Montrezl Harrell Faces Felony Drug Charges
Hornets forward/center Montrezl Harrell was scheduled to be arraigned Monday on felony drug charges stemming from a traffic stop in Richmond, Ky., last month, according to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer.
Harrell will be an unrestricted free agent next month.
Harrell, 28, was initially pulled over by a Kentucky state trooper on May 12 while driving on I-75 because the trooper said Harrell was following the vehicle in front of him too closely, according to the police report.
The trooper observed an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and Harrell “admitted to being in possession of marijuana and produced a small amount from his sweatpants,” according to the report.
A search of the vehicle, which Harrell claimed was rented, found three pounds of marijuana in vacuum sealed bags. He has been charged with trafficking less than five pounds of marijuana.
Under Kentucky law, possessing or trafficking eight or more ounces but less than five pounds of marijuana is a Class D Felony for first-time offenders. It is punishable by 1-5 years of incarceration with a fine ranging from $1-10,000. The Hornets declined comment, according to Boone.
The NBA stopped testing for marijuana in 2020 and that policy continued into this season. Harrell began the season with the Wizards and appeared in 46 games. He was traded to Charlotte in February and appeared in 25 more games, averaging 11.4 PPG and 4.9 RPG.
Draft Decisions: Diop, Spagnolo, Savkov, Nzosa, Matkovic
The early entry deadline to withdraw from the draft was 5 p.m. on Monday. It’s mostly relevant for international prospects, since the deadline to withdraw while retaining NCAA eligibility was June 1.
Several more international prospects have decided to stay in the draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links available right here). Here is that list:
- Big man Khalifa Diop, is ranked No. 39 on ESPN’s Best Available list and the fourth-highest at the center spot. The 7-footer had a solid season in the ACB with Gran Canaria, winning the EuroCup’s Rising Star award.
- Italian guard Matteo Spagnolo is another potential second-rounder, rated No. 59 overall and No. 11 among point guards. He shot 44% for 3 this season for Cremona in the first division.
- Russian wing Pavel Savkov isn’t listed among ESPN’s top 100 prospects. The 6’7” Savkov shot 40% on 3-pointers in Spain the past two seasons.
- Congolese big man Yannick Nzosa is the youngest player in the draft class. He’s played for Unicaja Malaga in Spain. Ranked No. 54, Nzosa is an extremely mobile big man with an excellent motor and strong defensive versatility, according to Givony.
- Croatian power forward Karlo Matkovic is also staying in the draft after a last-minute change of heart. He’s slotted at No. 60 on ESPN’s list.
You can check out all early entrant decisions here.
Hawks To Elevate Landry Fields To GM Under Schlenk
The Hawks are promoting Landry Fields to general manager, beginning next month, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Fields, who has been an assistant GM with the franchise, will continue to work under president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk.
Just 33 years old, Fields began his front office career with the Spurs. He joined the Hawks as an assistant GM in 2020.
Hawks owner Tony Ressler has expressed high confidence in his current front office personnel and Fields’ promotion reflects that. There were rumors early in the season that other teams were trying to lure away Fields but that he was likely to be promoted by the Hawks.
Fields started out as a scout with San Antonio in 2016 and eventually worked his way up to becoming the GM of the G League’s Austin Spurs. He also spent five seasons in the NBA, playing for both the Knicks and Raptors. In 255 games, he averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG.
Draft Notes: Green Room, Houstan, Nembhard, O’Neal, Gillespie
There were no surprises in the 11 green room invitations forwarded to the draft’s top prospects. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirmed that the list includes Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Bennedict Mathurin, AJ Griffin, Jalen Duren and Johnny Davis. Approximately four more green room invites will be sent out next week, a source tells Givony.
We have more draft news:
- Michigan’s Caleb Houstan and Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard, who both hail from Canada, will work out for the Raptors on Friday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. They’re both considered late first-round or second-round prospects and Toronto has the No. 33 overall pick.
