2015 NBA Draft

Emmanuel Mudiay To Stay In China

January 7th, 2015 at 7:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Marquee draft prospect Emmanuel Mudiay plans to stay in China all season, as he and his family have told Chinese media, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The point guard recently took part in his first full team practice with China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers after suffering a sprained ankle in November, Givony also tweets. It appeared a month ago that Mudiay was on his way out as the team signed Will Bynum, ostensibly to serve as his replacement. Now, Mudiay says he’s in no hurry to leave China, and the team has no reason to cut him, since the Tigers have to pay his $1.2MM salary either way, Givony notes (on Twitter).

Bynum joined the team on a temporary basis, as the club was to decide whether to keep him based on Mudiay’s recovery and Bynum’s performance. The Tigers are 14-0 since Bynum began playing for them, Givony points out (Twitter link), and the former Pistons point guard is averaging 19.7 points and 6.7 assists per contest. Mudiay hadn’t been making as much progress with the ankle as the team would have liked when Bynum came on board, and there was disagreement over his timetable for a return. Now that Mudiay is practicing again, the team faces a tough decision, since Chinese Basketball Association clubs can only suit up two healthy Americans, and Guangdong employs former Texas A&M Corpus-Christi center Chris Daniels as its starting pivotman.

Mudiay is the No. 2 prospect in the rankings of both Givony and Chad Ford of ESPN.com, and he’s No. 3 in the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Power Rankings that our Eddie Scarito compiles. The 18-year-old signed in China after deciding against attending SMU for what would have been his freshman season this year. He put up 17.7 PPG and 5.9 APG while also averaging 6.0 rebounds and 3.1 turnovers in 30.0 minutes per game in his 10 contests with the Tigers before the injury. The ankle injury kept some NBA teams from getting an in-person look at him this year, but that appears poised to change.

And-Ones: Cauley-Stein, Warriors, Rondo

January 4th, 2015 at 9:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein could be climbing his way into top five of the 2015 Draft, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders writes. Cauley-Stein has been projected as a mid-to-late first round pick in the last two years but each time opted to stay in school for more seasoning. It seemed unlikely that he could boost his stock further, but he has done just that this season. DraftExpress currently has the junior at No. 4 in their 2015 mock draft. More from around the league..

The Warriors announced that they have recalled center Ognjen Kuzmic from their D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz. Kuzmic recorded six points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in last night’s 98-83 victory over the Canton Charge. The brief trip was Kuzmic’s third assignment of the year.
Since the Rajon Rondo deal, the Celtics have seen a significant dip in rebounding, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Prior to the trade, Boston was ranked eleventh in the league in rebounding with 44.2 per game. In the eight games since, the C’s are down to 41.9 rebounds, which ranks 21st in the league.
Trade season is fast approaching and EJ Ayala of Basketball Insiders looked at six players to keep an eye on over the next several weeks. Nets guard Deron Williams, who has been bumped from the starting lineup in favor of Jarrett Jack, tops the list.
The Bulls‘ 2011 draft is shaping up to be one of the most influential in franchise history, writes K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. The 2011 draft brought the Bulls both Nikola Mirotic and Jimmy Butler, two players who are pillars of their current squad.

And-Ones: Richardson, Mekel, Jenkins

December 31st, 2014 at 7:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Sixers guard Jason Richardson said that he expects to return to the court in late January after being sidelined for nearly two years, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports. Richardson last played in an NBA game on January 18th, 2013 before knee and ankle maladies sidelined him. “It will mean a lot to come back,” Richardson said. “I thought I was done playing. I really did. But seeing my son play AAU over the summertime, seeing his love for the game, it made me get the love back for the game. My thing is to always walk away on my own terms. I understand that things happen. Me having this knee injury, fading away like that is not the way I wanted to go out. Retirement is three or four years away from now.”

