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California Notes: Lyles, Lakers, Redick, Buss

June 14th, 2024 at 11:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Kings power forward Trey Lyles is set to be in training camp with Team Canada this July, and will compete for a spot on this year’s Paris Olympics squad, per Mark Jones of ESPN (Twitter link).

According to Jones, Lyles would have suited up in the FIBA World Cup last season, but wanted to preserve his body to avoid injury during a free agent summer. He’s not a lock to make the Canadian roster, but could provide valuable floor spacing from the frontcourt.

There’s more out of California:

  • The Lakers are considering several candidates for their No. 17 first round pick in this year’s draft, according to Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Time. Providence guard Devin Carter, USC guard Isaiah Collier and Duke guard Jared McCain are all intriguing potential fits for a team that could use some backcourt depth, says Woike.
  • Longtime NBA sharpshooter J.J. Redick, now an ESPN commentator and podcaster, is seen as a top contender to be hired as the Lakers‘ next head coach. If he’s offered the Los Angeles gig, he’ll need to truly weigh the pros and cons of leaving his current media position, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN (YouTube video link). “I have no doubt that J.J. is going to have a strong performance because he’s been preparing for this for a long time,” Windhorst said. “I think the question that’s being asked here is how much should J.J. really want this job? And that’s one of the reasons why I think there’s people in his life, in fact, I know there’s people in his life, who have said ‘Are you sure this is the opportunity you want? That this is what you want to leave for? Because this is such a challenging job.'”
  • Lakers majority owner Jeanie Buss has been receiving blow-back recently after the team missed out on hiring Dan Hurley as the team’s head coach, as well as what many perceived as a muted response to the passing of L.A. legend Jerry West, writes Jim Alexander of The Orange County Register.
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Several More Players Invited To Green Room For 2024 Draft

June 14th, 2024 at 5:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Eight additional players have received green room invites for this month’s 2024 draft.

Sources have informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN (via these various and sundry Twitter links here) that Kentucky point guard Rob Dillingham, EuroLeague point guard Nikola Topic, Duke guard Jared McCain and power forward Kyle Filipowski, Miami swingman Kyshawn George, USC point guard Isaiah Collier, Kansas wing Johnny Furphy, and Baylor center Yves Missi have all been invited to attend the draft in person.

Givony notes that Dillingham, a 6’3″ All-SEC Second Teamer in 2023/24 as a freshman, earned the invitation after he wrapped up his NBA Combine prerequisites on Friday morning, at the Lakers’ El Segundo practice facility.

Among the latest invitees, Dillingham is the highest-ranked player on ESPN’s big board, where he comes in at No. 7 overall. Missi is the lowest-ranked prospect of the eight, as he’s ranked at No. 23.

All-American Purdue center Zach Edey also received an invite, Givony tweets, though he is opting to watch the draft at Purdue instead, with his family, coaches, and Boilermakers teammates in attendance.

This group is joining the 12 other likely first round draft picks whose green room invitations were previously reported.

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Northwest Notes: Williams, Blazers, Wolves, Hayward

June 4th, 2024 at 7:47pm CST by Dana Gauruder

As Bulls forward Patrick Williams heads into restricted free agency, look for the Thunder to make a run at him, The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry reports. A league source tells Mayberry that Oklahoma City has “great interest” in the 22-year-old.

Williams, who has failed to live up to his draft billing as the No. 4 pick in 2020, would give the Thunder more size at power forward. Oklahoma City’s stash of draft picks could entice Chicago to negotiate a sign-and-trade with the Thunder. Williams was limited to 43 games this season due to a foot injury.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • The Trail Blazers hosted six draft prospects on Tuesday — Daniss Jenkins (St. John’s), Dillon Jones (Weber State), Spencer Jones (Stanford), Jared McCain (Duke), Noah Penda (JA Vichy-Clermont) and Armel Traore (Ada Blois), Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report tweets. Out of that group, McCain is the most highly regarded by draft pundits. The point guard is currently rated No. 15 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list. Portland controls the seventh and 14th overall picks, along with No. 34 and No. 40.
  • The Timberwolves were also busy evaluating draft prospects on Tuesday, according to the team’s PR department (Twitter link). Sy Chatman (Buffalo), Enrique Freeman (Akron), Pelle Larsson (Arizona), KJ Simpson (Colorado), Justin Webster (UNLV) and Moses Wood (Washington) visited Minnesota’s practice facility. Larsson (No. 44), a shooting guard, is the highest-ranked prospect among that group on ESPN’s list.
  • In his latest player report card, The Oklahoman’s Joe Mussatto evaluates the forgettable half-season that Gordon Hayward spent with the Thunder. Hayward is headed to unrestricted free agency and Mussatto opines that the forward might be looking at veteran’s minimum offers the remainder of his career.
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Pacific Notes: Lue, Little, Roddy, Suns’ Front Office, Kings

