Tony Mitchell (North Texas) Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Mitchell, Mbakwe, Curry, Adams

May 26th, 2013 at 12:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

The draft is the next major engagement on the calendar for 26 of the NBA's 30 teams, and with the Grizzlies down 0-3 to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Memphis will soon join the teams looking ahead to June 27th. Here's the latest as the volume of draft chatter increases:

Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times makes note of Tony Mitchell's affinity for his native Milwaukee. Mitchell appears headed for the late first round or early second round, and could be a match for the Bucks, who pick 15th and 43rd.
Woelfel also hears of Minnesota power forward Trevor Mbakwe's strong showing in a recent workout, and passes along that the Lakers, Rockets and Knicks are showing interest in second-round prospect Seth Curry.
SB Nation's Jonathan Tjarks wonders if Mitchell could be the next Paul George.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe unveils his first mock draft of the year, featuring Trey Burke as a fit for the Magic at No. 2 with Ben McLemore, widely considered a top-five pick, sliding to the Kings at No. 7.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines center Steven Adams, a possible Celtics target.
HoopsWorld's Yannis Koutroupis identifies six potential sleepers in this year's draft class.

Draft Combine Latest: Friday Evening

May 17th, 2013 at 10:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

As day three of the NBA draft combine comes to a close, updates are still coming in from reporters stationed in Chicago for the event, which runs through Sunday. We covered the news from the first part of the day in this post, and we'll round up additional items here:

Robbins adds Victor Oladipo and Nate Wolters to the list of players the Magic have interviewed, which includes a total of 18 prospects. Trey Burke isn't one of them, but he'll likely visit Orlando soon for a lengthy workout and interview.
Zeller has interviewed with 10 teams at the combine, and the Sixers are one of them, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Earlier updates:

Nerlens Noel told Andy Katz of ESPN that he's interviewed with the Celtics, Magic, Bobcats, Suns, Pelicans and Cavaliers, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv passes along. Katz also hears Gorgui Dieng and Jamaal Franklin are hopeful they'll be healthy enough to work out before the draft. Alex Len won't be ready to hit the court until August, but he's planning to talk with 15 teams at the combine, according to Katz.
Dennis Schroeder is one of a pair of international prospects rumored to have received a promise from a team, and he said following an interview with the Bucks at the combine that Milwaukee could be a fit for him, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Schroeder also sees a chance for playing time with the Jazz.
The Magic interviewed Otto Porter during the combine, and scheduled a meeting with Kelly Olynyk as well, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links).
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News counts Cody Zeller among those with a shot at becoming the top pick after an impressive showing in drills today.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press adds Brandon Paul and Tony Mitchell to the list of Pistons interviewees. Paul has a workout with the team scheduled for later this month.
The Oregonian's Jason Quick looks at the prospect interview process the Trail Blazers employ, and adds that GM Neil Olshey flew to Europe this spring to scout Rudy Gobert and Dario Saric, who aren't taking part in the combine.

Odds & Ends: Wall, Mitchell, Brooks

March 19th, 2013 at 7:18pm CST by Alex Lee

There are only four games on the NBA schedule tonight. With anticipation for the NCAA Tournament ramping up, we should expect the NBA draft updates to pour in. Here are a few links from around the league and the college ranks:

Whether John Wall is worthy of a max deal is still up for debate, writes HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy. It was reported earlier today that all signs point to the Wizards offering Wall a max contract. Kennedy indicates that while Wall and the Wizards have been stellar since his return, plenty of evaluators still have their doubts that Wall can take the jump to legitimate stardom. Wall will become a restricted free agent after next season, but says he would prefer to sign an extension before that happens.
We heard earlier today that North Texas forward Tony Mitchell intends to enter this June's NBA draft. Our Luke Adams noted that Mitchell seemed to take a step back this year in his sophomore season. CBS College Basketball Insider Gary Parrish agrees, writing that Mitchell projected as a mid-to-late first rounder last year and that his sophomore season undoubtedly hurt his draft stock and could cost him millions.
While his playing time has been drastically reduced in his second season, Nets guard MarShon Brooks has made the most of a recent uptick in minutes, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Assuming the Nets will continue to be aggressive in their pursuit of a title, Brooks, currently fifth in the team's guard rotation, could be a value trading chip down the line given the ability he showed as a rookie.
If you ever have the urge to check in on your favorite retired player, Sham Sports has a recently updated (and very entertaining) compilation of the whereabouts of former NBAers.

