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More Draft Rumors: Thursday

June 28th, 2012 at 9:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Our previous round-up of Thursday's draft rumors was getting a little unwieldy, so here's a new post for the evening's rumors. Even with the draft underway, the rumors continue to pour in, so we'll round up the latest updates right here. Here's the latest draft buzz, with the newest items up top:

After trading three picks for one to land Tyler Zeller, the Cavs are trying to trade back into the draft, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
The Grizzlies intend to keep Tony Wroten, the 25th overall pick, but are working on a trade, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Earlier updates:

The Mavericks shopped the No. 24 pick they acquired from Cleveland and were "very open" to moving it, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. However, Stein adds in a second tweet that the Mavs will draft Jared Cunningham for themselves with the pick.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com says he wouldn't be surprised if the Celtics packaged their picks to trade for Royce White, who the Rockets selected at No. 16 (Twitter link). According to Givony, Boston was "very worried" about another team drafting White.
The Celtics' interest in Austin Rivers was fueled more by GM Danny Ainge than Doc Rivers, says Chris Mannix of SI.com (via Twitter).
The Cavaliers are still "aggressively pursuing" a second lottery pick, tweets Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Warriors GM Bob Myers says his phone "almost blew up" with teams trying to trade up to No. 7 to draft Harrison Barnes, says Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle (Sulia link).
While Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was a surprise pick for the Bobcats at No. 2, multiple reporters, including David Aldridge of TNT and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com tweet that Charlotte isn't expected to trade MKG. However, Givony adds in a second tweet that that door isn't entirely closed.
Though they couldn't complete a trade with the Kings, the Rockets are still trying to get into the top 10, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.
Despite plenty of talks, the Bobcats and Cavaliers "never had anything close," tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
If Austin Rivers and Damian Lillard come off the board within the first nine picks, the Hornets are "strongly leaning" toward Meyers Leonard, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Cavs and Bobcats are still engaged in "deep discussions" involving the No. 2 pick, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
The Rockets are talking to the Bobcats and Kings and pushing hard to acquire a top-five pick, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
If the Cavs trade up to No. 2 to land Bradley Beal, the Wizards will likely decide between Harrison Barnes and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at No.3, with Barnes having the slight edge, tweets Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com.
Teams interested in Fab Melo may be looking to trade into the late teens, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
The Pistons may attempt to trade back into the end of the first round, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News. Detroit has its eye on a couple players that could slip.
Several teams believe that there is starting-caliber talent in the second round and are trying to buy second-rounders, tweets SI.com's Chris Mannix.
The Wizards (No. 3), Kings (No. 5), and Blazers (No. 6) all appear likely to stand pat, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
The Cavaliers are offering the Bobcats the 4th, 24th, and 33rd picks for Charlotte's 2nd and 31st picks, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Sulia link), the Bobcats still appear set on making Cleveland take a contract in the deal.
The Blazers are putting out "serious signs" that they might draft Dion Waiters over Damian Lillard at No. 6, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
The Rockets are showing interest in guards like Austin Rivers and Terrence Ross, along with centers like Andre Drummond and Meyers Leonard, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. Berman adds in a separate pair of tweets that the Rockets are also interested in high-upside players like Perry Jones III, and that Houston doctors don't believe Jones' health concerns are serious.
If the Bobcats can't find a trade partner who will take on Tyrus Thomas' contract, they may look to move Matt Carroll's deal instead, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
Speaking of the Bobcats, they've narrowed their five offers for the second overall pick to just two offers, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link via Marc Stein). The Rockets and Cavaliers are still in the mix for the No.2 pick.
The Cavs have also talked to the Warriors at No. 7 and the Rockets at No. 12 about trades involving Anderson Varejao, says Broussard (via Stein on Twitter).
Austin Rivers tops the Hornets' wish list for the 10th overall pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

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Draft Rumors: Thursday

June 28th, 2012 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

Well, we're here. After weeks of following draft rumors and speculating on which player will be picked by which team, we're just hours away from the 2012 draft. Before things get underway tonight though, we're sure to hear plenty more draft rumors, so be sure to follow this page for the latest updates throughout the day. And to fully immerse yourself in tonight's draft, you can also check out our most recent mock draft, the complete draft order, our Prospect Profiles series, and all the rest of our draft content. Here are today's updates, with the latest up top:

The Kings and Warriors will make decisions on whether to trade their picks while they're on the clock, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says (Twitter link).
It's highly unlikely the Grizzlies use the 25th pick on a point guard, the Memphis Commercial Appeal tweets.
The Grizzlies, Rockets and Celtics are all interested in Royce White, says Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). The Warriors may trade up from No. 30 to land him, Rothstein also tweets.
The Bobcats are "getting closer" to trading the No. 2 pick, tweets ESPN.com's Andy Katz (hat tip to Tom Ziller of SBNation).

