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Southwest Rumors: Hanlan, Grizzlies, Cook

June 8th, 2015 at 6:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have worked out Boston College’s Olivier Hanlan, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 6’4” combo guard worked out for the Lakers on Monday and also worked out this month for the Timberwolves, Suns and Celtics. He is ranked No. 41 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s list of Top 100 prospects while DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony currently pegs him at No. 53. Houston holds the No. 18 overall pick (from the Pelicans) in the first round and No. 32 (from the Knicks) early in the second, so Hanlan needed to make quite an impression for the Rockets to consider drafting him.

In other news around the Southwest Division:

Hanlan will also participate in the Grizzlies’ fourth pre-draft workout on Tuesday, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He’ll be joined by Utah point guard Delon Wright, Syracuse power forward Rakeem Christmas, LSU forward Jarell Martin, Florida guard Michael Frazier and BYU guard Tyler Haws. The Grizzlies own the No. 25 overall pick in the first round and Wright (No 26 on Ford’s board, No. 28 on Givony’s board) and Martin (31, 27) are the highest-rated prospects. Wright has already worked out for the Trail Blazers, Pacers, Bulls, Wizards, Lakers and Suns while Haws has recently auditioned for the Jazz, Mavericks, Suns and Lakers, according to Brandon Judd of the Deseret News. Haws is also scheduled to work out for the Warriors and Nets, Judd adds.
Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv adds the Mavs to the list of teams working out Duke point guard Quinn Cook (Twitter link). Cook revealed several workout appointments and much more in a recent interview with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors.

Q&A With First-Round Prospect Kevon Looney

June 8th, 2015 at 1:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Leading up to the draft, Hoops Rumors will be talking with some of the most intriguing prospects in this year’s class. Today, the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series continues with UCLA forward Kevon Looney, who is ranked No. 19 in this year’s class by Chad Ford of ESPN.com and No. 20 by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.

Coming out of high school, scouting services collectively had Kevon Looney as the No. 11 player in the nation and he had offers from just about every elite program under the sun. Now, after one year at UCLA, Looney is making the jump to the pros and is widely projected to be a first-round selection.

Looney is blessed with great size for the power forward position at the next level. Standing at a shade over 6’9″ in shoes, Looney boasts an almost freakish wingspan of 7’3.5″. With that length, Looney can grab loose rebounds with the best of ’em and has the potential to grow by leaps and bounds on the defensive end. On offense, Looney showed last season that he’s getting more and more comfortable with his jump shot, a skill that helped to spread out the floor for the Bruins.

On Saturday, Hoops Rumors caught up with the very busy 19-year-old between flights to talk about his stock heading into June 25th, and his NBA future.

Zach Links: What was it like coming to UCLA as a freshman and immediately jumping into a starring role?

Kevon Looney: It was a great experience for me and a great learning experience for me. I think I got better as both a player and as a person. I made a lot of strides and I made a lot of friends while I was there.

ZL: What were some of the strides you made on the court?

KL: I would say my biggest improvement was probably my shooting. As the year went on, I shot better and it continued to get better. I don’t know if I got better at rebounding, but I showed that I could do it for sure. I proved that I could do it in high school but to show that to the world in college was important to me. That was probably my greatest strength this year.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

ZL: Did you consider staying for another year?

KL: Yes, a little bit. I figured I could stay at UCLA for another year and get better. I mean, everyone wants to win a college National Championship and I felt like if I came back, we could have won even more as a team. But, at the end of the day, I wanted to pursue my dream and become a first-round draft pick.

ZL: You’ve shown that you can rebound over bigger and stronger opponents. What’s your secret?

KL: It’s just something I always had a knack for. I’m really long and I have good timing for it. I’ve always been good at it and I’ve always wanted to be the best at it.

ZL: Are you looking to add muscle to your frame? How much weight are you looking to put on?

KL: I’m not sure what my goal weight is. Right now I’m playing so much that it’s hard to get in the weight room. But, as soon as I’m done with the draft, I’ll talk to whatever team drafts me and get a plan for my body. I’ve never had a problem putting on weight before, so I think I’ll be able to put on weight pretty fast.

ZL: What workouts have you had so far and what workouts are coming up?

KL: So far, I’ve worked out for the Thunder, Suns, Jazz, and Pistons. Coming up, I’ve got the Hawks, Heat, Bucks, Raptors, Hornets, Celtics, and Knicks.

ZL: Do you have an idea of where you might get drafted?

KL: My agent tells me anywhere from No. 7 to No. 20. That’s my range right now.

ZL: What NBA player would you compare yourself to?

KL: I don’t know if I’m all that similar to anyone but I can tell you that I try to play like Anthony Davis and LaMarcus Aldridge. I don’t know if I’m exactly like them but I’m trying to be [laughs].

