Draft Notes: Vick, Caroline, Kings
The NBA Draft is less than one month away. As we await the big night, let’s take a look at some workout notes:
- Lagerald Vick (Kansas) will work out for the Knicks on Monday, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Vick will also work out with the Thunder and Bulls in the coming days.
- Jordan Caroline (Nevada) will work out for the Suns, Nuggets, and Hornets, per ESPN’s Jordan Schultz (Twitter link). Caroline made All-Team Mountain West during both his junior and senior seasons.
- Justin Simon (St. Johns) has worked out for the Celtics, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times (Twitter link). Simon is not ranked in ESPN’s Top 100.
- The Kings worked out six prospects on Thursday, according to the team’s website. Alex Robinson (TCU), Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra), Justin James (Wyoming), Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Dean Wade (Kansas State), and Bennie Boatwright (USC).
- The Kings will also work out six more prospects on Friday, per their website. Ky Bowman (Boston College), Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech), Brandon Randolph (Arizona), Marial Shayok (Iowa State), Donta Hall (Alabama), and Josh Sharma (Stanford) are all expected to be in attendance.
Knicks Notes: Reddish, Draft, Beal
The Knicks have an in-person visit scheduled with Cam Reddish, Ian Begley of the SNY.tv reports. It was previously reported that some of the team’s evaluators are fond of the Duke product.
The franchise holds the No. 3 overall pick and many expect Reddish’s college teammate R.J. Barrett to hear his name called in that spot. Here’s more from New York:
- Jarrett Culver (Texas Tech) will work out for the Knicks on June 5, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Some within the team’s front office are high on the projected top-10 pick.
- Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic explores a scenario where the Knicks deal the No. 3 overall pick to the Wizards in a deal for Bradley Beal. Acquiring Beal before free agency begins would make the Knicks a more attractive destination for available free agents like Kevin Durant. The scribe proposes a package that includes the No.3 pick, one of the Mavericks’ selections, Frank Ntilikina, and Damyean Dotson.
- In the same piece, Vorkunov examines whether the Knicks should trade back in the draft, mentioning the Hawks as a logical partner. Atlanta has the No. 8 and No. 10 overall picks in the upcoming draft.
Checking In On Early Entrants For 2019 NBA Draft
The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants in the 2019 NBA draft to withdraw and retain their college eligibility passed on Wednesday night at midnight. Although we relayed most of the draft decisions before that point, a few more trickled in late.
Most notably, Western Kentucky big man Charles Bassey, who appeared ready to go pro, had a last-minute change of heart and decided to withdraw from the draft, as Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reports (via Twitter). Bassey, who had been a top-80 prospect on ESPN’s big board and was a candidate to be drafted, will instead head back to Western Kentucky for his sophomore season.
Meanwhile, a list of early entrant decisions from Jeff Goodman of Stadium includes two withdrawals that previously flew under the radar. According to Goodman’s list, Prairie View A&M forward Devonte Patterson and Redemption Christian Academy swingman Tony Goodwin II both pulled out of the draft before Wednesday’s deadline.
As our list of early entrants shows, that leaves almost an even split behind the college underclassmen who remain in the draft pool (88 players) and those who withdrew (89). However, the early entrant list hasn’t yet been finalized.
While the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline has now passed, the NBA’s withdrawal deadline doesn’t arrive until June 10, which means the league won’t formally issue a complete list of early entrants eligible for the 2019 draft until after that date.
In the weeks and days leading up to June 10, we can expect to hear plenty of updates on decisions being made by international early entrants, who weren’t subject to the NCAA’s deadline. A total of 59 international players showed up on the initial list of early entrants for 2019, but the majority of them will likely withdraw from the draft by June 10. At that point, we’ll have a complete picture of which players will be draft-eligible on June 20.
Zion Williamson To Be Represented By CAA
With the 2019 NBA draft just three weeks away, the presumptive No. 1 pick has finally selected an agent. CAA Basketball issued a message today (via Twitter) welcoming Zion Williamson to the agency.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski adds more details, tweeting that CAA agent Austin Brown and co-head of client management Lisa Joseph-Metelus will represent the Duke star.
With Williamson locked into the No. 1 slot and rookie contracts for first-round picks predetermined by the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, Brown and Joseph-Metelus won’t have to do a ton of lobbying or negotiating on behalf of their new client at the start of his NBA career.
Based on a $109MM cap projection for 2019/20, Williamson’s first four-year contract with the Pelicans is expected to start at about $9.74MM in his rookie year and be worth more than $44MM in total.
CAA’s list of NBA clients also includes stars such as Devin Booker, Joel Embiid, Paul George, Donovan Mitchell, Chris Paul, D’Angelo Russell, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Draft Decisions: Coffey, Tucker, Dotson, Grimes, Nwora
There’s little time left before tonight’s 11:59 pm EST NCAA withdrawal deadline. Below are some of the latest decisions:
Staying in the draft:
- Minnesota guard Amir Coffey will forgo his senior season and remain in the draft, per Evan Daniels of 247Sports.
