Frank Ntilikina Enters 2017 NBA Draft
French point guard Frank Ntilikina has formally filed his paperwork to enter the 2017 NBA draft, his agency CAA Sports confirms to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link). The move had long been expected, and now it’s official.
Ntilikina, who has been playing for Strasbourg in France, is considered a probable lottery pick by most draft experts, who generally rank him in the tier of point guards below top options like Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball. Both Givony and Chad Ford of ESPN.com currently have the 18-year-old at No. 10 on their respective big boards.
According to Ford, who praises the Frenchman’s speed, passing ability, toughness, and shooting ability, Ntilikina has the upside to be a top-five pick in a draft class less stacked with top point guards. In this year’s draft, Ntilikina will likely come off the board at some point after Fultz, Ball, Dennis Smith Jr., and De’Aaron Fox are selected.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/24/17
Here are today’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- After a Raptors 905 loss in the first game of the NBA D-League Finals on Sunday, Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam have been recalled to Toronto by the Raptors, the team announced today (Twitter link). Caboclo and Siakam figure to remain with the NBA club for tonight’s playoff game before being re-assigned to the Raptors 905 for Game 2 of the championship round on Tuesday. Since the NBADL’s series are best-of-three, Tuesday’s game could be the last of the D-League season.
Beijing Ducks, Stephon Marbury Part Ways
After winning three Chinese Basketball Association championships in six years with the Beijing Ducks, former NBA All-Star guard Stephon Marbury is no longer a member of the team, per Qiushi Li of ESPN. The Ducks held a 2017/18 team option on Marbury as a player or an assistant coach, but the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement on his role, prompting the club to terminate the contract.
“We agreed that I would leave this season and the door is always open to coach,” Marbury tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. “They had the option for me to play or coach, and they wanted me to coach. It’s understandable at my age, but my age doesn’t dictate my game. This gives me strong desire to work hard and try my best to come back to help a team win a [championship].”
Marbury, who turned 40 in February, explained in a letter to fans on Weibo that Beijing has not yet decided on a head coach for next season, making it difficult for him to accept an assistant coaching role with the club. Marbury also wants to continue playing for at least one more season, having previously announced his plans to retire as a player in 2018, and he expects to draw interest from other CBA teams.
A former fourth overall pick in the NBA, Marbury hasn’t played in the Association since he appeared in 23 games for the Celtics during the 2008/09 season. However, he became an international sensation in China, particularly after joining the Ducks in 2011. He was perennially among the CBA’s scoring leaders, and has won the league’s Foreign MVP award and the CBA Finals MVP award.
Although Marbury has spent most of the last decade in China, he recently expressed a desire to return to the NBA down the road as a coach.
UNC’s Joel Berry, Theo Pinson Testing Draft Waters
Three University of North Carolina prospects will test the draft waters, the school announced today in a press release. According to UNC, juniors Joel Berry II and Theo Pinson are entering the draft without representation. The Tar Heels also confirmed that freshman center Tony Bradley is testing the draft waters, as had been previously reported.
[RELATED: UNC’s Tony Bradley to enter draft without hiring agent]
“We fully support our players taking this step of being evaluated by NBA teams to see where they stand in relation to the Draft,” UNC head coach Roy Williams said in a statement. “All three players have options to do what is best for their careers and going through the evaluation process helps them make the best decision available to each of them.”
Of the three players, Bradley is viewed as the one with the highest upside, but Berry and Pinson are also both solid prospects who played major roles in this year’s championship run. Berry is ranked 86th on DraftExpress’ big board, and comes in even higher on Chad Ford’s board at ESPN, placing 64th. The junior point guard, who turned 22 this month, isn’t considered an elite prospect, but is a solid pure point guard who sees the floor very well, says Ford.
As for Pinson, he comes in at No. 66 on Ford’s big board, though he doesn’t earn a spot in DraftExpress’ top 100. The 6’6″ small forward averaged a modest 6.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, and 3.7 APG during his junior year, and struggled with his shot, making just 38.1% of his field goal attempts, including 23.7% from three-point range.
In addition to Berry, Pinson, and Bradley, UNC’s Justin Jackson has also declared for the draft — he intends to keep his name in the draft pool and won’t be back with North Carolina next season.
