Early Entrants For 2014 NBA Draft
The NCAA tournament has brought an end to the college season for many top prospects, leaving them with decisions about whether to enter the draft or return to college. Players from overseas have also begun to make their intentions known, and as the draft approaches, more names will appear below on the Hoops Rumors list of early entrants for the 2014 draft.
We already passed along the key dates on the calendar for early entrants, with the most important deadlines falling on April 15th, when underclassmen must withdraw from the draft to retain eligibility, April 27th, the final day for all early-entry candidates to declare for the draft, and June 16th, the last day non-college prospects can withdraw.
The NBA’s official list of early entrants doesn’t come out until May 2nd, but until then, we’ll be keeping track of reports on prospects declaring for the draft, and we’ll archive them all in a running list here, which will be accessible anytime under “Featured Posts” on the right sidebar.
The players below are in alphabetical order. For an idea of how they stack up against one another, check out the DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
Updated 4-28-14
- Jordan Adams, UCLA (Sophomore)
- Kyle Anderson, UCLA (Sophomore)
- Isaiah Austin, Baylor (Sophomore)
- Chane Behanan, Louisville/Colorado State (Junior)
- Sim Bhullar, New Mexico State (Sophomore)
- Khem Birch, UNLV (Junior)
- Lefteris Bochoridis, Greece
- Jabari Brown, Missouri (Junior)
- Nedim Buza, Bosnia
- Clint Capela, France
- Aquille Carr, D-League
- Jahii Carson, Arizona State (Sophomore)
- Joonas Caven, Spain
- Semaj Christon, Xavier (Sophomore)
- Jordan Clarkson, Missouri (Junior)
- Nemanja Dangubic, Serbia
- DeAndre Daniels, Connecticut (Junior)
- Moussa Diagne, Spain
- Tomas Dimsa, Lithuania
- Spencer Dinwiddie, Colorado (Junior)
- Tyler Ennis, Syracuse (Freshman)
- Joel Embiid, Kansas (Freshman)
- Marcus Eriksson, Spain
- Dante Exum, Australia
- Aaron Gordon, Arizona (Freshman)
- Jerami Grant, Syracuse (Sophomore)
- Ilja Gromovs, Latvia
- Gary Harris, Michigan State (Sophomore)
- Rodney Hood, Duke (Sophomore)
- Damien Inglis, France
- Mouhammadou Jaiteh, France — withdrew
- Nick Johnson, Arizona (Junior)
- Nikola Jokic, Serbia
- Alex Kirk, New Mexico (Junior)
- Artem Klimenko, Russia
- Zach LaVine, UCLA (Freshman)
- James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina (Junior)
- K.J. McDaniels, Clemson (Junior)
- Mitch McGary, Michigan (Sophomore)
- Vasilije Micic, Serbia
- Eric Moreland, Oregon State (Junior)
- Johnny O’Bryant III, LSU (Junior)
- Jabari Parker, Duke (Freshman)
- Elfrid Payton, Louisiana-Lafayette (Junior)
- Martin Peterka, Czech Republic
- Kristaps Porzingis, Spain
- Mateusz Ponitka, Belgium
- Julius Randle, Kentucky (Freshman)
- Glenn Robinson III, Michigan (Sophomore)
- LaQuinton Ross, Ohio State (Junior)
- JaKarr Sampson, St. John’s (Sophomore)
- Dario Saric, Croatia
- Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State (Sophomore)
- Nik Stauskas, Michigan (Sophomore)
- Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee (Junior)
- Devon Van Oostrum, Spain
- Noah Vonleh, Indiana (Freshman)
- Guillem Vives, Spain
- Adin Vrabac, Bosnia
- T.J. Warren, N.C. State (Sophomore)
- Andrew Wiggins, Kansas (Freshman)
- James Young, Kentucky (Freshman)
Eastern Notes: Bayless, Celtics, Bucks, Bobcats
Barring a remarkable turn of events, the Eastern Conference playoff field is set, and the only realistic uncertainty that remains is about how the teams will be seeded. Tonight’s Pacers–Heat clash will say much about which team ends up with the top seed, as Indiana will be either three games ahead or just one game up on Miami depending on the outcome. While we look forward to that, here’s what’s happening off the court around the East:
- Jerryd Bayless said a week after arriving in Boston via trade that he’d like to remain with the Celtics beyond this season, and he reiterated that this week to Gary Dzen of Boston.com. Bayless will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- In a wide-ranging talk with season ticket holders earlier this week, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said the team will target a rim protector in the draft, notes Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel suggests there’s a decent chance that either Tony Mitchell or Chris Wright will return to the Bucks soon, depending on the performance of the newly signed D.J. Stephens (Twitter link). All three have received 10-day contracts from the team this month, and Gardner says the team will probably sign one of them to a longer deal.
