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Draft Workouts: Brown, Lakers, Grizzlies, Alkins

June 11th, 2018 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Oregon shooting guard Troy Brown worked out for the Spurs on Sunday, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. The Spurs hold the No. 18 pick and Brown is ranked No. 19 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Brown then worked out for the Wizards Monday and is headed to Milwaukee for an evaluation by the Bucks, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Washington owns the No. 15 selection with the Bucks at No. 17.

We have plenty of other workouts to pass along:

The Lakers will work out Abdul-Malik Abu (North Carolina State), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Kameron Chatman (Detroit), Manu Lecomte (Baylor), Marcus Lee (Cal) and Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure) on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado will get a second look from the Lakers on Tuesday, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets.
The Grizzlies will bring in six second-round prospects on Tuesday, according to a team press release. That group includes A.J. Davis (UCF), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Brandon Goodwin (Florida Gulf Coast), Devonte’ Graham (Kansas), Terry Larrier (Connecticut) and Ray Spalding (Louisville). Memphis held a workout with projected lottery pick Wendell Carter Jr. on Monday, Chris Herrington tweets. Carter is ranked No. 6 by Givony; the Grizzlies have the No. 4 pick.
Arizona guard Rawle Alkins will be evaluated by the Warriors on Tuesday, according to another Zagoria tweet.
Swingman Todd Withers (Queens) has worked out for the Thunder, Nets and Hornets, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Zhaire Smith will work out for the Sixers and Suns after visiting the Wizards on Monday, Chase Hughes of NBCSWashington tweets. The Texas Tech forward is ranked No. 16 overall by Givony.

Draft Notes: M. Porter, T. Brown, Sixers, Wizards

June 10th, 2018 at 9:04pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Cavaliers prepared on Friday for what turned out to be their final game of the 2017/18 season, the team also had at least one front office representative present at Michael Porter Jr.‘s Pro Day in Chicago, a source tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Depending on how confident teams are about the health of Porter’s back, the young forward could still be on the board when Cleveland picks at No. 8 in this month’s draft.

While it’s not clear if Porter will last until No. 8, the Knicks – who hold the No. 9 overall selection – are also doing their homework just in case. As Marc Berman of The New York Post writes, “top-level” Knicks officials will travel to Chicago this Friday to work out the Missouri product. Porter said at last month’s combine that being drafted by the Knicks would be “awesome,” but sources tell Berman that the 19-year-old is probably a long shot to slip to No. 9.

Here are more notes and updates on pre-draft workouts:

Oregon shooting guard Troy Brown, whose stock has been on the rise as of late, will work out for the Hornets next Sunday, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Brown has been viewed as more of a mid-to-late first-round pick, but Charlotte holds the No. 11 overall selection.
While the headliners of the Sixers‘ Monday workout – Lonnie Walker and Miles Bridges – have been previously reported, the session will also include several more prospects. Drew Eubanks (Oregon State), Shake Milton (SMU), Jared Nickens (Maryland), and Nuni Omot (Baylor) will also participate, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Bruce Brown (Miami), Melvin Frazier (Tulane), Devon Hall (Virginia), Dzanan Musa (international), Thomas Welsh (UCLA), and Tyler Wideman (Butler) are working out for the Pacers on Monday, according to the team.
The Wizards will also host a Monday workout, as the team takes a closer look at Jaylen Adams (St. Bonaventure), Troy Brown (Oregon), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Alan Herndon (Wyoming), Elie Okobo (France), and Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech), per Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). Brown, Okobo, and Smith are all top-25 prospects on Jonathan Givony’s ESPN big board, so they could be in play for Washington at No. 15.

Draft Updates: Bamba, Jackson Jr., Sexton, Knox

June 10th, 2018 at 11:47am CST by Arthur Hill

Texas center Mo Bamba got high praise from the Suns after working out for the team Saturday, relays Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic. Phoenix is very likely to take another center, Arizona’s DeAndre Ayton, with the top pick, but GM Ryan McDonough believes Bamba has a bright NBA future, comparing him with Defensive Player of the Year finalist Rudy Gobert.

“At 20 years old, I think he’s ahead of where Rudy was,” McDonough said. “Now Rudy has made tremendous strides over the last three or four years. I think the question for Mo will be, can he build out his body like Rudy has? But in terms of measurements, they’re similar and in terms of willingness and desire to anchor a defense and protect the rim, they’re similar. It’s a great comp for Mo.”