Earlier updates:

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer tweets the Rockets aren't as close to a deal with the Kings for the fifth pick as an earlier report suggested (see below). Sam Amick of SI.com agrees, as has the Kings taking Harrison Barnes at No. 5 in his latest mock.
The Warriors will likely keep the No. 7 pick after talks with the Rockets broke down, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, via Twitter.
Part of the reason the Celtics are trying to move up into the lottery is because they'd like to draft Austin Rivers, son of coach Doc Rivers, Sam Amick of SI.com reports (Sulia link). Chad Ford and Marc Stein of ESPN.com say the team is pessimistic about its chances to get Rivers (Twitter link).
If the Warriors trade down to No. 12 or lower, the team would consider Moe Harkless, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
Thomas Robinson appears to be the preferred target of the Kings, who will wait as long as possible to decide whether to trade the No. 5 pick, Marc Stein and Chad Ford of ESPN.com report. If they do trade it, the Rockets are "in position" to acquire that pick, the report says. Stein and Ford suggest that means the Kings are in line to get even more thanKyle Lowry and a package of first-rounders if the deal is done.
Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group hears the Warriors will take Dion Waiters at No. 7 if he's there.
Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer passes on the latest on the Cavs' interest in Waiters and more from around the draft.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) and Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com have updated their mock drafts, both of which cover all 60 picks.
The Warriors are leaning away from Andre Drummond, writes Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.
The Blazers appear to be holding on to the sixth and 11th picks for now, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is in the process of selling the team, and he would also like to trade the team's first-round pick, at No. 25, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal's Twitter account. The team's execs, however, like Royce White and John Jenkins.
There is a "growing expectation" the Bobcats will swap the No. 2 pick, Chris Mannix of SI.com tweets.
Teams drafting before pick No. 20 have little interest in Jared Sullinger, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Sullinger is "falling like a rock," says Mannix (Twitter link).
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee looks at what the Kings can do to upgrade at small forward through the draft, and speculates via Twitter that the team could trade down to draft a player at another position and re-sign Terrence Williams.
The Cavs are actively pursuing another lottery pick, says Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Sulia link). Discussions with the Warriors for No. 7 have stalled, but the No. 12 pick, held by the Rockets, is in play. Lloyd speculates it will be tough to trade for a pick that high without including Anderson Varejao in the deal.
Jared Sullinger's stock was slipping even before word came out about the medical red flag on his back, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the league's recent small ball trend doesn't mean prospects like Fab Melo and Festus Ezeli won't be highly valued.
The Nets could bundle Johan Petro and $3MM in cash to try to acquire a second-round pick and clear cap space, according to NetsDaily.com via Twitter.
Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune tweets that the Blazers are eyeing Damian Lillard and Dion Waiters with the No. 6 pick, with a "hard lean" toward Lillard. Smith also says the Jazz still have hopes of moving into the lottery, and may be targeting a "draft-and-stash" international player in the second round (Sulia link).
Chad Ford of ESPN.com unveils the site's final top 100 ranking before the draft (Insider only).
Vin Parise of NBC Sports is hearing that the Bulls intend to draft Tyshawn Taylor at No. 29 (Twitter link).
Besides liking Thomas Robinson at No. 5, the Kings are also high on Harrison Barnes,tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Sam Amick shares a number of draft tidbits in his latest piece for SI.com, including items onJared Sullinger, the Kings, and the Rockets.
According to ESPN's Chad Ford, the Cavaliers have narrowed their choices at No. 4 toBradley Beal, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Harrison Barnes. While the team has interest in Dion Waiters (as linked below), that interest doesn't extend to the fourth overall pick, says Ford.
As for the Cavs' second-round picks, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports says the team has "strong interest" in Turkish forward Furkan Aldemir (Twitter link). Aldemir doesn't have an NBA out clause until 2014.
Temple center Michael Eric is drawing interest from teams in the second round, including the Warriors, Sixers, and Nuggets, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
The Kings won't decide whether or not to trade the No. 5 pick until they see who is available, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears, the Kings loveThomas Robinson, so if he slips past the first four picks, Sacramento is unlikely to trade down.
While Evan Fournier has long been considered the only international player that will go in the first round, interest in Greek forward Kostas Papanikolaou is intensifying. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Heat and Thunder are considering Papanikolaou with their late-first-round picks, and Al Iannazzone of Newsday says theKnicks could try to acquire another pick to draft him.
Wojnarowski's piece also includes a few other updates, including the Bucks seriously considering Terrence Jones at No. 14, and Andrew Nicholson drawing interest from the Rockets and Nuggets.
Perry Jones III may have a knee issue that's causing his slide down draft boards, reportsESPN.com's Chad Ford.
The Bobcats have five "legit offers" for the second overall pick that they're considering, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
Rumblings that the Cavaliers are seriously considering Dion Waiters at No. 4 continue to gain momentum. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the Cavs are losing interest in dealing with the Bobcats if taking Tyrus Thomas is a requirement in any trade, and are leaning toward Waiters if Bradley Beal and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are off the board at No. 4.
According to Wojnarowski, the Raptors are also looking into trading up for Waiters, and there's plenty of members of the Warriors' front office that like him a lot too.
The Grizzlies have talked to a number of teams about trading the No. 25 pick, according toRonald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. However, Tillery tweets that there's a major internal push for Memphis to select John Jenkins or Royce White.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Insider link) has released version 10.0 of his 2012 mock draft. Ford also heard from Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who explained to the ESPN.com draft expert why he shouldn't be down on Austin Rivers.
In a pair of tweets, Ford reports that the Pistons conducted a last-minute workout withAndre Drummond and that Detroit would likely take the big man if he slips to them at No. 9.
Marc Berman of the New York Post has the details on the players the Knicks are eyeing with their second-round pick.