- The Bobcats are expected to receive a league-high $20MM in revenue sharing, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports, with several other small-market teams in line for about $15MM. The increase in revenue the Bobcats have drawn via sponsorships is one advantage of fielding a team that competes for one of the last playoff spots rather than bottoming out in pursuit of a high draft pick, as Lowe explains.
- Bobcats owner Michael Jordan doesn’t talk much about the team publicly, but he’s been heavily engaged behind the scenes in collective bargaining and revenue sharing discussions, as commissioner Adam Silver tells DeAntae Prince of The Sporting News.
Kings, Chris Johnson Call Off Deal
WEDNESDAY, 12:45pm: The deal has come apart, and the Kings no longer plan to sign Johnson, Deeks reports (Twitter link).
TUESDAY, 7:20pm: The Kings are set to sign Chris Johnson tomorrow, reports Mark Deeks of ShamSports,com. The big man out of LSU is not to be confused with the Celtics player of the same name. We heard that the Bobcats worked out Johnson a couple of weeks ago, but Charlotte ended up signing DJ White to a 10-day contract instead, leaving the opportunity for the Kings to swoop in and ink the athletic center.
Johnson, 28, has been playing in China since November. He’s averaged impressive numbers of 20 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2 blocks per night in 29 games for Zhejiang Guangsha Lions. During his most recent stint in the NBA, Johnson played 30 contests for for the Timberwolves and averaged 3.9 points per game while posting an impressive 18.9 PER.
It’s not clear whether Sacramento is giving Johnson a 10-day deal or signing him for the rest of the season and possibly beyond, writes Deeks. The Kings have an open roster spot after waiving Jimmer Fredette and opting not to retain Orlando Johnson, who signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the club. The acquisition of Johnson will now put the Kings’ roster at an NBA maximum of 15 players.
Lakers Notes: Kaman, Buss Family, Jackson
The Lakers set a franchise record for their largest margin of defeat earlier this season, but Tuesday they put up the first 51-point quarter in team history during a rout of the Knicks. All of it still adds up to a lottery appearance, and Tuesday’s win only makes the job of landing a top-five pick tougher. Here’s more on the purple-and-gold:
- Chris Kaman made it clear early in the season that he’s not pleased with his role on the Lakers, and the team’s efforts to trade him at the deadline came up short. He made a rare appearance in the starting lineup Tuesday, but he’s still frustrated and isn’t on speaking terms with coach Mike D’Antoni, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times details. The 11th-year center, a free agent at season’s end, told reporters that he regrets not “doing due diligence” to investigate the team before signing this past summer.
- A majority of the Buss family was at one point reportedly in favor of Phil Jackson returning to the Lakers, but the family didn’t strongly support him for a role that would have placed him above GM Mitch Kupchak, notes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links). The family was, at best, split on that idea, Shelburne says.
- The specter of Jackson is a frequent media talking point, but Lakers players have put the issue out of their minds, as Jodie Meeks told reporters, including fellow ESPNLosAngeles.com scribe Dave McMenamin.
Bucks Sign D.J. Stephens To 10-Day Deal
MARCH 26TH: The Bucks have officially signed Stephens, the team announced (Twitter link).
MARCH 24TH: Milwaukee is circling back around to Stephens now that their 10-day deal with Chris Wright has lapsed, as the Bucks will sign Stephens to a 10-day contract on Wednesday, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.
MARCH 14TH: The Bucks are set to sign former University of Memphis swingman D.J. Stephens to a 10-day deal, according to Greek site EBasket. Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype (on Twitter) has confirmed the news. Stephens had interest from several clubs heading into last year’s draft but was not selected.
In 18 games with Greek team Ilysiakos this season, Stephens has averaged 9.9 PPG and 8.8 RPG. The 23-year-old averaged less than eight points and seven rebounds in his senior season at Memphis, but his highlight reel of blocks and eye-popping dunks had scouts drooling. At the pre-draft combine, Stephens registered a 46″ vertical leap, the highest ever recorded by the NBA. For reference, LeBron James and Michael Jordan have never recorded more than a 44″ vertical.
