Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Pierre Jackson

Odds & Ends: McLemore, Draft, Kings, Jackson

June 25th, 2013 at 10:31pm CST by Michael Pina

A few random notes from around the league.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Draft Rumors: Jazz, McCollum, Bennett

June 22nd, 2013 at 8:29pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Jazz have a lot of question marks this summer, but with the 14th, 21st, and 46th picks in what many consider a wild card "down" draft, their chances of landing a quality starter with a high upside leaves a lot to be desired. 

Brad Rock of the Desert News writes about how rare it is to land anyone of merit with the 14th pick in the draft. Sure, there are exceptions, Rock mentions Tim Hardaway's selection by the Warriors with the 14th pick in 1989, but usually there's a dearth of talent in that position, with the pick being "unproductive at worst, respectable at best."

Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune reiterates what Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld wrote in his NBA AM piece: the Jazz will select a point guard, but there aren't a lot of options at their current picks. With few options for a point guard selected in their range, it's unlikely the Jazz will find a difference maker at point guard. When Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey was asked if he would be surprised if the draft came and went without the Jazz selecting a point guard, he said "Not at all."

But Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun said there's a lot of talent at point guard in the late first early second rounds, mentioning Dennis Schroeder, Myck Kabongo, Peyton Siva, Pierre Jackson, Isaiah Canaan, Nate Wolters, and Phil Pressey (Twitter). Here are a few more tidbits from the Jazz and the rest of the league with just five days before the 2013 draft. 

  • Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune believes the Jazz should move up if they're looking for a difference maker, largely mirroring what his colleague Oram wrote; the Jazz aren't going to land anything special, unless they luck out, if they stay put. 
  • ESPN.com's Chad Ford has a list of the 10 green room invites for ESPN's Thursday draft coverage: Nerlens Noel, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Alex Len, Anthony Bennett, Ben McLemore, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Cody Zeller & C.J. McCollum.
  • The selections perfectly align with the top 10 in Ford's latest mock draft, but Ford mentions the NBA is likely to add some more green room attendees as we get closer to the big night, and even offers some guesses as to who else will be invited (Twitter). 
  • About one of those confirmed green room invites, John Rohde of the Oklahoman has a piece on how far McCollum has come since he was a middle school phenom in Oklahoma City.
  • Another green room invite, Bennett, visited the Bobcats today, but he couldn't work out, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Bennett is recovering from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff on his left shoulder, but he'll be ready to play in August. 
  • Marcus Fuller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press ranks the Timberwolves' 24 years of draft picks–including Kevin Garnett, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love–in the days preceding their 26th pick in this, their 25th draft anniversary.
  • As the draft approaches, Scott Agyness of Pacers.com writes that University of Kansas 7-footer Jeff Withey (represented by Darren Matsubara) participated in his last predraft workout with the Pacers today.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Draft Notes: McLemore, Magic, Saric, Bennett

June 5th, 2013 at 7:48pm CST by Chuck Myron
Chris Mannix of SI.com hands out his draft superlatives, with an assist from scouts and executives. Anthony Bennett has the greatest superstar potential, Mannix writes, while Victor Oladipo could be the most resounding bust. It'll be a while before we can definitively say whether Mannix was correct on either account, but much more becomes clear with each passing day until June 27th. After passing along the latest this morning, we'll follow with with an evening draft roundup:
  • Ben McLemore has reportedly slipped behind Victor Oladipo in the eyes of the Magic, but Orlando will have McLemore in for a workout June 11th, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. (Twitter links). Keith Clanton, Erik Murphy, Michael Snaer and Kenny Boynton, all products of Florida colleges, are auditioning for the Magic either today or tomorrow, Robbins adds.
  • Chad Ford of ESPN.com chatted with readers, revealing that top-level scouts believe Dario Saric to be on par with Otto Porter and that the Wizards and Bobcats are especially high on Anthony Bennett.
  • Korie Lucious worked out for the Bucks today and did so for the Pistons earlier this week, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. D.J. Stephens, another participant in today's Bucks workout, has also drawn interest from the Pistons and Grizzlies.
  • Jody Genessy of the Deseret News had the news on six players working out for the Jazz today, and he tweets word of six more set to hit Utah on Thursday: Glen Rice Jr.,Vander Blue, Jack Cooley, Solomon Hill, Pierre Jackson and Trevor Mbakwe.
  • Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic adds second-round hopefuls E.J. Singler and Jared Berggren to the list of players who worked out for the Suns today (Twitter link).
  • B.J. Young, Brandon Paul, Reggie Bullock, Romero Osby, Kenny Kadji and James Ennis are among the prospects working out Thursday for the Knicks, the team announced via Twitter. 
  • Ennis, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert, Mike Muscala, Cody Zeller, Jeff Withey, Shabazz Muhammad, Rodney Williams, Reggie Bullock, Kelly Olynyk and Tony Snell will all audition for Minnesota in the coming weeks, Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders tweets. He also lists "Thomas," likely in reference to Deshaun Thomas or Adonis Thomas.
  • The Wizards announced they'll put Deshaun Thomas, Keion Bell, Laurence Bowers, D.J. Seeley, James Southerland and Khalif Wyatt through a workout tomorrow.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Atlantic Rumors: Amare, Williams, Celtics, Raptors

