Mississippi State’s Robert Woodard II Entering Draft
Mississippi State forward Robert Woodard II has elected to enter the 2020 NBA draft, informing Jonathan Givony of ESPN of his decision. His plan is to go pro and forgo his final two years of college eligibility, though he’s keeping his options open for now.
“I am going in to the draft with the intention of not going back to school,” Woodard told ESPN. “I am maintaining my eligibility because of the uncertainty about the dates and what workouts will look like, but I don’t look it at is as testing the waters. I am all-in with this thing.”
[RELATED: 2020 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]
After playing a modest role off the bench as a freshman, Woodard moved into the starting lineup and took an impressive step forward in his sophomore season, averaging 11.4 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 1.1 SPG. In 31 games (33.1 MPG), he posted an impressive .495 FG% and .429 3PT%.
According to Givony, Woodard’s 7’1″ wingspan, “chiseled” frame, defensive versatility, and improving outside shot could make him an ideal combo forward at the NBA level. The youngster ranks 24th overall on ESPN’s big board, meaning he projects as a likely first-round pick.
NBA, ESPN Announce Details Of H-O-R-S-E Competition
As expected, Thunder guard Chris Paul, Hawks guard Trae Young, and Bulls guard Zach LaVine are among the players who will participate in the H-O-R-S-E competition being organized by the NBA, NBPA, and ESPN, per a press release.
According to the announcement, Jazz guard Mike Conley, former NBA stars Chauncey Billups and Paul Pierce, newly-elected Hall-of-Famer Tamika Catchings, and three-time WNBA All-Star Allie Quigley will fill out the eight-person field for the event.
The four quarterfinal matchups will air on Sunday evening (April 12), with Young facing Billups and Catchings facing Conley in group one, while LaVine goes up against Pierce and Paul squares off against Quigley in group two. The group one winners will face one another in the first semifinal next Thursday (April 16), with the group two winners competing in the second semifinal. The final will take place on the same night.
A coin toss will determine which player starts each matchup. Each player will be required to describe his or her shot attempt beforehand and dunking won’t be permitted. ESPN’s Mark Jones will serve as the event’s host, with each player attempting shots from his or her own home gym.
The event will raise more than $200K in support of coronavirus relief efforts.
Bulls Finalizing Deal To Hire Arturas Karnisovas
The Bulls are finalizing a deal with Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas that will make him Chicago’s new executive VP of basketball operations, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
According to Woj (via Twitter), the Bulls offered the job to Karnisovas earlier in the evening on Wednesday and spent the night negotiating the details.
Karnisovas’ diverse background in basketball was said to appeal to the Bulls. Before working with Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly to build a contender in Denver, Karnisovas was part of the basketball operations department in the NBA’s league office and served as an international scout for the Rockets. He also had a successful EuroLeague career as a player and won a pair of bronze medals for Lithuania’s national team in the Olympics.
Karnisovas had been with the Nuggets since being hired as an assistant general manager in 2013. He was promoted to GM in 2017 and helped build a roster that won 54 games in 2018/19 and was on nearly an identical pace this year before the NBA suspended its season.
Momentum had been building toward Karnisovas landing the job throughout the week as he interviewed for the position and emerged as a frontrunner. He’ll now be tasked with hiring a new general manager and reshaping the Bulls’ front office, per Wojnarowski. With no end to the NBA’s hiatus in sight, the Bulls’ new exec should have plenty of time to evaluate the roster and weigh offseason options for the franchise.
Longtime Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson is expected to move into the background as part of the front office overhaul. While Paxson will likely assume an advisory position, he’d reportedly be willing to step down from the franchise altogether if Karnisovas and team ownership decide there’s no role for him. Meanwhile, a reassignment to the scouting department appears to be the most likely outcome for general manager Gar Forman.
Jazz GM Justin Zanik, former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox, and veteran executives Bryan Colangelo and Danny Ferry were among the other candidates to speak to the Bulls this week. Chicago was also said to have interest in Pacers GM Chad Buchanan, Raptors GM Bobby Webster, and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon, but they didn’t end up interviewing with the Bulls and will stay with their respective teams.
As for the Nuggets, it remains to be seen how Karnisovas’ impending departure will impact their front office. Assistant GM Calvin Booth could be among the candidates for a promotion as Denver looks to fill the hole created by Karnisovas’ exit.
Bulls Interview Bryan Colangelo For Top Front Office Role
As the Bulls continue to conduct interviews for their top basketball operations job, Bryan Colangelo is the latest veteran executive to emerge as a candidate. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Colangelo has interviewed with Chicago for the open position.
