Domantas Sabonis Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: James, Wiggins, McMillan, Pistons

June 11th, 2016 at 8:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James is falling in the NBA Finals with the Cavaliers team that he built, writes Dave Hyde of The Sun-Sentinel. It was James’ decision to leave Miami for Cleveland two years ago because he saw a franchise with younger talent, Hyde notes, and he pushed for the deal that sent Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota for Kevin Love. James also approved the trade with New York that brought J.R. Smith and supported the hiring of Tyronn Lue, who had no previous experience as a head coach. Cavs managment has given James everything he wanted since his return, Hyde writes, saying it shows the danger of letting a player make too many personnel decisions.

There’s more from the Central Division:

James’ desire to have Love as a teammate instead of Wiggins shaped the Cavaliers‘ destiny, contends Shaun Powell of NBA.com. Wiggins’ defensive prowess would have been much more valuable against the Warriors, Powell argues, noting that he is also capable of creating offense with his dribble, in contrast to Love, who has settled into a role as a 3-point shooter since he arrived in Cleveland. Wiggins also could have eased the Cavaliers’ financial burden with a rookie contract instead of the maximum deal that Love got last summer.
The Cavs’ bench has been letting them down in the finals, points out Marc Berman of The New York Post. Channing Frye, who was acquired in a February deal with the Magic, only has two points in the series. Iman Shumpert has been held to 11. Love came off the bench to score 11 in Game 4, but the rest of the reserves combined for just four points. Berman says depth will need to be the focus of Cleveland’s offseason moves.
New Pacers coach Nate McMillan will keep Dan Burke and Popeye Jones as part of his staff, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Agness says McMillan seems to have decided on a third assistant, but no announcement has been made.
The Pistons may concentrate on power forwards with the 18th pick in the draft, writes David Mayo of MLive. Detroit traded that pick to Houston for Donatas Motiejunas in a February deal that was later rescinded, so it’s clear that Pistons management recognizes the need for help at the four spot. Mayo lists Michigan State’s Deyonta Davis, Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, Marquette’s Henry Ellenson and Kansas’ Perry Ellis as four possibilities.

Draft Notes: Celtics, Beasley, Papagiannis, Hawks

June 8th, 2016 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

It’s a busy day for Celtics pre-draft workouts, as the team is working out a six-player group and taking a closer look at two more prospects in individual workouts. Those solo workouts belong to Kentucky’s Jamal Murray and Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (Twitter link), and it sounds like it was a good showing for Murray — he hit a record 79 of 100 three-pointers during his session, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. In our community mock draft, Hoops Rumors readers have Murray coming off the board seventh overall and Sabonis being picked 13th..

As for Boston’s larger workout group, in addition to Farad Cobb and Cheick Diallo, whose participation had previously been reported, the Celtics are also working out Terry Allen (Richmond), Zach Auguste (Notre Dame), Adam Pechacek (Czech Republic), and Adam Smith (Georgia Tech), according to Forsberg.

Let’s round up a few more draft updates from around the league…

Because former Florida State shooting guard Malik Beasley is coming off stress fracture surgery on his right leg, he won’t be able to work out for teams prior to the draft, but can meet and interview with them, according to ESPN.com’s Chad Ford (Twitter link). A report last week indicated that Beasley would be paying a visit to the Bulls today.
Greek big man Georgios Papagiannis, who worked out for Phoenix on Tuesday, has upcoming workouts with the Celtics, Bulls, and Pistons, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The 7’2″ center currently ranks 50th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at DraftExpress.com.
Former Wichita State guard Ron Baker is schedule to have a pre-draft workout with the Hawks this Friday, reports Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).
Oregon’s Elgin Cook, the 77th-ranked prospect on DraftExpress.com, recently workout for the Raptors and will audition next for the Nets, who are hoping to trade for a pick, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Raptors, Knicks, Draft

June 6th, 2016 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are extremely unlikely to use all eight picks they hold in this year’s NBA draft, but the fact that they have all those picks, including five in the second round, means Boston will be diligent about evaluating all sorts of prospects. The club is hosting 12 players for pre-draft workouts today, and the two six-man groups feature a handful of less recognizable names. Here’s the full list of the participants, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (Twitter link): Isaia Cordinier (France), Perry Ellis (Kansas), Nick Faust (Long Beach State), Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State), Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa), Guerschon Yabusele (France), Kellen Dunham (Butler), Roosevelt Jones (Butler), Hunter Mickelson (Kansas), Dyshawn Pierre (Dayton), Tanner Plomb (Army), and Jordan Sakho (Spain).