Here’s more from around the league and abroad:

Michael Jenkins has signed a deal with the Turkish club Istanbul BSB, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter link). Jenkins was in training camp this season with the Thunder prior to being waived.
NBA scouts and executives are essentially in agreement that Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker are better pro prospects than fellow Kentucky backcourt studs Andrew Harrison and brother Aaron Harrison, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who writes in his weekly chat. Booker is No. 35, Ulis is No. 48, Andrew is No. 65 and Aaron is No. 67 in Ford’s prospect rankings.
Gal Mekel is still hoping to land with an NBA team after being released by the Pelicans earlier this month, Allon Sinai of The Jerusalem Post writes. “After I was released by New Orleans I received several offers from Europe and Israel,” Mekel said. “I wanted to give them the respect they deserve and listen to them all. It is no secret that I really want to remain in the NBA and I believe with all my heart that I can succeed in this league. But I also really want to play, lead and realize my potential.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

2014/15 NBA Reverse Standings

December 31st, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The 2014/15 season is only about two months old, but many scouts and executives around the league are already preparing for the 2015 NBA draft. They’re no doubt cognizant of how their respective NBA teams are doing as they attempt to get an idea of where they’ll be picking, and with the Hoops Rumors Reverse Standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, you can easily follow along, too. We update these standings daily to reflect the outcomes of the games that took place the night before.

The Reverse Standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what the 2015 first-round order would look like with no changes to lottery position. Traded picks are also included via footnotes. For instance, the notes next to the Lakers’ pick indicates that they’ll send it to Phoenix if it falls outside the top five selections. Whether that happens is anyone’s guess at this point, since the Lakers are tied with the Hornets for the fifth spot in the lottery order.

The existence of the lottery means there’s no guarantee that teams atop the Reverse Standings will draft in the order in which they finish, but the worse a club’s record, the better shot it has at landing the cream of the 2015 draft class. This year’s group of prospects, which includes Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, Karl-Anthony Towns, isn’t as highly touted as the 2014 draftees were, but there’s still plenty of star potential.

Our Reverse Standings feature can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2015. Be sure to check back often!

And-Ones: Knicks, Batum, Cauley-Stein, ‘Melo

December 18th, 2014 at 10:29am CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks have been “very active” in trade discussions this week, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com reports amid a story on the team’s apparent peripheral involvement in Rajon Rondo talks. That seems to jibe with a report from Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck earlier this week that all the Knicks aside from Carmelo Anthony are available. Rumors are indeed flying fast around the NBA these days, and here’s a look at some of the latest news from around the league:

Nicolas Batum has pondered what it would be like to play for the Spurs, but he doesn’t see much need to leave the Blazers when he hits free agency after next season, as he tells Shams Charania of RealGM. “I still have time and I like low key so there’s no reason to think yet, but why not stay in Portland?” Batum said. “I’ve been here for seven years now, so why not?”
Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein has been on quite a tear recently, and this has catapulted him from No. 16 all the way to No. 8 on Chad Ford of ESPN.com‘s insider-only Big Board. Cauley-Stein is currently ranked 10th in Hoops Rumors’ 2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings.
‘Melo would have been better off joining the Bulls, opines Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that the Bulls lucked out when he decided not to, writes Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
Three-year NBA veteran Josh Harrellson has been released by the Chongqing Flying Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, Enea Trapani of Sportando reports (Twitter link). The Pistons had waived Harrellson in mid-July rather than guarantee his minimum salary for the 2014/15 season.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Poythress, Thunder, NBA Draft

December 13th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kentucky junior forward Alex Poythress suffered a torn left ACL during practice and will miss the remainder of season, the University announced via their official website. “Our team was devastated for Alex when I told them,” coach John Calipari said. “There were tears throughout the room because this hurt them to the core. How they will respond I really don’t know, but I will do my best to be there for each of these kids. I told them, this is a big blow to our team. No one will be able to replace Alex and what he did for this team. I go back to last year’s NCAA Tournament. Without Alex, we don’t win those games. No one will be able to replace him, but now everybody has to do a little bit more as we try to circle the wagons.” Poythress is currently the 47th ranked college prospect by DraftExpress.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Thunder have once again recalled Mitch McGary and Grant Jerrett from the Oklahoma City Blue, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.
The 2015 NBA draft is loaded with talented big men, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. Kennedy spoke with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who believes that the lack of top point guard prospects is opening the door for a lot of bigs to potentially go in the first 30 picks. “I think that part of the reason why you’re seeing so many big men in our [DraftExpress’] top 30 is because this is a really weak class for point guards,” Givony told Kennedy. “There might be one point guard in our top 20 right now and maybe two in the first round, period. That just leaves a lot of spots open for the four other positions, including power forwards and centers. I think that’s why we’re seeing some of these bigs [in the top 30]. But it’s a nice class for big guys too. I do think this draft, as a whole, is much better than advertised so far.”
Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders ran down which players are his picks for the top 10 prospects in the NBA who are 23 years old or younger. Topping Duncan’s list are Anthony Davis (Pelicans), Kyrie Irving (Cavs), and Jabari Parker (Bucks).
The Kings have recalled Eric Moreland from the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, the team announced.

