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NBA Announces 78 Invitees For 2024 Draft Combine

May 3rd, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 78 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 12-19.

In addition to those 78 players, a handful of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.

Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2024 draft pool, since some are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility. College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 29 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 16. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.

Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2024 draft combine:

(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)

Michael Ajayi, F, Pepperdine (junior)
Melvin Ajinca, G/F, France (born 2004)
Trey Alexander, G, Creighton (junior)
Izan Almansa, F, G League Ignite (born 2005)
Reece Beekman, G, Virginia (senior)
Adem Bona, F/C, UCLA (sophomore)
Trevon Brazile, F, Arkansas (sophomore)
Jalen Bridges, F, Baylor (senior)
Matas Buzelis, F, G League Ignite (born 2004)
Carlton Carrington, G, Pitt (freshman)
Devin Carter, G, Providence (junior)
Stephon Castle, G, UConn (freshman)
Ulrich Chomche, C, NBA Academy Africa (born 2005)
Cam Christie, G, Minnesota (freshman)
Nique Clifford, G, Colorado State (senior)
Donovan Clingan, C, UConn (sophomore)
Isaiah Collier, G, USC (freshman)
Tristan Da Silva, F, Colorado (senior)
Pacome Dadiet, G/F, Germany (born 2005)
N’Faly Dante, C, Oregon (super-senior)
Rob Dillingham, G, Kentucky (freshman)
Nikola Djurisic, G/F, Serbia (born 2004)
Ryan Dunn, F, Virginia (sophomore)
Zach Edey, C, Purdue (senior)
Justin Edwards, G/F, Kentucky (freshman)
Kyle Filipowski, F/C, Duke (sophomore)
Trentyn Flowers, G/F, Australia (born 2005)
Johnny Furphy, G/F, Kansas (freshman)
Kyshawn George, G/F, Miami (FL) (freshman)
Tyon Grant-Foster, G, Grand Canyon (senior)
PJ Hall, C, Clemson (senior)
Coleman Hawkins, F, Illinois (senior)
Ron Holland, F, G League Ignite (born 2005)
DaRon Holmes II, F, Dayton (junior)
Ariel Hukporti, C, Germany (born 2002)
Oso Ighodaro, F, Marquette (senior)
Harrison Ingram, F, UNC (junior)
Bronny James, G, USC (freshman)
A.J. Johnson, G, Australia (born 2004)
Keshad Johnson, F, Arizona (super-senior)
David Jones, F, Memphis (senior)
Dillon Jones, F, Weber State (senior)
Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton (senior)
- Note: Kalkbrenner indicated this week that he intends to return to school, so it’s unclear if he’ll continue to go through the pre-draft process.
Alex Karaban, F, UConn (sophomore)
Bobi Klintman, F, Australia (born 2003)
Dalton Knecht, G, Tennessee (super-senior)
Tyler Kolek, G, Marquette (senior)
Pelle Larsson, G, Arizona (senior)
Jared McCain, G, Duke (freshman)
Kevin McCullar, G, Kansas (super-senior)
Yves Missi, C, Baylor (freshman)
Ajay Mitchell, G, UC Santa Barbara (junior)
Jonathan Mogbo, F/C, San Francisco (senior)
Tristen Newton, G, UConn (super-senior)
Juan Nunez, G, Germany (born 2004)
Quinten Post, F/C, Boston College (super-senior)
Antonio Reeves, G, Kentucky (super-senior)
Zaccharie Risacher, F, France (born 2005)
Jaxson Robinson, G/F, BYU (senior)
Tidjane Salaun, F, France (born 2005)
Hunter Sallis, G, Wake Forest (junior)
Payton Sandfort, G/F, Iowa (junior)
Alexandre Sarr, F/C, Australia (born 2005)
Baylor Scheierman, G/F, Creighton (super-senior)
Mark Sears, G, Alabama (senior)
Terrence Shannon, G, Illinois (super-senior)
Jamal Shead, G, Houston (senior)
Reed Sheppard, G, Kentucky (freshman)
KJ Simpson, G, Colorado (junior)
Tyler Smith, F, G League Ignite (born 2004)
Cam Spencer, G, UConn (super-senior)
Nikola Topic, G, Serbia (born 2005)
JT Toppin, F, New Mexico (freshman)
Jaylon Tyson, G, California (junior)
Ja’Kobe Walter, G, Baylor (freshman)
Kel’el Ware, C, Indiana (sophomore)
Jamir Watkins, G/F, Florida State (junior)
Cody Williams, F, Colorado (freshman)

It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to a few combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:

A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child).
Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.