There’s more draft news to pass along:

Bamba is part of a series of top prospects the Suns are working out this week. Michigan State’s Jaren Jackson Jr. is in town today, the team announced on its website, following appearances by Ayton and Marvin Bagley III.
Bamba looks like the definition of a modern NBA center and could wind up being the best player in the draft, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Bamba provides size, a draft combine record 7’10” wingspan, mobility and intelligence, Givony notes, but there are questions about his physical frame after putting on 30 pounds in three years and his uneven performance in college. “Although there’s no one I really pattern my game after, I am a firm believer in stealing stuff from other people,” Bamba said. “When I sat down with [ player development specialist Drew Hanlen], we watched a lot of Jo-Jo [Joel Embiid], we watched a lot of AD [Anthony Davis]. Guys who can step out and move their feet and create their own shot offensively as a 7-footer.”
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert called Collin Sexton a “very interesting prospect” after getting an up-close look at the Alabama guard during a workout Saturday, relays Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
Kentucky’s Kevin Knox and Michigan State’s Miles Bridges worked out for the Knicks on Saturday, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I’m the second-youngest player in the draft this year, but that doesn’t mean anything,’’ said Knox, who is still 18. “It’s not an excuse. I’m in the NBA and I put my name in the draft for a reason — because I think I’m ready. My age has nothing to do with it.’’ Also participating in the workout were SMU’s Shake Milton, Miami’s Bruce Brown , Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith and Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo.
The Jazz are hosting six players for a session today, the team announced on Twitter. Attending will be Utah’s Justin Bibbins, Purdue’s Vince Edwards, Australia’s William McDowell-White, France’s Amine Noua, Marshall’s Ajdin Penava and Lincoln Memorial’s Emanuel Terry.
Duke’s Grayson Allen had to pull out of today’s workout with the Hawks after suffering a minor injury during warmups, tweets Michael Cunningham of The Journal-Constitution. Also at today’s session were Creighton’s Marcus Foster, Louisville’s Anas Mahmoud, Rhode Island’s E.C. Matthews, UNLV’s Brandon McCoy and Boston College’s Jerome Robinson.
The Hornets will host their sixth pre-draft workout Monday with Southeastern Louisiana’s Jordan Capps, Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell, Mercer’s Ria’n Holland, Xavier’s J.P. Macura, Illinois-Chicago’s Tai Odiase and Queens College’s Todd Winters scheduled to attend.

Draft Notes: Celtics, Z. Smith, Knicks, Hornets

June 8th, 2018 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

After having stocked up in draft picks in many recent seasons, the Celtics head into this month’s draft with only one selection at No. 27 overall. That allows Boston to narrow its focus during its pre-draft preparations, and the club is doing just that as it weighs its options at No. 27, according to director of player personnel Austin Ainge (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com).

“I think there are about 10 guys that we’ve kind of narrowed it down to that we think have a chance to be there,” said the Celtics’ executive. “Like I said, we evaluate the whole draft all the time. But we’ve kind of tried to laser focus in to about 10.”

One of those 10 players could be Duke’s Grayson Allen, who is viewed as a probable late first-round pick and is working out for Boston today, as previously reported. Joining him at that group workout are Deng Adel (Louisville), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), Billy Preston (Bosnia), Allonzo Trier (Arizona), and Kenrich Williams (TCU), tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Here are a few more pre-draft workout updates:

Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith is the latest top prospect to schedule a workout with the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley, who writes that Smith will earn a look from the club on Saturday. New York is auditioning a handful of potential lottery picks tomorrow, with Miles Bridges and Kevin Knox also set to attend.
Elsewhere on the Knicks‘ scouting front, the team was represented at Michael Porter Jr.‘s Pro Day today, though Scott Perry and Steve Mills didn’t attend as previously reported, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. The Knicks have a pre-draft meeting scheduled with Porter, Begley adds.
The Hornets are hosting their fourth pre-draft workout on Saturday, according to the team. Joe Chealey (College of Charleston), Allerik Freeman (N.C. State), Dakota Mathias (Purdue), Doral Moore (Wake Forest), and Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt) will participate, alongside Texas A&M’s Robert Williams.
After auditioning for Charlotte, Purdue guard Dakota Mathias also has workouts on tap with the Lakers, Pistons, and Kings, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Mathias, who averaged 12.0 PPG with a .466 3PT% in his senior year, previously worked out for Toronto.