May 21st, 2024 at 8:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tyronn Lue has a year left on his contract and the Clippers reportedly want to extend him, but The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on the Up & Adams show (video link) that the parties are not close to any agreement.

“To my knowledge there hasn’t been any progress in those conversations,” Charania stated. Lue stated shortly after the Clippers were eliminated from postseason contention that he’s eager to sign an extension.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Suns are hamstrung by reaching the second luxury tax apron, which severely limits what they can do in terms of personnel moves. Gerard Bourguet of PHNX Sports explores potential trades involving Nassir Little or David Roddy, noting that Little’s $6.75MM could force the Suns to explore three-team deals if they try to deal him to another team above one of the tax aprons. That’s because apron teams can’t take back more salary than they’re sending out. Roddy’s modest $2.8MM contract includes a team option but they might have to add a draft pick to trade him.
  • The Suns are making some changes to their front office. Assistant general managers Morgan Cato and Trevor Bukstein have not been retained, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.
  • The Kings have the No. 13 pick but that didn’t deter them from interviewing some of the top prospects at the recent draft combine, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. The list of players who met with Kings representatives included Alexandre Sarr, Donovan Clingan, Dalton Knecht, Ja’Kobe Walter, Cody Williams and Sacramento native Jared McCain. Sarr is the considered the favorite to be chosen No. 1 overall, while many draft experts have Clingan in their top three.
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NBA Announces 78 Invitees For 2024 Draft Combine

May 3rd, 2024 at 5:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 78 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 12-19.

In addition to those 78 players, a handful of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.

Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2024 draft pool, since some are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility. College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 29 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 16. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.

Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2024 draft combine:

(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)

