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Draft Notes: Allen, Irvin, Magic

May 21st, 2017 at 4:58pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Frontcourt may not be the Bulls‘ biggest need, but if someone as talented as Jarrett Allen is available at No. 16, the team shouldn’t hesitate to go in that direction, Mark Strotman of Comcast Sportsnet contends. Strotman believes Allen could be the team’s next Joakim Noah. Chicago drafted Noah in 2007 even though Ben Wallace was under contract and it worked out long-term for the franchise.

Allen may not surpass current starting center Robin Lopez this season, but by the time his rookie contract is up, Allen could be one of the best big men in the league. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express has the Texas product as the 17th best prospect in his class.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • The Lakers recently met with Michigan’s Zak Irvin and the team was impressed with his workout, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Irvin will also work out for the Bucks later this week.
  • Pittsburg’s Jamel Artis will work out for the Lakers and Rockets later this week, Scotto reports in a separate tweet. Artis isn’t ranked in Givony’s top 100 prospects.
  • The Magic have several players scheduled to work out for the team on Tuesday, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel passes along. Cal’s Ivan Rabb, Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan, Villanova’s Josh Hart and Houston’s Damyean Dotson will all participate in Orlando’s workouts.
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Draft Workouts: Nets, Smith Jr., Magic, Bucks, Celtics

May 15th, 2017 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets will be the only non-playoff team without a close eye on Tuesday night’s lottery results, since the Celtics have swap rights to their first-round pick. But after that swap is made, the Nets will hold the rights to the first-round picks for the two teams in action on Monday night, the Celtics and the Wizards. And Brooklyn is busy exploring its options for those two late first-round selections, along with its second-round pick.

According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com, the Nets will bring in Rawle Alkins, Melo Trimble, Kobi Simmons, Davon Reed, Amida Brimah, and Omer Yurtseven for a group workout on Tuesday. On Thursday, Brooklyn will take a closer look at Josh Hart and Tyler Dorsey. Meanwhile, Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan is also expected to be a part of that Thursday workout, per Nathan Baird of The Journal & Courier (Twitter link).

As Brooklyn does its homework on the non-lottery prospects in this year’s draft class, let’s check out a few more workout-related updates, including an additional note on Swanigan:

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Draft Combine Notes: Durant, Calipari, Hart, And More

May 13th, 2017 at 3:54pm CST by Joshua Fischman

To Combine or not to Combine? That is the question to which Kevin Durant and John Calipari are now adding their two cents. The Warriors star encourages expected lottery picks to skip the event altogether, writes Chris Haynes of ESPN. Durant expressed his strong feeling that while the Draft Combine can certainly aid lesser-known and lesser-valued players looking to raise their draft stock, those projected to be taken in the lottery should stay home and work on improving their game. Durant remarked how the vast majority of skills for which the Combine tests, including bench press at which he struggled mightily at his event, have little to no impact on how a player will perform on a basketball court.

Kentucky’s head coach said that players should attend the Combine, but that each should skip individual events if he believes it will not boost his draft value, according to Michael Singer of USA Today.

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Central Notes: Love, Bird, Caldwell-Pope

May 12th, 2017 at 7:49pm CST by Austin Kent

Matchups in the first two rounds have limited Kevin Love‘s role throughout the playoffs thus far but that could change in the Eastern Conference Finals, Tom Withers of the Associated Press writes. Currently the Cavaliers await the winner of the Wizards and Celtics.

After having averaged 19 points per game during the regular season, Love’s average dropped to 12 in the Cavaliers’ four-game sweep of the Raptors. What’s more, the power forward didn’t even play in the fourth quarter in two of those victories.