Here’s more from around the Atlantic, including details on another team hosting a pre-draft workout today:

The Raptors will have an individual workout for Gonzaga big man Domantas Sabonis today, as Sportsnet’s Michael Grange tweets. Toronto will also be hosting a six-player workout that features Winston Shepard (San Diego State), Jake Layman (Maryland), Damian Jones (Vanderbilt), Diamond Stone (Maryland), and Stephen Zimmerman (UNLV). Brandon Austin, whose workout with the Raptors was previously reported, is also participating today.
In a weekend mailbag, Doug Smith of The Toronto Star tackles several Raptors-related questions, discussing potential outside free agent targets and predicting the odds of Toronto’s own free agents returning.
During an appearance on WFAN, new Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek confirmed that he’ll make the final call on his assistant coaches, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Kurt Rambis remains under consideration for one of the spots on Hornacek’s staff.
If the Celtics get a chance to make a pitch to Kevin Durant in free agency, they should play the history card, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (video link), who says Boston could give Durant the opportunity to be the next star in a long line of greats that includes Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and many more.

Pacific Notes: Kings, Collison, Suns, Clippers

June 2nd, 2016 at 12:52pm CST by Luke Adams

We heard last week that new Kings head coach Dave Joerger was targeting Bryan Gates as a potential assistant. Now, James Ham of CSN California hears from a source that Gates – a former Sacramento assistant who worked for Minnesota last year and the Pelicans before that – is indeed to set to come aboard Joerger’s staff. Last week’s report indicated that Joerger and the Kings were also pursuing Elston Turner, but there are no official updates yet on that front.

Here’s more from around the Pacific, including a couple more items out of Sacramento:

Kings point guard Darren Collison was arrested on a domestic violence charge earlier this week, but his lawyer, Bill Portanova, called it a “misunderstanding” that he’s “working to straighten out,” writes Andy Furillo of The Sacramento Bee. As Furillo observes, it makes sense to wait to see how the case plays out before predicting what it might mean for Collison or the Kings.
Emmanuel Malou, who was set to transfer to Iowa State before deciding to remain in the 2016 draft, recently worked out for the Kings, per The Sacramento Bee.
The Suns worked out a six-player group of prospects today that included Ryan Anderson (Arizona), Zach Auguste (Notre Dame), Ron Curry (James Madison), Cheick Diallo (Kansas), Lester Medford (Baylor), and Codi Miller-McIntyre (Wake Forest). Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer tweets that Diamond Stone (Maryland) is also heading to Phoenix for his next workout, while Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic tweets that Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis has a solo workout with the team today.
The Clippers‘ pre-draft workout group on Wednesday featured Daniel Hamilton (UConn), DeAndre’ Bembry (St. Joseph’s), Guerschon Yabusele (France), Cat Barber (N.C. State), Tyrone Wallace (California), and Zach Auguste (Notre Dame), according to the team.
In other Los Angeles workout news, Alex Poythress (Kentucky) has workouts lined up with both the Lakers and Clippers (Twitter link via Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com), Rosco Allen (Stanford) is set to work out for the Lakers tomorrow (Twitter link via Camerato), and Czech power forward Adam Pechacek will also participate in that Lakers workout on Friday (Twitter link via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). Finally, veteran D-League forward Joel Wright is attending a Clippers mini-camp, a league source tells Chris Reichert of Upside & Motor (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Jackson, Sabonis, Zimmerman

April 19th, 2016 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Notre Dame junior point guard Demetrius Jackson, who declared for the draft last month, has signed with Priority Sports for his representation, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Projections are divided for the 21-year-old who ranks as the 11th-best prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress but comes in just 25th in the listings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles.

Plenty of other news about the draft has emerged with the June 23rd event barely more than two months away. Here’s the latest.

Gonzaga sophomore forward/center Domantas Sabonis has hired the Wasserman agency, reports Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (Twitter link), with Greg Lawrence and Jason Ranne to represent him, according to Liz Mullen of The Sports Business Journal (Twitter link). That closes off the possibility that he’d withdraw from the draft and return to school. The 6’10” 20-year-old is the 15th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings and No. 19 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list.
Texas A&M senior combo guard Alex Caruso has signed with agent Greg Lawrence of the Wasserman agency, Mullen relays (on Twitter).
UNLV freshman center Stephen Zimmerman has also signed with the Wasserman Media Group, D’Bria Bradshaw of The Sports Agent Blog relays. Agent Darren ‘Mats’ Matsubara will represent Zimmerman, Bradshaw notes.
West Virginia junior power forward Devin Williams has signed with agent Aaron Turner of Verus Management, Goodman reports (Twitter link). The 6’9″ 21-year-old is the 94th-best prospect in Ford’s rankings, while Givony has him outside the top 100, simply listing him as the 35th-best junior.
Florida Gulf Coast University junior Marc-Eddy Norelia will enter the draft without hiring an agent, the school announced. He’s a long-shot prospect, falling outside Ford’s and Givony’s rankings. The 6’8″ forward can retain his college eligibility if he withdraws from the draft by May 25th and doesn’t sign with an agent.
Czech power forward Adam Pechacek is entering the draft, his representatives at SigmaSports announced (via Twitter). The 21-year-old averaged 13.1 points and 5.2 rebounds playing in Poland last season.
Greek center Georgios Papagiannis, Turkish power forward/center Ege Arar and Slovenian point guard Aleksej Nikolic will all enter the draft, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express relays in a series of tweets. Of the trio, Papagiannis is the most likely to be drafted, with the 7’2″ 18-year-old coming in at No. 48 overall according to Givony. Neither Arar or Nikolic are locks to be selected, with Arar ranked as the No. 36 overall international prospect in his class by Givony, who slots Nikolic at No. 50.

