Joel Embiid Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Embiid, Exum, McDermott, Stauskas

June 19th, 2014 at 12:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joel Embiid has suffered a right foot injury, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, and there’s fear that it’s broken, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs discovered the injury during his physical exam with the team, it’s prompted Cleveland to want to work out Dante Exum, Wojnarowski says (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem tells fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford that Embiid probably won’t be doing any more workouts before the draft (Twitter link). He was to have auditioned for the Bucks later this week, Goodman notes on Twitter, though the Bucks haven’t heard from Embiid’s camp about whether the workout is canceled or not, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). Tellem told Andy Katz of ESPN.com that he’ll know more about the injury on Friday, as Goodman notes in his piece, so while the top of the draft hinges on tomorrow’s news on Embiid’s foot, here’s more on the wider field of prospects:

Representatives from the Kings, Nuggets, Wolves and Warriors observed Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas work out Wednesday in Chicago, Ford tweets.
C.J. Fair will audition Monday for the Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
The Magic are bringing Kendrick Perry in for a second workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Perry will also audition Saturday for the Wolves, along with Roscoe Smith, Joe Jackson and Taylor Braun, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
Isaiah Austin, Aaron Craft, T.J. Bray, Eric Moreland and Daniel Miller are the previously unreported prospects who are showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced via press release. Austin is fresh off an audition on Wednesday for the Clippers, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
Jabari Brown, Markel Brown, Devin Oliver, Khyle Marshall and Xavier Munford are among those working out for the Celtics today, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Oliver reportedly auditioned for the Celtics last week, too.
The Kings will audition Michael Dixon on Monday, Scotto tweets.

Draft Rumors: Embiid, Nets, Celtics, Lakers

June 18th, 2014 at 2:09pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs are strongly leaning toward taking Joel Embiid first overall, a source tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. Of course, earlier reports have indicated leanings toward Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, and Cleveland threw a curveball with last season’s selection of Anthony Bennett at No. 1, so it’s tough to get a read on owner Dan Gilbert’s team. Still, Mannix and others have plenty of intel surrounding the draft with eight days to go:

The Nets are seeking a first-round pick, according to Mannix, who echoes earlier reports that the Pelicans and Knicks are doing the same.
The Celtics like Aaron Gordon the best among the power forwards likely to be available at No. 6, Mannix hears.
The Lakers are leaning toward keeping their No. 7 pick rather than trading down for multiple picks, believing there’s a drop-off after the top 10 prospects, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. McMenamin nonetheless doesn’t say whether the team is leaning toward keeping the pick rather than acquiring a veteran, and the Lakers and the Kings are reportedly more open to trades than any other lottery clubs.
The Jazz aren’t necessarily seeking Parker as they attempt to trade up from the fifth pick, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in a chat with readers.
Several teams were disappointed when Kristaps Porzingis decided to withdraw from the draft, and one executive told Mannix that he believes the Latvian has a decent chance to become a top-five pick next year. The Thunder, who’d reportedly promised to draft him, and Mavs were particularly high on him, according to Mannix, while the Hawks were also enamored with him, Ford says in his chat.
The Grizzlies appear likely to trade into the second round, as we passed along earlier.

And-Ones: Nelson, Embiid, Parker, Wiggins

June 17th, 2014 at 10:33pm CST by Cray Allred

Jameer Nelson‘s agent tells David Baumann of 810 CBS Sports Orlando that his client has made clear his desire to remain with the Magic next season (Twitter link). Nelson’s partially guaranteed $8MM contract will become fully guaranteed if he isn’t waived before July 15. More from around the league:

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports released a new mock draft, slotting Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker, and Andrew Wiggins in the top three respective spots in what is becoming the consensus order at the top of the draft, at least for the time being.
Three NBA scouts gave Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio their opinions on Embiid, Parker, and Wiggins, and believe the trio will wind up making each team selecting in the top-three very happy. “It’s like having three No. 1 (overall) picks in one draft,” one of the scouts told Amico.
NBA scouts and executives raved to Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe about Parker’s potential, telling Holmes that the small forward is the safest pick in the draft, with a game comparable to Carmelo Anthony.

Sixers Aggressively Pursuing Andrew Wiggins

June 17th, 2014 at 9:13am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers are doing whatever they can to draft Andrew Wiggins, sources tell Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Chad Ford of ESPN.com seconds that notion in his latest Insider-only mock draft, echoing his own report that the Kansas forward is Philly’s top target. The Sixers have inquired with the Cavs about moving up to No. 1, as Ford noted in his earlier piece, though his latest dispatch indicates that the most likely scenario involves Wiggins falling to Philadelphia at No. 3.

If a trade would be necessary for the Sixers to land Wiggins, a deal in which Philly would send the No. 3 pick and Thaddeus Young “isn’t totally out of the question,” Ford hears. Still, that’s contingent on the Cavs believing that Joel Embiid would get past the Bucks, who pick second overall, as Ford writes. Embiid’s workout and interview last week for Cleveland were major successes, according to Ford, who hears Embiid’s physical for the Cavs went well, too.