Regarding that last point, Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link) has the details on the top 10 played out this year, noting that the composite ranking was generated based on a combination of publicly available rankings and feedback from a panel of experts, as well as a retained-scouting service.

Sarr is considered the No. 1 overall prospect, per Givony, so only teams drafting in the top 10 will get access to his medicals. Buzelis, Castle, Clingan, Risacher, and Topic are in the 2-6 range, while Dillingham, Holland, Knecht, and Sheppard round out the top 10.

Heat Notes: Wright, Offseason Decisions, Butler, Draft

May 1st, 2024 at 11:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat’s season ended in an appropriate way Wednesday night — with another new starting lineup. Injuries have forced coach Erik Spoelstra to juggle his rotations since training camp, and he unveiled his 37th starting unit in Game 5 at Boston, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Rookie Jaime Jaquez was unavailable because of a hip injury he suffered in Game 4 and Spoelstra didn’t want to start Duncan Robinson, who has been limited by a back condition since late in the regular season, so veteran guard Delon Wright made the first playoff start of his career. Wright provided eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 33 minutes, but he had to leave the game briefly to get stitches in his lower lip and chin after being hit by an elbow.

In addition to Jaquez, Miami was without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson, who all missed the entire series due to injuries. However, Spoelstra refused to use that as an excuse, Chiang tweets.

“We’re not going to put this on the fact that we had some injuries,” Spoelstra said. “Let’s not take anything away from Boston. They’ve been the best team in basketball all season long.”

There’s more on the Heat:

The early playoff exit leaves the franchise with a long offseason and a lot of financial decisions ahead, Chiang adds. Part of the future will be determined by player options held by Caleb Martin ($7.1MM), Kevin Love ($4MM), Richardson ($3.1MM) and Thomas Bryant ($2.8MM). Orlando Robinson has a non-guaranteed $2.1MM contract for next season, while Wright, Haywood Highsmith and Patty Mills are all headed for unrestricted free agency.
Miami faces a difficult decision on Jimmy Butler, who will become extension-eligible this summer, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes in his offseason preview for the Heat. Butler will make $48.8MM next season and holds a $52.4MM player option for 2025/26. Beginning July 7, he can sign a one-year extension worth $58.6MM, which would retain his ’25/26 salary, or a two-year, $112.9MM extension that would void the player option. Marks points out that Butler will turn 35 during the offseason and hasn’t topped 65 games in any of the last four years.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald examines the Heat’s options in this year’s draft. Players who could still be on the board when Miami picks at No. 15 include Purdue center Zach Edey, Duke power forward/center Kyle Filipowski, Providence guard Devin Carter, Colorado forward Tristan Da Silva, Duke point guard Jared McCain, Baylor center Yves Missi, Kansas small forward Kevin McCullar Jr., Baylor swingman Ja’Kobe Walter, USC point guard Isaiah Collier and Illinois shooting guard Terrence Shannon Jr.

USC’s Isaiah Collier Entering 2024 NBA Draft

April 10th, 2024 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

USC freshman Isaiah Collier is entering the 2024 NBA draft, he tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

According to Wojnarowski, Collier will be represented by agent B.J. Armstrong of Wasserman. Since Armstrong isn’t on the list of NCAA-certified agents, that means Collier will be forgoing his remaining college eligibility and going pro this spring.

Once listed as the top prospect on ESPN’s big board of 2024 prospects, Collier now ranks 11th following an up-and-down season that was interrupted for several weeks in January by a fractured hand.

Collier finished strong after returning from that injury, posting full-season averages of 16.3 points, 4.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in 30.0 minutes per game across 27 contests. The 6’5″ guard made 49.0% of his shot attempts from the floor, but just 33.8% of his threes and 67.3% of his free throw tries.

According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Collier is highly regarded by NBA evaluators due to his “combination of size, changing speeds, live-dribble passing and bully-ball finishing.” A former No. 1 high school recruit, Collier is one of the few players in the 2024 draft class with legitimate star-level upside, Givony adds.

