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Jahlil Okafor

And-Ones: Thunder, Okafor, Hollins

October 15th, 2014 at 10:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With Kevin Durant expected to miss a minimum of six to eight weeks with a fractured foot, the Thunder will have to look for help from within the organization, Nick Gallo of NBA.com writes. “The process is ongoing and it will continue to be ongoing,” coach Scott Brooks said. “The first part of that process is not making an excuse. If you can all come to grips with that, then you have a better chance to have success. We’ve always done that as an organization. Whatever is thrown at us, we’re going to control what we can and not worry about the things that we can’t.”

Here’s more from around the league:

  • One of the players in the running to be the first overall draft choice next June is Duke’s Jahlil Okafor. Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress (video link) profiles the top ranked player in the ACC.
  • Newcomer Ryan Hollins‘ biggest value to the Kings may be taking the defensive weight off of DeMarcus Cousins, Nick Avila of SI.com opines. Hollins is part of a crowded frontcourt mix in Sacramento that includes Jason Thompson, Reggie Evans, Carl Landry, and Sim Bhullar.
  • Jamelle McMillan, son of former NBA player and head coach Nate McMillan, was named the player development coach for the Pelicans, the team announced in a press release. McMillan was on New Orleans’ staff as an intern the last two seasons.
  • A few head coaches enter the season already on the hot seat, while others’ perches will heat up as the season progresses. Sam Amick of USA Today looks at each coach’s job status entering the new campaign.
  • Chris Webber is part of a potential ownership group that has registered interest with the NBA league office about buying the Hawks, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
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Draft Notes: Towns, Harrison Twins, Looney

September 9th, 2014 at 1:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

The 2015 draft is more than nine months away, but teams track prospects year-round in an effort to make the right decisions when the day finally arrives. All that work doesn’t prevent draft busts, as is proven time and again, but teams can still gather valuable information so they can limit their mistakes. Here’s the latest:

  • University of Kentucky coach John Calipari has invited all 30 NBA teams to send personnel to watch him put his star-studded roster through a two-day scouting combine of sorts next month, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Calipari is believed to be the first college coach to set up such a showcase for his players, but Wojnarowski adds that he won’t allow anyone from the league to observe his practices for an indefinite time thereafter.
  • There’s no shortage of NBA prospects on Kentucky, as nine fall within the top 43 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress ratings, but forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns, shooting guard Aaron Harrison and combo guard Andrew Harrison will be the main attractions at the team’s preseason showcase, scouts tell Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
  • Duke center Jahlil Okafor remains the top-ranked player on the second version of Chad Ford’s ESPN.com Insider-only draft board, but 6’10” UCLA combo forward Kevon Looney vaults to the No. 8 spot after Ford left him outside his top 30 the first time around.
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And-Ones: Parker, Heat, Roberts. Allen

August 17th, 2014 at 12:13pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jabari Parker knows the history of second-overall pick busts in the NBA, and is determined not to be the next, writes Brett Pollakoff of NBC Sports.com. The Bucks rookie said, “There’s been a lot of second pick busts. I’m just trying not to be that bust. Everyday that I step on the court, I just remind myself that I have a long ways to go. If I want to be one of those guys in the first tier of the NBA, like a LeBron [James], like a Kobe [Bryant] , like a [Blake Griffin], then I have to have that mentality starting off from the ground, and work my way up.”

Here’s more from around the league:

    • The Cavs are optimistic about their chances to sign Ray Allen prior to the start of training camp, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
    • With the NBA reportedly considering a change in the lottery system, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel explains why such a move would be an overreaction from Adam Silver and company.
    • The Heat’s win total this season could be affected if any changes are made to the NBA Draft lottery system, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. If there is less of a reason for franchises to tank, then Miami couldn’t necessarily count on padding their record against the Sixers, Magic, and Bucks, opines Winderman.
    • The selection of Michele Roberts as NBPA head was a historic one, with Roberts becoming the first female to lead a professional sports union. In an interview with Andrew Keh of The New York Times, Roberts said she was all too aware that if she was selected, she would represent several hundred male athletes in the NBA; she would deal with league officials and agents who were nearly all men; and she would negotiate with team owners who were almost all men. To this, Roberts said, “My past is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think I was someone they could sleep on.”
    • Kentucky freshman Karl-Anthony Towns will be a strong possibility to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. DraftExpress currently has Towns ranked fourth behind Jahlil Okafor, Cliff Alexander and Emmanuel Mudiay.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

