Josh Okogie Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Morris, Hawks, Hornets, Adebayo

May 6th, 2018 at 7:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Markieff Morris will be entering the final year of his contract with the Wizards this fall, raising questions about his long-term future in D.C. While Morris’ outlook could change between now and his 2019 free agency, his current preference would be to not only stick with the Wizards beyond his current deal, but also to remain in Washington for several years, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington details.

“I would definitely want to finish my career here,” Morris said of the Wizards. “I love playing here. I love being in the city that I was basically raised in and playing for this organization.”

After a first-round exit in the postseason this spring, the Wizards will be looking for ways to improve their roster this season, so Morris isn’t necessarily a lock to return. However, his $8.6MM salary makes him a better value than the team’s two centers, Marcin Gortat ($13.57MM) and Ian Mahinmi ($15.94MM).

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Hawks will be working out six draft prospects on Monday, the team announced in a press release. Terence Davis (Ole Miss), Tyler Davis (Texas A&M), Brandon Goodwin (Florida Gulf Coast), Jared Harper (Auburn), Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech), and Luke Maye (UNC) will participate in the session.
In a piece for The Charlotte Observer, Rick Bonnell explains what the Hornets like about Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga, who is considered a “strong” candidate for Charlotte’s head coaching job.
While Bam Adebayo proved in his rookie season that he should be considered a building block for the Heat, his position remains a bit of a mystery, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. As Winderman notes, Adebayo played primarily at center in 2017/18, but if Hassan Whiteside and Kelly Olynyk are both back next season, more minutes at power forward may be necessary to get Adebayo an increased role.

Draft Updates: Ayton, Trier, Okogie, Black, Dixson

March 16th, 2018 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

A bracket-busting upset on the first evening of March Madness saw Arizona ousted from this year’s NCAA tournament, as the fourth-seeded Wildcats fell to No. 13 Buffalo. Arizona’s loss accelerated the timeline for top prospect Deandre Ayton to make the leap to the NBA, as he confirmed after the game that – as expected – he’ll enter this year’s draft.

Ayton has a reasonable chance to be the No. 1 pick this June, and a report early in March had already indicated that he’d enter this year’s draft, so his announcement on Thursday came as no surprise. As ESPN’s Linda Cohn tweets, Ayton’s teammate Allonzo Trier also confirmed after Thursday’s loss that he’d be leaving the Wildcats and entering this year’s draft, as previously reported.

Here are more updates on NCAA underclassmen who are eyeing a potential move to the NBA or another professional league:

Georgia Tech guard Josh Okogie plans to test the draft waters by declaring without hiring an agent, as Ken Sugiura of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution relays. Okogie currently ranks as the 44th-best prospect on ESPN’s big board, making him a viable candidate to be drafted. The sophomore averaged 18.2 PPG and 6.3 RPG for the Yellow Jackets this season.
Illinois forward Leron Black will forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility and enter the draft, head coach Brad Underwood announced on Thursday. Black, who plans on signing with an agent, led Illinois in PPG (15.3), RPG (5.2), FG% (.547), and 3PT% (.512) during the 2017/18 season.
Dikembe Dixson, a redshirt sophomore at UIC, will pursue a professional career, the school announced in a press release. While the announcement doesn’t specify whether or not the young forward will sign with an agent, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back. Coach Steve McClain said in a statement that the program wishes Dixson “great success in the pursuit of his professional career.” Dixson added: “Though I am leaving the university at this time, it is definitely my intention to finish the work necessary to graduate from UIC someday.”