Justise Winslow Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Seraphin, Knicks, Bucks

May 17th, 2015 at 7:16pm CST by Will Joseph

Kevin Seraphin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, wants to play for a team that would allow him to compete for a starting job, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com reports, and that likely means that the center won’t re-sign with the Wizards, Michael adds. Seraphin matched his career high with 79 regular-season appearances but didn’t start a game after inking a one-year qualifying offer last summer for $3.9MM to stay in Washington, as Michael points out. The Wizards are set at center, Michael adds, because Marcin Gortat will be entering the second year of a five-year deal with the team. “I definitely want a chance to be a starter,” Seraphin told Michael. “I definitely want to be somewhere I have a chance to be a starter.”

Willie Cauley-Stein said on Friday that he would work out with the Knicks today, but the Knicks didn’t end up bringing him in, tweets ESPN.com’s Ian Begley, who added that a league source told him that a workout was actually never scheduled. The Knicks met with D’Angelo Russell and Justise Winslow at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, according to ESPN.com. All three players are expected to be selected within the first 10 picks of the draft. The Knicks own a top-five pick heading into the lottery. According to Hoops Rumors’ odds page, the most likely spot for the Knicks is fourth. New York has a 31.9% chance of picking fourth.
If the Sixers slide into the fifth or sixth spot in the draft, Justise Winslow, who played at Duke, might be a solid option, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers have a 15.6% chance of winning the draft lottery and are guaranteed to pick at least sixth.
The Bucks, who own the No. 17 pick in the draft, met with small forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who played at Arizona, and big man Frank Kaminsky, who earned college player of the year honors with Wisconsin, Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Knicks

May 16th, 2015 at 8:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers‘ long rebuilding process could get a boost Tuesday night, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. With a little luck in the draft lottery, Philadelphia could acquire two new starters to go with Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. The Sixers have a 17.2% chance to land the Lakers’ top-five protected selection and a 9% shot at the Heat’s top-10 protected pick. Philadelphia’s own pick is currently slotted at number three and is guaranteed to fall in the top six.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers interviewed Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant about the possibility of playing with his older brother, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Jerami Grant just completed his rookie season in Philadelphia and is under the team’s control through 2017/18.
Arkansas forward Michael Qualls will have a pre-draft workout for the Sixers on Tuesday, Pompey tweets. Connecticut’s Ryan Boatright will work out for the team on the same day, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
Rakeem Christmas of Syracuse will work out for the Celtics later this month, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
The Knicks are among 14 teams to meet with Kentucky’s Trey Lyles, Zagoria tweets. Also, Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky met with team president Phil Jackson this week, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post. Kaminsky quipped that even though he is only 22 years old, teams are treating him like he is 65. Duke’s Justise Winslow also met with Jackson and the Knicks, according to Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).
Bojan Bogdanovic gave the Nets plenty to like in his first NBA season, according to Reed Wallach of netsdaily.com. Brooklyn signed the Croatian forward last summer after Paul Pierce left for Washington. Bogdanovic proved to be an effective shooter and won Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for April. He is under a three-year contract and is scheduled to make more than $3.4MM next season and nearly $3.6MM in 2016/17.

Southeast Notes: Pierce, Heat, Hornets

May 16th, 2015 at 4:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the sting of his last second shot being waived off because time had expired and his team being eliminated from the postseason still fresh, the Wizards‘ Paul Pierce now has to make a decision regarding his player option for 2015/15 worth $5,543,725, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “I haven’t really thought about it,” Pierce said. “I don’t even know if I am going to play basketball anymore. These seasons get harder and harder every year, every day. Summers get even harder when you start getting back in shape. I’m 37 years old. I’m top two or three oldest in the league.” Pierce indicated he would take some time and discuss the matter with his family before making his call on next season, Youngmisuk adds. “I have been playing this game [for] like 32 years. Since I was a little kid. Probably going to be the hardest thing to do is put the game down. But I know that time is coming one day. I am not sure if it is this year or next year. I will sit down with my family and figure things out,” Pierce said.

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Wizards coach Randy Wittman indicated that he’d be very surprised if Pierce didn’t opt in and return to the team next season, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com relays (Twitter link).
Heat president Pat Riley interviewed Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre at the draft combine, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets.
While at the draft combine Hornets executives met with Kentucky’s Devin Booker and Willie Cauley-Stein, as well as Duke forward Justise Winslow, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports in a series of tweets.
Riley also sat down with Booker for an interview, who said that the Heat executive told him that Dwyane Wade was in the final stage of his career and that the young guard would be able to learn from him, Lieser tweets. Also meeting with the team while in Chicago were Arkansas forward Bobby Portis and Kentucky forward Trey Lyles, Lieser adds (Twitter links).

