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Atlantic Notes: Thomas, Crowder, Sixers

May 21st, 2015 at 5:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

James Dolan’s hire of Isiah Thomas as team president and a minority owner of the New York Liberty hasn’t reportedly sat well with Knicks president Phil Jackson. When Thomas was asked if he wanted to return to the NBA someday, the former coach and executive didn’t rule it out, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “You never know where life takes you,’’ Thomas said. “I don’t think there’s anyone in this room who can say three years from now I’ll be here. I live in the present. This is where I’m at today. I’ll do the best job I can possibly do here. You never know where you’re going to end up.’’

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Thanks to some unkind ping-pong balls, the Sixers only walked away from the NBA Draft lottery with one of three potential 2015 first round picks. Philly’s GM Sam Hinkie believes the results were simple mathematics, and not bad luck, Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “It was a good night for us. Even better than we anticipated,” Hinkie said. “We spent a lot of time looking at the odds and the most likely outcome was that we would get the fourth pick alone, and the next most likely outcome was we would get the third pick alone. We had a 77% chance of only getting our pick.“
Celtics president Rich Gotham confirmed that the team intends to re-sign Jae Crowder this offseason, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe relays (via Twitter). “Jae is definitely a priority,” said Himmelsbach. “He added toughness, energy and confidence. I think he gave our guys a swagger.” This echoes the sentiments that Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, relayed last month regarding Crowder, who can become a restricted free agent this summer if the team tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,181,348.
The Celtics will work out LSU big man Jordan Mickey, who sat down for an interview with the team while at the draft combine, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “It was a great conversation,” Mickey told Blakely. “The guys that interviewed me, I felt like they enjoyed having me in there. I felt it was a good interview.”

Draft Notes: Upshaw, Russell, Payne, Young

May 18th, 2015 at 11:21am CST by Chuck Myron

Several NBA executives told Chris Mannix of SI.com they wouldn’t dare draft Robert Upshaw in the first-round, leading Mannix to conclude that it’s unlikely that any team guarantees the troubled center any salary. Two seasons of guaranteed salary come with the rookie scale contracts that go to first-round picks. People from three different teams with lottery picks told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that Upshaw would be a certain lottery pick if not for his troubles in the past, which have involved drugs, but none of those teams are willing to draft him that highly, Blakely adds. Upshaw, who tells Blakely that he’s working with Bill Walton, among other mentors, is 29th in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings but 38th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Here’s more on the draft, which takes place just a week and a month from tonight:

Multiple executives told Mannix for the same piece that they think D’Angelo Russell plans to accept workout invitations only from the teams that hold the top three picks. Mannix also cites multiple execs who told him that they believe former Kentucky sharpshooter Devin Booker will go within the top 10 picks.
Cameron Payne, who spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors, is quickly lifting his stock, having become a strong candidate for the lottery, according to Mannix. Rakeem Christmas, J.P. Tokoto and Jordan Mickey were standouts in the five-on-five drills at last week’s combine, Mannix adds.
Jabari Young of CSNNW.com adds the Blazers to the list of the teams that have interviewed Oregon shooting guard Joseph Young, and he’ll also be working out with Portland, as the CSNNW.com scribe has reported. Still, Young the writer suggests it’s nonetheless unlikely that the Blazers will end up drafting Young the player.

Draft Notes: Russell, Okafor, Staten

May 17th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Zachary Links

When asked why a team should select him on June 25th, D’Angelo Russell had a simple answer for reporters. “I’m the best player in the draft,” Russell said, as Henry Green of FOX Sports Ohio writes. Russell is expected to be a top-five pick, and many analysts have him as the No. 3 prospect in the 2015 draft class. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he can jump Jahlil Okafor and Karl Anthony-Towns for the top spot. Here’s today’s draft news..

