Juwan Staten Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Russell, Sixers, Nets

May 18th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

D’Angelo Russell could wind up as a top-two pick if the Knicks or Sixers are that position after the results of the draft lottery on Tuesday, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. While it’s widely assumed that Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor will go 1-2 in the draft, there was some speculation by rival executives at the draft combine that Philadelphia or New York may opt instead to transform to its backcourt with the Ohio State guard, Berger reports.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Michael Qualls (Arkansas), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Ryan Boatright (Connecticut) and Terry Rozier (Louisville) are scheduled to work out with the Sixers on Tuesday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Philadelphia brought in Julian Washburn (Texas-El Paso), Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), Terran Petteway (Nebraska), Marcus Thornton (Georgia), Stanton Kidd (Colorado State), Juwan Staten (West Virginia) and Shannon Scott (Ohio State) for workouts on Monday, Pompey adds.
Mike Conley and Kevin Love, if he does not opt out this summer, are potential free agent targets for the Nets in 2016, according to NetsDaily.com. The Nets will undergo many changes this offseason as they try to get under the luxury tax but they need to remain a playoff-caliber team to attract future free agents, the story adds.
A shakeup of Dwane Casey’s staff is underway as the Raptors parted with assistants Bill Bayno and Tom Sterner today, sources told Berger (Twitter links).

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).

Draft Notes: Staten, Wiltjer, Harvey

April 14th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the regular season almost at a close the NBA draft will become the primary focus for all of the non-playoff teams around the NBA the next few months. You can stay up to date on all of the underclassmen who have already declared their intent to enter this year’s draft here. If you want to see what your favorite team’s current chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick are then head on over to Hoops Rumors’ Reverse Standings for the answer. Now here’s the latest news regarding the 2015 NBA draft…

West Virginia senior guard Juwan Staten has signed with agent Colin Bryant of Max Deal Sports, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. Staten is currently ranked 83rd by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and he is the No. 93 overall player according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required).
Gonzaga junior Kyle Wiltjer is considering entering the NBA draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Wiltjer, who appears on neither Ford’s or Givony’s rankings, is unlikely to be drafted if he does indeed declare, Goodman adds.
Eastern Washington’s Tyler Harvey has signed with agent Sam Goldfeder of Excel Sports, Goodman tweets. The sophomore is currently ranked No. 35 overall by Ford and No. 75 by Givony.
Georgia State junior R.J. Hunter has signed a deal with agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, Goodman reports (Twitter link). ESPN.com has Hunter rated the No. 19 prospect while DraftExpress.com slots him at No. 27 overall.
Fellow Georgia State guard Ryan Harrow, a senior, has inked a deal with agent Wallace Prather of Perennial Sports & Entertainment, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Staten, Gordon, Wiggins, Parker

March 30th, 2014 at 12:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Juwan Staten is going to return to West Virginia for his senior year, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Staten’s father, Billy, told ESPN.com that Staten, who averaged 18.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 5.8 APG, that his son would come back to Morgantown. Staten had started his college career at Dayton before transferring to West Virginia after his freshman season. He averaged 7.6 PPG as a sophomore, but had a breakout campaign this past season, writes Goodman. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had Staten slotted as a late second round pick or going undrafted in June.

Dario Saric To Sign In Europe

March 23rd, 2014 at 10:29pm CST by Zachary Links

One of the top international prospects in the 2014 draft may take himself out of NBA consideration for multiple years. While Dario Saric hasn’t officially announced anything, multiple sources tell Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) that he has an agreement in principle with Efes Pilson that will pay him $8.27MM over the next three years.

There’s no word yet on what the NBA buyout clause in that contract looks like, Ford adds, but a deal like that would mean the forward won’t be able to come to the NBA next season. Sources also say it’s highly unlikely he’ll even declare for this year’s draft. Ford previously indicated that Saric’s stock could suffer since some clubs fear that his situation could resemble Nikola Mirotic‘s. While Mirotic has serious upside, the Bulls have waited on him for the past three years, meaning he’s no longer subject to the rookie scale and can demand higher salaries to join the team this summer.

The 19-year-old is currently projected to the No. 9 overall pick in the 2014 draft by DraftExpress. In the same piece, Ford notes that West Virginia point guard Juwan Staten has officially declared for the draft. Staten is outside the top 100 prospects at DraftExpress, and Ford calls him a second-round pick, at best. The ESPN.com scribe expects Staten will withdraw from the draft and return to the Mountaineers.