  1. Michael Ajayi, F, Pepperdine (junior)
  2. Melvin Ajinca, G/F, France (born 2004)
  3. Trey Alexander, G, Creighton (junior)
  4. Izan Almansa, F, G League Ignite (born 2005)
  5. Reece Beekman, G, Virginia (senior)
  6. Adem Bona, F/C, UCLA (sophomore)
  7. Trevon Brazile, F, Arkansas (sophomore)
  8. Jalen Bridges, F, Baylor (senior)
  9. Matas Buzelis, F, G League Ignite (born 2004)
  10. Carlton Carrington, G, Pitt (freshman)
  11. Devin Carter, G, Providence (junior)
  12. Stephon Castle, G, UConn (freshman)
  13. Ulrich Chomche, C, NBA Academy Africa (born 2005)
  14. Cam Christie, G, Minnesota (freshman)
  15. Nique Clifford, G, Colorado State (senior)
  16. Donovan Clingan, C, UConn (sophomore)
  17. Isaiah Collier, G, USC (freshman)
  18. Tristan Da Silva, F, Colorado (senior)
  19. Pacome Dadiet, G/F, Germany (born 2005)
  20. N’Faly Dante, C, Oregon (super-senior)
  21. Rob Dillingham, G, Kentucky (freshman)
  22. Nikola Djurisic, G/F, Serbia (born 2004)
  23. Ryan Dunn, F, Virginia (sophomore)
  24. Zach Edey, C, Purdue (senior)
  25. Justin Edwards, G/F, Kentucky (freshman)
  26. Kyle Filipowski, F/C, Duke (sophomore)
  27. Trentyn Flowers, G/F, Australia (born 2005)
  28. Johnny Furphy, G/F, Kansas (freshman)
  29. Kyshawn George, G/F, Miami (FL) (freshman)
  30. Tyon Grant-Foster, G, Grand Canyon (senior)
  31. PJ Hall, C, Clemson (senior)
  32. Coleman Hawkins, F, Illinois (senior)
  33. Ron Holland, F, G League Ignite (born 2005)
  34. DaRon Holmes II, F, Dayton (junior)
  35. Ariel Hukporti, C, Germany (born 2002)
  36. Oso Ighodaro, F, Marquette (senior)
  37. Harrison Ingram, F, UNC (junior)
  38. Bronny James, G, USC (freshman)
  39. A.J. Johnson, G, Australia (born 2004)
  40. Keshad Johnson, F, Arizona (super-senior)
  41. David Jones, F, Memphis (senior)
  42. Dillon Jones, F, Weber State (senior)
  43. Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton (senior)
    • Note: Kalkbrenner indicated this week that he intends to return to school, so it’s unclear if he’ll continue to go through the pre-draft process.
  44. Alex Karaban, F, UConn (sophomore)
  45. Bobi Klintman, F, Australia (born 2003)
  46. Dalton Knecht, G, Tennessee (super-senior)
  47. Tyler Kolek, G, Marquette (senior)
  48. Pelle Larsson, G, Arizona (senior)
  49. Jared McCain, G, Duke (freshman)
  50. Kevin McCullar, G, Kansas (super-senior)
  51. Yves Missi, C, Baylor (freshman)
  52. Ajay Mitchell, G, UC Santa Barbara (junior)
  53. Jonathan Mogbo, F/C, San Francisco (senior)
  54. Tristen Newton, G, UConn (super-senior)
  55. Juan Nunez, G, Germany (born 2004)
  56. Quinten Post, F/C, Boston College (super-senior)
  57. Antonio Reeves, G, Kentucky (super-senior)
  58. Zaccharie Risacher, F, France (born 2005)
  59. Jaxson Robinson, G/F, BYU (senior)
  60. Tidjane Salaun, F, France (born 2005)
  61. Hunter Sallis, G, Wake Forest (junior)
  62. Payton Sandfort, G/F, Iowa (junior)
  63. Alexandre Sarr, F/C, Australia (born 2005)
  64. Baylor Scheierman, G/F, Creighton (super-senior)
  65. Mark Sears, G, Alabama (senior)
  66. Terrence Shannon, G, Illinois (super-senior)
  67. Jamal Shead, G, Houston (senior)
  68. Reed Sheppard, G, Kentucky (freshman)
  69. KJ Simpson, G, Colorado (junior)
  70. Tyler Smith, F, G League Ignite (born 2004)
  71. Cam Spencer, G, UConn (super-senior)
  72. Nikola Topic, G, Serbia (born 2005)
  73. JT Toppin, F, New Mexico (freshman)
  74. Jaylon Tyson, G, California (junior)
  75. Ja’Kobe Walter, G, Baylor (freshman)
  76. Kel’el Ware, C, Indiana (sophomore)
  77. Jamir Watkins, G/F, Florida State (junior)
  78. Cody Williams, F, Colorado (freshman)

It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to a few combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:

  • A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child).
  • Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
  • Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.

Regarding that last point, Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link) has the details on the top 10 played out this year, noting that the composite ranking was generated based on a combination of publicly available rankings and feedback from a panel of experts, as well as a retained-scouting service.

Sarr is considered the No. 1 overall prospect, per Givony, so only teams drafting in the top 10 will get access to his medicals. Buzelis, Castle, Clingan, Risacher, and Topic are in the 2-6 range, while Dillingham, Holland, Knecht, and Sheppard round out the top 10.

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Heat Notes: Wright, Offseason Decisions, Butler, Draft

May 1st, 2024 at 11:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Heat’s season ended in an appropriate way Wednesday night — with another new starting lineup. Injuries have forced coach Erik Spoelstra to juggle his rotations since training camp, and he unveiled his 37th starting unit in Game 5 at Boston, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Rookie Jaime Jaquez was unavailable because of a hip injury he suffered in Game 4 and Spoelstra didn’t want to start Duncan Robinson, who has been limited by a back condition since late in the regular season, so veteran guard Delon Wright made the first playoff start of his career. Wright provided eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 33 minutes, but he had to leave the game briefly to get stitches in his lower lip and chin after being hit by an elbow.

In addition to Jaquez, Miami was without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson, who all missed the entire series due to injuries. However, Spoelstra refused to use that as an excuse, Chiang tweets.