Dante Exum appears to be in the mix for the Sixers at No. 3 should they fail to move up and Wiggins is off the board by the time they pick. The Philadelphia brass believes Exum is a strong fit next to Michael Carter-Williams in the backcourt, Ford writes, though he reported earlier that the team has thought about trading Carter-Williams to accommodate the Australian prospect.

Draft Notes: Bucks, Parker, Embiid, Hornets

June 16th, 2014 at 1:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks aren’t having any trouble getting a look at the top prospects. Milwaukee is reportedly set for a pair of workouts with Andrew Wiggins, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that Jabari Parker will work out again for the club this week after having done so last week (Twitter link). Joel Embiid was already apparently slated to audition for the club, and GM John Hammond also met with the Kansas big man last week, Ford tweets. The Bucks appear to be the only team with which Wiggins, Parker, Embiid and Dante Exum have all agreed to visit and work out, Ford notes (Twitter link). Here’s more on the draft, now just 10 days away.

Jerami Grant, De’Mon Brooks, Josh Davis, Jarell Eddie and Mike Moser are among the draft prospects showing off for the Hornets today, the team announced via press release.
The Heat are auditioning Walter Tavares today, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
Keith Appling, Dave Dudzinski, Markel Starks, Tyler Stone and Jermaine Marshall are showing off for the Celtics today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes via Twitter. Marshall will also audition for the Cavs, Sportando reports (via Twitter).
Roscoe Smith has the Raptors and Mavs on his agenda, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv hears (Twitter link).
Richard Harris of NBADraft.net adds the Bulls to the list of teams for which Johnny O’Bryant III has worked out. O’Bryant also has auditions slated with the Rockets, Heat, Hornets, Bucks, Grizzlies, Raptors and Pistons, Harris reports.
Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic adds the Sixers, Mavs, Rockets and Heat to the list of teams that are getting a look at Jordan Bachynski (Twitter link).
Jahii Carson, Kendrick Perry, Earnest Ross and Alec Brown are all performing for the Rockets, Scotto tweets.
The Lakers are one of more than a dozen teams for which Ronald Roberts Jr. is working out, a source tells Zagoria (Twitter link).
The Warriors are auditioning Eric Moreland, Roberto Nelson and Travis Bader, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter links).

Draft Notes: Embiid, Silins, Pelicans

June 14th, 2014 at 7:12pm CST by Cray Allred

Brad Stevens tells Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com that the Celtics haven’t yet established a draft board. “I have not sat down with our front office all in one room and talked about a draft board,” Stevens said. “We’ll sit down now, after probably next week’s workouts, and talk more as we continue to get closer to the draft. But clearly with two picks in the top 20, we’ve got a lot of evaluating to do.” Here a rundown of today’s draft notes:

T.J. Warren, Scottie Wilbekin, Roscoe Smith, Davion Berry, and Isaiah Armwood will work out for the Nuggets, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter links).
A league source confirmed to John Reid of The Times-Picayune that the Pelicans are in discussions with several teams looking to trade their first round pick (Twitter link). The Pelicans are reportedly taking an aggressive approach to trading into the first round.
Magic executives are high enough on Marcus Smart‘s intangibles to consider selecting him with the fourth pick in the draft, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Robbins adds that had Smart declared for last year’s draft, Orlando might have selected him at No. 2.
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald urges his readers to monitor whether Joel Embiid schedules work outs for the Bucks or Sixers between now and the draft. If Embiid shuts out those teams, Finnan believes it would indicate a promise from the Cavs to take him at No. 1. Such a development would be significant, considering Embiid is already scheduled to work out for Milwaukee.
Adi Joseph of USA Today takes a look at the draft needs for the Hornets and Mavs.

Earlier updates:

While the Cavs had some concerns when evaluating Joel Embiid‘s back, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer says there were no “red flags,” and that Cleveland was blown away by his workout. The belief that Embiid’s physical went well is mounting, after a report to the contrary initially surfaced.
Ojars Silins has decided to keep his name in the NBA draft pool, reports Jānis Freimanis of Sportacentrs.com (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Silins will take the Grizzlies up on their workout invitation, and will also work out for the Spurs and Pistons over the next couple weeks.
The Pelicans are aggressively trying to trade into the first round in hopes of selecting a young small forward or center, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News is hearing rumors that a team has promised to take Elfrid Payton in the teens of the first round (H/T Basketball Insiders).
T.J. Warren‘s stock is rising into the mid-first-round, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Kennedy tweets that league executives are “fascinated” by Walter Tavares. The 7’3″ center is projected as an early second round pick by both Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and ESPN Insider Chad Ford.
Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com speculates that the conflicting reports out of Cleveland regarding Embiid’s health could be a smoke screen aimed at convincing the Sixers they need to trade up to the No. 1 spot in order to get Andrew Wiggins.