Draft Updates: Hartenstein, Flaccadori, Diallo
German power forward Isaiah Hartenstein has entered the 2017 NBA draft, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Hartenstein, who is ranked as the 19th-best prospect on DraftExpress’ big board, will be represented by agent B.J. Armstrong. At just 18 years old, Hartenstein is “clearly not ready for the NBA” yet, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford. However, assuming the big man remains in the draft, he could make an intriguing draft-and-stash project for an NBA team.
Here’s more news on early entrants for this year’s draft:
- Lithuanian forward Arnoldas Kulboka is testing the draft waters, per international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter). Pick suggests that NBA general managers will head to Bamberg to scout the 6’9″ Kulboka, who has some long-term upside and currently ranks 50th on DraftExpress’ big board.
- Italian shooting guard Diego Flaccadori has declared for the 2017 NBA draft, according to sports management and marketing firm Sigma Sports (Twitter link). Like other international early entrants, Flaccadori will have until June 12 to withdraw his name from this year’s draft pool.
- 18-year-old shooting guard Hamidou Diallo, a top recruit who enrolled early at the University of Kentucky, will test the NBA draft waters before playing his first game for the Wildcats, he announced in a statement (Twitter link).
- Today is the deadline for early entrants to formally enter this year’s draft pool. Our early entrant list, which currently features 123 names, can be found right here.
Central Notes: Canaan, Teague, James
Consider Isaiah Canaan the latest beneficiary of the point guard carousel in Chicago. The reserve guard with more DNP-CDs than minutes played since the All-Star Break logged heavy minutes in Game 4 of the Bulls first-round tilt, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes.
With Rajon Rondo out for the series with a fractured thumb, Michael Carter-Williams in foul trouble, Jerian Grant rendered ineffective and Cameron Payne inactive, head coach Fred Hoiberg turned to the 25-year-old journeyman to lead his Bulls.
“I was really proud of Isaiah for coming out after a lot of DNPs and being on the inactive list,” the Bulls coach said. “We wanted him in there because he can pick up the ball full-court. He hit a few shots for us as well. The plan was if we didn’t get off to a good start, he was going to get his opportunity.”
Though the Bulls would fall to the Celtics in the contest, Canaan posted 13 points and three assists in 34 minutes, an adequate stopgap for the latest hole in the club’s volatile point guard rotation.
There’s more from the Central Division:
- Indiana native Jeff Teague‘s future with the Pacers is uncertain, Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star writes. The point guard will be an unrestricted free agent this summer after a disappointing 2016/17 campaign. “I have no clue, I’ve never been a free agent, I don’t know how it goes. I love it here, but you never know, how they feel about me or whatever. I love being in Indiana, it’s great, got a home here. But you never know.“
- The Pacers are no closer to a title than they were a year ago, Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star writes. Now, after a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cavs, they could be one year closer to losing Paul George.
- Could LeBron James be the best first-round performer in the history of the NBA? Cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon suggests as much after the Cavaliers sweep. The King hasn’t lost an opening series in 12 seasons and hasn’t lost a single first-round game in five years.
- Consider Cavaliers leader LeBron James’ record in the first-round as much a sign of his ability to be mentally prepared to tackle lower-seeded opponents as it is a sign of his unique skills, Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal writes.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Divac, Clippers
The Lakers would be making a terrible mistake by targeting Pacers forward Paul George as their much needed superstar, Mitch Lawrence of the Sporting News writes.
George, the “anti-Magic,” has shown poor leadership and a tendency to alienate teammates, Lawrence says. Those aren’t characteristics typically paired with a young team like the Lakers.
In the same piece, Lawrence goes on to add that a better fit for George may be Boston because the Celtics, unlike the Lakers, boast the strong-willed vets to withstand George’s occasional negativity.
Should the Lakers continue to pursue the swingman, however, they’ll need ensure that their point guard is mentally strong enough to deal with the vocal superstar.
