Robert Upshaw Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Okafor, BDA Sports, Vaughn

May 21st, 2015 at 4:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Approximately 150 NBA executives and scouts are expected to be in attendance at BDA Sports Management’s pro day, which is being held today in Santa Barbara, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports (Twitter link). Displaying their wares for the various league personnel will be 19 draft hopefuls, including Frank Kaminsky, Kelly Oubre, Robert Upshaw, and Stanley Johnson, Givony notes. There will also be six free agents performing, including Andre Dawkins, Al Thornton, and Drew Gordon, the DraftExpress scribe adds.

Here’s more draft related news:

Jahlil Okafor downplayed the recent reports that he doesn’t want to play for the Timberwolves, Andy Greder of The Pioneer Press relays. “Just for clarification I made this comment prior to the lottery,” Okafor tweeted. “I’ve never been the type to talk myself up.”
Givony released his full prospect profile and video breakdown for UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn, whom DraftExpress ranks as the 45th best prospect in the 2015 NBA Draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) thinks a bit more highly of the 18-year-old, slotting him as the No. 23 overall player.
With the NBA Draft lottery now complete teams will now focus on determining which players are worthy of being selected within the top 14 picks. Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report breaks down each of the players expected to be off the board by pick No. 15.
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie noted that he never expected to receive the Lakers‘ 2015 first-rounder, which would have conveyed to Philadelphia if it fell outside of the top five, Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com writes. “I said the day we traded for the Lakers pick, we anticipated they’d get a top-three pick. And they did. Good for them. … We never anticipated we’d get the Lakers’ pick this year. We all get to a night like this and we can all dream about our 17 percent, but we never anticipated we’d get the Lakers pick this year,” said Hinkie.

Draft Notes: Okafor, Upshaw, Vezenkov

May 20th, 2015 at 9:56pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Duke center Jahlil Okafor is more concerned about finding the right fit than what draft spot he is selected at, Ian Begley of ESPN.com relays. “I don’t know that I should go No. 1,” Okafor said to SI Now’s Maggie Gray. “I don’t care. I just want to go to the right environment for me and the right team. I think the hype about No. 1 is more for the fans.” With the recent report that Okafor prefers to go to the Lakers rather than the Wolves, Okafor’s statement could potentially be construed as the player angling to be bypassed by Minnesota in June’s draft in favor of Los Angeles, who holds the No. 2 overall pick, though that is merely my speculation.

Here’s the latest regarding the 2015 NBA Draft:

Big man Robert Upshaw has a wealth of potential, but him having been dismissed from two college teams due to substance abuse issues has put a damper on his draft stock, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes in his profile of the player. Upshaw is currently ranked as the No. 29 overall prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) places him 38th.
Early second-round prospect Aleksandar Vezenkov, who is expected to withdraw from this year’s draft, is garnering interest from a number of European teams, Vezenkov’s agent Nick Lotsos told Sportal.bg (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). “So far some teams showed interest in Vezenkov but there are no concrete proposals yet. We are not in a hurry to decide the future. We’ll consider carefully what is the best for him to develop as a player. Barcelona? It is one of the teams interested and Aleksandar is interested as well, but as I’ve said it is too early,” Lotsos relayed.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com looked at a number of players, including Jerian Grant, Kristaps Porzingis, and Willie Cauley-Stein, who have improved their draft stock over the past year.
Draft prospect George Lucas, who is also known as George de Paula, said the hardest part of the draft combine was the interviews since he is still learning English, Kennedy writes in his profile of the player. “The language is the most hard,” Lucas said. “I’m trying to learn English the best that I can, so it’s a long process for me and I’m trying to communicate with other people. I’ve always had an English class since high school, but I haven’t had a lot of conversations with other people.”

