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Draft Notes: Mudiay, T’Wolves, Rozier

June 5th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The T’Wolves have convinced Emmanuel Mudiay that he is in consideration for the No. 1 overall pick, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Mudiay has workouts scheduled with the Lakers (Saturday), the Timberwolves (June 20th or possibly sooner), and Marc Berman of the New York Post adds the Knicks (Monday) to the list. Recently, SMU coach Larry Brown said that Mudiay will audition for the Sixers as well, rounding out the top four. Here’s a look at the latest draft news..

Louisville guard Terry Rozier has an upcoming workout scheduled with the Hornets, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Rozier, 21, is currently ranked No. 50 by DraftExpress and No. 27 by Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn will work out for the Suns today and has auditions scheduled with the Bulls and Wizards, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter).
The Suns will bring in UNLV’s Christian Wood as a part of a group workout today, league sources tell Scotto (on Twitter).
Want to familiarize yourself with some of the most interesting prospects in this year’s class? Check out the entries in the Hoops Rumors NBA Draft Prospect Q&A Series! Over the last month, Hoops Rumors has spoken with Jerian Grant, Cameron Payne, Richaun Holmes, and many more notable names.

Northwest Notes: Singler, Jazz, Portis

June 3rd, 2015 at 6:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kyle Singler became a fan of new Thunder coach Billy Donovan after the two met face-to-face shortly after the team announced the coach’s hiring, Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com writes. “It was quick. It was engaging,” Singler said. “I didn’t really know too much about him so I was walking into it not really expecting much. I didn’t know what was going to be talked about. Really liked the things he had to say, liked his demeanor. He didn’t really get into much talking about [my role]. He just wanted to know what my opinions were with the team last year, what I thought would help the team out next season, stuff like that, style-wise.” The 27-year-old is set to become a restricted free agent this summer, provided OKC tenders him a qualifying offer worth $2,725,003.

Here’s the latest from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz have workouts scheduled Thursday for Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame), Malcolm Miller (Holy Cross), Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Kevon Looney (UCLA), and Deonta Stocks (West Georgia), the team announced (on Twitter).
Minnesota senior guard Andre Hollins will also work out for the Jazz on Thursday, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
The Trail Blazers have expressed interest in Portis, though the forward is expected to be off the board prior to the team selecting at pick No. 23, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com tweets.
Working out for the Timberwolves on Thursday will be J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina), Terry Rozier (Louisville), Norman Powell (UCLA), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Jabril Trawick (Georgetown), and Michael Frazier (Florida), Wolfson relays (Twitter link).

Eastern Notes: Bosh, Celtics, Hornets

June 2nd, 2015 at 7:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Heat had two players who are coming off of surgery resume basketball activities today, Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel writes. Forward Chris Bosh participated in court work for the first time since being sidelined since the All-Star break due to blood clots on his lung, working out today with members of the team’s coaching staff, Winderman notes. Also getting back on the court for Miami was guard Mario Chalmers, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee just four days ago, the Sentinel scribe relays.

Here’s more from the East:

The Celtics held workouts today for Andrew Harrison (Kentucky), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Terry Rozier (Louisville), Josh Richardson (Tennessee), and Corey Walden (Eastern Kentucky), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (Twitter link).
Former Temple point guard Will Cummings will work out for the Sixers on Wednesday, Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “It’s definitely been a great opportunity for me to get the chance to work out for these NBA teams,” Cummings said. The guard also has workouts scheduled with the Suns and Nets, Narducci adds.
The Hornets will hold workouts on Wednesday for Kendall Gray (Delaware State), D.J. Newbill (Penn State), James Sinclair (Western Carolina), J.J. O’Brien (San Diego State), Antonio Robinson (East Carolina), and Ralston Turner (North Carolina State), the team announced.
Working out for the Wizards today were Dallin Bachynski (Utah), Cummings, Amere May (Delaware State), Jaleel Roberts (UNC Asheville), Marcus Thornton (William and Mary), and D-Leaguer Jarvis Threatt, the team announced.

Eastern Notes: Curry, Celtics, Perkins

May 28th, 2015 at 8:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Hornets announced today that former player and current broadcaster Dell Curry has expanded his role with the organization, becoming a team Ambassador and Special Projects Advisor. Curry will serve as an ambassador for the team at events related to both basketball and business operations, such as community programs, charity outings, speaking engagements and fundraising galas. “We are pleased that Dell has agreed to expand his role with our organization,” said Hornets Sports & Entertainment President & COO Fred Whitfield. “Dell’s name is synonymous with the words ‘Charlotte Hornets.’ Our fans know him well from both his history as a player and his six seasons as our TV analyst. We are excited that he will be strengthening his relationship with our franchise.”

Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics held workouts today for David Kravish (California), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), Chasson Randle (Stanford), George Lucas (Brazil), Maxie Esho (UMass), and Satnam Singh (IMG Academy), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (via Twitter).
Kendrick Perkins had a choice to sign with either the Clippers or the Cavaliers after parting ways with the Jazz at midseason via a buyout arrangement, and the big man is thrilled that he ultimately decided on Cleveland, Chris Haynes of The Northeast Ohio Media writes. “Just to come and have a chance to win a title is beautiful,” Perkins told Haynes. “Anytime you have that chance to make it to The Finals, you’re definitely a championship-type team. … We’re proving it every night.“
The Nets have three sets of workouts scheduled for next week, the team announced. The group on Monday will consist of Terry Rozier (Louisville), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), Treveon Graham (VCU), Aaron Thomas (FSU), Mike Myers (MD-Eastern Shore), and Kendall Gray (Delaware State). Tuesday’s crop will consist of Phil Greene (St. John’s), Darrick Marks (Boise State), Darrun Hilliard (Villanova), Greg Whittington (Georgetown), Aaron White (Iowa), and David Laury (Iona). And on Wednesday the team will work out Jarvis Summers (Mississippi), Quinn Cook (Duke), Jesse Morgan (Temple), J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina), Jonathan Holmes (Texas), and JayVaughn Pinkston (Villanova).

Eastern Notes: Crowder, Hezonja, Pacers

May 27th, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics forward Jae Crowder is making “great strides” recovering from his left knee sprain injury suffered last month and has begun to do some workout-related activities, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. Crowder can become a restricted free agent this summer if Boston tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,181,34. The team has already indicated that it plans to re-sign Crowder, who is the only player remaining on Boston’s roster from the Rajon Rondo trade.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Croatian swingman Mario Hezonja would be a fit for the Pistons with the No. 8 pick, but the same fiery attitude that fuels his play won’t fly in Detroit if it manifests in on-court tongue-lashings of teammates, as it has in past, writes Terry Foster of The Detroit News.
The Pacers have workouts scheduled on Thursday for Andrew Harrison, Terran Petteway, Terry Rozier, J.P. Tokoto, Rashad Vaughn, and Dez Wells, the team announced.
The Lakers have the potential to throw a wrench in the Sixers‘ draft plans if Los Angeles opts to select D’Angelo Russell instead of a big man with the No. 2 overall pick, as is widely expected, John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com writes. Sixers GM Sam Hinkie isn’t concerned, noting how in flux the NBA Draft rumors can be, Gonzalez adds. “Let’s see how things go,” Hinkie said. “Not only us, but I suspect the Lakers and the Timberwolves and the Knicks, they will do what we all do — spend a lot of time trying to analyze the players that are likely to be available to them. That time may yield different results than what the prognosticators are saying so far.“
The Sixers held workouts today for Amere May Jr., Jherrod Stiggers, Kyle Anderson and Alpha Kaba, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers.com tweets.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Rozier, Looney, Timberwolves

May 25th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA draft is just one month from tonight. The lottery and the combine are finished, so team workouts will be the main focus from now until draft night. Now that we know where every team will pick, we debuted our mock draft this weekend, and we’re continuing with our Prospect Profile series. Here’s more on the draft as the event starts to get close:

Louisville point guard Terry Rozier has made a habit of overcoming the odds, and he didn’t disappoint in his workout with the Jazz this weekend, according to Utah vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin, as Carter Williams of the Deseret News examines. The Jazz were one of 17 teams scheduled to audition Rozier, Williams writes, a group that apparently includes the Rockets and Spurs.
Kevon Looney added the Nets, Wizards, Jazz, Suns, Bulls, Cavs, Raptors, Hawks and Knicks to the list of the teams he interviewed with at the draft combine earlier this month, as the UCLA power forward revealed to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Looney is a raw prospect, but even though he feels he could have improved if he’d stayed in college, he tells Medina that he’s confident he can also develop at the NBA level.
Connecticut point guard Ryan Boatright, LSU power forward Jordan Mickey, Texas combo forward Jonathan Holmes and Louisville swingman Wayne Blackshear are among the players tentatively scheduled to work out Friday for the Timberwolves, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Thomas, Pistons, Mudiay

May 24th, 2015 at 9:18pm CST by Will Joseph

Isaiah Thomas said he was asked by Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to name free agents he’d like to play with, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe reports. The exchange has made Thomas, who has been vocal about his desire for starting in the past, feel like he is part of the Celtics’ future, Himmelsbach adds. “Danny said if there’s any free agent out there I’m interested in, to let him know,” Thomas said. “That has me excited. For him to ask for my input means a lot, because it means I’m definitely, right now, a part of the future, and they also value your word and what you think about the game of basketball. It means a lot, and it’s a mutual respect we have. Now, hopefully, we can get a few guys.”

Thomas did not name any player specifically, but he said a big man is a top priority. “A defensive-minded player,” he told Himmelsbach. “It’d be nice to get one of those in the draft. A lot of the big men out there could definitely help us out. But I know Danny is always up to something.”