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Jason Maxiell To Remain With Detroit

June 27th, 2012 at 6:47pm CST by Alex Lee

Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News tweets that Jason Maxiell has decided not to opt out of the final year of his contract, locking him into a $5MM salary in Detroit next year. Last we heard from Maxiell, the Pistons big man and his agent were considering testing free agency.

Maxiell has been limited in his effectiveness over seven seasons on the Detroit bench and probably assumed that leaving $5MM on the table would not be very prudent. He signed a four-year, $20MM extension with the Pistons that took effect in the 2008/09 season. Maxiell will hit free agency after next season.

Odds & Ends: Nets, Humphries, Hawks, Olympics

June 27th, 2012 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Already this offseason, international outlets have linked the Nets to contract agreements with Andrei Kirilenko and Mirza Teletovic, among others, but GM Billy King cautioned today not to believe everything you read.

"If you go back to summer, we've had a lot of guys that agreed to deals here, and if we'd agreed to all those deals, we wouldn't have room to sign them all," King explained, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. "So I think a lot of information gets fed out there, especially international where they just say it. And a lot of times they're doing it because they're negotiating, trying to get a player to Team A in Barcelona, so they want to get out there: 'This guy's going. You want to sign with us;' 'Hey, he's leaving, so you've got to sign here.'"

As we prepare to sift through the free agent rumor mill over the next few weeks, let's round up a few Wednesday afternoon odds and ends from around the league:

Draft Rumors: Tuesday

June 26th, 2012 at 10:32pm CST by Luke Adams

With two days remaining until the 2012 draft, we've seen a first-round pick change hands for the first time this offseason, as the Timberwolves agreed to send the 18th overall pick to Houston in exchange for Chase Budinger and the rights to Lior Eliyahu. The general consensus is that the move is the precursor to a bigger deal for the Rockets, and Houston isn't the only team rumored to be shopping picks. Here are today's draft-related rumors, with the newest updates added to the top of the page throughout the day….

Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweeted that the Bucks are looking to move into the top 10, and are supposedly targeting John Henson.
Kennedy says that the Rockets are still trying to acquire another first round pick, most recently in discussions with the Hornets about the 10th pick before talks broke down (Twitter link). He also tweeted that the Lakers and Nets are both looking to acquire a first rounder.

