Veteran forward Tyler Hansbrough recently signed a D-League contract and has now been claimed by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the league announced in a press release. It’s a reunion of sorts of Hansbrough and the Pacers — the former UNC standout played in Indiana for his first four NBA seasons, and will now play for the team’s D-League affiliate.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Deron Williams is a member of the Cavaliers now, and we heard this week that there may be mutual interest in a reunion between him and the Jazz down the road. However, those weren’t the only teams that had interest in him around the time of the trade deadline. Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes that the Bucks and Clippers also considered the veteran point guard as a trade target.
- In his latest look at the 2017 NBA draft, ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider link) examines the lottery teams and identifies the best fit for each of those clubs in the event that they land a top-three pick. As Ford notes, Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball are widely considered the top two prospects in the draft, but there are differing opinions on which order they should be picked, and who should be drafted after they’re off the board.
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders identified some of the front office executives around the NBA who figure to receive general manager consideration in the not-too-distant future if they’re willing to consider leaving their current clubs. Tony Ronzone (Mavericks), Matt Lloyd (Magic), and Tommy Sheppard (Wizards) are among Kyler’s picks.
- NBA Africa VP Amadou Gallo Fall spoke to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated about the league’s efforts to grow the game in Africa.
Just curious, Are you not allowed to give a brief summary from the espn insider articles?
It stinks when you tease us with whats its about but dont go into detail.
The format of our notes posts (ie. bullet-point summaries) means we rarely go into a ton of detail about the stories we’re linking, but if you have a specific question about that Insider article, I’d be happy to answer it.
Anyone able to tell me the main differences between Ball and Fultz? Like is there significant qualities/skills that makes one better than the other? Or are they both relatively similar and it honestly comes down to whose game you like more?
Question with Ball is scoring and his mechanics with his jumpshot. Also, he has questions defensively. I like him. He reminds me of Goran Dragic. I sort of see a little of the Kidd comp, but not entirely just b/c he is a good decision maker and a bigger PG. I can’t say that right now. He plays with great energy, and his teammates will love him
The top of this draft is going to be really difficult to figure out. There are more than a couple really good players. It’s probably going to come down to work outs and really small details. To be honest, 6 of 7 times I’ve seen Fultz so far, he hasn’t wowed me to the point that he is the obvious clear cut #1, but he has gotten a lot of hype. Definitely hoping to see more of him, but I don’t think I’ll change my opinion on him. I’ve heard that a lot of people get turned off by him for the same reasons as me. He doesn’t seem like he is trying all that hard. But that’s how talented he obviously is. Dude takes long strides, and can get to the rim with ease. His jumpshot should also be at least decent-good. He has questions defensively, and with his motor, as I mentioned. For me, I’m interested to see how he evolves in the NBA style and pace.
I personally really liked Jonathan Isaac. He reminds me a lot of Kevin Durant, especially defensively, but he needs to improve his ball handling skills, and probaby add a little weight
Cool thanks for the input! Haven’t really watched any college games and haven’t read much analysis so I figured I’d take the lazy way out.
I hate college basketball so much. Do you know how hard it was to watch the games I’ve watched of all the top prospects? I still have like 7 games saved that I need to see before the tournament, but i keep stalling lol…
I’m really interested to start hearing info when workouts start during the predraft process. Theres a lot of good talent this year
…also, if you want any input on some of the other top guys, I can do that too
I can’t stand college basketball except for the final few minutes of a close game. The offense is too bland and slow for my tastes and there are way too many timeouts/stoppages in play. I also hate the foul system.
And I’m good for now in terms of other prospects. Was more interested in the difference between Ball and Fultz. Honestly don’t even care about the top prospects until we find out who is declaring for the draft and they put in their workouts.