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Scotto’s Latest: Jerome, Caporn, Suns, NBAGL Elite Camp, Pelicans

May 6th, 2025 at 1:55pm CST by Luke Adams

Good health and the opportunity to play for newly minted Coach of the Year Kenny Atkinson were the key factors that fueled Ty Jerome‘s breakout 2024/25 season, the Cavaliers guard recently told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

“Kenny empowers me to be aggressive every time I step on the court and to play my game,” Jerome said. “I’ve got the ultimate green light. He trusts his guards to be yourself with unlimited confidence. When good players are playing with confidence, good stuff usually happens.”

After finishing third in Sixth Man of the Year voting, Jerome appears poised for a nice raise in free agency, but it remains to be seen whether the Cavaliers will be in position to give him that raise. Cleveland’s team salary is on the rise, with the club projected to operate well into second-apron territory even before accounting for a new deal for Jerome.

According to Scotto, that has rival executives wondering whether Jerome will leave Cleveland in free agency or whether the team might make a cost-cutting move elsewhere in order to bring back the standout reserve. For his part, the 27-year-old guard would prefer to stay where he is.

“I think I have an amazing situation here with a coaching staff that empowers me and a team that empowers me,” Jerome told Scotto. “… Everyone wants to see each other succeed and empower everyone. That’s really rare. When you have that in the NBA, you don’t want to take it for granted. Yes, people want to get paid for sure, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but when you have that, you don’t want to take it for granted.”

Here are a few more highlights from Scotto’s latest NBA rumor round-up:

  • Scotto adds Wizards assistant Adam Caporn to the list of head coaching candidates expected to receive consideration from the Suns as they seek a replacement for Mike Budenholzer. Caporn, who previously worked in Brooklyn as a G League head coach and NBA assistant, is also the new coach of Australia’s national team.
  • Real Madrid big man Eli Ndiaye has declined an opportunity to take part in the NBA’s G League Elite Camp this weekend, according to Scotto, who says Iowa wing Payton Sandfort and Kentucky guard Lamont Butler are among the prospects not included on the initial list of invitees who have since received and accepted invitations. Real Madrid’s season in the Spanish League isn’t yet over, which is likely why Ndiaye is passing on his invite.
  • According to Scotto, the Pelicans are hiring Jason Hervey, who previously worked under Joe Dumars in Detroit as a video coordinator and director of player development. Scotto doesn’t provide specifics on Hervey’s new position in New Orleans, but notes that he has worked as an advance scout, a personnel scout, and a quality control coach for various NBA organizations since leaving the Pistons.
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44 Prospects Invited To G League Elite Camp

May 5th, 2025 at 7:19am CST by Luke Adams

A total of 44 college and international prospects have been invited to the 2025 G League Elite Camp, aka the G League Combine, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

The list of invitees, as reported by Scotto, is as follows:

  1. Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Providence)
  2. Brooks Barnhizer (Northwestern)
  3. Tamar Bates (Missouri)
  4. Nathan Bittle (Oregon)
  5. Dylan Cardwell (Auburn)
  6. Rueben Chinyelu (Florida)
  7. Thierry Darlan (Delaware Blue Coats – G League)
  8. Johnell Davis (Arkansas)
  9. Jyare Davis (Syracuse)
  10. RJ Davis (UNC)
  11. Dawson Garcia (Minnesota)
  12. Keshon Gilbert (Iowa State)
  13. Caleb Grill (Missouri)
  14. Chucky Hepburn (Louisville)
  15. Chase Hunter (Clemson)
  16. Kobe Johnson (UCLA)
  17. Curtis Jones (Iowa State)
  18. Arthur Kaluma (Texas)
  19. Miles Kelly (Auburn)
  20. Viktor Lakhin (Clemson)
  21. Malique Lewis (South East Melbourne – Australia)
  22. Caleb Love (Arizona)
  23. Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh)
  24. Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee)
  25. Chance McMillian (Texas Tech)
  26. Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana)
  27. Igor Milicic Jr. (Tennessee)
  28. Jacksen Moni (North Dakota State)
  29. Eli Ndiaye (Real Madrid – Spain)
  30. Ryan Nembhard (Gonzaga)
  31. Yanic Konan Niederhauser (Penn State)
  32. Isaac Nogues (Rip City Remix – G League)
  33. Lachlan Olbrich (Illawarra – Australia)
  34. Sean Pedulla (Ole Miss)
  35. Jonathan Pierre (Belmont)
  36. Jaron Pierre Jr. (Jacksonville State)
  37. Will Richard (Florida)
  38. Kadary Richmond (St. John’s)
  39. Joson Sanon (Arizona State)
  40. Nate Santos (Dayton)
  41. Brandon Stroud (South Florida)
  42. Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M)
  43. Amari Williams (Kentucky)
  44. Chris Youngblood (Alabama)