ZL: You shot the ball well from three-point range (41.5%) last season, but you only attempted 53 three pointers in total. Could you see yourself shooting from outside more at the next level?

KL: Yeah, I think I’m comfortable shooting from NBA range and I think I’ll be called upon to spread the floor out. That’s one of my strong suits, and I really zoned in on that this offseason.

ZL: It seems like there’s a perception that you have a good amount of upside but that you’re still a little green and won’t make a big impact right away. Do you disagree with that assessment?

KL: I think so. I don’t think I’m that far away from making an impact at all. I know I have a lot of work to do, but once I get stronger, I’ll be much better. I know I can gain weight fast and once I get stronger, I know that I can make an instant impact.

ZL: What kind of things are you doing day to day to get ready for what’s ahead?

KL: Before I got busy with all these team workouts, I was doing yoga in the morning and then going to the track to do sprints. Then I would run a couple miles and come back and play some basketball.

ZL: How long have you been doing yoga?

KL: I did yoga in high school, I did some at UCLA, and I’ve been doing it every day ever since the season ended. It helps me a lot. I do hot yoga all the time and that helps me to keep my core strong and helps my breathing for some reason. I learned how to breathe and get rid of tension pent up my lungs.

ZL: What led you to choose Aaron Goodwin and Todd Ramasar to represent you?

KL: I let my parents pick out a few people that would be the best for me and I met with the people that they picked. Those two guys were the best fit for me. … When you look at someone like Aaron, he has some big-name people there but he also has time for me. He’s a great guy with vision and I really feel like I’m going to benefit from his experience.

ZL: What are your plans for draft night?

KL: Hopefully I’ll get an invite to the green room! Even if I don’t, I’ll probably end up going to New York to get the full experience.

Pacific Notes: Mudiay, Lakers, Hollis-Jefferson

June 6th, 2015 at 8:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Emmanuel Mudiay, who worked out for the Lakers today, told Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times that he identifies with Kobe Bryant‘s passion for the game. “Kobe, I admire his determination,” Mudiay said. “That’s what made me a fan of his. He’s got a dog in him and that’s kind of how I approach the game. You got to be a dog.” Mudiay, widely considered to be a top four pick in this year’s draft, is also reportedly working out for the Timberwolves, Sixers and Knicks. He reneged on a commitment to play college ball at SMU and spent the past season with the Guangdong Southern Tigers in China, making him somewhat of a mystery to American fans. The Lakers got an up-close look at his talents, with coach Byron Scott and GM Mitch Kupchak monitoring the workout.

There’s more draft news from the Pacific Division:

Mudiay wasn’t the only player working out for the Lakers today, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Also present were Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Devin Booker and Dakari Johnson, while Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell will work out for the team soon. Of the group, only Russell is expected to be in the mix for the number two overall pick that the Lakers own.
Arizona’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was comfortable and confident after Friday’s workout with the Suns, according to Matt Peterson of NBA.com. After averaging 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds as a sophomore with the Wildcats, Hollis-Jefferson is hoping to attract the attention of a lottery team. The Suns hold the 13th overall pick. “[It doesn’t matter] if you’re the underdog or if you’re being talked about or mentioned more,” he told reporters. “You should be ready no matter what.”
The Suns held several other workouts Friday, according to Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic (Twitter links). The group included Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter, UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn and Christian Wood, Utah’s Delon Wright, California-Santa Barbara’s Alan Williams, Arizona’s T.J. McConnell, Wyoming’s Larry Nance Jr., Temple’s Will Cummings, Bosnian player Nedim Buza and D-League player Jarvis Threatt.

Draft Notes: Mudiay, T’Wolves, Rozier

June 5th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The T’Wolves have convinced Emmanuel Mudiay that he is in consideration for the No. 1 overall pick, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Mudiay has workouts scheduled with the Lakers (Saturday), the Timberwolves (June 20th or possibly sooner), and Marc Berman of the New York Post adds the Knicks (Monday) to the list. Recently, SMU coach Larry Brown said that Mudiay will audition for the Sixers as well, rounding out the top four. Here’s a look at the latest draft news..

Louisville guard Terry Rozier has an upcoming workout scheduled with the Hornets, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Rozier, 21, is currently ranked No. 50 by DraftExpress and No. 27 by Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn will work out for the Suns today and has auditions scheduled with the Bulls and Wizards, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter).
The Suns will bring in UNLV’s Christian Wood as a part of a group workout today, league sources tell Scotto (on Twitter).
Want to familiarize yourself with some of the most interesting prospects in this year’s class? Check out the entries in the Hoops Rumors NBA Draft Prospect Q&A Series! Over the last month, Hoops Rumors has spoken with Jerian Grant, Cameron Payne, Richaun Holmes, and many more notable names.