And-Ones: NBA Media Rights, Bell, 2024 Draft, Sheppard

March 12th, 2024 at 9:39am CST by Luke Adams

The exclusive media rights negotiating window between the NBA and current partners Disney and Turner is open until April 22, and sources recently told Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal they believe the parties entered those negotiations roughly three-quarters of the way toward an agreement based on their preliminary talks in recent months.

According to Friend, those sources also expect the in-season tournament – now known as the Emirates NBA Cup – to be part of the Disney and Turner packages rather than going to a streaming service such as Apple or Netflix.

Once the current exclusive negotiating window closes on April 22, Amazon and Apple are expected to talk to the NBA, with Amazon considered the favorite for the league’s national streaming rights and Apple viewed as likelier to pursue a smaller “singular” event, such as perhaps the play-in tournament, says Friend. The SBJ report also suggests that NBC is a candidate to regain some broadcast rights.

NBA team executives think the overall media rights deal will end up being worth about $60-72 billion, with negotiations potentially concluding in June or July, Friend reports. The league’s previous media rights deal was worth $24 billion over nine years.

Former NBA big man Jordan Bell is leaving the Indiana Mad Ants – the Pacers‘ G League affiliate – with a few weeks remaining in the NBAGL season. According to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, Bell agreed to a buyout with the Mad Ants and is pursuing an international opportunity. Bell’s destination isn’t yet known, but Agness believes he’s likely headed back to the Chinese Basketball Association, where he played in 2022/23.
In an Insider-only story for ESPN.com, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo preview this week’s NCAA conference tournaments, posing 15 burning questions to be answered, including what version of UConn’s Stephon Castle will show up in the Big East tournament and whether Isaiah Collier‘s stock, which has bounced back since he returned from a hand injury in February, will continue to rise in the Pac-12 tourney.
Kentucky freshman Reed Sheppard ranks second overall on the newest 2024 big board from Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer and is the No. 1 pick in O’Connor’s mock draft (to San Antonio).
Law Murray of The Athletic takes a look at how all 30 NBA teams have adjusted their rotations and depth charts since the start of the season.

And-Ones: IST, Load Management, Collier, 2024 Draft, All-Star Votes

January 12th, 2024 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

Unsurprisingly, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed this week during a news conference in Paris that the in-season tournament will “no doubt be back” next season, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic.

According to Silver, the league will probably make “a couple tweaks” to the way the tournament works, but it’s not likely to undergo a significant overhaul. The commissioner mentioned the tiebreaker rules, the appearance of the courts, and the name of the tournament itself as some things worth looking at.

“Beyond that, as we’re talking to television partners and maybe figuring out exactly when the best time of year is to (hold the tournament), maybe it will make sense to make some other modifications to the format,” Silver said.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

After announcing in October that its data doesn’t support the idea that load management reduces a player’s injury risk, the NBA sent out a more in-depth report supporting that thesis to teams and select media members this week, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Bontemps, who outlines the findings in more detail, notes that the study doesn’t suggest load management increases a player’s injury risk — it simply concludes there’s no discernible correlation one way or the other.
USC point guard Isaiah Collier, a candidate to be a top-five or top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA draft, will miss the next four-to-six weeks due to a hand injury, the school announced on Thursday night (Twitter link). As Chris Mannix of SI.com observes (via Twitter), Collier’s absence could open up more minutes for another one of the Trojans’ NBA prospects: Bronny James.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) polled 20 NBA executives and scouts to get their thoughts on the 2024 draft class and the idea of a two-day draft. According to Woo, 12 of his 20 respondents expect Alexandre Sarr to be the No. 1 overall pick this June, while 13 respondents predicted that the 2013 draft class – considered one of the worst in the couple decades – will end up with more All-Stars (three) than the 2024 class.
The NBA issued an update on All-Star voting on Thursday, announcing that Lakers forward LeBron James and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo are the leading vote-getters to date. The tightest race is in the Eastern Conference backcourt, where Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has a comfortable lead, with Trae Young (Hawks) narrowly edging Damian Lillard (Bucks) and Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) for the No. 2 spot.