Draft Notes: Upshaw, Russell, Payne, Young

May 18th, 2015 at 11:21am CST by Chuck Myron

Several NBA executives told Chris Mannix of SI.com they wouldn’t dare draft Robert Upshaw in the first-round, leading Mannix to conclude that it’s unlikely that any team guarantees the troubled center any salary. Two seasons of guaranteed salary come with the rookie scale contracts that go to first-round picks. People from three different teams with lottery picks told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that Upshaw would be a certain lottery pick if not for his troubles in the past, which have involved drugs, but none of those teams are willing to draft him that highly, Blakely adds. Upshaw, who tells Blakely that he’s working with Bill Walton, among other mentors, is 29th in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings but 38th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Here’s more on the draft, which takes place just a week and a month from tonight:

Multiple executives told Mannix for the same piece that they think D’Angelo Russell plans to accept workout invitations only from the teams that hold the top three picks. Mannix also cites multiple execs who told him that they believe former Kentucky sharpshooter Devin Booker will go within the top 10 picks.
Cameron Payne, who spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors, is quickly lifting his stock, having become a strong candidate for the lottery, according to Mannix. Rakeem Christmas, J.P. Tokoto and Jordan Mickey were standouts in the five-on-five drills at last week’s combine, Mannix adds.
Jabari Young of CSNNW.com adds the Blazers to the list of the teams that have interviewed Oregon shooting guard Joseph Young, and he’ll also be working out with Portland, as the CSNNW.com scribe has reported. Still, Young the writer suggests it’s nonetheless unlikely that the Blazers will end up drafting Young the player.

Atlantic Notes: Draft, Monty Williams, Saric

May 14th, 2015 at 2:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have interviewed Stanley Johnson, Justise Winslow and Willie Cauley Stein, each of whom has a strong chance to be picked within the top 10, tweets Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, taking it as a sign that the C’s, who have the No. 16 pick, plan to trade up. Of course, NBA teams line up teams and prospects for interviews at the combine, taking place this week in Chicago, so clubs don’t always get the players they want, but teams can give the league an idea of the sort of player they’d like to talk to, Murphy notes (on Twitter). There’s more on the Celtics and the draft amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics also interviewed Robert Upshaw, Murphy reports in a second tweet. Upshaw’s combine measurements stood out, but in part because of the issues surrounding the University of Washington’s decision to dismiss him for a violation of team rules in January, both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress rank him only 30th.
The Raptors will gauge Monty Williams‘ interest in joining their team as an assistant coach, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter links). Still, it’s much more likely that Williams will wait for his next chance at a head coaching job, Stein adds, postulating that he could get a look from either the Nuggets or the Magic.
Sixers prospect Dario Saric insists that his father, a key figure in reports about Saric’s career, isn’t exerting undue influence, as Saric says to Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype. The 2014 No. 12 pick who’s playing overseas for Turkey’s Anadolu Efes largely avoided Sierra’s question about whether he might play with the Sixers next season, though his contract with Efes doesn’t include an escape clause until 2016. “Next season? I don’t know and I can’t speak about that because I don’t know yet the situation, how things are going to work out,” Saric said. “I can say that I’m happy here at Efes and I’m also happy that people from Philadelphia came here and want me there. That’s all I can tell you right now. I don’t have any information or any feeling regarding what could happen. I’m just focused on the rest of the season. If I stay here or if I go to the NBA, I will be happy [either way]. I don’t know what could happen this summer or next summer. Now it’s not the time to talk about that.”

Draft Combine Latest: Upshaw, Russell, Booker

May 13th, 2015 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw registered perhaps the most impressive numbers as the NBA measured prospects today at the predraft combine in Chicago. He checked in a 7 feet tall and had the greatest standing reach (9’5″), wingspan (7’5.5″), hand length and hand width, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter links). Washington dismissed Upshaw in January for a violation of team rules, but his size will surely make teams think twice. The 21-year-old is the No. 30 prospect with both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Here’s more from the combine:

