Shannon Scott Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Alexander, Greene, Williams

June 2nd, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kansas big man Cliff Alexander suffered a knee injury during his workout with the Lakers earlier today, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times reports. The injury is being called a mild ACL sprain, and will likely keep Alexander out of action for three to five days, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein, Chad Ford of ESPN.com tweets. Alexander did complete the bulk of his workout before getting hurt, Pincus notes. If the injury is more serious than a simple sprain it would certainly come as a major blow to Alexander’s chances of being selected this June. The freshman had already watched his draft stock slip over the course of his lone collegiate season, with Alexander beginning the campaign as a potential lottery pick and ending it as a marginal second-rounder. Alexander is currently the No. 32 overall prospect according to ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) and the 47th best according to DraftExpress.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Thunder have reached an agreement with former Pelicans coach Monty Williams that will make him the top assistant on new head coach Billy Donovan‘s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Donovan will keep Oklahoma City assistant Mark Bryant and Darko Rajakovic on his staff, and will likely make former Alabama coach Anthony Grant his No. 3 assistant coach, Wojnarowski adds.
The Suns held workouts today for Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Kevon Looney (UCLA), Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame), Gary Bell (Gonzaga), and Shannon Scott (Ohio State), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
St. John’s guard Phil Greene, who worked out for the Nets today, also has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Jazz and the Suns, Scotto relays (Twitter link). Greene and Steve Lavin, his college coach, recently spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors.
With the Mavericks set to make wholesale roster changes this offseason, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News runs down some free agents who the team could look to target this offseason, including DeMarre Carroll, Rodney Stuckey, and Greg Monroe.

And-Ones: Booker, Clippers, Sanders

June 1st, 2015 at 10:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kentucky shooting guard Devin Booker will work out for the Thunder on Tuesday, Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman tweets. Oklahoma City owns the No. 14 overall pick. The Suns, who have the No. 13 pick, brought in Booker for a workout on Monday. according to a tweet from Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com. Dez Wells, Josh Richardson, Derek Cooke, Vince Hunter and Jarvis Summers also participated in Phoenix’s workout, according to Scotto.

In other news around the league:

The Clippers, who don’t have a pick in the draft, nonetheless brought in several prospects for workouts on Monday, including Chris Walker, Dwayne Polee, Ralston Turner, Keifer Sykes, Shannon Scott and Richaun Holmes, Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reports.
Trevor Lacey, Dakari Johnson, Rayvonte Rice, Corey Hawkins, Kenneth Smith and Alpha Kaba worked out for the Lakers on Monday, according to the Lakers’ Twitter feed.
Jerian Grant and Delon Wright participated in the Wizards’ first pre-draft workout, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post reports.
Larry Sanders has no regrets walking away from the Bucks and the NBA, he tells Gus Turner of Complex.com in a lengthy feature article. Sanders left approximately $27MM but has found peace and happiness outside of basketball, Turner adds. “I couldn’t function outside of the gym and my studio,” he told Turner. “I couldn’t be around my family; I couldn’t be around anybody else. I was creating from a place of anxiety and fear, suffering. I wasn’t creating from a place of joy or happiness or freedom. Everything I did was pure avoidance.”
Alvin Gentry’s four-year deal to coach the Pelicans is worth a total of $13.75MM, and that includes a team option of $4MM for the final season, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Atlantic Notes: Mudiay, Bass, Daniels

