Semaj Christon Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Clippers, Vonleh, Hornets, Hairston

June 17th, 2014 at 8:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers are interested in trading up from pick No. 28, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s piece centers on a profile of former University of Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who can’t work out because he’s still recovering from a torn ACL. Dinwiddie’s nonetheless had meetings with the Bucks, Wizards, Bulls and Celtics, and he’s scheduled interviews and physicals with the Clippers, Heat, Hawks and Thunder, according to Shelburne. The ESPN scribe also says that he’ll interview and take a physical for the Jazz, advancing an earlier report that he was set to interview with the team. Here’s more on the draft:

Julius Randle is set to work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Utah’s radio announcer David Locke.
Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton are expected to work out for the Lakers on Friday for the second time, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports Spears advises his readers to “keep an eye” on Payton (via Twitter) in light of the second workout.
Nik Stauskas is expected in for his first workout with the Lakers, who have struggled to get Stauskas in, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
Rodney Hood had to sit out most of his Hornets workout today due to illness, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
Gary Harris and Zach LaVine will work out for the Hornets tomorrow, tweets Bonnell, who adds Charlotte’s other new workout appointees in a separate tweet: Rion Brown; Ronald Roberts Jr.; and Markel Brown, who missed an earlier workout due to travel issues.
The Rockets worked out Shabazz Napier, Xavier Thames, Patric Young, Nick Russell, and Kadeem Coleby, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
Sim Bhullar, Earnest Ross, Ian Chiles, Cameron Clark, Philipp Neumann, and Jordan Bachynski will work out for the Wizards tomorrow, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.

Earlier updates:

Noah Vonleh will work out for the Sixers on Thursday, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Elfrid Payton, Josh Huestis, James Bell and Jordan Clarkson are the previously unreported prospects performing for the Hornets today, as Chris Littmann of The Sporting News tweets.
P.J. Hairston will audition for the Hawks, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who also reports that Hairston will show off for the Grizzlies, Lakers and Bulls (Twitter links).
Kyle Anderson will work out for the Suns, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, as well as the Grizzlies, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter links). A previous report indicated that the Suns were set to audition Anderson a week ago, so this appears to be his second workout with Phoenix.
Anderson will also perform for the Bulls, as will Clint Capela and DeAndre Daniels, Zagoria tweets.
Jordan Adams, Devyn Marble, Sean Kilpatrick, C.J. Wilcox and Jarnell Stokes are working out for the Raptors today, the team announced. A report from last month indicated that Stokes had already worked out for Toronto, but given that the dispatch came in the middle of the draft combine, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually an interview between Stokes and the club, rather than a workout.
The Wizards are auditioning Semaj Christon, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, Alec Brown and Khem Birch today, according to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).

And-Ones: Knicks, Blatt, Vonleh, Wiggins

June 15th, 2014 at 10:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest from around the league as the Spurs hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy..

Heat guard Ray Allen told reporters he will see where his “true heart lies” in a couple of days in terms of playing or retiring, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo.
Phil Jackson will look to re-tool the Knicks‘ roster this summer, but new coach Derek Fisher told ESPN 98.7 that he believes the team can improve by 8-10 wins as currently constructed, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “In my opinion, I believe that success and failure are not as far apart as people think. It’s pretty close. And when you think about [the Knicks] winning 37 games a year ago, there are a number of things that you can isolate with the same exact roster that can provide 8-10 more wins without a change of any kind,” Fisher said last week.
Last week we learned that David Blatt will interview with the Cavs and today, we learned the date. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports hears that the former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach will meet with Cleveland on Wednesday.
Indiana big man Noah Vonleh will work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. Utah owns the No. 5 pick and DraftExpress has them pegged to draft the soon-to-be 19-year-old.
Executives see the Magic as the team most likely to shake up the draft, tweets Chris Mannix of NBC Sports. The question now is whether they like Marcus Smart, Dante Exum, Vonleh, or someone else in the draft.
The Sixers are slated to work out Andrew Wiggins on Tuesday in Philadelphia, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Philly, of course, owns the No. 3 pick.
No surprise here, but Bosnian big man Jusuf Nurkic will keep his name in the draft, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Nurkic is projected to go somewhere between 12 and 21 in Ford’s view.
The Celtics are eyeing guard prospects such as Xavier Thames, Semaj Christon, and Russ Smith, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Last week, Austin Ainge told Washburn that the C’s are looking into trading back into the second round and Boston might do that with one of those three in mind.
Aaron Gordon is a lock for the lottery thanks to his athleticism and defense, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The 6’9″ forward out of Arizona is more athletic than Julius Randle and Noah Vonleh and is also a better defender.

