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Draft Rumors: Embiid, Walker, Randle, Parker

April 9th, 2014 at 6:59pm CST by Cray Allred

The status of this year’s top prospects is still somewhat in the air. Joel Embiid made his entry into the draft official earlier today, while Julius Randle denied reports that he was ready to do the same. Jabari Parker has made housing arrangements at Duke for his sophomore year, a source from the school tells Tom Moore of Calkins Media (Twitter link). Moore notes that the arrangements don’t rule out a decision by Parker to enter the draft, but they do give credence to Parker’s insistence that staying in school another year is a real possibility. Let’s round up the rest of the night’s draft notes:

Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes that Randle’s shot at becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the draft is gone, but that the big man has set himself up to stay near the top of the lottery if he does well in pre-draft workouts.
In a separate piece, Howard-Cooper ranks his top 30 draft prospects, placing Embiid in the No. 1 spot.
Chris Broussard of ESPN.com discusses Embiid’s draft stock in an Insider subscription-only video. Broussard says that most GMs that he’s talked to think Embiid will indeed go first overall. If Embiid’s back injury checks out as a non-issue, Broussard thinks the big man will become the odds-on favorite to become the top selection.
As expected, LaQuinton Ross has signed with agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports, per a tweet from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Freshman Chris Walker announced in a tweet that he will return to Florida next year rather than declare for the draft (hat tip to Chad Ford of ESPN.com). The decision doesn’t come as a surprise, as Walker is projected as a lottery pick in the 2015 class by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
Xavier Thames has signed with agents Colin Bryant and Valerian Owens, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The guard from San Diego State isn’t projected to be drafted, ranked as just the 50th best senior by Givony.

Poll: Who Should Be The No. 1 Pick?

April 8th, 2014 at 1:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

The college season is over, and the time for evaluating top prospects in live game conditions is through. The 2014 draft class didn’t live up to astronomically high expectations, but it still appears to be the best group in the past few years. There will be a lot riding on the decisions that teams holding lottery picks will have to make, and the greatest amount of pressure will rest on the shoulders of the GM with the No. 1 overall pick.

Andrew Wiggins entered as the most ballyhooed of them all and a surefire top overall pick, but he stumbled, and found himself behind Kansas teammate Joel Embiid, a relative basketball neophyte from Cameroon who surged to the No. 1 spot on draft boards in the middle of the season. Jabari Parker was up and down, but he appears more NBA-ready than Wiggins and Embiid. All three have been the leading candidates for the top pick for much of the season.

Chad Ford of ESPN.com has moved Wiggins back to No. 1 in his latest rankings, and that’s where Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him, too. Still, Wiggins is third behind Embiid and Parker on Aran Smith’s board at NBADraft.net. Teams remain undecided, and the Kings apparently have Wiggins outside their top three picks, according to Ford.

Much depends on the health of Embiid’s injured back, and the identity of the team picking first overall won’t be known until the May 20th draft lottery. There are plenty of variables that will go into the equation in the 79 days remaining before the draft, but if you were the GM picking first overall and the draft were tonight, whom would you select?

Feel free to consult our prospect profiles on Embiid, Parker and Wiggins to help you make your decision. When you’re ready, cast your vote below, and explain your choice in the comments.

Draft Notes: Kentucky, Wiggins, Magic, Kings

April 7th, 2014 at 2:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

There are no NBA games scheduled this evening as the spotlight falls on the NCAA title game between Kentucky and Connecticut. Eight players on the rosters of the two teams are among the top 61 prospects in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, though potential lottery pick Willie Cauley-Stein is injured and won’t play for the Wildcats. It’s nonetheless a bevy of talent on display, and with multiple sources telling Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times that just about every one of Kentucky’s decorated freshmen will declare for this year’s draft, it looks like it won’t be long before that talent is in the NBA (Twitter link). Here’s the latest on the next wave headed for the Association:

The Magic have Andrew Wiggins, Dante Exum, Jabari Parker and Marcus Smart, in that order, atop their draft board, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports in his latest Insider-only “Tank Rank” piece. Exum also has “some traction” with the Sixers, and the Lakers are high on him, too.
The Kings don’t have Wiggins within their top three prospects, Ford hears. The ESPN.com scribe makes note of the draft plans for several other teams, too, though some of it appears to be educated guesswork.
Wiggins has chosen BDA Management’s Bill Duffy for his agent, sources tell Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling (Twitter link). Duffy beat out Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, and Wiggins was also linked to Rich Paul of Klutch Sports.
Parker, Randle and Joel Embiid are all expected to sign with Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group, Woelfel tweets. Woelfel includes Smart’s name on that list, too, reiterating what Zwerling reported last week.
TNT’s David Aldridge ranks the shooting guards expected to be available for the draft in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com, giving Michigan’s Nik Stauskas the slight edge for the No. 1 spot over Gary Harris of Michigan State.

