Dylan Windler Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavaliers Sign Darius Garland, Dylan Windler

July 2nd, 2019 at 10:24am CST by Arthur Hill

Both of Cleveland’s first-round picks have signed their rookie contracts, according to the NBA’s transactions log. The Cavaliers inked Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland, who was taken with the fifth pick, and Belmont forward Dylan Windler, who was selected at No. 26.

Garland was considered one of the nation’s top point guards, even though an injury limited him to five games in college. The freshman averaged 16.2 points and 2.6 assists in limited play, but displayed an impressive shooting range that should make him a valuable weapon in the NBA.

Windler spent four years at Belmont and became one of the top players in the Ohio Valley Conference. He averaged 21.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game as a senior and helped the Bruins reach the NCAA Tournament.

Under the rookie scale, Garland can receive $6.4MM in his first year and $6.72MM and $7.04MM in the next two seasons. Windler is slotted at $2.035MM for 2019/20 and $2.137MM and $2.239 for the subsequent two years.

Draft Updates: Bol, Claxton, Norvell, Green Room

June 13th, 2019 at 12:02pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, Oregon center Bol Bol held a Pro Day on Wednesday in Los Angeles, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that about a dozen NBA teams attended the event, including five general managers. Bol, who is viewed as one of the draft’s biggest high-risk, high-reward prospects, is coming back from surgery on his left foot and wanted to use the Pro Day to ease concerns about his health, says Givony.

Givony adds that Bol showed on Wednesday why he’s considered a top-five prospect in terms of talent, and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic (Twitter link) also hears from teams that the young big man looked good. However, Vecenie points out that the questions about Bol weren’t going to get answered in a non-contact open gym setting. He remains one of the draft’s most intriguing wild cards.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

Georgia big man Nicolas Claxton has canceled and shut down all of his workouts for non-lottery teams, a source tells Vecenie (Twitter link). Claxton, who ranks 29th on ESPN’s big board, feels good about where he’ll be picked based on the feedback he’s received so far, per Vecenie.
Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell Jr., the 63rd prospect on ESPN’s big board, said today he’s been told he’s projected to be drafted in the 20-40 range, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Norvell also said that he’s had 15 workouts during the pre-draft process (Twitter link).
Two more draft prospects have been invited to the Green Room for next Thursday’s event, according to reports. Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com tweets that Georgian center Goga Bitadze has received an invite, while Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com adds Keldon Johnson (Kentucky) to the list (Twitter link). Sixteen other Green Room invitees were previously reported.
In addition to his previously-reported workouts, Cameron Johnson (UNC) has auditioned for the Timberwolves, Celtics, Thunder, Sixers, and Warriors, tweets Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Mike Schmitz, and Kevin Pelton (Insider link) named several of their favorite draft sleepers, singling out Grant Williams (Tennessee), Dylan Windler (Belmont), and Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State), among others.

Northwest Notes: Donovan, Blazers, Jazz, Franklin

June 10th, 2019 at 8:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Billy Donovan‘s contract runs out after next season but he’s not sweating over his tenuous status with the Thunder, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. Donovan has no real desire to return to the college ranks and will likely retire or become an NBA assistant if he loses his job with Oklahoma City, Horne continues. It’s possible the Thunder will give Donovan an extension during the season but he’s not lobbying for any assurances, Horne adds. The Thunder have lost three assistants — Mark Bryant, Darko Rajakovic and Bob Beyer — due to the lack of job security in OKC.

We have more from around the Northwest Division:

The Trail Blazers took a look at six guard and wing prospects in their latest pre-draft workout on Monday, according to a team press release. Boston College’s Ky Bowman, Brewster Academy’s Jalen Lecque, Clemson’s Shelton Mitchell, Nebraska’s James Palmer Jr., Oregon State’s Stephen Thompson and Belmont’s Dylan Windler were the participants. Lecque is ranked No. 48 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
The Jazz, who hold the No. 23 overall pick in the first round, have a better idea of which players will be available at that spot, Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News reports. “I think we do have a better idea of 5-10 guys, I don’t have an exact number right now, but I think we’ve narrowed it down,” VP of player personnel Walt Perrin said. “We were in the theater the other day looking at players and talking about whether or not they should still be in the 23, as we call it, bucket. So, it’s again, 12 days and we’ll know better in another week, but I think the process is starting to narrow itself.”
Former NBA guard Jamaal Franklin participated in a free agent mini-camp with the Trail Blazers, according to Sportando’s Nicola Lupo. Franklin averaging 32.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, eight assists, and 2.4 steals this past season with the Sichuan Blue Whales in China. He last played in the league during the 2014-15 season with Denver. Franklin also recently participated in a Kings mini-camp.

