Rui Hachimura Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.

Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura Declares For Draft

April 15th, 2019 at 1:39pm CST by Luke Adams

Gonzaga’s junior power forward Rui Hachimura has entered his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool, he announced on Monday. According to a press release from the program, Hachimura will hire an agent and pursue a professional career.

“The last three years at Gonzaga have been a dream come true, and now I’d like to pursue my next dream of playing in the NBA,” Hachimura said in a statement. “This was a significant decision for my family and myself. I just want to thank everyone at Gonzaga, especially the coaching staff and all of my teammates who went to battle with me and are my brothers for life.”

The West Coast Conference Player of the Year, Hachimura took a huge step forward in his junior year for the Zags, averaging 19.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.5 APG while shooting 59.1% from the field.

Hachimura is ranked 18th on ESPN’s big board, though Jeff Goodman of Stadium notes (via Twitter) that many NBA executives believe he’ll be drafted in the 8-to-15 range. Wherever he comes off the board, the 21-year-old is set to become the first Japanese player ever selected in the NBA draft.

As Mike Schmitz details in ESPN’s scouting report, Hachimura projects as a versatile frontcourt defender and has a promising shooting touch, though he’s much stronger from mid-range than from beyond the arc. The 6’9″ forward has an “intriguing physical profile” for a modern power forward, Schmitz writes.