Western Notes: Hornacek, Aldridge, Lakers

June 4th, 2015 at 2:51pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Steve Kauffman, who is Suns coach Jeff Hornacek‘s agent, denied the reports that his client declined to interview for the coaching vacancy at Iowa State, Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com writes. A source confirmed to Parrish that it was Kauffman who posted on a message board linked to the initial report, “We represent Jeff Hornacek. Rarely do I post but I will simply say this story is inaccurate. Jeff loves his alma mater and the facts are simply wrong here. Under contract is the key. School knew they had to request permission in a certain manner from the Phoenix Suns. I do not wish to allocate the blame as to the parties at fault here. But it’s a shame.” Iowa State hopes to have a replacement in place for Fred Hoiberg, who was recently named coach of the Bulls, by next week, Parrish adds.

Here’s more doings from around the Western Conference:

The Suns held workouts Wednesday for Sam Dekker (Wisconsin), Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse), Brandon Ashley (Arizona), Juwan Staten (West Virginia), Bo Barnes (Arizona State), and Daniel Bejarano (Colorado State), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
Scheduled to work out for the Suns today are Frank Kaminsky (Wisconsin), Trey Lyles (Kentucky), Kelly Oubre (Kansas), Daniel Mullings (New Mexico State), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), and Greg Whittington (Georgetown), Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter link).
The Lakers held workouts on Wednesday for Aaron Thomas (Florida State), Tyler Haws (BYU), Rashad Vaughn (UNLV), Sykes, Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green), and Chris Walker (Florida), the team announced (on Twitter).
Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge has put his Portland area home up for sale, Amy Schwartz of 750 The Game tweets. Aldridge is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and while his real estate dealings could be strictly a coincidence, they could also be interpreted as a harbinger of the 29-year-old’s intent to sign elsewhere this summer.
LSU forward Jarell Martin is scheduled to work out for the Blazers today, Scotto relays (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Hornacek, Blazers, Draft

June 3rd, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Now that Fred Hoiberg has been officially named as the Bulls’ new coach, there has been speculation linking Suns coach Jeff Hornacek to Hoiberg’s vacated post at Iowa State, Andrew Joseph of The Arizona Republic writes. But Hornacek, who played his collegiate ball for the Cyclones, declined an opportunity to interview for the position, Joseph notes. “[GM] Ryan [McDonough] and I came here for a purpose. We think we’ve got a good young crew that we can build with. We’ll work on getting some more veteran guys to help them but we’ve got a job to do here and that’s our plan,” Hornacek said when asked about the possibility of him departing Phoenix.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers held workouts today for Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), Corey Hawkins (UC Davis), Stefan Nastic (Stanford), Christian Wood (UNLV), Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech), and Luis Montero (Westchester Community College), Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com reports (Twitter link).
St. John’s University swingman SirDominic Pointer worked out for the Thunder today, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
UC Santa Barbara forward Alan Williams displayed his wares for the Mavericks today, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (on Twitter).
Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker worked out for the Suns today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets. Phoenix is considering taking Dekker with the No. 13 overall pick this June, Scotto adds. You can check out our prospect profile for Dekker here.

Draft History: Ryan McDonough

June 3rd, 2015 at 8:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2015 NBA draft is less than a month away, and for teams that aren’t still participating in the NBA playoffs, the focus is on using that event to build toward a better future. Now that the NBA Draft lottery is complete, the speculation can truly begin as to which player each franchise will pin its hopes on for the future. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.

With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors will be taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ll be examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll continue onward with a look back at the calls made by Suns GM Ryan McDonough.

Suns (May 2013-Present)

2013 Draft

No. 5 Overall — Alex Len: 111 games, 4.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.1 BPG. .492/.333/.689.
No. 29 Overall — Archie Goodwin*: 93 games, 4.6 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.7 APG. .421/.221/.710.
No. 57 Overall — Alex Oriakhi: No regular season NBA appearances.

*Acquired from the Warriors along with Malcolm Lee in exchange for the No. 30 overall pick (Nemanja Nedovic).

Players passed over or available at draft slot: Nerlens Noel (No. 6), Michael Carter-Williams (No. 11), Steven Adams (No. 12), Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15), Mason Plumlee (No. 22), and Rudy Gobert (No. 27).

2014 Draft

No. 14 Overall — T.J. Warren: 40 games, 6.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, and 0.6 APG. .528/.238/.737.
No. 18 Overall — Tyler Ennis: 33 games, 3.7 PPG, 1.1 RPG, 2.2 APG. .361/.279/.714.
No. 27 Overall — Bogdan Bogdanovic: No regular season NBA appearances.
No. 50 Overall — Alec Brown: No regular season NBA appearances.

