2015 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Harrison Twins, Randle, Vonleh

May 9th, 2014 at 11:35am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s the thick of draft season in professional sports, with the NFL draft continuing today, the baseball draft less than a month away, and the NBA draft as the showstopper on June 26th. Our sister sites Pro Football Rumors and MLB Trade Rumors will keep you clued in on the football and baseball drafts while we zero in on the NBA. Alex Lee of Hoops Rumors debuted his initial 2014 mock draft today, and he’ll be posting updated versions in the weeks ahead as we continue our Prospect Profile Series, too. For now, here’s more as the NBA draft landscape begins to take shape:

At least three NBA teams told twins Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison shortly before they decided to return to Kentucky that they would be drafted between 15th and 25th this year, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. That’s surprising, since they were widely projected as second-rounders for 2014.
Several NBA scouts and front office executives expect Kentucky to break its record of five first-round picks next year, when the Harrisons will be two of more than a half-dozen players with first-round talent who could come out of the school, Deveney writes.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress took team needs into consideration for his latest mock, which agrees with the Hoops Rumors mock through the first four picks. Givony has the Celtics going with Julius Randle instead of Noah Vonleh at No. 5.

Porzingis, Eriksson, Van Oostrum Enter Draft

April 28th, 2014 at 9:54am CST by Chuck Myron

Three Spanish league prospects officially declared for this year’s draft before Sunday night’s deadline, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Big man Kristaps Porzingis reversed course from his earlier decision to stay out of the draft, while You First Sports agent Pere Gallego told Givony that clients Marcus Eriksson and Devon Van Oostrum are in the 2014 draft, too (Twitter links).

Porzingis is the best prospect of the bunch, checking in at No. 23 in Givony’s rankings. Chad Ford of ESPN.com still has him in his 2015 class, ranked No. 15, though Ford had him as only the 65th-best prospect for this year as of last week. Eriksson, a shooting guard, is No. 78 in Givony’s rankings for this year, while Van Oostrum, a point guard, isn’t in Givony’s top 100 but checks in as his sixth-best prospect among overseas players born in 1993. Neither Eriksson nor Van Oostrum is in Ford’s rankings.

Porzingis, who turned 19 earlier this month, has averaged 6.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game this season for Cajasol Banca Civica. The 20-year-old Eriksson has put up 11.4 PPG in 23.5 MPG, with 37.7% three-point shooting for La Bruixa d’Or Manresa. Van Oostrum sees just 7.6 MPG for Laboral Kuxta, and he manages 1.2 PPG and 0.9 APG. All three from Spain’s top-flight league can withdraw from the draft anytime between now and June 16th. For now, they appear on the list of early entrants for this year.

Mario Hezonja Declines To Enter Draft

April 28th, 2014 at 8:42am CST by Chuck Myron

Spanish league swingman Mario Hezonja decided against entering the 2014 draft, reports Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Sunday was the deadline for players to declare. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Hezonja as the 27th-best prospect for this year, while Givony has already moved him into next year’s category, putting him sixth in his 2015 mock draft.

Hezonja, who turned 19 in February, has seen limited time for FC Barcelona Regal in his first season at the top level of Spanish basketball, scoring just 3.8 points in 9.3 minutes per game. Still, his combination of shooting and athleticism makes him a top prospect. He shot 39% on 1.3 three-point attempts per contest this season.

The native of Croatia might have ranked fourth or fifth among shooting guards in this year’s draft, but he appears to have a chance to become one of next year’s top five overall picks. He won’t be automatically draft-eligible until 2017, so he has plenty of time to develop and further refine his game for NBA scouts.

Harrison Twins Decline To Enter Draft

April 25th, 2014 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Kentucky freshman twins Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison have decided to return to school next season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The guards were highly touted entering the season, and Andrew was a particularly hot prospect, checking in at No. 8 on both Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and Chad Ford’s ESPN.com Big Board in late October. Aaron was at No. 32 with Givony at the time, but Andrew and Aaron have slipped to 39th and 53rd, respectively, in Givony’s ratings. Ford has Andrew 31st and Aaron 33rd.

The brothers were torn and went back and forth on the idea of entering this year’s draft as Sunday’s deadline to declare approached, Wojnarowski adds via Twitter. They were reportedly leaning toward going into the draft as of earlier this month, but people around the league weren’t enamored with them. The Harrisons heard from several teams that they would be late first-round picks, but they feel they can up their stock with another year in school, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.