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Draft Links: 2015, Randle, McDaniels

April 22nd, 2014 at 6:11pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The 2015 NBA Draft could be abound with promising big men, as Josh Newman and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv discuss. Among those already garnering attention are Duke-bound Jahlil Okafor, incoming Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander, and Kentucky-recruit Karl-Anthony Towns; all three are currently projected to be in the top five according to DraftExpress‘ 2015 mock draft. Other potential lottery prospects include Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, Florida’s Chris Walker, and top uncommitted center Myles Turner.

Here are some other draft-related links that we’ll pass along this evening:

  • Julius Randle has had high expectations as a top ranked college player and should still be among the notable names selected on draft night. With that being said, ESPN Draft experts Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford go over some of the limitations that may cause Randle to fall out of the top five.
  • Clemson product K.J. McDaniels has hired Rival Sports to represent him, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
  • Draft prospects C.J. Wilcox, Gary Harris, and Elfrid Payton have signed with Creative Artists Agency, an NBA source tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
  • Former Michigan State standout Adreian Payne is among a trio of fellow projected lottery talents who have signed with agent Mark Bartelstein, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
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Draft Links: Parker, Hollis-Jefferson, Tarczewski

April 15th, 2014 at 9:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

A few days ago, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported that Jabari Parker’s decision on whether or not he’ll enter the 2014 NBA Draft would be expected by either today or tomorrow. However, Duke basketball associate director of sports information Matt Plizga confirms that the 6’8 forward will not announce his future plans tomorrow, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (first reported by the Chicago Tribune).  Regardless of when that decision may be announced, Basketball Insiders writer Yannis Koutroupis analyzes what factors should be considered as Parker weighs his options.

With that aside, here are some more draft-related links to pass along tonight:

  • University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller confirms that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kaleb Tarczewski have opted to stay in school another year, tweets Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star.
  • According to the Michigan State Spartans’ official basketball website, junior swingman Branden Dawson will return for his senior season.
  • Nik Stauskas intends to sign with agent Mark Bartelstein, reports ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link).
  • NBA draft prospect Jerami Grant passes the eye-test as far as length and athleticism goes, though Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford of ESPN are concerned about his limited offensive game. In an Insiders-only piece, Pelton, Elhassan, and Ford take an in-depth look at the former Syracuse forward through analytics, scouting, and front office perspectives.
  • In another article, Pelton, Elhassan, and Ford evaluate former Michigan guard Gary Harris (Insiders only). Pelton says that Harris should go high in the lottery; Elhassan and Ford focus more on the 6’4″ guard’s ability as a two-way player.
  • In his own piece, Ford passes along his observations from the 2014 Nike Hoops Summit, which included more than a handful of potential NBA prospects who could enter the draft as early as 2015. According to one scout, the talent crop didn’t stand out as much as last year’s class, though among the names who impressed were Emmanuel Mudiay (committed to SMU) and Jahlil Okafor (committed to Duke).
  • The American prospects from the Nike Hoops Summit are grouped according to possible stardom, potential to be an NBA-rotation player, or their ability to become a good college player by Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders.
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Draft Notes: Embiid, Wiggins, Parker

March 5th, 2014 at 5:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver’s desire to raise the minimum draft age by another year has fueled plenty of talk about the most effective way to develop NBA prospects. Tom Ziller of SB Nation takes a look at Mavs owner Mark Cuban’s recent assertion that the D-League should supplant the NCAA. College basketball isn’t going away, as Cuban suggests it should, but Ziller thinks a higher minimum age could result in greater use of the D-League as a conduit to the draft. In the meantime, here’s the latest from a landscape still dominated by one-and-done collegians:

