And-Ones: Wright, Pistons, Draft

Villanova coach Jay Wright told Dana O’Neil of ESPN.com that he has a strong desire to remain with the school, but he left the door slightly ajar to the idea of jumping to the NBA. The 54-year-old who just led the Wildcats to the national title values the ability to fade from the spotlight during the offseason in Philadelphia and indicated that if that changes, it would be the most significant reason for him to leave, O’Neil writes. The Suns are reportedly interested in Wright for their head coaching job, but he said no team has made an offer. “I can say right now that in my mind I plan to stay at Villanova,” Wright said. “But I also don’t want to be a liar. I want to stay. I know I want to stay, but I just say I hope I can stay because I’ve learned from the past how crazy things can be. I hope I can stay at Villanova because this is where I want to be.”

See more NBA-related news:

  • The Pistons have decided against re-signing Lorenzo Brown and plan to keep a 14-man roster the rest of the season, barring injury, coach/executive Stan Van Gundy told reporters, including MLive’s David Mayo and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter links). The Pistons have three healthy point guards aside from Brown, so Van Gundy saw no need to keep him once his second 10-day contract with the team expired Wednesday, according to Ellis. Brown didn’t appear in a game during his 20 days with Detroit.
  • Iowa State junior point guard Monte Morris is eschewing a strong chance to become a second-round NBA draft pick this year to instead return for his senior season, the school announced. The 6’3″ 20-year-old was No. 47 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and 57th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
  • Conversely, long-shot draft prospect Chris Obekpa will at least test the waters, as he plans to enter the draft without an agent, a source told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). NCAA rules required the 6’9″ forward/center to sit out this season at UNLV following his transfer from St. John’s. Ford ranks the native of Nigeria as just the 177th-best prospect, while Givony, whose overall rankings don’t run past No. 100, pegs him as the 71st-best junior. Obekpa can return to college ball if he withdraws from the draft by May 25th as long as he doesn’t hire an agent.
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