Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 21)
The results of the 2016 NBA Draft lottery are in and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we are doing with a series of polls.
We are now two-thirds of the way through the first round and have come to the Hawks. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Atlanta’s pick and check back Wednesday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Hornets will select with the No. 22 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 21 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.
Previous Selections
- Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
- Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
- Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
- Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
- Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
- Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)
- Nuggets — Jamal Murray (Kentucky)
- Kings — Henry Ellenson (Marquette)
- Raptors — Marquese Chriss (Washington)
- Bucks — Jakob Poeltl (Utah)
- Magic — Skal Labissiere (Kentucky)
- Jazz — Denzel Valentine (Michigan State)
- Suns — Domantas Sabonis (Gonzaga)
- Bulls — Deyonta Davis (Michigan State)
- Nuggets — Timothe Luwawu (Mega Leks)
- Celtics — Thon Maker (Australia)
- Grizzlies — Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt)
- Pistons — Tyler Ulis (Kentucky)
- Nuggets — Furkan Korkmaz (Anadolu Efes)
- Pacers — Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame)
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Central Notes: Noah, Walters, Draft
Bulls center and unrestricted free agent Joakim Noah is looking forward to the free agent process and being recruited by interested suitors, as he told Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. When asked how involved he is in the free agent process, Noah said, “I’m very focused on free agency. I spent the last 10 years in Chicago, there were good moments and bad moments but now I have an incredible opportunity for a player, being recruited by a team, I definitely want to live that kind of experience. It’s new for me but it’s something very intriguing for a player. I’ll consider every offer on the table, no doubt.”
The big man was also asked if the culture of the team changed under Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg this season, with Noah telling Cauchi, “I don’t think so. I mean, Hoiberg is a good coach, the locker room is something that the players need to make work. It’s on us, not on the coach.”
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pacers have their sixth pre-draft workout scheduled for Wednesday, the team announced. Attendees will include Kellen Dunham (Butler), Jordan Loyd (Indianapolis), Taurean Prince (Baylor), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Diamond Stone (Maryland), and Goodluck Okonoboh (UNLV), according to the release.
- The Pistons are expected to name Rex Walters as head coach of their D-League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest relays. Walters previously served as the head coach at the University of San Francisco from 2008-16, compiling a record of 126-125 during his tenure. Otis Smith, the current coach of the Drive, is expected to be promoted to a front office position with the Pistons, Johnson tweets.
- The Bucks held a group workout this morning for Max Landis (IPFW), Carrington Love (UWGB), Tyrone Wallace (California), Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Derrick Jones (UNLV) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced. Milwaukee also held an individual workout this afternoon for Marquette big man Henry Ellenson, the team relayed in the same announcement.
2015/16 D-League Usage Reports
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors recapped the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign. Listed below are all the reports sorted by conference and division:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets*
- New York Knicks
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Toronto Raptors
Central Division
Southeast Division
- Atlanta Hawks
- Charlotte Hornets
- Miami Heat
- Orlando Magic
- Washington Wizards*
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
- Denver Nuggets*
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Utah Jazz
Pacific Division
Southwest Division
- Dallas Mavericks
- Houston Rockets
- Memphis Grizzlies
- New Orleans Pelicans*
- San Antonio Spurs
Note: Teams marked with an asterisk did not make any assignments to the D-League this season.
Western Notes: Stephenson, Felton, Murray
The Grizzlies have a tough decision to make regarding their 2016/17 team option worth $9,405,000 for Lance Stephenson, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal notes in his offseason look at the team’s shooting guards. While Stephenson’s cap hit would likely be a bargain in comparison to many of the contracts expected to be handed out this summer, Memphis may ultimately decide to decline the option and test the market before circling back to Stephenson if other avenues don’t work out, Herrington opines. The 25-year-old produced some solid numbers for the Grizzlies after being acquired from the Clippers during the season. In 26 appearances for Memphis, Stephenson notched averages of 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.6 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from out West:
- Unrestricted free agent point guard Raymond Felton noted that he would prefer to re-sign with the Mavericks this offseason, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (Twitter links). “Of course, this is where I want to be. I’d love to come back here, so hopefully we can make that happen,” Felton said. “It’s a process. … I’m out of it now. My agent and the organization, it’s their situation now.” Felton, 31, appeared in 80 games for Dallas this past season, averaging 9.5 points and 3.6 assists on 40.6% shooting.
- Former Washington combo guard Dejounte Murray worked out for the Suns on Friday, the team announced. The 19-year-old is currently projected as a second-rounder by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, who slots the scoring guard as the No. 32 overall prospect in the 2016 NBA Draft. Murray is a talented player with a high upside and I expect that he’ll ultimately be a mid-to-late first round pick, though that is merely my speculation.
- The Lakers held private workouts on Friday for forward Jaylen Brown (California) and big man Skal Labissière (Kentucky), Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles tweets.
Hoops Rumors Originals 6/5/16-6/11/16
Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- We looked at the offseasons ahead for the Heat, Raptors and Sixers.
