John Collins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Rumors: Hayward, Collins, Teodosic, Winslow

June 9th, 2017 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

An ESPN report on Friday morning suggested that the Jazz view the Heat as a serious threat in this summer’s Gordon Hayward sweepstakes, and according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, that fear isn’t unfounded. Jackson hears from a source connected to Hayward that the Utah forward has “legitimate interest” in Miami.

Within Jackson’s latest dispatch on the Heat, there’s also word that the team will bring in former Wake Forest power forward John Collins for a pre-draft workout next Wednesday. Collins ranks 20th on DraftExpress’ big board, but has a chance to be selected in the lottery, meaning he could be an option for Miami at No. 14.

Here are a few more Heat-related items worth passing along:

The Heat are expected to be one of the teams with interest in Euroleague star Milos Teodosic this offseason, according to a report out of Russia (passed along by NetsDaily.com). The report also identifies Brooklyn and Sacramento as probable suitors for the CSKA Moscow point guard, though those teams have been mentioned previously — Miami’s potential interest is new.
Joe Beguiristain of Heat.com provides an update on Justise Winslow‘s recovery from shoulder surgery today, passing along recent comments made by Winslow: “The shoulder is doing well. Five months down, one more to go as far as the six-month process. But I feel great. I got all my range of motion. We’re just trying to get it strong enough that it can endure contact and falls.”
While some teams may stretch out their rebuilds in order to avoid battling the Warriors head-on within the next year or two, don’t expect Pat Riley to take that approach with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Winderman’s recent Ask Ira series for The Sun Sentinel also includes a discussion on whether it makes sense for Miami to pay big bucks for both Dion Waiters and Tyler Johnson.

Northwest Notes: Hill, Favors, Workouts

June 8th, 2017 at 10:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Keeping Gordon Hayward in Utah is the top priority for the Jazz this offseason, but re-signing him alone isn’t going to help the team climb in the Western Conference standings, Benjamin Mehic of the Deseret News writes.

The team must also shore up its point guard position. George Hill will be a free agent this summer and the team will have trouble finding a top-notch point guard replacement should he bolt. Hill has expressed a desire to return, as Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors mentioned in the team’s offseason preview. However, many players say flattering things about their current team as they head into free agency only to leave for another club.

If Hill is lured away, the most likely option for the Jazz is promoting Dante Exum to the starting unit, though that could hurt the team in the win column since Exum hasn’t quite proven himself in the league yet.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

Derrick Favors doesn’t appear to be in the Jazz’s long-term plans and if they look to deal him this summer, the Lakers could be a good fit, Mehic contends in the same piece. The scribe believes Jordan Clarkson, who is reportedly on the trade block, would be a nice addition for Utah and he envisions Favors along with one of the team’s draft selections to be enough to get a deal done.
The Nuggets held a pre-draft workout earlier today, according to their website. Laurynas Birutis, Amida Brimah, Terrance Ferguson, Isaiah Hicks, Amile Jefferson, and Matt Jones were all in attendance.
The Blazers have brought in several prospects for workouts, according to the team’s website. Antonio Blakeney, John Collins, Josh Hart, T.J. Leaf, Sindarius Thornwell, and Paris Bass all took part in drills for the club.

Pistons Notes: Downtown Move, Kennard, FA Workouts

June 8th, 2017 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

The Detroit City Council voted on Tuesday in favor of several key agreements related to the Pistons’ move downtown, as Christine Ferretti and Jennifer Chambers of The Detroit News report. However, while Tuesday’s votes finalized approvals for the Pistons’ new practice facility and headquarters, there are more roadblocks that will need to be cleared before the club’s move to the Little Caesars arena is fully approved.

On June 20, the Detroit city council is scheduled to vote on the issuance of $34.5MM in proposed taxpayer-funded DDA bonds. Shortly after Tuesday’s city council session took place though, a federal judge granted a June 19 lawsuit that seeks to halt that June 20 vote, per Louis Aguilar of The Detroit News. As Aguilar explains, that lawsuit seeks to allow Detroit and Wayne County residents to vote on whether taxpayer money should be put toward the new arena and team facilities.

As the Pistons wait for resolution to the legal battle over their potential new arena, here are a few more items related to the team:

Duke sharpshooter Luke Kennard has been linked to the Pistons frequently in mock drafts, and the team will get a first-hand look at him on Saturday, according to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Ellis reports that Kennard, Harry Giles, and John Collins – all viewed as first-round prospects – will be visiting Detroit in the coming days.
The Pistons also brought in a handful of interesting prospects on Tuesday, including Bam Adebayo, Ivan Rabb, Justin Jackson, Andrew White, James Blackmon Jr., and Isaiah Briscoe (Twitter link via Rod Beard of The Detroit News). According to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link), Rabb is battling an injury and didn’t participate in Detroit’s workout.
In addition to checking out potential draft targets this week, the Pistons also had a number of free agents in for a mini-camp. Beard (via Twitter) has the full list of participants, which includes former NBAers such as Marcus Thornton, Henry Sims, John Jenkins, Pierre Jackson, Manny Harris, Ben Bentil, and Eric Moreland.