Okafor skipped the official draft combine, but he found himself in the Chicago area on Friday night and worked out at Quest Gym, as Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. One of the big knocks on Okafor is his conditioning, but trainer Rick Lewis says that the big man has shed 12 points of fat and his conditioning is improving every day. The trainer, who might be a tad biased, also tells Berman that the Duke offensive system didn’t allow Okafor to showcase everything he can do.
West Virginia guard Juwan Staten is working out for the Sixers on Monday and roughly half the league is expected to work him out before the draft, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Staten is currently not in the top 100 rankings done by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress but he is the No. 79 overall player according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required).
An NBA scout told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter) that LSU’s Jordan Mickey and Louisville’s Terry Rozier “really helped themselves” by playing 5-on-5 at the Combine.
Murray State guard Cameron Payne is finally getting the respect he deserves, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders writes. Payne also isn’t afraid to speak his mind. Recently, an NBA exec asked him who shouldn’t be ranked ahead of him in this year’s class and he answered truthfully. “Tyus Jones,” Payne said. “Just because he played on a great team. He had a lot of exposure through that team. He didn’t have to carry his team like I did, so I just felt I went through a lot of adversity and he had one of the best big men playing college basketball around him. He wasn’t a focal point.” (Recently, Payne spoke with Hoops Rumors about a wide range of topics, including where he thinks he might land).

Magic Notes: Draft, Harris, Marble

May 15th, 2015 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

An offseason of uncertainty for the Magic should become somewhat clearer soon, with the lottery set for Tuesday and the season over in Chicago, where apparent No. 1 coaching choice Tom Thibodeau seems on the verge of a divorce with the Bulls. Many other questions will remain even after the team’s draft position and coaching situation are settled, and here’s more on a few key topics in the Magic Kingdom:

The Magic met with Frank Kaminsky, Anthony Brown, Chris McCullough and Jordan Mickey at the combine earlier this week, with Rashad Vaughn and Kevon Looney on today’s docket, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (See all six Twitter links here).
Ken Hornack of Fox Sports Florida suggests there’s a strong possibility that soon-to-be restricted free agent Tobias Harris will end up signing his qualifying offer this summer to hit unrestricted free agency when the cap surges in the summer of 2016. Harris has said he and his representatives haven’t discussed the idea, but GM Rob Hennigan has said he intends to re-sign the forward no matter the cost, a signal that he would match any offer Harris might fetch from another team. The former 19th overall pick triggered the starter criteria to boost the value of his qualifying offer by more than $1MM, as I explained.
Former Magic coach Jacque Vaughn inserted Devyn Marble into the starting lineup ahead of Harris in January, but aside from those seven straights starts, last year’s 56th overall pick only played in nine games the rest of the year, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel points out. That, combined with the injuries that helped cut his season short, leaves plenty of questions as Marble faces a non-guaranteed minimum salary for next season, as Schmitz examines.

Celtics Notes: Trades, Young, Draft Combine

May 15th, 2015 at 11:18am CST by Chuck Myron

A league source suggests to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that the impending leap in the salary cap for 2016/17 will make teams around the league more willing to take on sizable contracts in trades. Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren also sees a more liquid trade market and more activity ahead, as he tells Bulpett.

“I think so,” Zarren said. “I think there’s just a lot of teams in the middle in the NBA right now, and they all sort of feel like they need to do something. That will create more opportunities for us, because we’ve got as many assets as any other team, if not more.”

The Celtics have only one eight-figure salary on the books for next season, the nearly $10.106MM owed to Gerald Wallace, as Bulpett points out, and Boston is willing to attach a first-round pick to him to ship him out in a trade, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported last month. While we wait to see if the Celtics can top the 11 trades they made in 2014/15, here’s more from Boston:

One opposing GM is high on James Young, telling Bulpett for the same piece that last year’s No. 17 overall pick would be generating top-10 buzz this year if he had stayed in school another year. Young spent extensive time in the D-League this season.
Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe adds Bobby Portis, Anthony Brown, Kelly Oubre, Dez Wells, Chris McCullough, Terry Rozier and Tyus Jones to the list of players who’ve interviewed with the Celtics at the draft combine (Twitter links), to go along with those previously reported.
Boston is slated to speak with Devin Booker, Myles Turner, Kevon Looney, Pat Connaughton and Jordan Mickey today, a source tells Himmelsbach (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Mudiay, Towns, Mickey