Earlier updates:

The Bulls are looking to add perimeter help in the form of a combo guard and shooter, says K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune. John Jenkins, Will Barton, and Tony Wroten are possible targets.
Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel believes that the Bucks need to start adding talent instead of looking to add more veterans. Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel says that the team could consider taking a guard with their pick.
Michael Lee of the Washington Post documented Jay Bilas' thoughts on Harrison Barnes, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Bradley Beal. He believes that Beal is the second best prospect of this draft, discusses Barnes' outstanding athleticism, and marvels at Kidd-Gilchrist's versatility and ability to guard multiple positions.
Doug Smith of The Star explores the many different directions in which the Raptors could go on draft night, even hearing that GM Bryan Colangelo remains undecided on what he wants to do.
Keith Langlois of Pistons.com views the second round as a chance to find perimeter depth and highlights the team's possible targets with their 39th and 44th picks. Among those mentioned are Darius Miller, Kevin Murphy, Kim English, Jae Crowder, Will Barton, and Jared Cunningham.
Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area examines the draft's shooting guard options for the Warriors.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists the 10 biggest questions heading into draft night (Insiders only).
Morley Quatroche of WEEI.com takes a look at J'Covan Brown as a possible second round target for the Celtics.
Michael Cunningham of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution profiled Jefferey Taylor and the impact that the three-time SEC All-Defensive team selection wants to make in the league.
Jonathan Abrams of Grantland provides an outside-the-lines perspective of Royce White and the first-round hopeful's battle with anxiety disorder.
Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune produced a mock draft of his own, focusing solely on the top-14.
Sean Meagher of Oregon Live performed a link roundup of Damian Lillard, who appears to be a realistic target for the Trail Blazers on draft night.
Jay Bilas projects Fab Melo as the 30th best available player in the draft (Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel provided a Sulia link). While he sees the 7-foot center as a good rebounder and improved shot blocker, Bilas thinks that Melo's less-than-ideal mobility was offset by playing zone defense at Syracuse and could struggle guarding the pick and roll at the NBA level.
76ers GM Rod Thorn feels content with having the 15th pick and doesn't see a situation where he tries to move up (Dei Lynam of CSN Philly reports). Thorn would like to add an athletic big man and believes he will have about two or three of his targets available by the time Philadelphia is on the clock. It should be no surprise that he mentioned Jared Sullinger as one of those targets (Tom Moore of Philly Blurbs tweets).
Tim Kawakami of Mercury News tweeted that the Warriors have not made any definitive judgments after the meetings/workouts with Andre Drummond and Harrison Barnes. In another tweet, Kawakami added that Golden State could consider trading down depending on who gets drafted ahead of their slot.
In his latest mock draft for Yahoo! Sports, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com shares a number of tidbits. Among them: He's hearing that the Cavaliers are more likely to takeMichael Kidd-Gilchrist than Harrison Barnes if Bradley Beal is off the board at No. 4.
Warriors GM Bob Myers and owner Joe Lacob flew to New York to watch Harrison Barnes and Andre Drummond in private workouts on Monday, according to Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com.
A pair of sources who witnessed Damian Lillard's individual workouts for the Blazers earlier this month raved to Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com about the point guard's performance. Lillard is a strong candidate for Portland's No. 6 pick.
SI.com's Seth Davis has a ton of interesting quotes from scouts and executives on this year's top prospects, while Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld spoke to execs who believe the best values in the draft could be found in the picks in the teens.
The Warriors don't appear to have the assets to move up and may simply opt to take the best player available at No. 7, says Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. Damian Lillard and Dion Waiters are top contenders for the Warriors' pick.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post thinks the Nets will draft a European player to stash overseas with their No. 57 pick.
A swap involving the Bobcats' No. 2 pick and the Cavs' No. 4 pick could have enough momentum to get done, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com in a piece that includes a handful of other draft tidbits.
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times wonders whether the Bucks will consider drafting Fab Melo if Meyers Leonard and Tyler Zeller are off the board at No. 12.
Draymond Green is working out for the Pacers for a second time today and is a candidate to be picked at No. 26, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. However, another player working out for Indiana today, Will Barton, figures to be the team's pick if he's still on the board at 26, says Sean Deveney of the Sporting News (Twitter link).
ESPN The Magazine (Insider link) has released its annual players-only mock draft, in which a player representative from each team plays GM and makes his team's picks. Somewhat bizarrely, the players let Bradley Beal slip to J.J. Redick and the Magic at No. 19.
Washington guard Tony Wroten is drawing interest from a pair of teams with picks in the 20s. Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal says Wroten has piqued the Grizzlies' interest, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com says the Hawks have become "enamored" of Wroten.
Within the same mock draft, Ford says the Hornets offered the Rockets the No. 10 pick for Nos. 14 and 16 last week, but that Houston turned them down.
The Warriors' No. 7 pick could be in play for the Rockets as they look to line up a big offer for Dwight Howard, tweets Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News.
It appears unlikely the Raptors will trade the eighth overall pick, according to Eric Koreen of the National Post.
76ers president Rod Thorn doesn't expect the team to trade up from No. 15, tweets Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com.
The Suns' interest in Arnett Moultrie is intensifying, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
There's a decent chance that the Kings will draft a player that didn't work out for the team, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.

