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Southeast Draft Notes: Hornets, Heat, Magic, Hawks

June 12th, 2019 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets have looked into the possibility of moving up in the draft from their current spot in the lottery at No. 12, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell acknowledges that it may be difficult for Charlotte to put together the sort of trade capital necessary to make a deal happen, but says GM Mitch Kupchak is active.

Meanwhile, the Hornets will continue to explore their draft options by bringing in six more prospects for workouts tomorrow, according to the team. Marques Bolden (Duke), Tacko Fall (UCF), Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Jalen Hudson (Florida), and Luka Asceric (Mega Bemax) are among the players set to participate.

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

In addition to bringing in Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) on Thursday, as was previously reported, the Heat will also have Nassir Little (UNC) in town for a workout, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Amir Hinton (Shaw) also worked out for Miami this week (Twitter link via The Preparation).
The Magic worked out Aubrey Dawkins (UCF), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Jalen Hudson (Florida), Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky), Markis McDuffie (Wichita State), and Dererk Pardon (Northwestern) today, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
The Hawks, who hold six of the top 44 selections in the draft, continue to be very active in the pre-draft process, bringing in Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Kevarrius Hayes (Florida), Adam Mokoka (Mega Bemax), Nick Weiler-Babb (Iowa State), Jordon Varnado (Troy), and Kenny Wooten (Oregon) for a look today. Tomorrow’s Hawks workout will feature Goga Bitadze (Mega Bemax), Jonathan Galloway (UC Irvine), Rayjon Tucker (Arkansas Little Rock), and Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State), according to the team.

Draft Updates: Green Room, Culver, Samanic, More

June 12th, 2019 at 2:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA continues to invite potential first-round picks to the Green Room for next Thursday’s draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that Nassir Little (UNC), Romeo Langford (Indiana), and Tyler Herro (Kentucky) were the next invitees after the initial nine-player group.

According to Givony (Twitter links), Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga), Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), PJ Washington (Kentucky) also received Green Room invites, as did international prospect Sekou Doumbouya. That brings us to 16 prospects who are expected to be in the Green Room on draft night, with four others still expected to be invited, per Givony.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

Within his latest mock draft, Jeremy Woo of SI.com cites league sources who say that both the Suns and Hawks are high on Texas Tech swingman Jarrett Culver. However, it’s possible that neither team will have a shot at him without trading up — Woo has Culver coming off the board at No. 5 to the Cavaliers in his mock.
Croatian forward Luka Samanic has a busy workout schedule, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), who adds the Warriors and Spurs to the list of teams Samanic has auditioned for. He also has workouts lined up with the Hawks and Bucks.
UCF guard Aubrey Dawkins has worked out for the Celtics, Pelicans, Knicks, and Raptors, and still has the Mavericks, Rockets, and Hornets on his workout schedule, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter links) provides a pair of updates on pre-draft workouts for prospects, reporting that Chris Silva (South Carolina) is working out for the Heat and Spurs, while Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s) worked out for the Cavaliers and Mavericks and has the Sixers and Rockets on tap.

Eastern Draft Notes: Hawks, Barrett, Knicks, Pistons

June 10th, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Luke Adams

With six of the top 44 picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Hawks have been understandably busy when it comes to bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts. While Atlanta is unlikely to keep all six of its selections, the club is doing its due diligence on players who might be available at each spot — or as undrafted free agents.

On Sunday, the Hawks worked out Darius Bazley (Princeton HS), Robert Franks (Washington State), Matur Maker (Zlatorog Lasko), William McDowell-White (Baunach), Miye Oni (Yale), and Trayvon Reed (Texas Southern), according to the team.

The Hawks conducted another workout on Monday, bringing in Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Brian Bowen (Sydney), Dewan Hernandez (Miami), Jordan Poole (Michigan), Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech), and Dean Wade (Kansas State) in for a look.

On Tuesday, the Hawks will host yet another workout, with Charlie Brown Jr. (St. Joe’s), Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State), Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Nassir Little (UNC), KZ Okpala (Stanford), and Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) set to participate.

