Kobi Simmons Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Knicks, J. Jackson, Suns, Lakers

May 29th, 2017 at 1:06pm CST by Luke Adams

There are a number of potential player/team matches in the top 10 of this year’s draft that might make sense on paper, but should be avoided in reality, according to the staff at The Ringer. Danny Chau identifies De’Aaron Fox as a less than ideal fit for the Sixers, while Jonathan Tjarks makes the case for why the Knicks should steer clear of Dennis Smith Jr.

Other picks to be avoided, in the views of The Ringer’s NBA writers? The Mavericks and Lauri Markkanen; the Kings and Jayson Tatum; and the Magic and Jonathan Isaac.

Here are a few more draft-related items from around the basketball world:

Former North Carolina swingman Justin Jackson is scheduled to work out for the Knicks on June 13, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York has the No. 8 pick, and most experts don’t expect Jackson to come off the board quite that early, but the ACC Player of the Year is viewed as a potential lottery pick.
The Suns are kicking off their pre-draft workouts today by taking a look at a handful of intriguing prospects, including Kyle Kuzma (Utah), Johnathan Motley (Baylor), Kobi Simmons (Arizona), and Josh Hart (Villanova). Troy Caupain (Cincinnati) and Tidjan Keita (France) round out the team’s Monday workout group (Twitter link).
Another Pacific team, the Lakers, is working out a handful of draft prospects on Memorial Day. According to a press release from the club, the Lakers are taking a closer look at Dwayne Bacon (Florida State), Jordan Bell (Oregon), Amida Brimah (Connecticut), Kennedy Meeks (UNC), Derrick Walton Jr. (Michigan), and local prospect Bryce Alford (UCLA).

Atlantic Draft Notes: Johnson, Monk, Workouts

May 24th, 2017 at 8:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers don’t have a definite long-term answer at point guard, but that doesn’t mean they will necessarily address the position in the first round of this year’s draft, Jonathan Givony writes in a mock draft for The Vertical.

The team is expected to field offers for the No. 3 overall pick and if it decides to keep the selection, it’ll be hard to predict who the selection will be. Givony adds that the team is high on Kentucky guard Malik Monk, but also suggests that Kansas’ Josh Johnson could be the pick due to his upside.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft out of the Atlantic Division:

Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if Monk is a fit for the Sixers. Philadelphia owns the No. 3 pick in the draft thanks to Sam Hinkie’s 2015 deal with the Kings.
The Knicks have worked out Caleb Swanigan (Purdue) and Deonte Burton (Iowa State), Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. The pair of frontcourt players could be potential second round picks for the club. The franchise owns the No. 44 and No. 58 overall picks in the upcoming draft.
The Raptors worked out Tyler Dorsey (Oregon), Dillon Brooks (Oregon), Kobi Simmons (Arizona), Semi Ojeleye (SMU), Markis McDuffie (Wichita State), and Jonathan Williams (Gonzaga) earlier this week, according to NBA.com.

Draft Workouts: Bucks, Knicks, Raptors, Kings, Lakers

May 17th, 2017 at 10:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the lottery out of the way, pre-draft workouts are starting to intensify around the league. We bring you a roundup of several that we heard about today:

Power forward Ivan Rabb of California will participate in a workout for the Bucks on Thursday, tweets Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Projected as a mid-first-rounder, the sophomore is ranked 25th on the top 100 prospects list at DraftExpress. Milwaukee owns picks No. 17 and 48.
Earlier today, we told you that North Carolina center Tony Bradley was working out for the Knicks. Other players involved in today’s session were Kobi Simmons, Kasey Hill, Tyler Dorsey and Omer Yurtseven, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. It was New York’s first day of workouts. The Knicks enter the draft with pick No. 8 and two second-round selections.
Six players worked out for the Raptors today, relays Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. Participating were Dylan Ennis, T.J. Williams, Rawle Alkins, Jeremy Hollowell, Rashawn Thomas and Tyler Lydon. Toronto has just one pick next month, at No. 23.
The Kings will hold their first pre-draft workout on Thursday, the team announced on its website. Sacramento, which came out of Tuesday’s lottery with picks No. 5, 10 and 34, will welcome Landen Lucas, Naz Mitrou-Long, Brynton Lamar, Wesley Iwundu, Eric Mika and Tai Webster.
The Lakers will host a Thursday workout for Isaac Hamilton, Zak Irvin, Davon Reed, Trevon Bluiett, Chance Comanche and Jaylen Johnson, tweets Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. In addition to the No. 2 pick, L.A. holds the 28th selection.

Draft Workouts: Nets, Smith Jr., Magic, Bucks, Celtics

May 15th, 2017 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets will be the only non-playoff team without a close eye on Tuesday night’s lottery results, since the Celtics have swap rights to their first-round pick. But after that swap is made, the Nets will hold the rights to the first-round picks for the two teams in action on Monday night, the Celtics and the Wizards. And Brooklyn is busy exploring its options for those two late first-round selections, along with its second-round pick.

According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com, the Nets will bring in Rawle Alkins, Melo Trimble, Kobi Simmons, Davon Reed, Amida Brimah, and Omer Yurtseven for a group workout on Tuesday. On Thursday, Brooklyn will take a closer look at Josh Hart and Tyler Dorsey. Meanwhile, Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan is also expected to be a part of that Thursday workout, per Nathan Baird of The Journal & Courier (Twitter link).

As Brooklyn does its homework on the non-lottery prospects in this year’s draft class, let’s check out a few more workout-related updates, including an additional note on Swanigan:

As Baird notes in his previously-linked tweet, Swanigan also has a workout lined up for May 22 with the Magic. That session will take place just two days before the deadline to withdraw from the draft and retain his eligibility — Swanigan appears likely to take that decision down to the wire.
One of this year’s top point guard prospects, Dennis Smith Jr., worked out today for the Magic, as Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel details.
The Bucks brought in six prospects – JaJuan Johnson, Dwayne Bacon, Trevon Bluiett, Tyler Dorsey, Damyean Dotson, and Davon Reed – for a group workout on Monday, according to the team.
Georgia guard J.J. Frazier has workouts lined up with the Bucks, Kings, and Lakers after getting a look from the Timberwolves today, tweets Adam Zagoria. L.J. Peak and Antonio Blakeney are among the prospects joining Frazier at Minnesota’s group workout today, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News.
Marcus Keene, Tacko Fall, Michael Ojo, and others are participating in a group workout on Monday with the Celtics, sources tell Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).