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Bobcats, Pistons Swap Maggette For Ben Gordon

June 26th, 2012 at 7:08pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports tweeted that the Bobcats have acquired Ben Gordon and a lottery-protected first round pick from the Pistons in exchange for Corey Maggette. According to a tweet by David Aldridge of NBA.com, the conditional first-round pick will be lottery protected in 2013, top-eight protected in 2014, first pick-protected in 2015, and unprotected in 2016. Detroit will also receive a trade exception of about $1.3MM in the deal.

Wojnarowski also mentioned (via Twitter) that Detroit will save nearly $15MM by trading the remaining two years of Gordon's contract in exchange for Maggette's expiring deal. Gordon is due $12.4MM next season with a $13.2MM player option for 2013-14, while Maggette will be in the final year of a contract where he is due about $10.9MM.

Viewed as one of Joe Dumars' significant free agent acquisitions during the 2009 off-season, Ben struggled to find the same niche that he established in Chicago. After making the playoffs in four of his first five seasons with the Bulls and averaging more than 31.0 MPG from 2005-06 to 2008-09, the former UConn Husky missed the playoffs in each of his three seasons with the Pistons and never averaged more than 28 MPG.

While Charlotte may not be a team ready to contend for the playoffs just yet, it could present an opportunity for a significant increase in playing time. Gordon averaged 12.5 PPG while shooting 44.2% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range last year, and holds career averages of 43.6% shooting from the field and 40.6% shooting from three. Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap recently spoke about the team's need for shooters, which should bode well for Gordon:

"The ability to make the 3(-pointer) is really important because it allows you to play inside. What happens (in the absence of quality shooting) is the defense collapses and it gets crowded in there…It's always nice to have guys who can shoot a basketball."

Detroit will be Maggette's sixth NBA team in thirteen seasons, and his third consecutive year in which he's been traded. The 32-year-old guard/forward averaged 15.0 PPG, 4 RPG, and 36.4% from beyond the arc, but shot just 37% from the field overall this past season and missed a significant amount of games due to lingering injuries. Although he is slated to undergo minor knee surgery this summer, there is little doubt that he will be ready to play by the start of next season.

With nearly $11MM coming off the books next summer, the Pistons also have the opportunity to clear an additional $8.5MM if they chose to amnesty a contract such as Charlie Villanueva's, who is owed a total of about $16.6MM through 2014. The Bobcats can definitely afford to take on Gordon's deal, as he and Tyrus Thomas (along with at least this year's lottery pick) would be the team's only guaranteed contracts heading into the 2013-14 season.

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Draft Updates: Monday

June 25th, 2012 at 6:51pm CST by Luke Adams

A number of the rumors we've already covered today involve the draft in some way, whether it's the Rockets looking to acquire top-10 picks to flip for Dwight Howard, or the Bulls' disinterest in trading Luol Deng for a package that includes the Warriors' No. 7 pick. But there are still so many draft-related odds and ends out there that we'll continue to publish daily Draft Updates posts this week, for the latest news on workouts and rumors about what teams are thinking. Here are today's items, with the newest additions added to the top of the page throughout the day….

New Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap thinks trading the team's No. 2 pick to strengthen its roster with multiple players makes sense, according to an Associated Press report (via ESPN.com).
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle says Rockets head coach Kevin McHale is pleased with the depth of talent available in the draft but would like to add another veteran to his current roster.

