Jordan Clarkson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Calipari, Izzo, Miller, Wizards

June 9th, 2014 at 10:56pm CST by Zachary Links

John Calipari wasn’t the only star college coach the Cavs reached out to, reveals Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal, who hears Kevin Ollie, Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Mike Krzyzewski all were contacted by Cleveland. Lloyd’s source adds that the Cavs offered Tom Izzo a coaching position that also would have given him total control of the franchise’s basketball operations, much like the role that the team proposed to Coach Cal. Here’s more from around the league:

The Cavs have contacted around 11 candidates in an attempt to fill their coaching vacancy, writes Lloyd in the same piece.
The decision on whether or not to bring back Andre Miller will probably be an easy one for the Wizards, opines J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Washington holds a $4.6MM option on his deal for 2014/15 or could buy him out for $2MM.
Former Marquette University forward Jamil Wilson, who had to cancel workouts with the Bucks and Pistons due to a sprained ankle, is expected to audition for the Wizards on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal Sentinel.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looked back at the performance of Nets‘ midseason acquisition Marcus Thornton. Thornton turned into a key rotation player for Brooklyn down the stretch of the season and will earn ~$8.58MM in his walk year.
The Thunder are the NBA’s smartest spenders as they have gotten more success out of less money than anyone else in the league, writes Glenn Davis of USA Today. OKC owns a 271-123 record over the last five seasons combined all while having payrolls that ranked in the bottom half of the league on average.
Sean Meagher of The Oregonian wonders if the Trail Blazers should hold on to Wesley Matthews, a free agent after the 2014/15 season. Matthews is coming off of the best season of his career as a pro and is entering the final year of his five-year, $33MM deal.
Former UNC standout Sean May will attend mini-camps with the Spurs and Warriors this month, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The Clippers will bring in Jordan Clarkson, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, and Sean Kilpatrick for workouts, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
The Celtics could eye offense in this month’s draft, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com explains.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Jazz, Randle, Sixers

June 4th, 2014 at 8:32pm CST by Alex Lee

The debate over how the top three picks of the 2014 NBA Draft will shake out has been covered ad nauseam at this point, and NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper throws his hat in the ring by examining what could dictate where Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins will land. Meanwhile, here are some other draft-related updates:

Along with Nick Wiggins (brother of Andrew), the Jazz will work out Deonte Burton, Jordan Clarkson, Alex Kirk, Sean Kilpatrick and Artem Kilmenko on Thursday morning, tweets Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz have three picks on June 26, including two in the first round (5 and 23).
As Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines, just because Julius Randle is no longer widely classified within the top tier of this draft class isn’t reason enough to sleep on the talented Kentucky forward, who still has a shot at becoming a top-5 pick.
In a separate story, Kennedy writes that there is no confusing how much is riding on this talent-rich draft for the Sixers, who are the only team with two top-10 selections (3 and 10). Adding two franchise cornerstones to go with Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel could make Philadelphia an attractive landing spot around the league, according to Kennedy.
After working out for the Hornets today, Northwestern’s Drew Crawford is scheduled to work out with the Kings, Jazz and his hometown Bulls, according to the Wildcats’ Twitter feed.
The Nuggets will have Michigan State’s Gary Harris and Mizzou’s Jabari Brown in town for a workout on Thursday, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Denver picks at 11, 41 and 56.
According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Magic will work out Randle, Aaron Gordon and Noah Vonleh individually before the draft. They will also work out Dante Exum at some point and are expected to bring in Marcus Smart for a second look. Orlando picks at 4 and 12.

Ford’s Latest: Cavs, Embiid, Trades, Payton

June 3rd, 2014 at 4:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s unlikely the Cavs will promise any player they’ll draft him at No. 1, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who writes in an Insider-only piece. That means there’s a strong chance that Joel Embiid, who’s scheduled to work out and take a physical for the team, will go through the same with the Bucks and perhaps others. Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is pushing new GM David Griffin to make the playoffs next season, Ford hears, adding that he believes Cleveland would prefer to trade the top pick. There’s more from Ford’s piece amid this afternoon’s look at the draft, and we’ll hit the highlights here:

An NBA GM tells Ford that he’s surprised at the number of picks available via trade, seconding what others have told the ESPN.com scribe. The Celtics, Lakers, Kings, Hornets, Wolves and Suns are all at least open to the idea of trading their lottery picks, Ford hears, though he says via Twitter that the teams are “shopping” those picks, suggesting that they’re actively seeking deals and not just sitting back and listening to offers. In contrast, the Bucks, Sixers, Magic and Jazz are likely to retain their picks, Ford also writes.
The Bucks, Hawks, Mavs, Blazers and Raptors will probably look to acquire additional first-rounders, Ford adds.
Sources tell Ford that Elfrid Payton is “in the mix” to go to the Kings at No. 8 overall.
Ford adds the Bulls to the list of teams that have worked out Jordan Clarkson.