- LSU forward Shareef O’Neal, son of Shaquille O’Neal, worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. The younger O’Neal will visit the Lakers, Cavaliers, Hawks and Wizards in the very near future.
- Villanova guard Collin Gillespie also worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. He’ll soon visit the Suns, Nuggets, Jazz and Trail Blazers. Gillespie is ranked at No. 64 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
And-Ones: Okobo, Cleveland, James, Rupert
Former NBA guard Elie Okobo is expected to sign with Monaco, according to Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com. The No. 31 pick of the 2018 draft, Okobo is still monitoring his NBA options but if he doesn’t get an offer, he’ll join the Monaco club. He averaged 14.5 PPG for ASVEL Villeurbanne last season. Okobo played in 108 NBA games with Phoenix from 2018-20.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Australia’s Adelaide 36ers have signed Antonius Cleveland on a two-year deal, according to Sportando. The 28-year-old shooting guard played last season with the Illawarra Hawks, averaging 14.2 PPG and 6.6 RPG and getting named the NBL’s Best Defensive Player. Cleveland played 28 games in the NBA, including 11 with Dallas during the 2019/20 season.
- What does LeBron James want to do after his NBA career? He expressed a desire to become an owner of an NBA franchise in Las Vegas, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports relays. “I want to buy a team, for sure,” James said on his new “The Shop” show. “I want a team in Vegas.”
- Potential 2023 first-round selection Rayan Rupert will play for the New Zealand Breakers next season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski writes. Rupert, a French 6’7” wing, is currently projected by ESPN as the No. 21 pick in next year’s draft. Rupert, 18, has drawn comparisons to Phoenix’s Mikal Bridges because of his defensive versatility.
Southeast Draft Notes: Beauchamp, Agbaji, Daniels, Washington, Devoe, Toney
Projected first round prospects MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite) and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas) are among the players visiting the Wizards on Friday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Beauchamp is ranked No. 23 on ESPN’s Best Available list, while Agbaji sits at No. 16. Washington holds the No. 10 selection. Ryan Allen (Delaware), Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech), Brady Manek (North Carolina) and Cole Swider (Syracuse) will also work out.
We have more draft-related notes for the Southeast Division:
- Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite) and TyTy Washington (Kentucky) also plan to visit the Wizards in the coming days, Hughes adds in a separate tweet. Daniels is ranked No. 6 by ESPN with Washington at No. 17.
- Michael Devoe was among the prospects who visited the Hornets on Thursday, the team tweets. Dominick Barlow (Overtime Elite), Garrison Brooks (Mississippi State), John Butler (Florida State), Mitch Lightfoot (Kansas) and Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State) joined Devoe in Charlotte.
- Au’Diese Toney (Arkansas) replaced Wendell Moore (Duke) in the Hawks’ workout on Thursday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets.
Northwest Notes: Gobert, Hunter, Jovic, Griffin, Maker
The Hawks have been identified in previous reports as a possible Rudy Gobert suitor, and multiple league sources have indicated the Jazz are interested in De’Andre Hunter, according to Matt Moore of ActionNetwork.com. Hunter is extension-eligible this offseason. However, according to Moore, the Hawks have tried to steer any teams inquiring on Hunter to players like Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter instead.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Forward Nikola Jovic, ranked No. 24 on ESPN’s Best Available list, is among six prospects visiting the Nuggets on Friday, Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports tweets. JD Davison (Alabama), Terrell Brown (San Diego), Christian Koloko (Arizona), Tommy Kuhse (St. Mary’s) and Fabian White Jr. (Houston) are also visiting. Denver holds the No. 21 overall pick.
- Duke forward AJ Griffin worked out for the Trail Blazers on Thursday, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets. Portland holds the No. 7 pick; Griffin is listed at No. 9 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- The Jazz brought in Howard’s Makur Maker and 10 other draft prospects on Thursday, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News writes. The group of players auditioning for Utah was rounded out by Houston guard Kyler Edwards, Texas A&M guard Quenton Jackson, Michigan State forward Gabe Brown, UConn guard Tyrese Martin, Richmond forward Grant Golden, Richmond guard Jacob Gilyard, Arkansas guard JD Notae, Providence forward Justin Minaya, St. John’s forward Aaron Wheeler and Iowa State forward George Conditt IV.
