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.
Please join Luke Adams for our next live chat Tuesday at noon CT.
Draft Notes: O’Neal, Eason, Lakers, Weathers, Nembhard, Mobley
LSU junior Shareef O’Neal is eligible to be selected in the draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The son of Shaquille O’Neal, Shareef O’Neal was mistakenly included in the list of withdrawals released by the league last week. He has upcoming team workouts, Charania adds.
We have more draft-related info:
- Another LSU player, wing Tari Eason, has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Cavaliers, Grizzlies and Spurs, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. He has already worked out for a number of teams, including the Bulls, Thunder and Knicks. Eason is ranked No. 18 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.
- The Lakers hosted six prospects on Monday, including UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. That group also included Remy Martin (Kansas), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech), Haowen Guo (Shanghai Sharks) and Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech).
- SMU’s Marcus Weathers worked out for the Spurs on Monday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard and USC’s Isaiah Mobley were also among the six prospects San Antonio hosted, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. Nembhard, a point guard, projects as a potential first-rounder. He’s ranked No. 35 on ESPN’s list.
Central Notes: Branham, Terry, Beauchamp, Tillman, Pacers
The Cavaliers are hosting Ohio State’s Malaki Branham for a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cleveland holds the No. 14 overall pick and Branham, a shooting guard, is ranked 13th on ESPN’s Best Available list. He averaged 13.7 PPG and knocked down 41.6% of his 3-pointers in his lone college season.
We have more from the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers are considering about 10 or 12 players with their first-rounder, including a couple of wild cards, Fedor writes in a separate Cleveland.com story. Arizona point guard Dalen Terry, rated No. 25 by ESPN, is firmly in the mix along with G League Ignite shooting guard MarJon Beauchamp, ranked No. 23.
- G League First Team selection Justin Tillman worked out for the Bucks last week, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press reports. Tillman, who averaged 23.5 PPG and 11.6 RPG for the College Park Skyhawks, has six more NBA workouts upcoming this month.
- The Pacers’ original list of six draft prospects brought in for workouts on Monday had some alterations, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star tweets. Creighton’s Alex O’Connell replaced Overtime Elite’s Kok Yat, and Washington State’s Michael Flowers replaced Toledo’s Ryan Rollins.
Darvin Ham: Westbrook Has “Ton Left In The Tank”
New Lakers coach Darvin Ham believes Russell Westbrook has a “ton left in the tank” but will have to make sacrifices to help the franchise return to a championship level, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes.
Ham made those comments on Monday during his introductory press conference, which Westbrook attended.
“Don’t get it messed up, Russell Westbrook is one of the best players our league has ever seen and there’s still a ton left in the tank,” Ham said. “I don’t know why people tend to try to write him off.”
Westbrook took the brunt of criticism, along with former coach Frank Vogel, for the Lakers’ wayward season. He has a $47.5MM option on the last year of his contract and is expected to exercise it.
The Lakers reportedly asked head coaching candidates how they could maximize Westbrook’s talents in L.A. Ham believes Westbrook will have to do more without the ball and step up his defensive effort.
“Russ and I had some really, really great one-on-one convos, man, and the biggest word I think that came out of that, those discussions, was sacrifice,” Ham said. “I’m going to expect him to be the same tenacious, high-energy player that he’s been all his entire career. A lot of now may have him without the ball in his hand. Most of it now may have it on the defensive end. But, again, we have to sacrifice. There’s no achieving anything without all parties sharing the load, sacrificing instead of one-on-one.”
Here’s more from Ham’s presser, as relayed by McMenamin and the Los Angeles Times’ Dan Woike:
- Ham’s top priority is to make the Lakers a much tighter defensive unit. “Defensively is where you’re going to see our biggest leaps and bounds,” Ham said. “We have to commit to the defensive side of the ball, or we don’t have a chance.”
- Ham said he’ll be just as tough on Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis as the team’s role players: “We have a saying, ‘Facts over feelings.’ And once you see the film, that’s a fact. You missed your assignment, then that has to be pointed out. Because if I can’t point it out to one of our Big Three, then the last man or someone in the rotation, they’re not going to take what we’re doing seriously.”
- VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka said Ham was a “unanimous” choice among the team’s decision-makers. “It’s easy to be grateful when you find a candidate that you feel is the ideal fit for what the franchise is looking for. And that’s what coach Ham represents to us,” Pelinka said.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Hawks, Magic, Wizards
The Hornets hosted a pre-draft workout with six prospects on Monday, the team tweets. That group included Keon Ellis (Alabama), Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite), Kellan Grady (Kentucky), Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers), Brandon Horvath (Utah State) and Žiga Samar (Fuenlabrada/Spain).
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks are bringing in six prospects on Tuesday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. That group includes Dominick Barlow (Overtime Elite), Jules Bernard (UCLA), Buddy Boeheim (Syracuse), Savion Flagg (Sam Houston State), Foster Jr., and Alondes Williams (Wake Forest).
- If the Hawks waive Danilo Gallinari, they would have the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to use in free agency, as well as $4.1MM biannual exception. In a story for The Athetic, Kirschner takes a look at potential free agent targets for Atlanta, including Kyle Anderson, Bruce Brown and Gary Harris.
- Draft prospects Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall) and Collin Gillespie (Villanova) visited the Magic on Monday, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.
- The Wizards will host six prospects on Tuesday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. That group includes Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Florida), Jaden Hardy (Ignite), Anthony Polite (Florida State), Taz Sherman (West Virginia), Collin Welp (UC Irvine) and Isaiah Whaley (UConn).
Pat Riley Address Offseason, Herro, Lowry, Tucker, Retirement
Heat president Pat Riley is generally happy with the current roster but is open to acquiring another impact player if the right trade comes along, Nick Friedell of ESPN relays.
“I like the team that we have,” Riley said. “I like the core, so let’s see where we can go internally and let’s see where we can go if something presents itself. If that’s a viable option.”
As for acquiring another star, Riley wants to make sure that player will fit into the team’s culture, not to mention future payroll, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes.
“If there’s something from outside that unveils itself that doesn’t cost us an arm and a leg, I would always be interested in looking at that,” he said. “But I think we have what we need internally.”
Riley held his annual postseason press conference on Monday. Friedell and Chiang have the details on numerous topics that Riley addressed:
- Responding to Sixth Man of the Year Tyler Herro expressing his desire to become a starter, Riley said he’s got to earn it by improving defensively. “He’s 22, he’s 21, 22 years old so the next step for him, and I think we’re seeing this in the league, if you want to win a championship, and you want to be a starter, you really have to become a two-way player today,” Riley said. “And you have to improve in certain areas of your game.”
- Kyle Lowry needs to improve his conditioning, in Riley’s assessment. “The bottom line with me and for me as far as hoping that you can get the most out of a player — is that you got to be in world-class shape. You just have to be,” he said.
- P.J. Tucker has a $7.35MM player option for 2022/23 and if he turns it down, Riley will try to re-sign the veteran forward. “P.J. is a cornerstone,” Riley said. “I would love to have Tuck back next year. He’s part of our core. He’s special.”
- The sting of losing Game 7 to Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals hasn’t dissipated. “We have a lot of real experienced veterans and so we put together a team that got to the Eastern Conference finals and it was bitter, it was a bitter loss,” he said. “The dragon hasn’t actually left my body yet from that loss.”
- Retirement is not on Riley’s agenda. “I’m 77 years old and right now I can do more pushups than you can do right now,” he said.