Here are a few more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the Eastern Conference:

R.J. Barrett doesn’t have many team visits on his schedule this month. According to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (via Twitter), Barrett’s individual workout and meeting with the Knicks today represents his first and only session of the pre-draft process. “This is the place I want to be. So I hope they draft me,” the Duke forward said today (Twitter link via Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic). Barrett is widely viewed as the favorite to be selected with the No. 3 overall pick.
Croatian forward Luka Samanic, an early entrant who will keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool, will have an individual workout on Tuesday with the Pacers, the team announced in a press release.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech), KeVaughn Allen (Florida), Robert Franks (Washington State), Tyler Herro (Kentucky), Christ Koumadje (Florida State), and Greg Malinowski (Georgetown) worked out for the Magic on Monday, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
The Pistons worked out Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech), Luguentz Dort (Arizona State), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Nassir Little (UNC), and Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s) on Friday, then auditioned Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Barry Brown Jr. (Kansas State), Digue Diawara (France), Nikola Miskovic (Serbia), Zach Jackson (Omaha), and Josh Perkins (Gonzaga) on Monday, per Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter links).

Atlantic Notes: Udoka, Knicks, Celtics

June 9th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by clarkcrum

As we relayed earlier this week, new Sixers coach Ime Udoka is replacing Monty Williams as lead assistant coach under head man Brett Brown. Unlike Williams, however, Idoka will also be tasked with being the team’s new defensive coordinator next season, writes Rich Hofmann of The Athletic.

Udoka has interviewed unsuccessfully for some head coaching positions over the last couple offseasons in Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Charlotte and Orlando, but this new position for the Sixers will still be a promotion for him, as Ettore Messina is the lead assistant in San Antonio.

Getting the opportunity to be a lead assistant may very well increase Udoka’s chances of landing a head coaching role in the near future, especially considering the success that Brown’s other assistants for the Sixers like Lloyd Pierce (Hawks) and Williams (Suns) have had when they had the opportunity to interview for top jobs.

In the meantime, Udoka will oversee a defense that largely underperformed during the 2018/19 season given the talent on the Sixers’ roster.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division this afternoon:

The Knicks‘ top priority this offseason is luring one, if not two top tier free agents to Manhattan. But what if that doesn’t happen? According to Matt John of Basketball Insiders, the Knicks should either keep available cap space for the 2020 offseason, or begin building around Kevin Knox, Mitchell Robinson, and the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft.
The Celtics currently hold the No. 51 overall selection in this month’s draft, so Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston takes a look at five prospects – DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa), Bruno Fernando (Maryland), Sagaba Konate (West Virginia), Tremont Waters (LSU), and Zylan Cheatham (Arizona State) – whom Boston could target with that pick.
Per Jay King of The Athletic, the Celtics hosted three prospects for a workout yesterday – Nassir Little (North Carolina), Dylan Windler (Belmont), and Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan). Little is the No. 9 overall prospect on ESPN’s top 100 list, so the Celtics would likely need to make a trade to move up if they’re seriously interested in the UNC product.

Southeast Draft Notes: Hornets, Hawks, Magic, Heat

May 31st, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets are one of multiple Southeast teams that has been busy this week scouting draft-eligible prospects. According to a pair of press releases from the club, Charlotte brought in six prospects for pre-draft workouts on Friday and will take a closer look at six more on Saturday.

Nassir Little (UNC) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (Virginia Tech) were the headliners in Friday’s group for the Hornets, joined by Devontae Cacok (UNC-Wilmington), Tyler Cook (Iowa), Jordan Davis (Northern Colorado), and Matt Morgan (Cornell).

On Saturday, the Hornets will work out Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin), C.J. Massinburg (Buffalo), Isaiah Roby (Nebrasaka), and Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt).

