Draft Notes: Richardson, Jackson, Hield

Shooting guard Malachi Richardson, who saw his stock rise higher than any other player during the combine, will not return to Syracuse. He will remain in the draft after hiring Andy Miller of ASM Sports, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Though, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that Richardson will sign with Stephen Pina of ASM Sports.

“Deciding to stay in the draft was a family decision and [I] thought it was a great one. Doing what was best for me was the most important thing,” Richardson said to Goodman (ESPN Now link).

Richardson entered the draft last month, but had not hired an agent at that time. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Richardson at No. 13 in his rankings. He’s the 37th best prospect, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • Justin Jackson has withdrawn his name from the NBA draft and he will return to North Carolina for his junior season, Goodman passes along (Twitter link).
  • Ian Baker tells Goodwin (Twitter link) that he has decided to withdraw from the draft and return to New Mexico State.
  • The Celtics are expected to address the backcourt should they fall outside the top-2 in the lottery and sources tell Chad Ford of ESPN.com that they are tempted by Buddy Hield. Ford adds that Hield would be ready to step in and play right away.
  • The Celtics are expected to workout power forward Abdul-Malik Abu on Wednesday, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets. Abu is expected to withdraw from the draft before the deadline and return to NC State.
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