Draft Rumors: Saric, Parker, Brown, Clarkson

April 2nd, 2014 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jabari Parker‘s father tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Parker is still undecided on whether to declare for the 2014 draft. “He’s undecided and we know the [NBA’s Early Entry eligibility] deadline is the 27th [of April] so if he’s going to make a decision he has to make it by that date, but right now he’s undecided,” said the elder Parker. It would be a surprise if Parker, a consensus top-three talent, didn’t come out for the draft when all is said and done. Let’s look at some more draft notes:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in his weekly chat, insists that Dario Saric is still leaning toward staying out of the draft, in spite of a weekend report suggesting otherwise. Ford also hears from several scouts who say Parker will stay in school, but Ford believes the Duke star will ultimately enter this year’s draft.
Oklahoma State senior Markel Brown and Missouri junior Jordan Clarkson, who’s entering the draft, are set to sign with Andy Miller’s ASM Sports agency, tweets Darren Heitner of Forbes.
NBA front office types who told their owners that there was a franchise-changing player in this year’s draft are probably nervous now, an Eastern Conference executive tells Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who examines the falling stock of the 2014 class.
Some of the top prospects in the 2015 class don’t seem too enthused about commissioner Adam Silver’s push for a new NBA minimum age, as they tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Nowitzki, Draft, Parker

March 31st, 2014 at 7:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Dirk Nowitzki eschews an agent and has mentor Holger Geschwinder negotiate his contracts for him, but the Mavs star isn’t fond of free agency, as he tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Nowitzki reiterates that he fully intends to re-sign with Dallas this summer.

Draft Notes: Staten, Gordon, Wiggins, Parker

March 30th, 2014 at 12:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Juwan Staten is going to return to West Virginia for his senior year, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Staten’s father, Billy, told ESPN.com that Staten, who averaged 18.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 5.8 APG, that his son would come back to Morgantown. Staten had started his college career at Dayton before transferring to West Virginia after his freshman season. He averaged 7.6 PPG as a sophomore, but had a breakout campaign this past season, writes Goodman. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had Staten slotted as a late second round pick or going undrafted in June.

Draft Notes: Hairston, Bhullar, Randle, Parker

March 29th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Charlie Adams

P.J. Hairston has been able to find success in the D-League after walking away from the University of North Carolina basketball team in wake of suspension, as Nate Taylor of the New York Times details in his newest piece. The latest mock draft from DraftExpress sees Hairston going 22nd overall. Here’s the latest on the 2014 draft:

Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders thinks New Mexico State’s Sim Bhullar could get selected near the end of the draft but isn’t sure he could succeed in the NBA (Twitter link). Bhullar’s main appeal lies in his massive size; the sophomore center is listed at 7’5″ and 355 lbs.
Kyler adds that the Raptors are a potential match for the Indo-Canadian Bhullar, as they hold a second round pick that will fall very late in the second round (Twitter link).
Kentucky’s strong tournament run has only helped improve Julius Randle’s draft stock, an executive tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The same executive compared Randle to Jamal Mashburn and Paul Millsap.
There’s still no word on whether or not Jabari Parker will declare for the draft, an executive tells Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. I profiled Parker’s game earlier this afternoon.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Prospect Profile: Jabari Parker

March 29th, 2014 at 3:54pm CST by Charlie Adams

Jabari Parker‘s season came to an abrupt end when Duke lost to Mercer in their opening matchup of the NCAA tournament. Despite the Blue Devils’ crushing early exit, executives around the league still see the explosive forward as a near lock to go in the top three of June’s exceptionally deep draft. DraftExpress has Parker going third in its mock draft, and he’s listed second on Chad Ford of ESPN.com’s Big Board. Certainly there’s been speculation that Parker’s might be the first named called come draft day, but the Kansas duo of Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins are generally seen as more likely candidates for the top overall selection.

While the consensus might be that he doesn’t look to have as high a ceiling as the freakishly athletic Wiggins, scouts who spoke to Ford are intrigued by Parker’s tantalizing offensive skill set and readiness to compete at the next level. He was the second-ranked recruit coming out of high school, and he didn’t disappoint in his freshman season at Duke. Parker led the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.1 points and 8.7 boards per contest while shooting an impressive 47.3% from the floor in the process. His ability to score stems from his high basketball IQ and desire to put up big numbers, but he’s not a selfish player by any means. He’s just capable of getting to the basket and finds a way to the hoop often. His size and speed allow him to get around less capable defenders, and his willingness to attack the basket resulted in an average of six free throws attempted per night.

Parker isn’t going to shoot the lights out, but he’s got good mechanics and can drain jumpers from all over the floor. He was prone to hot and cold shooting streaks during his freshman season, but scouts were impressed at his ability to switch up his game and attack the paint while his shot was struggling. Still, he’s been known to put up questionable mid-range heaves and will need to be more selective if he wants his game to translate to the next level. His excellent passing skills and impressive ball handling abilities are rare in a wing of his size and definitely contribute to his knack for getting out and making an impact in transition plays. ESPN.com lists his wingspan at 7’0″ (Insider piece).