May 27th, 2015 at 6:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Knicks owning the No. 4 overall pick this June, numerous mock drafts have the franchise slated to select Emmanuel Mudiay at that slot. Even though New York appears intent on continuing to implement the triangle offense, Mudiay’s presence could make the team run more pick-and-roll plays, which is something the young guard excels at, ESPN.com’s Fran Fraschilla opines. “You know that the organization is married to the triangle, but we also know that when the clock went low in Chicago and Los Angeles they gave the ball to Michael [Jordan] and Kobe Bryant and got out of the way. So if there are ways to use Mudiay in isolation and pick-and-roll, it would be to his benefit because it’s one of his strengths,” Fraschilla said. “It would have to be some adjustment on the part of the coaching staff to put him in more pick-and-roll.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Unrestricted free agent Brandon Bass said he is open to returning to the Celtics, but wants to go to a team that will make him feel wanted, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets.
Raptors 2014 second-rounder DeAndre Daniels has been working out in Toronto and could be in the mix for one of the final roster spots next season, Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes (via Twitter). Daniels spent this past season playing in Australia.
The Sixers have a workout scheduled for Thursday with former La Salle forward Jerrell Wright, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter link).
Teams have begun to inquire about the availability of Nets big man Mason Plumlee, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Brooklyn GM Billy King had said earlier this month that the team looked into the idea of trading every player on the roster at some point this past season, including Plumlee.
The Celtics held workouts today for David Kravish, Bobby Portis, Jordan Mickey, Marcus Thornton, Rakeem Christmas, and Shannon Scott, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (Twitter link).

Atlantic Notes: Russell, Sixers, Nets

May 18th, 2015 at 9:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

D’Angelo Russell could wind up as a top-two pick if the Knicks or Sixers are that position after the results of the draft lottery on Tuesday, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. While it’s widely assumed that Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor will go 1-2 in the draft, there was some speculation by rival executives at the draft combine that Philadelphia or New York may opt instead to transform to its backcourt with the Ohio State guard, Berger reports.

In other news around the Atlantic Division:

Michael Qualls (Arkansas), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Ryan Boatright (Connecticut) and Terry Rozier (Louisville) are scheduled to work out with the Sixers on Tuesday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Philadelphia brought in Julian Washburn (Texas-El Paso), Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), Terran Petteway (Nebraska), Marcus Thornton (Georgia), Stanton Kidd (Colorado State), Juwan Staten (West Virginia) and Shannon Scott (Ohio State) for workouts on Monday, Pompey adds.
Mike Conley and Kevin Love, if he does not opt out this summer, are potential free agent targets for the Nets in 2016, according to NetsDaily.com. The Nets will undergo many changes this offseason as they try to get under the luxury tax but they need to remain a playoff-caliber team to attract future free agents, the story adds.
A shakeup of Dwane Casey’s staff is underway as the Raptors parted with assistants Bill Bayno and Tom Sterner today, sources told Berger (Twitter links).

Western Notes: Pondexter, Draft, Jazz

May 6th, 2015 at 10:34pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Jazz aren’t expecting to nab a franchise saving player in this year’s NBA draft, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News notes (Twitter links). “I don’t see a lot of so-called NBA superstars, if any,” said Utah’s VP of player personnel Walt Perrin. “But that’s not to say somebody may not jump forward and become the next Stephen Curry or somebody like that.” While the exact draft order won’t be known until May 19th when the lottery order is determined, the Jazz are sitting at No. 11 in Hoops Rumors’ reverse standings, and the franchise possesses a 0.8% chance at snagging the top overall pick in June’s big event.

Here’s more from the NBA’s Western Conference:

Pelicans forward Quincy Pondexter has undergone successful surgery to repair damage to his left knee, the team announced. No timetable was provided for when the 27-year-old can return to basketball activities. Pondexter was acquired by New Orleans in January as part of a three team trade with the Celtics and Grizzlies.
The Jazz have workouts scheduled on Thursday for Virginia forward Darion Atkins, Murray State guard T.J. Sapp, Bowling Green forward Richaun Holmes, Ohio State guard Shannon Scott, Western Kentucky guard T.J. Price, and Wisconsin guard Traevon Jackson, the team announced via Twitter.
Utah’s GM Dennis Lindsey sees value in these pre-draft workouts despite the majority of the players likely being ticketed to play in the NBA D-League or overseas next season, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune writes. The Jazz are looking for diamonds in the rough similar to Bryce Cotton, who turned a 10-day contract into a multiyear arrangement with his play this past season, Jones notes.