Prospect Profile: Justise Winslow

May 16th, 2015 at 12:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Justise Winslow didn’t arrive on the campus of Duke University with quite the same level of hype and fanfare as fellow Blue Devils Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones. But the 19-year-old certainly made a name for himself as the season wore on, and his stellar play in the 2015 NCAA Tournament helped Duke capture the National Championship. In fact, it was Winslow’s performance in March that finally separated him from a crowded 2015 NBA draft field at the forward position, and propelled him from a projected mid first-rounder to a potential top five selection.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

In 39 games this past season, Winslow averaged 12.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.3 steals in 29.1 minutes per contest. His slash line was .486/.418/.641. The talented forward is currently the No. 5 overall prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) ranks Winslow at No. 6 on his big board.

While Winslow’s superior athleticism is readily apparent, what remains to be seen is if he is simply a player who got hot at the right time, or if his stellar NCAA postseason was part of his natural development into a top-tier player. Winslow’s showing during his pre-draft workouts will be especially vital given the depth at the forward position at the top of the draft. He’ll need to show NBA scouts and executives during these showcases that he can nail his outside shots with consistency, or else he could slide just a bit come draft night.

Offensively, Winslow is still very much a work in progress. He was considered a mediocre shooter coming into college, as he made just 26 of the 86 [30%] 3-pointers he attempted in the 82 games (FIBA, EYBL, Adidas Nations, etc) he participated in prior to arriving at Duke, notes Givony. But the freshman has obviously worked hard on his mechanics, and he connected on 46 of the 111 [41.8%] treys he attempted while at Duke, which was obviously a significant improvement. But Winslow still has virtually no mid-range game to rely on, and he struggles to score coming off the dribble, only hitting on 2 of the 19 pull-ups he attempted on the year according to the DraftExpress scribe. This is not an area of the game that will get easier once he squares off against NBA-caliber defenders, so Winslow will have a lot to prove during his pre-draft showcases to show he’s worthy of a top five pick in June.

Winslow is an absolute stud in the transition game, and in the open floor he is a load to handle on defense thanks to his athleticism. He is also an excellent ball-handler with a solid basketball IQ, and rarely turns the ball over. All rare traits for a freshman. Winslow is also adept at moving without the ball in his hands, and his ability to make cuts and attack the rim should mesh well with the pick-and-roll fetish prevalent in most NBA teams’ offenses today. Matched with a willing and creative point guard, Winslow should receive his fair share of lobs and dunk opportunities as a result of his capable off-the-ball game when he hits the NBA hardwood.

One aspect of his college game that may not travel well to the pros is Winslow’s reliance on his strength to attack the basket. He was able to overpower most of his NCAA opponents down on the block this season, which isn’t necessarily something Winslow will be able to do in the NBA. Especially if he is deployed at power forward like he was the second half of the 2014/15 season. A great deal of Winslow’s success in the NBA offensively will be predicated on his eventual position. Winslow may be able to succeed at the four if utilized the way Carmelo Anthony is by the Knicks when he plays power forward. But I do think Winslow is best suited as a small forward long-term, though he’ll need to develop his consistency from the outside, as well as improve upon his 64% mark from the charity stripe at Duke in order to be an effective wing long term in the NBA.

Winslow’s most appealing quality right now as an NBA prospect is his ability to be a tenacious lockdown defender. This is an area where his strength becomes a tremendous asset, and very few college big men were able to overpower him in the paint area. But Winslow is also quick and agile enough to stay in front of guards while out on the perimeter, giving him tremendous versatility on the defensive end of the floor, Givony opines. Winslow also possesses excellent footwork, solid situational awareness, and he is equally adept at defending one-on-one as he is being a team defender within his rotations.

It’s Winslow’s ability to defend four positions that will stand out when teams are assessing his value as a lottery pick. With more and more NBA teams deploying non-traditional lineups, players will have to be able to adapt and display versatility to benefit their prospective teams. As a defender Winslow reminds me quite a bit of the Hornets’ Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who also was accompanied by questions regarding his outside game when he entered the league. While Kidd-Gilchrist hasn’t evolved into the two-way player that Charlotte had hoped, Winslow’s mechanics are significantly better than the former Kentucky forward, which bodes well for his chances for success in the NBA.