2015 NBA Draft Prospect Power Rankings

December 13th, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2015 NBA draft is still a long way away, and the remaining four months of NCAA action will play a major part in determining the fates of the 20 players whose names appear on the list below, as well as those who haven’t made the cut just yet. Still, front offices and scouting departments throughout the NBA are already hard at work trying to determine which players they will pin the future of their franchises on, and Hoops Rumors will be doing the same all the way up until June’s draft.

Keep in mind that this list includes both underclassmen and players from overseas, neither of whom are guaranteed to declare for the draft. But just like the NBA scouting departments, we’ll need to be prepared for the possibility that all of these players will be available to hear their names called by commissioner Adam Silver in what will be his second opportunity to be on the stage during the first round.

Here are the current top 20 players in descending order:

1 Jahlil Okafor-C (Duke/Freshman)

-6’11”, 272 pounds

–DraftExpress Rank: No. 1

–ESPN Rank: No. 1

–Stats: 17.1 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. .646/.000/.520.

Okafor has certainly lived up to the hype that surrounded him before he set foot on Duke’s campus. A true center, he has excellent athleticism and is remarkably polished on offense for a freshman big man. He has an NBA-ready body and should continue to develop into an absolute monster down in the paint. His defense will need work when he gets to the pros, which isn’t uncommon, but his potential is off the charts. It will take quite a bit to knock him out of the top slot in the upcoming draft.

2 Karl-Anthony Towns-PF/C (Kentucky/Freshman)

-7’0″, 250 pounds

–DraftExpress Rank: No. 3

–ESPN Rank: No. 3

–Stats: 9.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 2.8 BPG. .538/.200/.714.

Towns may end up being better in the long run than Okafor, but for now, he is still a project on the offensive end. He can get by in college using his superior athleticism, but he’ll need to develop his post game if he wants to become a star in the NBA. Towns will be fun to watch on the fast break, but in half-court sets he’ll be reduced to alley-oops and putbacks during his rookie campaign. He’s already an intimidating defender, which will translate nicely to the next level, although Towns will need to become more disciplined, or else he’ll be foul-prone, and end up spending more time on the bench than on the hardwood.

3 Emmanuel Mudiay-PG (Guangdong)

-6’5″, 200 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 2

-ESPN Rank: No. 2

-Stats: 18.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 6.3 APG. .493/.321/.586

Mudiay took the less conventional route when he passed up a chance to attend SMU and signed with Guangdong of the Chinese Basketball Association instead. Mudiay is easily the most talented guard in the draft, and his size and speed are NBA-ready. The injury to his ankle may shut him down for the rest of the CBA season, since his family has hinted that Mudiay might leave China early to prepare himself for the NBA draft as well as to avoid any further injuries that could damage his draft stock. The 18-year-old could easily become the top pick in the draft, depending on how the ping-pong balls drop when determining the lottery order.

4 Justise Winslow-SF (Duke/Freshman)

-6’6″, 221 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 4

-ESPN Rank: No. 6

-Stats: 12.0 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 2.1 APG. .456/.385/.600.

Winslow is a fast riser on many draft boards thanks to his fantastic athleticism. He’s not a great perimeter scorer, which is a negative for a wing player, though he’s shown the ability to knock down three-pointers thus far this season. Winslow has a solid frame, and he projects as a potentially elite defender. Couple that with his maturity and leadership abilities, and it’s easy to see why so many scouts are so high on this freshman.