“We’re not going to put this on the fact that we had some injuries,” Spoelstra said. “Let’s not take anything away from Boston. They’ve been the best team in basketball all season long.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • The early playoff exit leaves the franchise with a long offseason and a lot of financial decisions ahead, Chiang adds. Part of the future will be determined by player options held by Caleb Martin ($7.1MM), Kevin Love ($4MM), Richardson ($3.1MM) and Thomas Bryant ($2.8MM). Orlando Robinson has a non-guaranteed $2.1MM contract for next season, while Wright, Haywood Highsmith and Patty Mills are all headed for unrestricted free agency.
  • Miami faces a difficult decision on Jimmy Butler, who will become extension-eligible this summer, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes in his offseason preview for the Heat. Butler will make $48.8MM next season and holds a $52.4MM player option for 2025/26. Beginning July 7, he can sign a one-year extension worth $58.6MM, which would retain his ’25/26 salary, or a two-year, $112.9MM extension that would void the player option. Marks points out that Butler will turn 35 during the offseason and hasn’t topped 65 games in any of the last four years.
  • Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald examines the Heat’s options in this year’s draft. Players who could still be on the board when Miami picks at No. 15 include Purdue center Zach Edey, Duke power forward/center Kyle Filipowski, Providence guard Devin Carter, Colorado forward Tristan Da Silva, Duke point guard Jared McCain, Baylor center Yves Missi, Kansas small forward Kevin McCullar Jr., Baylor swingman Ja’Kobe Walter, USC point guard Isaiah Collier and Illinois shooting guard Terrence Shannon Jr.
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Heat Notes: First-Round Series, Robinson, Rozier, Draft, Lillard

April 21st, 2024 at 10:57am CST by Arthur Hill

If the Heat have any advantage heading into their first-round series with the Celtics, it comes from being more battle-tested, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. While Miami was fighting its way through a pair of high-stakes play-in games this week, Boston was resting up and preparing for its playoff opener. Chiang notes that the Celtics wrapped up the top seed in the East weeks ago, and their regulars haven’t played at all since April 11. Meanwhile, the Heat maintained their intensity through a late-season battle for seeding.

“I love this position, honestly,” Tyler Herro said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to win [Friday against the Bulls] and that’s part of it. I feel like we’re better when our backs are against the wall anyways. So we’re going to go to Boston and come up with a game plan with the coaching staff to stop one of the better teams, pretty much ever really, on paper.”

With Jimmy Butler sidelined by an MCL injury and Terry Rozier still out with neck spasms, the Heat are missing two key components from an offense that ranked 21st in the league and often struggled to produce points. Miami’s best chance to duplicate last year’s surprising playoff run is to start by being physical with the Celtics, who led the NBA in offensive efficiency.

“Naturally with some of our firepower out and some guys banged up, it’s going to be an uphill battle,” Kevin Love said. “But different guys are just going to have to step up. You saw it last year with guys going down. But we just have to continue to weather the storm and understand we’re going to be in for a big fight.”

There’s more on the Heat:

  • Duncan Robinson, who has been dealing with back issues, has been cleared to play in today’s series opener, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel, who posted a video of Robinson testing out his back while shooting this morning. Robinson logged 12 minutes and scored eight points in Friday’s win over Chicago.
  • The official diagnosis hasn’t changed for Rozier, Winderman adds (Twitter link), with coach Erik Spoelstra telling reporters, “We’ll continue to treat him day-to-day.” An earlier report described Rozier’s injury as week-to-week.
  • The play-in results have Miami locked into the 15th pick in this year’s draft, Chiang states in a separate story. The Heat won’t be permitted to trade their selection before the June 26 draft because they owe a lottery-protected first-rounder to Oklahoma City in 2025. It will be Miami’s highest draft choice in five years, and Chiang lists Purdue center Zach Edey, Duke center Kyle Filipowski, Providence guard Devin Carter, Colorado forward Tristan da Silva and Duke guard Jared McCain as players who might be available in that range.
  • After trying to trade for Damian Lillard for most of last summer, the Heat could renew that pursuit this offseason if the veteran guard decides he wants out of Milwaukee, Winderman notes in another piece. Winderman expects team president Pat Riley to go star hunting again, listing Donovan Mitchell, Karl-Anthony Towns and Pascal Siakam among a large group of potential targets.
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Matas Buzelis, Kyle Filipowski, Jared McCain Enter 2024 Draft

April 12th, 2024 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

A trio of projected 2024 first-round picks have announced their intent to enter this year’s NBA draft. The highest-rated of those three prospects, G League Ignite forward Matas Buzelis, informed ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski of his decision.