In conclusion, the 19-year-old has an NBA-ready frame, the quickness to guard wing players, but also the strength to bang inside with the fours. But this versatility is also accompanied by the worry that Winslow is a tweener, which is a regular concern with many college forwards transitioning to the NBA. I can see Winslow developing into Kawhi Leonard just as easily as he could become Derrick Williams or Thomas Robinson. And while Williams and Robinson are serviceable rotation pieces, neither is a player who can change the face of a franchise, which is what teams are hoping for from a potential top five selection like Winslow. However, I do like the forward’s chances of growing into a special player in the NBA after a few seasons. Winslow will likely come off the board in the four to seven range on draft night.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Knicks

May 16th, 2015 at 10:56am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers could be in the mix to draft Arizona forward Stanley Johnson if their first round pick falls out of the top few selections, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “They’re a winning franchise,” Johnson said of the Sixers. “They told me the facts about how much they’ve won thus far [in franchise history] and the players that they’ve had and what they are trying to do. They are trying to make players get the work ethic part down and that’s what I’m about, so [the interview] was awesome.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Atlantic Division:

Arkansas forward Bobby Portis has six scheduled pre-draft workouts, including one with the Celtics, Jay King of MassLive tweets.
The Sixers sat down for interviews at the Chicago combine with Duke’s Justise WInslow, UCLA’s Kevon Looney, and injured Syracuse big man Chris McCullough, Pompey reports in a series of tweets.
Winslow attended a Yankees game last week with Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, and the freshman said that he would have no problem fitting in alongside ‘Melo if drafted by New York, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. “Of course Carmelo loves playing for the Knicks — I know he loves playing for the Knicks,’’ Winslow said. “Our conversation wasn’t how I’d fit in with the Knicks. Our conversation was the adjustment from college to the league and how my workouts were going. He’s being a mentor for a similar guy, similar path, national champion freshman year. It’s great to have a guy like that who accomplished so much to look out for you.’’

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Draft, Woodson

May 15th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have an 82.8% chance to secure a top five pick in this year’s NBA Draft lottery. But despite those excellent odds, Los Angeles’ GM Mitch Kupchak is stressed about the outcome, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “It’s completely out of our control. But I’m somewhat of a worry-wart,” Kupchak said. “I know our percentage is very high that we end up with a top-five pick, but I have to prepare for if we don’t get it. We’ll be prepared either way.” The executive’s worries stem from the fact that if the pick falls out of the top five it will convey to the Sixers. “If we get a pick, that’s an asset,” Kupchak said. “That’s an asset you can use to trade or work to use it on the player in the draft. If we don’t, we’ll still be able to carry on and move forward.”

Here’s the latest out of the Pacific Division:

Despite having a roster already loaded with outside shooters the Warriors met with Georgia State gunner R.J. Hunter at the draft combine, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets.
The Lakers interviewed Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke forward Justise Winslow at the combine, Medina relays (Twitter links).
Mike Woodson, who is now an assistant with the Clippers, indicated he still hopes to land another spot as a head coach, Mark Berman of FOX 26 tweets. “I’ve been a head coach for nine years in this league. Hopefully I’ll get another opportunity,” Woodson said. The former Hawks and Knicks coach has a career record of 315-365.
Kentucky products Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles interviewed with the Kings, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter links).
The Suns will consider taking Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky when making their draft selection this June, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “I feel like I can fit into multiple roles and help the team on the offensive end,” Kaminsky said. “I don’t think I have as many deficiencies on the defensive end as has been so kindly brought up by so many different people. I think I can fit in with just about any team.“

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Raptors, Knicks

May 15th, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers fans may want to hope that the team doesn’t land the top pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Daily News opines. Cooney’s reasoning is that if Philly nabs the No. 1 overall pick the team will either select another big man, or quite possibly trade the selection for more future assets, which could further delay the team’s rebuilding process. Conversely, if the Sixers fall to third or fourth the team will be more likely to select D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay, and thus land its point guard of the future, Cooney adds.

Here’s more from the NBA’s Atlantic Division:

The Raptors have six free agents whom they need to decide the futures of, and Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com examines the situation for each. These players include Amir Johnson, Landry Fields, and Lou Williams.
Knicks team president Phil Jackson met with Russell at the draft combine today, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports (Twitter links). Also meeting with the Knicks, though the Zen Master wasn’t present, was Kansas big man Cliff Alexander, Zagoria adds
The Knicks also met with Duke’s Justise Winslow and Jerian Grant of Notre Dame, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal relays in a series of tweets. Kentucky big man Willie Cauley-Stein said that he is scheduled to work out for the team in New York this Sunday, Herring adds.
Cauley-Stein also sat down with members of the Sixers’ front office, and he came away with the impression that the team was genuinely interested in him, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.
Arkansas power forward Bobby Portis has a workout scheduled with the Celtics, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reports (Twitter link).
The Sixers have scheduled workouts on Tuesday for Keifer Sykes and Terry Rozier, both of whom are guards, Pompey tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Draft, Monty Williams, Saric