- I ran down the 2015/16 D-League usage for the Kings, Spurs, Raptors and Jazz.
- We broke down the cap situations heading into the offseason for the Kings, Raptors, Bucks, Thunder, Bulls, Magic and Wizards.
- Zach Links highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- If you missed any of our daily reader-driven discussions, be sure to check out the Community Shootaround archives.
- As a part of our Community Mock Draft, we asked readers to vote on picks No. 13, No. 14, No. 15, No. 16, No 17, No. 18 and No. 19.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
- We reviewed our commenting policy. Play nice everyone.
- Here’s how you can follow specific players on Hoops Rumors.
Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 20)
The results of the 2016 NBA Draft lottery are in and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we are doing with a series of polls.
We are now 20 picks deep and have come to the Pacers. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Indiana’s pick and check back Sunday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Hawks will select with the No. 21 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 20 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.
Previous Selections
- Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
- Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
- Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
- Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
- Timberwolves — Buddy Hield (Oklahoma)
- Pelicans — Kris Dunn (Providence)
- Nuggets — Jamal Murray (Kentucky)
- Kings — Henry Ellenson (Marquette)
- Raptors — Marquese Chriss (Washington)
- Bucks — Jakob Poeltl (Utah)
- Magic — Skal Labissiere (Kentucky)
- Jazz — Denzel Valentine (Michigan State)
- Suns — Domantas Sabonis (Gonzaga)
- Bulls — Deyonta Davis (Michigan State)
- Nuggets — Timothe Luwawu (Mega Leks)
- Celtics — Thon Maker (Australia)
- Grizzlies — Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt)
- Pistons — Tyler Ulis (Kentucky)
- Nuggets — Furkan Korkmaz (Anadolu Efes)
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Week In Review 6/5/16-6/11/16
Here’s all the notable news and events from around the NBA this past week…
Miscellaneous News
- Raptors center Bismack Biyombo declined his $2.9MM option for next season and will become an unrestricted free agent.
- The Raptors agreed to a new three-year extension with head coach Dwane Casey.
- Jeremy Lin will opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
- Ex-NBA center and former Sixers assistant Sean Rooks passed away at the age of 46.
- The 76ers filled some vacancies on their coaching staff by promoting Kevin Young and John Bryant, a pair of coaches from their D-League affiliate.
- The Pelicans hired former Hawks general manager Danny Ferry in a special advisor role.
- Former NBA player Jason Maxiell inked a deal to play ball in the Philippines with Tropang TNT.
- Jazz combo guard Alec Burks underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to clean out debris in his left knee and ankle.
- Nets power forward Thomas Robinson intends to opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.
NBA Draft News
Workouts
- Josh Adams: Grizzlies, Nuggets and Suns.
- Terry Allen: Celtics.
- Ryan Anderson: Grizzlies.
- Zach Auguste: Celtics.
- Ron Baker: Jazz and Hawks.
- Cat Barber: Hornets and Pistons.
- DeAndre’ Bembry: Nuggets, Warriors and Clippers.
- Dragan Bender: Has workouts scheduled with the Celtics, Suns and Wolves.
- Ben Bentil: Magic, Hawks and Bulls.
- Gerry Blakes: Suns.
- Joel Bolomboy: Nuggets.
- Nathan Boothe: Hornets and Wizards.
- Malcolm Brogdon: Nuggets.
- Jaylen Brown: Suns.
- Robert Carter: Celtics.
- Kyle Collinsworth: Raptors and Jazz.
- Elgin Cook: Raptors and Nets.
- Isaia Cordinier: Celtics.
- Petr Cornelie: Grizzlies, Suns and Pistons.
- Matt Costello: Wolves.
- Isaiah Cousins: Magic, Clippers and Lakers.
- Quenton DeCosey: Magic.
- Cheick Diallo: Nuggets and Celtics.
- Kellen Dunham: Celtics.
- Perry Ellis: Celtics, Raptors, Bucks, Suns and Spurs.
- Henry Ellenson: Nuggets.
- A.J. English: Bulls, Magic and Raptors.
- Nick Faust: Celtics.
- Kay Felder: Nuggets, Lakers and Pistons.
- Dorian Finney-Smith: Wizards.
- Michael Gbinije: Jazz.
- Daniel Hamilton: Raptors.
- Juan Hernangomez: Celtics, Suns and Nuggets.
- Demetrius Jackson: Grizzlies and Nuggets.
- Julian Jacobs: Grizzlies and Jazz.
- Stefan Jankovic: Celtics.
- Brice Johnson: Nuggets.
- Damian Jones: Celtics.
- Roosevelt Jones: Celtics.
- Nikola Jovanovic: Jazz.
- Alpha Kaba: Suns, Jazz and Grizzlies.
- Skal Labissiere: Suns.
- Jake Layman: Raptors.
- Damion Lee: Jazz, Clippers, Celtics, Suns, Spurs, Wizards and Raptors.
- Shawn Long: Celtics.