Pistons Expected To Pursue Tom Izzo
WEDNESDAY, 10:00am: Izzo said in a radio appearance on the Dan Patrick Show today that he’s not eyeing the Detroit gig, as Kevin Gehl of WLNS-TV tweets (hat tip to MLive’s David Mayo). Izzo added that he’s never spoken with Gores (Twitter link).
“I have no interest in the #Pistons job right now… 150% no,” Izzo said.
TUESDAY, 4:06pm: Izzo made it clear during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter today that he’s content at Michigan State, but he stopped short of dismissing the notion that he’d head to the NBA (transcription via ESPN.com).
“There’s been so many rumors over the years,” Izzo said. “I look at people I used to recruit against years ago [that] said that I’d be gone, but I’m still here and some of those schools have had three different coaches. I’ve always said I’d never say never to anything because you never know what it brings. But I got so much more work to do here. I have a great president, a great [athletics director] and a football coach that I really get along [with]. So this is a pretty good place for me right now. We’re in a pretty good spot. [The] program’s in pretty good shape. [It] ain’t broke, so why fix it?”
8:40am: Pistons owner Tom Gores is expected to pursue Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo to take over permanent head coaching duties on Detroit’s bench, USA Today’s Sam Amick reports (video link). John Loyer is serving as interim coach in place of Maurice Cheeks, whom Gores fired in February. Lionel Hollins is also rumored to be a candidate for the job.
Gores is a graduate of Michigan State, just like Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, who attempted to woo Izzo to Cleveland in 2010. Izzo spoke with the Cavs then, Amick points out, but they were unable to lure him from the college ranks, where he’s established himself as one of the premier sideline bosses, guiding the Spartans to six Final Four appearances and the 2000 national championship.
Izzo, 59, spoke about his recruiting frustrations recently with Michael Rosenberg of SI.com, and while he said he’ll remain at Michigan State, he admits that the question of whether he’d be better off leaving for a job in broadcasting or the NBA is a fair one. A report last summer suggested the Timberwolves were eyeing Izzo as a possible replacement for Rick Adelman, who instead decided to return for another season. There’s speculation that Adelman will step aside this summer, so the Pistons might have NBA competition for Izzo.
Gores, and not president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, appeared to be the one to make the call to fire Cheeks. Dumars is in the final year of his contract and on shaky ground. Teams usually identify a primary front office executive before hiring a coach, but occasionally a coach comes aboard first, as was the case last summer with the Kings, who brought on coach Michael Malone before GM Pete D’Alessandro.
And-Ones: Jackson, Blake, Griffin, Brown
Reports earlier today indicated that there was dysfunction within the Warriors organization, but Mark Jackson downplayed the speculation, reports Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group. “We are excited about what’s taken place up until this point — the culture, the environment with no dysfunction at all,” Jackson said, “That’s comical.” Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA:
- Steve Blake was initially disappointed about the deadline deal that sent him to the Warriors, but he’s embraced his role as an important bench piece for a contending playoff team, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is impressed with the job acting GM David Griffin has done in Cleveland, reveals Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Amico specifically mentions the trade that landed the Cavs Spencer Hawes in exchange for a second-round pick.
- Although the Cavs are just 29-44, Raptors coach Dwane Casey thinks Mike Brown‘s defense-first coaching style is the best way to run a team, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer passes along. Cleveland bested Toronto 102-100 tonight.
- Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insider takes a look at the NCAA coaches that appear most likely to jump into an NBA role. Koutroupis notes Fred Hoiberg‘s ties with the Timberwolves might have Minnesota calling his name this offseason if Rick Adelman steps down due to poor health.
- League executives aren’t concerned with the perceived notion that some teams around the Association are tanking, says Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “When you’re talking about tanking, you’re intimating teams are losing games on purpose, and that just isn’t true,” said Rod Thorn, the NBA’s president of basketball operations. “Every player, every coach is trying to do everything he can to win as many games as he can and to play as well as he possibly he can, because in both instances, your livelihood depends on how you do.”