Scouts were initially a bit alarmed when Parker’s numbers took a hit during the start of conference play, and his performance in the tournament has pundits questioning his ability to carry a team. At just 19 years old, Parker certainly has some growing up do, and he will need to get used to playing with elite competition since he struggled at times against longer, athletic opponents. Guys who can get around Parker were able to expose his less-than-stellar defensive abilities that caused Coach K to actually bench Parker in the late minutes of Duke’s loss to Mercer. It’s true that there are more athletic players in the draft class, but Parker can hold his own because of his high motor and thirst to score.

There’s been speculation throughout the season that Parker might return to school for his sophomore season, and earlier this month Parker still said he was undecided about whether or not he’d be declaring for the draft. Parker’s desire to play with Blue Devil recruit and former AAU teammate Jahlil Okafor might impact his decision, but it would be hard to pass up such a sure shot at going as a top three selection. While Parker hasn’t declared anything yet, an executive recently told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that he fully expects Parker to enter his name as an early entrant.

Parker has lived up to the hype at Duke and been able to prove he belongs in the elite prospect category. Neither Embiid nor Wiggins is as NBA-ready as Parker, and although those two figure to have greater potential, Parker is definitely more of a “sure thing.” This isn’t to say Parker doesn’t have a high ceiling himself, however, and certainly any team would consider itself lucky to land him in June’s draft. In fact, Parker would be a lock to go first overall most seasons. He can score in bunches and in a variety of ways, and while his defense is far from elite at this stage of his career, he has character and he’ll work to improve at the next level. NBADraft.net lists his pro comparison as Carmelo Anthony, which isn’t a bad level of talent to be associated with. In a class that might go down as one of the deepest groups in the history of the NBA, Parker has found a spot sitting comfortably near the top.

Draft Rumors: Wiggins, Robinson, Harrison

March 29th, 2014 at 8:50am CST by Cray Allred

Chris Mannix of SI.com released a new mock draft, with Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, and Jabari Parker in the top three spots. Here are more rumors surrounding the draft:

Several executives tell Mannix that the poor tournament performances of Wiggins and Parker won’t impact their draft stock, but that concerns over Embiid’s back injury could significantly affect his value.
Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times discusses how Wiggins would fit with the Bucks in a video interview.
Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com thinks Zach LaVine is over-hyped as a prospect, saying that the guard out of UCLA looks like a D-League player despite his first-round projections (Twitter link).
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com thinks that Michigan’s Glenn Robinson III needs to finish the tournament with a big performance, because his lack of assertiveness and spotty play has caused him to slip down draft boards from a potential lottery pick to a late first-rounder.
Scouts tell Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison would go in the 25-30 range in the draft, and that he needs to stay for another year and improve his stock (Twitter link).
Chris Mannix agrees with that take, tweeting that Harrison has the tools to become a lottery pick in the 2015 draft.
An NBA scout tells Mannix that UConn’s Shabazz Napier already has better ball handling ability than a lot of NBA backup point guards (Twitter link).
An NBA executive tells Mannix that Baylor’s Isaiah Austin is another player who should stay in school for another year, pegging the center as a late first rounder at best in the 2014 draft class (Twitter link).
Louisville’s Russ Smith made the right choice to stay in college after last year’s national championship, writes Adi Joseph of USA Today. Smith will likely be selected in the second round of the draft, and Joseph envisions him as a bench player who could eventually earn a starting job in the NBA.

Draft Rumors: Wiggins, Parker, Smart

March 24th, 2014 at 5:18pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, we learned Ohio State small forward LaQuinton Ross is on the fence about entering the draft. While he’s not one of the top talents available this June, Ross was ranked No. 32 by ESPN’s Chad Ford and that’s no small feat given the depth of this year’s class. Here’s the latest draft news..

Projected lottery picks Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Doug McDermott some of their worst during NCAA tournament action the past few days. Still, their performances haven’t discouraged NBA team executives, who tell Chris Mannix of SI.com that this weekend’s results will do little to alter their draft stocks (Twitter link).
In today’s column, David Aldridge of NBA.com looks at the shallow pool of point guards in the 2014 draft. While there’s a significant drop-off after Australian prospect Dante Exum, Oklahoma State sophomore Marcus Smart, and Syracuse freshman Tyler Ennis, Aldridge rightfully notes that it’s not a huge problem for most NBA teams. The classic, pass-first floor general is nearly extinct thanks to rule changes over the years.
NBA scouts told Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post that they regarded 6’6″ Colorado point guard Spencer Dinwiddie a late first-round pick, at least, before he tore his ACL in January. Concerns about his recovery and the absence of a chance to take part in predraft workouts will make it easy for Dinwiddie to decide against entering this year’s draft, Dempsey believes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.