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Draft Notes: Monk, Wolves, Bell, Knicks

June 7th, 2017 at 11:03pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Selecting Malik Monk is the Sixers‘ best option at No. 3, Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer contends. While taking Monk so high may be considered a reach, Ford doesn’t see it that way. He argues that front office should disregard expert rankings and pick the player who would fit in best with the team.

Only five teams were worse than the Sixers from long-range last season, as I mentioned in the franchise’s offseason preview. The Sixers’ greatness need may be shooting and Monk, who Jonathan Givony of Draft Express ranks as the eighth best prospect in the draft, made 39.7%  of his attempts from behind the arc during his lone season in Kentucky.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau said other teams have been trying to acquire the No. 7 overall pick, ESPN’s Nick Friedell tweets. Thibs added that he believes there will be high demand for many picks in the draft.
  • Jordan Bell had an impressive workout with the Sixers, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “For a Dennis Rodman-like player who has the ability to play across a few positions, mainly defensively, we sat with him, had a great interview as we’ve learned more about him,” Sixers executive Brandon Williams said. If Bell falls in the draft, Philadelphia could be a team to watch out for since it has four selections in the second round.
  • The Knicks worked out Ike Iroegbu and Trevor Thompson, Marc Berman of the New York Post passes along (Twitter link).
  • Elie Okobo worked out for the Sixers today, Jessica Camerato of Comcast Sports relays (Twitter link). Okobo previously worked out for the Jazz and he plans to meet with the Nets and Hawks.
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Workout Notes: Nets, Bulls, Evans, Dorsey

June 7th, 2017 at 9:09pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Nets worked out several prospects today, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Jaron Blossomgame, Devin Robinson, Wesley Iwundu, Damyean Dotson, London Perrantes and Tarik Phillip all participated in drills for Brooklyn.

There’s more news on prospects meeting with teams. Here’s the latest:

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Jazz To Work Out Darius Morris

June 7th, 2017 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Ex-Lakers guard Darius Morris tells Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link) that he has worked out for the Lakers, Grizzlies, and Pistons, and has a session lined up with the Jazz as well.
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Northwest Notes: Kanter, Rubio, Nuggets, Jazz, Blazers

June 6th, 2017 at 7:23pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Enes Kanter remains hopeful that he will be able to reunite with his family in the United States someday, reports Erik Horne of NewsOK.com. Currently, Kanter’s father sits in a Turkey jail, awaiting interrogation on Monday. Two and a half weeks ago, the Thunder big man’s passport was canceled by the Turkish government and he could not gain access to Romania. Homeland Security, a team of lawyers, and the NBA teamed up to arrange his speedy return to the United States, but now Kanter’s father is in trouble. Kanter’s mother, younger sister, and brother also currently remain in Turkey.

“If you’re a kid, woman or child, if you’re speaking out against them, they’ll arrest you,” Kanter said.

Here’s more from the Northwest division:

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Draft Notes: Lakers, Ball, Artis, Briscoe, D. White

June 5th, 2017 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite multiple reports suggesting that the Lakers aren’t sold on the idea of using the No. 2 overall pick on Lonzo Ball, NBA executives are skeptical. As Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com writes, several execs told him that they don’t buy those reports, and one suggested that the Lakers may be trying to convince teams they like Josh Jackson in the hopes that someone will trade up to No. 2 for Jackson and allow the Lakers to move down while still landing Ball or De’Aaron Fox.

I’m also skeptical that the Lakers would pass on Ball, though I think the explanation could be simpler than that. While Magic Johnson has said publicly that Ball’s outspoken father LaVar Ball won’t affect the team’s decision at all, it’s possible that the club has some private concerns. In that scenario, it could make sense to leak word of those concerns in the hopes that LaVar, not wanting to alienate the Lakers, will dial back on his public comments a little.

While we wait to see how Ball’s meeting with the Lakers goes this week, let’s round up a few more draft-related items…

  • Pittsburgh wing Jamel Artis has workouts on tap with the Spurs, Clippers, and Mavericks this week, league sources inform Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Ian Begley of ESPN.com adds the Knicks to the list of clubs Artis will audition for in the coming days, writing that Artis and UVA’s London Perrantes are scheduled to work out for New York on Friday.
  • Kentucky’s Isaiah Briscoe has a busy pre-draft workout schedule, according to Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link), who says sessions with the Trail Blazers, Pistons, Bulls, and Lakers are still on tap for Briscoe. Camerato also adds the Raptors and Rockets to the list of teams Briscoe has already auditioned for.
  • Camerato also provides workout details for a couple more prospects who visited Philadelphia today, reporting that Derrick White (Colorado) will audition for the Pelicans, Jazz, and Hornets, while Melo Trimble (Maryland) will work out for the Rockets, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Knicks (Twitter links).
  • The Kings will work out Duke’s Harry Giles on Tuesday, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com tweets. The 6’11” center, whose lone college season was marred by knee injuries, is ranked No. 12 overall by ESPN’s Chad Ford, though he’s just No. 33 on DraftExpress’ board. Sacramento holds the No. 5, No. 10 and No. 34 picks in the draft.
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Bobby Marks Previews Jazz Offseason

May 31st, 2017 at 10:21am CST by Joshua Fischman

In previewing the Jazz‘s offseason, Bobby Marks of The Vertical points out that three of the team’s starters are free agents: Gordon Hayward, George Hill, and Joe Ingles. Marks also observes that the Jazz possess the 24th and 30th overall picks in the draft, and two of the team’s key players, Rudy Gobert and Rodney Hood, were drafted by Utah in the 20s. The Jazz have cast a wide net in the draft in recent years, often bringing in more than 100 players for workouts, and they figure to do the same this year.