Draft Rumors: Randle, Magic, Eriksson, Capela

June 12th, 2014 at 1:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

Julius Randle and his family deny that there’s anything wrong with his right foot, in spite of a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that the potential top-five pick will likely require surgery. Randle issued his denial in a pair of tweets, while his mother and godfather spoke with Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, respectively. The procedure would force Randle to miss six to eight weeks but allow him to start training camp on time, according to Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski’s original report indicated that the surgery wouldn’t affect his draft stock, but later said via Twitter that it was “an issue,” echoing what an NBA executive told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, who suggests the injury could indeed affect his stock. NBA teams are worried that putting off surgery will lead to major problems in the future, Wojnarowski tweets. There’s more on Randle amid our latest on the draft:

The Celtics, who pick sixth, say Randle has “full clearance” as far as they’re concerned, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
Tucker’s report adds the Magic to the teams auditioning Randle.
Spanish league shooting guard Marcus Eriksson is pulling out of this year’s draft, agent Andy Miller tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Eriksson is No. 80 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress prospect rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him ranked. There have been no reports of Eriksson setting up interviews or workouts with teams.
Clint Capela is the leading name in a Raptors workout today that also includes LaQuinton Ross, Jamil Wilson and Markel Brown, the team announced (on Twitter).
Brown has worked out for the Thunder, a source tells Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Slater also passes along an earlier report from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Kyle Anderson worked out for the team, and another report from Jeremy Rauch of Fox 19 in Cincinnati that adds the Thunder, Heat and Bulls to the list of teams auditioning Semaj Christon (Twitter links).
Zach LaVine is among the prospects who’ll show off for the Celtics on Friday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The Celtics are auditioning Luke Hancock and Geron Johnson on top of previously reported names today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reveals via Twitter.

Eastern Notes: Rambis, Jefferson, Snell, Sixers

June 10th, 2014 at 4:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have granted the Knicks permission to interview assistant coach Kurt Rambis for a job on head coach Derek Fisher‘s staff, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Rambis is willing to listen, Medina hears. Rambis also remains a candidate for the Lakers head coaching job, but it’s uncertain whether he’d be retained as a Lakers assistant if they go with someone else for the head job, as Medina points out. Here’s more news related to Eastern Conference teams:

Al Jefferson is recruiting free agents to come to Charlotte, and Hornets coach Steve Clifford is confident that the mere presence of the Third-Team All-NBA center makes the Hornets more attractive to potential signees, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
The Bulls remain sold on Tony Snell as a rotation-caliber talent, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune details in his latest mailbag column. Johnson also says he’d be “shocked” if the Bulls don’t address their shooting via the draft.
The New Jersey state government gave the OK this morning for the Sixers to build a practice facility in Camden, reports Julia Terruso of the Philadelphia Inquirer, prompting the team to announce plans for the facility. GM Sam Hinkie and coach Brett Brown have contended that the facility will be key to attracting free agents.
The Celtics are among the teams that have worked out draft lottery prospect Doug McDermott, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com notes in his Insider-only mock draft.
Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson will audition for the Pistons, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
The Wizards will work out LaQuinton Ross, Devyn Marble, Jarell Eddie, Okaro White and Kendall Williams, the team announced.
Semaj Christon, DeAndre Kane, Drew Crawford, Sebastian Koch and Talib Zanna are among those who’ll perform for the Hornets on Wednesday, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). Crawford was also scheduled to show off for the team last week.
Alex Kirk is working out for the Hornets this week, too, and he’ll also do so for the Raptors, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.

Atlantic Notes: Cartwright, Walton, Sixers

June 7th, 2014 at 8:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bill Cartwright is waiting to hear from either Phil Jackson or Steve Kerr about an assistant coaching position, writes Mitch Abramson of The New York Daily News. According to the article, Cartwright had met with Jackson back in April about joining the Knicks bench if Kerr was hired as coach. On his lack of recent contact with Jackson, Cartwright said, “We’re waiting for them to make a decision, obviously about the head coach and there’s nothing going on.” On possibly working as an assistant under Derek Fisher, Cartwright said, “That’s a Phil question, not my question. I’m looking to coach. There’s really nothing more to say, outside of that. I’m looking to coach.”

