly reignite the off-and-on trade speculation that's surrounded Gasol for the past several months. While we wait to hear more about that, here's the rest of the buzz from a 12-game night in the Association:

Chauncey Billups is targeting the first week of December to return from his torn Achilles' tendon, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Wolves coach Rick Adelman explained the team's admiration of Nicolas Batum that led them to sign him to an offer sheet that was eventually matched by the Blazers, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune documents. "I felt he could do what he's doing, that with the group we had — especially with Kevin (Love) and Pek (Nikola Pekovic) and Ricky (Rubio) — it'd be a good fit," Adelman said. "But it didn't work out. They had control over it, and they got him and we're happy we got Andrei (Kirilenko)."
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel can see the Heat pursuing a center at some point later this season.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio preaches patience on Dion Waiters, and doesn't think it would be worthwhile for the Cavs to trade Anderson Varejao.
College seniors are no longer a commodity in the NBA draft, but several of this year's crop of upperclassmen are making a push to reverse that trend, notes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only).
Croatian small forward Dario Saric is 16th on the DraftExpress.com list of the top 2013 draft prospects, but his new deal overseas doesn't include an NBA out until 2014, reports Toma Dragičević of Jutarnji.hr (translation via Sportando's Emiliano Carchia).