These prospects will meet with NBA evaluators and scrimmage for two days in Chicago starting on May 9, ahead of the league’s annual draft combine. A small group of standout players from this event are generally invited to stay in Chicago for the full-fledged combine that takes place immediately following the G League Elite Camp. Typically, at least a half-dozen players move on.

While the May 11-18 combine focuses on the top-ranked players in each draft class, the G League Elite Camp offers opportunity to prospects further down boards who are more likely to go undrafted.

None of the 44 players invited to the G League Elite Camp show up in the top 50 of ESPN’s list of this year’s top prospects. Williams (No. 58) and Lewis (No. 59) are the top-ranked prospects for the event, per ESPN.

The G League Elite Camp will give invitees who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 28. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.

Jose Alvarado, Terance Mann, and Jaylen Martin are among the current NBA players who once took part in the G League Elite Camp. Last year’s list of invitees was highlighted by Jaylen Wells, though he ultimately received a combine invite before either event tipped off.

Keion Brooks, Isaiah Crawford, Yongxi Cui, Enrique Freeman, Emanuel Miller, Nae’Qwan Tomlin, and Anton Watson were among the other 2024 participants who signed two-way contracts with NBA teams this past year, while Isaac Jones finished the 2024/25 season on a standard contract in Sacramento.

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NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2025 Draft

April 29th, 2025 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2025 NBA draft, announcing in a press release (Twitter link) that 106 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 73 are from colleges, 30 had been playing for teams internationally, and three were playing non-college ball stateside (in the G League).

While that early entrant total exceeds the number of players who will be selected in this year’s draft (59), it’s down significantly from the figures we’ve seen in recent years. A record 353 early entrants initially declared for the draft in 2021, but that number dropped to 283 in 2022, 242 in 2023, and 201 a year ago.

The NCAA’s NIL policy, which allows college athletes to be paid based on their name, image, and likeness, has been a major factor in that downward trend — fewer prospects feel the need to go pro as soon as possible when they’re earning big money at the college level.

The huge dip this year can also be attributed in large part to the fact that most college seniors are now automatically draft-eligible. In recent years, most fourth-year seniors faced an “early entrant” decision because they were granted an extra year of NCAA eligibility due to COVID-19 and didn’t have the 2020/21 season count toward their typical limit.

This year’s total of 106 early entrants figures to decline significantly by May 28 and again by June 15, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. The leftover early entrants will join the college seniors with no remaining eligibility and other automatically eligible players in this year’s draft pool.

Our tracker of early entrants for the 2025 draft is fully up to date and can be found right here.

Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:

Newly added players

College players:

These players either didn’t publicly announce that they were entering the draft or we simply missed it when they did.

International players:

These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.

Players removed

Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.

That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have had no NCAA eligibility remaining, making them automatically draft-eligible; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.

Because they’re absent from the NBA’s official list, we’ve removed the following names from our own early entrant list.

Note: Some of these players may also be transferring to new schools.

According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link), two-time national champion Alex Karaban of UConn also initially filed paperwork to test the draft waters, but withdrew from the pool before the NBA put out today’s early entrant list. He’ll return to the Huskies for his senior season.

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Draft Notes: Jelavic, Lewis, De Ridder, Ndiaye, Darlan, Cui, Green Room Invites

June 16th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Croatian big man Andrija Jelavic is withdrawing from the draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets. He had been considered a fringe second-round prospect, ranked No. 77 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.