As we detailed earlier this afternoon, the list of candidates to interview for the Bulls’ job now includes Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas, Jazz GM Justin Zanik, former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox, and former Cavs, Hawks, and Pelicans GM Danny Ferry, in addition to Colangelo.
Colangelo previous served as the head of basketball operations in Phoenix, Toronto, and Philadelphia, winning Executive of the Year awards in 2005 with the Suns and in 2007 with the Raptors.
His time with the Sixers memorably came to an end in 2018, when he resigned after just two years following allegations that he was using burner Twitter accounts to disparage 76ers players and to disclose private information about them. Subsequent reporting found that Colangelo’s wife was responsible for creating some or all of those accounts and publishing that sensitive info.
The Bulls have already interviewed five candidates and may not be done, but Karnisovas still looks like the odds-on favorite. The Nuggets GM “made a strong impression” on the Bulls during their search, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that conversations are ongoing.
Bulls Interview Wilcox, Ferry For Front Office Job
After talking to Jazz general manager Justin Zanik and Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas, the Bulls have touched base with a couple more candidates for their open front office position.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox – who now works as an NBA TV analyst – has interviewed for Chicago’s executive VP of basketball operations job. Meanwhle, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports (via Twitter) that former Cavaliers and Hawks GM Danny Ferry has also interviewed with the Bulls.
Up until now, reports on the Bulls’ search had identified only current front office executives as targets, with Magic assistant GM Matt Lloyd and Clippers executives Michael Winger and Trent Redden among the other candidates said to be on Chicago’s radar. This afternoon’s reports suggest the Bulls are looking beyond current team execs.
Wilcox, who was originally hired by the Hawks as an assistant general manager back in 2012, took over as the team’s GM in 2015 and served in that position for two years before the team revamped its front office in 2017. During his time in the club’s front office, Atlanta was a perennial playoff team, winning a franchise-record 60 games in 2014/15. The club entered a rebuilding process at the time of his departure.
Wilcox took the reins in Atlanta from Ferry, who was let go after reading an offensive comment from a scouting report on Luol Deng aloud during a conference call. Before his time with the Hawks, Ferry was the Cavs’ head of basketball operations from 2005 to 2010, guiding the team to five postseason berths and an NBA Finals appearance during that stint. Most recently, Ferry replaced Dell Demps as New Orleans’ interim GM last winter, but didn’t remain with the Pelicans when the team hired David Griffin in the spring.
Interestingly, three of the four candidates known to have interviewed with the Bulls – Zanik, Karnisovas, and Wilcox – are the same three executives who were said to be finalists for the Bucks’ general manager job during the summer of 2017. Milwaukee eventually changed course and instead promoted Jon Horst to the position.
While it’s possible one of those three – or Ferry – will win out this time around and be hired by the Bulls, there’s no indication that the club is done interviewing candidates. Before Wilcox’s and Ferry’s interviews were reported, Karnisovas was said to be the frontrunner for the job.
[UPDATE: The Bulls have also interviewed Bryan Colangelo]
Villanova’s Bey, Robinson-Earl To Test Draft Waters
Shortly after being announced as this year’s winner of the Julius Erving award – given annually to the nation’s top small forward – Villanova sophomore Saddiq Bey confirmed that he’ll be entering the 2020 NBA draft, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link).
“I will be definitely testing the waters and going through that process whenever I’ll be able to, and keeping my options open,” Bey said, per Zagoria.
Villanova head coach Jay Wright said last month that he expected both Bey and freshman forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to test the 2020 draft waters, but Bey hadn’t announced that decision himself until today. Wright also confirmed today that Robinson-Earl will indeed go through the draft process (Twitter link via Zagoria).
The No. 21 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, Bey averaged a team-high 16.1 PPG in 31 games (33.9 MPG) in 2019/20. He also contributed 4.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, and an eye-popping .451 3PT% on 5.6 three-point attempts per game. After earning Big East All-Freshman honors a year ago, the forward – who turns 21 on Thursday – was a unanimous All-Big East First Team pick this year.
Robinson-Earl, meanwhile, recorded 10.5 PPG with a team-best 9.4 RPG in 31 games (32.7 MPG). He was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year and comes in at No. 66 on ESPN’s board.
Bey and Robinson-Earl are the latest additions to our list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft, which has now surpassed 100 total names.
Bulls’ Paxson Reportedly Willing To Step Down If Asked
While there has been skepticism that Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson will relinquish all of his front office power when the team hires a new executive, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that Paxson is prepared to do whatever is best for the franchise.
As Cowley details, Paxson is “all for” stepping aside and moving into more of an advisory role in the new front office structure, which is what has been rumored in recent weeks.
