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Ford’s Latest: Love, Celtics, Kings, Nuggets, Bulls

June 17th, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Chuck Myron

We just passed along the latest on the willingness of the Sixers to trade up to draft Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid‘s meeting with the Cavs, but there are a few more highlights of note from the latest update to the Insider-only mock draft from Chad Ford of ESPN.com. They involve the draft as well as more wide-ranging NBA topics, so let’s dive in:

The Celtics are dangling the sixth and 17th picks, future first-rounders and young players in their attempt to trade for Kevin Love, according to Ford. A source suggests to Ford that Boston’s package for the power forward is likely to be the strongest the Wolves will find, though Minnesota reportedly isn’t high on what Boston has to offer. There’s also been speculation that Wolves executive/coach Flip Saunders prefers experience over youth in any trade involving Love.
The Kings are actively attempting to trade the No. 8 pick, Ford writes, adding that multiple sources tell him that Sacramento is more likely to trade the pick than to hold on to it. That’s something of a switch from Ford’s earlier report that the Kings were merely listening to offers for the selection. The Hawks have reportedly been involved in talks for the eighth pick.
The Nuggets and Bulls are still discussing the 11th pick, according to Ford, whose earlier report indicated that Chicago’s picks at No. 16 and No. 19 were also a part of the conversation. The Bulls would draft either Gary Harris or Nik Stauskas at No. 11, and they’re leaning toward Stauskas, Ford writes. If the Bulls can’t move up, they have a slight preference for Shabazz Napier over Tyler Ennis, Ford hears.

Draft Notes: Nuggets, McGary, Kings, Knicks

June 13th, 2014 at 9:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Adi Joseph of USA Today breaks down the Nuggets‘ biggest draft needs. According to the article, the team has enough depth to afford to take a best-available approach, and may consider attempting to move up in order to get the elite-tier star their roster so desperately needs. Joseph also thinks the team needs to add help in the backcourt, and mentions Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, Elfrid Payton, and Kyle Anderson as fits with the team’s system.

Draft Rumors: Bucks, Parker Exum, Randle

June 13th, 2014 at 1:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s no truth to the that idea Bucks GM John Hammond would be reluctant to draft Dante Exum because he’s concerned about losing his job, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. It’s not clear whether Milwaukee, which picks second overall, is sold on taking the Australian guard, but the team won’t hesitate to do so if the front office determines he’s worthy, Deveney’s source adds. Here’s more chatter surrounding the draft:

Jabari Parker will work out for the Cavs a week from today, the Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The tweet also makes note of Andrew Wiggins‘ audition for the team next week, echoing an earlier report that he was set to work out for the club close to draft time.

Earlier updates:

Julius Randle said today that no NBA teams expressed a desire at last month’s draft combine for him to have surgery on his right foot even though they knew that he’d broken the foot as a high school senior, observes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter). Still, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com insists multiple clubs are worried about the foot becoming an issue in the future, believing that the foot didn’t heal correctly (Twitter link). However, the Jazz aren’t among the teams with worries, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Randle is nonetheless taking a cautious approach, telling reporters, including Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, that he worked out solo for the Celtics instead of against competition to lessen the chance of injury. Gary Harris, Jordan Clarkson and Elfrid Payton are the previously unreported names taking part in today’s group audition for the Celtics, Forsberg tweets.
Baylor big man Isaiah Austin was red-flagged with several medical issues at last month’s draft combine, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports in an Insider-only piece. Austin’s lack of sight in one eye is well-documented, but it appears as though that isn’t his only malady.
Doug McDermott is the marquee name set to perform Saturday for the Hornets, who’ll also audition T.J. Warren, Travis Wear, Jermaine Marshall, Roberto Nelson and Brandon Young, the team announced in a press release.
Zach LaVine is set to work out Saturday for the Nuggets, Blakely tweets.
Shabazz Napier highlighted a Wolves audition today that also included LaQuinton Ross, Eric Moreland, Ronald Roberts Jr., Tim Frazier and Rion Brown, the team announced (via Twitter). Adreian Payne will show off for Minnesota on Saturday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.

