JaKarr Sampson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Rumors: Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Ennis

May 27th, 2014 at 5:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Several around the league believe Joel Embiid will only work out for the Cavs and Bucks as confidence grows that he won’t slip to the Sixers at No. 3, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins will likely audition only for the teams with the top three picks, a source tells Holmes, though that’s much less noteworthy than the Embiid news, which signals that concerns about the health of his back are abating. Still, it appears as though Nuggets GM Tim Connelly would prefer Parker to Embiid and Wiggins if he somehow managed to have a choice, observes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (on Twitter). Here’s more from a busy afternoon of draft-related news:

Toronto native Tyler Ennis will work out for the Raptors on Thursday, the team announced.
Glenn Robinson III is auditioning for the Hawks today and the Hornets later this week, and he expects to do so for the Spurs, Bulls and Bucks sometime soon, as he tells MLive’s Brendan F. Quinn (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution).
Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds T.J. Warren, Cleanthony Early and K.J. McDaniels to the players working out on June 3rd for the Celtics (Twitter link).
The Bulls will play host to workouts for Jordan McRae, Devyn Marble and C.J. Fair on Wednesday, Goodman tweets, adding their names to Rodney Hood‘s, which Goodman reported Monday.
Marble pulled out of his workout with the Bucks today, but the two sides will reschedule, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (on Twitter).
The Suns are auditioning Keith Appling, Alec Brown, Deonte Burton, Artem Klimenko, Jakarr Sampson and Jamil Wilson today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Appling will also show off this week for the Pistons, Raptors and Wolves, agent Michael Silverman tells Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News.
The Knicks will work out Ian Chiles, a source tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
Xavier Thames auditioned for the Heat today, and he’s set to do so with the Bucks, Bulls, Celtics, Hornets, Knicks, Jazz, Mavericks and Pacers, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Combine, Parker, Embiid

May 11th, 2014 at 5:29pm CST by Charlie Adams

Next week’s predraft combine in Chicago will give prospects a chance to show off their skills for NBA clubs. Two players who have a chance of being the first selection in the draft, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid, declined their invites to participate in the combine, a league source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Their absence isn’t likely to dramatically hinder their stock, but it does raise questions about Embiid’s back injury, Wojnarowski says. Here’s more on the combine and the 2014 draft:

Front offices around the league took note that Parker wasn’t in great shape last season, so his absence from the combine might be a concern, relays Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (via Twitter).
Andrew Wiggins is also unlikely to accept his combine invitation, passes along Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
Chane Behanan, Sim Bhullar, Eric Moreland, Jakarr Sampson, and Roscoe Smith are some notable early entrants that weren’t invited to the combine, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
David Nurse of Perfect Shots Shooting breaks down Embiid’s game and discusses his immense potential, noting he has the tools to excel at the next level but will need to work to refine his offensive game.

JaKarr Sampson To Enter Draft

March 24th, 2014 at 6:11pm CST by Zachary Links

St. John’s University has announced that sophomore forward JaKarr Sampson will declare himself eligible for the 2014 NBA Draft. Sampson hasn’t had a ton of draft buzz this year, so it’s a rather surprising decision on his part.

Currently, DraftExpress does not have Sampson in their mock draft and Chad Ford of ESPN (Insider sub. req’d) ranks him all the way at No. 137 for this year’s class. Maurice Harkless left the Red Storm as a freshman in 2012 and was selected No. 15 overall, but unless Sampson knows something we don’t, he shouldn’t expect anything similar. “He is not close to the talent of a Moe Harkless when he came out,” one NBA scout told SNY’s Adam Zagoria (on Twitter).

In 29 minutes per contest this season, the 6’8″ forward averaged 12.8 PPG and 6.1 RPG.

Odds & Ends: Beaubois, Jordan, Paul

February 15th, 2014 at 12:52pm CST by Cray Allred

Chris Paul told reporters at All-Star Weekend that he isn’t sure if he would have stayed with New Orleans or left as a free agent had he not been traded to the Clippers in 2011, reports Ken Berger of CBS Sports. “I can’t answer that because I don’t know,” Paul said. “It’s crazy; what was that, three years ago? It’s almost scary to think how much smarter I am now than I was then. That’s one of those that I don’t know.” Here are some more notes to pass along:

Rodrigue Beaubois will work out for the Grizzlies and Wizards late next week, a league source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The four-year veteran point guard is still just 25 years old, but he has struggled to live up to the high expectations many had for the 6’2″ speedster. Beaubois recently recovered from a third surgery to his left hand, a procedure that has kept him from signing anywhere as a free agent so far this season.
Jerome Jordan is leaving the Italian league’s Virtus Bologna to join the Lebanese pro league, according to Il Corriere di Bologna (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 7-footer spent his lone NBA season with the Knicks in 2011/12.
St. John’s has multiple pros on the roster this year, scouts tell Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, but none of them should come out for the upcoming draft. Zagoria runs down why the scouts think Rysheed Jordan, JaKarr Sampson, Chris Obekpa and D’Angelo Harrison, would all be best served by spending at least another year in college.

Odds & Ends: Blazers, Williams, Sampson

March 13th, 2013 at 10:34pm CST by Alex Lee

Miami's win streak has reached 20 after they survived a spirited effort from the 76ers in Philly. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant is out "indefinitely" after he suffered a severe left ankle sprain late in the Lakers loss in Atlanta. With Carmelo Anthony's return to Denver nearing halftime, let's round up the final links from around the league on Wednesday night here:

The Blazers, who have a top-12 protected first round pick, are in a conflicting position at 3.5 games out of a playoff spot, writes Jason Quick of the Oregonian. If the season ended today they would retain their selection, and Blazers scouts are spread across the country accordingly, taking in the NCAA conference tournaments. Portland GM Neil Olshey implemented a new draft strategy in Portland, which consists of each scout watching a targeted group of 15 to 18 college players at least three times. The Blazers would currently pick 12th.
Blazers guard Elliot Williams plans on using the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas as an audition this summer to prove his health, writes Chris Haynes of CSN Northwest. Williams tore his left Achilles in September in a voluntary team workout, but claims to be nearing a full recovery. Portland declined the fourth-year option on Williams in October, making him an unrestricted free agent come summer.
St. John's freshman Jakarr Sampson, who is considering entering June's NBA draft, had a tough night against Villanova in the Big East Tournament on Wednesday, going 5-of-18 from the field. The performance prompted Jonathan Givony of Draft Express to hope, via Twitter, that Sampson stays in school, opining that there is no guarantee that the 6-foot-8 swingman would even be drafted. Maurice Harkless left St. John's after his freshman season just under a year ago, before being drafted 15th by the Sixers and moved to the Magic in the Andrew Bynum deal.