OG Anunoby Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Heat Notes: Wade, Bosh, J. Johnson, Draft

May 6th, 2017 at 7:39pm CST by Arthur Hill

Udonis Haslem and Tyler Johnson made a public appearance today to help Dwyane Wade sell sneakers, but they avoided questions about whether their former teammate might rejoin them with the Heat, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Wade is considering whether to opt out of his $23.8MM contract with the Bulls for next season. If he does, many believe he will decide to return to Miami, where he spent his first 13 seasons. Haslem and Johnson have both been in touch with Wade since Chicago was eliminated from the playoffs last week. “He’s going to have to make the best decision for him,” Johnson said. “I know he wants to be in a situation where he’s playing for a team that’s kind of established. I don’t think he wants to go through a rebuilding process.”

There’s more news out of Miami:

The Heat are expected to petition the league office soon to have Chris Bosh‘s salary removed from their cap. Bosh was kept on the roster all season after failing a physical in training camp over blood clot problems that have plagued him for the past two seasons. Haslem tells Winderman in the same story that he has contacted Bosh but hasn’t discussed his NBA future. “Chris is one of those guys, when he puts his mind it, he can do anything,” Haslem said. “So he doesn’t lack opportunity. He’s going to have a lot of opportunity to do a lot of things. He’s a very well-rounded guy. And whatever he does, he’s going to be great at it.” If Bosh is able to play enough games for another team, his $52MM salary would be put back onto the Heat’s cap.
Free agent forward James Johnson may not be guaranteed a starting job if he re-signs with the Heat this summer, Winderman speculates in another piece. With Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic both starting, Johnson may give Miami too many players on the court at the same time who need to handle the ball. Also, Justise Winslow may claim one of the starting forward slots when he returns from injury.
Winderman examines who the Heat might take if they keep the No. 14 pick in the May 16th lottery. Players who have been linked to Miami in that spot include Duke’s Harry Giles, UCLA’s T.J. Leaf, North Carolina’s Justin Jackson, California’s Ivan Rabb, Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac, Gonzaga’s Zach Collins, Indiana’s OG Anunoby, Duke’s Luke Kennard, Wake Forest’s John Collins and two overseas players, Terrence Ferguson of Australia and Frank Ntilikina of France.

OG Anunoby To Enter 2017 NBA Draft

April 10th, 2017 at 8:03am CST by Luke Adams

Indiana small forward OG Anunoby is set to enter the 2017 NBA draft, a source tells Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. According to Rothstein, who notes that an official announcement should come soon, Anunoby will hire an agent, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility.

Anunoby’s sophomore season with the Hoosiers was cut short when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in January. However, the injury doesn’t appear to have significantly affected Anunoby’s draft stock. He still ranks 14th overall on DraftExpress’ big board, and 15th on ESPN’s top 100 list.

Before he went down in January, the 19-year-old forward was averaging 11.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG, and 1.3 SPG in 16 games for Indiana. Although he was shooting an impressive 55.7% from the field, Anunoby’s overall shooting percentage was dragged down by a 3PT% of just .311. Still, he’s a very strong defender who is capable of contributing in a number of different ways on the court.

According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, Anunoby projects as a probable mid-first-rounder in June if NBA teams are comfortable about how his knee is recovering. If it looks like he may miss a significant chunk of his rookie season, Anunoby could slip a little further, but Ford still expects him to be a first-round pick, noting that his “talent level as a two-way player is off the charts.” Ford had the Indiana sophomore going 15th overall to the Pacers in his latest mock draft.

OG Anunoby To Undergo Knee Surgery, Out For Season

January 20th, 2017 at 6:03pm CST by Milo Taibi

OG Anunoby, ESPN’s 17th-ranked overall prospect, will undergo right knee surgery and miss the remainder of the season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Anunoby initially suffered the injury against Penn State on Wednesday, needing to be helped off the court by teammates. Indiana Hoosiers coach Tom Crean addressed the development through an online statement:

“It has been determined that OG Anunoby will undergo surgery on his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season. He is expected to make a complete recovery. For a young man, OG has a very strong faith and a courageous spirit. We are going to do everything as a basketball family to help him recover and rehabilitate from this unfortunate situation.”

A 6’8” wing with scoring ability, Anunoby was slated to be picked 10th in DraftExpress’ latest 2017 Mock Draft.

Anunoby announced he would forego the NBA draft in April of 2016, returning for his sophomore season at Indiana University. While Anunoby averaged just 13.7 minutes in his freshman year, the Missouri-native raised his profile this season, averaging 11.1 points on 56% shooting with 1.3 steals through 16 games.

And-Ones: ‘Melo, Batum, Hield

April 22nd, 2016 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony wasn’t at the Knicks triangle seminar this week after all, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post and Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, despite an earlier report that he was. Some say the seminar was mandatory and others called it voluntary, Isola hears, adding that one player said team president Phil Jackson only invited a few Knicks. Anthony is believed to be receiving therapy on his left knee, Berman writes, and the triangle sessions were mostly review, a source told the Post scribe, who downplays the significance of ‘Melo’s absence. Still, 10 other Knicks took part, Berman hears, including Kristaps Porzingis, who’s recovering from a shoulder strain and recently had a routine visit at the Hospital for Special Surgery, notes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (ESPN Now link). The other attendees, according to Berman, were Jerian Grant, Cleanthony Early, Langston Galloway, Tony Wroten, Sasha Vujacic, Jose Calderon, Robin Lopez, Kyle O’Quinn and Kevin Seraphin.

See more from around the NBA:

Nicolas Batum isn’t definitively out for the rest of the Hornets‘ first-round series against Miami, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, dispelling an earlier report, but he’s unlikely to return unless it goes at least six games, Bonnell says. Batum is poised for free agency this summer.
Indiana freshman small forward OG Anunoby won’t enter this year’s draft, the school announced (Twitter link). He was a late second-round prospect for this year, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who ranks him the 50th, but the 6’8″ 18-year-old has first-round potential for next year, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots him 20th in his 2017 mock draft. Anunoby saw limited action this season, putting up 4.9 points in 13.7 minutes per game.
Long-shot draft prospect Moustapha Diagne will enter this year’s draft, but he’ll do so without an agent so he can retain his college eligibility, a source told Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The 6’8″ 20-year-old from Northwest Florida State, a community college, is a former Syracuse commit, Rothstein notes, and he was 68th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school last year. Neither Ford nor Givony ranks him among the top 100 draft prospects.
Top-10 prospect and former Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield has signed with agent Rob Pelinka of Landmark Sports, a source told Darren Rovell of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link).