Jabari Parker Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Barkley, Draft, Boeheim

March 23rd, 2014 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

In an article by Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, Charles Barkley opined that this year’s freshman stars will struggle in the NBA. Barkley has long been in favor of players staying in college for a minimum of two years. Barkley was quoted as saying, “I want these kids to stay in school longer because the NBA is as worse as it’s ever been. It’s not good basketball. It’s frustrating for me to watch. These kids aren’t physically or emotionally ready to come and play against grown men. You look at the last two days. We’ve had on paper Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins, they’re supposed to be 1-2, 3 at the latest, they didn’t have very good games. And it’s just one game but if they’re going to struggle against Mercer and Stanford, they’re really going to struggle against grown men.”

Draft Notes: Embiid, Ennis, Parker

March 23rd, 2014 at 3:32pm CST by Zachary Links

While fellow freshman Andrew Wiggins will leave after the season, Kansas teammate Joel Embiid tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN that he will talk to the Jayhawks coaching staff and also his mentor, fellow Cameroon native and NBA player Luc Mbah a Moute, before making a final decision concerning his NBA future. “I’m not worried about that right now,” Embiid said, just moments after watching KU get knocked out of the NCAA tournament with a loss to Stanford. Here’s the latest draft news..

When asked whether they’ll stay another year, Syracuse stars Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant said they haven’t thought about it yet and have no timetable on a decision, tweets Donna Ditota of The Post-Standard.
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com looks at how Mercer’s upset of Duke could affect prospects Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) is surprised that there isn’t more draft buzz surrounding Michigan Star Glenn Robinson III. One NBA scout told him he’d be a solid late first-round pick.
The Cavs will have to move up in the order to get a franchise player in the draft, writes Bob Finnan of the News-Herald. However, even at their likely draft position (later in the lottery), they could still have guys like Aaron Gordon, Noah Vonleh, and Marcus Smart to choose from.
The Sixers‘ misery today might pay off down the line, writes Maria Panaritis of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Draft Notes: Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Ross

March 22nd, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Charlie Adams

Kansas center Joel Embiid won’t be playing against Stanford tomorrow, but Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated doesn’t think his absence should have a major impact on his draft stock (Twitter link). The latest mock draft from DraftExpress has Embiid going second overall. Here’s a look at some more news related to the draft:

Despite yesterday’s crushing loss to Mercer, Jabari Parker is still expected to enter his name into June’s draft, one executive tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog. The same executive says he would take Parker at third overall, behind the Kansas duo of Embiid and Andrew Wiggins. If Embiid’s back proves to be an issue, however, he’d take Parker second behind Wiggins.
Ohio State’s LaQuinton Ross still hasn’t made a decision on whether or not he’ll enter the draft, reveals Zagoria. One scout tells Zagoria that Ross would be well advised to stay in school and work to improve his game. Ross would figure to be a mid-second-round pick this June.
University of Arizona coach Sean Miller labeled Weber State forward Joel Bolomboy as an NBA prospect, tweets Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune. Bolomboy average 8.7 points and 11 rebounds per game in 2013/14.
Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders gives his take on how the tournament has affected the top prospects’ draft stocks. Adreian Payne and T.J. Warren are two players who Koutroupis thinks have really benefited themselves from good performances in the early rounds of the tourney.

Draft Rumors: Parker, Wiggins, Nuggets

March 22nd, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Cray Allred

Jabari Parker called his college career “incomplete” after Duke’s upset loss in the NCAA tournament Friday, and the Blue Devils’ early exit could affect his decision about whether to enter the draft this year, he tells Andy Katz of ESPN (Twitter link). Scouts had held the belief that Parker was leaning toward declaring for the draft, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Here are more draft rumors:

Sean Highkin of USA Today doesn’t think Parker will skip the draft based on his disappointing tournament. Highkin says the farthest Parker could fall is to the third overall pick, so the small forward has more certainty of his selection (and payday) than players like Marcus Smart or Jared Sullinger had when deciding to return to school for another year.
Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider [subscription only] offer some analysis of Andrew Wiggins‘ upside, using both scouting information and advanced metrics. Both Ford and Pelton see Wiggins as a potential Paul George-type player.
Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post thinks that Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, and James Young are three players who would make sense for the Nuggets to draft this year. Kiszla notes that the Knicks‘ recent winning streak has hurt the Nuggets’ odds of landing a high lottery pick. The Nuggets will have the better of their own pick and New York’s pick.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Wilbekin, Young, Sixers, Embiid

March 20th, 2014 at 7:41pm CST by Charlie Adams

March Madness is officially underway, and Chris Dortch of NBA.com has complied a list of players who have the most to gain from a good performance in the NCAA Tournament. Gator seniors Scottie Wilbekin and Patric Young are among the players mentioned, and Dortch thinks a tourney title from Florida would greatly help their stocks. Let’s round up some more draft rumors:

Having lost 22 straight contests and sitting at 15-53, the Sixers are sure to receive a high lottery pick in June’s draft. Rather than addressing needs at a particular position, Philly coach Brett Brown‘s draft strategy is to “take the best player and figure it out,” reveals Tom Moore of the Intelligencer.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com breaks down each tournament team’s prospects (Insider link). The South region has the most NBA-talent, according to Ford, but the Midwest region isn’t far behind.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports gives an NBA scout’s take on 10 potential lottery picks. According to the scout, Joel Embiid will likely be the first player taken if his back problems prove to be a non-issue. “Teams don’t want to draft another Greg Oden,” said the scout. “Embiid will be No. 1 if there is no back issue. There is only one player in the draft that’s a potential franchise player, and that’s Embiid. It’s a deep draft. When I say franchise player, there are only eight or 10 of those in the league. Embiid has the potential to be one.”
The latest mock draft from Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders sees Embiid going third overall, behind Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.
Adreian Payne‘s 41 point performance today will do nothing but help the MSU Spartan’s draft stock, and Chad Ford tweets that a few more big games out of Payne could help boost him into a lock for the lottery. Ford notes Payne is particularly appealing because there aren’t many stretch fours in this year’s class. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com thinks Payne will be a mid-first-round pick, but that he won’t end up being a star in the NBA (Twitter link).
Michigan forward Glenn Robinson III needs to have a strong performance in the tournament to prove he’s not just coasting off his family name, opines Howard-Cooper. Robinson is the son of the former All-Star who shares the same name.

