Draft Updates: Elmore, Morgan, Jazz
Marshall’s Jon Elmore has withdrawn his name from the draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. Elmore did that same thing last year after his sophomore campaign. That stat-stuffing guard posted 22.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 6.8 APG and 1.6 SPG in his junior year.
In other draft-related developments:
- Cornell’s Matt Morgan is headed back to school, Goodman reports in another tweet. Morgan, a 6’2” guard, averaged 22.5 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG for the Big Red as a junior.
- The Jazz own the No. 21 and No. 52 picks and VP of player personnel Walt Perrin said the team is leaning toward developmental players with upside, Ryan McDonald of Deseret News reports. “I think next year with the majority hopefully of our team coming back, if not all of them, you look at more upside,” Perrin told McDonald. “You’re looking more at, ‘Can we bring this player in and work with him, probably play him a little bit with the [G League’s Salt Lake City] Stars, and how much better can we get him in, say, two or three years?’”
- The Jazz have been busy working out prospects. Get the latest update here.
Southeast Rumors: Thomas, Nored, Whiteside, Hawks
Free agent point guard Isaiah Thomas would be a good fit for the Heat but they probably don’t have the salary-cap space to sign him, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel speculates. Thomas’ ability to score in bunches would boost a team prone to scoring droughts, Winderman continues. But it’s doubtful that a former All-Star coming off an injury-marred season would take a short-term deal, Winderman notes, as the Lakers guard is more likely to pursue what could be his last significant contract.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hornets will hire Ronald Nored as an assistant coach on James Borrego‘s staff, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Nored served as the Nets’ G-League head coach this past season.
- Pat Riley‘s silence over the Hassan Whiteside situation in recent weeks suggests a trade is more likely than reconciliation, Winderman opines in another blog. Though Winderman believes Whiteside and coach Erik Spoelstra would like to find some middle ground, a separation appears to be in order despite the issue of Whiteside’s contract, which has two years and over $52MM remaining. Whiteside was disappointed with his reduced playing time.
- The Hawks will bring in six prospects for a workout on Tuesday, according to a team press release. That group includes Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Kyran Bowman (Boston College), Dorian Pickens (Stanford), Kerem Kanter (Xavier), Tremont Waters (LSU) and Kenrich Williams (TCU).
Chris Paul Won’t Play In Game 7
7:13pm: Paul has a Grade 2 strain, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN tweets. The same injury cost Harden nearly three weeks of action earlier this season.
6:24pm: Chris Paul will not play in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals tonight, Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated tweets. Coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters the bad news during his pregame press conference.
It’s obviously a serious setback for the Rockets but not unexpected. Despite frantic efforts to get him ready to play, Paul simply did not have enough time to recover from his hamstring strain.
“There’s just no way. He couldn’t explode. He couldn’t push off on it,” D’Antoni said, according a tweet from Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Paul suffered the injury late in the Rockets’ Game 5 victory on Thursday. Without him, the Rockers will rely heavily on Eric Gordon along with James Harden to run the attack in a seven-man rotation.
Houston obviously missed its star point guard during a second-half collapse Saturday that resulted in a 29-point loss in Game 6. The Rockets were outscored 64-25 after halftime.
The Warriors will also be without one of their key players, as swingman Andre Iguodala was declared out for the fourth straight game earlier in the day due to a left knee injury.
Paul has posted a 21.1/5.9/5.8 stat line through 17 postseason games with Houston. He is in the final year of the contract he signed with the Clippers, and reaching a new deal will be among the Rockets’ priorities this offseason.
Draft Workouts: Jazz, Warriors, Knicks, Suns
The Jazz worked out Shake Milton (SMU), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Theo Pinson (North Carolina), Omari Spellman (Villanova), Thomas Wilder (Western Michigan) and Elijah Stewart (USC) on Monday, according to team’s Twitter feed. Milton, a borderline first-round guard prospect ranked No. 34 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, headlined that group.
The Jazz will host six more prospects on Tuesday — Kameron Chatman (Detroit), Sedrick Barefield (Utah), Kenneth Ogbe (Utah Valley), Dayon Goodman (Westminster), Tyler Rawson (Utah) and Ryan Richardson (Weber State) (Twitter links).
