Shelton Mitchell Rumors

Northwest Notes: Donovan, Blazers, Jazz, Franklin

June 10th, 2019 at 8:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Billy Donovan‘s contract runs out after next season but he’s not sweating over his tenuous status with the Thunder, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman writes. Donovan has no real desire to return to the college ranks and will likely retire or become an NBA assistant if he loses his job with Oklahoma City, Horne continues. It’s possible the Thunder will give Donovan an extension during the season but he’s not lobbying for any assurances, Horne adds. The Thunder have lost three assistants — Mark Bryant, Darko Rajakovic and Bob Beyer — due to the lack of job security in OKC.

We have more from around the Northwest Division:

The Trail Blazers took a look at six guard and wing prospects in their latest pre-draft workout on Monday, according to a team press release. Boston College’s Ky Bowman, Brewster Academy’s Jalen Lecque, Clemson’s Shelton Mitchell, Nebraska’s James Palmer Jr., Oregon State’s Stephen Thompson and Belmont’s Dylan Windler were the participants. Lecque is ranked No. 48 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
The Jazz, who hold the No. 23 overall pick in the first round, have a better idea of which players will be available at that spot, Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News reports. “I think we do have a better idea of 5-10 guys, I don’t have an exact number right now, but I think we’ve narrowed it down,” VP of player personnel Walt Perrin said. “We were in the theater the other day looking at players and talking about whether or not they should still be in the 23, as we call it, bucket. So, it’s again, 12 days and we’ll know better in another week, but I think the process is starting to narrow itself.”
Former NBA guard Jamaal Franklin participated in a free agent mini-camp with the Trail Blazers, according to Sportando’s Nicola Lupo. Franklin averaging 32.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, eight assists, and 2.4 steals this past season with the Sichuan Blue Whales in China. He last played in the league during the 2014-15 season with Denver. Franklin also recently participated in a Kings mini-camp.

Draft Decisions: Azubuike, Hands, Bowman, Reed

May 30th, 2018 at 1:13pm CST by Luke Adams

Kansas big man Udoka Azubuike is the latest early entrant to pull out the 2018 NBA draft, a source tells ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). Azubuike, the No. 77 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, had entered the draft without hiring an agent, but now appears poised to rejoin the Jayhawks for his junior year.

As a sophomore, Azubuike enjoyed a breakout season in 2017/18, averaging 13.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 1.7 BPG in just 23.6 minutes per contest for Kansas. The seven-footer will have another opportunity to declare as an early entrant in 2019.

Here are more of the latest draft decisions from early entrants in advance of today’s deadline:

Jaylen Hands, who ranks one spot behind Azubuike on Givony’s top-100 list, is also headed back to school, a source tells Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). The UCLA guard will be a sophomore in 2018/19.
Boston College sophomore guard Ky Bowman will return to school for his junior year after testing the draft waters, according to Rothstein. Bowman had a big sophomore season for the Eagles, putting up 17.6 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 4.7 APG, but wasn’t considered likely to be drafted.
The Clemson basketball program got some good news today, according to Rothstein, who tweets that Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell are both withdrawing from the draft after testing the waters. Reed and Mitchell were the Tigers’ first- and fourth-leading scorers in 2017/18.
DePaul’s top scorer Max Strus will return to school for his senior year, the program announced today in a press release. “I’m glad I was able to go through the process and receive feedback from NBA teams,” Strus said in a statement. “Now we can look forward to my senior season at DePaul and we’re already working and getting better this spring as a team.”
Junior guard Tyler Hall is withdrawing from the draft and returning to Montana State, per ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link). Hall averaged 17.5 PPG on .407/.372/.907 shooting in 2017/18.

Draft Updates: Carr, Mitchell, Reed, Taylor, Rose

April 2nd, 2018 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Penn State guard Tony Carr announced today that he has decided to enter the 2018 NBA draft and will hire an agent, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility, as Tyler King of The Daily Collegian details.

Carr, a 6’5″ point guard, posted big numbers for the Nittany Lions in his sophomore year, averaging 19.6 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 4.9 RPG with a .408/.433/.799 shooting line. He also helped lead Penn State to the NIT title last week.

Ranked 44th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, Carr is viewed as a possible first-round pick by some draft experts, but at this point he seems more likely to be picked in the second round or even to go undrafted.

Here are more draft-related notes from around the basketball world:

Clemson guards Shelton Mitchell and Marcquise Reed are declaring for the 2018 NBA draft without hiring representation, per a press release (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports). Both Mitchell and Reed just finished their junior seasons for the Tigers, with Mitchell posting 12.2 PPG and 3.6 APG, while Reed contributed 15.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.3 APG.
Cornell junior guard Matt Morgan is testing the draft waters without hiring an agent, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. The Ivy League’s leading scorer, Morgan averaged 22.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 2017/18. He tested the draft waters last spring, but ultimately returned to school.
Temple sophomore guard Quinton Rose is declaring for the 2018 draft, but won’t hire an agent yet, reports ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. “I’m confident in my abilities going forward and think that I have a good chance of being drafted,” Rose told Givony. “In order to stay in I would have to move into projected mid-first round.” In other words, Rose is a good bet to return to Temple for his junior year.
Fresno State guard Deshon Taylor is testing the 2018 NBA draft waters without an agent, he announced (via Twitter). Taylor enjoyed a big junior year for the Bulldogs, averaging 17.8 PPG on .439/.386/.833 shooting.