Atlantic Notes: Udoka, Knicks, Celtics

June 9th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by clarkcrum

As we relayed earlier this week, new Sixers coach Ime Udoka is replacing Monty Williams as lead assistant coach under head man Brett Brown. Unlike Williams, however, Idoka will also be tasked with being the team’s new defensive coordinator next season, writes Rich Hofmann of The Athletic.

Udoka has interviewed unsuccessfully for some head coaching positions over the last couple offseasons in Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Charlotte and Orlando, but this new position for the Sixers will still be a promotion for him, as Ettore Messina is the lead assistant in San Antonio.

Getting the opportunity to be a lead assistant may very well increase Udoka’s chances of landing a head coaching role in the near future, especially considering the success that Brown’s other assistants for the Sixers like Lloyd Pierce (Hawks) and Williams (Suns) have had when they had the opportunity to interview for top jobs.

In the meantime, Udoka will oversee a defense that largely underperformed during the 2018/19 season given the talent on the Sixers’ roster.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division this afternoon:

The Knicks‘ top priority this offseason is luring one, if not two top tier free agents to Manhattan. But what if that doesn’t happen? According to Matt John of Basketball Insiders, the Knicks should either keep available cap space for the 2020 offseason, or begin building around Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, and the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft.
The Celtics currently hold the No. 51 overall selection in this month’s draft, so Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston takes a look at five prospects – DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa), Bruno Fernando (Maryland), Sagaba Konate (West Virginia), Tremont Waters (LSU), and Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State) – whom Boston could target with that pick.
Per Jay King of The Athletic, the Celtics hosted three prospects for a workout yesterday – Nassir Little (North Carolina), Dylan Windler (Belmont), and Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan). Little is the No. 9 overall prospect on ESPN’s top 100 list, so the Celtics would likely need to make a trade to move up if they’re seriously interested in the UNC product.

Sixers Notes: Marjanovic, Butler, Harris, Workouts

June 5th, 2019 at 9:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

Boban Marjanovic only spent a half season with the Sixers, but it was enough to make him want to stay. In an interview with the Serbian website Zurnal (translated by Stefan Djordjevic of EuroHoops), Marjanovic said his preference in free agency is to remain in Philadelphia.

“ I don’t know what will happen. … I should, almost 90 percent, stay in Philadelphia but that’s not known yet, just speculation,” he said. “It was nice for me there, so why not.”

The Sixers became Marjanovic’s fourth team in four NBA seasons when the Clippers traded him there in February. He averaged career highs of 8.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 22 games after the deal.

“The team is great, the players are talented,” Marjanovic added. “I think we had a chance to be the team playing the Finals this year but we had that bad luck of conceding the last-second basket. The city lives for basketball and sports in general. They have hockey, baseball, football, they follow everything, everything is organized until the very end and everybody knows who and what you are. Wherever you appear, everybody recognizes you because they follow all of it. A very nice experience.”

There’s more news from Philadelphia:

The Sixers are in position to get another top free agent if they lose Jimmy Butler or Tobias Harris, writes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. If Butler leaves and they keep Harris, it would only take a small move to reach $38.15MM in cap space ( 35% of the cap), such as trading away Jonah Bolden‘s nearly $1.7MM salary or the No. 24 pick. If Butler stays and Harris goes, they can only get to $30MM in cap room by renouncing all their other free agents. They can reach a 30% max slot by finding a team willing to take Zhaire Smith and their first-rounder without sending any salary back.
The Sixers are busy with workouts ahead of the June 20 draft. Today’s session featured Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, Delaware’s Eric Carter, Fairfield’s Jonathan Kasibabu, Buffalo’s C.J. Massinburg, Michigan’s Charles Matthews and Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Tomorrow, Philadelphia will welcome Temple’s Shizz Alston Jr., Australia’s Harry Froling, Alabama’s Donta Hall, Wake Forest’s Jaylen Hoard, Gonzaga’s Josh Perkins and Belmont’s Dylan Windler (Twitter link).
Villanova’s Phil Booth and Eric Paschall will both participate in a session on Saturday, Pompey writes in a full story.

Northwest Notes: J. Howard, Jazz, Nuggets, Noel

May 30th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Before he reached a deal to become the new head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Juwan Howard reportedly drew interest from the Timberwolves as they considered whether to retain head coach Ryan Saunders or go in a different direction.

