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Draft Notes: Johnson, King, Thompson, Pasecniks

May 16th, 2017 at 11:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Junior guard Robert Johnson will withdraw from the draft and return to Indiana, according to Jon Rothstein of Fanrag Sports. Players who entered the draft but did not hire an agent have until May 24th to pull out and remain in school. Johnson averaged 12.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game with the Hoosiers this season. He was not listed among the top 100 prospects by DraftExpress and would have been a long shot to be taken this year.

There’s more draft news on lottery day:

Colorado’s George King will also return to school next season, Rothstein reports. He averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds as a junior. Stephen Thompson Jr. is heading back to Oregon State, Rothstein adds. The sophomore guard put up 16.3 points and 3.0 assists this season. Both were outside the DraftExpress top 100.
Anzejs Pasecniks could be the next young Latvian star in New York, writes Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The Nets reportedly have interest in the 21-year-old, who was considered to be a similar prospect to Kristaps Porzingis when they were growing up. At 7’2″, Pasecniks would fill a need at backup center for Brooklyn, which holds the 22nd and 27th picks in next month’s draft. “I don’t want to say he’s Porzingis, but he’s a reasonable facsimile,” said international draft expert Fran Fraschilla of ESPN. “I don’t want to give the impression he’s unathletic, because he’s not. He gives you length, he gives you shooting, he can protect the rim a little bit.”
The Bucks will work out six players today, according to a tweet from the team. Scheduled to participate are Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo, Georgetown’s L.J. Peak, SMU’s Sterling Brown, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes, Utah State’s Jalen Moore and Louisville’s Deng Adel.
North Carolina center Tony Bradley will participate in a workout with the Knicks on Wednesday, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
The Lakers have four players coming in for a workout on Thursday, tweets Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. Participants will be Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett, UCLA’s Isaac Hamilton, Michigan’s Zak Irvin and Miami’s Davon Reed.
The Ringer has issued a draft guide ranking the top 60 players available. Markelle Fultz is the site’s top pick, followed by Josh Jackson, Lonzo Ball and Malik Monk as a surprise in the No. 4 slot. Seven guards are likely to be taken in the lottery, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer in a separate piece.

Draft Rumors: Risers/Fallers, Fox, Giles, Bradley

May 12th, 2017 at 1:34pm CST by Luke Adams

Power forwards Jordan Bell (Oregon) and Kyle Kuzma (Utah) are among the players who have impressed scouts and executives during five-on-five action in Chicago at this year’s combine, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider link). Kuzma’s performance was so strong that he pulled out of today’s five-on-five game, quitting while he was ahead, tweets Ford.

Conversely, Maryland’s Melo Trimble and Iowa’s Peter Jok have struggled in Chicago, with Ford suggesting that Trimble’s draft stock has been “devastated” by his combine showing.

In addition to assessing the on-court performances of some notable prospects, Ford also passed along several interesting off-the-court items. Let’s dive in and round up those tidbits, along with a couple other draft-related notes and rumors…

There appears to be a “growing movement” among some teams to place De’Aaron Fox ahead of Lonzo Ball on draft boards, according to Ford, who suggests that the Kentucky point guard could come off the board as high as No. 3 — or even No. 2.
Teams are eagerly anticipating a look at the medicals on Harry Giles, who has been plagued by knee injuries. Ford says he has spoken to multiple NBA executives who are ready to move Giles into the 5-10 range if he’s fully cleared medically. “He’s the best prospect in the entire draft if he can fully recover and stay healthy,” one NBA exec told Ford. “He’s just a freaky talent.” Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times (Twitter link) also hears that Giles is moving up draft boards.
Ford’s sources expect freshman center Tony Bradley to remain in the draft rather than returning to North Carolina.
Some NBA scouts believe Donovan Mitchell (Louisville) will end up being selected in the lottery, or just outside of it, according to Ford.
Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo looks like one of the best athletes in this year’s draft class, and that could be enough to make him a first-round pick if he stays in the draft, Ford writes.
Arizona’s Rawle Alkins said on Thursday that he’s 50-50 on whether to remain in the draft or go back to school, and will get all the feedback he can before making a final call. Adam Zagoria of FanRagSports.com has the quotes and the details.

UNC’s Joel Berry, Theo Pinson Testing Draft Waters

April 24th, 2017 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Three University of North Carolina prospects will test the draft waters, the school announced today in a press release. According to UNC, juniors Joel Berry II and Theo Pinson are entering the draft without representation. The Tar Heels also confirmed that freshman center Tony Bradley is testing the draft waters, as had been previously reported.

“We fully support our players taking this step of being evaluated by NBA teams to see where they stand in relation to the Draft,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said in a statement. “All three players have options to do what is best for their careers and going through the evaluation process helps them make the best decision available to each of them.”

Of the three players, Bradley is viewed as the one with the highest upside, but Berry and Pinson are also both solid prospects who played major roles in this year’s championship run. Berry is ranked 86th on DraftExpress’ big board, and comes in even higher on Chad Ford’s board at ESPN, placing 64th. The junior point guard, who turned 22 this month, isn’t considered an elite prospect, but is a solid pure point guard who sees the floor very well, says Ford.

As for Pinson, he comes in at No. 66 on Ford’s big board, though he doesn’t earn a spot in DraftExpress’ top 100. The 6’6″ small forward averaged a modest 6.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.7 APG during his junior year, and struggled with his shot, making just 38.1% of his field goal attempts, including 23.7% from three-point range.

In addition to Berry, Pinson, and Bradley, UNC’s Justin Jackson has also declared for the draft — he intends to keep his name in the draft pool and won’t be back with North Carolina next season.

UNC’s Tony Bradley To Test Draft Waters

April 4th, 2017 at 9:38am CST by Luke Adams

In the wake of Monday night’s win over Gonzaga, UNC big man Tony Bradley told Aaron Beard of The Associated Press (Twitter link) that he’ll test the NBA draft waters for 2017. Bradley can retain his NCAA eligibility while gauging his draft stock, but didn’t rule out the possibility of hiring an agent, Beard adds.

In his freshman year at North Carolina, Bradley played just 14.6 minutes per contest, but was productive when he was on the court, averaging 7.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG with a .573 FG%. Bradley ranks just 52nd on Jonathan Givony’s top 100 list at DraftExpress.com, but Chad Ford is more bullish on the 19-year-old, placing him 25th on ESPN’s big board.

Bradley, who chipped in five points and seven rebounds in UNC’s championship win on Monday, is viewed as “one of the most underrated players in the draft” by a number of scouts, according to Ford. ESPN’s draft guru adds that Bradley’s length, rebounding, and advanced numbers all point to promising upside as the 6’10” center continues to develop.

The full list of early entrants for this year’s draft can be found right here. NCAA underclassmen who enter their names in the draft pool without hiring an agent have until May 24 to withdraw.