Chimezie Metu Returning To USC
Sophomore big man Chimezie Metu would have had a good chance to be drafted if he had decided to go pro this year, but rather than entering the draft, he’ll return to USC for his junior season, the school confirmed on Monday, per Joey Kaufman of The Orange County Register. Metu announced the decision on Monday, publishing an Instagram photo with the caption “Year 3 coming soon…”
Metu, a 6’11” center, enjoyed a breakout season for USC in 2016/17, averaging 14.8 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 1.5 BPG. Although he’ll return to school for at least one more year, Metu is already considered a top-50 prospect by draft experts. He ranks 38th on DraftExpress’ big board, and 44th on ESPN’s.
According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, Metu’s lack of strength, particularly in his lower body, is a cause for concern for some NBA scouts. However, if he’s able to add strength and weight to his frame in the coming year, he’s a potential first-round pick next summer. DraftExpress currently has the 20-year-old going 15th overall in its 2018 mock draft.
Metu’s return will be a boon for the Trojans, who won a game last month in the NCAA tournament, and could start next season as a top-25 program.
Poll: 2017 All-NBA First Team
Russell Westbrook‘s full-season triple-double was the most impressive statistical achievement of the 2016/17 regular season, but the NBA’s stars put up astounding numbers across the board this year, making All-NBA decisions tougher than ever. No matter which 15 players earn spots on the three All-NBA teams for 2017, worthy candidates will miss the cut.
Still, we want you to do your best to identify which 15 players are the most deserving of All-NBA recognition this year. Over the next few days, we’ll be running a handful of polls to let you make your selections for this year’s All-NBA teams.
We’re starting today with the First Team. Polls for the guards, forwards, and center are below — you’ll have the opportunity to pick two players apiece in the guard and forward polls. We’ll leave today’s polls open for about 24 hours, at which point we’ll name the players with the most votes to our All-NBA First Team and move on to voting for the Second Team.
Vote for your All-NBA picks below, and then take to the comments section to explain your reasoning. And if there are a player not listed below that you believe deserves All-NBA consideration, be sure to mention him in the comments section too — if I agree, I’ll make sure he’s included in our Second and Third Team polls.
Guards:
Note: This poll was reset after a top candidate was initially omitted. If you voted early in our original poll, feel free to vote again.
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team guards.
Forwards:
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team forwards.
Centers:
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team center.
Rodions Kurucs Enters 2017 NBA Draft
Latvian forward Rodions Kurucs has declared for the 2017 NBA draft as an early entrant, according to agent Arturs Kalnitis (via Twitter). The 1998-born prospect will have until June 13 to reverse course and withdraw his name, though he appears likely to remain in the draft pool based on expert projections.
A 6’8″ wing for Barcelona 2 in Spain, Kurucs is the 21st-best prospect on DraftExpress’ big board, and comes in at No. 33 on Chad Ford’s board at ESPN.com. According to Ford, Kurucs remains a “major work in progress,” since he still doesn’t play a ton in Spain. However, the 19-year-old has displayed good athleticism and length, as well as solid shooting range.
Assuming Kurucs remains in this year’s draft, he’s a candidate to be drafted-and-stashed by a team in the second half of the first round, writes Ford. Teams with multiple first-round picks, in particular, could be landing spots for the Latvian — in Ford’s most recent mock draft, he had Kurucs coming off the board at No. 24 to the Magic, with Orlando’s second first-rounder.
Our full list of early entrants for this year’s draft can be found right here.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/17/17
Here are Monday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam from the Raptors 905, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Siakam is one of the many 2016 first-round picks who saw action in the D-League this season, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors previously detailed.
Draft Notes: Dozier, McIntosh, Key
P.J. Dozier is staying the draft and signing an agent, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports. Dozier had previously said he would test the draft waters. Wojnarowski notes that the South Carolina product is considered a second-round prospect who will contribute on the defensive end before being able to produce offensively.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Illinois State’s MiKyle McIntosh will declare for the draft, but will not hire an agent, according to Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. McIntosh will graduate this fall and should he return to college, he’ll be eligible to transfer to any school without having to sit out a year.
- Alabama’s Braxton Key has declared for the draft, but won’t hire an agent, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Key is not ranked in Givony’s Top 100.
