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Draft Notes: McLemore, Magic, Saric, Bennett

June 5th, 2013 at 7:48pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Mannix of SI.com hands out his draft superlatives, with an assist from scouts and executives. Anthony Bennett has the greatest superstar potential, Mannix writes, while Victor Oladipo could be the most resounding bust. It'll be a while before we can definitively say whether Mannix was correct on either account, but much more becomes clear with each passing day until June 27th. After passing along the latest this morning, we'll follow with with an evening draft roundup:

Ben McLemore has reportedly slipped behind Victor Oladipo in the eyes of the Magic, but Orlando will have McLemore in for a workout June 11th, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. (Twitter links). Keith Clanton, Erik Murphy, Michael Snaer and Kenny Boynton, all products of Florida colleges, are auditioning for the Magic either today or tomorrow, Robbins adds.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com chatted with readers, revealing that top-level scouts believe Dario Saric to be on par with Otto Porter and that the Wizards and Bobcats are especially high on Anthony Bennett.
Korie Lucious worked out for the Bucks today and did so for the Pistons earlier this week, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. D.J. Stephens, another participant in today's Bucks workout, has also drawn interest from the Pistons and Grizzlies.
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News had the news on six players working out for the Jazz today, and he tweets word of six more set to hit Utah on Thursday: Glen Rice Jr.,Vander Blue, Jack Cooley, Solomon Hill, Pierre Jackson and Trevor Mbakwe.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic adds second-round hopefuls E.J. Singler and Jared Berggren to the list of players who worked out for the Suns today (Twitter link).
B.J. Young, Brandon Paul, Reggie Bullock, Romero Osby, Kenny Kadji and James Ennis are among the prospects working out Thursday for the Knicks, the team announced via Twitter.
Ennis, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert, Mike Muscala, Cody Zeller, Jeff Withey, Shabazz Muhammad, Rodney Williams, Reggie Bullock, Kelly Olynyk and Tony Snell will all audition for Minnesota in the coming weeks, Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders tweets. He also lists "Thomas," likely in reference to Deshaun Thomas or Adonis Thomas.
The Wizards announced they'll put Deshaun Thomas, Keion Bell, Laurence Bowers, D.J. Seeley, James Southerland and Khalif Wyatt through a workout tomorrow.

Draft Links: White, Matthews, Celtics

May 25th, 2013 at 10:18pm CST by Spencer Lund

Terrico White was the 36th player chosen in the 2010 NBA Draft. After the Pistons snagged him from Ole Miss, he broke his right foot in his very first preseason game. He bounced around the NBA's D-League, even averaging better than 17 PPG for the Idaho Stampede during an excellent 7-game stretch in the 2011/12 season, before heading to Serbia this year.

After averaging 14.5 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 1.5 APG for Serbia's Radnicki Kragujevac, his contract is set to expire at just the right time, writes Ridiculous Upside's Gino Pilato. White will be looking to make an NBA roster this summer after his Serbian contract runs out in June.

There are plenty other college hopefuls looking to be drafted by an NBA team this summer..

Newsday's Roderick Boone discusses the NBA draft's biggest "wild card" big man hopeful in July: Farmingdale State's A.J. Matthews. The 6'11" center out of Division III Farmingdale State (academic issues kept him out of bigger basketball schools) was invited to the NBA's combine and the center with a wingspan measuring 7 feet, 3 1/2 inches impressed the Nets' director of player personnel Greg Polinsky.
We already mentioned all the players the Celtics have worked out the last couple days and ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg broke it all down for you, but here are the projected draft positions for all those players based off Chad Ford's rankings.
Darren Wolfson of ESPN1500 Twin Cities says Brandon Paul, Vander Blue and Derrick Nix are coming for the Wolves' NBA Draft workout. He also adds that Wisconsin's Mike Bruesewitz is hoping to get an invite (Twitter link)
Alex Kennedy at HoopsWorld has a profile of Dennis Schroeder of Germany. The son of a German father and a Gambian mother, Schroeder promised his dying father he'd make the NBA; he's projected as a mid-first-round pick next month.
The Jazz will pick 14th in next month's draft after failing to move up during last week's draft lottery. Jody Genessy of the Deseret News spoke by phone with Jazz president Randy Rigby and general manager Dennis Lindsey about their moves in a busy Jazz offseason.

Atlantic Rumors: Amare, Williams, Celtics, Raptors

May 25th, 2013 at 2:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

Amare Stoudemire will be working with Hakeem Olajuwon for a second consecutive summer, and despite his lack of contribution this past season, the Knicks still have high regard for their most lavishly paid player, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com passes along. GM Glen Grunwald called Stoudemire "a heck of a player."

"We hope he'll be able to play significant minutes for us next year," Grunwald said. "How much that will be, we don't know at this time. But when he came and played for us … he was, as (coach Mike Woodson) said, a big factor in those games."