We have more draft workout news:
- Wichita State’s Landry Shamet worked out for the Warriors on Sunday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. The point guard is ranked No. 42 by Givony.
- Syracuse swingman Tyus Battle, rated No. 32 by Givony, worked out for the Knicks on Friday, Zagoria reports in another tweet. Small forward Brian Bowen, who was ineligible to play college ball last season, worked out for New York the same day and the Lakers on Sunday.
- The Suns brought in UCLA’s Aaron Holiday and Anfernee Simons, who spent a post-grad year at IMG Academy, and four other prospects on Monday, the team tweets. Holiday is rated No. 17 by Givony while Simons is ranked No. 21. Hamidou Diallo (Kentucky), Tony Carr (Penn State), Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Kansas) and Bruce Brown (Miami, Fla.) joined them.
Western Notes: Rockets, Jazz, Westbrook, Allen
The Rockets have reduced their rotation to seven players but they won’t use fatigue as an excuse for their second-half collapse against the Warriors in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Stephen Curry have all played more minutes per game than any Rockets player, Feigen notes. “Fatigue is never a factor in the playoffs,” Rockets forward Trevor Ariza told Feigen and other media members. “This is what we prepare for. This is what we work hard all summer for. They started playing harder. They started making shots. That’s it.”
Also around the Western Conference:
- The Jazz might keep their core group intact going into next season, GM Dennis Lindsey told Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. “My best guess is the option that we’ll ultimately consider, is bringing the team back intact, but I don’t know what other things are going to come our way,” Lindsey said. In order to do that, they’d have to sign unrestricted free agent Derrick Favors and restricted free agent Dante Exum. If both players receive significant raises and the Jazz make other moves, they could find themselves close to the luxury tax. They currently have approximately $90MM in salary guarantees next season.
- If Paul George re-signs with the Thunder, it will deal a blow to the narrative that other stars don’t like playing with Russell Westbrook, Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman writes. That’s why Westbrook has made public statements about wanting George to return, saying he thinks George “definitely wants to be here,” Dawson adds.
- Duke combo guard Grayson Allen could be an option for the Kings if he slips into the second round, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Sacramento holds the No. 36 overall pick and Allen is currently ranked No. 30 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Allen would be a fit because the Kings need guards who can provide size and shooting, Jones adds.
Draft Withdrawals: Copeland, Dorn, Keeling
Nebraska’s Isaac Copeland is withdrawing from the draft and will return to school for his senior year, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman tweets. The 6’9” Copeland averaged 12.9 PPG and 6.1 RPG for the Cornhuskers in his junior campaign. Copeland is a transfer from Georgetown.
In other draft news:
- North Carolina State’s Torin Dorn is headed back to school for his senior year, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. The 6’5” Dorn averaged 13.9 PPG and 6.3 RPG as a junior. He played his freshman season at Charlotte.
- Charleston Southern’s Christian Keeling is headed back to school for his junior season, Goodman tweets. Keeling averaged 17.6 PPG and 5.2 RPG last season but shot just 31.5% from long range.
- Miami forward Dewan Huell was among a handful of other players who withdrew from the draft in recent days.
Iguodala, Looney Listed As Questionable For Game 7
7:22pm: Warriors coach Steve Kerr calls Iguodala doubtful for Game 7 but says the veteran forward is working around the clock to try to play, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post tweets.
6:49pm: Warriors small forwards Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney are both questionable to play in Game 7 against the Rockets on Monday, the Warriors’ public relations department tweets.
Iguodala has missed the last three games due to a left lateral leg contusion, suffered in Game 3 when he banged into James Harden. Looney’s addition to the injury list, due to a sore left toe, is a surprise. He has started in place of Iguodala.
Sounds as if at least one of them will play in the deciding game of the Western Conference Finals but if not, Golden State would be very thin at the wing position.
Golden State also lists guard Patrick McCaw as probable. McCaw received four minutes of playing time in Game 6, his first on-court appearance since injuring his back against the Kings on March 31st.
Of course, the Rockets have an even bigger injury issue with the uncertainty surrounding Chris Paul. Their starting point guard missed Game 6 and is questionable at best to play Monday.
