James Young Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Rumors: Harris, Young, Robinson, Smart

May 23rd, 2014 at 2:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA executives are gathered in Southern California for a series of workouts involving draft hopefuls, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com passes along some intel in an Insider-only piece. Gary Harris has used hot shooting to impress and he’s a likely top-10 pick, Ford believes. He’ll work out for the Celtics and Bulls. among other teams, according to Ford. James Young is drawing interest from a slew of teams, including the Hornets, Sixers, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves and Suns, while many clubs are high on Glenn Robinson III after he performed well in a workout for the Bulls this past Monday, Ford writes. Here’s more on the draft:

Marcus Smart has workouts scheduled with the Magic and Celtics, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times adds the Nuggets to the list of teams that interviewed Aaron Gordon at last week’s draft combine in Chicago.
The Clippers, Pacers, Pistons and Wizards are among the clubs interested in Virginia swingman Joe Harris, Woelfel writes in the same piece, reiterating that the Bucks are eyeing him, too. Harris spoke to Zach Links of Hoops Rumors recently for our Prospect Profile series.
Chane Behanan will work out for the Mavs next month, Goodman also tweets.

Bucks Rumors: Mayo, Stauskas, Young, LaVine

May 20th, 2014 at 12:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The new owners of the Bucks have broached the subject of a front office purge, but it appears unlikely they’ll follow the path of Grizzlies owner Robert Pera and oust GM John Hammond and assistant GM David Morway this year, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe wrote earlier today. We’ll pass along more from Milwaukee here:

The Bucks would be willing to trade O.J. Mayo, but finding fair value will be a tall order, given the two years and $16MM remaining on his contract, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. It’s unclear whether the team is actively shopping the 26-year-old, or if he’s just one of many Bucks who aren’t off-limits to a deal.
Still, Milwaukee is almost certain to draft a shooting guard, even if it entails acquiring a pick via trade to select one, Woelfel writes, adding that the team is eyeing Nik Stauskas, James Young, Zach LaVine, Joe Harris, Jabari Brown and Devyn Marble.
There’s a distinct chance that whomever Milwaukee selects with its lottery pick, and perhaps to a lesser degree, its trio of second-rounders, won’t be pleased, as Mark Heisler of Forbes.com details. “What the Clippers used to be, that’s what the Bucks are now,” an NBA GM told Heisler. “The place every agent says, ‘I don’t want my player there.’”

And-Ones: Johnson, Williams, Draft

May 18th, 2014 at 12:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Johnson has made it a point to include Player Agents in the search for the new head of the NBA Player’s Association, writes Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report. This approach differs from former NBAPA head, Billy Hunter, who was known to exclude agents from the decision making process.

Draft Rumors: Harris, Smart, Jazz, Magic

May 17th, 2014 at 7:58pm CST by Cray Allred

With the Chicago predraft combine wrapping up, Jeremy Bauman of Sheridan Hoops looks at a number of prospects that increased their draft stock with their performances. These players include Zach LaVine, Kyle Anderson, Elfrid Payton, James Young, and Jordan Clarkson. More on the draft front:

The athletic testing results from the combine are in and Draft Express runs them down.
Gary Harris was invited to the Draft Lottery broadcast by the NBA as part of a 10-player group deemed the top-10 prospects, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The inviation, which Harris declined, could signify a boost in his draft stock. Some projections, including Jonathan Givony’s at DraftExpress, have had Harris well outside of the top 10.
In a combine wrap-up, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes that Marcus Smart stood out as an exceptional physical specimen and hard worker among the point guards in attendance.
Dante Exum fared well during interviews at the combine, a team official who met with the Aussie tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. “He seems like a really good kid,” the official said. “He’s confident, but not cocky. Now we have to see if he can play.” With far less exposure than the other prospects at the top of the draft, Exum hopes to impress teams during his individual workouts.
If Joel Embiid doesn’t clear medically prior to the draft, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that the big man could drop out of the top five. Embiid sat out of combine activities as he recovers from a back injury suffered late in his season at Kansas.
Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune that he “has to listen to everything” when asked about whether he was willing to trade Utah’s draft picks (Twitter link).
The Magic aren’t trying to trade away their extra first round pick, according to Kyler (on Twitter).
Tommy Dee of Sheridan Hoops looks at some of the older draft prospects, laying out why each could follow in Damian Lillard‘s footsteps in making an impact exceeding many of the younger, more well-known players from the same talent pool.
Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops released his second mock draft of the year.
Earlier, we passed along word that we could be in for a busy pre-draft trade season.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Draft Combine Updates: Friday

May 16th, 2014 at 2:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

We gathered a slew of reports connecting draft prospects with teams yesterday on the first full day of the Chicago draft combine, and we’ll do the same today with this post. The latest updates will be on top as we follow the action throughout.

Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders adds the Pistons, Kings and Suns to the list of teams interviewing Noah Vonleh (Twitter link).
The Pistons met with Rodney Hood, Ellis tweets, and the Thunder also met with him, Holmes notes (on Twitter).
Thanasis Antetokounmpo sat down with the Nets, Knicks, Pacers, Cavs, Wizards and Pelicans, according to Woelfel (Twitter link).

2:00pm updates:

The Pistons have met with Smart and Zach LaVine, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, respectively (Twitter links).
Smart is also among the players interviewing with the Celtics tonight, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, and the C’s spoke with Aaron Gordon, too, fellow Globe scribe Baxter Holmes notes (Twitter links).
Gordon also met with the Magic, who are set to meet with James Michael McAdoo, as well, according to Robbins (Twitter links).
Tyler Ennis is meeting with the Bucks today after interviewing with the Bulls on Thursday, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times and Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com report (Twitter links).
Jarnell Stokes already worked out for the Raptors, according to Wolstat (on Twitter).

12:02pm updates:

Dante Exum‘s interview with the Magic went well, he said, adding that the team would like to bring him to Central Florida for a workout, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins, in a full piece, added Marcus Smart to the list of top prospects who’ve interviewed with the Magic.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge expressed a fondness for Smart today in an interview with ESPN’s Andy Katz on the network’s coverage of the combine, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (on Twitter).
Gary Harris told Katz he met with the Raptors, Nuggets, Grizzlies and Pistons, as Zagoria once more passes along via Twitter.
The Raptors will interview Jordan Adams today, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, who says the team also spoke with James Young (Twitter links).
Zagoria adds the Sixers, Spurs, Clippers, Mavs, Nuggets, Warriors and Bulls to the list of teams that Kyle Anderson either met or is slated to meet (Twitter link).
Markel Brown said he’ll talk with the Celtics today, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link).

Draft Combine Updates: Thursday

May 15th, 2014 at 10:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Chicago draft combine is underway, and teams can meet with up to 18 players. With 30 teams, that means there could be as many as 540 interviews this week. We’ll try to keep track of as many as possible here, and we’ll update this post throughout the day as news filters in. Here’s the latest:

Ennis will meet with the Bobcats and at least four other teams in addition to the organizations listed below, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports.
Vonleh interviewed with the Wolves, Bucks, Lakers, and Blazers, tweets Robbins, who adds that the big man is scheduled to meet with the Sixers.

Earlier updates:

LaVine shot very well, and Seth Davis of SI.com hears that he may have helped his stock more than any other prospect today (Twitter link; H/T Wolstat).
In Exum’s extended quotes transcribed by Sean Deveney of The Sporting News regarding the point guard’s willingness to pressure certain teams not to draft him, Exum said he doesn’t see any of his potential destinations as a bad fit, and is willing to play behind an established point guard.
LaQuinton Ross will work out for the Cavs on Monday, tweets Jason Lloyd of Akron Beacon Journal.
The Raptors plan to meet with K.J. McDaniels, McDermott, Payton, Anderson, McDaniels, and possibly Hood, reports Wolstat (via Twitter).
Hood will meet with the Bulls on Friday, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
Randle interviewed with the Cavs and will do so with the Bucks, too, as the Plain Dealer and Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel note (Twitter links).
Patric Young spoke with the Pelicans and has a sit-down with the Grizzlies scheduled, according to Robbins (Twitter links).
Blakely adds Hood and Noah Vonleh to the Celtics interview list, while Randle and T.J. Warren are talking to Boston, too, according to Holmes (All Twitter links).
Vonleh says he also has an interview scheduled with the Magic, Robbins notes, adding that Orlando wanted to interview Stauskas, but his meeting schedule is too full (Twitter links). The Magic sat down with Randle on Wednesday, Robbins adds (on Twitter).
Aaron Gordon met with the Sixers on Wednesday, Pompey tweets.
Exum will also interview with the Kings, according to Howard-Cooper (on Twitter).
Julius Randle is meeting with the Sixers today, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
Doug McDermott said he met Wednesday with the Bulls, Hawks and Timberwolves, Robbins observes, and McDermott added that he’s looking forward to a meeting with the Cavs, as Robbins and the Plain Dealer observe (Twitter links).
Rodney Hood is set to interview with the Wolves tonight, Zgoda tweets. Hood interviewed with the Bobcats on Wednesday, as Bonnell details (Twitter links).
Kyle Anderson met with the Celtics and he’ll also see the Wolves tonight, Washburn and Zgoda note (Twitter links).
The Pistons met with Glenn Robinson III on Wednesday, as he tells Langlois (Twitter link).
Add the Celtics and the Bucks to Exum’s interview agenda, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe and Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel report (Twitter links). Exum thinks he’ll sit down with the Cavs, too, the Plain Dealer notes (on Twitter).
The Wolves will interview Lavine on Friday after having spoken with James Young on Wednesday, Zgoda tweets.
The Bobcats have expressed interest in P.J. Hairston, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Dante Exum‘s wingspan measured out at nearly 6’10”, and he’ll draw consideration for the No. 1 overall pick from some teams, ESPN’s Chad Ford said on the network’s combine coverage today, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (Twitter link). He denied that he’s angling for the Lakers in the draft, but he wouldn’t rule out pressuring some teams not to take him, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Exum met with the Sixers, Pistons and Suns on Wednesday, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The Celtics, Lakers, Magic and Jazz will also speak with him, report Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel and Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune (All four Twitter links).
Marcus Smart has interviewed with the Rockets, Raptors, Lakers, Suns and Nuggets, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The Cavs, Jazz and Bucks are also on his agenda, as the Plain Dealer, Falk and Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times report (All Twitter links). The Timberwolves won’t interview Smart in Chicago, but Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears the team is hoping to get him to come to Minnesota for a workout (Twitter link).
Ontario native Tyler Ennis is excited about the idea of playing for the Raptors and has interviewed with them, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. He’s also met with the Bobcats, Kings, Suns, Thunder and Nuggets, according to Kennedy (on Twitter).
Nik Stauskas has met with or will meet with the Kings, Pistons and Raptors, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (All Twitter links).
The Nuggets, Spurs, Warriors and Nets have met with Shabazz Napier, Kennedy tweets.
The Hawks, Spurs, Thunder, Raptors, Magic, Cavs and Timberwolves met Elfrid Payton, Kennedy reports (Twitter link).
Zach LaVine interviewed with the Celtics, among others, Wednesday, he tells Blakely (Twitter link).
Russ Smith sat down with the Suns, Celtics and Blazers, according to Kennedy (via Twitter).