  • Joel Embiid, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker are Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in Jonathan Givony’s updated mock draft and top-100 prospects list at DraftExpress. Givony has Jahlil Okafor atop his new 2015 mock draft.
  • Chad Ford of ESPN.com agrees with Givony through the first two picks for this year, but Ford has Dante Exum going No. 3 to the Magic in his Insider-only mock draft.
  • Ford and Givony place Arizona shooting guard Nick Johnson 54th and 60th, respectively, in their prospect rankings for this year, but sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that the junior is leaning toward entering the draft (Insider link).
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Execs Think Jabari Parker Won’t Enter Draft

January 21st, 2014 at 8:18am CST by Chuck Myron

TUESDAY, 8:18am: Parker’s father, Sonny Parker, tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that his son has yet to make up his mind about the draft and will wait until after the college season to announce his intentions. The elder Parker says he doesn’t think his son spoke to Smith, though Smith’s news appears to have come from conversations with NBA executives and not Jabari Parker himself. Still, an executive tells Zagoria that he thinks there’s no way that Parker will stay in school. “Please,” the exec said. “He’s going top 3 and he’s coming out. Anything to the contrary is the ramblings of someone who couldn’t fit his column inches.”

MONDAY, 3:40pm: Executives around the NBA increasingly believe that ballyhooed draft prospect Jabari Parker will choose to stay an extra year at Duke rather than enter the NBA draft this June, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com. Parker, who grew up in Chicago, is No. 3 on both the DraftExpress and ESPN Insider prospect rankings, and his absence from this year’s draft would deal a blow to teams banking on a top pick in what’s supposed to be one of the best classes in years.

The presence of Jahlil Okafor, a former AAU teammate of Parker’s who’ll enter Duke next season, is weighing heavily on Parker’s mind, the executives believe. Parker also places a high value on education and feels he owes it to Duke to contribute to a better season than the Blue Devils are having so far this year, Smith hears. Parker has also seen the benefits that staying in school has provided to NBA stars in the past.

Recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv in November, when Okafor revealed he would go to Duke, that he thought the decision might influence Parker to stay in college another year so they could play together. The idea seemed far-fetched at the time, but now it appears it could indeed come to fruition. Parker, a 6’8″ freshman forward, won’t have to make his call on this year’s draft until the spring, so there will be plenty of time for him to go back and forth.

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Draft Rumors: 2015, Parker, Wiggins, Exum

November 15th, 2013 at 4:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

A pair of players widely considered to be among the five best draft picks for 2015 made their college choices today, with Jahlil Okafor headed to Duke and Cliff Alexander bound for Kansas. Longtime recruiting analyst Tom Konchalski told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that if Okafor picked Duke, it might influence top 2014 prospect Jabari Parker to stay an extra year in school so he can play with his AAU teammate. That would be quite a surprise, but there’s plenty of time left before Parker and other potential 2014 early entrants have to decide whether to declare for the draft, so a lot can happen. Here’s the latest on the 2014 class:

  • Tuesday’s talent showcase at the Champions Classic was quite a spectacle, but it didn’t help at least one GM draw any conclusions, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. “To be honest, I think (Tuesday) night muddied the waters even more,” the unnamed GM said.
  • Another GM gave Amick his top five prospects: Andrew Wiggins, Parker, Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon and Julius Randle. That’s the same top five that a GM listed for Zagoria, though it’s unclear whether those are different GMs or the same one.
  • Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times compares the 2014 draft class to the one that came 20 years before it, opining that Wiggins, Parker and Randle are analogous to Glenn Robinson, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill, the top three picks from 1994 (Twitter link).
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Odds & Ends: Mavs, Harris, Kirilenko, Thibodeau

July 14th, 2013 at 10:42am CST by Chuck Myron

The past two summers haven't gone as planned for the Mavericks, but there's still no need to panic and trade Dirk Nowitzki, as Gil LeBreton of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram argues. LeBreton is confident the additions of Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon will help the team. Here's more on the Mavs, along with other news from the Association:

Spencer Lund contributed to this post.

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