Tony Mitchell To Enter NBA Draft

March 19th, 2013 at 8:16am CST by Luke Adams

One year ago, Alabama forward Tony Mitchell left school early to enter the NBA, and went undrafted. Now, the North Texas forward with the same name intends to declare his intent and hope for a better result. According to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com, Mitchell is expected to announce today at a news conference that he'll enter this June's draft.

Mitchell, 20, seemed to take a step back during his sophomore season at North Texas. After posting 14.7 PPG and 10.3 RPG, along with .567/.439/.739 shooting in his freshman year, he averaged just 13.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and .440/.300/.675 shooting this season.

Despite a disappointing year for Mitchell and North Texas (12-20), NBA executives still expect the 6'8" forward to be selected late in the first round this June, according to Goodman. That seems to match up with prospects lists by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com and ESPN.com's Chad Ford, who rank Mitchell 26th and 30th, respectively.

With a number of NCAA teams having finished their respective seasons now, and another handful to be eliminated from March Madness later this week, we should see plenty of underclassmen declare their intent to enter this year's draft over the next several weeks.

Most Execs Would Trade 2013 Top Pick, Poll Says

December 6th, 2012 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com surveyed 35 NBA executives, most of whom said they'd rather trade the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 draft than select from a thoroughly disappointing crop of prospects that lacks a franchise-changer like last year's No. 1, Anthony Davis (Twitter link). One GM called the field, "The worst I've ever seen."

"I'd trade the pick for sure," another GM said. "No one wants to pick first this year — and no one can live up to the No. 1 billing."

Goodman compares the draft class to 2006, when Andrea Bargnani was taken first overall and Adam Morrison, Shelden Williams and Tyrus Thomas were also top-five picks. No prospect among this year's bunch was favored by a majority of the executives Goodman polled, though Indiana center Cody Zeller garnered 31% of the vote. Kentucky's Nerlens Noel was second, with 23%.

Zeller's defensive shortcomings worry the executives, while Noel's offense and skinny frame similarly concern them. UCLA two-guard Shabazz Muhammad, the DraftExpress.com No. 1 prospect, tied for third in Goodman's poll amid doubts about his shooting and athleticism. Maryland center Alex Len, who tallied 11% of the vote just like Muhammad, has shot up draft boards thanks to the weight he added this summer, Goodman writes.

Others garnering votes as the No. 1 pick include Alex Poythress, Rudy Gobert, Tony Mitchell, Archie Goodwin and Anthony Bennett, though many of the executives say they wouldn't be surprised if someone emerges "out of nowhere," much like Andrew Bogut did in 2005.

Odds & Ends: Spurs, Varejao, Draft, Fisher

November 30th, 2012 at 4:48pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, I asked Hoops Rumors readers whether Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was in the wrong for sending his star players home before last night's game against the Heat. Over 83% of respondents so far have sided with Popovich rather than with commissioner David Stern, who called Pop's decision "unacceptable." Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports agrees with you in his take on the subject, calling Stern's statement a "temper tantrum that left everyone around him embarrassed, humiliated and wondering why he insisted on staying until February of 2014."

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA as we prepare for the weekend:

While Anderson Varejao has been a popular topic of trade speculation lately, the Cavaliers have no plans to move him, writes Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. In any case, most teams who would be interested in Varejao don't have the assets to acquire him or aren't willing to part with them, says Amico.
In his latest draft blog at ESPN.com (Insider only), Chad Ford examines a few players whose stocks have slipped early in the season, including UNC's James Michael McAdoo and Tony Mitchell of North Texas.
A pair of Dallas Morning News scribes offer up opposing takes on the Mavericks' signing of Derek Fisher, with Eddie Sefko noting that signing Fisher as a starter will make the team's bench stronger, while Kevin Sherrington says it's a patchwork move in another year "about nothing."
Within Sam Smith's latest mailbag for Bulls.com, he writes that Carlos Boozer "basically cannot be traded" unless it's for a contract that's as bad or worse than his.
NBA.com's Fran Blinebury wonders if it would be in the Trail Blazers' best interests to consider trading LaMarcus Aldridge this season.