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Hayward's Decision Won't Influence Ingles

May 29th, 2017 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Gordon Hayward‘s decision in free agency won’t influence Jazz swingman Joe Ingles, according to Olgun Uluc of  Foxsports.com. Ingles will be a restricted free agent once the Jazz extend him a qualifying offer of $2.687MM, which they almost assuredly will do. Ingles averaged 7.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.7 APG while shooting 44.1% from long range this past season. He would like to stay put, as he told Uluc.  “I think we’ve got the team,” he said. “Obviously, Gordon is a big part of that, so his free agency — it’s not going to change what I’m going to do or where I want to go — but, we’re a different team depending on whether he’s there or not. I’m not gonna be sitting there calling Gordon every two minutes, but if everything works out in Utah and they want me, and it all comes together, that’s great.”
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Joe Ingles Talks Utah, Free Agency Priorities

May 29th, 2017 at 3:54pm CST by Luke Adams

While Gordon Hayward and George Hill will be Utah’s top priorities in free agency this summer, the Jazz are also expected to do all they can to lock up forward Joe Ingles, who is eligible for restricted free agency.

Having expressed a desire during his exit interview to remain in Utah, Ingles reiterated to Olgun Uluc of FOX Sports Australia that his preference is to re-sign with the Jazz. “The priority is Utah,” Ingles said, adding that he has “loved” his time so far with the Jazz.

The 29-year-old, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2016/17, with 7.1 PPG and a .441 3PT%, expanded further on his thoughts about free agency, Utah, and his upcoming summer, so let’s round up a few of Ingles’ quotes from Uluc’s piece…

On how his family liked Utah and the Jazz:

“We really liked the city. What the team does for the families — which is obviously a little unknown to the outside world — looking after Renae, which they do with all of the wives and families and girlfriends, and all the significant others, is amazing. Obviously, I haven’t been with any other NBA teams, but the way they did that was probably second to none. It’s important for me, to know she’s looked after when we’re away for, say, 10 days.”

On whether the Jazz can be a title contender, and how Hayward’s decision affects that:

“I think we’ve got the team. Obviously, Gordon is a big part of that, so his free agency — it’s not going to change what I’m going to do or where I want to go — but, we’re a different team depending on whether he’s there or not. I’m not gonna be sitting there calling Gordon every two minutes, but if everything works out in Utah and they want me, and it all comes together, that’s great. Hopefully it’s a quick fix, and it’s done.”

On how the Hayward and Hill situations affect his own free agency:

“We haven’t sat down like, ‘I’ll re-sign if you re-sign’ or ‘You take less and I’ll come back’ or ‘Hey, let’s just split the money between the three of us.’ It’s just more of those general conversations that, we wanna see what we can do with a healthy lineup. Just that fact of, imagine what we could be if we were healthy. That was the main thing that would come up with our group.”

On the role money will play in his contract decision:

“The money is something that is going to work itself out. I’m not too stressed about that. I’m not going to make my decision on money, for sure. There’s no way that’s gonna happen.”

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Draft Notes: Wilson, Fox, Suns, Mitchell

May 27th, 2017 at 9:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Jazz are denying a report that they offered a guarantee to take Michigan’s D.J. Wilson in the first round, according to Aaron Falk and Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. That story was passed on by Rod Beard of The Detroit News, who said the team promised to select Wilson with either its 24th or 30th pick in the June 22nd draft. Walt Perrin, Utah’s vice president of player personnel, said the Jazz haven’t offered a definite guarantee to any player in his 16 years with the organization. “It does put you at somewhat of a disadvantage because if someone comes to you with a great trade, you’ve made your commitment to that player, so you can’t trade,” he said. … “We try to keep our flexibility.”

There’s more news as draft day approaches:

  • Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox will hold workouts for the Lakers, who hold the second pick, and the Sixers, who have No. 3, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. The workout in L.A. is expected to happen between June 11th and 17th.
  • The Suns will begin draft workouts Monday, writes Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic. A session is also set for Tuesday, with Jarrett Allen of Texas and Luke Kornet of Vanderbilt expected to attend. Kornet, a 7-foot senior who is projected to be taken in the second round, grew up near Phoenix and would love to join the organization. “The Suns were my favorite team growing up, like when Steve Nash was there,” he said. “Right now I know they’re super young with [Devin] Booker and [Marquese] Chriss and [Dragan] Bender. They’re growing and finding their identity, but they have some great pieces.” Phoenix owns the fourth pick, along with second rounders at 32 and 54, and is expected to bring in most of the top-billed players.
  • Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell is steadily moving up NBA draft boards, relays Chris Reichert of The Step Back. Reichert compares Mitchell to Celtics guard Avery Bradley and says he has decent offensive skills to go with his celebrated defense.
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Gordon Hayward Has A Big Choice To Make

May 26th, 2017 at 9:39pm CST by marksuleymanov
  • Jazz forward Gordon Hayward will have a big choice this offseason: re-sign with the Jazz or pursue his self-admitted goal of winning a championship elsewhere. As Kincade Upstill of Deseret News writes, Hayward has been a fixture of Utah’s success and a huge reason why the team reached the second round of the playoffs this season. His teammates, the team, and the fans want him to return — and the Jazz can offer him the most significant dollars. However, it will ultimately be up to Hayward where he wants to be next season.
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