Jusuf Nurkic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Hood, Stokes, Jackson, Anderson

June 6th, 2014 at 9:42pm CST by Zachary Links

This morning, Hoops Rumors learned (Twitter link) that Duke sharpshooter Rodney Hood will audition for the Celtics, Kings, Hawks, and Hornets in the next few weeks. As previously reported, his future workout schedule will also include the Sixers and he has already worked out for the Bulls, Magic, Nuggets, and Suns. Back in May, Hood told Hoops Rumors that he could go as high as No. 6-12 and it sounds increasingly plausible as he has worked out for most of the top half teams. Here’s the latest draft news..

Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders explains why he thinks Noah Vonleh would have limited upside as a lottery pick. Duncan thinks Vonleh’s leaping ability has become overrated, and cites poor instincts on both ends of the floor as reason to temper expectations.
Robby Kalland of Hawks.com checked in with Brian Schroeder of Hardwood Paroxysm to get the goods on first round draft prospect Jusuf Nurkic. Schroeder raves about his size, relative mobility, rebounding, and scoring touch. Currently, the big man is slated to go No. 11 to the Nuggets in DraftExpress‘ mock draft.
Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders runs down some common mistakes teams make in the draft, highlighting players from this year’s pool that could produce similar letdowns.

Earlier updates:

Jabari Parker would have no issue with being drafted by the Bucks, his father Sonny and Duke teammate Hood tell Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
The Suns were expected to work out Adreian Payne, Jordan Adams, Markel Brown, Sean Kilpatrick, Daniel Miller, and C.J. Wilcox today, reports azcentral sports.
Shawn Glover worked out for the Jazz today, reports Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune, and both Payne and David Stockton will work out for Utah tomorrow, Falk tweets. Payne is projected near Utah’s No. 23 overall pick, but neither Glover or Stockton (son of Jazz legend John Stockton) are projected as either first or second round picks.
A source tells Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) that Clemson small forward K.J. McDaniels will work out for the Thunder tomorrow. McDaniels is projected as a mid-to-late first-round pick and while he figures to be in range, he could be gone by the time OKC picks at No. 21.
Hoops Rumors has also learned (via Twitter) that Stanford forward Josh Huestis auditioned for the Knicks this week and will be playing in front of the Magic today. The source adds that there aren’t enough days before the draft for Huestis to work out for every team that wants to see him (link).
In continuing their trend of working out point guards, the Magic will work out Tyler Ennis and Elfrid Payton over the next few days, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
Hoops Rumors has also learned (via Twitter) that former Tennessee Volunteers big man Jarnell Stokes is one of the 12 players working out for the Jazz today. Stokes is projected to be a first round pick thanks to his tenacious rebounding and high motor.
A source tells Hoops Rumors (via Twitter) that Cincinnati forward Justin Jackson has worked out for the Bulls with the Mavs, Pacers, Hawks, Hornets, and Suns still on the docket. To learn more about Jackson, a second-round prospect, check out the interview we conducted with him last month as a part of our Prospect Profile series.
Former UCLA point guard Kyle Anderson will work out for the Thunder tomorrow and the Sixers on Monday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.

Eastern Notes: Nurkic, Sixers, ‘Melo

April 27th, 2014 at 8:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers Michael Carter-Williams is the favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year award, but Tom Moore of Calkins Media believes that GM Sam Hinkie should examine the possibility of trading him for another lottery pick. Moore isn’t sure if Carter-Williams will become a star, and if Hinkie could land a top five pick for him, he believes that it would be worth considering.

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, UCLA

March 19th, 2014 at 5:56pm CST by Alex Lee

In his latest chat with readers, Chad Ford of ESPN.com insists that Andrew Wiggins has solidified his position as the No. 1 draft prospect. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com disagrees, debuting his own Top 30 list based off discussions he’s had with league executives. It has Jabari Parker at the top. Howard-Cooper also touched on a multitude of other draft topics in another post. Let’s sort through his latest and more draft-related stuff here:

Front offices are wavering between Parker and Kansas’ Joel Embiid for the top spot, according to Howard-Cooper. He adds that no one has more at stake in the NCAA Tournament than Embiid, who only has a shot to return from back issues if the Jayhawks advance without him.
Austalian guard Dante Exum is right behind the troika of Parker-Embiid-Wiggins. That foursome is followed by Julius Randle and Marcus Smart, before a big drop off at No. 7.
Jusuf Nurkic is flying up draft boards, according to Howard-Cooper. The 19-year-old Bosnian center, currently playing in Croatia, is in one team’s top ten and may ultimately challenge Dario Saric as the first European off the board.
UCLA’s Zach LaVine has yet to convince scouts that he projects as a point guard in the NBA, Howard-Cooper writes. It doesn’t help than teammate Kyle Anderson has been handling the ball more as point forward lately, presumably boosting his draft stock. LaVine is still an attractive prospect, but his value will take a hit if his future looks to be on the wing. Both Bruins project as mid first rounders should they choose to come out.
USA Today’s Adi Joseph includes Embiid and Anderson on his list of eight NBA hopefuls with the most to gain in the NCAA Tournament, along with Keith Appling, Jahii Carson, Cleanthony Early, Tyler Ennis, Montrezl Harrell and Shabazz Napier.

International Notes: Papanikolaou, Brown, Odom

February 22nd, 2014 at 9:39pm CST by Cray Allred

The international scope of the NBA continues to grow, as teams become more and more invested in finding talent from all over the globe. Jusuf Nurkic is ranked as just the 33rd best prospect for the 2014 draft by Chad Ford of ESPN, but that’s enough potential to get eight NBA scouts in the stands at a Serbian basketball game, according to a tweet from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Here are some more things we have our eye on from overseas today:

Kostas Papanikolaou is very likely to sign with the Rockets this summer, reports Givony (Twitter link). Houston owns the rights to the power forward, who is playing for FC Barcelona on the first year of a four-year deal he signed this offseason. It is likely the Rockets would have to work out a buyout with the Spanish team to bring him stateside, although the details of his contract are unclear.
Bobby Brown could be an addition at point guard for an NBA team once his season in China ends two weeks from now, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles. The Clippers were the last team rumored as a potential destination for Brown, although that came at a time when Chris Paul was still out with a shoulder injury.
The contract Lamar Odom recently signed with a Spanish team can be terminated in the first week by the team, and it also includes an option for a second year, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter links). It’s unclear if that’s a team or player option. The early termination window is there in case Odom isn’t in shape, but that does not appear to be an issue.