Community Shootaround: West Game 7
The Warriors roared back after halftime of the Western Conference Finals on Saturday to force a deciding Game 7 on Monday night.
Naturally, it helped that the Rockets played without their floor leader, Chris Paul. After pulling his hamstring late in Game 5, Paul could only watch from the bench and occasionally give a piece of his mind to the officials in Game 6. He’s a game-time decision for Game 7 but even if he goes, he’ll likely be limited in terms of minutes and mobility.
The Warriors’ Big 4 will play, though small forwards Andre Iguodala and Kevon Looney are questionable because of injuries. Houston will have the home court on Monday, which they earned by playing more consistently that the Warriors during the course of the regular season. But each team has won a game on the other’s court during the series, so the energy boost from the crowd will only help the Rockets to a certain extent.
Golden State has looked much less focused and more vulnerable during these playoffs than it did last season, when it cruised to the title. But Paul’s iffy status puts Houston in a bind, even though its players are clearly hungry for a ring.
This could be the night that James Harden puts his team on his shoulders and carries it to the Finals. Or the Warriors’ overall talent could simply be too much for the Rockets to handle.
This leads us to our question of the day: Who will win Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals and why?
Please take to the comments section and voice your opinion. We look forward to what you have to say.
East Draft Notes: Hawks, Wizards, Raptors, Nets
UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday and Villanova floor leader Jalen Brunson headline the list of six players the Hawks will work out on Friday, according to a team press release. Holiday is ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, while Brunson is rated No. 26 overall.
Gary Clark (Cincinnati), Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Juwan Morgan (Indiana) and Tony Carr (Penn State) are the other players trying to make a favorable impression. The Hawks hosted Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova), Ben Lammers (Georgia Tech), Jalen McDaniels (San Diego State), Markis McDuffie (Wichita State), Doral Moore (Wake Forest) and Brandon Sampson (LSU) on Thursday.
In other draft workouts by Eastern Conference clubs:
- The Wizards hosted six players on Thursday, according to the team’s website. Yuta Watanabe (George Washington), Junior Robinson (Mount St. Mary’s), Junior Etou (Tulsa), Marcus Derrickson (Georgetown), James Daniel III (Tennessee) and Phillip Carr (Morgan State) were the players Washington’s staff evaluated.
- Jon Elmore (Marshall), Marcus Foster (Creighton), Jairus Lyles (Maryland Baltimore-County), Dakota Mathias (Purdue), Marcus Lee (California) and Nana Foulland (Bucknell) worked out for the Raptors on Thursday, the team’s media relations department tweets.
- Among the players the Nets have worked out are Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Barry Brown Jr (Kansas State), Chris Silva (South Carolina), Mustapha Heron (Auburn), PJ Washington (Kentucky), Reid Travis (Stanford), Jordan Caroline (Nevada), Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure), Abudushalamu Abudurexiti (Xingyang Long Lions), Cody Martin (Nevada) and Admiral Schofield (Tennessee), according to NetsDaily.com.
Draft Notes: Wright-Foreman, Davis, Clippers, Kings
Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman is returning to school for his senior year, he announced on Twitter. The 6’1” point guard averaged 24.4 PPG and 3.2 APG in his junior season. Ole Miss guard Terence Davis is also going back to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. The 6’4” Davis averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in his junior year.
In other draft-related news:
- The Clippers and Lakers worked out forwards Omari Spellman (Villanova) and Terry Larrier (UConn) on Thursday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Larrier also has workouts lined up with the Nets (June 5), Knicks (June 6) and Mavericks (June 14), Zagoria adds in another tweet. Spellman is ranked No. 49 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his Top 100 prospects list.
- Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado will work out for the Jazz in the near future after visiting the Lakers on Thursday, according to Zagoria (Twitter link).
- The Kings will bring in centers Jock Landale (St. Mary’s) and Dusan Ristic (Arizona); forwards Todd Withers and Billy Preston; and guards Joel Berry (North Carolina) and Jordan McLaughlin (USC) on Friday, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
- Rhode Island guard E.C. Matthews has worked out for the Nets, Knicks and Celtics, Zagoria tweets.