D’Angelo Russell is interviewing with the Lakers and Pacers today and the Sixers on Thursday, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links). The combo guard told Pompey he prefers to play the point and would love to play for the Sixers.
Stanley Johnson, whom the Sixers are hesitant to peg as either a shooting guard or small forward, already interviewed with Philadelphia today, Pompey tweets.
Shooting guard Devin Booker and center Myles Turner are also speaking with the Pacers today, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Check out our full profile on Booker here and our profile on Turner here.
Sam Dekker‘s athleticism stood out as he went through ball-handling and shooting drills Tuesday, as Ford observes in an Insider-only piece. His shooting was solid but not overwhelming, according to Ford, who sees the small forward from Wisconsin going between the 10th and 15th picks.
GMs who spoke with Ford on Tuesday have shooting guard R.J. Hunter ranked as high as No. 12 and as low as No. 21, as Ford writes in the same piece. The NCAA tournament hero is No. 21 in Ford’s ranking.
Brazilian prospect George Lucas registered a 7-foot wingspan today, the longest ever recorded for a point guard in the DraftExpress database, as DraftExpress contributor Derek Bodner points out (Twitter link). Lucas, who also goes by George de Paula, is slated to be one of the participants in five-on-five drills this week, as shown on the full list of five-on-five participants that Ford shared via Twitter.

Draft Notes: Russell, Booker, Towns, Okafor

May 12th, 2015 at 3:38pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA’s draft combine in Chicago is underway as of today, and an increasing volume of draft rumors will follow until the event takes place June 25th at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Here’s the latest draft news:

D’Angelo Russell and Devin Booker have chosen the Creative Artists Agency for their representation, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress passes along on Twitter. CAA’s Leon Rose, who’ll represent Booker as well as Karl-Anthony Towns, also signed with Dakari Johnson earlier this spring, Givony notes in another tweet. Russell’s agent will be Aaron Mintz, according to Givony (on Twitter). Charlie Adams of Hoops Rumors looked at Booker’s draft stock up close this week.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune doesn’t get the sense that the Wolves will draft Karl-Anthony Towns first overall if they win the lottery, likely implying the team has its eyes set on Jahlil Okafor instead (Twitter link). Minnesota has a 25% chance of landing the top pick, as the lottery odds show.
Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell received a last-minute invitation to the Chicago combine, Givony tweets. McConnell is Givony‘s 61st-ranked prospect while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him 91st.
Ford excoriates Nets GM Billy King for his willingness to trade so many of Brooklyn’s future draft picks, giving the team the worst chances of any to build through the draft for the next few years, Ford opines as he writes with fellow ESPN.com scribe Kevin Pelton in an Insider-only piece. Ford and Pelton also examine the needs for the Suns, Thunder and Celtics, believing that if Robert Upshaw improves his stock dramatically, he’d be the most logical rim-protector for the Celtics to grab at pick No. 16. However, Upshaw says he won’t take part in five-on-five scrimmaging at the combine, Givony reports (Twitter link).

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Labor, Wolves, Mudiay, Combine

May 4th, 2015 at 4:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver hinted vaguely on Sunday that the NBA would push for a hard cap, shorter contracts with smaller raises and maybe even the elimination of guaranteed deals if the union opts out of the labor deal in 2017, according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Silver didn’t mention the measures specifically, but they were concessions the league sought during the last round of collective bargaining in 2011. Roberts has said that it’s likely the union will opt out and that it’s preparing to do so.

“And if they do, we’ll deal with that,” Silver said on Bleacher Report Radio, as Beck relays. “There were a lot of things we left on the table [in 2011]. We went into collective bargaining seeking — I don’t want to get into it now — but a number of things that we didn’t accomplish. And we compromised. And they compromised as well. If there’s a feeling that we should reopen the collective bargaining agreement … hopefully, just as we have in the past, we’ll work through all those issues and there won’t be any disruptions in the season.”