And-Ones: 2024 Draft, HS Prospects, Breakout Players, Ray

January 2nd, 2024 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN draft experts Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) continue to rotate prospects in and out of the No. 1 spot on their draft board for 2024, moving French big man Alexandre Sarr into that top spot in place of USC guard Isaiah Collier, who has struggled for the Trojans as of late.

The 2024 draft class doesn’t have a clear headliner, so the race for No. 1 remains wide open. Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland, two G League Ignite youngsters who were atop ESPN’s big board during the summer of 2023, are now in the back end of the lottery at No. 10 and 11, respectively, while Collier has slipped all the way to No. 8.

Conversely, the latest risers on ESPN’s board include Colorado wing Cody Williams, who is up to No. 3 from No. 10, and Serbian point guard Nikola Topic, who has risen four spots to No. 5. Two more notable prospects who jumped from outside of the lottery into the top seven are French forward Tidjane Salaun and Kentucky guard Rob Dillingham, who moved up nine spots to Nos. 6 and 7, respectively.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report breaks down his top 10 prospects in high school basketball, with Cooper Flagg, Cameron Boozer, and A.J. Dybantsa topping his list.
Michael Pina of The Ringer singles out eight players across the NBA who are taking their games to another level this season, from stars like Kings guard De’Aaron Fox and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton to role players such as Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson.
Former Nuggets forward James Ray, the No. 5 overall pick in the 1980 draft, died last week at age 66 due to complications from a surgery, as Bennett Durando of The Denver Post writes. A college star for the Jacksonville Dolphins, Ray appeared in 103 NBA games across three seasons for Denver, then spent several years in Europe before retiring as a player.

And-Ones: McClung, Comanche, Maluach, Draft, Team USA

December 19th, 2023 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

Although he’s not currently under contract with an NBA team, Mac McClung has been invited by the NBA to take part in the 2024 Slam Dunk Contest and defend his title, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

McClung remains undecided, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), though he says many people believe the G League guard will accept the invitation.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

C.C. McCandless of FOX5 in Las Vegas has obtained the arrest report for former Stockton Kings player Chance Comanche and shares several disturbing new details about the alleged plot to kidnap and kill Marayna Rodgers, who police believe was killed on the night of December 5, when the Kings‘ G League team was in town to face the G League Ignite. Comanche – one of two suspects facing an open murder charge – disclosed several details in an interview with investigators, including identifying on a map where Rodgers body was buried, which allowed detectives to locate her remains.
Standout prospect Khaman Maluach, a 7’2″ center from South Sudan, has elected to graduate high school in 2024 and will be eligible for the 2025 draft, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. The 17-year-old is still weighing his options for the 2024/25 season, including attending a U.S. college or taking a professional route like the G League Ignite or Australia’s Next Stars program.
In the latest 2024 mock draft from Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports, Alexandre Sarr is the first player off the board, while USC’s Isaiah Collier – the top prospect on ESPN’s top 100 – drops to No. 8.
USA Basketball has announced its coaching staff for the AmeriCup qualifying team that will begin competing in February. Dave Joerger, previously reported to be the head coach for the U.S. squad, will be joined by veteran assistants Jerome Allen and Melvin Hunt, per a press release.
Australia’s national team is in advanced talks to play exhibition games against the U.S. and Serbia ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, reports Olgun Uluc of ESPN. Team USA already has a pair of exhibition contests against South Sudan and Germany on its July schedule.

And-Ones: 2024 Draft, Birch, Expansion, Tournament

December 6th, 2023 at 1:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published his big board for the 2024 NBA draft, while Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) have shared their top 25 prospects in next year’s draft class. USC guard Isaiah Collier sits atop both lists, but beyond that there are plenty of differences, starting with Vecenie placing Serbian point guard Nikola Topic at No. 2 on his board (he’s ninth at ESPN).

Vecenie is also significantly higher on Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard than ESPN’s duo is, calling him the best freshman in college basketball so far this season and ranking him sixth overall. Givony and Woo have Sheppard at No. 22.

Still, this year’s group of NCAA prospects doesn’t look especially strong at this point, according to Vecenie, who notes that 11 of the top 33 players on his board are either playing overseas or for the G League Ignite.