May 5th, 2015 at 7:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Projected No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns is taking his time in choosing an agent to represent him, John Pavia of SNY.tv writes. “You only get one chance at that [picking an agent],” Towns said. “You’ve got to make sure you get it right. I’m taking my time with that process. The NBA Draft process, that’s one of the biggest things is all the things that come other than on the basketball court. You’ve got to take your time with these decisions. Make sure you make it right. You don’t want to be making multiple decisions quickly and then regret it.”

Here’s more notes regarding the 2015 NBA draft:

Emmanuel Mudiay is considering attending the draft combine in Chicago next week, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports in a series of tweets. The young guard wishes to attend the college graduation of his brother, and will attempt to arrive for the event’s second day, Kyler adds. Mudiay is the No. 3 ranked player by both Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required).
LSU sophomore power forward Jordan Mickey is a potential second round pick this June because of his shotblocking prowess and overall physical tools, Josh Riddell of DraftExpress writes in his profile of the player. ESPN.com slots Mickey as the No. 48 prospect while DraftExpress ranks the 20-year-old as 49th overall.
While Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter did not have a strong junior season statistically, the 21-year-old plays the shallowest position in this year’s draft (shooting guard), and coupled with his ability to nail the deep shot, this makes him a likely first round choice in June, Givony and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress write. Hunter is ranked No. 21 by Ford and No. 24 by Givony.
Towns is the top power forward in David Aldridge of NBA.com‘s latest 2015 NBA draft power rankings. Rounding out Aldridge’s top five at the four spot are Kristaps Porzingis, Trey Lyles, Myles Turner, and Bobby Portis.

Draft Notes: Mickey, Kentucky, Walker

April 28th, 2015 at 1:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sam Dekker, Tyus Jones and Kevon Looney were among those who had better chances to see their respective draft stocks slip than improve if they were to have stayed in school instead of entering the draft, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com opines in an Insider-only piece. Caris LeVert, who opted to stay out of the draft, has a shot to go in the lottery next season, Goodman writes as he praises his decision. The ESPN.com scribe notes that he’s heard from NBA personnel who think Jordan Mickey goes undrafted as he argues the big man made a poor decision to declare for the draft. It’ll be years before we truly know whether their choices were wise, but less than two months remain before we find out just where everyone will end up on draft night. Here’s more on the draft:

The year’s first mock draft from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has Karl-Anthony Towns going to the Timberwolves, Jahlil Okafor to the Knicks and D’Angelo Russell to the Sixers. Givony’s mock shows all seven early entrants from Kentucky getting picked, including Aaron Harrison to the Sixers at No. 60.
The mock draft that Sean Deveney of The Sporting News put together is an unconventional one, with Okafor at No. 1 to the Wolves, Russell at No. 2 to the Knicks, and Towns at No. 3 to the Sixers.
Former Florida power forward Chris Walker has hired agent Travis King of Relativity Sports, as Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype hears (Twitter link). Walker is the No. 58 prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, while Givony has him at No. 73 in his rankings.

And-Ones: Awards, Draft, Agents

April 27th, 2015 at 5:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

The media votes on most of the NBA awards, but the players will have their say with their own set of honors this year. The National Basketball Players Association announced today that it will hand out 10 awards in Las Vegas this July, as voted on by players. They’ll select their own MVP, the best rookie, and the best defender, and they’ll also hand out trophies for “Man of the Year,” “Global Impact Player,” “Hardest to Guard,” “Clutch Performer,” “Coach You Would Want To Play For,” “Best Home Court Advantage” and “Player You Secretly Wish Was on Your Team.” While we wait to see if those honors will have the resonance that the traditional ones have, here’s more from around the NBA:

