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Draft Notes: Cavs, Pistons, Thunder, Blazers

June 19th, 2013 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2013 NBA draft just eight days away, various outlets continue to update their mock drafts, with Chris Mannix of SI.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com the latest experts to provide new versions of their respective mocks. Mannix and Givony actually agree on the top four – Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Otto Porter, and Alex Len, respectively – but starting at No. 5, their first rounds diverge significantly. Here are more of today's draft-related updates:

Mannix's latest mock draft includes a number of interesting tidbits, including word that the Cavaliers continue to shop the first overall pick, but "have completely overvalued it," according to one executive.
We already passed along one notable update from Chad Ford's latest chat at ESPN.com, but the entire chat was full of interesting answers, as Ford addressed nearly every first-round pick.
C.J. McCollum and Michael Carter-Williams worked out with the Pistons today, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
If Carter-Williams falls to No. 12, he'd be an ideal fit for the Thunder, says David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider-only link).
The Trail Blazers worked out Mason Plumlee, Archie Goodwin, Myck Kabongo, Phil Pressey, E.J. Singler, and Dewayne Dedmon today, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link).
The Grizzlies, who hold three second-round picks, will work out Erick Green, Elias Harris, Brandon Davies, Jason Jones, D.J. Stephens, and Mareks Mejeris tomorrow, the team announced in a release.
James Ennis was among the players who worked out for the Clippers today, according to the team's official site.

Odds & Ends: Hawks, Iguodala, Pistons, Gallinari

June 14th, 2013 at 11:13pm CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com doesn't think the Hawks will have much trouble if they want to trade Lou Williams to free up more cap space in the pursuit of two max free agents this summer. He also believes the team wouldn't hesitate to pull off other moves necessary to clear room (Twitter links). If the Hawks renounce all their cap holds and keep their pair of first-round picks, they'd be about $1.9MM shy of the cap space necessary to sign Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, providing next season's salary cap checks in at the projected $58.5MM. The Hawks might not be at the top of likely destinations for the rumored D12-CP3 pairing, but it appears that won't stop them from trying. With half a month to go until teams and free agents can start lining up agreements, here's more from around the Association:

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who broke the news that Andre Iguodala will opt out and become a free agent, listed Detroit as a likely suitor, and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press echoes that sentiment, writing that the Pistons like the veteran small forward.
Nuggets president Josh Kroenke cited Danilo Gallinari's lengthy recovery from a torn ACL when he explained the team's decision to let go of George Karl, but now it appears Gallinari could be back in December, not February, as Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post reports.
Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman makes a compelling case that the Thunder should trade the 12th pick in the draft to the Hawks for the 17th and 18th selections. Part of the financial side of the argument is based on Mayberry's expectation that OKC won't re-sign Kevin Martin and won't look to replace him via free agency.
Mark Singelais of the Albany Times Union profiles Siena forward O.D. Anosike, a second-round hopeful who joined Tim Hardaway Jr., Glen Rice Jr., Jackie Carmichael and others in a group workout Thursday for the Celtics.
MLive's David Mayo passes along a list of players who worked out for the Pistons this week: Andre Roberson, Robert Covington, James Southerland, Adonis Thomas, Mareks Mejeris, A'uston Calhoun, Nick Minnerath and Kwame Vaughn.
Small-market owners may have been the prime movers behind the latest CBA, but they're still hamstrung by unbalanced local TV revenues. That could lead to another work stoppage and watered-down rosters across the league, ESPN's J.A. Adande argues.