- After a tumultuous first few seasons at the helm, Vlade Divac has been given an opportunity to manage a stable Kings franchise, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee writes. “I knew the staff I wanted to put together. There was always so much (drama) going on ever since I got here, it took up a lot of my time,” Divac said. “Finally I have been able to find people who believe in what we are trying to do and who I am very comfortable with.“
- The Clippers have every intention of competing for a title even with the injured Blake Griffin on the sidelines, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. “It’s not the best thing that could have ever happened to us,” teammate Chris Paul said, “but it’s not the end of the world. We still are going to go out there. We know we got a job to do. We got a big game (Sunday), Game 4, and we go out there expecting to win.”
- Could a candid conversation on Jimmy Kimmel be considered tampering? USA Today’s Alysha Tsuji wrote about how Lakers executive Magic Johnson may have tampered while commenting specifically about not tampering.
- Count Gary Payton (Sr.) among the crowd who thinks Warriors forward Draymond Green should be this season’s Defensive Player of the Year, an Associated Press report outlines. The Glove also speaks highly of Kawhi Leonard as a legitimate candidate.
Rudy Gobert To Return For Game 4
After being upgraded to questionable earlier in the day, it now appears as though Rudy Gobert is healthy enough to return to action tonight, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets.
Gobert had been sidelined since banging his knee on the first play of Game 1. Shortly after the injury was sustained, the big man underwent X-rays and an MRI which both revealed that there was no structural damage.
With Gobert in the lineup, the Jazz will get the opportunity to exact revenge on a Clippers team that has hopped out to a 2-1 lead over their shorthanded opponents. In Game 3, of course, Clips forward Blake Griffin went down with a toe injury that will cost him the remainder of the postseason.
In 81 games for the Jazz this season, Gobert emerged as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate with an improved offensive game. His 14.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game, coupled with the sheer length that he possesses around the rim, will serve the visiting Utah squad well.
Northwest Notes: Nurkic, Gobert, Garnett
After playing sparingly in Game 3, Jusuf Nurkic and the Trail Blazers have decided to shelve the big man once again. Per Mike Richman of the Oregonian, the Bosnian Beast will not play at all in Game 4.
“He didn’t do any further damage,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said of Nurkic playing through a fractured leg. “There was soreness, tenderness and it just wouldn’t be wise to have him play through that.”
Limited to shifts of 3-5 minutes, Nurkic didn’t catch much of a rhythm on offense. Though he pulled down 11 rebounds, he only scored two points in his 17 minutes on the court.
There’s more from the Northwest:
- When the Jazz tip off for Game 4 of their first-round series later tonight there’s a 50% chance that they’ll see Rudy Gobert return to action, Tim MacMahon of ESPN writes. The big man was formally updated to questionable earlier today.
- The Jazz failed to capitalize when Clippers forward Blake Griffin left Game 3 injured but the fact that fans can ruminate on the team’s inability to slow Chris Paul simply means that they’re playing meaningful games again, Brad Rock of the Deseret News writes, and that’s something that they can be excited for.
- For the second time in a week, former Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett spoke about his relationship with franchise owner Glen Taylor. A report on ESPN details the conversation KG had with the Associated Press, including how he felt Flip Saunders‘ passing was handled.
Eastern Notes: George, Williams, Lowry
It’s time for the Pacers to deal Paul George since he can become a free agent next summer, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders contends. Hamilton compares the Pacers’ situation to the Jazz’s back in 2011. Utah sent Deron Williams to the Nets when the point guard still had over a year left on his contract. Brooklyn gave up quite a haul for Williams and the Jazz were able to easily rebuild. Hamilton names the Lakers as a potential trade partner.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Cavaliers won Game 4 against the Pacers today and Williams played a key role in the win, as Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media group details. Williams can to Cleveland via the buyout market this season. It was previously reported that the waiver and buyout process could be altered this offseason.
- Coach Brad Stevens surprisingly started Gerald Green in Game 3 of the Celtics’ series against the Bulls and Green will get the nod again in Game 4, Jared Weiss of SB Nation relays. Green is on a one-year, minimum salary deal and he’ll be a free agent this offseason.
- Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post wonders if the Raptors are going to pay Kyle Lowry a max contract if they lose in the first round. Bontemps believes rival teams, like the Sixers, will be willing to pay him the max for his services regardless of Toronto’s playoff success. Lowry can become a free agent this summer.