Here’s more from around the league:

Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy said the team will hire a full-time shooting coach by July, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. The Pistons ranked 27th out of 30 teams last season in field-goal percentage (43.2%), and also ranked 29th in free-throw percentage at 70.3%, as Mayo points out.
The Jazz hosted Andrew Harrison, Terry Rozier, Vince Hunter, J.P. Tokoto, Treveon Graham and Aaron White in a pre-draft workout, and Walt Perrin, vice president of player personnel, said he wasn’t too surprised with the results, Melissa Yack writes in a piece for the Deseret News. “I thought Terry played — I know Terry can shoot it, but I thought he shot it pretty well today,” Perrin said. “Other than that — Andrew maybe could have shot it a little better, but surprises no.”
Stanley Johnson believes he can be an impactful and versatile defender in the league, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders writes. “In today’s day and age, it’s about defensive versatility. How many people you can guard and how well you can do it,” Johnson said. “I can guard fours. I can guard Draymond Green. I can guard Kawhi Leonard. I can guard Mike Conley — I can stay with him at least,” he continued. “You guard people in stints, I can definitely stint the minutes for sure.” In 38 games with Arizona, the small forward averaged 13.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, and played well defensively.
The top four teams in the draft — the Wolves, Lakers, Sixers and Knicks — reached out to Emmanuel Mudiay‘s agents, but the guard who played last season in the Chinese Basketball Association likely won’t work out for them until early June, tweets SNY.tv’s Adam Zagoria, who cites a source.
Boston College guard Olivier Hanlan worked out for the Spurs, and is hopeful he will be selected in the first round of the draft, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe writes.

Northwest Notes: Saunders, Jazz, Thunder

May 23rd, 2015 at 8:33pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wolves owner Glen Taylor expects Flip Saunders to return as coach next season, reports Charley Walters of The St. Paul Pioneer Press. Saunders, who also serves as president of basketball operations, led the team to a 16-66 record this year, which was the worst mark in the league and helped Minnesota land the top pick in the draft. However, the Wolves were hampered by injuries all season. “I think he worked so hard last year with all those problems that he wants an opportunity to see if we are healthy, if we really have the team he thought he had,” Taylor said. Saunders expects to hold pre-draft workouts with at least five players, including Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke’s Jahlil Okafor.

There’s more news from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz will bring in six more players for pre-draft workouts Sunday [Twitter link]. The players are Andrew Harrison of Kentucky, Terry Rozier of Louisville, Vince Hunter of Texas-El Paso, J.P. Tokoto of North Carolina, Terran Petteway of Nebraska and Aaron White of Iowa.
Re-signing free agents Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler is as much a business decision as a basketball decision for the Thunder, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. The columnist questions the wisdom of giving an eight-figure salary to a defensive liability like Kanter, but concedes that Oklahoma City has few options to replace the two players if they sign elsewhere.
Anthony Morrow was the best free agent signing in Thunder history, Mayberry contends in a separate story. Morrow inked a three-year, $10MM deal last summer and gave Oklahoma City the outside shooting threat it needed. He connected on 43.4% of his shots from downtown and managed to lead the team in games played.

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).

Draft Notes: Russell, Okafor, Staten

May 17th, 2015 at 4:59pm CST by Zachary Links

When asked why a team should select him on June 25th, D’Angelo Russell had a simple answer for reporters. “I’m the best player in the draft,” Russell said, as Henry Green of FOX Sports Ohio writes. Russell is expected to be a top-five pick, and many analysts have him as the No. 3 prospect in the 2015 draft class. Of course, it remains to be seen whether he can jump Jahlil Okafor and Karl Anthony-Towns for the top spot. Here’s today’s draft news..

Okafor skipped the official draft combine, but he found himself in the Chicago area on Friday night and worked out at Quest Gym, as Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. One of the big knocks on Okafor is his conditioning, but trainer Rick Lewis says that the big man has shed 12 points of fat and his conditioning is improving every day. The trainer, who might be a tad biased, also tells Berman that the Duke offensive system didn’t allow Okafor to showcase everything he can do.
West Virginia guard Juwan Staten is working out for the Sixers on Monday and roughly half the league is expected to work him out before the draft, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Staten is currently not in the top 100 rankings done by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress but he is the No. 79 overall player according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required).
An NBA scout told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter) that LSU’s Jordan Mickey and Louisville’s Terry Rozier “really helped themselves” by playing 5-on-5 at the Combine.
Murray State guard Cameron Payne is finally getting the respect he deserves, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders writes. Payne also isn’t afraid to speak his mind. Recently, an NBA exec asked him who shouldn’t be ranked ahead of him in this year’s class and he answered truthfully. “Tyus Jones,” Payne said. “Just because he played on a great team. He had a lot of exposure through that team. He didn’t have to carry his team like I did, so I just felt I went through a lot of adversity and he had one of the best big men playing college basketball around him. He wasn’t a focal point.” (Recently, Payne spoke with Hoops Rumors about a wide range of topics, including where he thinks he might land).