Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Burke, Kings, Gobert, Karasev

June 3rd, 2013 at 5:25pm CST by Zachary Links

The buzz on the smaller point guards in the 2013 Draft has not been positive, writes Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Michigan's Trey Burke is widely regarded as the top one-guard in this year's class, but he's getting a lot of criticism for being too slow at the next level. Despite his lack of a fifth-gear, Burke's still likely to land somewhere in the top ten. Here's more on the draft..

Here's a surprising bit of news: the Kings, who own the No. 7 pick, are showing interest in French center Rudy Gobert, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Most mock drafts have him as a late lottery/mid-first round pick, but none have him pegged for the top ten.
More from Kyler, who writes that reviews are mixed on Sergey Karasev's performance this weekend in Las Vegas. Two big concerns from NBA teams were his rather slender frame and his overall feel for the game. The guard/forward is pegged as a late first-round pick in most mock drafts.
Vegas wasn't an ideal setting for Karasev, writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd). Karasev had visa issues in Russia and wasn't able to get to Vegas until after midnight on the day of the event and was clearly sluggish from the long trip. Ford sees his draft range Karasev's draft range starting with the Timberwolves at No. 9 and the floor being the Nets at No. 22.
Prospect Steven Adams is in Oklahoma City and worked out for the Thunder today, writes Royce Young of DailyThunder.com. The Pitt center made it clear that he'd like to land in OKC, saying in a Facebook video: “I’d love to be drafted here, man, straight up." Adams could be on the board when the Thunder draft at No. 12, but it's not a certainty.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (Twitter link) pegs the odds of the Cavs dealing the No. 1 pick at just 10% based on the overall lack of interest in it.
Point guard prospect Isaiah Canaan will work out for the Knicks and Nets soon, tweets Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. The Murray State product is projected to go towards the end of the first round or early in the second.
Cody Zeller impressed in his workout for the Jazz, writes Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz pick at No. 14.
Today, the Blazers worked out guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, forward Jared Berggren, guard Sherwood Brown, forward Brandon Davies, guard Abdul Gaddy, and guard Elijah Johnson, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.

Draft Notes: Noel, Jones, Franklin, Mitchell

May 30th, 2013 at 6:37pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Andy Katz of ESPN noted earlier that Nerlens Noel will visit with the Magic this Sunday, and is yet to schedule a meeting with the Cavaliers. The potential number one pick is up six pounds (from 206 to 212) since the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp two weeks ago, and isn’t expected to visit any other teams beyond Orlando and Cleveland unless a team trades up to the first or second draft slots or there is a strong sense that a deal gets done (All Twitter links). We’ll keep you posted on anything draft related tonight below:

The Wizards are slated to bring in Archie Goodwin, Peyton Siva, Mike Muscala, James Southerland, Will Clyburn, Adonis Thomas, Khalif Wyatt, and Romero Osby for workouts starting on Monday. Otto Porter, Victor Oladipo, and Ben McLemore may be among the next wave of prospects to work out for the team during the following week.
SNYtv’s Josh Newman passes along that Iona standout Lamont Jones is set to work out for the Nets on June 20. Jones is the second confirmed prospect set to work out for Brooklyn, who will also take a look at San Diego State product Jamaal Franklin at a date yet to be determined (Twitter links).
Joe Freeman of The Oregonian reports that the Trail Blazers brought in six draft hopefuls in for predraft workouts today, among them being a projected first-rounder in Tony Mitchell. Joining the North Texas big man were second round prospects Richard Howell, Dexter Strickland, Adonis Thomas, BJ Young, and James Ennis. Freeman profiled each of today’s visitors in a separate piece.
Hoopworld’s Alex Kennedy presents his list of 10 possible steals in this year’s draft.
Although the Pistons GM Joe Dumars acknowledged that the team’s preference would be to draft a viable wing player, he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of drafting the best available big man by the time Detroit is on the clock with the eighth pick (Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press).
According to this article from NBA.com, the Timberwolves hosted Tim Hardaway Jr., Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Ricky Ledo, Allen Crabbe, Mouphtaou Yarou, and Gregory Echenique for workouts today.

Draft Updates: Friday

May 17th, 2013 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:52pm: Here are a few more updates out of Chicago:

In a series of tweets, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists a number of the prospects the Timberwolves have talked to or will talk to in Chicago. Among those we hadn't already heard about: Alex Len, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tim Hardaway Jr., Ricky Ledo, Archie Goodwin, Reggie Bullock, and Vander Blue.
The Trail Blazers will meet with Caldwell-Pope today, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com adds (via Twitter) that the Blazers met with Ledo yesterday.
Ryan Kelly has met with the Mavericks, Celtics, and Clippers, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
Dennis Schroeder will work out for the Bucks, Jazz, and Rockets, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio tweets that there's some speculation at the combine that this could finally be the year the No. 1 pick is traded.