May 25th, 2013 at 2:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Amare Stoudemire will be working with Hakeem Olajuwon for a second consecutive summer, and despite his lack of contribution this past season, the Knicks still have high regard for their most lavishly paid player, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com passes along. GM Glen Grunwald called Stoudemire "a heck of a player."

"We hope he'll be able to play significant minutes for us next year," Grunwald said. "How much that will be, we don't know at this time. But when he came and played for us … he was, as (coach Mike Woodson) said, a big factor in those games." 

While we wait to see how Stoudemire bounces back next year, here's the latest from around the Atlantic Division:

  • Terrence Williams, whose contract for next season is non-guaranteed, addressed reporters today after working out at the Celtics facility. He said that, in spite of his recent legal troubles, Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers still view him as part of the team's future, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes.
  • The Celtics have worked out a dozen players in the past two days, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe round up (Twitter links). On Friday the team saw Colton Iverson, Erick Green, Jeff Withey, Peyton Siva, Vander Blue and Ricky Ledo, and today the C's looked at Pierre Jackson, Gregory Echenique, Myck Kabongo, Shane Larkin, Phil Pressey and Steven Adams.
  • Masai Ujiri appears destined to become the next GM of the Raptors, and Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun hears Ujiri and Phil Jackson are the only two candidates the team has aggressively pursued so far (All Twitter links). The Raptors have been linked to Kevin Pritchard and Troy Weaver as well, but they seem to have a strong preference for Ujiri.
  • Ben Goldberg-Morse of the Philadelphia Inquirer lays out how new Sixers GM Sam Hinkie's emphasis on analytics could improve the production of Jrue Holiday, who received a long-term extension last summer, and Evan Turner, who's up for one this offseason.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Magic, Warriors, Dwight, Clippers

May 24th, 2013 at 11:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

In the NFL, teams are frequently better off drafting for positional need rather than going for the best player, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, who argues that the opposite is true in the NBA. Thus, he implores the Magic to ignore fans who have football on the mind and draft the most talented player available with the No. 2 pick. He also notes that the Orlando summer league will add a title game this year, similar to the Las Vegas summer league, and sees Kevin Love's frequent chats with Flip Saunders as encouraging news for the Timberwolves. Here's more from around the Association as a long weekend commences:

  • Dwight Howard's camp has "never given the slightest indication" that he wants to join the Warriors, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link), echoing an earlier report from Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game. Kawakami thinks the W's shouldn't pursue Howard as a result.
  • Grantland's Bill Simmons points to evidence that suggests Howard is in decline, leading him to advise the Lakers to pass on him. Simmons encourages Howard to sign with the Rockets instead.
  • DeAndre Jordan was surprised to see the Clippers and Vinny Del Negro part ways, as the center tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link).
  • As for Del Negro's replacement, HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram makes the case that Nate McMillan and Brian Shaw should top the list of coaching candidates for the Clippers. 
  • Point guard Pierre Jackson will work out on June 17th for the Trail Blazers, Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com reports, adding that strong workouts in New Jersey this past week have turned the Baylor senior into a potential first-round pick. 
  • Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune thinks the Wolves will shy away from guards with the No. 9 pick, as long as they don't trade the selection (Twitter link).
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Draft Notes: Burke, Kupsas, Critics