A trio of other international prospects — Timotej Malovec, Luka Bogavac and Bogoljub Markovic — are also pulling their names from draft consideration. The deadline for international prospects to withdraw came on Sunday afternoon.

We have more draft-related news:

  • Trinidad and Tobago wing Malique Lewis, ranked No. 76 by ESPN, has also decided to pass on the draft, Givony tweets.
  • Forward Thijs De Ridder will withdraw from the draft, Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress.com tweets. He’ll look to build upon a strong ACB and FIBA Europe Cup season with Bilbao Basket and will be automatically eligible for next year’s draft.
  • Senegalese big man Eli Ndiaye and Central African Republic guard Thierry Darlan (G League Ignite) are also pulling out of the draft, according to Givony (Twitter links). Darlan was ranked N0.  84 overall by ESPN.
  • Chinese wing Yongxi Cui kept his name in the draft, Chepkevich tweets. Cui participated in the G League Elite Camp.
  • There have been 21 green room invitations extended to first-round prospects thus far. There will be four more green room invites made this week, according to Givony (Twitter link). The only player to decline an invitation is two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey, who will watch from Purdue with family, friends and coaches.
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Draft Notes: G League Elite Camp, Carrington, Edwards, George

May 8th, 2024 at 9:08am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced the list of invitees for its 2024 G League Elite Camp, which will take place this weekend in Chicago. The 45-player list is made up of some of the top prospects who didn’t earn invites to next week’s draft combine, though the standout performers at the Elite Camp will be invited to stick around for the combine.

There are a few differences between the final list of participants and the initial 44-player list of invitees. After previously reporting that Johnell Davis had turned down his invitation while Jaylen Wells had been upgraded to a combine invite, Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets that three more players from the original list won’t take part: Spanish big man Eli Ndiaye, former Wisconsin wing AJ Storr, and Arizona guard KJ Lewis.

Ndiaye’s season with Real Madrid is still in progress, which explains his absence. Storr appears to be focused on transferring to Kansas, while Givony speculates that Lewis may also end up withdrawing from the draft to return to Arizona.

With those five players not attending the Elite Camp, the NBA invited six more prospects to round out the 45-player field. Those final six invitees are USC guard Boogie Ellis, Alabama guard Aaron Estrada, Florida guard Zyon Pullin, North Florida guard Chaz Lanier, New Mexico guard Jaelen House, and Cairns Taipans (Australia) guard Taran Armstrong.

Here’s more on the 2024 NBA draft:

  • In a story for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto looked at several prospects whose stock appears to be on the rise ahead of the combine, starting with Pittsburgh’s Carlton Carrington, who jumped 25 spots to No. 27 in HoopsHype’s latest aggregate mock draft. A number of NBA executives who spoke to Scotto believe Carrington could be selected in the 15-30 range. “I think he can handle the ball and has good size,” one exec said. “I don’t know if he can guard anybody on our level at his position. He didn’t showcase an ability to create shots for himself. He did a good job of passing the ball.”
  • Kentucky’s Justin Edwards, who entered last season with lottery upside, saw his stock drop over the course of an up-and-down freshman season, but it has bounced back as of late, according to Scotto, who notes that Edwards is now widely viewed as a borderline first-round pick. “Edwards is a little older for a freshman (20) and isn’t the most in-shape guy,” one scout told Scotto. “There’s a Shabazz Muhammad comparison with Edwards that some people may not want to hear. When he’s on, there’s a Rodney Hood comparison to be made. He’s fine. I think you can win basketball games with him as a role player.”
  • DaRon Holmes II (Dayton), Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest), Tristan Da Silva (Colorado), Trey Alexander (Creighton), and Kyshawn George (Miami) are among several other prospects identified by Scotto as trending up. “I think Kyshawn is pretty good,” a veteran scout told HoopsHype. “He’s young and skilled. He’s big at 6-foot-8, can shoot, and can handle it. He’s going to need some years, but you’d invest in him. I’d pick him higher than a lot of other guys because of his age. He’s impressed me.”
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NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2024 Draft

April 30th, 2024 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2024 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 195 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 138 are from colleges, 43 had been playing for teams internationally, and 14 were playing non-college ball stateside (ie. the G League or Overtime Elite).