Draft Rumors: Wiggins, Vonleh, Randle, Saric
The latest mock draft from Jake Henson of Sheridan Hoops runs down Henson’s take on the likely 2014 lottery picks. Each player has a best and worst case scenario player comparison, and Henson opines that Andrew Wiggins‘ ceiling is around Tracy McGrady‘s talents, while his floor might project around Rudy Gay‘s skills. Let’s round up the latest rumors on the 2014 NBA draft:
- Front offices around the league are intrigued by Noah Vonleh‘s size and upside, writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link). He might not be polished enough to have a strong rookie year, but it’s possible he has more potential than Julius Randle and Aaron Gordon, says Ford. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders says he would still take Randle over Vonleh (on Twitter).
- Kyler goes on to peg Randle as a mix between Zach Randolph and Paul Millsap (Twitter link). Randle has averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in his freshman year at Kentucky.
- Dario Saric isn’t entering the 2014 draft, and Kyler believes his decision was based on money. Given the talent of this year’s draft class, Kyler notes Saric is due for a higher selection and a bigger payday if he waits to enter the draft until next season (Twitter links).
- Ford, in another Insider piece, passes along that Wiggins is believed by executives around the league to be the number one pick, pending an absolute clean bill of health from Kansas teammate Joel Embiid.
- Scouts believe Aaron Gordon is likely to return for his sophomore year at Arizona, says Ford, but the same scouts say if he declares for the draft, he’s likely to be selected as a mid-to-late first-round pick. Hoops Rumors’ Eddie Scarito recently profiled Gordon’s game.
- Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe argues that the days of the polished NBA rookie are dying, as most one-and-done players who enter the league now need a few years to develop their game. Washburn points to the NCAA tournament performances of Wiggins, Marcus Smart, and Jabari Parker as evidence.
Northwest Notes: Rubio, Love, Nuggets, Crabbe
With the Timberwolves’ loss to Memphis last night, Minnesota appears to be all but officially eliminated from playoff contention. Hollinger’s Playoff Odds at ESPN.com now have the team making the postseason 0% of the time in 5,000 simulations of 2013/14’s remaining schedule. Here’s more on the Wolves and the rest of the NBA’s Northwest Division:
- Ricky Rubio wants to remain in Minnesota, but he also wants to take part in the playoffs, as he tells Nacho Albarran of As.com (translation via HoopsHype). Rubio, who’ll become eligible to sign an extension in the offseason, predicts that 2015 free agent Kevin Love will stay with the Timberwolves.
- The Nuggets are another Northwest club set to miss the postseason, but coach Brian Shaw is excited for what his squad will be capable of next season now that they understand the system he’s putting in place, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com. “Everybody now has an understanding of exactly what I expect of them, how we want to play and what we want to do going forward,” said Shaw. “I’ve said that this is going to be a year of discovery to really understand what it is that we have to work with“
- The Blazers have assigned Allen Crabbe to the D-League, the team announced. It will be Crabbe’s second such assignment this season. The rookie has averaged 2.1 points in a meager 5.1 minutes per contest this season for Portland, but he’ll be in line to see more playing time for the D-League’s Idaho Stampede.
- Gordon Monson of the Salt Lake Tribune thinks that Jazz fans should blame coach Tyrone Corbin for Utah’s lack of overall enthusiasm in recent weeks. The club has won just four of its last 19 games and figures to finish the season near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Bosh, LeBron To Stay In Miami Next Season?
Chris Bosh spoke on ESPN Radio’s Dan Le Batard Show and told Le Batard that he and LeBron James would be playing for Miami next season, reports Ethan Skolnick of Bleacher Report. Both James and Bosh have the ability to terminate their contracts early and enter free agency this summer, but Bosh responded with “true” when asked a pair of true/false questions inquiring whether he and James would be playing for the Heat next year.
While Bosh’s words are by no means binding, they do come in the midst of heavy speculation that the “Big Three” might be on their way out of Miami, each in search of a max deal. It’s certainly possible that Bosh and James terminate their contracts, which have the potential to extend until the 2015/16, only to re-sign longer pacts with the Heat. Of course, Dwyane Wade has the option to end his deal with the club and enter free agency as well, but Bosh made no comments to Le Batard regarding Wade’s intentions this offseason.
The tone of the interview was “lighthearted,” according to Skolnick, but Bosh’s comments should nonetheless serve some level of comfort to Heat fans who’ve been hearing speculation of James returning to Cleveland and Bosh heading off to Dallas this summer. Another championship couldn’t hurt the superstars’ willingness to stay, and the Heat are definitely capable of going all the way again in 2013/14. James and Bosh respectively sit at number one and three on the Hoops Rumors 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings.