2016 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Every Kentucky Player To Test Draft Waters

March 24th, 2016 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

Every underclassman on the University of Kentucky basketball team will enter the NBA draft but retain college eligibility, coach John Calipari said Wednesday in a stream of tweets (See all nine Twitter links from Calipari right here). That means 14 Wildcats plus Alex Poythress, the only senior on the Kentucky roster, will be eligible to work out for NBA teams and participate in the NBA combine, taking advantage of new rules that allow prospects to gauge their draft stock until May 25th, the deadline for players to pull out of the draft if they want to remain eligible for college ball. The players would forfeit their college eligibility if they hire agents, so presumably they’ll hold off on doing so.

Calipari’s announcement shows the player-friendly side of the rules changes, which leave NBA teams in the dark about just who’ll be in the draft until that May 25th deadline. Previously, college players had to choose whether to enter the draft or return to college in April, before workouts and the combine.

Several among the Wildcats entering the draft figure to stay in, with freshman combo guard Jamal Murray leading the way as the No. 4 prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings and as No. 7 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress list. He’ll battle Providence junior Kris Dunn, who’s declaring for the draft and hiring an agent, to become the first point guard taken, though Murray played off the ball much of the time this season, deferring to Tyler Ulis. Murray led the Wildcats with 20.0 points per game and also pulled down 5.2 rebounds per contest despite standing only 6’5″.

Freshman center/forward Skal Labissiere, who began the season as the No. 1 prospect on Givony’s board, is now No. 10 and checks in 15th with Ford. He struggled this year, floating in and out of the starting lineup and averaging only 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per contest.

Ulis, a sophomore, is 20th with both Givony and Ford. He led the SEC with 7.0 assists per game and was the team’s second-leading scorer at 17.3 points per contest.

Isaiah Briscoe, a freshman combo guard, also has a legitimate shot to be drafted, coming in 75th with Ford and 80th with Givony, while Poythress, a combo forward and the lone senior on the team, is No. 77 in Ford’s rankings and No. 90 in Givony’s.

Guards Jonny David, E.J. Floreal, Dominique Hawkins, Charles Matthews, Mychal Mulder and Dillon Pulliam and forwards Isaac Humphries, Marcus Lee, Derek Willis and Tai Wynyard comprise the rest of the Wildcats, who lost to Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past weekend.

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2016 NBA Draft

Dwayne Bacon To Enter NBA Draft

March 23rd, 2016 at 9:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Florida State freshman Dwayne Bacon intends to test the waters and enter the 2016 NBA Draft, reports Jon Rothstein of CBSSports (Twitter link). He won’t hire an agent right away, Rothstein notes, so he’ll retain his college eligibility if he pulls out in advance of the May 25th withdrawal deadline.

Bacon isn’t guaranteed to be drafted this June, which makes his decision to hold off on hiring an agent a wise move. The 20-year-old is currently ranked as the 74th overall prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, coming in at No. 19 among freshmen, according to the scribe. ESPN’s Chad Ford pegs Bacon as a late second-rounder at best, so his predraft workouts will be vital if he hopes to make the leap to the NBA for next season.

The small forward appeared in 34 games for the Seminoles and averaged 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.8 minutes per contest. His slash line on the campaign was .447/.281/.714.

Marquese Chriss, Dejounte Murray To Enter Draft

March 23rd, 2016 at 7:56pm CST by Eddie Scarito

University of Washington freshmen Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray are declaring for the NBA Draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Both players intend to hire agents, which would eliminate the possibility of them returning to school next season, Goodman adds.

Chriss, 18, is currently ranked as the No. 15 prospect by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and is pegged by Goodman to be a potential first-rounder this year (Twitter link). The power forward appeared in 34 games for the Huskies this season, averaging 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 24.9 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .531/.350/.685. Chriss has excellent athleticism and his potential should entice NBA scouts during the predraft process, but he is still rather raw offensively.

Murray, a combo guard, also appeared in 34 games this season and notched averages of 16.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 33.5 minutes per outing, to accompany a slash line of .416/.288/.663. The 19-year-old is the No. 37 overall prospect, according to Givony, which makes him a projected second-round pick come June. Murray will certainly need to improve upon his shooting numbers if he hopes to stick in the NBA, and he’s almost assuredly going to spend more time in the D-League than the NBA early in his career.

And-Ones: Silver, Simmons, Sterling, Valentine

March 23rd, 2016 at 2:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Commissioner Adam Silver stumped for raising the NBA’s minimum age to 20 and pointed to an agreement with the National Basketball Players Association to shorten this summer’s July moratorium as a sign of a high level of trust between the league and the union, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details. The commissioner made his comments Tuesday while also noting that the moratorium change is only for this summer (Twitter link). “I would say with this executive director [Michele Roberts], I’d say there are a lot of things we work out behind closed doors all the time,” Silver said. “Issues that are not necessarily high profile – we deal with each other on a daily basis. Again, these are our players. This is our union. It didn’t surprise me we worked out [the moratorium issue].”