Earlier updates:

It sounds like John Henson was the standout of the Pistons' workout today, which included Meyers Leonard, Tyler Zeller, Jared Sullinger, Perry Jones III, and Terrence Jones, says Chad Ford of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com publishes his latest mock draft, which includes both rounds, and has a separate piece up on potential under-the-radar prospects.
Although earlier today he heard from one general manager (linked below) who was bearish on Jared Sullinger, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio talks to another GM who says Sullinger's slide has been greatly exaggerated (Twitter link). "Sullinger will lead all rookies in rebounding," one GM told Amico. "So yeah, please, let him drop to us" (Twitter link).
In a pair of tweets, the Timberwolves announced the participants in their Tuesday workout, which will include Fab Melo.
Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv hears from a source close to Moe Harkless that he thinks the Trail Blazers will select Harkless at No. 11.
Speaking to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, Raptors executive Ed Stefanski expressed excitement about last year's fifth overall pick Jonas Valanciunas. Stefanski also conceded that the Raps could take more of a long-term project at No. 8 this year if they so choose, since the team will essentially be adding two lottery picks.
If Jared Sullinger somehow fell to No. 29, he'd be a terrific fit for the Bulls, says ESPN.com's David Thorpe (Insider link).
Meyers Leonard will work out for the Sixers tomorrow, the team announced in a press release.
A GM drafting in the 20s said he probably wouldn't take Jared Sullinger if he were available, tweets Sam Amico. Amico also published his third of four mock drafts today at FOX Sports Ohio.
Today's Trail Blazers workout is headlined by Jeremy Lamb, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com tweets.
In the "Nobody Asked Me, But…" section of his weekly column for NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge runs through the top 15 picks of the draft and passes along what he's hearing. There's a lot of good info in the piece, which is worth checking out, but here's one highlight: The Cavs are dangling Anderson Varejao and the No. 24 pick in an attempt to land a second top-five pick, but the Bobcats, Wizards, and Kings don't appear to have any interest.
Version 9.0 of Chad Ford's mock draft is up at ESPN.com, and it includes both the first and second rounds (Insider-only links).
Within a column at Bulls.com, Sam Smith writes of "suspicion around the league" that reports of Jared Sullinger's medical issues were pushed by a team in the mid-first-round, in hopes that Sullinger would slip. For what it's worth, ESPN's Andy Katz reports that the league didn't invite Sullinger to the Green Room for the draft, based on rumblings that he won't go in the top 15 (Twitter link).
Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld examines which members of this year's draft class, besides Anthony Davis, have the potential to be franchise players.
The Sixers are still deciding whether they want to draft a big man or a shooter like Terrence Ross, writes Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News.
The official sites for the Bucks and Raptors list the prospects working out for the two teams today. Most are second-round candidates.

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Front Office Notes: Magic, Pistons, Thunder, Spurs

June 25th, 2012 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

As we noted earlier today, Magic general manager Rob Hennigan made his first hire, bringing aboard Pistons executive Scott Perry to replace Dave Twardzik as the team's assistant GM. Hennigan also parted ways with Adonal Foyle, which ESPN.com's John Hollinger suggests (via Twitter) is the clearest indication that Hennigan has total control in Orlando. The Magic were rumored to be grooming Foyle for the GM job down the road, but Hennigan appears to be clearing house and bringing his own people aboard. In Detroit, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio, changes are also afoot, so let's check out the details….

Latest On Clippers GM Search

June 23rd, 2012 at 1:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

While the Magic hired Rob Hennigan as their new GM this week, it appears the Clippers will head into the draft without someone to replace Neil Olshey, who jumped to fill the Blazers GM vacancy earlier this month. Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times says no hire is imminent and no candidate has gone before owner Donald Sterling. Team president Andy Roeser, coach Vinny Del Negro and director of player personnel Gary Sacks are jointly handling the draft and free agency until a GM is found. Roeser and Del Negro have had discussions about possible candidates, and Sacks is one of many names the Clippers are considering, according to three league executives who spoke with Turner. Let's break down the rest of the list:

Ford On Pistons, Bucks, Lamb, White, Rockets

June 22nd, 2012 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

We've already linked one Friday piece from ESPN.com's Chad Ford in our daily Draft Updates post, but Ford is back with another Insider-only column full of draft news and rumors. Here are his newest items on the Pistons, Bucks, Rockets, and more….