And-Ones: Hairston, Wolves, Draft

May 14th, 2014 at 10:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One player whose draft stock might benefit from the pre-draft interview process is P.J. Hairston, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. In 26 games this past season with the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League, Hairston averaged 21.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, and 1.5 SPG in 32.3 minutes per contest.

And-Ones: Cavs, Nets, T’Wolves

May 13th, 2014 at 11:16pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There are plenty of head coaching options for the Cavaliers to consider, as the league’s current list of free agent coaches includes Mike D’Antoni, Lionel Hollins, Mark Jackson, and George Karl. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio briefly profiles each of the above-mentioned candidates according to their chances of landing in Cleveland next season. Additionally, Amico mentions Alvin Gentry, Jerry Sichting, Mark Price, Alex Jensen, and Steve Kerr as other names to keep in mind.

Here are some more miscellaneous news and notes to pass along tonight:

Despite talk that Kevin Garnett could potentially retire after this season, with Paul Pierce slated to hit unrestricted free agency, all signs point toward both returning to the Nets next year, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Timberwolves brass will be heading to Chicago tomorrow in preparation for the NBA’s pre-draft combine and are expected to request interviews with many players, including Michigan State’s Gary Harris, Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, Kentucky’s James Young, Creighton’s Doug McDermott, and Duke’s Rodney Hood, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
In the same piece, Zgoda writes that the Wolves are looking to acquire their own D-League affiliate.
Don’t be surprised if LeBron James chooses to distance himself from Roger Mason Jr.‘s recent comments about boycotting the 2014/15 season if Donald Sterling still owns the Clippers, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Assuming he re-signs with the Thunder in 2016, Kevin Durant could earn somewhere around $143.75MM over five years, as Berry Tramel and Jon Hamm of NewsOK explain.
During an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Magic Johnson revealed that he declined an offer from Pistons owner Tom Gores to be part of his ownership group in Detroit (H/T to The Detroit News). Magic had been responding to the claim from Donald Sterling that the former Lakers star had been conspiring to purchase the Clippers.

And-Ones: Union, KJ, Bulls, Young, Huestis

May 1st, 2014 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Adam Silver’s response to the Donald Sterling fiasco united the players association, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, and it also facilitated a stronger relationship between the union and the league, as acting union executive director Ron Klempner sees it.

“The league and the players recently have been working more closely together across the board, not just through this event,” Klempner said. “Our player programs staffs have experienced something of a thaw. Everyone feels more secure and confident, knowing that we can work together with the league on projects that will benefit the players.”

Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher has a different take, believing the players’ response to Silver’s ruling was an act of capitulation, and that they missed an opportunity to boycott games until Sterling was officially stripped of Clippers ownership. Just how the Sterling mess plays out remains to be seen, and there’s more on the union amid our latest look around the NBA:

Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, who’s serving the players in an ex-officio capacity, isn’t a candidate to take the union’s full-time executive director position, given his rising stock as a politician, Windhorst writes in the same piece.
It seems the Bulls will have to make a choice between Kirk Hinrich and D.J. Augustin, but GM Gar Forman isn’t ruling out the possibility of bringing them both back, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com notes.
Kentucky shooting guard James Young, one of 75 early entrants for the draft, has chosen Jay Z and his Roc Nation Sports agency for his representation, notes Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
The Jazz will likely work out fellow draft prospect Josh Huestis, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. The small forward from Stanford told Hoops Rumors about his preparation for a chance in the NBA, as we detailed in this morning’s prospect profile.
Terrence Williams didn’t last long in Puerto Rico, as Brujos de Guayama has released him just a few weeks after he joined the team, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The former 11th overall pick last played in the NBA with the Celtics in 2012/13.

Prospect Profile: James Young

April 26th, 2014 at 7:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

James Young, one of Kentucky’s six high school All-American recruits from a year ago, declared he was leaving school to play in the NBA. Young said in a statement that ”my time at Kentucky has been special to me, something I’ll always treasure, but I feel that I’m ready to take the next step to the NBA.” In recent mock drafts the consensus is that Young is a late lottery pick. DraftExpress has him going 15th, Bleacher Report slots him in 12th, and CBSSports.com places him 15th. Young is also currently ranked 15th on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s Big Board.

Coach John Calipari weighed in on Young, saying ”From Day 1, the NBA people who came to our practices in the preseason raved about him. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him all season, investing himself in his brothers for the betterment of the team, and I think we all saw the end result in the tournament and Final Four. Whatever team drafts James is not only getting a superb athlete, they are getting the ultimate teammate.”

At 6’6″ with a 6’11″ wingspan, Young has prototypical size for an NBA wing player, and has a 215-pound frame that should continue to develop over time. He doesn’t possess tremendous speed or a quick burst off the dribble, but Young is an exceptionally smooth athlete who can play above the rim and score in bunches. His numbers on the season were 14.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, and 0.8 SPG in 32.4 minutes per game. His slash line was .407/.349/.706.

Young will have to shoot the ball well to succeed in the NBA because he showed little ability to fill up a stat sheet. He’s not much of a playmaker, which could be an issue at the next level. Young can struggle to get separation when he puts the ball on the floor, and he lacks creativity with his ball-handling and doesn’t change tempo or direction well. He’s an average passer, but he tends to make mistakes with the ball and averaged 1.9 turnovers a game, not great numbers considering he was rarely the primary ball handler at Kentucky.

Young’s ability to get shots off over defenders makes him a scoring threat, but it also limits his efficiency. The left-handed shooter struggled from the perimeter for long stretches this season thanks to the high amount of contested jump shots he attempted. According to DraftExpress, almost three-quarters of Young’s 199 catch-and-shoot jump shots this season were defended. He connected on 45% of his open shot attempts but hit only 32% while being guarded. Since uncontested shots are at a premium in the NBA, Young will have to improve his consistency in this area.

If he doesn’t improve his shot, 2-guards or wings who struggle with offensive consistency don’t have much value to NBA teams if they don’t contribute on defense. Young has some defensive tools, but he lacks natural instincts in this facet of the game. He has a low defensive IQ, and that isn’t always something a player can easily change.

One indicator of Young’s lack of defensive ability is his abnormally low steal rate for the position he plays. Despite all of Young’s athleticism he’s averaging less than a steal per game in over 32 minutes of action. ESPN’s analytics expert Kevin Pelton wrote (Insider subscription required) that “Historically steal rate has outsized the importance of physical tools in predicting how well prospects will translate to the NBA.”

Young is a solid rebounder for his position but is still figuring things out on this end of the floor. His fundamentals need work, as illustrated by Young’s tendency not to get in a proper stance, allowing smaller, less athletic players to get position on him. DraftExpress noted that Young’s poor fundamentals, average awareness, and lack of lateral speed doesn’t give him outstanding upside in this area as a pro, but he has the capacity to improve his effectiveness over time.

Young is far from a sure thing and lacks a complete skill set as a player, but he is only 19 years old and has a wealth of potential. Young has the foundation of necessary skills to be an effective scorer down the line, which is something in high demand in the NBA. His upside at the pro level has been compared to that of Arron Afflalo‘s. Like Afflalo, I believe it will take a few years for Young to blossom into an effective rotation player. While I don’t believe he’ll be a superstar at the next level, I do think his upside is higher than that of fellow shooting guards Gary Harris or Nik Stauskus in the long run. If he doesn’t markedly improve his defense though, he’ll limit his usefulness to being a sixth man. Unless he blows teams away during his pre-draft workouts, I have him being taken after Harris in the 10-15 range of the draft.