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Draft Updates: Thomas, Smart, Nash, Saric, Burke

April 4th, 2013 at 12:42pm CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to what should be a fun Final Four in the NCAA Tournament this weekend, let's check in on the latest updates on the 2013 NBA draft….

Memphis forward Adonis Thomas will forgo his last two years of NCAA eligibility and enter the draft, coach Josh Pastner confirmed to L. Jason Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Thomas, who will hire an agent, is ranked just outside of Chad Ford's top 100 list at ESPN.com, and Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) questions his decision to leave Memphis.

Earlier updates:

ESPN.com's Chad Ford isn't ruling out the possibility that the No. 2 prospect on his board, Marcus Smart, returns to Oklahoma State, but Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com says Smart is leaning toward declaring for the draft. Within the same tweet, Goodman adds that Smart's teammate, LeBryan Nash, will remain in school.
Croatian prospect Dario Saric will enter the draft, reports Ford. The 18-year-old is being eyed as a "potential sleeper" by a number of teams, according to the ESPN.com scribe.
Michigan's Trey Burke is up to 7th on ESPN.com's big board, and could continue to rise with a strong performance against Syracuse this Saturday, according to Ford.
Gary Harris of Michigan State is believed to be leaning toward returning to school and undergoing shoulder surgery this summer, says Ford.
Multiple sources tell Ford that Kelly Olynyk is expected to declare for the '13 draft, though the Gonzaga big man hasn't made it official yet.
College coaches and players are aware that the NCAA's April 16th withdrawal deadline is relatively meaningless, writes ESPN.com's Andy Katz. Last month, we passed along Jonathan Givony's explanation for why that's the case.
Isaiah Sykes of Central Florida will declare for the draft, but won't hire an agent, giving him an opportunity to withdraw, tweets Goodman.

Draft Notes: Carter-Williams, Burke, Len

March 30th, 2013 at 7:53pm CST by Ryan Raroque

In 2003, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim directed a squad led by NBA-hopefuls Hakim Warrick, Gerry McNamara, and freshman Carmelo Anthony through the NCAA tournament and ultimately to a national championship after besting Roy Williams and the Kansas Jayhawks in the final game. Boeheim increased his chances of celebrating the ten-year anniversary of that title win with another one this year, as his Orangemen – headed by first-round prospect Michael Carter-Williams – advanced to the Final Four after defeating Marquette tonight. That aside, here are a few rumblings surrounding some potential draft prospects this year:

ESPN NBA insider Chad Ford tweets that Carter-Williams is peaking at the right time and could be one of three point guards selected in the top 10 in June.
Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld discusses how Michigan's Trey Burke has helped his draft stock with a strong tournament thus far, but the same can't be said for Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart or Indiana's Cody Zeller. While Smart and Zeller have been ranked ahead of Burke for the most part, Brigham thinks that the Wolverine point guard could have a chance at leapfrogging both on the draft board this summer.
Alex Prewitt of The Washington Post takes an in-depth look at Alex Len of Maryland, using advanced stats to gauge the 7'1 center's efficiency as a low-post player.

Mavericks Notes: Free Agents, Bynum, Burke

March 5th, 2013 at 7:59pm CST by Alex Lee

The Mavericks, losers of four of their last five, will try to avenge Sunday's loss in Houston tomorrow night when they take on the Rockets in Dallas in the second half of a home-and-home. Let's round up all thing Mavs here on Tuesday:

