- According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter), the workout list for Indiana forward Juwan Morgan includes the Suns, Pacers, Bulls, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Jazz, and Kings.
- The Kings are interested in Magic free agent center Nikola Vucevic, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 tweets. This reiterates a previous Athletic report in late March that revealed Sacramento’s desire to sign Vucevic.
The NBA Draft is less than one month away. As we await the big night, let’s take a look at some workout notes:
- Lagerald Vick (Kansas) will work out for the Knicks on Monday, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Vick will also work out with the Thunder and Bulls in the coming days.
- Jordan Caroline (Nevada) will work out for the Suns, Nuggets, and Hornets, per ESPN’s Jordan Schultz (Twitter link). Caroline made All-Team Mountain West during both his junior and senior seasons.
- Justin Simon (St. Johns) has worked out for the Celtics, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times (Twitter link). Simon is not ranked in ESPN’s Top 100.
- The Kings worked out six prospects on Thursday, according to the team’s website. Alex Robinson (TCU), Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra), Justin James (Wyoming), Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Dean Wade (Kansas State), and Bennie Boatwright (USC).
- The Kings will also work out six more prospects on Friday, per their website. Ky Bowman (Boston College), Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech), Brandon Randolph (Arizona), Marial Shayok (Iowa State), Donta Hall (Alabama), and Josh Sharma (Stanford) are all expected to be in attendance.
- The Kings are hosting their fifth pre-draft workout at their practice facility on Wednesday, the team announced in a press release. Sacramento listed Anthony Cowan (Maryland), Barry Brown (Kansas State), Alpha Diallo (Providence), Amir Coffey (Minnesota), Robert Franks (Washington State), and Dedric Lawson (Kansas) as the participants, though Cowan and Diallo are both expected to pull out of the draft before tonight’s NCAA withdrawal deadline.
The Kings have made several additions to their coaching staff. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), the team has added Bob Beyer, Jesse Mermuys and Roy Rana as assistant coaches.
Beyer most recently coached under Billy Donovan in Oklahoma City. He previously was in Detroit under Stan Van Gundy.
Mermuys follows new Kings head coach Luke Walton from Los Angeles to Sacramento, having spent the last three seasons with the Lakers.
Rana is a long-time Canadian coach who leads the country’s under-18 and under-19 national teams.
Walton joined the Kings after mutually parting ways with the Lakers. Sacramento is expected to add even more staff in the coming weeks.
TCU forward Kouat Noi will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman of WatchStadium.com tweets. The 6’7” Noi averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG during his sophomore season. He has workouts upcoming with the Bucks, Kings and Clippers, Goodman adds. Teammate Desmond Bane will return to school, Goodman adds (Twitter link).
We have more draft news.
- Alabama swingman Tevin Mack has decided to withdraw from the draft, Goodman reports in another tweet. Mack averaged 9.0 PPG in his junior season.
- Northern Illinois guard Eugene German will return to school, Goodman adds in another tweet. The point guard averaged 20.4 PPG and 2.9 APG in his junior year.
- Indiana University guards Devonte Green and Aljami Durham and forward Justin Smith are all expected to return to school, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
- Colorado State’s Nico Carvacho will return to school, Rothstein reports in another tweet. The 6’11” center averaged 16.1 PPG and 12.9 RPG as a junior last season.
- Duke center Marques Bolden will remain in the draft, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG as a junior.
- The Kings have expressed interest in Thunder assistant coach Bob Beyer, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Beyer has been an NBA assistant since 2007, making stops with Orlando, Golden State, Charlotte and Detroit before joining Oklahoma City last year. He also served as an assistant with the Raptors during the 2003/04 season.
- Luke Walton was spotted by the media helping out with the Kings’ pre-draft workout on Thursday but he didn’t speak to the press, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports. The new Kings head coach hasn’t faced the media since a lawsuit alleging that he sexually assaulted a former reporter was filed last month. The league and organization are jointly investigating the matter.
- UCF center Tacko Fall was among the players to work out for the Kings on Thursday, per a team release. Sacramento also took a closer look at Myles Powell (Seton Hall), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Jalen Hudson (Florida), Nick Weiler-Babb (Iowa State), and Marques Bolden (Duke).
- Draft-eligible prospect Brian Bowen has workouts lined up with the Jazz, Warriors, and Kings, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Bowen previously worked out for Indiana.