- Rayjon Tucker, who recently committed to Memphis as a graduate transfer, will not play for the Tigers after all, as he will also keep his name in this year’s draft, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Withdrawing from the draft:
- A duo of Kansas players will head back to college, but only Devon Dotson will return to Lawrence (Twitter link), as Quentin Grimes has entered the transfer portal (per Daniels and Jeff Goodman of Stadium).
- Louisville forward Jordan Nwora will return to school for his junior season, he announced on Twitter.
- Kansas State guard Xavier Sneed will return for his senior season, he announced on Twitter.
- Penn State forward Lamar Stevens will return to school for his senior season, per Rothstein.
- Oregon State guard Ethan Thompson will return to Corvallis for his junior year, Rothstein tweets.
- Virginia Tech big man Kerry Blackshear will return to college, but it remains to be seen where he ends up after entering the transfer portal (per Rothstein)
As noted by Jonathan Givony of ESPN, Dotson, Nwora, and Grimes were ranked Nos. 59, 63, and 73 before their announcements.
Remember to check our early entrants list for a full list of all draft decisions.
KZ Okpala To Remain In 2019 NBA Draft
Stanford sophomore forward and potential lottery selection KZ Okpala will remain in this year’s draft class and forgo his final two seasons of college eligibility, reports Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
As we touched upon back when Okpala first declared for the draft, the 19-year-old was a relatively late bloomer out of high school but had a promising freshman season before breaking out as a sophomore. He averaged 16.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG while connecting on 36.8% of his three-point attempts during the 2018/19 season.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony currently ranks Okpala as 2019’s No. 24 overall prospect, two spots higher than when he first declared nearly two months ago. During the draft process, Okpala has reportedly met with the Wizards and Pistons, who pick at No. 9 and No. 15, respectively.
Draft Decisions: Roby, Lecque, Powell, Montgomery
We’re continuing to track players making draft decisions before tonight’s 11:59 pm EST deadline. Below are some of the latest decisions:
Staying in the draft:
- Nebraska forward Isaiah Roby has announced his intention to keep his name in the 2019 NBA Draft, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Roby, 21, comes it at No. 39 in ESPN’s top-100 list.
- Jalen Lecque has announced through his own Twitter account that he too will forgo a college scholarship opportunity and remain in the NBA Draft. The 18-year-old is ranked No. 51 in ESPN’s top-100.
- Arizona guard Brandon Randolph will also remain in the NBA Draft, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium, despite not being ranked in the top-100 of ESPN’s prospect list.
- Creighton big man Martin Krampelj will also remain in the draft and forgo his senior season, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Krampelj is likewise not a top-100 prospect per ESPN.
Withdrawing from the draft:
- In big news for the Seton Hall program, guard Myles Powell has announced that he will withdraw his name from the draft and return to school next season, per Jeff Goodman of Stadium.
- Former blue-chip high school prospect EJ Montgomery will return to Kentucky for his sophomore season, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
- Another top-recruit from last season, Florida guard Andrew Nembhard, will also return to the SEC next season, Woj adds.
- Oregon point guard Payton Pritchard announced on his personal Instagram page that he is returning to school.
- Nathan Knight and Jalen Pickett will return to William & Mary and Siena, respectively, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (links here).
Be sure to check our early entrants list for a full list of all draft decisions.
Draft Decisions: Bone, Harper, Simonds, Brooks, More
The NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for 2019’s early entrants is less than 12 hours away. Players who want to pull out of the draft and retain their college eligibility have until 11:59 pm eastern time tonight to officially do so.
We’re tracking all the players who have withdrawn from the draft on our early entrants list. Here are the latest decisions:
Staying in the draft:
- Tennesee junior guard Jordan Bone announced in a video on Twitter that he’ll keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool. Bone is the No. 58 prospect on ESPN’s big board, making him a solid candidate to be drafted.
- Auburn junior guard Jared Harper is expected to go pro too, keeping his name in the draft, reports Jeff Goodman of Stadium (via Twitter). Harper is at No. 64 on ESPN’s top-100 list.
- Despite not showing up in ESPN’s top 100, Georgia State junior guard D’Marcus Simonds will also remain in the draft, forgoing his final year of his college eligibility, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
- Another prospect outside of ESPN’s top 100, Houston junior guard Armoni Brooks, has announced (via Twitter) that he’ll stay in the draft and begin his professional career.
Withdrawing from the draft:
- Gonzaga got some good news on Tuesday night, as a source informed Rothstein (Twitter link) that forward Filip Petrusev will return for his sophomore season. Additionally, Goodman reports (via Twitter) that forward Killian Tillie is expected to rejoin the Zags for his senior year.