The Mavericks could head into this offseason with an incredible 10 players in the final year of their contracts, reports Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. While the team is a little short on talent — at least compared to their recent history — the Mavs have flirted with playoff contention throughout the year largely due to the increased effort and efficiency of players auditioning for jobs.
Per Price's story, Darren Collison and Rodrigue Beaubois can be retained via qualifying offer. O.J. Mayo has a player option for 2013-14 which he will almost certainly not pick up given his performance this season. Finally, Chris Kaman, Elton Brand, Bernard James, Mike James, Dominique Jones, Anthony Morrow and Brandan Wright will all be unrestricted free agents unless they are re-signed. Despite Price's assessment, it appears that Bernard James has a non-guaranteed deal with Dallas next season, which still leaves the Mavs with nine players in the last year of their contracts. Should the team let James go, however, he would also become a free agent.
Kaman, who confessed to frustration with his situation within Price's story, also expressed an admiration for the organization's professionalism. Presumably following up on his story, Price tweets that Kaman said Tuesday that he hopes to have the option to return to Dallas in 2013-14. "Hopefully I'll have the option to come back here next year," Kaman said.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News took Mavericks questions from readers, hitting on several roster-related topics. Sefko compares Andrew Bynum to Dwight Howard in terms of risk, implying that if the Mavs are willing to give big money to one enigmatic and injury-prone center (Howard), they may be willing to do the same for another (Bynum).
Sefko sees Michigan's Trey Burke as a possible fit in Dallas, mainly because the NCAA Player of the Year candidate figures to be able to contribute right away. The Mavs currently hold the 12th pick in June's draft, which as of now, is likely high enough to have a good shot at Burke.
Sefko says that if the Mavs make a "big splash" this summer, it will likely be via sign-and-trade as opposed to a traditional free agent signing. In today's NBA, Sefko writes, superstars either stay put or are moved in a sign-and-trade to maximize contract dollars.

Odds & Ends: Celts, Garnett, Gay, Wolves, Draft

February 5th, 2013 at 11:44pm CST by Alex Lee

Here are some additional odds and ends from around the Association late Tuesday night:

Via CSN NE, Dan Shaughnessy and Gary Tanguay debate whether or not the Celtics should move Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett. Shaughnessy seems to think that, with this core's championship hopes all but dashed, the Celtics have no reason not to move one of their stars.
CSN NE's A. Sherrod Blakely offers much of what we've already heard on Garnett within this story, adding that trade rumors hardly affect a team with the experience that the Celtics have. Armed with a no trade clause, Blakely says convincing Garnett to agree to a deal would be a "monumental task" for any team.
Fortunate to have several friends on the Raptors — most notably Kyle Lowry — Rudy Gay will have the freedom to do more in Toronto than he's recently had in Memphis, writes Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld.
With Minnesota and San Antonio slated to play Wednesday, Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press writes that the Wolves — now with six international players on their roster — have followed in the Spurs' footsteps with regard to their personnel strategy.
Chad Ford and Eamonn Brennan of ESPN debate which college point guard is the best pro prospect. While both concede that Michigan's Trey Burke is the nation's best point guard, the analysts project Marcus Smart of Oklahoma State and Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse as better fits for the pro game.

Draft Updates: Cheek, Burke, Sullinger

April 4th, 2012 at 4:45pm CST by Luke Adams

We've already heard today that Jared Sullinger has decided to leave Ohio State early and officially enter this year's NBA draft. We'll track the rest of today's draft-related updates here:

Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com hears that Villanova junior Dominic Cheek will likely declare for the draft (Twitter link). Cheek's draft prospects don't seem great — he comes in at 208th among ESPN.com's prospect rankings.
Freshman point guard Trey Burke is expected to leave Michigan and declare for the draft, reports Goodman. Burke ranks just 70th on Chad Ford's top 100 prospects and doesn't show up on DraftExpress.com's list. However, according to Goodman, some NBA execs believe the Michigan freshman has a chance to be taken in the first round due to a weak class of point guards.
Scouts are divided on Sullinger's pro potential, says Ford in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com. Some scouts compare the Ohio State big man to Kevin Love, Zach Randolph, or Paul Millsap, but the worry is that he'll end up being more of a Glen Davis type.
Ford also fielded a number of draft-related questions in an ESPN.com chat this afternoon. Sam Amico did the same for FOX Sports Ohio.