And-Ones: Jackson, Hayward, Fisher

June 2nd, 2014 at 10:42pm CST by Zachary Links

Thunder guard Reggie Jackson made it clear that he wants to start and seems to want to do so at point guard, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Coach Scott Brooks was non-committal when asked about the possibility of adding Jackson, under contract through next season, to the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Thabo Sefolosha spoke of his time with the Thunder in the past tense and it seems likely that he’ll wind up elsewhere next season. More from around the league..

Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Jazz front office fully expects Gordon Hayward to be with the team going forward. Hayward is a restricted free agent this summer and there is mutual interest in a return.
The Lakers haven’t reached out to the Thunder about getting permission to talk to Derek Fisher just yet, but that could be subject to change, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
Former Nuggets coach George Karl had an informal phone conversation with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak but has yet to have a formal interview, Medina tweets.
Marist announced the resignation of Jeff Bower, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press. That should be the first step towards him taking over as Pistons GM.
UCLA guard Jordan Adams was in Houston working out for the Rockets today, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
The Nuggets will host Rodney Hood for a private workout tomorrow, a source told Goodman of ESPN (on Twitter).
The Raptors will host Jordan Clarkson and Canadian Khem Birch for workouts tomorrow, sources tell Goodman (on Twitter).
A source told Goodman (on Twitter) that Elfrid Payton held his own in front of the Kings in a workout today against Marcus Smart. Aaron Gordon worked out for Sacramento but did not go head-to-head with Noah Vonleh. He instead matched up with Eric Moreland (link).
The Lakers will be very busy on Wednesday as they audition many of this year’s top prospects, as Goodman tweets. Among the names not previously reported are Payton, Gordon, Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, and Rodney Hood.

Draft Notes: Hairston, Clarkson, Cotton

May 27th, 2014 at 10:16am CST by Chuck Myron

Memorial Day brought no shortage of updates on NBA draft prospects and teams as they schedule workouts, and today promises still more clues about the June 26th draft. Here’s the latest:

P.J. Hairston will work out for the Suns, Celtics and Hornets in addition to today’s previously reported audition for the Heat, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
Jordan Clarkson is also on the agenda for the Heat, according to Goodman, who reiterates that Miami will put Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes through workouts, too (Twitter links).
Bryce Cotton will also show off for the Heat, as well as the Spurs, his agent tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel adds seniors Chris Crawford of Memphis and Drew Crawford of Northwestern to the list of the prospects working out today for the Bucks.
Jermaine Marshall of Arizona State is working out for the Rockets today, Carchia reports.
It appears as though Nedim Buza will audition for the Bucks, Timberwolves and Nuggets, while Adin Vrabac has a workout with the Wolves on tap, according to agent Alexander Raskovic (Twitter links; hat tip to Sportando).

Central Notes: LeBron, Cavs, Hammond, Pistons

May 21st, 2014 at 4:27pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs appear to face an uphill battle if they’re to sign LeBron James this summer, but they still intend to try, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who points to the team’s interest in Heat assistant David Fizdale as evidence. Still, Fizdale tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that he’s had no contact with Cleveland and that his only ties to the team were through Mike Brown, whom the team fired last week (Twitter link). Here’s more on Cleveland’s coaching search and the team’s rivals from the Central Division:

