Nate Wolters

Draft Workout Updates: Friday

With the 2013 draft less than two weeks away, the majority of the NBA's teams are continuing to bring in prospects to get a closer look at them. Here are the latest updates on draft workouts:

  • In addition to Michael Carter-Williams, who we heard about yesterday, Trey Burke and Alex Len also participated in the Pelicans' first draft workout today, tweets Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com.
  • The Pistons won't start working out players for the No. 8 pick until next week, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press, who tweets that Mason Plumlee will work out for the club next Friday.
  • The six players scheduled to work out for the Nets on Monday include C.J. Leslie and Tony Mitchell, according to a team release.
  • Ray McCallum, Brandon Paul, Tony Snell, Nate Wolters, Jack Cooley, and Zeke Marshall worked out for the Trail Blazers today, according to Joe Freeman of the Oregonian (Twitter link).
  • The Timberwolves will work out six players on Sunday, according to the team's PR Twitter account: Shabazz Muhammad, Archie Goodwin, Rodney Williams, James Ennis, Kyle Barone, and Jamelle Hagins (Twitter links).
  • Brandon Davies, Mike Muscala, Elijah Johnson, B.J. Young, Grant Jerrett, and Colton Iverson worked out for the Clippers today, tweets Clips reporter Madelyn Burke.
  • Jerrett and Davies are also among the players who will work out for the Jazz tomorrow, along with Snell, Gorgui Dieng, Jamaal Franklin, Isaiah Canaan, and Kelly Olynyk, among others (link via Utah's official site).

Knicks Notes: Kidd, Selby, Draft

Knicks fans got a bit of surprising news earlier today when Jason Kidd announced that he is retiring.  The future Hall of Famer still had two seasons and $6.18MM remaining on his three-year contract with the Knicks and despite his shooting woes to close out the Knicks' season, he had a strong 2012/13 campaign on the whole.  Here's more on Kidd and other notes out of MSG..

  • The NBA will miss Kidd’s presence on the court, but don’t be surprised if he surfaces in the NBA next season as a coach, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld.  I could certainly see Kidd taking a run at coaching, but it may not be right away.
  • Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (viaTwitter) says to keep an eye on Josh Selby in free agency.  The guard's priority is figuring out his summer league and then signing with a team, though its not known if the Knicks have interest yet.  For what it's worth, Selby and Carmelo Anthony are friends from their days in Baltimore and are still close.  Anthony was hoping the Knicks would draft Selby in 2011, but he went to the Grizzlies in the second round instead.
  • Point guard prospect Nate Wolters out of South Dakota State will be working out for the Knicks, Zwerling tweets.  Wolters is a projected late first/early second round pick.
  • Nets GM Billy King issued a statement on Kidd's retirement.  "[Kidd] was the captain of the Nets during their most successful period in the NBA, and is considered the greatest player in the Nets' NBA history. On behalf of the entire Brooklyn Nets organization, we congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career," King said, according to the AP.  With all due respect for Kidd, Drazen Petrovic is considered by some to be the greatest Nets player in their NBA history.

Draft Combine Latest: Friday Evening

As day three of the NBA draft combine comes to a close, updates are still coming in from reporters stationed in Chicago for the event, which runs through Sunday. We covered the news from the first part of the day in this post, and we'll round up additional items here:

  • Robbins adds Victor Oladipo and Nate Wolters to the list of players the Magic have interviewed, which includes a total of 18 prospects. Trey Burke isn't one of them, but he'll likely visit Orlando soon for a lengthy workout and interview.
  • Zeller has interviewed with 10 teams at the combine, and the Sixers are one of them, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Earlier updates:

  • Nerlens Noel told Andy Katz of ESPN that he's interviewed with the Celtics, Magic, Bobcats, Suns, Pelicans and Cavaliers, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv passes along. Katz also hears Gorgui Dieng and Jamaal Franklin are hopeful they'll be healthy enough to work out before the draft. Alex Len won't be ready to hit the court until August, but he's planning to talk with 15 teams at the combine, according to Katz.
  • Dennis Schroeder is one of a pair of international prospects rumored to have received a promise from a team, and he said following an interview with the Bucks at the combine that Milwaukee could be a fit for him, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Schroeder also sees a chance for playing time with the Jazz.
  • The Magic interviewed Otto Porter during the combine, and scheduled a meeting with Kelly Olynyk as well, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links).
  • Sean Deveney of The Sporting News counts Cody Zeller among those with a shot at becoming the top pick after an impressive showing in drills today.
  • Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press adds Brandon Paul and Tony Mitchell to the list of Pistons interviewees. Paul has a workout with the team scheduled for later this month.
  • The Oregonian's Jason Quick looks at the prospect interview process the Trail Blazers employ, and adds that GM Neil Olshey flew to Europe this spring to scout Rudy Gobert and Dario Saric, who aren't taking part in the combine.

Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Morning

11:56am: More A.M. updates out of Chicago:

  • Nerlens Noel told reporters that he hasn't completed any interviews so far, but that he's "pretty sure" he has one scheduled with the Magic. He's not quite so sure about the Cavaliers (Twitter links).
  • Steven Adams and Kelly Olynyk are among the prospects that have met with the Wizards so far and think they'd fit in well in Washington (Twitter links). Mason Plumlee is also on the Wizards' list, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
  • Olynyk has met with the Bobcats as well, says Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
  • Gorgui Dieng will work out for the Bucks, who will also interview Rudy Gobert and Plumlee, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter links).
  • A couple notes from SI.com's Chriss Mannix (via Twitter): Cody Zeller has spoken to the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Rockets, and Celtics, while Mike Muscala only has interviews lined up with the Spurs and Hawks, but will do "nine or 10" workouts later. One of those workouts will be with the Blazers, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
  • Shabazz Muhammad and Deshaun Thomas interviewed with the Timberwolves last night, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

11:09am: With a number of reporters in attendance at the NBA's predraft camp in Chicago, we're expecting plenty of noteworthy tidbits to trickle in throughout the day. Here's a round-up of the first batch of updates on 2013's draft combine participants:

  • According to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), the Cavaliers aren't on Otto Porter's list of teams he's meeting with this week. That's a bit of a surprise, given the rumblings that he's high on the team's big board, though as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer tweets, the Cavs drafted a pair of players they didn't interview last year.
  • Porter is scheduled to meet with the Wizards, who spoke to Victor Oladipo earlier this week, tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Porter will meet with the Pistons as well, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Bobcats, Thunder, and Suns have already met with Porter, according to Lee (via Twitter).
  • The Pistons are also prepared to meet with Shabazz Muhammad today, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Muhammad interviewed with the Trail Blazers yesterday and felt it went very well, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
  • Nate Wolters and Adonis Thomas were among the prospects who have met with the Lakers so far, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
  • Glen Rice Jr., who played in the D-League this past season, has been interviewed by the Bucks, Celtics, Warriors, Sixers, and Spurs, he confirmed to reporters (all Twitter links).

Draft Notes: Hairston, Burton, Wolters, Greek Freak

With a blank slate tonight in the professional ranks, expect most NBA fans to turn their attention to the NCAA title game between Michigan and Louisville.  Both teams are loaded with future NBAers.  Let's round up all draft-related news and notes from tonight here:

  • Per the Associated Press (via ESPN), New Mexico guard Tony Snell will enter the NBA draft.  There were reports a few weeks back that Snell was leaning towards the draft and on Monday he made it official, stating at an on-campus news conference, "in my heart, I feel like it's a good decision to leave now."
  • Mitch McGary's NBA draft stock is soaring, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.  Quoting a pair of pro scouts, Zagoria implies that McGary needs to at least consider leaving Ann Arbor because it is unlikely that his stock will ever be this high again. 

Earlier updates:

  • Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports tweeted yesterday that North Carolina sophomore guard P.J. Hairston will be returning to Chapel Hill.  However, Hairston's mother says that they are still in the process of making that decision, writes Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer.  Hairston emerged as a legitimate scoring threat once he was inserted into the starting lineup for the Tar Heels in mid-February.  According to Carter, Roy Williams is optimistic that Hairston, James McAdoo and Reggie Bullock will all return, though he cautioned that no announcement will be made by the school until all three decide. 
  • Nevada's Deonte Burton will return for his senior season, reports Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal.  The point guard, who averaged 16.3 points and 3.6 assists per game as a junior for the Wolf Pack, was projected anywhere from a late second-rounder to undrafted. 
  • South Dakota State senior Nate Wolters has signed with agent Jared Karnes, tweets HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy, who adds that the Jack Rabbits star is expected to be an early second round pick.  Wolters has been one of the best mid-major players in the country in his career, averaging 19.5, 21.2 and 22.3 points-per-game from his sophomore to senior seasons. 
  • Giannis Antetokoumpo, a 6-foot-10 point guard from Greece with a giant wingspan, is shooting up NBA draft boards, reports Chris Sheridan in a video courtesy of Sheridan Hoops.  As we've seen, the "Greek Freak" is drawing a ton of interest from NBA teams  and Sheridan opines that Antetokoumpo could end up being a lottery pick if he decides to enter this June's draft.
  • Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops shares his latest NBA mock draft here, adding that Antetokoumpo could end up being this year's Bismack Biyombo