5 Stanley Johnson-SF (Arizona/Freshman)

-6’7″, 237 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 6

-ESPN Rank: No. 9

-Stats: 13.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.7 SPG. .468/.385/.714.

Johnson is an absolute man-child with an NBA-ready body and excellent strength. He reminds me a bit of Larry Johnson (no relation), though he is nowhere near as polished on the offensive end as Johnson was coming out of UNLV. The biggest knock on Stanley Johnson is his severely limited outside game. There isn’t much call in the league these days for wings who can’t stretch the floor, so Johnson will need to show significant improvement as the season wears on, or he’ll risk dropping out of the top 10. But I love his aggressiveness, defense, and rebounding.

6 Kristaps Porzingis-PF (Baloncesto Sevilla)

-7’0″, 220 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 9

-ESPN Rank: No. 4

-Stats: 9.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 1.3 BPG. .472/.436/.737.

I have only seen limited film on Porzingis, but all the scouting reports that I have read laud the 19-year-old’s offensive skills. I’ve grown to be immediately skeptical of European big men who are projected as lottery picks, due to the large number of draft busts among their ranks, and that holds true for Porzingis. He has an excellent three-point stroke and is surprisingly athletic. He projects as a stretch four who can also play small forward, but Porzingis will struggle mightily on the defensive end. He’s not even close to being strong enough to hold his ground in the post, and he isn’t quick enough to stay with faster wings on the perimeter. Porzingis is a project with an extremely high upside, but I would think twice about taking him in the top five. My first instinct was to rank him outside the top 10, but judging by the buzz around him, Porzingis will likely be selected much higher than that.

7 Kevon Looney-PF (UCLA/Freshman)

-6’9″, 220 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 8

-ESPN Rank: No. 5

-Stats: 13.9 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and 1.8 BPG. .473/.154/.662.

Looney is rising swiftly up the draft boards thanks to his athleticism and strong early season production. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite players in the draft. Looney’s a bit of a tweener, similar to Aaron Gordon a year ago in that respect. Looney has decent outside range, which I think will improve with practice and coaching. He’s also an excellent rebounder and a plus defender at either forward position, though he’ll need to add some bulk to guard NBA power forwards. I’ve also been impressed with his ball-handling and passing, and both are skills that will translate well to the pros. Looney might not crack the top five selections, but if that is the case, whichever team he falls to could be getting a steal.

8 Myles Turner-C (Texas/Freshman)

-6’11”, 242 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 12

-ESPN Rank: No. 7

-Stats: 11.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 2.9 BPG. .509/.308/.853.

Turner is a project, but he’s one who could pay dividends for a patient team. He’s a good scorer with range out to the three-point line, but he lacks aggressiveness. Turner is a solid shot blocker, but he needs to improve as a rebounder if he wants to be more than just a rotation player in the NBA. There are also some legitimate concerns regarding his knees due to his odd way of running. Big men tend to break down faster than players at other positions, so long-term health is a definite concern with Turner. But his upside is too good for him to go outside the top 10.

9 Cliff Alexander-PF/C (Kansas/Freshman)

-6’9″, 254 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 15

-ESPN Rank: No. 13

-Stats: 9.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.4 BPG. .550/.000/.702.

Alexander is a bit undersized for his position, but he makes up for it with his 7’3″ wingspan. He possesses a tantalizing mixture of strength and athleticism, and he’s a rampaging beast in the paint. Alexander lacks a mid-range game, and he also doesn’t have a great grasp of nuances yet, which will slow his learning curve down a bit. But he has a ceiling similar to that of Lakers rookie Julius Randle, without the concerns on the defensive end that followed the Kentucky product into the NBA prior to his season-ending injury. Look for Alexander to continue to rise in the draft projections as the season progresses.

10 Willie Cauley-Stein-C (Kentucky/Junior)

-7’0″, 244 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 10

-ESPN Rank: No. 16

-Stats: 10.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.6 BPG. .618/.000/.633.