Northwest Notes: Blazers, Jazz, Wolves, Nuggets

June 5th, 2018 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

While most NBA teams are focusing on workouts for 2018 draft prospects these days, this is also a time of year when clubs take a closer look at veteran free agents, bringing them in for auditions of their own. The Trail Blazers are doing just that at a mini-camp this week, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype details (Twitter link).

According to Kennedy, former Sixers, Rockets, and Nets swingman K.J. McDaniels is among the players earning a look from the Trail Blazers, along with Casper Ware, Kadeem Jack, Isaiah Cousins, Kyle Randall, and a number of others. A handful of current Portland players, including Zach Collins and Caleb Swanigan, participated in those sessions alongside the free agents on Monday, Kennedy notes.

Here’s more from around the Northwest division:

Former Duke guard Grayson Allen, who worked out for Utah on Monday, is “very much in consideration” for the Jazz with their No. 21 pick, writes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz say that Aaron Holiday, Jalen Brunson, and Khyri Thomas, who have also auditioned for the team, are options for that first-round selection as well, Jones adds.
Britt Robson of The Athletic (subscription required) identifies six potential – and realistic – free agent targets for the Timberwolves, who are need of another shooter or two. Virtually all of Robson’s suggestions, including Joe Harris, Wayne Ellington, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, fit that bill.
The Nuggets will work out Troy Brown Jr. (Oregon), Matt Farrell (Notre Dame), Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech), Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech), Khyri Thomas (Creighton), and Gary Trent Jr. (Duke) on Wednesday, according to the club. Farrell had originally been scheduled to audition on Tuesday, but he was bumped a day back, with Jalen Brunson (Villanova) and Justin Tillman (VCU) joining Tuesday’s session.

Draft Workouts: Walker, Clippers, A.J. Davis, Hawks

June 4th, 2018 at 2:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV, considered a potential lottery pick, had his first pre-draft workout on Sunday when he met with the Hornets, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. According to Bonnell, Walker indicated that he’ll audition for about six more teams, all of whom are picking in the 10-to-20 range in this month’s draft.

Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com has Walker going to the Clippers at No. 13 in his most recent mock draft, noting that the former Hurricane is a candidate to increase his stock during the pre-draft process due to his ” youth, strong frame, wingspan, and ability to shoot with his feet set or off the dribble.”

Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts, including another note on the Clippers:

The Clippers are hosting six prospects for a workout today, with De’Anthony Melton (USC), Drew Eubanks (Oregon State), Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech), Troy Brown Jr. (Oregon), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), and Brandon Sampson (LSU) getting a look from the club (Twitter link).
UCF forward A.J. Davis, the son of former NBA big man Antonio Davis, will audition for the Bulls, Pacers, and Magic, a league source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Jacob Evans (Cincinnati), Devonte’ Graham (Kansas), Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt), Landry Shamet (Wichita State), and Zach Thomas (Bucknell) make up the latest group of Hawks workout participants, according to the team.
Texas A&M big man Tyler Davis is among the prospects working out for the Knicks on Wednesday, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link).

Draft Rumors: Pistons, Suns, Doncic, Z. Smith

May 18th, 2018 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons‘ meetings at this week’s draft combine have included an interesting twist, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, who writes that the prospects interviewed by Detroit talked about being outfitted with a virtual reality headset.

“They didn’t really ask any tricky questions,” Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham said of his meeting with the Pistons. “They did a virtual reality where I was like in the headphones and goggles and I was making plays – see if you made the right reads and stuff like that. It was cool.”

Penn State’s Tony Carr had a similar account of his interview with the Pistons: “They definitely did some interesting virtual-reality testing things just to kind of figure out your decision making and things like that (with) the 3-D glasses. It was pretty cool. I actually watched my little brother play with them but I’ve never used them myself.”

According to Langlois, the list of prospects who have met – or will meet – with the Pistons at the combine also included Tyus Battle (Syracuse), Shake Milton (SMU), Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Brian Bowen (South Carolina), Jevon Carter (West Virginia), and Trevon Duval (Duke). In a tweet, Langlois adds Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo to that list as well.