In past years, players who joined the Ignite became automatically draft-eligible after their first season or during the calendar year in which they turned 19, but the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement tweaked that rule so that those prospects now won’t become draft-eligible until they enter of their own accord or until the calendar year when they turn 22. That’s why Buzelis has to declare for the draft.

The No. 6 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Buzelis had an up-and-down year in the G League for an Ignite team that posted a dismal 2-32 regular season record. Buzelis, who dealt with some ankle issues earlier in the season, appeared in 26 of those games, averaging 14.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 32.0 minutes per contest.

According to Wojnarowski’s report, the 6’10” forward showed “dramatic” improvement on the defensive end in the second half, impressing NBA evaluators who were already high on his shooting and play-making abilities. He also participated in the Rising Stars event in Indianapolis at All-Star weekend.

A pair of Duke prospects have also confirmed that they’re entering the 2024 draft. Sophomore forward/center Kyle Filipowski made his announcement in an Instagram post, while freshman guard Jared McCain did so in an Instagram video.

Neither Blue Devil indicated that he’ll retain his college eligibility and test the waters, so it sounds like they’ll both go pro. That doesn’t come as a surprise — Filipowski ranks 16th overall on ESPN’s board, while McCain is at No. 19.

Filipowski increased his scoring average to 16.4 points per game in his second college season while also improving his shooting efficiency (.505 FG%, .348 3PT%). That more reliable outside shot makes the seven-footer a valued prospect even though he doesn’t have ideal length of athleticism for an NBA center, notes Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

As for McCain, he averaged 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 31.6 minutes per game as a full-time starter for Duke in his first and only college season. He also knocked down an impressive 41.4% of 5.8 three-pointers per game while making 77-of-87 free throws (88.5%).

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Draft Notes: Buzelis, Risacher, Castle, Mocks, Early Entrants

March 27th, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Matas Buzelis‘ draft stock has dipped a little over the course of the 2023/24 season, but the G League Ignite forward isn’t lacking for confidence as the pre-draft process nears. Speaking to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com, Buzelis expressed confidence that he’d match up well with Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 prospect on ESPN’s big board.

“Of course, I want to see him one-on-one,” Buzelis said. “He just doesn’t want to do that with me. His agent will not do that with me, and I know he won’t. It’s a business decision.”

Asked why he feels as if he has an edge over Risacher in a hypothetical 1-on-1 matchup, Buzelis replied, “My advantage is that I have everything over him.”

While Buzelis has spent the season in the G League, Risacher has been playing for JL Bourg in France, so the two prospects haven’t gone head-to-head. Considered a potential No. 1 overall pick when mock drafts for 2024 were first being published last summer, Buzelis is now at No. 6 on ESPN’s board, though he tells Urbonas that he’s attempting not to focus on where he’s projected to be selected.

“I try not to look at it,” Buzelis said. “It’s obviously there, and I see it. But I try to stay in the zone. I know what I’m capable of, and I don’t look at what number I am. I know if I’m getter better, then I’m winning.”

Here’s more on the 2024 draft:

  • Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer made updates to both his 2024 big board and mock draft on Wednesday. Interestingly, UConn’s Stephon Castle is now O’Connor’s highest-ranked NCAA prospect, at No. 2 on his big board, but comes in at No. 8 in his mock.
  • Despite Rob Dillingham‘s underwhelming performance in Kentucky’s NCAA tournament loss to Oakland, the freshman guard is still the first college player off the board in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, at No. 2.
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic identifies a few NBA prospects whose draft stocks have risen or dropped as a result of their March Madness performances. Duke’s Jared McCain and Oregon’s N’Faly Dante are among those who are “up,” while Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard and Virginia’s Ryan Dunn are a couple names on the “down” list.
  • The following college players made announcements within the last week indicating that they plan to test the 2024 NBA draft waters:
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