Andrew, a combo guard, averaged 10.9 points, 4.0 assists and 2.7 turnovers in 31.7 minutes per game for Kentucky this season. Aaron, who plays shooting guard, put up 13.7 PPG in 32.6 MPG. They’ll compete for shots and playing time on a loaded Kentucky team that returns potential 2014 draftees Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress, Dakari Johnson and others to go along with another strong recruiting class, so there’s certainly no guarantee the Harrisons will be in better position for the 2015 draft.

Draft Links: 2015, Randle, McDaniels

April 22nd, 2014 at 6:11pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The 2015 NBA Draft could be abound with promising big men, as Josh Newman and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv discuss. Among those already garnering attention are Duke-bound Jahlil Okafor, incoming Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander, and Kentucky-recruit Karl-Anthony Towns; all three are currently projected to be in the top five according to DraftExpress‘ 2015 mock draft. Other potential lottery prospects include Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, Florida’s Chris Walker, and top uncommitted center Myles Turner.

Here are some other draft-related links that we’ll pass along this evening:

Julius Randle has had high expectations as a top ranked college player and should still be among the notable names selected on draft night. With that being said, ESPN Draft experts Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford go over some of the limitations that may cause Randle to fall out of the top five.
Clemson product K.J. McDaniels has hired Rival Sports to represent him, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Draft prospects C.J. Wilcox, Gary Harris, and Elfrid Payton have signed with Creative Artists Agency, an NBA source tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
Former Michigan State standout Adreian Payne is among a trio of fellow projected lottery talents who have signed with agent Mark Bartelstein, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.

Draft Rumors: Parker, Embiid, Wiggins

April 22nd, 2014 at 11:05am CST by Chuck Myron

Many have assumed that the top overall pick in the draft will be Kansas star Andrew Wiggins or teammate Joel Embiid, but ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman, for an Insider-only piece, surveyed 30 NBA execs and Duke’s Jabari Parker came out on top. Parker got 17 votes while Embiid got eight and Wiggins took home five. The uncertainty surrounding the top of the draft makes for plenty of intrigue with the June 26th event just a little more than two months away. Here’s the latest:

Mouhammadou Jaiteh is withdrawing from this year’s draft, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM, who reported last month that the French center was entering the field. It’s a little surprising to see the 19-year-old withdraw this early, before he had a chance to work out for NBA teams, as he did when he tested the waters last year. He’s ranked No. 63 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, and 98th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Spanish league big man Kristaps Porzingis won’t enter the draft this year, he tells Kārlis Krēgers of Latvian website LETA (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). That sets him up with a strong chance to become a first-round pick in 2015, as he’s ranked No. 15 on Givony’s 2015 mock. Ford has Porzingas as the 65th-best prospect for this year.
There are plenty of high-scoring small forwards available in this year’s class, writes NBA.com’s David Aldridge. Aldridge’s list starts with the obvious (Wiggins, Parker) but goes on to highlight mid-first round types like Duke’s Rodney Hood, N.C. State’s T.J. Warren, and Syracuse’s Jerami Grant.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com ranks the top point guards and summarizes their strengths, topping the list with Dante Exum.

Draft Notes: Parker, Saric, Ennis, Gordon

April 17th, 2014 at 10:32am CST by Chuck Myron

There were dozens of scenarios in play for June’s draft order entering the final night of the regular season, as I outlined Wednesday, but many of them remain unresolved. Random drawings set for Friday will break the four ties shown in our Reverse Standings, while the May 20th draft lottery looms for the top of the order. Until then, here’s the latest on a handful of the top prospects:

Jabari Parker would go right to the top of the 2015 prospect rankings if he chooses to stay at Duke for his sophomore year, opines Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who answered reader questions in a chat Wednesday.
Dario Saric’s agent said the matter of whether his client will remain in the draft or withdraw will have much to do with their confidence that he’d be drafted in the top 10 or 14 picks. However, most teams would want to know for sure that he’d play in the NBA next season before committing a top-10 pick to him, as Ford writes in the same chat.
Syracuse point guard Tyler Ennis is going with agent Mike George of Excel Sports Management for his representation, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Another projected lottery pick, Arizona forward Aaron Gordon, is set to sign with BDA Sports, reports Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star (Twitter link).
Purdue sophomore A.J. Hammons will return to school rather than entering this year’s draft, the Boilermakers announced. The center is the 40th-best prospect on the list that Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compiles, while Ford puts him 72nd.