And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves

June 13th, 2014 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Here’s more from around the association:

The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.

And-Ones: Lakers, Thibodeau, Duncan, Embiid

June 13th, 2014 at 4:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers never asked the Bulls for permission to interview Tom Thibodeau, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who reported last month that they would. The L.A. brass is “all but sure” the Bulls would have asked for this month’s No. 7 overall pick, which the Lakers would be unwilling to give up, according to McMenamin. The ESPN scribe also believes that L.A.’s concerns about paying Thibodeau a lavish salary to coach a mediocre roster next season played a role, and suggests the Lakers are wary of the way their fans might react if Thibodeau rejected the team’s pursuit. Here’s more from around the league:

The deadline for Tim Duncan to decide on his $10MM player option for next season is June 24th, but the Spurs are operating under the assumption that Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich will return, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Most option clauses give players until June 30th to decide, though Duncan’s date can be pushed back if he and the team decide to do so, Stein notes, adding that Popovich’s contract runs through next season.
A source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Joel Embiid checked out fine when he took a physical this week for the Cavs, contradicting an earlier report from Tony Rizzo of ESPN Cleveland, who hears that the exam raised serious concerns (Twitter links).
It appears as though the Bucks will work out Andrew Wiggins twice, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that he’s auditioning for the team today in California and again next week in Milwaukee (Twitter link).
A handful of top European teams have interest in soon-to-be free agent Nando De Colo, and it seems like they’re willing to give the Raptors guard a raise on the $1.463MM he made in the NBA this season, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net.
The Timberwolves have hired Sidney Lowe as an assistant coach, the team formally announced (Twitter link), confirming an earlier report. He spent last season as an assistant with the Jazz.

Central Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Embiid, Mirotic

June 12th, 2014 at 12:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs appear to be making some progress in their head coaching search, even if David Blatt is unlikely to announce he’s taken the job in his press conference today and the team’s contact with Mark Jackson seems preliminary. That’s far from the only storyline in a busy Central Division, as we detail:

The Bulls are having trouble finding a trade partner as they attempt to package picks Nos. 16 and 19 to move up in the draft, a source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago and Denver reportedly had serious talks about a pick swap, but perhaps those discussions are no longer active.
A poll shows little public support for taxpayer funding of a new arena for the Bucks, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry have said public money will be necessary in spite of a combined $200MM that Edens, Lasry and former owner Herb Kohl have pledged toward the project.
Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times hears the Cavs don’t want to trade the No. 1 overall pick and have zeroed in on Joel Embiid, but it’s unclear if that information came before or after Embiid’s workout and physical with the team Wednesday (Twitter link).
Nikola Mirotic appears closer to playing for the Bulls next season than he is to remaining with Real Madrid, writes César Nanclares of TuBasket.com (translation via HoopsHype). Still, he has a nearly $3.4MM buyout clause in his deal that only applies to this summer, as Nanclares points out.
I examined the Bucks in the latest installment of the Hoops Rumors Offseason Outlook series earlier today.

And-Ones: Messina, Embiid, Gordon

June 10th, 2014 at 10:56pm CST by Cray Allred

Fort Wayne Mad Ants president Jeff Potter is under the impression that his club will indeed have affiliations, with 13 NBA teams this coming season, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Mad Ants will feature no more than four players on assignment from the NBA at any a time, with the spots alloted to NBA clubs on a first-come, first-served basis, Potter adds. Here’s more from around the league:

Spurs GM R.C. Buford denied an earlier report that claimed Ettore Messina was joining San Antonio’s coaching staff as an assistant, telling Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News that there has been no contact made with Messina, let alone a hire. “Is someone leaving our staff that I don’t know about?” Buford said. “We have not had one conversation with anyone about a coaching position for next season.”
Joel Embiid is in Cleveland to undergo a physical with Cavs doctors in the hopes of alleviating concerns about his back, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only) says that it will take more than medical clearance for Embiid to land at No. 1 in the draft. Ford writes that owner Dan Gilbert’s anxiousness to win immediately has influenced Cleveland’s draft choices in recent years. While scouts tell Ford that Embiid has the most potential of any 2014 prospect, they don’t expect him to be a steady contributor in his rookie season.
Dirk Nowitzki tells Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he is likely to meet with Mavs owner Mark Cuban hastily regarding his impending free agency (Twitter link).
The Celtics will work out Isaiah Austin and Sam Dower tomorrow, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
The Wolves have been trying unsuccessfully to arrange a workout with Aaron Gordon, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Wolves are struggling to convince top tier prospects to work out in general. Wolfson notes that the Wolves think more highly of Noah Vonleh and Julius Randle than they do Gordon (all Twitter links).
John Calipari acknowledged that he had been approached by multiple NBA teams before signing an extension to stay with Kentucky in an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio (transcription via Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News). “It was significantly more money for me to leave than to stay,” Calipari said. “It kind of tells you where my mind is.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.