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Bucks, Sixers, Temple

June 2nd, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Another team with a top-three pick has inquired with the Cavs about trading up for the first overall pick, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. That means either the Bucks, currently picking second, or Sixers, at No. 3, would like to see if they can improve their respective draft positions. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference, home to the teams with five of the top six selections in the draft:

Soon-to-be free agent Garrett Temple says he’ll consider teams that offer an expanded role for him, but he nonetheless adds that he’d “love” to be back with the Wizards, as Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com observes.
NBA veteran Lance Thomas has dropped out of this week’s Nets workout, tweets Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Semaj Christon, Bryce Cotton, Deonte Burton, Russ Smith, Kendrick Perry, Kyle Casey, Reger Dowell and Tim Frazier are the previously unreported players working out for the Celtics today. Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe passes along the list on Twitter.

Draft Notes: Vonleh, Stauskas, McDermott, Harris

May 30th, 2014 at 11:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Indiana big man Noah Vonleh looked impressive in a workout this week, and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Magic to the list of teams auditioning the potential top-five pick (Twitter link). There’s news on a few other projected lottery selections among the latest on the draft:

Nik Stauskas will work out for the Lakers and Celtics, Goodman reports, adding that the same two teams are on Doug McDermott‘s agenda (Twitter links).
Gary Harris will show off for the Suns and Lakers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
Adreian Payne is set to audition for the Celtics, Suns and Jazz, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
The Hawks worked out Nick Johnson on Thursday, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jahii Carson, Justin Cobbs, Cory Jefferson, Artem Klimenko and Akil Mitchell are all performing for the Bucks today, the team announced (on Twitter).
The Suns will audition Lamar Patterson today, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Phoenix is also getting a look at De’Mon Brooks, according to agent Keith Kreiter (Twitter link).
The Sixers worked out Patterson, Semaj Christon, Devon Saddler, Casey Prather and Langston Galloway, reports Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Pacers had a look at Galloway, Jabari Brown, Markel Starks and C.J. Wilcox, as Tynes also writes.
The Celtics and Bulls will audition Kadeem Batts, Sportando’s David Pick tweets.

Draft Links: Hancock, Jazz, Vonleh

May 29th, 2014 at 8:52pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The 76ers worked out Luke Hancock, who’s also set to audition for the Pistons, Bucks, Jazz and Rockets, agent Pedro Power of You First Sports tells Hoops Rumors.

You can find more of tonight’s draft links worth passing along below:

In addition to Hancock, Utah will bring in Semaj Christon, DeAndre Kane, Travis Wear, and Jamil Wilson for workouts tomorrow, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (via Twitter).
Noah Vonleh has drawn serious praise after his Wednesday workout in New York, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN. Though Vonleh’s shot may have been off, one NBA executive told Ford that Vonleh was impressive in every other category. “Vonleh was good. Didn’t shoot it well but everything else was very good to ridiculously good.” Another executive feels that Vonleh has the requisite athleticism to rival those at the top of his draft class. “(He’s) got elite physical tools and is very skilled. He should be in the same group with Wiggins, Embiid, Parker & Exum” (All Twitter links).
The Raptors reportedly like both Nik Stauskas and Tyler Ennis, but they also know that neither will realistically be available by the time the team selects at No. 20 on draft night. The team could possibly attempt to trade for a higher selection, but Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun says that it’s highly unlikely (Twitter link).
Wolstat adds (via Twitter) that Melvin Ejim has a workout with the Raptors on June 4. Ennis has upcoming workouts with the Kings, Lakers, and Magic.
Ejim will also join Thanasis Antetokounmpo, DeAndre Daniels, and Cleanthony Early in a workout for the Hornets, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Former Iona guard Sean Armand will work out for the Bulls, a source tells SNY.tv’s Adam Zagoria (Twitter link).

Semaj Christon To Declare For Draft

March 28th, 2014 at 9:58pm CST by Cray Allred

Xavier sophomore Semaj Christon has announced that he will declare for the 2014 NBA Draft, telling Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com of his decision (H/T Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). “It’s been my lifelong dream of playing in the NBA,” said Christon. “Xavier has been a great experience, but now it’s time for me to move onto a different chapter in my life for me and my family.” Christon is currently projected as a secound round pick, with Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranking him as the 45th best prospect, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress projecting him at 43rd overall. A veteran scout tells Zagoria that area in the second round is Christon’s range. The scout adds that Christon would likely spend time in the D-Leauge next year.

The 6’3″ point guard averaged 16.2 points and 4.4 assists per game for his college career with a .462/.388/.670 slash line. Christon finished sixth in Big East scoring this year at 17.0 points per game, earning Big East first-team honors. Christon’s length, athleticism, and ball handling are strengths he has displayed as an NBA prospect. He projects as a good defender and scorer, but hasn’t established himself as a distributor or shooter.