Marvin Bagley III Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Marvin Bagley III To Enter 2018 NBA Draft

March 28th, 2018 at 5:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Star prospect Marvin Bagley III has confirmed that he’ll be entering his name in the 2018 NBA draft pool. Bagley made the announcement today in a post on his Instagram account, with the Duke basketball program confirming the decision in a press release of its own.

“No freshman has done more in his freshman year than Marvin,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said in a statement. “He’s broken every record and he’s really represented us at the highest level. I’m proud of him because he came in late and he adapted at the highest level. We wish him well. He and his family have prepared him well for this move. He’s ready. I can only see great things happening for him.”

Long considered one of the standouts in the 2018 draft class, Bagley had an excellent freshman season at Duke in 2017/18, averaging a double-double for the Blue Devils. In 33 games, the 6’11” forward/center posted an impressive 21.1 PPG and 11.1 RPG to go along with a .614/.397/.627 shooting line.

While Bagley may not be the first player off the board in June, he’s a very good bet to be a top-five pick. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony had Bagley selected third overall, praising the youngster’s “athleticism, motor, rebounding, finishing ability, and overall productivity.” Givony has Bagley ranked fourth overall on his top 100, behind only Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic, and Jaren Jackson Jr.

While neither Bagley or Duke said anything specific about the big man signing with an agent, the wording of both announcements makes it clear he’s not just testing the waters — he’ll forgo his remaining years of NCAA eligibility.

NCAA Tournament Filled With Draft Prospects

March 11th, 2018 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NCAA tournament bracket was unveiled on Sunday and NBA draft prospects can enhance their resumes by leading their teams on a deep run. A majority of the projected first-rounders in Jonathan Givony’s current rankings on ESPN.com will be in action during March Madness.

Here’s a look of some of those storylines:

No player will be more closely watched than the projected top pick, Arizona freshman center DeAndre Ayton. He has remained eligible despite an FBI probe into his recruitment. The Wildcats, who won the PAC 12 tournament, were seeded No. 4 in the South region and will play Buffalo in the first round. A potential second-round matchup against Kentucky looms. The Wildcats have two players slotted as mid-first-rounders — swingman Kevin Knox (No. 12 overall) and combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15).
Duke and Michigan State were ranked 1-2 at the start of the season and faced each other in November, with the Blue Devils prevailing. They could see each again in the Sweet Sixteen, a Midwest showdown that would feature a handful of first-round prospects, Duke’s frontcourt duo of Marvin Bagley III (4) and Wendell Carter Jr. (6) and shooting guard Grayson Allen (30), and Michigan State forwards Jaren Jackson Jr. (3) and Miles Bridges (11).
How good is Texas center Mohamed Bamba (5)? We could get a better idea if the Longhorns get past Nevada and face rugged Cincinnati, the South’s No. 2 seed which also features small forward Jacob Evans (24).
Alabama’s Collin Sexton, currently the top-rated college point guard at No. 8, will try to build off his big SEC tournament performance in the East Region. If the Tide gets past their opener, they’ll likely face top seed Villanova and its No. 10 prospect, small forward Mikal Bridges.
Oklahoma point guard Trae Young (9) and his team faltered down the stretch but still got in as the Midwest’s No. 10 seed. If they upset Rhode Island, the Sooners would likely face the Blue Devils in the next round.
Texas A&M big man Robert Williams (15) could improve his stock if his team, slotted No. 7 in the West, can get by Big East tournament runner-up Providence and then upset No. 2 seed North Carolina in the next round.
Miami (Fla.) shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV (13) might move into the Top 10 if he carries his team, seeded sixth in the South, into the Sweet Sixteen and beyond.

And-Ones: World Cup, Kuzminskas, Trade Deadline

November 23rd, 2017 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

FIBA’s new process for qualifying for the Basketball World Cup may look familiar to fans who follow soccer’s World Cup qualifying process, but it has left many professional players confused and disappointed, writes Marc Stein of The New York Times. As Stein details, the timing of the qualifiers will prevent the top players from participating.

Unlike top soccer leagues, which take breaks during their respective seasons to allow the best international players to represent their countries in qualifiers, there are no such windows for NBA and Euroleague players. As such, Team USA is attempting to qualify for the 2019 World Cup with a squad made up of little-known G League players.

“They will qualify, because they will be very well prepared and play hard,” Spurs assistant Ettore Messina said of Team USA. “But then you have to tell them: ‘Thank you. Now the real players are coming in to go to China.’ How unfair is that?”

For his part, Messina had to give up his role as head coach of the Italian national team because of the new qualifying format — he has been one of the loudest critics of the changes, Stein writes. “Stupid,” Messina said. “That’s the most common word I hear when I talk with people about this — stupid.”

As Team USA prepares for its first qualifying game against Puerto Rico, scheduled for tonight, here’s more from around the basketball world:

Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press relays a few more perspectives on the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, speaking to several internationally-born NBA players who don’t love the changes.
According to Donatas Urbonas (Twitter links), Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas would love to sign free agent Mindaugas Kuzminskas, the Lithuanian forward recently waived by the Knicks. However, while the team says the door is always open for a player like Kuzminskas, it recognizes that its odds of landing him are low.
The NBA moved up the trade deadline for 2018 by two weeks to February 8. Danny Leroux of The Sporting News examines how the earlier deadline might affect teams’ plans this season.
With a number of NBA draft prospects – including Marvin Bagley III and Miles Bridges – set to participate in the PK80 Invitational in Portland this weekend, Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) lay out the players and the matchups worth watching.