Here are a few more draft-related updates from out of the Southeast:

Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga) headlined the group of prospects who worked out for the Hawks on Friday. According to the team (via Twitter), Jaylen Hands (UCLA), Louis King (Oregon), Jalen McDaniels (San Diego State), Eric Paschall (Villanova), and Grant Williams (Tennessee) also participated in the session.
The Magic held a pre-draft workout on Friday morning that featured Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), Bruno Fernando (Maryland), Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Naz Reid (LSU), and Nick Ward (Michigan State), tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald cites a source who says PJ Washington (Kentucky) is working out for the Heat and relays a report indicating that Washington’s teammate Tyler Herro will also visit the club. In a tweet, Jackson adds that the Heat will work out Miami’s Dewan Hernandez on June 15.
Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington explores whether it’s reasonable to expect the Wizards – who only hold the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft – to try to buy their way into the second round.

Knicks Not Locked In On R.J. Barrett At No. 3

May 31st, 2019 at 9:52am CST by Luke Adams

Most experts view Zion Williamson and Ja Morant as the top two prospects in the 2019 NBA draft, with R.J. Barrett right behind them, making Barrett a logical target for the Knicks at No. 3. However, while New York likes Barrett, the club isn’t locked in on selecting him yet, and is doing its due diligence on several options for that No. 3 overall pick, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com (Insider link).

The Knicks have explored the possibility of trading back in the lottery to pick up an extra asset or two, according to Givony, who points to the Hawks‘ Nos. 8 and 10 picks as a potential match for New York. While one source tells Givony that a trade with Atlanta is one scenario the Knicks are mulling, Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears that such a deal isn’t under “serious consideration” by either club at this point.

Both Givony and Begley point out that the Knicks are fans of other prospects who should be available at No. 3 and could slip further down the top 10. Givony identifies Cam Reddish, Jarrett Culver, Coby White, and Nassir Little as players who are getting a close look from New York, while Begley singles out Reddish and Culver as well. Culver is scheduled to work out for the Knicks on June 5 and Reddish will also have a pre-draft visit with the team.

Still, assuming the Knicks stay in the No. 3 spot, Barrett looks like the odds-on favorite to be their man. He has significant support within the organization and will work out for New York before the draft, says Begley. That workout will take place on June 10, per Givony, who adds that Barrett “would be excited” about becoming a Knick.

Of course, before the Knicks get a shot at Barrett, he’ll have to make it past the Grizzlies at No. 2. Givony, who reported shortly after the lottery that Memphis had zeroed in on Morant, suggests that the team has been sending out mixed messages as of late.

The Grizzlies’ ownership group is still telling people around the league that Morant is their guy, but the front office wants to bring in Barrett for a private workout, according to Givony. Sources tell ESPN that Barrett has declined that request for now, though he’ll have time to reconsider it before the draft.

Draft Updates: Early Entrants, Zion, Culver, Little

May 24th, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the 2019 draft and retain their college eligibility is May 29, so more updates on final draft decisions are beginning to trickle in.

A pair of prospects with alliterative names have opted to remain in the 2019 draft class, with Vanderbilt freshman forward Simisola Shittu announcing (via Twitter) that he’ll forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, while Jon Rothstein of SI.com reports (via Twitter) that Tulane junior forward Samir Sehic will also keep his name in the draft.

Markell Johnson, a junior guard out of North Carolina State, will go in the other direction. Johnson announced today (via Twitter) that after gathering feedback on his stock, he has elected to withdraw his name from the 2019 draft pool and return to N.C. State for his senior season.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

A source tells Sean Deveney of Sporting News that Zion Williamson and his family are nearing a decision on his agent, and could decide on representation as early as next week. According to Deveney, the future No. 1 pick had originally intended to be repped by his advisor – and former NBA agent – Chubby Wells, but a plan to have Wells recertify as an NBA agent fell through.
Within that same article, Deveney examines Jarrett Culver‘s draft stock, citing sources around the league who say that the Texas Tech swingman won’t drop further than No. 7. UNC’s Nassir Little has also moved up several teams’ draft boards, per Deveney.
UCF center Tacko Fall was among the players to work out for the Kings on Thursday, per a team release. Sacramento also took a closer look at Myles Powell (Seton Hall), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Jalen Hudson (Florida), Nick Weiler-Babb (Iowa State), and Marques Bolden (Duke).
Purdue Fort Wayne guard John Konchar has worked out for the Celtics, Hawks, Clippers, and Nets so far during the pre-draft process, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. A workout with Toronto for Konchar was also previously reported.