“Some of it’s my fault because we haven’t really featured him a lot because of the matchups we had on other teams,” Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue said. “He has been great. His whole mindset is winning and that’s what it’s all about in the playoffs.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Although there’s been a transfer of power in the Pacers‘ organizational chart, Larry Bird remains involved in the offseason planning at the behest of newly appointed team president Kevin Pritchard, Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star writes. Bird serves as an executive advisor with the franchise.
  • The Pacers will work out a batch of draft prospects early next week, the team announced on its website, including college stars Jordan Bell and Josh Hart.
  • The Pistons are in a tough spot with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope‘s pending restricted free agency, Bobby Marks of the Vertical writes. The 24-year-old could sign a lofty offer sheet with another organization, forcing the club to flirt with the luxury tax if they wish to retain him. Choosing not to retain him, however, won’t free up enough cap space for a suitable replacement.
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Draft Notes: Williams, Kuzma, Wilder, Ball

March 21st, 2017 at 9:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Texas A&M freshman forward Robert Williams decided to remain in college because he wants to be the top pick, a source told Evan Daniels of Fox Sports and Scout.com (Twitter link). Williams also believes he’s not mature enough yet to enter the league, the tweet adds. Williams averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 2.5 BPG during his freshman season for the Aggies. The 6’9” Williams was considered a late lottery pick, ranked as the 10th-best overall prospect by DraftExpress and 13th in Chad Ford’s top 100 at ESPN.com.

In other news involving the draft:

  • Utah forward Kyle Kuzma will enter the draft but won’t hire an agent, Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Kuzma is ranked No. 73 among the top 100 prospects by DraftExpress and doesn’t make Ford’s top 100 list. The 6’9” Kuzma averaged 16.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG for the Utes in his junior season.
  • Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder will also test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. The 6’3” guard averaged 19.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 3.8 APG in his junior season. He is not rated among the top 100 by either DraftExpress or Ford.
  • Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington will also enter the draft without hiring agents, Jon Rothstein of FanRagSports.com reports. Delgado, a 6’10” junior forward, averaged 15.2 PPG and 13.1 RPG this past season while Carrington, a 6’4” junior guard, averaged 17.1 PPG. Neither is considered a top 100 prospect.
  • Former Virginia and Memphis forward Austin Nichols has declared for the draft and hired an agent, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The 6’9” Nichols played two seasons at Memphis, sat out a year, then played one game for the Cavaliers before he was dismissed from the team.
  • UCLA freshman point guard Lonzo Ball and Kansas freshman small forward Josh Jackson have solidified their status as two of the three top prospects with their performances in the NCAA tournament, Ford writes in a stock watch column. Arizona freshman forward Lauri Markkanen and Michigan State freshman forward Miles Bridges are among the players who have improved their draft stock during the first two rounds of the tournament, according to Ford. Villanova senior guard Josh Hart and Duke sophomore guard Luke Kennard are among the players that Ford believes hurt their draft status with subpar tournament outings.
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Draft Updates: Tuesday Night

May 24th, 2016 at 10:19pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Underclassmen who submitted their names for draft consideration have until tomorrow —  May 25th — to decide whether or not to remain in the draft. If those players don’t withdraw from consideration by Wednesday’s deadline, they’ll forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and will be available to NBA teams in June. Here’s the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft:

  • Seton Hall sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead intends to remain in the draft and will sign with agents Andy Miller and Stephen Pina of ASM Sports, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets. Whitehead is a projected second round pick, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting him as the No. 59 overall player.
  • Villanova junior swingman Josh Hart is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for his senior season, Evan Daniels of Scout.com tweets.
  • Northwestern State junior point guard Zeke Woodley intends to withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
  • Freshman center Moustapha Diagne is withdrawing from the draft and will attend junior college next season with an eye on making the jump to division one the following year, Goodman tweets.
  • Gonzaga junior center Przemek Karnowski is withdrawing from the draft and returning to school for his senior season, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com relays (Twitter link).
  • Center Amida Brimah and guard Rodney Purvis have withdrawn from the 2016 NBA Draft and are returning to UConn for their senior seasons, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays.
  • San Diego State sophomore small forward Malik Pope is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for his junior season, the player announced on his Twitter feed.
  • Thon Maker is being viewed as a potential first-rounder after his excellent showing in front of NBA personnel in New York City, Zagoria tweets. The 19-year-old is currently slotted No. 40 overall by Givony.
  • Washington State’s Josh Hawkinson, Conor Clifford and Ike Iroegbu are withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for the 2016/17 season, Goodman tweets.
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Draft Rumors: Dunn, Pacers, Trimble