Combo forward Beka Burjanadze submitted his name for the draft, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). That evidently means the 21-year-old from the nation of Georgia declared before Sunday’s deadline to do so. He’s only the 29th-best prospect from overseas among those born in 1994, according to Givony, who notes in his tweet that Burjanadze is a cousin of Zaza Pachulia.
Former LSU power forward Jordan Mickey has signed with agents Matt Babcock and Adie von Gontard of the APAA Sports Group, Givony reports (Twitter link). Mickey, who entered the draft this year after his sophomore season, is the 49th-best prospect overall as Givony ranks them and No. 50 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com listings.
Rakeem Christmas is going with Stephen Pina of ASM Sports for his representation, according to Cameron Chung of the Sports Agent Blog. Fresh off his senior year at Syracuse, Christmas comes in 52nd in Givony‘s rankings and is 55th with Ford.

Jordan Mickey Entering NBA Draft

March 31st, 2015 at 12:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

LSU sophomore power forward Jordan Mickey has decided to enter this year’s NBA draft, as he tells Randy Rosetta of The Times-Picayune. Still, there’s a decent chance the 20-year-old won’t hear his name called on June 25th. He’s just 69th in the prospect rankings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 80th.

The news is no surprise, as Goodman reported a week ago that Mickey was leaning toward declaring for the draft, though the school released a statement around the same time in which the 6’7″ All-SEC honoree cautioned that he hadn’t yet made up his mind. Mickey dealt with injuries this season, but he still averaged nearly a double-double, putting up 15.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game, with an impressive 3.6 blocks per contest, too. Mickey’s stock nonetheless slipped from this time last year, when he decided to return to school amid rankings that projected he’d go in the late first round or early second round this year.

He’ll join fellow LSU sophomore big man Jarell Martin in this year’s draft, as our log of 2015 early entrants shows. The Tigers lost current Bucks power forward Johnny O’Bryant to the draft last year, but combo forward Ben Simmons, who’s No. 2 on Givony’s 2016 mock draft, has committed to the school for next season. Mickey and Martin helped lead the team to a ninth seed in the NCAA Tournament this season, though LSU lost its first tournament game to eighth-seeded N.C. State.

And-Ones: Draft, McRoberts, Beverley

March 24th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Josh McRoberts is traveling with the Heat for the first time since tearing the meniscus in his right knee in early December, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. “He’s progressing very well, but we’re not getting ahead of ourselves right now and I wouldn’t look too much into this road trip,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s really to help him with his spirits being around the team, and we’re enjoying that, but the larger picture is he’s going to be able to do more work with our training staff. The last couple road trips we left him back there to work with our trainers, but we’ve had so many injuries that we need our full staff here right now. That means Josh has to come with us. But he will not be working with the basketball coaches, not yet.”

When asked about the possibility of McRoberts returning to action this season, Spoelstra said, “He’s still not working with coaches. Everything is with trainers right now. I check in with him every single day. Most of the work is in the training room and the weight room. I’m not thinking about him playing this year.”

Here’s more from around the league:

The Rockets will learn on Wednesday if Patrick Beverley will need season-ending surgery on his injured wrist, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter links). The guard is waiting for doctors to inform him if continued play will risk further ligament damage before making his final decision, Spears adds.
The Wizards and the Nets are both interested in one-to-one affiliations with D-League teams, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Both franchises currently share the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with the 11 other NBA teams also without one-to-one affiliations.
LSU sophomore forward Jordan Mickey is leaning toward entering the 2015 NBA draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Mickey averaged 15.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the Tigers this season. The 6’8″ big man is currently ranked as the No. 81 prospect by DraftExpress.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News looked at 10 players whose performances in the NCAA Tournament improved their NBA draft stock. Deveney’s list includes Justise Winslow (Duke), Terry Rozier (Louisville), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), and Jakob Poeltl (Utah).