Draft Notes: Combine, Langford, Horton-Tucker, Acquaah

May 18th, 2019 at 5:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

The competition to be the No. 4 pick remains unsettled after this week’s draft combine, according to Scott Gleeson of USA Today. Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, Duke’s Cam Reddish and North Carolina’s Coby White all improved their standing through measurements and drills, Gleeson states, but Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland and Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter may have helped themselves just as much by skipping the combine.

Duke’s Zion Williamson, Murray State’s Ja Morant and Duke’s R.J. Barrett are believed to have the top three spots locked up, leaving a difficult decision at the fourth pick for the Lakers or whomever they deal the selection to.

Gleeson identifies several players who stock either rose or fell at the combine. Among the winners are UCF’s Tacko Fall, Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke, Tennessee’s Jordan Bone, North Carolina’s Nassir Little, Croatian Luka Samanic and Virginia’s Kyle Guy. Gleeson’s list of players who failed to help themselves includes Oregon’s Bol Bol, Kentucky’s Tyler Herro, former Syracuse signee Darius Bazley and St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds.

There’s more draft news to pass along:

Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated also chimes in with a list of draft risers and fallers based on their performance at the combine. He believes Georgia’s Nicolas Claxton improved his chances of being selected in the first round with an impressive defensive performance, while LSU guard Tremont Waters helped ease worries about his size and Miami’s Dewan Hernandez showed off his athleticism after sitting out the season because of connections to the FBI investigation.
Indiana’s Romeo Langford says he has fully recovered from the back problems that bothered him in college, tweets Scott Agness of The Athletic. Langford met with 13 teams at the combine, including the Pacers, Celtics (Twitter link) and Pistons (Twitter link).
Iowa State’s Talen Horton-Tucker is committed to staying in the draft as he hopes to become the Cyclones’ first player taken in the first round since 2012, relays Travis Hines of The Ames Tribune. A top 50 recruit coming out of high school, Horton-Tucker has already interviewed with 14 teams.
Milan Acquaah of Cal Baptist has taken his name out of the draft, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

Draft Notes: C. White, Barrett, Culver, G. Williams

May 17th, 2019 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of draft-eligible prospects who attended this week’s combine decided against participating in today’s scrimmages, with at least one prospect leaving the event altogether.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski first reported (via Twitter) that Jalen Lecque, who performed well during Thursday’s scrimmages, decided not to play anymore based on feedback to his family. Croatian forward Luka Samanic followed suit, as did Charles Bassey (Western Kentucky), Moses Brown (UCLA), and DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa), according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com (via Twitter), who adds that Brown is believed to have suffered an injury on Thursday.

Meanwhile, projected lottery pick Coby White (UNC) left the combine on Friday after interviewing with several teams, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). White’s departure will likely fuel speculation of a draft promise, and while it’s a possibility, there have been no reports yet suggesting that’s the case.

Here’s more on the draft:

A source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that Duke forward R.J. Barrett would be just fine being drafted third or fourth overall rather than in the top two, since he prefers to play for the Knicks or Lakers. It appears likely that Barrett will get his wish, since the Pelicans and Grizzlies are believed to be locked in on Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, respectively.
We passed along word of a handful of Jarrett Culver meetings on Thursday, but Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic provides details on a few more, writing that the Texas Tech swingman has also met with the Cavaliers, Magic, and Suns this week.
Tennessee junior Grant Williams, a probable first-round pick, tells Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (video link) that he’ll be keeping his name in the 2019 draft.
KZ Okpala (Stanford), Nassir Little (UNC), Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Jordan Poole (Michigan), and Ty Jerome (Virginia) were among the prospects to meet with the Pistons this week, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com reports in a Twitter thread. Last week, before the combine, Detroit worked out Armoni Brooks (Houston), Jordan Caroline (Nevada), Javin DeLaurier (Duke), Miye Oni (Yale), Payton Pritchard (Oregon), and B.J. Taylor (UCF).

Full List Of 2019 NBA Draft Combine Participants

May 8th, 2019 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has revealed its list of 66 players who have been invited to next week’s draft combine in Chicago and who are expected to attend. The combine will take place from May 15-19.