While that early entrant total obviously far exceeds the number of players who will be selected in this year’s draft (58), it’s down significantly from the figures we’ve seen in recent years. A record 353 early entrants initially declared for the draft in 2021, but that number dropped to 283 in 2022 and 242 a year ago. The NCAA’s NIL policy, which allows college athletes to be paid based on their name, image, and likeness, has presumably been a major factor in that trend.

This year’s total of 195 early entrants figures to decline significantly by May 29 and again by June 16, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it’s still likely that the eventual number of early entrants will exceed 58 players. That group will join the college seniors with no remaining eligibility and other automatically eligible players in this year’s draft pool.

Our tracker of early entrants for the 2024 draft is fully up to date and can be found right here.

Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:

Newly added players

College players:

These players either didn’t publicly announce that they were entering the draft or we simply missed it when they did.

International players:

These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.

Other players:

  • Abdullah Ahmed, C, Westchester Knicks (born 2003)
  • Somto Cyril, C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
  • Reynan Dos Santos, G, Overtime Elite (born 2004)
  • Djordjije Jovanovic, F, Ontario Clippers (born 2003)
  • Jalen Lewis, F/C, Overtime Elite (born 2005)
  • Malique Lewis, F, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2004)
  • Babacar Sane, F, G League Ignite (born 2003)

Players removed

Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.

That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have had no NCAA eligibility remaining, making them automatically draft-eligible; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.

It seems that last possibility is a real one, as Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets that a “miscommunication or mishap’ at the league office may result in a dozen or more additional names being added to the NBA’s early entrant list.

We’ve still removed the following names from our early entrant list for the time being, but it sounds like some could be re-added soon.

Note: Some of these players may also be transferring to new schools.

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NBA Announces Initial Early Entrant List For 2023 Draft

April 26th, 2023 at 10:55am CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has officially released the initial list of early entrants for the 2023 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 242 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 192 are from colleges, two played in the NBA G League, and 48 are international early entrants.

Those are big numbers, but they fall well short of the 353 early entrants who initially declared for the draft in 2021 and the 283 who entered last year. Beginning in 2021, the NCAA granted players an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in seniors having to decide between staying at college for one more season or declaring for the draft as an “early” entrant.

This year’s total of 242 early entrants figures to shrink significantly by May 31 and again by June 12, the two deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like the pool will remain extremely crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants certain to exceed 58, the number of picks in the draft.

Our tracker of early entrants for the 2023 draft is fully up to date and can be found right here.

Here are the changes we made to our tracker today:

Newly added players:

College players:

These players either didn’t publicly announce that they were entering the draft or we simply missed it when they did.

International players:

These players weren’t previously mentioned on our list of international early entrants. The country listed here indicates where they last played, not necessarily where they were born.

  • Miguel Allen, F, Spain (born 2003)
  • Idrissa Ba, C, France (born 2002)
  • Elian Benitez, G, France (born 2003)
  • William Beugre-Kassi, G/F, France (born 2004)
  • Sasa Ciani, F, Croatia (born 2003)
  • Ege Demir, F/C, Turkey (born 2004)
  • Thijs De Ridder, F, Belgium (born 2003)
  • Nikola Djurisic, G/F, Serbia (born 2004)
  • Ruben Dominguez, G, Spain (born 2003)
  • Quinn Ellis, G, Italy (born 2003)
  • Juan Fernandez, F/C, Spain (born 2002)
  • Clement Frisch, F, France (born 2002)
  • Sananda Fru, F, Germany (born 2003)
  • Gloire Goma, G, Spain (born 2003)
  • Hassane Gueye, F, France (born 2003)
  • Ondrej Hanzlik, F, Spain (born 2002)
  • Ilias Kamardine, G, France (born 2003)
  • Konstantin Kostadinov, F, Spain (born 2003)
  • Oleksandr Kovliar, G, Estonia (born 2002)
  • Liutauras Lelevicius, G, Lithuania (born 2003)
  • Gilad Levy, C, Israel (born 2002)
  • Ruben Lopez, F, Spain (born 2002)
  • Assemian Moulare, G, France (born 2003)
  • Daniel Onwenu, G, Brazil (born 2002)
  • Ivan Perasovic, F, Croatia (born 2002)
  • Mantas Rubstavicius, G, Lithuania (born 2002)
  • Musa Sagnia, F/C, Spain (born 2003)
  • Marcio Santos, F/C, Brazil (born 2002)
  • Enzo Shahrvin, F, France (born 2003)
  • Birahima Sylla, G, France (born 2003)
  • Dez Andras Tanoh, G, Hungary (born 2002)
  • Hugo Toom, F, Estonia (born 2002)
  • Armel Traore, F, France (born 2003)
  • Ricards Vanags, G/F, Latvia (born 2002)