May 23rd, 2013 at 8:08pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press relayed a few interesting quotes from Trey Burke, who on 107.3 WBBL's the "Huge Show" said that he's hearing he could be drafted from anywhere between the second and sixth picks of the first round. The former Michigan star also specifically mentioned the Magic and Pelicans as two teams that need a point guard. Later on in the interview, Burke spoke about his decision to stay with the Wolverines for his sophomore season this past year and how some of his teammates used him as a resource to help determine their immediate futures as well. Here are a few more draft notes worth passing along this evening:

  • HoopsWorld's Steve Kyler thinks that while Ricky Ledo has some baggage that teams will have to sort through, he's a solid scorer who has drawn interest and could be taken between 20-40 in this draft (Twitter links). 
  • Michael Lee of The Washington Post hears that Otto Porter is under consideration to be selected by the Cavaliers with their number one overall pick. 
  • According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Lithuanian center Mindaugas Kupsas will participate at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso and may travel to the United States for private workouts around two weeks before the NBA draft. 
  • Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy writes that despite some of the criticisms which suggest that this year's draft pool isn't very strong, the 2011 NBA Draft was a good example of one that was stronger and deeper than initially expected. Kennedy writes that a handful of prospects -including Nerlens Noel, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Victor Oladipo, and Mason Plumlee –  have noted those criticisms and are eager to use it as motivation once they enter the league. 
  • Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog tweeted about forward/center Alex Oriakhi, who one NBA scout opined is "as strong as three men," can rebound the ball well, and has been a high percentage field goal shooter because he never takes a bad shot.
  • Zagoria notes that one veteran NBA scout thinks that former Louisville point guard Peyton Siva will be taken in the second round of the draft (Twitter link). 
  • Lastly, Zagoria (via Twitter) mentions that former Baylor guard Pierre Jackson "impressed a lot of NBA folks" during his workout in New Jersey today. 
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Lee, 76ers, Blake, Len, Draft Risers

May 7th, 2013 at 9:32pm CST by Alex Lee

The Knicks have evened their conference semifinal against the Pacers at one.  While the Grizzlies try to do the same, here are some news and notes from around the league:

  • ESPN Boston's Chris Forberg examines the chances that Courtney Lee will stick in Boston as the Celtics head into their offseason.  After being traded three of the last four summers, Lee struggled to carve out a role in his first year as a Celtic despite being given every chance to do so.  Lee is under contract and the Celts coveted him a year ago, so it would make sense if they gave him another year to assimilate. 
  • Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com has a litany of Sixers coaching updates in his latest story.  According to Moore, the team won't interview Michael Malone or Jeff Hornacek until next week at the earliest.  Moore reiterates the team's interst in Brian Shaw and Michael Curry, while also adding a new name, Quin Snyder, to the coaching mix in Philadelphia.  Snyder coached on Doug Collins' staff in Philly during the 2010-11 season and was mentioned earlier tonight as a possible fit in Atlanta.
  • While Steve Blake is one of four Lakers to be amnesty eligible, his strong play this season as a role player makes it unlikely that he will be the one to go, writes Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times.  Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol are his other three amnesty eligible teammates. 
  • Alex Len and his agent, Michael Lelchitski, contemplated delaying last week's ankle surgery until after pre-draft workouts in an attempt to move into the conversation for the No. 1 pick, writes RealGM's Shams Charania.  “If he had a chance to work out, I truly believe he could have moved up and gone No. 1,” Lelchitski said of the Maryland center.  While it was clearly the right decision, Len's injury will certainly affect his draft stock, as it will sideline him for anywhere from four to six months.
  • In an Insider-only blog, ESPN's Fran Fraschilla breaks down five underrated draft prospects he believes will rise up boards as team's get a better look at them in the coming weeks.  Among them, Frachilla lists Murray State's Isaiah Canaan, Cal's Allen Crabbe, Brazil's Lucas Nogueira, NC State's Lorenzo Brown and Baylor's Pierre Jackson.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Odds & Ends: Atlantic, Previews, Draft

September 28th, 2012 at 9:22pm CST by Alex Lee

Here are a few odds and ends from around the NBA on Friday night:

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0