While a small handful of top prospects often skip the event, that won’t be the case this year — Zion Williamson and Ja Morant are on the league’s list of 66 names, along with R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland, De’Andre Hunter, and many more. Of course, those top prospects may not participate fully in all of the workouts and scrimmages at the combine.

A few more names figure to be added to this list, as a select number of the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp earlier in the week are expected to receive invites to the combine.

Here’s the full list of 66 names announced by the NBA today, in alphabetical order:

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, G, Virginia Tech (sophomore)
R.J. Barrett, G/F, Duke (freshman)
Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky (freshman)
Darius Bazley, F, Princeton HS (OH) (N/A)
Bol Bol, C, Oregon (freshman)
Jordan Bone, G, Tennessee (junior)
Brian Bowen, F, USA (born 1998)
Ky Bowman, G, Boston College (junior)
Ignas Brazdeikis, F, Michigan (freshman)
Moses Brown, C, UCLA (freshman)
Brandon Clarke, F, Gonzaga (junior)
Nicolas Claxton, F, Georgia (sophomore)
Jarrett Culver, G/F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
Luguentz Dort, G, Arizona State (freshman)
Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (freshman)
Carsen Edwards, G, Purdue (junior)
Bruno Fernando, F, Maryland (sophomore)
Daniel Gafford, F/C, Arkansas (sophomore)
Darius Garland, G, Vanderbilt (freshman)
Quentin Grimes, G, Kansas (freshman)
Kyle Guy, G, Virginia (junior)
Jaylen Hands, G, UCLA (sophomore)
Jaxson Hayes, F/C, Texas (freshman)
Tyler Herro, G, Kentucky (freshman)
Jaylen Hoard, F, Wake Forest (freshman)
Talen Horton-Tucker, G, Iowa State (freshman)
De’Andre Hunter, F, Virginia (sophomore)
Ty Jerome, G, Virginia (junior)
Cameron Johnson, G, UNC (senior)
Keldon Johnson, F, Kentucky (freshman)
Mfiondu Kabengele, C, Florida State (sophomore)
Louis King, F, Oregon (freshman)
Romeo Langford, G, Indiana (freshman)
Dedric Lawson, F, Kansas (junior)
Jalen Lecque, G, Brewster Academy (NH) (N/A)
Nassir Little, F, UNC (freshman)
Charles Matthews, G, Michigan (junior)
Jalen McDaniels, F, San Diego State (sophomore)
Ja Morant, G, Murray State (sophomore)
Zach Norvell Jr., G, Gonzaga (sophomore)
Jaylen Nowell, G, Washington (sophomore)
Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (sophomore)
Chuma Okeke, F, Auburn (sophomore)
- Update: Okeke has elected to skip the combine.
KZ Okpala, F, Stanford (sophomore)
Miye Oni, G/F, Yale (junior)
Eric Paschall, F, Villanova (senior)
Shamorie Ponds, G, St. John’s (junior)
Jordan Poole, G, Michigan (sophomore)
Jontay Porter, F, Missouri (sophomore)
Kevin Porter Jr, G, USC (freshman)
Neemias Queta, C, Utah State (freshman)
Cam Reddish, F, Duke (freshman)
Naz Reid, C, LSU (freshman)
Isaiah Roby, F, Nebraska (junior)
Luka Samanic, F, Croatia (born 2000)
Admiral Schofield, G, Tennessee (senior)
Simisola Shittu, F, Vanderbilt (freshman)
Killian Tillie, F, Gonzaga (junior)
PJ Washington, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
Tremont Waters, G, LSU (sophomore)
Quinndary Weatherspoon, G, Missippi State (senior)
Coby White, G, UNC (freshman)
Kris Wilkes, G, UCLA (sophomore)
Grant Williams, F, Tennessee (junior)
Zion Williamson, F, Duke (freshman)
Dylan Windler, G, Belmont (senior)

Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga) and Matisse Thybulle (Washington) are among the potential first-round picks who aren’t on the NBA’s list of combine participants, as noted by Jeremy Woo of SI.com and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links).