Gonzaga F/C Domantas Sabonis To Enter Draft

April 6th, 2016 at 7:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Gonzaga sophomore forward/center Domantas Sabonis will enter this year’s draft, sources told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The son of Hall-of-Famer Arvydas Sabonis is likely to sign with an agent, Goodman adds. If he does so, he’ll be unable to withdraw from the draft and retain his college eligibility. The 6’10” 20-year-old is the 15th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings and No. 19 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list.

This was a breakout season for Sabonis, who averaged 17.6 points on 61.1% shooting. His 11.8 rebounds per contest were the sixth-most in NCAA Division I. He raised his game even further in the NCAA Tournament last month, averaging 19.7 points and 14.3 boards in three outings. Ford compliments his passing, a trait passed down from his father, though his 1.8 assists per game for the Bulldogs this season weren’t eye-popping. He lacks an outside game, attempting only 14 3-pointers all season, though he made five of them.

The Portland, Oregon, native was 26th in the 247Sports recruiting rankings in 2014, one of the ratings used in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, but he went to high school in Spain instead of the United States, keeping him out of the other ratings. In any case, he spent his freshman year at Gonzaga as a bench player, but his career took off following his insertion into the starting lineup in an early December game against Washington State this season. He scored a career-high 36 points against Tennessee a few weeks later.

And-Ones: Hield, Burke, SuperSonics, Huestis

March 31st, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Buddy Hield’s outstanding performance in the NCAA Tournament may not be helping his draft position as much as casual fans would assume, according to Jonathan Givony of The Vertical. The high-scoring Oklahoma star has led the Sooners to the Final Four, but an unidentified GM says teams knew what Hield was capable of doing even before the tournament started. Hield had considered declaring for last year’s draft, but feedback from teams placed him in the middle of the second round at best. Now he projects as a top-10 pick.

There’s more from around the world of basketball:

Hield has impressed NBA executives and scouts who talked to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, and one Western Conference exec thinks he could go as high as No. 3. Scotto has Hield atop his list of prospects who have improved their draft stock in the tourney, followed by Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, North Carolina’s Brice Johnson, Baylor’s Taurean Prince and Iowa State’s Georges Niang.
Jazz point guard Trey Burke has seen his playing time cut since the trade for Shelvin Mack, but he’s trying to stay positive, according to The Associated Press. “I know I’ll have a long career in this league, regardless of what anybody says,” Burke said. “That’s my mindset. It is a little frustrating because you want to be out there. You know you can help the team. But, for me, I’m looking at the big picture. I don’t really look at the temporary situation. I just try to get better every day. Be the best version of me that I can be.”
The annual trip to Portland makes Celtics guards Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley nostalgic for the Seattle SuperSonics, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Both Pacific Northwest natives were just teenagers eight years ago when the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City. “That hurt kids’ childhoods, man, not growing up with a professional basketball team like everyone else had,” Thomas recalled. “It’s tough now, and Portland is the closest team to them. I’m glad I was raised on Sonics basketball.”
The Thunder have assigned Josh Huestis to their Oklahoma City Blue affiliate in the D-League, the team announced today. Huestis is averaging 13.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.52 blocks in 23 games with the Blue.

Domantas Sabonis To Return To Gonzaga

April 4th, 2015 at 3:03pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Gonzaga freshman Domantas Sabonis intends to return to Gonzaga for his sophomore season, coach Mark Few told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 6’10” forward is the son of former NBA big man and FIBA Hall-of-Famer Arvydas Sabonis. The elder Sabonis played seven seasons for the Trail Blazers and owns career averages of 12.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks over 470 NBA contests.

The decision to return to school for another season could boost the draft stock of the versatile forward, whose play helped Gonzaga reach the Sweet 16 in this year’s NCAA tournament. Sabonis is currently ranked No. 29 overall by Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) and comes in at No. 43 for Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.

Sabonis appeared in 38 games for the Bulldogs this season, averaging 9.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 21.7 minutes per night. His slash line on the season was .668/.000/.664.