Northwest Notes: Kanter, Rubio, Nuggets, Jazz, Blazers

June 6th, 2017 at 7:23pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Enes Kanter remains hopeful that he will be able to reunite with his family in the United States someday, reports Erik Horne of NewsOK.com. Currently, Kanter’s father sits in a Turkey jail, awaiting interrogation on Monday. Two and a half weeks ago, the Thunder big man’s passport was canceled by the Turkish government and he could not gain access to Romania. Homeland Security, a team of lawyers, and the NBA teamed up to arrange his speedy return to the United States, but now Kanter’s father is in trouble. Kanter’s mother, younger sister, and brother also currently remain in Turkey.

“If you’re a kid, woman or child, if you’re speaking out against them, they’ll arrest you,” Kanter said.

Here’s more from the Northwest division:

Ricky Rubio wants the Timberwolves front office to value his input more heavily going forward, reports Michael Rand of The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Rubio made his comments to a Spanish website in the language of Catalan.
The Nuggets held a pre-draft workout on Monday that included John Collins (Wake Forest), JeQuan Lewis (VCU), Landen Lucas (Kansas), Hassan Martin (Rhode Island), Caleb Swanigan (Purdue), and T.J. Williams (Northeastern), per the team’s official website.
The Jazz will hold a pre-draft workout Wednesday, featuring Leo Cizmic (Croatia), Chance Comanche (Arizona), Youssoupha Fall (Senegal) Semi Ojeleye (SMU), Obinna Oleka (Arizona State), and JaCorey Williams (Middle Tennessee State), per the team’s official Twitter page.
Harry Giles‘ next workout will be with the Trail Blazers, reports Sean Cunningham of ABC10 (KXTV) Sacramento (link via Twitter).

Heat Notes: Wade, Bosh, J. Johnson, Draft

May 6th, 2017 at 7:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

Udonis Haslem and Tyler Johnson made a public appearance today to help Dwyane Wade sell sneakers, but they avoided questions about whether their former teammate might rejoin them with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Wade is considering whether to opt out of his $23.8MM contract with the Bulls for next season. If he does, many believe he will decide to return to Miami, where he spent his first 13 seasons. Haslem and Johnson have both been in touch with Wade since Chicago was eliminated from the playoffs last week. “He’s going to have to make the best decision for him,” Johnson said. “I know he wants to be in a situation where he’s playing for a team that’s kind of established. I don’t think he wants to go through a rebuilding process.”

There’s more news out of Miami:

The Heat are expected to petition the league office soon to have Chris Bosh‘s salary removed from their cap. Bosh was kept on the roster all season after failing a physical in training camp over blood clot problems that have plagued him for the past two seasons. Haslem tells Winderman in the same story that he has contacted Bosh but hasn’t discussed his NBA future. “Chris is one of those guys, when he puts his mind it, he can do anything,” Haslem said. “So he doesn’t lack opportunity. He’s going to have a lot of opportunity to do a lot of things. He’s a very well-rounded guy. And whatever he does, he’s going to be great at it.” If Bosh is able to play enough games for another team, his $52MM salary would be put back onto the Heat’s cap.
Free agent forward James Johnson may not be guaranteed a starting job if he re-signs with the Heat this summer, Winderman speculates in another piece. With Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic both starting, Johnson may give Miami too many players on the court at the same time who need to handle the ball. Also, Justise Winslow may claim one of the starting forward slots when he returns from injury.
Winderman examines who the Heat might take if they keep the No. 14 pick in the May 16th lottery. Players who have been linked to Miami in that spot include Duke’s Harry Giles, UCLA’s T.J. Leaf, North Carolina’s Justin Jackson, California’s Ivan Rabb, Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac, Gonzaga’s Zach Collins, Indiana’s OG Anunoby, Duke’s Luke Kennard, Wake Forest’s John Collins and two overseas players, Terrence Ferguson of Australia and Frank Ntilikina of France.

John Collins To Enter NBA Draft

April 12th, 2017 at 8:52pm CST by Luke Adams

April 12, 8:52 pm: Collins will hire an agent and remain in the draft, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

March 22, 3:46 pm: Wake Forest power forward John Collins will test the NBA draft waters this spring. Evan Daniels of Scout.com reports (via Twitter) that Collins will enter the draft, but won’t sign with an agent, giving him the option of withdrawing his name before May’s deadline.

Collins, a sophomore, enjoyed a breakout year at Wake Forest, averaging an impressive 19.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG in just 26.6 minutes per contest. He also chipped in 1.6 BPG and shot 62.2% from the floor.

ESPN’s Chad Ford notes that Collins has an “old-school” game at power forward, excelling in the low post in addition to rebounding and blocking shots. However, the 19-year-old lacks an “advanced perimeter game,” prompting some scouts to wonder how his game will translate to the NBA, Ford writes. Collins shows up at 22nd on ESPN’s big board — DraftExpress is a little more bullish, placing him at No. 15.

Check out our full list of early entrants to see which other underclassmen are putting their names in the 2017 draft pool.