Draft Updates: Mitchell, Robinson, Hornets

April 25th, 2012 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

With just two nights left in the 2011/12 regular season, the draft lottery waters are still fairly murky. While the Bobcats and Wizards are locked in with the league's worst and second-worst records, six teams have between 21 and 23 wins. Games like tonight's Wizards/Cavaliers matchup and tomorrow's Nets/Raptors contest will go a long way to clearing up the lottery picture, with tiebreaking coin flips coming on Friday. Until then, be sure to check out our tentative draft order and our breakdown of just how the lottery works.

Here are today's draft-related items:

Two Tony Mitchells were candidates to be drafted this season, and while Tony Mitchell of Alabama has declared his intent, Tony Mitchell of North Texas will return to school, tweets Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress.com. It was first reported earlier in April that Mitchell had decided to return to North Texas, but he seemed to be wavering after coach Johnny Jones was hired away by LSU. The North Texas freshman had been ranked 26th by DraftExpress' among this year's top 100 prospects.
Thomas Robinson has hired agent Tony Dutt and Rivals Sports Group, according to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (via Twitter). Robinson will almost certainly be a top five pick in June, and could go as high as number two overall.
In an Insider piece, David Thorpe of ESPN.com examines the Hornets' needs as the team heads into the draft armed with a pair of lottery picks.

Draft Updates: International Players, Tony Mitchell

April 23rd, 2012 at 4:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The NCAA underclassmen who have entered the NBA draft receive more attention and will make up a majority of the first round, but a number of international players have been making themselves eligible for the draft as well. Today's draft updates from Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress.com (via Twitter) focus on those international names….

Turkish big man Furkan Aldemir, DraftExpress.com's 45th overall prospect, will make himself eligible for the draft.
Serbian point guard Nemanja Nedovic will enter the draft. He ranks 59th among this year's top 100 prospects, according to DraftExpress.
Spanish point guard Josep Franch will also declare for the draft. He doesn't crack DraftExpress.com's top 100 prospects, but ranks just a couple spots behind Aldemir and Nedovic on the site's top international 1991-born prospects.
Turkish seven-footer Sertac Sanli, who ranks 19th among 1991-born international prospects on DraftExpress, will enter the draft as well.
Back in the NCAA, North Texas freshman Tony Mitchell is still leaning toward entering the draft. DraftExpress.com's 26th-overall prospect has until Sunday to make a decision.

Tony Mitchell Expected To Enter Draft

April 13th, 2012 at 8:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

North Texas power forward Tony Mitchell is "almost certainly" going pro, reports Jonathan Givony of Draft Express (via Twitter). The move comes on the heels of LSU hiring North Texas coach Johnny Jones to take over its program. Givony says Mitchell may reconsider if North Texas hires one of Jones' assistants, but calls a change of heart unlikely.

The 6'9", 220-pound Mitchell is ranked No. 26 on the Draft Express list of the top 100 prospects. The site projected him to go eighth in the 2013 draft and NBADraft.net has him at No. 7 if he stays in for one more year, so coming out early may adversely affect his draft position. Nonetheless, he could still wind up as a first-round selection, putting him in line for a guaranteed contract.

Mitchell was one of the top players coming out of high school in 2010, but academic issues cost him the entire 2010/11 season. This year, he put up 14.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG and 3.0 blocks per game for the Mean Green, who compete in the Sun Belt Conference.

Draft Update: Mitchell, Jenkins, Cheek, Plumlee

April 9th, 2012 at 2:31pm CST by Michael Pina

In what's somewhat of a surprising decision being that he was projected to be a first round pick, North Texas freshman Tony Mitchell will return to school, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle's Brett Vito. Mitchell averaged 14.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG and was named the Sun Belt Conference's Freshman of the Year.

According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, sources say Vanderbilt junior John Jenkins and Villanova junior Dominic Cheek will soon declare for the draft, but Duke junior Mason Plumlee will go back to school.

Jenkins averaged 19.9 PPG on 43.9% shooting from beyond the arc last season and is projected to be an early second round pick. Cheek put up averages of 12.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG. In a separate report, Steve Wiseman of The Herald Sun writes that Plumlee still has not decided whether or not he'll enter the draft. Plumlee has until April 29th to make a decision.