- William Lee will test the draft waters, Drew Champlin of Alabama.com relays. “UAB has provided me with an unbelievable opportunity to play college basketball against some of the best players and teams in the nation,” Lee said in a UAB release. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the NBA, and this decision allows me to safely see where I am projected at this point in my career without jeopardizing my last year of eligibility.”
Andre Iguodala Likely To Remain With Warriors
Andre Iguodala will be a free agent this offseason, but he’s unlikely to leave Golden State, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. A source tells the scribe that the real question is how many years will Iguodala’s next deal with the Warriors run.
A new contract for Iguodala will have to wait until other dominos fall in the Bay Area this offseason. The Warriors could face cap issues as they try to re-sign Kevin Durant. Kawakami notes that they would have to get creative in order to open up the necessary cap space for a Durant max deal and those efforts may include renouncing the rights to Iguodala and Shaun Livingston. Taking that route would forfeit Iguodala’s Bird Rights, something that would limit the amount they can offer the 2015 NBA Finals MVP.
If Durant is willing to take merely a 20% raise on his 2016/17 salary, the team would not have to fit him into cap space and they could retain the bird rights of its other players, Kawakami notes. Durant could sign another two-year deal with a starting salary of approximately $31.8MM, which would contain another opt-out after the first season. That amount would come in roughly $4MM less than the maximum he could receive, so it’s not a given that the team takes this path.
Durant doesn’t plan on leaving Golden State and he hasn’t given much thought to his contract situation. Regardless of what happens with his option this summer, he wants the team to stay together.
“I haven’t thought about it, but obviously you want to keep this group together,” Durant said. “We want to see how far we can go with this thing. I’m sure once the season’s over with, we’ll figure that stuff out everybody. I’m sure it’ll all work out for the best.”
Kawakami adds that Golden State’s plan all along was to keep this core together for years to come and the franchise won’t change course anytime soon.
Suns Plan To Keep GM Ryan McDonough Through 2017/18 Season
The Suns will keep Ryan McDonough on as GM through the 2017/18 season, sources tell Marc Stein and Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. McDonough’s contract is set to expire next offseason.
Drafting Devin Booker is widely regarded as McDonough’s best move, Stein notes. The scribe adds that Phoenix may be in for a busy offseason, citing the team’s surplus of backcourt talent and the draft, which is heavy on point guards. The Suns have a 19.9% chance at landing the No. 1 overall pick, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently detailed.
Phoenix had the second-worst record in the league this season, as our Reverse Standings show. The team has gone 134-160 since McDonough took over GM duties.
Hornets Decline Christian Wood’s Team Option
The Hornets have declined their team option on Christian Wood‘s contract for next season, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). Bobby Marks of the Vertical (Twitter link) notes that Charlotte had five days after the season ended to make the call on Wood’s deal.
Wood signed a two-year deal with Charlotte last offseason and had the team picked up his option, he would have made slightly over $1.47MM next season.
The big man only played in 13 games with the Hornets, scoring just 35 points while grabbing 29 rebounds in 107 minutes of action this season. He also spent time playing for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s D-League affiliate.
Heat Notes: Spoelstra, Johnson, Winslow
Heat players recently cleaned out their lockers, having failed to make the playoffs, and many of them will have an opportunity to go elsewhere this summer. James Johnson, Udonis Haslem, and Luke Babbitt will be free agents. Willie Reed, Josh McRoberts, and Dion Waiters all hold player options and Wayne Ellington could join the free agent market if the franchise declines his $6.27MM team option.
Coach Erik Spoelstra wants his players to feel comfortable returning to Miami, as Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. “This is clean-up day, not clean-out day,” the coach said.
Spoelstra added that his goal is to move forward with the team’s current group and compete for a championship. “Our organization is not going to change. We’re hard-wired to play and compete for championships,” he said. “Hopefully this is dot-dot-dot continued and we can build on this.”
Here’s more from Miami:
- The Heat are thrilled with Hassan Whiteside‘s growth this season, as Winderman relays in the same piece. “I think his growth has been staggering,” Spoelstra said of the big man. “You can define it how you want. He can become one of the greats.” Whiteside signed a four-year, $98.4MM contract with Miami last offseason.