However, the veteran Bulls executive is willing to go even further than that, according to Cowley, who hears that Paxson would step down from the organization entirely if ownership and management felt that was in the team’s best interests amidst the latest rebuild.
Cowley’s source “insists” that Paxson is prepared for either scenario and that he’s not simply saying what he thinks everyone wants to hear. Still, the timing of the report is interesting. The Bulls haven’t had a ton of luck securing interviews with their first wave of candidates — Pacers GM Chad Buchanan and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon will remain with their current teams, and it sounds like Raptors GM Bobby Webster likely will too.
It’s possible that some of those candidates – hearing that Paxson would remain in a prominent role – were skeptical that they’d truly have “full authority” on basketball decisions in Chicago’s front office. The latest rumblings out of Chicago may be intended to show other candidates that they won’t be reporting to Paxson.
It’s still hard to imagine team owner Jerry Reinsdorf – a longtime Paxson backer – asking him to leave the organization altogether, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago stresses that Paxson is willing to “take as small a role as the new hire wants.”
For what it’s worth, Cowley notes in a separate report that Paxson didn’t participate in Monday’s interview with Jazz GM Justin Zanik, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said in Monday’s tweet that Zanik was interviewing for the “executive VP of basketball operations” job, which is Paxson’s current title.
Potential Lottery Pick Nico Mannion Declares For Draft
Arizona freshman point guard Nico Mannion is entering the 2020 NBA draft class, as he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Wildcats head coach Sean Miller said last month that Mannion would enter the draft, but his father clarified at the time that a decision hadn’t yet been finalized — now it has.
Mannion, who started 32 games for Arizona as a freshman, averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG with a .392/.327/.797 shooting line. He ranks 14th overall on ESPN’s big board, with Mike Schmitz praising his scoring, play-making, demeanor, and ability to make reads. Schmitz does note that the 19-year-old’s “lack of tools” may limit his defensive upside and that his shot needs to get more consistent.
Mannion tells ESPN that, despite the COVID-19 lockdown, he has access to a gym where he can train and shoot as he prepares for the draft.
“I’m just getting reps every day trying to perfect what I can perfect on and off the court, be it passing, ball-handling or ball-screen drills, and trying to get stronger,” Mannion said. “I’m working on extending my range. This time off gives us me an opportunity to get better. That’s where I have a little bit of an advantage. I’m watching a lot of film on Steve Nash and Chris Paul. How they use ball screens to get in the lane and finish with floaters.”
Maryland’s Jalen Smith Entering 2020 NBA Draft
Maryland sophomore forward Jalen Smith is entering the 2020 NBA draft, he announced today in a statement on Twitter.
Although Smith is eligible to test the draft waters without forgoing his college eligibility, his comments makes it sound as if he’s ready to go pro, and Evan Daniels of 247Sports confirms (via Twitter) that the youngster is expected to remain in the draft.
“The time is right for me to move forward to the next phase in my basketball career,” Smith said in his statement after thanking his family, his teammates, Maryland’s coaches and staffers, and Terrapins fans.
In 31 games (31.3 MPG) as a sophomore, Smith averaged a double-double, recording 15.5 PPG and a team-high 10.5 RPG and 2.4 BPG. The 6’10” power forward, who earned spots on the All-Big Ten First Team and the Big Ten All-Defensive team, also showed off an improved three-point shot, converting 36.8% of 87 total attempts from beyond the arc.
Smith is a candidate to come off the board in the first round of this year’s draft. He currently ranks 30th overall on ESPN’s big board, including sixth among power forwards.
NBA, Players Assessing Blood Tests For Coronavirus
The NBA and the Players’ Association are looking into quick blood tests for the novel coronavirus which would make it more viable for the league to resume the season, Baxter Holmes of ESPN reports.
The league and its players have been assessing the viability of multiple blood-testing devices that could provide accurate results within a matter of minutes. That process would be a critical first step toward returning to action, though commissioner Adam Silver said on Monday that no decision on resuming play would be made until at least next month.
The “diabetes-like” blood test can be conducted with the prick of a finger and yield results within 15 minutes. Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories have begun shipping out the rapid-response tests, which can deliver results in 5-13 minutes. However, they have yet to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Sources told Holmes that the assessment of utilizing these tests is still in the exploratory phase. Finding ways to rapidly test for COVID-19 is the crucial path for sports leagues to resume play in the coming weeks and months, Holmes adds.
However, the NBA and its players are also aware that even if such rapid testing devices become available, health care workers and others tasked with saving lives should have priority to them.