The league and the union have until December 15th to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement. See more from around the NBA:

Elite draft prospect Ben Simmons has confirmed his selection of the Klutch Sports Group as his agency, as he revealed in a video on the Twitter feed for Uninterrupted.com. Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reported last week that the former LSU combo forward would sign with Klutch and agent Rich Paul, who represents LeBron James, among others.
A federal district court judge dismissed an antitrust lawsuit that former Clippers owner Donald Sterling brought against the NBA in his continued dispute of the 2014 $2 billion sale of the team to Steve Ballmer, as Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times details. The suit, in which Sterling sought more than $1 billion in damages and named wife Shelley Sterling and former NBA commissioner David Stern among the defendants, alleged that the NBA conspired to strip him of the team.
The yawning gap between Denzel Valentine‘s superb offensive talents and his glaring defensive shortcomings make him a particularly intriguing draft prospect liable to go anywhere from the late lottery to the end of the first round, observes Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress in a scouting report. Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors went in-depth on the Michigan State senior earlier this month.

Ben Bentil To Test Draft Waters

March 23rd, 2016 at 12:12pm CST by Chuck Myron

Providence power forward Ben Bentil will enter this year’s NBA draft, a source told Evan Daniels of Scout.com (Twitter link). He won’t hire an agent right away, Daniels hears, so he’ll retain his college eligibility if he pulls out in advance of the May 25th withdrawal deadline. The sophomore had an impressive closing kick to the season, and rankings are split, as he checks in at No. 27 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him as only the 58th-best prospect. One Eastern Conference executive recently told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops that Bentil would go late in the first round or early in the second.

Bentil, who turns 21 next week, scored 21 or more points in six of his last eight games this season, including a 38-point explosion against Butler in the Big East tournament. He followed it with a three-point dud in Providence’s loss to Villanova the next day, but he also has a 42-point, 12-rebound effort from February 10th against Marquette on his resume. He averaged 21.1 points and 7.7 rebounds overall, leading the Big East in scoring even though he shared the floor with teammate and top-10 prospect Kris Dunn, who’s also entering the draft.

This season has been a breakthrough for the 6’9″ Bentil, who averaged only 6.4 points per game as a freshman. He showed some promise of developing a 3-point stroke, averaging 4.5 attempts per game and nailing a passable 32.9% of them. His defense could use some improvement, according to Ford, so it remains to be seen if he can develop into a two-way player at the NBA level.

Cat Barber To Enter Draft

March 22nd, 2016 at 8:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

8:47pm: Barber has informed coach Mark Gottfried that he intends to remain in the draft and will not be returning to school, Aaron Beard of The Associated Press reports.

3:16pm: North Carolina State junior point guard Cat Barber will test the waters for the NBA draft, a source told Evan Daniels of Scout.com. That means he’ll enter the draft but won’t immediately hire an agent, retaining his college eligibility in case he decides to withdraw before the May 25th deadline for him to pull out. The 6’2″ 21-year-old, who’s sometimes known under his given name of Anthony Barber, is the 39th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings but just No. 64 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.

Barber had a breakout season for the Wolfpack, averaging 23.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.6 turnovers per game. He shot 36.1% from 3-point range, a few ticks lower than the 38.0% shooting he displayed his sophomore year. He had eight games of 30 or more points, three of which came against NCAA Tournament teams. N.C. State finished just 16-17.

This season was the manifestation of the promise he showed coming out of high school in 2013, when he was a McDonald’s All-American and the 24th-best prospect in the RSCI listings. That put him right behind Tyler Ennis, who’s already in his second NBA season after spending just one year at Syracuse. Barber’s quickness helps set him apart, according to Ford.

Caleb Swanigan To Enter Draft

March 22nd, 2016 at 7:07pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Purdue freshman Caleb Swanigan intends to test the waters and enter the NBA Draft, Jon Rothstein of CBSSports reports (Twitter link). The power forward doesn’t intend to hire an agent, Rothstein notes, which means that he’ll retain his college eligibility in the event he decides to withdraw before the May 25th deadline for him to pull out.

The powerfully built freshman was projected to be taken in the latter part of the first round next year, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him No. 25 in his latest mock draft for 2017. It does remain to be seen whether or not Swanigan’s girth will be an issue with NBA teams and scouts, given that the 6’8″ forward weighs in at a sturdy 275 pounds.