Here are a few more draft notes and rumors:

Sources familiar with the Suns‘ thinking tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that new head coach Igor Kokoskov likely won’t be too involved with the team’s decision on the No. 1 pick. Kokoskov may have some input, but the Suns don’t want to put him in a tough position by creating the impression that he lobbied for or against Luka Doncic, who has played for Kokoskov on the Serbian national team.
Speaking of Doncic, agent Bill Duffy tells Deveney that “Luka has stated no particular thought on any NBA teams.” The comment is certainly intended a response to those who interpreted Doncic’s lack of commitment to the NBA as a signal that he doesn’t want to play for the Kings or another team that might use a high pick on him.
Deveney has another draft-related tidbit for us, writing in a separate article that no player has been drawing more interest this week from “late-lottery” executives than Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith. In Jonathan Givony’s latest mock draft at ESPN.com, Smith comes off the board at No. 16, but he could end up sneaking into the back end of the lottery, as Deveney details.
According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link), the Pelicans, Hawks, Cavaliers, Kings, Thunder, Grizzlies, Jazz, Spurs, Sixers, Nets, and Timberwolves have reached out to express interest in IMG Academy prospect Anfernee Simons.

Draft Updates: M. Robinson, Hutchison, Edwards, More

May 16th, 2018 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Two notable prospects have withdrawn from this week’s NBA draft combine, according to reports. Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com tweets that Mitchell Robinson won’t participate in the event, while Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets that Boise State’s Chandler Hutchison has also withdrawn. In each case, it’s not clear if the player has received a promise from a team or if there’s another reason for his decision.

While NBA evaluators have four years of film on Hutchison to watch, Robinson remains one of the mystery men of this year’s draft class. Due to eligibility issues, he didn’t play a single minute of college basketball, so his draft stock remains cloudy.

Let’s round up a few more draft-related news items and notes…

Purdue guard Carsen Edwards was spotted at the combine, so it appears he received a last-minute invite due to the late withdrawals, tweets Givony.
Following the official NBA combine this week, another event called the Pro Basketball Combine will take place next week. The Pro Basketball Combine released its full list of participants today, with Deng Adel, Maverick Rowan, and LiAngelo Ball among the names on that list.
A handful of early entrants have withdrawn – or will withdraw – from the draft to return to school next season, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN (Twitter link). Those players include Malik Hines (UMass), Kalob Ledoux (McNeese State), Malik Martin (South Florida) and Zane Martin (Towson), with Ledoux and Malik Martin expected to transfer.
A ton of meetings will take place at the combine this week, so it’s likely not worth reading too much into each one, but here are a few early updates: The Pistons are meeting with Kansas guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Twitter link via Vince Ellis of The Detroit Press), the Bucks are interviewing Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith (Twitter link via Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times), the Timberwolves are interviewing Anfernee Simons (Twitter link via Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News), and the Knicks are meeting with Trae Young (link via Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News).

Zhaire Smith To Enter 2018 NBA Draft; Hire Agent

April 17th, 2018 at 9:02pm CST by clarkcrum

Texas Tech freshman Zhaire Smith is expected to sign with an agent and remain in the 2018 NBA Draft, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Smith, 18, averaged 11.3 PPG and 5.0 RPG this season for the Red Raiders.

We had previously relayed that Smith was testing the NBA Draft waters without hiring an agent, but the decision to forgo the remainder of his college eligibility makes sense given his potential to be picked in the lottery and the money he stands to make.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony currently ranks him 17th overall on his Top 100 Prospects, and a rookie salary for the 17th overall selection in this summer’s draft could be as high as $2.46MM.

Zhaire Smith To Test 2018 NBA Draft Waters

April 4th, 2018 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Texas Tech swingman Zhaire Smith has decided to go through the NBA draft process for 2018, he announced today (via Twitter). Smith won’t sign with an agent, giving him the option of withdrawing his name by the NCAA’s May 30 deadline and returning to school for the 2018/19 season.

“I am excited to say that I am going to enter my name in NBA Draft without an agent,” Smith wrote. “I would like to see where I stand after my freshman year. I would like to thank coach [Chris] Beard, my parents, and the best fans in college basketball.”

Smith, 18, had a solid freshman year for the Red Raiders, averaging 11.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.1 BPG, and 1.1 SPG with a shooting line of .556/.450/.717.

Describing Smith as “long-armed and explosive,” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony recently wrote that the youngster was originally viewed as more of a 2019 draft candidate. That could still ultimately be the case if Smith withdraws from this year’s draft and plays out his sophomore year with Texas Tech. However, he would be one of the best athletes in this year’s class and is considered a potential first-round pick — Givony ranks him 17th overall on ESPN’s big board.