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is enamored with Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, though Billups, who’s yet to retire from playing, prefers a future as an NBA GM as opposed to a coach, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. Vinny Del Negro, Alvin Gentry, Lionel Hollins and Mark Jackson are more likely candidates for Cleveland’s head coaching vacancy, Boyer believes.
Adrian Griffin seemed like the early favorite for the Cavs coaching job, but it’s unclear whether he’s a high on Cleveland’s list, as Boyer writes in the same piece.
Bucks GM John Hammond will remain with the team at least through the draft, Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens said Tuesday, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. Edens gave no assurances that the GM will last longer than that in spite of Hammond’s contract, which runs for two more seasons, Gardner notes.
The Pistons and Hornets had discussions about a deal during the season that would have allowed Detroit to keep its first-round pick regardless of where it ended up in the order, but they never got serious, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Charlotte wound up with Detroit’s first-rounder for next month when the Pistons fell to ninth in Tuesday’s lottery.
Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III, Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson are among the players the Pistons will consider with the 38th overall pick, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (on Twitter).
We rounded up more on the Cavs earlier today.

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 Rumors: Williams-Goss, Clarkson, Towns

April 14th, 2014 at 2:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s been a flurry of draft-related news today, with reports indicating Aaron Gordon, Jerami Grant and Glenn Robinson III are all entering the draft, while Montrezl Harrell took to Twitter to announce that he won’t be in this year’s draft. Our list of early entrants is up to date, and you can follow all of this year’s draft-related news on this page. Here’s the latest:

Washington point guard Nigel Williams-Goss has decided against entering this year’s draft, as he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The freshman was a 2013 McDonald’s All-American while in high school, but he’s just the 178th-best draft prospect in the rankings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him outside his top 100 prospects, rating him as the 23rd-best freshman in this year’s class.
A source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Missouri combo guard Jordan Clarkson has signed with Mike George of Excel Sports Management (Twitter link). That contradicts an earlier report suggesting that Clarkson is going with ASM Sports. The move remains unofficial, so it remains to be seen which agency Clarkson ultimately picks.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports profiles Karl-Anthony Towns, a 7-foot high schooler headed to Kentucky next year who’s a potential 2015 lottery pick.

Draft Rumors: Saric, Parker, Brown, Clarkson

April 2nd, 2014 at 5:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Jabari Parker‘s father tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Parker is still undecided on whether to declare for the 2014 draft. “He’s undecided and we know the [NBA’s Early Entry eligibility] deadline is the 27th [of April] so if he’s going to make a decision he has to make it by that date, but right now he’s undecided,” said the elder Parker. It would be a surprise if Parker, a consensus top-three talent, didn’t come out for the draft when all is said and done. Let’s look at some more draft notes:

Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in his weekly chat, insists that Dario Saric is still leaning toward staying out of the draft, in spite of a weekend report suggesting otherwise. Ford also hears from several scouts who say Parker will stay in school, but Ford believes the Duke star will ultimately enter this year’s draft.
Oklahoma State senior Markel Brown and Missouri junior Jordan Clarkson, who’s entering the draft, are set to sign with Andy Miller’s ASM Sports agency, tweets Darren Heitner of Forbes.
NBA front office types who told their owners that there was a franchise-changing player in this year’s draft are probably nervous now, an Eastern Conference executive tells Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, who examines the falling stock of the 2014 class.
Some of the top prospects in the 2015 class don’t seem too enthused about commissioner Adam Silver’s push for a new NBA minimum age, as they tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.

Cray Allred contributed to this post.

Jordan Clarkson To Enter NBA Draft

March 31st, 2014 at 8:23am CST by Chuck Myron

Missouri combo guard Jordan Clarkson will enter the NBA draft, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Most NBA executives have told Goodman that they see him as a late first-round pick, but he’s just No. 58 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress top prospect listings and No. 63 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings. Clarkson slumped in the second half of the season, Givony notes (Twitter link), so perhaps the information that he and Ford are hearing about Clarkson’s draft stock is more up to date. Still, Clarkson had to deal with off-the-court matters late this season, including his father’s diagnosis with cancer (Twitter links).

The 6’4″ 21-year-old averaged 17.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 35.1 minutes per game this season with the Tigers. He scored 20 points or more on 14 occasions, but none of those came during his final nine games, as Missouri went 4-5 and lost in the second round of the NIT. He dished out 3.4 assists per contest but averaged 2.7 turnovers, and he shot just 28.1% from behind the arc, though he did make it to the free throw line 5.6 times a night. His athleticism intrigues scouts, as does his size at the point guard position.

The junior was in his first season with Missouri after transferring from Tulsa and sitting out 2012/13. He has until April 15th to withdraw from the draft and return for his senior year.