And-Ones: NBA Draft, International Play, Oliver

November 19th, 2017 at 6:07pm CST by Austin Kent

The NBA Draft is seven months away but that doesn’t mean hoops writers can’t weigh in on what Sam Vecenie of The Athletic refers to as a year-round process. The scribe’s initial mock draft does a fine job weighing in on the biggest prospects on the draft radar while digging admirably deep for a comprehensive 60-pick projection.

Expected to fall in the No. 1 slot is the much-hyped Slovenian star, Luka Doncic. The Real Madrid swingman has shown a remarkable feel for the game at a young age and could make an impact for a team like the Bulls, who currently sit most likely to land that top spot come next June.

It’s after the first pick where Vecenie’s mock gets particularly interesting. The writer opts to put Arizona big man DeAndre Ayton in the No. 2 spot, ahead of the likes of Marvin Bagley III and Michael Porter Jr.

With analysis for each of the first 30 projections, the early look at the draft can’t be missed. Especially considering that he has college basketball’s biggest villain, Grayson Allen, falling directly into the laps of the world champion Warriors.

There’s more from around the league:

The number of fringe NBA players who opt to sign overseas in international leagues following NBA training camps has dropped precipitously. Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype writes that the trend can be attributed to a depressed European economy and the leaps and bounds that the G League has made over the course of the past 10 years.
The fifth edition of FIBA’s 3×3 World Cup will take place June 8-12, the governing body’s official site says. This year the competition will take place in the Philippines.
A Rockets training camp invitee has been picked up by the G League affiliate of the Bucks. Chris Reichert of 2 Ways, 10 Days tweets that the Wisconsin Herd have claimed Cameron Oliver off waivers.

And-Ones: Free Agents, Antic, Bagley, Heat

September 11th, 2017 at 9:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The addition of two-way contracts has impacted the ability of veteran free agents to find new homes this offseason, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com in his latest Morning Tip column. Gerald Green, David Lee, Anthony Morrow and Shabazz Muhammad are among the notable free agents who remain on the market and Aldridge points out that many teams are leaving their 15th roster spot open, rather than signing another player. That’s in part due to the ability of teams to sign two players to low-cost two-way deals, Aldridge continues. The increase in veteran minimum salaries under the new CBA has also depressed the free agent market, especially for teams close to or over the luxury tax threshold, Aldridge adds.

In other notable developments around the league:

Former NBA big man Pero Antic will play in Serbia for KK Crvena Zvezda during the upcoming season, according to a Sportando report. Antic, who signed a one-year contract, spent the last two seasons in Turkey with Fenerbahce. Antic played 113 games over two seasons for the Hawks, averaging 6.3 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 17.4 MPG.
Russell Westbrook‘s ability to coexist with another star player in Paul George and Kemba Walker‘s impact on Dwight Howard in Charlotte are two of the five big NBA questions heading into training camp, according to Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders. The league’s proposal to change the draft lottery has much more to do with access to star players rather than concerns about tanking, Grizzard argues in another of the hot topics he addresses.
The potential No. 1 overall pick in the next draft, Marvin Bagley, has been officially cleared to play for Duke, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. The 6’11” power forward was reclassified into the class of 2017 last month.
Roof damage to the Heat’s AmericanAirlines Arena by Hurricane Irma was superficial, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. The team’s practice court also sustained minor damage, Winderman adds.

Top Prospect Marvin Bagley Reclassifies, Commits To Duke

August 15th, 2017 at 8:23am CST by Luke Adams

Top high school prospect Marvin Bagley has reclassified into the class of 2017, and will now be eligible to play college basketball during the coming season, rather than in 2018, he announced on Monday. As Evan Daniels of Scout.com details, Bagley committed to playing ball at Duke in 2017/18, making the Blue Devils the odds-on favorite to open the year as the No. 1 team in the nation.

While Bagley’s decision to attend Duke is good news for Mike Krzyzweski’s program, his reclassification itself is the most important news for NBA teams and evaluators, who will now have the opportunity to select the big man in the draft next June, assuming he enters the 2018 draft class after his freshman year.

If he does submit his name for next year’s draft, Bagley is expected to be one of a handful of players who will receive consideration for the No. 1 overall pick, alongside Michael Porter, DeAndre Ayton, and Luka Doncic, among others. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony suggests (via Twitter) that he believes there are still seven viable candidates for that top pick, adding that it’s too early to lock anyone in.

In his first 2018 mock draft for ESPN, Givony has Bagley coming off the board at second overall, writing that Duke’s newest player is “a terror in the open court” and has “a natural feel for scoring, rebounding and blocking shots.” NBA scouts will be keeping a close eye this season on the 18-year-old’s defense and outside shooting potential as he transitions to the college game, Givony writes.

Of course, before he can take the court for the Blue Devils, Bagley will still need to be deemed eligible by the NCAA. According to Givony, one college assistant for a team that was recruiting Bagley suggests that he expects that ruling to come in “a matter of days or weeks,” and he’s optimistic the young forward/center will be cleared. “[Bagley’s father] is way too detail-oriented for this not to work,” the assistant told Givony.