Draft Links: Parker, Hollis-Jefferson, Tarczewski

April 15th, 2014 at 9:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

A few days ago, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders reported that Jabari Parker’s decision on whether or not he’ll enter the 2014 NBA Draft would be expected by either today or tomorrow. However, Duke basketball associate director of sports information Matt Plizga confirms that the 6’8 forward will not announce his future plans tomorrow, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (first reported by the Chicago Tribune). Regardless of when that decision may be announced, Basketball Insiders writer Yannis Koutroupis analyzes what factors should be considered as Parker weighs his options.

With that aside, here are some more draft-related links to pass along tonight:

University of Arizona head coach Sean Miller confirms that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kaleb Tarczewski have opted to stay in school another year, tweets Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star.
According to the Michigan State Spartans’ official basketball website, junior swingman Branden Dawson will return for his senior season.
Nik Stauskas intends to sign with agent Mark Bartelstein, reports ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link).
NBA draft prospect Jerami Grant passes the eye-test as far as length and athleticism goes, though Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford of ESPN are concerned about his limited offensive game. In an Insiders-only piece, Pelton, Elhassan, and Ford take an in-depth look at the former Syracuse forward through analytics, scouting, and front office perspectives.
In another article, Pelton, Elhassan, and Ford evaluate former Michigan guard Gary Harris (Insiders only). Pelton says that Harris should go high in the lottery; Elhassan and Ford focus more on the 6’4″ guard’s ability as a two-way player.
In his own piece, Ford passes along his observations from the 2014 Nike Hoops Summit, which included more than a handful of potential NBA prospects who could enter the draft as early as 2015. According to one scout, the talent crop didn’t stand out as much as last year’s class, though among the names who impressed were Emmanuel Mudiay (committed to SMU) and Jahlil Okafor (committed to Duke).
The American prospects from the Nike Hoops Summit are grouped according to possible stardom, potential to be an NBA-rotation player, or their ability to become a good college player by Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders.

Draft Rumors: Williams-Goss, Clarkson, Towns

April 14th, 2014 at 2:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s been a flurry of draft-related news today, with reports indicating Aaron Gordon, Jerami Grant and Glenn Robinson III are all entering the draft, while Montrezl Harrell took to Twitter to announce that he won’t be in this year’s draft. Our list of early entrants is up to date, and you can follow all of this year’s draft-related news on this page. Here’s the latest:

Washington point guard Nigel Williams-Goss has decided against entering this year’s draft, as he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The freshman was a 2013 McDonald’s All-American while in high school, but he’s just the 178th-best draft prospect in the rankings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him outside his top 100 prospects, rating him as the 23rd-best freshman in this year’s class.
A source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Missouri combo guard Jordan Clarkson has signed with Mike George of Excel Sports Management (Twitter link). That contradicts an earlier report suggesting that Clarkson is going with ASM Sports. The move remains unofficial, so it remains to be seen which agency Clarkson ultimately picks.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports profiles Karl-Anthony Towns, a 7-foot high schooler headed to Kentucky next year who’s a potential 2015 lottery pick.

And-Ones: Anthony, Mudiay, Draft

April 13th, 2014 at 12:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks square off with the Bulls tonight at Madison Square Garden. With New York being eliminated from the playoffs the attention will be fully on Carmelo Anthony and if he re-signs with the Knicks or not. Chicago is one of the teams mentioned as a possible landing spots for ‘Melo if he leaves. Coach Tom Thibodeau had quite a few compliments for Anthony, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Thibodeau said, “He can score so many different ways. He can hurt you a lot of different ways. He can score the ball very easily. It doesn’t take him much to get going.” When asked about Anthony’s reputation as a “selfish ball-stopper,” Thibodeau said, “It’s interesting because with USA Basketball, they talk about him being a playmaker. He scores and if you a guy is open, he passes the ball. I think oftentimes it’s who he plays with. It’s interesting, a lot of the things that you hear about him, I heard about Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and Paul Pierce before they came together and won it. That changes perception. Carmelo has been one of the elite scorers in the league for a long, long time.”