11:44am: It took us multiple posts yesterday to round up all the tidbits trickling out of Chicago, where the NBA is holding its draft combine this week. We'll see if today is as busy, but in the meantime, here are the latest updates on the 2013 draft:

Some NBA executives believe that it's possible Shabazz Muhammad falls out of the top 10 and perhaps even the lottery on draft night, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford passes along the official measurements on the players in Chicago, and provides a few thoughts on the results.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link) hears from an NBA source that the Warriors believe they can acquire either a first- or second-round pick in this year's draft, if they so choose. Kawakami adds in a second tweet that a pick would mostly just cost money, but I'm skeptical that the Warriors could pick up a first-rounder without giving up anything of value, or that they'd even want to add a rookie-scale salary, given their proximity to the tax.
Alex Len met with the Bobcats last night and will meet with the Cavaliers today, according to tweets from Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal. David Mayo of MLive.com tweets that Len has nothing set up with the Pistons and "wasn't too enthused" when asked about them — perhaps that would change if Detroit jumped into the top three in next week's lottery.
The Pistons will meet with Rudy Gobert today, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Steven Adams interviewed with the Magic last night, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Chad Ford heard that Adams was the big winner on the first day of the combine, with "GM after GM" impressed by his showing.
Kelly Olynyk has met with the Bucks, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
Myck Kabongo met with the Knicks and Trail Blazers earlier in the week, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Mason Plumlee also expects to meet with the Blazers, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian.

Woelfel On Sloan, Bucks, Weltman, Redick, Noel

May 17th, 2013 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Although he played well in this year's NCAA tournament, Vander Blue was one of the more surprising names on 2013's early entrant list, considering he's widely viewed as a second-round pick at best. But Blue told reporters at this week's draft combine in Chicago that he's confident in his decision, and expects to surprise anyone who doesn't think he'll produce in the NBA.

"Nobody expected [former Marquette teammate] Jimmy [Butler] to be who he is today with the Bulls," said Blue, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. "Nobody probably expects me to do any good in the NBA. But I know how to go about my business. I’m more than confident."

After discussing Blue's decision to declare for the draft and passing along a few of his quotes, Woelfel's latest column explores a few other topics of note. Here are the highlights:

Woelfel reiterates that Jerry Sloan still has a desire to return to coaching, but not with the Bucks, as we heard last night.
In addition to the interviews we heard about yesterday, the Bucks also met with Jamaal Franklin and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, says Woelfel.
Woelfel hears from NBA officials that Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman may have had a verbal agreement in place with Suns president Lon Babby to become the team's GM, but that owner Robert Sarver nixed the deal. Phoenix ultimately ended up hiring Ryan McDonough.
According to Woelfel, there's a "growing sentiment" that J.J. Redick will sign with a team besides the Bucks this summer.
Nerlens Noel, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick next month, still hasn't decided on an agent, says Woelfel. One report last month suggested Noel may become Jay-Z's first basketball client.

Odds & Ends: Timberwolves, Handy, Agent News

May 8th, 2013 at 9:35pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league.

The Cavaliers have received permission to speak with Lakers development coach Phil Handy, who was previously a member of Mike Brown's coaching staff, tweets Yahoo! Sports reporter Marc J. Spears.
Now that he's President of the Timberwolves Basketball Operations, Flip Saunders is beginning to make some changes, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune's Jerry Zgoda. He started by firing four scouts whose contracts were set to expire this summer.
According to a tweet from Draft Express writer Jonathan Givony, NBA hopefuls Kelly Olynyk, Ray McCallum, Arsalan Kazemi, Alex Oriakhi, Dexter Strickland, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have all signed with the Wasserman Media Group for representation.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope To Enter Draft

April 15th, 2013 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

The latest NCAA underclassman heading to the NBA is Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. The sophomore shooting guard will forgo his remaining two years of collegiate eligibility and go pro, Goodman reports. The school confirmed the news in a press release.

Caldwell-Pope improved his numbers across the board in his second season with Georgia, averaging 18.5 PPG and 7.1 RPG. He is currently ranked 21st among 2013 prospects by ESPN.com's Chad Ford and 31st by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.

Caldwell-Pope scored particularly well in a recent look at projected WARP for this year's draft class by ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton (Insider-only link). According to Ford, many general managers who use advanced metrics are high on the 20-year-old, who is viewed as a second-rounder by most scouts.

To keep tabs on all the early entrants for this year's draft, be sure to check out our complete list.

Woelfel On Heisley, Josh Smith, Bucks, Hornets

April 2nd, 2013 at 4:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times touches on several juicy topics from around the league in his latest piece. We'll hit the highlights here:

Former Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has been in a coma for more than a month, and prospects for his recovery from a February stroke are "extremely bleak," Woelfel reports. Heisley was nearing a deal to join the Bucks ownership group with the intention of becoming the primary owner in a few years, but current primary owner Herb Kohl backed out of the deal, according to Woelfel, who adds that Kohl is still open to finding a partner.
We heard before the deadline that the Hawks wanted a "quality young center" in return for Josh Smith, but the Bucks deemed Larry Sanders and power forwards Ersan Ilyasova and John Henson off-limits as the teams engaged in talks.
Woelfel heard from Smith, who adds the Hornets to the lengthy list of teams that were after him at the deadline.
The Bucks would have made additional trades if they had acquired Smith, and they had interest in Eric Maynor, who wound up going from the Thunder to the Blazers.
Woelfel spoke to Kyle Korver, who indicates the Hawks are in the driver's seat when he hits free agency this summer. "I’m definitely hoping to stay here (with Atlanta)," Korver said. "It’s been a great experience. And we have an awesome coach (Larry Drew) to play for."
Some NBA scouts believe Georgia shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope could wind up being drafted at the back end of the lottery this year. He's listed as No. 38 on the DraftExpress top-100 prospects list, and No. 20 in ESPN's rankings.