The deadline for either the union or the league, which can also opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, to give notice that it will do so is December 15th, 2016, Beck notes, so while we hope for a peaceful resolution, here’s more from around the league:

Timberwolves draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica wants a “serious offer” of somewhere around $5MM to $7MM a year if he’s to jump to the NBA this coming offseason, according to David Pick of Basketball Insiders, who writes in a chat with readers. A report from March indicated that there was mutual interest between the 26-year-old power forward and the Wolves, but Pick isn’t so sure Bjelica signs with the team this summer. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities speculated earlier this month that it would take an offer similar to the three-year deal for more than $16.6MM that Nikola Mirotic got from the Bulls this past offseason, and that would fall in line with Pick’s numbers.
Emmanuel Mudiay isn’t planning on accepting his invitation to take part in the NBA’s draft combine next week in Chicago and will instead continue training on the West Coast, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter links). Still, Mudiay has yet to officially decline the invitation and it’s conceivable that he makes some sort of appearance there, Charania cautions.
Mudiay is one of some 30 prospects who’ve been invited, while the NBA is eyeing about 55 others, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (All Twitter links). The NBA will likely bring most of those approximately 55 players in as long as they consent to playing in five-on-five scrimmages at the showcase, Givony adds. Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw and ex-Kentucky guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison are among those planning to participate in the five-on-five combine scrimmages, Givony hears.

Draft Rumors: Porzingis, Winslow, Upshaw

March 16th, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Charlie Adams

Kristaps Porzingis‘ strong play in Europe is impressing NBA scouts, and the 7-footer is working his way into the top-5 of teams’ draft boards, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports passes along (on Twitter). At just 19 years old, it isn’t surprising to see clubs enamored with his potential. We’ll hear the latest on a few other potential first-rounders in tonight’s look at the upcoming draft:

A scout told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Duke forward Justise Winslow‘s toughness profiles him as a Metta World Peace-type and Shane Battier-like player. “Great size and toughness,” the scout told Spears. “High ceiling, but is a third or fourth option on a team. Poor shooter. He can be Shane Battier or Metta World Peace, which is not a bad thing.” Winslow was ranked eighth in Hoops Rumors’ latest 2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
Robert Upshaw was dismissed from the University of Washington basketball team late in January for a violation of team rules, but there’s still a chance he gets taken in the first round of the draft, as an executive tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Character issues aside, the unnamed executive called Upshaw “one of the most talented bigs” he saw this year. Upshaw was also dismissed from Fresno State two years ago before he transferred to Washington.
Syracuse big man Rakeem Christmas might have worked his way into the bottom part of the first round, Howard-Cooper observes in the same piece. At 23 years old, Christmas has less upside than younger bigs, but his intensity and athleticism have helped boost his stock, Howard writes.

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Cooley, Ford, Upshaw

January 8th, 2015 at 10:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

ESPN.com draft guru Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) opines that two tiers of talent appear to be forming in the lottery portion of the upcoming NBA draft. The upper tier includes Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, Karl-Anthony Towns and Kristaps Porzingis, all of whom are currently projected as top five selections, Ford notes. The second tier consists of Kevon Looney, Justise Winslow, Willie Cauley-Stein, Myles Turner, Kelly Oubre, Mario Hezonja, Stanley Johnson and D’Angelo Russell, and they will make up the likely No. 5 to No. 12 overall selections, Ford adds.

Here’s more from around the league and the college ranks:

Ford has also released his most recent “Big Board,” which has Oubre cracking the top 10, and has Jerian Grant of Notre Dame making a big leap from No. 27 to No. 19.
A league source told Gino Pilato of D-League Digest (Twiitter link) that there is a lot of NBA interest in Jack Cooley, and there is a strong possibility that he could be inked to a 10-day contract shortly. Cooley currently plays for the Idaho Stampede, the Jazz‘s D-League affiliate.
Former Pistons assistant GM George David was hired as director of basketball operations for Wasserman Media Group, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports (Twitter link).
One college player starting to catch the eye of NBA scouts is Washington’s Robert Upshaw, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “I would agree that he was a sleeper to start this season, maybe,” one league scout told Deveney. “He is not a sleeper anymore.” The 7’0″ center is averaging 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds so far this season, and he is drawing interest as a potential first-rounder, Deveney notes.
The Warriors have assigned Ognjen Kuzmic to their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz, the team announced in a press release. This will be Kuzmic’s fourth trek of the season to the D-League.