Cauley-Stein surprised many when he elected to return to Kentucky for his junior season, especially with the influx of talent the university had arriving this season. But the move should pay off for the 7-footer who reminds me quite a bit of a young Tyson Chandler. Cauley-Stein is very limited on the offensive end, mostly relying on putbacks to score his points. He isn’t as good a rebounder as he should be, though I suspect he’ll improve over time. A team needing a rim protector could do a lot worse than plugging Cauley-Stein into its rotation next season.

11 D’Angelo Russell-SG (Ohio State/Freshman)

-6’5″, 176 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 11

-ESPN Rank: No. 10

-Stats: 18.0 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 5.4 APG. .482/.442/.750.

Russell is already a polished scorer with a lethal outside touch. The lefty has excellent ball-handling skills, and he’s very effective off the dribble, though he needs to improve upon his ability to finish at the rim if he wants to be an effective pro. Russell also has the ability to play the point for stretches, which will serve to increase his value as a rotation piece at the NBA level. The two main knocks against Russell are that he needs to get stronger and that he has a tendency to disappear for long stretches during games and coast. He has a nice upside and should turn into a solid NBA player in a few seasons.

12 Mario Hezonja-SG (Barcelona Regal)

-6’7″, 200 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 5

-ESPN Rank: No. 8

-Stats: 4.7 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 1.2 APG. .483/.357/.692.

Here’s another foreign player whom I have seen limited tape on. Hezonja is a projected lottery pick, but I’m not sold on his long-term future in the NBA. He’s a possible draft-and-stash pick, which could benefit him since he needs more development before making the jump to the NBA. Hezonja is very athletic and can light it up from the outside, but he’s a poor defender. There have also been some red flags raised about his attitude, ability to accept coaching, and overall maturity. These concerns could serve to lower Hezonja’s draft stock around the league.

13 Montrezl Harrell-PF (Louisville/Junior)

-6’8″, 243 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 17

-ESPN Rank: No. 15

-Stats: 16.8 PPG, 9.6 RPG, and 1.3 APG. .614/.214/.574.

It was surprising to see Harrell return to Louisville for his junior season, but the move will likely reward him with a higher draft selection than he would have garnered in 2014. There’s a lot to like about Harrell’s game, but he bears the dreaded tweener tag. He’s neither a true power forward nor a classic small forward. He can score from almost anywhere on the floor and has a high motor. He’s also a very good rebounder and a physical defender. But Harrell lacks a defined NBA position, which could end up lowering his draft stock as well as his ceiling as a player.

14 Chris McCullough-PF (Syracuse/Freshman)

-6’9″, 200 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 24

-ESPN Rank: No. 11

-Stats: 14.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and 2.4 BPG. .563/1.000/.545.

McCullough is another player shooting up the draft boards after arriving at Syracuse with minimal fanfare and hype. He is extremely athletic, boasts a 7’3″ wingspan, and can jump out of the gym. He’s also a very strong rebounder and should become a defensive force as he matures. I like McCullough a lot, and expect him to finish the year much higher on this list.

15 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson-SF (Arizona/Sophomore)

-6’6″, 212 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 19

-ESPN Rank: No. 22

-Stats: 12.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 1.9 APG. .585/.300/.745.

There’s a lot to like about Hollis-Jefferson’s game and draft potential. As a player, he reminds me of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and not just because of the hyphenated last name. Hollis-Jefferson is extremely athletic, exciting in transition, a good rebounder for his size, and a good defender. But he does come with limitations similar to Kidd-Gilchrist’s, mainly in his lack of a reliable outside game. While he boasts a decent mid-range jump shot, he makes his living attacking the basket, an aspect that doesn’t always translate to the NBA, thanks to the far superior athleticism college players face when making the jump to the pros.

16 Frank Kaminsky-C (Wisconsin/Senior)

-7’0″, 242 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 14

-ESPN Rank: No. 18

-Stats: 16.6 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.1 BPG. .539/.424/.683.