And-Ones: Salary Cap, Draft, Harris, LaVine

June 12th, 2014 at 10:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

GMs widely expect next season’s salary cap to wind up even higher than the most recent projection of $63.2MM, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the league:

It was reported earlier that Spanish league shooting guard Marcus Eriksson is pulling out of this year’s draft. Prior to that announcement Eriksson had a workout scheduled with the Bucks, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
NBA.com released their full prospect profile on former Michigan State guard Gary Harris. Harris is a projected lottery pick in this year’s draft.
Zach LaVine is projected to be taken anywhere from late in the lottery to the middle of the first round. NBA.com published their prospect profile for LaVine.
Mark Snyder of The Detroit Free Press adds the Wolves and the Bulls to the list of teams working out Jordan Morgan, and also reveals that Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, Sean Kilpatrick and Jordan McRae auditioned Wednesday for the Wolves, too.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Celtics, Lakers, Kings, Randle

June 11th, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

We rounded up the latest on draft workouts around the league this morning, but updates continue to pour in, so we’ll pass along draft-related news from this afternoon here:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in a chat with readers, identifies the Celtics, Lakers and Kings as the three teams most likely to trade their top-10 picks.
Julius Randle will have an individual workout with the Celtics, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
Nik Stauskas is set to work out for the Suns, in addition to previously reported workouts with the Hornets, Celtics, and Lakers, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who hears that those will be the only auditions Stauskas will do (Twitter links).
Gary Harris, T.J. Warren, K.J. McDaniels are among those showing off for the Sixers today, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Jazz will interview Spencer Dinwiddie next week, a source tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Dinwiddie is recovering from a torn ACL and can’t work out, as Jones points out (Twitter links).
James Michael McAdoo, Jake Odum, Ronald Roberts Jr. and Scottie Wilbekin are scheduled to work out Thursday for the Pacers, the team announced (on Twitter).
Jordan Clarkson, David Stockton, Cameron Clark, Davante Gardner, Richard Solomon and Tyler Stone are auditioning for the Suns today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press adds Jordan Bachynski and Dwight Powell to the list of players working out for the Pistons. Okaro White is also showing off for the Pistons, as well as the Warriors, as Natalie Pierre of the Tallahassee Democrat details (hat tip to Ellis).

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Jazz, Randle, Sixers

June 4th, 2014 at 8:32pm CST by Alex Lee

The debate over how the top three picks of the 2014 NBA Draft will shake out has been covered ad nauseam at this point, and NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper throws his hat in the ring by examining what could dictate where Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins will land. Meanwhile, here are some other draft-related updates:

Along with Nick Wiggins (brother of Andrew), the Jazz will work out Deonte Burton, Jordan Clarkson, Alex Kirk, Sean Kilpatrick and Artem Kilmenko on Thursday morning, tweets Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz have three picks on June 26, including two in the first round (5 and 23).
As Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines, just because Julius Randle is no longer widely classified within the top tier of this draft class isn’t reason enough to sleep on the talented Kentucky forward, who still has a shot at becoming a top-5 pick.
In a separate story, Kennedy writes that there is no confusing how much is riding on this talent-rich draft for the Sixers, who are the only team with two top-10 selections (3 and 10). Adding two franchise cornerstones to go with Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel could make Philadelphia an attractive landing spot around the league, according to Kennedy.
After working out for the Hornets today, Northwestern’s Drew Crawford is scheduled to work out with the Kings, Jazz and his hometown Bulls, according to the Wildcats’ Twitter feed.
The Nuggets will have Michigan State’s Gary Harris and Mizzou’s Jabari Brown in town for a workout on Thursday, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Denver picks at 11, 41 and 56.
According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Magic will work out Randle, Aaron Gordon and Noah Vonleh individually before the draft. They will also work out Dante Exum at some point and are expected to bring in Marcus Smart for a second look. Orlando picks at 4 and 12.

Draft Notes: Dixon, Saddler, Perry

June 3rd, 2014 at 8:07pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Former Memphis point guard Michael Dixon will work out for the Celtics tomorrow, tweets David Pick of Sportando, who made note of a few more upcoming auditions for some of this year’s draft entrants. You can find more of those – along with this evening’s draft-related links – below:

Agent John Spencer confirmed that former Duke guard Andre Dawkins will work out for the 76ers on either June 11 or 13, according to Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
P.J. Hairston will participate in a private workout for the Knicks on Thursday, which makes it clear that New York will try to maneuver their way into the first round of the draft this year, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Goodman doesn’t think Hairston will slip past the 15-20 slots on draft night (Twitter link).
Nick Wiggins – older brother of the highly-touted Andrew Wiggins – is set to work out for the Jazz on Thursday, tweets Tariq Sbiet of North Pole Hoops (hat tip to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun).

Earlier updates:

Delaware standout Devon Saddler is scheduled for a workout with the Warriors on June 13th.
Youngstown State’s Kendrick Perry – following a strong audition for the Celtics – has the Jazz and Mavericks next up on his list of NBA workouts.
Utah will also take a look at San Diego State’s Xavier Thames sometime this week.
Jerami Grant, Joe Jackson, Ronald Roberts Jr. and Cam Bairstow are among the draft prospects working out for the Suns today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Agent Keith Kreiter adds the Nuggets to the list of teams set to work out Chris Udofia (Twitter link).
Add Gary Harris and Doug McDermott to the list of players who will audition for the Lakers tomorrow, per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (via Twitter).
6’6 guard James Bell was among the handful of prospects who performed for the Jazz yesterday, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.