While Minnesota ultimately opted to retain Saunders and Howard left the NBA for a college job, the Wolverines’ new head coach revealed today that the Timberwolves’ interest was real. According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter), Howard said that the Wolves offered him their associate head coach position – presumably under Saunders – but he declined. “My heart is with Michigan,” he said.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the Northwest…

The Jazz worked out 12 draft-eligible prospects on Sunday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Grant Williams (Tennessee), Naz Reid (LSU), KZ Okpala (Stanford), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Dylan Windler (Belmont), Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Jared Harper (Auburn), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Louis King (Oregon), Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) all got a look from the club.
Many of those players could be in the mix for the Jazz‘s No. 23 pick in the first round. Tony Jones of The Athletic explores 10 prospects Utah may be eyeing at that spot, naming Reid, Okpala, Edwards, and Windler as potential targets. Jones adds (via Twitter) that Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) is working out with the Jazz this week.
In a mailbag for The Athletic, Nick Kosmider addresses several Nuggets-related topics, identifying veteran forward Trevor Ariza as a possible target for Denver if the team stays over the cap and has the mid-level exception available.
After a solid year as the backup center in Oklahoma City, Nerlens Noel seems unlikely to return to the Thunder unless he’s willing to play for a discount again, writes Brett Dawson of The Athletic.

Heat Notes: Richardson, Haslem, Draft

May 28th, 2019 at 6:26pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Heat decided to pull back in trade discussions when discussing a Josh Richardson-centered deal for Jimmy Butler last season, but the swingman won’t be untouchable in trade talks going forward, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel relays in his latest mailbag.

Winderman writes that if Richardson is needed to complete a deal, he could be in a similar situation to Caron Butler‘s in the mid-2000s. Butler was included in the trade with the Lakers to bring Shaquille O’Neal to the Heat. Richardson, who will turn 26 in September, cooled off as a long-range marksman in 2018/19, making just 35.7% of his attempts from behind the arc. He’s under contract through the 2021/22 season (final year of the pact is a player’s option).

Here’s more from Miami:

Udonis Haslem could have a role as a consultant with the Heat, Winderman contends in the same piece. Haslem remains undecided about retiring as a player, though Winderman notes that he expects the power forward to actively remain with the Heat in some capacity regardless of his official decision. Former Heat center Alonzo Mourning trains with the team and instructs younger players, though he isn’t required to travel. That wouldn’t be a bad deal if Haslem decides to retire.
Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) will make a visit to Miami to work out for the Heat, a source tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson writes that the team is intrigued by his scoring ability, athletism, and high ceiling.
Pat Riley and the Heat’s brass attended Priority Sports’ Chicago workout last week to see a handful of prospects, Jackson relays in the same piece. Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke, Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, Maryland’s Bruno Fernando, Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ, Virginia’s Ty Jerome, Nebraska’s Isaiah Roby, Tennessee’s Admiral Schofield, DePaul’s Max Strus and Belmont’s Dylan Windler participated in drills. Jackson notes that Clarke is likely the only prospect in contention for the No. 13 overall pick.

Draft Notes: Brazdeikis, Pistons, Pacers, Dort, Wooten

May 20th, 2019 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

University of Michigan freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis is strongly leaning toward staying the draft, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. “Definitely leaning toward staying in,” he said while working out for the Pistons on Monday. Brazdeikis’ representatives have told him he’ll go anywhere from No. 20-40 in the draft, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony currently pegs the power forward at No. 46 overall.

We have more developments regarding draft prospects:

The Pistons brought in two groups of prospects, including Brazdeikis, on Monday, Langlois notes in a separate tweet. The first group included centers Naz Reid (LSU) and Marques Bolden (Duke), point guards Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Nembhard (Florida) and forward Louis King (Oregon) came in during the morning session; Shooting guards Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State), Ethan Thompson (Oregon State) and Ahmed Hill (Virginia Tech), forwards Martin Krampelj (Creighton) and Savion Flagg (Texas A&M) and point guard Phil Booth (Villanova) visited during the afternoon session.
The Pacers will conduct a pair of draft workouts on Tuesday, the team announced in a press release. The first group includes Brian Bowen II (Australia), Ty Jerome (Virginia), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Dylan Windler (Belmont) and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra). The second group includes Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), CJ Elleby (Washington State), Krampelj, Derrik Smits (Butler), and Lamar Stevens (Penn State). Edwards (No. 25) and Jerome (No. 29) are the highest-rated prospects among those groups, according to Givony.
Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Luguentz Dort will work out for the Suns, Warriors, Trail Blazers and Jazz next week, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. The 6’5” Dort (Arizona State) is rated No. 27 overall by Givony and No. 7 among shooting guard prospects.
Oregon forward Kenny Wooten wrote on his Instagram account that he will remain in the draft, Steve Mims of DuckSports.com reports. Wooten averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 2.2 BPG in his sophomore year. He is not listed among Givony’s Top 100 prospects.

Full List Of 2019 NBA Draft Combine Participants

May 8th, 2019 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has revealed its list of 66 players who have been invited to next week’s draft combine in Chicago and who are expected to attend. The combine will take place from May 15-19.

While a small handful of top prospects often skip the event, that won’t be the case this year — Zion Williamson and Ja Morant are on the league’s list of 66 names, along with R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland, De’Andre Hunter, and many more. Of course, those top prospects may not participate fully in all of the workouts and scrimmages at the combine.

A few more names figure to be added to this list, as a select number of the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp earlier in the week are expected to receive invites to the combine.

Here’s the full list of 66 names announced by the NBA today, in alphabetical order:

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, G, Virginia Tech (sophomore)
R.J. Barrett, G/F, Duke (freshman)
Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky (freshman)
Darius Bazley, F, Princeton HS (OH) (N/A)
Bol Bol, C, Oregon (freshman)
Jordan Bone, G, Tennessee (junior)
Brian Bowen, F, USA (born 1998)
Ky Bowman, G, Boston College (junior)
Ignas Brazdeikis, F, Michigan (freshman)
Moses Brown, C, UCLA (freshman)
Brandon Clarke, F, Gonzaga (junior)
Nicolas Claxton, F, Georgia (sophomore)
Jarrett Culver, G/F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
Luguentz Dort, G, Arizona State (freshman)
Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (freshman)
Carsen Edwards, G, Purdue (junior)
Bruno Fernando, F, Maryland (sophomore)
Daniel Gafford, F/C, Arkansas (sophomore)
Darius Garland, G, Vanderbilt (freshman)
Quentin Grimes, G, Kansas (freshman)
Kyle Guy, G, Virginia (junior)
Jaylen Hands, G, UCLA (sophomore)
Jaxson Hayes, F/C, Texas (freshman)
Tyler Herro, G, Kentucky (freshman)
Jaylen Hoard, F, Wake Forest (freshman)
Talen Horton-Tucker, G, Iowa State (freshman)
De’Andre Hunter, F, Virginia (sophomore)
Ty Jerome, G, Virginia (junior)
Cameron Johnson, G, UNC (senior)
Keldon Johnson, F, Kentucky (freshman)
Mfiondu Kabengele, C, Florida State (sophomore)
Louis King, F, Oregon (freshman)
Romeo Langford, G, Indiana (freshman)
Dedric Lawson, F, Kansas (junior)
Jalen Lecque, G, Brewster Academy (NH) (N/A)
Nassir Little, F, UNC (freshman)
Charles Matthews, G, Michigan (junior)
Jalen McDaniels, F, San Diego State (sophomore)
Ja Morant, G, Murray State (sophomore)
Zach Norvell Jr., G, Gonzaga (sophomore)
Jaylen Nowell, G, Washington (sophomore)
Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (sophomore)
Chuma Okeke, F, Auburn (sophomore)
- Update: Okeke has elected to skip the combine.
KZ Okpala, F, Stanford (sophomore)
Miye Oni, G/F, Yale (junior)
Eric Paschall, F, Villanova (senior)
Shamorie Ponds, G, St. John’s (junior)
Jordan Poole, G, Michigan (sophomore)
Jontay Porter, F, Missouri (sophomore)
Kevin Porter Jr, G, USC (freshman)
Neemias Queta, C, Utah State (freshman)
Cam Reddish, F, Duke (freshman)
Naz Reid, C, LSU (freshman)
Isaiah Roby, F, Nebraska (junior)
Luka Samanic, F, Croatia (born 2000)
Admiral Schofield, G, Tennessee (senior)
Simisola Shittu, F, Vanderbilt (freshman)
Killian Tillie, F, Gonzaga (junior)
PJ Washington, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
Tremont Waters, G, LSU (sophomore)
Quinndary Weatherspoon, G, Missippi State (senior)
Coby White, G, UNC (freshman)
Kris Wilkes, G, UCLA (sophomore)
Grant Williams, F, Tennessee (junior)
Zion Williamson, F, Duke (freshman)
Dylan Windler, G, Belmont (senior)

Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga) and Matisse Thybulle (Washington) are among the potential first-round picks who aren’t on the NBA’s list of combine participants, as noted by Jeremy Woo of SI.com and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links).