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, UCLA

March 19th, 2014 at 5:56pm CST by Alex Lee

In his latest chat with readers, Chad Ford of ESPN.com insists that Andrew Wiggins has solidified his position as the No. 1 draft prospect. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com disagrees, debuting his own Top 30 list based off discussions he’s had with league executives. It has Jabari Parker at the top. Howard-Cooper also touched on a multitude of other draft topics in another post. Let’s sort through his latest and more draft-related stuff here:

Front offices are wavering between Parker and Kansas’ Joel Embiid for the top spot, according to Howard-Cooper. He adds that no one has more at stake in the NCAA Tournament than Embiid, who only has a shot to return from back issues if the Jayhawks advance without him.
Austalian guard Dante Exum is right behind the troika of Parker-Embiid-Wiggins. That foursome is followed by Julius Randle and Marcus Smart, before a big drop off at No. 7.
Jusuf Nurkic is flying up draft boards, according to Howard-Cooper. The 19-year-old Bosnian center, currently playing in Croatia, is in one team’s top ten and may ultimately challenge Dario Saric as the first European off the board.
UCLA’s Zach LaVine has yet to convince scouts that he projects as a point guard in the NBA, Howard-Cooper writes. It doesn’t help than teammate Kyle Anderson has been handling the ball more as point forward lately, presumably boosting his draft stock. LaVine is still an attractive prospect, but his value will take a hit if his future looks to be on the wing. Both Bruins project as mid first rounders should they choose to come out.
USA Today’s Adi Joseph includes Embiid and Anderson on his list of eight NBA hopefuls with the most to gain in the NCAA Tournament, along with Keith Appling, Jahii Carson, Cleanthony Early, Tyler Ennis, Montrezl Harrell and Shabazz Napier.

And-Ones: Jackson, Draft, Parker

March 17th, 2014 at 9:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Agents aren’t pleased with the notion of raising the NBA’s minimum age, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines. They feel shut out of the union’s search for a new executive director and they’re worried that whomever the union picks will be hurried to the bargaining table to discuss the age issue, Deveney writes.

Draft Rumors: Gordon, Parker, Wiggins

March 17th, 2014 at 1:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com has used his insider-only “Tank Rank” column to pass along rumors connected the plans that teams have for this season, but this week’s edition is all about how clubs view the top prospects for the draft. We’ll pass along the highlights from Ford here:

The Celtics and Jazz are high on Arizona power forward Aaron Gordon, according to Ford.
Ford consistently hears that the Pistons would draft Jabari Parker No. 1 overall if they scored the No. 1 overall pick. That seems to assume that Joe Dumars would still be in charge of the team’s basketball operations, which isn’t a given.
The Pelicans believe Parker would be the “perfect fit” for them, Ford writes.
The Cavs envision using Andrew Wiggins, a small forward, as a shooting guard next to Kyrie Irving if they’re able to land the Kansas star, Ford suggests.
If the Magic wind up with the No. 1 overall pick, they’d probably use it on Wiggins, Ford writes, identifying Dante Exum and Marcus Smart as others the team will likely target.
The Lakers appear to have Joel Embiid, Wiggins, and Exum as their top three prospects, according to Ford, who pegs Parker fourth and Julius Randle fifth on L.A.’s board.

Draft Rumors: Parker, Martin, Age Limit

March 15th, 2014 at 11:55am CST by Cray Allred

Ben Detrick of The New York Times writes that finding a franchise savior at the top of the draft is a pretty rare feat, pointing out that even the low expectations for last year’s lottery picks haven’t been met yet. Detrick notes that cheap, young roster components are becoming more necessary under the current CBA, and highlights some of the deeper selections that have been contributing this year. Regardless, many fan bases are hoping their team lands a franchise cornerstone in this year’s draft. Here’s a look at the latest on the draft:

Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter) thinks that LSU freshman Jarrell Martin has enough talent to end up a lottery pick if he chooses to enter the draft this year. Martin is currently ranked just #21 in DraftExpress’s 2015 mock draft.
Jabari Parker would be the safest, most NBA-ready first-overall pick in the 2014 draft, an NBA executive tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
In a subscription-only piece, ESPN Insider David Thorpe says that many of the arguments being made for and against a hiked age limit for the NBA draft are based on myths. Thorpe touches on common perceptions dealing with player development, the D-League, and prospects’ NBA-readiness.

And-Ones: Draft, Dragic, Neal

March 12th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA draft is still more than three months away but the debate on who will be the first player taken rages on. According to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, scouts have told him that if the draft were held today, the first overall selection would either be Kansas center Joel Embiid or Duke forward Jabari Parker. While Embiid and Parker represented the top tier in this poll and Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Dante Exum represented the second tier, the six through ten choices were all over the board according to the article. There is a chance that neither Embiid, if his back proves too problematic, or Parker, if he decides to play one more season as he’s hinted, will even declare for this year’s draft.