Kaminsky isn’t likely to become a star in the NBA, nor even an effective starter. But he’ll be able to contribute on the offensive end immediately for whichever team selects him. Kaminsky reminds me quite a bit of the Celtics’ Kelly Olynyk offensively, which isn’t a bad thing at all. Unfortunately, he also shares Olynyk’s weaknesses as a rebounder and defender. As a mid first-rounder, Kaminsky will be a solid pick, though he will have a limited ceiling thanks to his athletic shortcomings.

17 Caris LeVert-SG (Michigan/Junior)

-6’7″, 200 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 13

-ESPN Rank: No. 17

-Stats: 17.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 4.1 APG. .453/.489/.833.

LeVert is reaping the benefits of Nik Stauskas having departed Michigan for the NBA, and he has the potential to rise up the draft rankings rather quickly if he continues to improve as the season wears on. LeVert is an excellent athlete, has a solid outside game, and can play either wing position. His defense will definitely need some work, and he’ll need to get stronger if he hopes to be able to survive and thrive in the NBA. Still, I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked if LeVert sneaks into the lottery when all is said and done.

18 Dakari Johnson-C (Kentucky/Sophomore)

-6’11”, 263 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 25

-ESPN Rank: No. 25

-Stats: 9.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 1.0 BPG. .646/.000/.542.

Johnson’s draft stock will suffer because of Kentucky’s ridiculous depth the last two seasons, but he’s a player who could help quite a few NBA teams in the long run. Johnson isn’t afraid to mix it up in the post area, and he’s an excellent and ferocious rebounder. His post defense is decent enough, though he’s not a great shot-blocker. Johnson is competent around the rim on offense, but he has a very limited array of post moves. He’ll be a serviceable backup in the NBA, but he’ll require significant time in the D-League during his rookie season in order to develop.

19 Kelly Oubre-SF (Kansas/Freshman)

-6’6″, 204 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 7

-ESPN Rank: No. 12

-Stats: 2.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 0.5 APG. .333/.286/.800.

Oubre’s draft stock has taken a hit since the beginning of the season. He hasn’t gained Kansas coach Bill Self’s confidence yet and is only seeing limited minutes. Oubre has looked every bit like a freshman when he has played, and he’s often appeared lost on the court. But he’s a tremendous athletic talent who I believe will figure things out by the end of the season, and he should end up a top-10 pick when all is said and done. Oubre simply has too much talent to slide too far in the draft, though he’s a player who would benefit greatly from another year in school, however unlikely that scenario is.

20 Tyus Jones-PG (Duke/Freshman)

-6’1″, 184 pounds

-DraftExpress Rank: No. 21

-ESPN Rank: No. 29

-Stats: 10.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 5.8 APG. .462/.360/.844.

Jones creeps into the top 20 thanks to his fantastic six-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio and the lack of quality point guards at the top of this draft class, aside from Mudiay. The 18-year-old Jones has shown remarkable poise as a freshman, and he reminds me quite a bit of Tyler Ennis, another player I was extremely high on heading into the 2014 draft. Jones lacks elite athleticism, needs to work on his outside shot, and won’t be ready to play significant minutes his rookie season. But his court vision and basketball IQ will make him a potential lottery sleeper pick.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: McGrady, Draft, Hamilton

December 11th, 2014 at 4:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The league has been canvassing team executives about the idea of eliminating as much as half of the preseason to make the regular season about 10 days longer, thus building more off days into the schedule, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. Any reduction in the preseason wouldn’t take place until the 2016/17 season at the earliest, according to Lowe, and the league has also brought up the idea of allowing organized team activities during the offseason like
the National Football League does, Lowe writes.

Here’s more from around the NBA and abroad:

A recent report from Bleacher Report’s Les Carpenter left some ambiguity about whether Tracy McGrady wanted to return to the NBA, but McGrady confirmed via his verified Facebook account that he no longer wants to play.
There will be more than a dozen NBA scouts in Spain tonight to observe Barcelona taking on Fenerbahce, with their primary focus being on Mario Hezonja, a projected lottery pick in the 2015 NBA draft, Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (Twitter link).
Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) has released his second mock draft of the year. Ford projects the top three picks in the 2015 draft to be Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky), and Emmanuel Mudiay (Guangdong).
The Reno Bighorns of the NBA D-League traded for the rights to former NBA player Jordan Hamilton today, the team announced in a press release. In the deal, the Bighorns, the affiliate of the Kings, also acquired the Rio Grande Valley Vipers’ second round pick in the 2015 D-League draft. In return, Reno sent their 2015 first round pick in the D-League draft to the Iowa Energy, the Grizzlies’ D-League affiliate. Hamilton spent the 2014 preseason with the Raptors, before being acquired off of waivers by the Jazz, who later waived him themselves. The Lakers had expressed some interest in Hamilton, but declined to sign him after he worked out for the team last month.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Raduljica, Draft, O’Quinn