- Johnson may consider taking a discount to stay with the Heat if it means keeping this year’s group together, Winderman passes along (Twitter links). “I’m home. That’s what it feels like. I love it here,” Johnson said of Miami.
- Justise Winslow is recovering from shoulder surgery and is “way ahead of schedule,” according to Spoelstra, as Winderman relays via Twitter.
- Prior to the injury, the Heat strongly believed Winslow would become a quality starter due to the work he put in last summer to improve his shooting, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. Winslow admits that being sidelined hindered his ability to get comfortable with his new shooting mechanics, but added that he’ll continue to work on that part of his game.
- Spoelstra feels Winslow would have helped Miami this season because of his efficient play, as Jackson passes along in the same piece. “He can generate threes for you offensively because he puts a lot of pressure in the paint, off the dribble, in transition. He’s an aggressive, bruising, physical type of player and he sees the floor. That helps create your three-point game,” the coach said.
- In his latest mailbag, Winderman explains why it’ll be hard for the Heat to add a major free agent, such as Paul Millsap, and bring back the core of this year’s squad. The team can feasibly carve out approximately $37MM in cap space this summer and that may not be enough for Miami to add a max player in addition to own free agents.
2017 NBA Award Picks: Most Improved Player
With the 2016/17 NBA regular season in the books, we’re making our picks for the year’s major awards. The Hoops Rumors writing team has weighed in with our selections below, but we also want to know which players, coaches, and executives you think are most deserving of the hardware this season, so jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.
We’re keeping things going today with the award for Most Improved Player. Here are our picks:
Arthur Hill: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
Antetokounmpo showed the nation on Saturday what Bucks fans have been watching all season. His 28 points and eight rebounds only told part of the story of his Game 1 dominance against Toronto. Already pegged as a future star before the season began, Antetokounmpo increased his scoring average by six points per game to 22.9 and raised his rebound (8.7) and assist (5.4) averages significantly over last year. He was also the Bucks’ leader in steals and blocks, making him the only player this season to lead his team in all five categories. Antetokounmpo may be a future MVP and is a clear choice for Most Improved.
Luke Adams: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
While Antetokounmpo’s leap from star to superstar was thrilling to watch and Rudy Gobert‘s improved offensive play took his game to another level, Jokic is my pick for making the jump from solid rotation player to one of the NBA’s best big men. After being inserted into the starting lineup permanently in mid-December, Jokic averaged an eye-popping 19.2 PPG, 10.9 RPG, and 5.8 APG in 51 games. And this wasn’t just a case of increased minutes resulting in increased production — his field goal percentage and his per-minute numbers across the board improved significantly this season.
Dana Gauruder: Nikola Jokic (Nuggets)
Who knew this guy would turn into a triple-double threat every night? Certainly not many NBA scouts, as he lasted until the 41st pick in 2014. He’ll provide the Nuggets with a unique weapon in the post for years to come.
Chris Crouse: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
The Greek Freak became a star during the 2016/17 campaign, averaging career-highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks per game. As noted above, he led the Bucks in all those categories and he helped them secure a playoff berth after missing the postseason last year. Going from good to great is the hardest step a player can make, and Antetokounmpo deserves credit for making that improvement.
Austin Kent: Isaiah Thomas (Celtics)
There are a number of players who went from good to great this year, but Thomas has been the most improved player in the traditional sense that I’m choosing to base my vote on. This season, Thomas evolved from an opportunistic volume scorer into an outright star, raising his point production (28.9 PPG) and shooting percentages (.464/.380/.909) across the board.
Despite his small stature, Thomas can be a primary offensive weapon for an elite team and not just in a quirky, forced way because he’s the only option. As Boston has grown into a contender, Thomas has developed into a reliable cornerstone and actually answered a lot of the organization’s needs from within.
Who is your pick for Most Improved Player? Share your choices and your thoughts in the comments section below!
Previously:
April 13: Executive of the Year
April 14: Coach of the Year
Still to come:
April 18: Sixth Man of the Year
April 19: Defensive Player of the Year
April 20: Rookie of the Year
April 21: Most Valuable Player
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.