Swanigan appeared in 34 games for the Boilermakers this season, averaging 10.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 25.7 minutes per outing. The power forward’s shooting numbers on the campaign were .461/.292/.713.

And-Ones: Morris, Lawson, Wade, Beasley

March 22nd, 2016 at 4:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

It’s an awkward situation for the Morris twins these days, as Markieff Morris tries to lift the Wizards to a playoff spot while Marcus Morris makes the same effort for the Pistons, one of the teams standing in Washington’s path. Still, both agree that the Suns wronged them, as they tell Michael Lee of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. Markieff Morris told Lee he never would have put pen to paper on the extension he signed in 2014 if he knew they would trade his brother, while Marcus Morris continued his criticism of the Suns for their failure to provide advance warning of the offseason swap. “Personally, I think he did a lot for Phoenix. He took a lot of sacrifices for Phoenix. For them to do such a thing, I feel like they backstabbed him,” Marcus Morris said about his brother. “I think if they had just reached out to him, reached out to both of us and said, ‘Listen, this is our direction. We don’t think this is going to work.’ We would understand, that’s what has to happen but by the fact that they didn’t do that, it made it worse. … He just didn’t want to be there. He didn’t feel the vibe.”

Phoenix traded Markieff Morris to Washington at the trade deadline, months after he demanded to be traded. See more from around the NBA:

Ty Lawson received one year of probation stemming from a guilty plea he submitted to charges related to his drunken driving arrest in January 2015, reports Tom McGhee of The Denver Post. It’s separate from the case involving a second DUI arrest that took place in July 2015. The NBA suspended Lawson, now with the Pacers, for a total of five games for both arrests earlier this season.
Dwyane Wade walked back the suggestion Pat Riley made that he might play until he’s 40, notes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, but it’s clear that the relationship between the Heat and the 34-year-old star is strong, and seemingly in much better shape than when Wade reportedly considered leaving Miami last summer. Wade instead signed a one-year, $20MM contract that will make him a free agent against this coming offseason. “It’s just at this point I’m not thinking about playing until 40, no way, no how, at this point,” Wade said. “But I’m 34, so I’m just thinking about each year, each year, and keeping going from there.
A number of NBA executives project Malik Beasley as a mid-first round pick in this year’s draft, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. The assessments of the executives Kennedy spoke with differ from a number of current predraft rankings, with ESPN’s Chad Ford listing Beasley at 45th overall in his latest mock draft and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting Beasley 32nd on his list of the top 100 prospects.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Kris Dunn Declares For Draft

March 22nd, 2016 at 2:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

2:31pm: Dunn confirmed the news to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, adding that he’ll hire an agent.

12:37pm: Providence junior point guard Kris Dunn will enter the NBA draft, sources said to Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com. It’s unclear whether Dunn has plans to immediately hire an agent, but if he holds off, he can withdraw from the draft at anytime until May 25th, 10 days after the end of the draft combine. It nonetheless seems unlikely he’d go back for his senior season, since he’s projected as a top-10 pick. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him at No. 5 in his rankings, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists him seventh.

Dunn improved his stock from last year, when he was projected to go in the middle of the first round but decided to stay at Providence instead. The 6’4″ 22-year-old won a second straight Big East Player of the Year award this season and continued to show improvement from behind the arc, nailing 37.2% of his 3-point looks on 113 attempts. He took only 16 3-pointers in his first two college seasons. His scoring went up to 16.4 points per game from 15.6 last season, though he was less of a distributor this year, with his assists and turnovers both down.

Teams looking for a point guard in the lottery will have to determine whether they like Dunn or Kentucky’s Jamal Murray better. Ford has Murray on top of Dunn while Givony has them reversed. That’s assuming Murray, a freshman, declares for the draft, though that appears to be a likely proposition.

Dunn is the more polished prospect, having begun college ball in 2012/13 as the 20th-ranked prospect coming out of high school. He redshirted the next season because of right shoulder surgery that cost him all but four games.

Que Johnson To Enter Draft

March 22nd, 2016 at 12:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

Washington State junior shooting guard Que Johnson will declare for this year’s draft, a source told Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). He won’t hire an agent, Rothstein hears, so he can withdraw anytime until May 25th. That seems a likely outcome, since he’s a long shot for the NBA. Neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him among their voluminous prospect lists.

Johnson had a bounceback season after regressing as a sophomore, averaging 11.3 points per game as he became a double-digit scorer for the first time at the college level. The Michigan native twice scored 20 or more points this season, including a 25-point outing against eventual NCAA Tournament team Colorado on February 11th. He shot only 2 for 11 in a rematch against Colorado in the conference tournament, however.

Washington State went 9-22 and finished the season on a 17-game losing streak. Johnson was one of only three Cougars to average more than 7.9 points per game.