December 10th, 2014 at 10:18pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the recent signing of Earl Clark, the Shandong Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association are considering releasing former NBA player Miroslav Raduljica, Enea Trapani of Sportando reports (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Raduljica appeared in 48 games for the Bucks last season, averaging 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports ran down the top 10 international prospects for the 2015 NBA draft. Topping Spears’ list are Kristaps Porzingis, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Mario Hezonja.
The Magic have already bested their 2013/14 season total of four road wins, and the improved play of Kyle O’Quinn is a big reason, Ken Hornack of FOX Sports.com writes. O’Quinn has been starting in the place of the injured Nikola Vucevic, and he is improving as a player while he works his way back from his own injury woes, notes Hornack. “We’ll continue to get him [O’Quinn] in condition where he can play more than 18 minutes,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “We’ll continue to address his ability to do his work early so he can stay out of foul trouble. And he’ll continue to help us on the floor. He can play both positions [center and power forward], but he’s got a lot of room to grow.”
Chris Mannix of SI.com released his initial player rankings for the 2015 NBA draft. The top three players on Mannix’s big board are Jahlil Okafor, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mudiay.
LeBron James has nothing but praise for Matthew Dellavedova, his Cavs teammate, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “I had Norris Cole on my team in Miami,” James said. “He was the same type of guy. We called him the pit bull. You just put him out there on anybody and he’s always going to be successful and know you can never discredit how he goes about the game and how hard he plays. You put him out there for 20 seconds and it will be the hardest 20 seconds he ever played, like he’ll never play again. Everything they do won’t show up in the box score but teammates and people that know the game know he made an impact.” James’ comments regarding Cole are potentially noteworthy considering that Cole is set to become a restricted free agent next summer, is originally from Ohio, and is represented by Klutch Sports, the agency that represents James.

And-Ones: Cousins, Clifford, Knicks, Covington

December 8th, 2014 at 9:56pm CST by Alex Lee

We heard yesterday that DeMarcus Cousins has been out for the past two weeks with a case of viral meningitis and could miss another week or two as he recovers. Kings head coach Michael Malone said today that Cousins is out “indefinitely,” reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). After a 9-5 start, Sacramento has lost four of five without its emerging superstar. Let’s take a look at what else is going around the Association:

The Hornets‘ playoff appearance last season automatically triggered a team option for the third year of head coach Steve Clifford‘s contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Clifford, hired in May 2013, signed a three-year, $6MM deal with Charlotte that is now officially fully guaranteed through next season.
While the disappointing Knicks might not be ready to turn their focus toward the draft, team president Phil Jackson also said that he doesn’t plan to make any in-season moves that might jeopardize the team’s long-term flexibility, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “I’m not going to make movement for movement’s sake,” Jackson said. “There is sometimes addition by subtraction but I don’t see anybody that doesn’t want to be part of this organization, doesn’t want to play with his teammates, doesn’t want to learn… What we have to do is protect our future… If we evaluate a player and see he’s going to be a long-term player who is going to fit in our organization, we’ll do that.”
Duke center Jahlil Okafor remains the top prospect in the latest update to Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, while high school senior Jaylen Brown, a small forward, is No. 1 on Givony’s 2016 mock draft.
Robert Covington has quickly worked his way into Brett Brown‘s rotation in Philadelphia, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers added Covington in mid-November and he has averaged 9.5 points in 11 games since arriving in Philly. However, the Tennessee State product has scored 63 points and played significant minutes in Philadelphia’s last three contests, two of which the success-starved Sixers have won.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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