Draft Notes: Vonleh, Stauskas, McDermott, Harris

May 30th, 2014 at 11:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Indiana big man Noah Vonleh looked impressive in a workout this week, and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Magic to the list of teams auditioning the potential top-five pick (Twitter link). There’s news on a few other projected lottery selections among the latest on the draft:

Nik Stauskas will work out for the Lakers and Celtics, Goodman reports, adding that the same two teams are on Doug McDermott‘s agenda (Twitter links).
Gary Harris will show off for the Suns and Lakers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
Adreian Payne is set to audition for the Celtics, Suns and Jazz, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
The Hawks worked out Nick Johnson on Thursday, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jahii Carson, Justin Cobbs, Cory Jefferson, Artem Klimenko and Akil Mitchell are all performing for the Bucks today, the team announced (on Twitter).
The Suns will audition Lamar Patterson today, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Phoenix is also getting a look at De’Mon Brooks, according to agent Keith Kreiter (Twitter link).
The Sixers worked out Patterson, Semaj Christon, Devon Saddler, Casey Prather and Langston Galloway, reports Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Pacers had a look at Galloway, Jabari Brown, Markel Starks and C.J. Wilcox, as Tynes also writes.
The Celtics and Bulls will audition Kadeem Batts, Sportando’s David Pick tweets.

Draft Rumors: Harris, Young, Robinson, Smart

May 23rd, 2014 at 2:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA executives are gathered in Southern California for a series of workouts involving draft hopefuls, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com passes along some intel in an Insider-only piece. Gary Harris has used hot shooting to impress and he’s a likely top-10 pick, Ford believes. He’ll work out for the Celtics and Bulls. among other teams, according to Ford. James Young is drawing interest from a slew of teams, including the Hornets, Sixers, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves and Suns, while many clubs are high on Glenn Robinson III after he performed well in a workout for the Bulls this past Monday, Ford writes. Here’s more on the draft:

Marcus Smart has workouts scheduled with the Magic and Celtics, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times adds the Nuggets to the list of teams that interviewed Aaron Gordon at last week’s draft combine in Chicago.
The Clippers, Pacers, Pistons and Wizards are among the clubs interested in Virginia swingman Joe Harris, Woelfel writes in the same piece, reiterating that the Bucks are eyeing him, too. Harris spoke to Zach Links of Hoops Rumors recently for our Prospect Profile series.
Chane Behanan will work out for the Mavs next month, Goodman also tweets.

Draft Rumors: Harris, Smart, Jazz, Magic

May 17th, 2014 at 7:58pm CST by Cray Allred

With the Chicago predraft combine wrapping up, Jeremy Bauman of Sheridan Hoops looks at a number of prospects that increased their draft stock with their performances. These players include Zach LaVine, Kyle Anderson, Elfrid Payton, James Young, and Jordan Clarkson. More on the draft front:

The athletic testing results from the combine are in and Draft Express runs them down.
Gary Harris was invited to the Draft Lottery broadcast by the NBA as part of a 10-player group deemed the top-10 prospects, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The inviation, which Harris declined, could signify a boost in his draft stock. Some projections, including Jonathan Givony’s at DraftExpress, have had Harris well outside of the top 10.
In a combine wrap-up, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes that Marcus Smart stood out as an exceptional physical specimen and hard worker among the point guards in attendance.
Dante Exum fared well during interviews at the combine, a team official who met with the Aussie tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. “He seems like a really good kid,” the official said. “He’s confident, but not cocky. Now we have to see if he can play.” With far less exposure than the other prospects at the top of the draft, Exum hopes to impress teams during his individual workouts.
If Joel Embiid doesn’t clear medically prior to the draft, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that the big man could drop out of the top five. Embiid sat out of combine activities as he recovers from a back injury suffered late in his season at Kansas.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune that he “has to listen to everything” when asked about whether he was willing to trade Utah’s draft picks (Twitter link).
The Magic aren’t trying to trade away their extra first round pick, according to Kyler (on Twitter).
Tommy Dee of Sheridan Hoops looks at some of the older draft prospects, laying out why each could follow in Damian Lillard‘s footsteps in making an impact exceeding many of the younger, more well-known players from the same talent pool.
Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops released his second mock draft of the year.
Earlier, we passed along word that we could be in for a busy pre-draft trade season.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.