While we wait to see how Stoudemire bounces back next year, here's the latest from around the Atlantic Division:

Terrence Williams, whose contract for next season is non-guaranteed, addressed reporters today after working out at the Celtics facility. He said that, in spite of his recent legal troubles, Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers still view him as part of the team's future, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes.
The Celtics have worked out a dozen players in the past two days, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com and Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe round up (Twitter links). On Friday the team saw Colton Iverson, Erick Green, Jeff Withey, Peyton Siva, Vander Blue and Ricky Ledo, and today the C's looked at Pierre Jackson, Gregory Echenique, Myck Kabongo, Shane Larkin, Phil Pressey and Steven Adams.
Masai Ujiri appears destined to become the next GM of the Raptors, and Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun hears Ujiri and Phil Jackson are the only two candidates the team has aggressively pursued so far (All Twitter links). The Raptors have been linked to Kevin Pritchard and Troy Weaver as well, but they seem to have a strong preference for Ujiri.
Ben Goldberg-Morse of the Philadelphia Inquirer lays out how new Sixers GM Sam Hinkie's emphasis on analytics could improve the production of Jrue Holiday, who received a long-term extension last summer, and Evan Turner, who's up for one this offseason.

Draft Updates: Friday

May 17th, 2013 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:52pm: Here are a few more updates out of Chicago:

In a series of tweets, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists a number of the prospects the Timberwolves have talked to or will talk to in Chicago. Among those we hadn't already heard about: Alex Len, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tim Hardaway Jr., Ricky Ledo, Archie Goodwin, Reggie Bullock, and Vander Blue.
The Trail Blazers will meet with Caldwell-Pope today, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com adds (via Twitter) that the Blazers met with Ledo yesterday.
Ryan Kelly has met with the Mavericks, Celtics, and Clippers, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
Dennis Schroeder will work out for the Bucks, Jazz, and Rockets, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio tweets that there's some speculation at the combine that this could finally be the year the No. 1 pick is traded.

11:44am: It took us multiple posts yesterday to round up all the tidbits trickling out of Chicago, where the NBA is holding its draft combine this week. We'll see if today is as busy, but in the meantime, here are the latest updates on the 2013 draft:

Some NBA executives believe that it's possible Shabazz Muhammad falls out of the top 10 and perhaps even the lottery on draft night, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford passes along the official measurements on the players in Chicago, and provides a few thoughts on the results.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link) hears from an NBA source that the Warriors believe they can acquire either a first- or second-round pick in this year's draft, if they so choose. Kawakami adds in a second tweet that a pick would mostly just cost money, but I'm skeptical that the Warriors could pick up a first-rounder without giving up anything of value, or that they'd even want to add a rookie-scale salary, given their proximity to the tax.
Alex Len met with the Bobcats last night and will meet with the Cavaliers today, according to tweets from Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal. David Mayo of MLive.com tweets that Len has nothing set up with the Pistons and "wasn't too enthused" when asked about them — perhaps that would change if Detroit jumped into the top three in next week's lottery.
The Pistons will meet with Rudy Gobert today, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Steven Adams interviewed with the Magic last night, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Chad Ford heard that Adams was the big winner on the first day of the combine, with "GM after GM" impressed by his showing.
Kelly Olynyk has met with the Bucks, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
Myck Kabongo met with the Knicks and Trail Blazers earlier in the week, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Mason Plumlee also expects to meet with the Blazers, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian.

Woelfel On Sloan, Bucks, Weltman, Redick, Noel

May 17th, 2013 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

Although he played well in this year's NCAA tournament, Vander Blue was one of the more surprising names on 2013's early entrant list, considering he's widely viewed as a second-round pick at best. But Blue told reporters at this week's draft combine in Chicago that he's confident in his decision, and expects to surprise anyone who doesn't think he'll produce in the NBA.

"Nobody expected [former Marquette teammate] Jimmy [Butler] to be who he is today with the Bulls," said Blue, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. "Nobody probably expects me to do any good in the NBA. But I know how to go about my business. I’m more than confident."

After discussing Blue's decision to declare for the draft and passing along a few of his quotes, Woelfel's latest column explores a few other topics of note. Here are the highlights:

Woelfel reiterates that Jerry Sloan still has a desire to return to coaching, but not with the Bucks, as we heard last night.
In addition to the interviews we heard about yesterday, the Bucks also met with Jamaal Franklin and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, says Woelfel.
Woelfel hears from NBA officials that Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman may have had a verbal agreement in place with Suns president Lon Babby to become the team's GM, but that owner Robert Sarver nixed the deal. Phoenix ultimately ended up hiring Ryan McDonough.
According to Woelfel, there's a "growing sentiment" that J.J. Redick will sign with a team besides the Bucks this summer.
Nerlens Noel, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick next month, still hasn't decided on an agent, says Woelfel. One report last month suggested Noel may become Jay-Z's first basketball client.

Vander Blue To Enter Draft

April 16th, 2013 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Marquette's Vander Blue has decided to forgo his final year of collegiate eligibility and enter the 2013 draft, the school announced today in a press release. The junior guard will sign with an agent, making his early entry official.

"I've had three great years here and appreciate everything Marquette has done for me during that time to help me develop," Blue said in a statement. "At this point I want to pursue my dream. I've prayed about it and discussed it with my family and think this is the right decision for me at this time."

Although Blue helped lead Marquette to the Elite Eight in this year's NCAA tournament, averaging 18.3 PPG in the team's four March Madness games, he's only ranked 76th among 2013 prospects by ESPN.com's Chad Ford. Still, Ford wrote last month that Blue's stock was on the rise, and that the 20-year-old shouldn't be counted out of the first-round conversation just yet.