Other notable draft-eligible early entrants:

The NBA typically sends its teams a list of “also-eligible” names. That list isn’t public. However, we’re assuming that at least one projected top-three pick is on it: Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite. Overtime Elite standouts Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson would also be on this list, as would Henderson’s Ignite teammate Leonard Miller.

Players removed:

Despite reports or announcements that the players below would declare for the draft, they didn’t show up on the NBA’s official list.

That could mean a number of things — they may have decided against entering the draft; they may have entered the draft, then withdrawn; they may have had no NCAA eligibility remaining, making them automatically draft-eligible; they may have incorrectly filed their paperwork; or the NBA may have accidentally omitted some names.

In any case, we’ve removed the following names from our early entrant list, at least for the time being.

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Draft Notes: Miller, Henderson, Black, Early Entrants

March 16th, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Alabama freshman Brandon Miller has become a legitimate contender to be taken with the second pick in this year’s draft, writes Sam Vecenie of The Athletic. French center Victor Wembanyama remains a clear favorite as the top choice, but in conversations with NBA executives and scouts, Vecenie finds that teams are considering Miller alongside G League guard Scoot Henderson, who had been ranked second in most mock drafts since the season began.

Vecenie still has Henderson second on his list, calling him “an elite-level competitor with elite athleticism” and comparing him to Anthony Edwards and Derrick Rose. But Miller has steadily worked his way up NBA draft boards throughout the season while leading the Crimson Tide to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

The 6’9″ wing has drawn comparisons to Paul George while averaging 19.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He’s also shooting 45% from the field and 40% from three-point range and is viewed as a solid defender. Miller has improved his ability to create shots off the dribble and has shown an ability to score through contact that scouts had originally doubted. There are obvious questions surrounding the role he played in a January shooting, but Vecenie doesn’t believe that will affect his draft status as long as he’s not charged in the case.

There’s more on the NBA draft:

  • Miller gave brief answers during the SEC Tournament when he was asked about his involvement in the incident, but Alabama coach Nate Oats talked it more in depth with Kyle Tucker of The Athletic. “Based on everything we know, Brandon didn’t break any laws, he didn’t violate any school policy and he’s a fully cooperating witness,” Oats said. “Based on all that, we made the decision to let him keep playing.”
  • John Hollinger of The Athletic also touches on the Miller vs. Henderson debate, suggesting that Miller may be the best perimeter player in college basketball. Hollinger, who attended the SEC Tournament last week, identifies Arkansas as a team to watch in the NCAA Tournament, stating that the Razorbacks may have five players who will get drafted. Nick Smith Jr. and Anthony Black are considered potential lottery picks, and Hollinger sees Black as a candidate for the No. 4 pick, even though he hasn’t shot well in his freshman season.
  • Belmont senior guard Ben Sheppard will give up his final year of eligibility and enter the draft, tweets Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Sheppard was a first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and an All-Defensive team choice this year.
  • Real Madrid’s Eli Ndiaye, an 18-year-old center out of Senegal, has also declared for the draft, according to Givony (Twitter link).
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