May 23rd, 2016 at 10:35am CST by Dana Gauruder
The results of the lottery probably damaged Providence point guard Kris Dunn’s draft prospects more than any other player, Derek Bodner of USA Today opines. Dunn was a strong possibility to go in the top five prior to the lottery but the teams at the top are unlikely to prioritize a point guard, Bodner continues. It’s possible Dunn could move back into the top five if the Celtics at No. 3 or Suns at No. 4 trade their pick, otherwise another lottery team could wind up with a bargain, Bodner adds. ESPN Insider Chad Ford still has Dunn ranked No. 4 overall on his Big Board, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has Dunn ranked No. 5 overall.
In other draft-related news:
  • Oakland University point guard Kay Felder is among six players working out for the Pacers on Monday, according to the team’s official Twitter feed. Felder is considering a second-round prospect by both Ford (No. 43 overall) and Givony (No. 58). Purdue power forward Caleb Swanigan, Providence power forward Ben Bentil, Tennessee shooting guard Armani Moore, North Carolina State point guard Anthony Barber and Maryland shooting guard Rasheed Sulaimon are the other prospects working out for Indiana.
  • Maryland point guard Melo Trimble will make his final scheduled workout with the Hawks on Monday before deciding whether to stay in the draft, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). Trimble is ranked No. 71 by Ford and No. 76 by Givony.
  • Xavier sophomore forward Trevon Bluiett is likely to withdraw from the draft and return to school, a source told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Bluiett was not ranked among the Top 100 draft prospects by either Ford or Givony.
  • Villanova’s Josh Hart will work out for the Hawks on Tuesday and then decide whether to stay in the draft, Zagoria tweets. The junior shooting guard is ranked No. 46 by Ford and No. 43 by Givony.
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Celtics Notes: Ainge, Olynyk, Draft Workouts

May 18th, 2016 at 10:45am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics were unable to jump ahead of the Sixers and Lakers to snag the No. 1 overall pick in Tuesday night’s NBA draft lottery and the team will draft third as a result. With Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram likely to be off the board when Boston picks, team executive Danny Ainge indicated that he doesn’t know who the team will look to select, Mike Petraglia of WEEI 93.7 FM relays. “We don’t know that yet. We’ll obviously explore that,” Ainge said. “We’re in the middle of that process right now of figuring out who’s in the draft and who’s the best fit for us. We’ll also probably get some calls for that pick I’m guessing, so there’ll be discussion of that too. But right now we’re really in the mode of preparing for the draft.”

Regarding the talent level of the second-tier of players in this year’s draft, Ainge told reporters, “Last year at this time I think everybody saw that [talent drop-off] and it sort of changed between what everybody thought at this time and what happened in the draft. So it’s still too early. There’s still a lot of evaluation. When you’re looking and evaluating in some cases 18 and 19-year-old kids there’s a lot that changes between the end of their college careers and the draft, so I wouldn’t say anything is in stone in how the draft order is gonna go. We’ll just evaluate them all and see how it falls.”

Here’s more out of Boston:

  • Center Kelly Olynyk underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair damage to his right shoulder, and though the Celtics didn’t announce a timetable for the big man to return to action, Ainge estimates Olynyk will be out for approximately five months, Petraglia relays in a separate article. A recovery time of that duration would mean Olynyk could return during the preseason and potentially be available to start the 2016/17 campaign.
  • The Celtics are hosting two group workouts today that will include 12 players, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Displaying their wares for Boston will be Abdul-Malik Abu (NC State), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Nigel Hayes (Wisconsin), Malik Pope (San Diego State), Zhou Qi (China), James Webb III (Boise State), DeAndre Bembry (St. Joseph’s), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Josh Hart (Villanova), Jake Layman (Maryland), Abdel Nader (Iowas State) and Taurean Prince (Baylor), Forsberg notes.
  • Former Louisiana-Lafayette center Shawn Long has a workout scheduled with the Celtics on June 9th, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets.
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Draft Updates: Trimble, Thompson, Diallo

May 17th, 2016 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Maryland guard Melo Trimble didn’t have a standout showing at the combine, and remains undecided on whether to stay in the draft. He figures to wait until the May 25th deadline to make a decision, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Zagoria – who adds the Nuggets to the list of teams to meet with Trimble at the combine, and the Spurs and Hawks to the list of teams planning to work him out – hears from an NBA scout that Trimble’s best bet is to return to school to improve his game (Twitter link).

As Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Insider link) writes, Trimble acknowledges that his original plan was to enter the draft and hire an agent this year, but admits that he’s “up in the air right now.” An up-and-down sophomore year, in which he was plagued by hamstring issues, has complicated Trimble’s situation.

As we wait to see what Trimble decides, let’s round up several more draft notes and updates…

  • Ohio State big man Trevor Thompson has decided to withdraw from the NBA draft and return to school, he tells Goodman (Twitter link). As we noted when he declared for the draft in March, Thompson wasn’t viewed as a top-100 prospect and would have had a long climb to become draft-worthy.
  • In a piece for USA Today Sports, Derek Bodner identifies five prospects who improved their stock at the NBA combine in Chicago last week, including Kansas center Cheick Diallo. Diallo’s strong showing at the combine appears to have cemented his decision to remain in the draft — he is signing with Bill Duffy and BDA Sports Management for representation, according to Goodman (Twitter link). Zagoria has since confirmed that agreement (via Twitter).
  • Seton Hall guard Isaiah Whitehead tweeted on Sunday that he plans to make a decision by Thursday on whether or not to remain in the draft. Sources are telling Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Whitehead – who has workouts with Boston and Chicago on his schedule after Thursday – figures to remain in the draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.
  • Villanova junior Josh Hart said after a workout with Philadelphia on Monday that he’s “still 50-50” about keeping his name in the draft, and he’s “not sure when that will change,” per Marc Narducci of Philly.com. It sounds like Hart’s decision could go down to the wire as the May 25th deadline nears.
  • Florida State guard Malik Beasley, UNC power forward Brice Johnson, and Purdue big man A.J. Hammons have signed with ASM Sports for representation on and off the court, according to a report from SportsBusiness Journal.
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Pistons Draft Notes: Jackson, Maker, Ellenson

May 15th, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Demetrius Jackson and Wade Baldwin head the list of point guards that might be available with the Pistons’ first-round pick, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports. They are seeking a backup to Reggie Jackson and could find that player with the No. 18 overall pick, Langlois continues. At 5’9”, Tyler Ulis might be too small for the Pistons’ tastes but the 6’1” Jackson or 6’3” Baldwin would be prime candidates to fill that need, according to Langlois. That duo expressed excitement after interviewing with the Pistons’ brass at the combine, Langlois adds. Selecting a point guard is certainly a strong possibility but they could also deal the pick, according to David Mayo of MLive.com. The Pistons dealt a non-lottery pick to the Rockets at the trade deadline, only to void the deal because of concerns over power forward Donatas Motiejunas‘ back.

In other news regarding the Pistons:

  • Thon Maker interviewed with the Pistons and they may be intrigued enough by the 7-foot power forward to draft him if he slips to the second round, Mayo writes in a separate piece. GM Jeff Bower has said that the team would be willing to select a high-ceiling big man and Maker, who is making a preps-to-pros jump, projects as a range-shooting power forward with ball-handling skills, Mayo continues. Detroit has the No. 49 overall pick in addition to its first-rounder.
  • Power forward Henry Ellenson did not interview with the club but it would be delighted if he dropped out of the lottery and into their lap, Mayo relays in his latest combine story. Ellenson is the type of stretch four the Pistons covet, even though Ellenson shot just 28.8% from long range at Marquette in his only college season, Mayo continues. “I think I’m just a mismatch problem,” he told Mayo. “So whatever that night gives me, I feel comfortable playing all over.”
  • Shooting guards Malik Beasley and Josh Hart, combo guard Malik Newman, power forward Jake Layman and center Stephen Zimmerman and Ulis are among the players the Pistons interviewed at the combine, Mayo tweets.
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