- Thon Maker: Celtics, Pistons and Grizzlies.
- Patrick McCaw: Grizzlies.
- Hunter Mickelson: Celtics.
- Isaiah Miles: Hornets.
- Codi Miller-McIntyre: Jazz.
- Jamal Murray: Celtics.
- Abdel Nader: Grizzlies and Wizards.
- Mamadou Ndiaye: Suns.
- Retin Obasohan: Grizzlies.
- Chris Obekpa: Nuggets.
- Georgios Papagiannis: Suns, Bulls, Pistons and Celtics.
- Tanner Plomb: Celtics.
- Jakob Poeltl: Suns
- Taurean Prince: Nuggets.
- Tim Quarterman: Wizards.
- Malachi Richardson: Jazz, Nuggets and Suns.
- James Robinson: Jazz.
- Domantas Sabonis: Raptors and Celtics.
- Jordan Sakho: Jazz.
- Josh Scott: Jazz.
- Wayne Selden: Lakers, Rockets, Spurs and Bulls.
- Pascal Siakam: Celtics.
- Adam Smith: Celtics.
- Ryan Spangler: Wolves.
- Diamond Stone: Nuggets and Magic.
- Isaiah Taylor: Pistons.
- Mike Tobey: Wolves and Wizards.
- Dakarai Tucker: Jazz.
- Tyler Ulis: Grizzlies, Hornets and Nuggets.
- Jarrod Uthoff: Grizzlies and Celtics.
- Denzel Valentine: Jazz.
- David Walker: Wizards.
- Tyrone Wallace: Jazz.
- James Webb III: Raptors.
- Troy Williams: Celtics.
- Kyle Wiltjer: Jazz.
- Guerschon Yabusele: Nuggets and Raptors.
- Stephen Zimmerman: Pistons, Nuggets , Hornets and Raptors.
Draft Notes: Selden, Onuaku, Richardson
Here’s the latest happenings regarding the upcoming NBA Draft, which will be held on June 23rd in Brooklyn, New York:
- Former Kansas shooting guard Wayne Selden has worked out for the Lakers, Rockets, Spurs and Bulls in addition to previously reported sessions with the Knicks and Bucks, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (via Twitter).
- Former Louisville small forward Damion Lee has participated in workouts for the Clippers, Celtics, Suns, Spurs, Wizards, Jazz and Raptors, plus, he has upcoming visits scheduled with the Mavericks and Thunder, Kennedy tweets.
- The Grizzlies have workouts scheduled on Sunday with Ben Bentil (Providence), Isaiah Cousins (Oklahoma), Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Gary Payton II (Oregon State), Malachi Richardson (Syracuse) and Selden, the team announced via press release.
- Draft prospects Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville) and Joel James (North Carolina) have signed with Tandem Sports for representation, Kennedy reports (via Twitter).
- Former Manhattan power forward Jermaine Lawrence will work out for the Warriors on Saturday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
- The Jazz held workouts today for Julian Jacobs (USC), Payton, Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Dakarai Tucker (Utah), Alpha Kaba (France) and Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), the team announced.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Jazz
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors have been recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll finish up with the Utah Jazz, whose D-League affiliate is the Idaho Stampede:
The Jazz made five assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending one player to the D-League for a total of 79 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Utah for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 30th: Assigned Tibor Pleiss (1st) — Recalled December 16th
- January 28th: Assigned Tibor Pleiss (2nd) — Recalled February 3rd
- February 4th: Assigned Tibor Pleiss (3rd) — Recalled February 7th
- February 18th: Assigned Tibor Pleiss (4th) — Recalled January 22nd
- February 24th: Assigned Tibor Pleiss (5th) — Recalled April 3rd
Here’s how Utah’s player(s) performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Tibor Pleiss: In 28 appearances Pleiss averaged 12.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 31.5 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .583/.316/.877.
Southeast Notes: Barber, Posley, Cousins
Former NC State point guard Cat Barber would love to remain in the state of North Carolina and hopes the Hornets select him in this year’s NBA Draft, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer relays. “I know it a lot [about them]. I came to the last regular-season game,” Barber said. “I’d love to come in and play behind Kemba Walker.” Barber, 21, is a projected second-rounder, coming in at No. 55 overall according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. The point guard’s agent has told Barber he could go as high as No. 20 overall, Bonnell adds. Charlotte owns the 22nd pick, though there is no indication that the Hornets are currently considering selecting Barber at that slot.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Magic held workouts today for Diamond Stone (Maryland), Ben Bentil (Providence) and Quenton DeCosey (Temple), plus, the team will host Malachi Richardson (Syracuse) on Saturday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
- Former St. Bonaventure guard Marcus Posley has a workout scheduled for next week with the Wizards, Ian Begley of ESPN.com tweets. The 22-year-old is not currently projected to be drafted this year, with him not appearing among Givony’s top 100 prospects.
- Also working out for the Magic today was former Oklahoma point guard Isaiah Cousins, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (via Twitter).