- Freshman forward Emmitt Williams, who was one of six LSU players to test the draft waters, will head back to school for at least one more season, a source tells Goodman (Twitter link).
- Glenville State junior forward Phil Bledsoe told Kyle Boone of CBS Sports (Twitter link) that he has withdrawn from the draft. However, as Aaron Beard of The Associated Press explains, Bledsoe may have eligibility concerns going forward, since the new NCAA rule allowing prospects to hire an agent while testing the waters only applies to D-I players, rather than D-II players like Bledsoe. Agent Jerry Dianis remains confident that the NCAA will allow Bledsoe to return for his senior year.
- A pair of early entrants are withdrawing from the draft and transferring. UNLV freshman forward Joel Ntambwe announced (via Twitter) that he’s making the move to Texas Tech, while SMU junior guard Jimmy Whitt will return to Arkansas, where he began his college career.
- Mississippi State forward Reggie Perry announced in a Twitter video that he’ll be back for his sophomore season.
- Boston College forward Nik Popovic is expected to take advantage of his final year of NCAA eligibility by going back to school for his senior season, sources tell Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Louisiana Tech junior guard DaQuan Bracey and South Florida junior guard Laquincy Rideau will both withdraw from the draft and return to school, according to a pair of tweets from Goodman.
- Rothstein reports (via a pair of tweets) that TCU freshman center Kevin Samuel and Xavier junior guard Quentin Goodin will pull out of the draft after testing the waters.
- Maryland junior guard Anthony Cowan is expected to withdraw from the draft tonight to return to school for one more year, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com.
- Creighton guard Davion Mintz will report back to the Bluejays for his senior year, he tells Goodman (Twitter link). Goodman’s full list of prospects returning to school also includes UNC Greensboro junior forward James Dickey, so it appears he withdrew from the draft too.
More Draft Decisions: Claxton, Bassey, Nowell, More
Draft decisions by this year’s early entrants continue to flood in as the NCAA’s May 29 withdrawal deadline nears. After relaying those decisions in a pair of posts already today, we’ve got more in the space below:
- Georgia sophomore forward Nicolas Claxton will keep his name in the 2019 NBA draft pool, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who tweets that Claxton is a potential first-round pick.
- According to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (via Twitter), Western Kentucky freshman center Charles Bassey will stay in the 2019 draft pool, barring a last-second change of heart. Bassey is the No. 80 prospect on Givony’s big board at ESPN.com.
- Washington sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell is another early entrant who has decided to forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility and stay in the draft, Goodman tweets. Nowell comes in at No. 92 on Givony’s big board.
- Kentucky’s Nick Richards, a sophomore forward, will return to the Wildcats for at least one more season, he announced today in a video on Instagram.
- South Carolina will get guard A.J. Lawson back for his sophomore year, as he announced today (via Twitter) that he’s withdrawing his name from the draft.
- Bethune-Cookman head coach Ryan Ridder has informed Goodman (Twitter link) that both of his early entrants, Malik Maitland and Cletrell Pope, are heading back to school for another year.
- Ohio State forward Kaleb Wesson is pulling out of the draft to return to the Buckeyes for his junior season, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
- Bowling Green guard Justin Turner is heading back to school for his junior season, per Rothstein (via Twitter).
- Weber State guard Jerrick Harding will withdraw from the draft and return to school for his senior season, he announced today (via Twitter).
- Hampton junior guard Jermaine Marrow is withdrawing from the draft and retaining his NCAA eligibility, coach Buck Joyner tells Goodman (Twitter link).
Draft Decisions: Konate, King, Enoch, Queta, More
We rounded up a series of draft decisions by early entrants this morning, but with the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline (May 29) looming, we’ve already got many more decisions to pass along.
Here’s the latest:
- West Virginia forward Sagaba Konate plans to remain in the 2019 NBA draft and will forgo his final year of college eligibility, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
- Louisville junior forward V.J. King is also keeping his name in the draft, he announced today (via Twitter). However, the Cardinals will get another key player back, as Steven Enoch‘s father told 93.9 The Ville that his son is “looking forward to next season” in Louisville (Twitter link).
- Utah State center Neemias Queta announced today (via a Twitter video) that he’ll return to school for his sophomore season.
- Three Xavier prospects who tested the draft waters as early entrants – Paul Scruggs, Tyrique Jones, and Naji Marshall – are headed back to the Musketeers, according to Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Texas A&M guard Savion Flagg tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link) that he’ll remove his name from the draft and rejoin the Aggies for his junior season.
- Providence junior guard Alpha Diallo is also expected to withdraw from the draft and go back to school, agent Javon Phillips tells Goodman (Twitter link).
- Dayton forward Obi Toppin announced in an Instagram post that he’ll pull out of the draft and head back to school for his sophomore year.
- Keith Braxton, a junior guard out of St. Francis (PA), has elected to withdraw from the draft after testing the waters, tweets Rothstein.