Players passed over or available at draft slot: Mitch McGary (No. 21), Rodney Hood (No. 23), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32), and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).

Pacific Notes: Payne, Kings, Turkoglu, Watson

June 3rd, 2015 at 12:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Point guard Cameron Payne‘s draft stock is on the rise and he’ll have a solo workout next week with the Kings, who pick sixth, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star hears (Twitter link). Payne, who reportedly has a promise from a team, recently spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors about his experience at mid-major Murray State and his plans for the NBA. Centers Satnam Singh from IMG Academy and Stefan Nastic from Stanford and Cal power forward David Kravish will also work out for the Kings, the team announced. Their auditions will be Thursday. There’s more from Sacramento amid the latest on the Pacific Division:

Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac believes that free agency will be more useful for the team than trades, the draft or the development of existing players will be, as Divac said Tuesday, according to Bill Herenda of CSN California (Twitter link).
Hedo Turkoglu wouldn’t rule out signing a new NBA contract, retirement or playing for Turkey’s Fenerbahce as he spoke about his plans for next season with the Turkish media outlet TRT Spor, as Ajans Basketbol transcribes and as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia translates. Turkoglu’s deal with the Clippers expires this summer.
The Suns will hire Earl Watson as an assistant coach, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group (Twitter link). Watson spent this past season as a D-League assistant for the Spurs.
The Clippers have worked out Gonzaga point guard Byron Wesley, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
Cal State Fullerton guard Alex Harris was to have worked out for the Lakers but didn’t because of an illness, Pincus also relays via Twitter.

And-Ones: Alexander, Greene, Williams

June 2nd, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kansas big man Cliff Alexander suffered a knee injury during his workout with the Lakers earlier today, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times reports. The injury is being called a mild ACL sprain, and will likely keep Alexander out of action for three to five days, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein, Chad Ford of ESPN.com tweets. Alexander did complete the bulk of his workout before getting hurt, Pincus notes. If the injury is more serious than a simple sprain it would certainly come as a major blow to Alexander’s chances of being selected this June. The freshman had already watched his draft stock slip over the course of his lone collegiate season, with Alexander beginning the campaign as a potential lottery pick and ending it as a marginal second-rounder. Alexander is currently the No. 32 overall prospect according to ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) and the 47th best according to DraftExpress.

Here’s more from around the league:

The Thunder have reached an agreement with former Pelicans coach Monty Williams that will make him the top assistant on new head coach Billy Donovan‘s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. Donovan will keep Oklahoma City assistant Mark Bryant and Darko Rajakovic on his staff, and will likely make former Alabama coach Anthony Grant his No. 3 assistant coach, Wojnarowski adds.
The Suns held workouts today for Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Kevon Looney (UCLA), Pat Connaughton (Notre Dame), Gary Bell (Gonzaga), and Shannon Scott (Ohio State), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
St. John’s guard Phil Greene, who worked out for the Nets today, also has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Jazz and the Suns, Scotto relays (Twitter link). Greene and Steve Lavin, his college coach, recently spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors.
With the Mavericks set to make wholesale roster changes this offseason, Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News runs down some free agents who the team could look to target this offseason, including DeMarre Carroll, Rodney Stuckey, and Greg Monroe.

Pacific Notes: Curry, Clippers, Draft

June 2nd, 2015 at 9:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

While Stephen Curry won’t be worrying about how he will afford to put food on his table anytime soon, his contract with the Warriors is one of the biggest values in the NBA, and the MVP can be considered one of the most underpaid athletes in all of professional sports, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. There were a total of 50 NBA players who earned more than the $10,629,213 that Curry did last season, including 11 point guards, Kennedy notes. On his way to winning the MVP award the 27-year-old appeared in 80 contests, averaging 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 32.7 minutes per game.

Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:

The Clippers need to make changes to their existing roster but won’t be able to add any big ticket free agents this offseason thanks to their difficult salary cap situation. Arash Markazi and Ben Alamar of ESPN.com run down some hypothetical blockbuster trades that Los Angeles could potentially make if it wished to shake up its roster this summer.
University of Illinois shooting guard Rayvonte Rice has a workout scheduled with the Suns, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The Lakers held workouts today for Alan Williams (UC Santa Barbara), Norman Powell (UCLA), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), Mitch McCarron (Metropolitan State College), Byron Wesley (Gonzaga), Matt Stainbrook (Xavier), and Josh Smith (Georgetown), the team announced (on Twitter).
Kings forward Carl Landry underwent surgery today to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, the team announced. Landry will begin rehabilitation immediately and is expected to be out of action for approximately four to five months.