Johnny O’Bryant Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Williams, McDermott, Draft

June 8th, 2014 at 10:44am CST by Eddie Scarito

Chaz Williams wants to be part of the new trend of undersized guards becoming successful in the NBA, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. The 5’9″ Williams has been in contact with Kings guard Isaiah Thomas for advice, notes Murphy. Of his conversation with Thomas, Williams said, “It’s great to know another small guy out there is successful, and is a fan of mine as well. He gave me a lot of encouraging words, and told me what to look for in these workouts. He told me to be myself and go out there and play hard. We spoke via text and communicated for a little while on Twitter. We’re with the same agency. I approached him. I’m a fan of his, and I wanted to pick his brain and learn. I’m a student of the game and can learn more every day. If I can learn more in a situation where people say I can’t, then that will help me a lot.”

Atlantic Notes: Cartwright, Walton, Sixers

June 7th, 2014 at 8:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bill Cartwright is waiting to hear from either Phil Jackson or Steve Kerr about an assistant coaching position, writes Mitch Abramson of The New York Daily News. According to the article, Cartwright had met with Jackson back in April about joining the Knicks bench if Kerr was hired as coach. On his lack of recent contact with Jackson, Cartwright said, “We’re waiting for them to make a decision, obviously about the head coach and there’s nothing going on.” On possibly working as an assistant under Derek Fisher, Cartwright said, “That’s a Phil question, not my question. I’m looking to coach. There’s really nothing more to say, outside of that. I’m looking to coach.”

Draft Rumors: Hood, Stokes, Fair, Hairston

May 26th, 2014 at 10:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The draft takes place one month from tonight, and teams are beginning to ramp up their schedule of workouts with prospects. Busy draft hopefuls include Rodney Hood, who’ll audition for eight lottery teams, and Jarnell Stokes, who’s working out for 11 teams drafting in the back half of the first round, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors has learned (Twitter links). One of those teams is the Magic, as we passed along Sunday, and Hood will also work out for the Sixers and Bulls, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The Wolves are on Hood’s schedule, too, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Stokes will show off for the Heat and Sixers, Goodman also tweets. Here’s more on an evolving draft landscape:

Stokes will also audition for the Hawks and Bulls in addition to Miami and Philadelphia, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
The Bucks will audition Washington’s C.J. Wilcox, Iowa’s Devyn Marble, Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson, Virginia’s Joe Harris, and Missouri’s Jabari Brown on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal-Times.
C.J. Fair will work out for the Bulls on Wednesday, the Bucks on Thursday, and the Hornets on Friday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
P.J. Hairston, DeAndre Kane and Markel Brown are also among those auditioning for Minnesota, Wolfson reports in the same tweet in which he passed along the Hood news. Nick Johnson will join that group, and the Wolves are eyeing Melvin Ejim and Chane Behanan for workouts, too, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).
Behanan will audition for the Sixers and Wolves, as well, Goodman reports via Twitter, seconding his earlier dispatch about Behanan’s workout with the Mavs. Russ Smith, Behanan’s former Louisville teammate, is slated to work out for the Heat, Thunder and Suns, Goodman tweets.
Johnson will also work out for the Magic, Goodman notes (via Twitter). He’ll join Smart and Hood in Orlando, as previously reported.
The Lakers are set to work out Marcus Smart and Noah Vonleh, while Vonleh will also audition for the Celtics and Kings, according to Goodman (Twitter links).
Goodman adds the Raptors to the teams working out Kyle Anderson (Twitter link).
The ESPN.com scribe also reports additional workouts for DeAndre Daniels, who’s set to get a look-see from the Hornets and Hawks (Twitter link).
The Bulls, Suns and Grizzlies are on the workout agenda of Scottie Wilbekin, Goodman reports (on Twitter). The Suns, along with the Bucks and Lakers, are also among the trio of teams auditioning Joe Harris, Goodman tweets.
Johnny O’Bryant III will work out for the Hawks, Raptors, Suns and Spurs, according to Goodman (Twitter link).

Johnny O’Bryant III Declares For NBA Draft

April 1st, 2014 at 2:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

LSU junior Johnny O’Bryant III declared his intent to enter the NBA draft in a press conference today, tweets Matthew Harris of The Advocate. Steve and Alyssa Schneider of WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge originally reported the news. O’Bryant is the 65th-best prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings but just No. 101 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

The 6’9″ 20-year-old appears to be primarily suited to play power forward as a pro, and he cut down on an occasional tendency to wander outside his range this season, attempting just a pair of three-point shots. The Mississippi native averaged 15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds. He suffered from bouts of inconsistency, scoring 25 points against Vanderbilt and just five against Georgia two nights later, though he saw 18 shots in the first game and just eight in the second.

LSU’s season ended with a loss to SMU in the second round of the NIT. O’Bryant has until April 15th to decide whether to return to the Tigers for his senior season.