Griffin ‘Confident’ Of Signing Zion To Max Extension
Appearing on a podcast with Ryen Russillo of The Ringer, Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin expressed confidence in signing Zion Williamson to a maximum-salary extension this offseason, though Griffin hinted the club will seek protections in the contract due to Williamson’s injury history.
“We feel really confident he wants to be here and we’re equally confident we can come to an agreement,” Griffin said.
Williamson expressed in his postseason press conference that he’s eager to sign long-term with the franchise after the team made a late run to reach the postseason. Griffin says it’s essentially a no-brainer he’ll get a max offer, which would be five years and at least $182MM.
“It was really comforting when he did his media availability in the postseason and said how much he buys into this,” Griffin said.
No player eligible for a rookie scale extension has ever turned down a maximum-salary offer, but given that Williamson missed the entire 2021/22 season due to a foot injury and has appeared in just 85 games since entering the league in 2019, the club may seek protections within the deal.
“It’s not a big decision. It’s a pretty easy decision,” Griffin said. “This is a max player. That’s easy. The kid is historically good when he plays. … What becomes significant with a team that’s a small market team and team that can’t make mistakes in terms of injuries over time, you have to indemnify yourself in some way.”
A report late last month suggested that ownership was reluctant to give Williamson a fully guaranteed max deal.
That would follow the lead of Philadelphia when Joel Embiid was eligible for his rookie scale extension. His five-year, maximum-salary extension included an injury protection for the franchise.
Griffin also addressed two other hot topics related to Williamson. He called the notion that there was a disconnect between the Pelicans and Williamson during his injury rehab “complete nonsense” driven by social media. “There was never a time when we were in the dark on Zion,” he said.
He also said Williamson was simply not healthy enough to suit up after he suffered an early-season setback. “The kid’s bone didn’t heal,” Griffin said.
Additionally, he noted that Williamson, who was cleared of any restrictions regarding his injury last month, has remained in town.
“He’s literally in our gym every day right now,” Griffin said.
Central Notes: Mathurin, Daniels, Beauchamp, Pistons, Vucevic
Sitting at No. 6 in the draft order, the Pacers have some projected lottery picks coming in on Friday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets.
Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, ranked No. 8 on ESPN’s Best Available list, is visiting the Pacers for a solo workout. G League Elite’s Dyson Daniels (No. 6) and Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan (No. 15) are among a group of six players coming in earlier on Friday. Kameron McGusty (Miami), Ziga Samar (Urbas Fuenlabrada), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova) and Pavel Savkov (Iraurgi SB) will join that duo.
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers, who hold the No. 14 selection, took a look at G League Ignite wing and potential lottery pick MarJon Beauchamp on Wednesday, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Potential second-rounder Alabama’s Keon Ellis visited the same day. Wagner’s Alex Morales also had a workout with the Cavs on Wednesday, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. Florida State forward Malik Osborne worked out there on Tuesday, Bosco Institute tweets.
- Don’t expect the Pistons to try to move into the top three of the draft to snare one of the top bigs, James Edwards III of The Athletic speculates. Edwards doubts the franchise would surrender young assets at this stage of the rebuild. He anticipates the Pistons would have to part with at least Saddiq Bey or Isaiah Stewart along with the No. 5 pick to move up a couple of spots and that doesn’t make much sense unless they’re getting a surefire superstar in return.
- While rumors are swirling that the Bulls may part with Nikola Vucevic, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic is somewhat skeptical Chicago is eager to move on from its starting center. Vucevic still has supporters in high places in Chicago due to his professionalism, versatility and consistency. If the Bulls do trade Vucevic, they’ll have to receive an obvious upgrade in return.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 6/9/2022
The transcript for our weekly Thursday chat can be found here.
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