May 14th, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have interviewed Stanley Johnson, Justise Winslow and Willie Cauley Stein, each of whom has a strong chance to be picked within the top 10, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, taking it as a sign that the C’s, who have the No. 16 pick, plan to trade up. Of course, NBA teams line up teams and prospects for interviews at the combine, taking place this week in Chicago, so clubs don’t always get the players they want, but teams can give the league an idea of the sort of player they’d like to talk to, Murphy notes (on Twitter). There’s more on the Celtics and the draft amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics also interviewed Robert Upshaw, Murphy reports in a second tweet. Upshaw’s combine measurements stood out, but in part because of the issues surrounding the University of Washington’s decision to dismiss him for a violation of team rules in January, both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress rank him only 30th.
The Raptors will gauge Monty Williams‘ interest in joining their team as an assistant coach, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter links). Still, it’s much more likely that Williams will wait for his next chance at a head coaching job, Stein adds, postulating that he could get a look from either the Nuggets or the Magic.
Sixers prospect Dario Saric insists that his father, a key figure in reports about Saric’s career, isn’t exerting undue influence, as Saric says to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. The 2014 No. 12 pick who’s playing overseas for Turkey’s Anadolu Efes largely avoided Sierra’s question about whether he might play with the Sixers next season, though his contract with Efes doesn’t include an escape clause until 2016. “Next season? I don’t know and I can’t speak about that because I don’t know yet the situation, how things are going to work out,” Saric said. “I can say that I’m happy here at Efes and I’m also happy that people from Philadelphia came here and want me there. That’s all I can tell you right now. I don’t have any information or any feeling regarding what could happen. I’m just focused on the rest of the season. If I stay here or if I go to the NBA, I will be happy [either way]. I don’t know what could happen this summer or next summer. Now it’s not the time to talk about that.”

Draft Notes: Winslow, International Prospects

April 26th, 2015 at 10:27am CST by ChrisCrouse

The 2015 draft has its fair share of athletic small forwards who can defend multiple positions, David Aldridge of NBA.com opines. Aldridge ranks Duke product Justise Winslow as this year’s top small forward and some scouts agree.

“Outside of Winslow, the other guys really kind of underperformed,” an anonymous Pacific Division scout told Aldridge. “I think [Winslow’s] going to be real good. Like most guys, he’s got pretty good shooting mechanics and he’s going to get better when he gets to the NBA. Because of his defense and his IQ, he’ll find a way to get on the floor.”

Aldridge has Arizona products Stanley Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson right behind Winslow in his small forward rankings. Hollis-Jefferson is considered one of the best wing defenders in the draft, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors writes in his profile of the 20-year-old.

Today is the deadline for a prospect to declare for the 2015 draft and here’s some players who have made formal decisions:

Latvian center Andzejs Pasecniks has declared for the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Givony ranks the 19-year-old as the No. 70 overall prospect, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider Subscription required) slots him at No. 98 overall.
Andrey Desyatnikov has declared for the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The Russian born 7’3″ center is not currently ranked within Givony’s or Ford’s top 100.
Wael Arakji has also declared for the NBA Draft, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Givony ranks the 6’4″ Lebanese point guard as the No. 100 overall prospect, while Ford does not include Arakji in his rankings.

Draft Notes: Jones, Turner, Winslow

April 21st, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

South Korean prospect Jong-Hyun Lee intends to enter the 2015 NBA draft, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter links). The 6’9″ forward led the 2014 World Cup in blocks per game with 2.6, and he also added 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds on 54.5% shooting. The 21-year-old isn’t currently projected to be selected in June’s draft, and he is the No. 47 ranked international prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.

Here’s the latest NBA draft news:

Duke point guard Tyus Jones is expected to ink a deal with agent Rob Pelinka of the Landmark Sports Agency, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets. Jones is the No. 20 overall prospect according to DraftExpress and comes in at No. 22 on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s (Insider subscription required) rankings.
Myles Turner has hired agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports to represent him, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). ESPN.com slots the center as the No. 9 prospect and DraftExpress ranks him 11th. You can check out my full prospect profile for Turner here.
Projected lottery pick Justise Winslow has decided on agent Joe Branch of Roc Nation Sports, the agency announced via Twitter (hat tip to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal). DraftExpress rates the forward as the No. 5 overall prospect and ESPN.com slots him at No. 6.
Hazan Sports Management has signed on to represent University of Houston guard Jherrod Stiggers and Michigan State guard Russell Byrd, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets. Neither player is currently projected to be taken in June’s draft.