Even Collier, the top player on The Athletic’s board, comes with some major question marks and holds the top spot somewhat by default. While Vecenie believes the USC guard is the highest-upside prospect in the 2024 class for now, he says Collier wouldn’t have cracked his top eight prospects in the 2023 draft.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Veteran NBA center Khem Birch, who was waived by San Antonio during the preseason, is said to be drawing interest from Italian club Reyer Venezia, according to reports from Alessandro Maggi of Sportando and Luca D’Alessandro (Twitter link). Birch played in Turkey and Greece from 2015-17 before breaking into the NBA, so if he does head overseas, it wouldn’t be his first professional experience in Europe.
With NBA commissioner Adam Silver once again addressing the idea of expansion this week, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes a closer look at where things stand, evaluating how likely the league is to add more teams after its next media deal and discussing which cities have the strongest cases for an expansion franchise.
Howard Beck of The Ringer explores the origins of the idea for the NBA’s in-season tournament and details how it eventually come to fruition before considering whether or not the event will have staying power.

And-Ones: Collier, Mock Draft, In-Season Tournament, Ferrell

November 30th, 2023 at 10:58am CST by Arthur Hill

USC freshman guard Isaiah Collier has moved into the top spot in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN. Collier has been outstanding for the Trojans in the early part of the season, averaging 18.2 PPG while shooting 56% on two-point shots and 41% from beyond the arc. However, there are some concerns, Givony and Woo point out, including an abysmal turnover to assist rate of 5.3-to-4.

At 6’5″ and 210 pounds, Collier’s size is an asset for a point guard and he boasts a good combination of strength and speed, the authors add. He’s most effective in the open court, where he can attack the basket and finish at the rim in a variety of ways. He also has outstanding court vision and is comfortable passing with either hand.

French center Alexandre Sarr drops to second in the mock draft, as his defense has been more developed than his offense in Australia’s National Basketball League. With a 7’5″ wingspan, Sarr ranks second in the NBL in block percentage, but he’s shooting just 30% from three-point range and 56% from the foul line. French forward Zaccharie Risacher, Baylor guard Ja’Kobe Walter and G League Ignite forward Ron Holland round out the top five for Givony and Woo.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

There have been complaints about how the point-differential tie-breaker affected some of Tuesday’s in-season tournament games, but Suns star Devin Booker doesn’t see it as a problem, tweets Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. “I’ve seen teams upset about it, I don’t know why. I’ve seen players upset about it, I don’t know why,” Booker said. “I wish every game was like that where you play until the end and it wasn’t viewed as disrespectful. Just high competition.”
Seth Partnow of The Athletic suggests making point differential a lower-level tie-breaker in the tournament and giving teams points for each quarter that they win, similar to the system in the former Continental Basketball Association. He believes winning quarters would provide incentive for players to give maximum effort without the feeling that teams are intentionally running up the score.
Former NBA guard Yogi Ferrell has signed with KK Buducnost in Montenegro, according to Johnny Askounis of Eurohoops. It marks a return to Europe for the 30-year-old Ferrell after playing for the Shanghai Sharks.

And-Ones: Sarr, Thompson, Miller, Hawkins, Jacobs, Officiating

November 14th, 2023 at 10:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Perth Wildcats big man Alexandre Sarr sits atop the 2024 draft board compiled by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie, though it’s a lukewarm endorsement. Sarr, who draws comparisons to Brooklyn’s Nic Claxton, occupies the No. 1 spot by default, as he’s looked the best of the prospects who have been in action, Vecenie explains. USC guard Isaiah Collier and G League Ignite wing Ron Holland are next on Vecenie’s list.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren squared off on Tuesday but they’re not the only rookies who have made a strong impression, Sam Amick of The Athletic notes. The Pistons‘ Ausar Thompson, the Hornets‘ Brandon Miller and the Pelicans‘ Jordan Hawkins have also played their way into the Rookie of the Year discussion early in the season.
Malique Jacobs had to come up with $250 for a tryout with the Pistons‘ NBA G League squad, the Motor City Cruise. The former Kent State player not only earned an invite to training camp, but claimed a spot on the roster. The Athletic’s James Edwards profiles Jacobs’ underdog story.
There have been some questionable ejections this season and Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill spoke with NBA head of referee development and training Monty McCutchen about that issue, as well as other concerns regarding the officiating.