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Draft Updates: Thursday

By Luke Adams | at June 14, 2012 8:46 pm

The countdown until the 2012 draft is down to two weeks, and this week has been heavy on workouts and trade speculation. We'll track the latest news and rumors on both fronts, along with a handful of other draft-related items, right here. New updates will be added to the top of the page throughout the day….

According to their official website, the Pacers will work out Evan Fournier, Ashton Gibbs, Travis Hyman, John Jenkins, Josh Owens, and Tony Wroten Jr. on Friday.

Earlier updates:

Charles F. Gardner Journal Sentinel reported that the Bucks hosted a pre-draft workout today which featured Tyler Zeller, Meyers Leonard, Fab Melo, and Kyle O'Quinn.
Aside from Anthony Davis, ESPN's Ric Bucher thinks that this year's draft still contains big men with star potential, focusing specifically on Andre Drummond, Meyers Leonard, and Thomas Robinson (Insiders only).
Sean Meagher of The Oregonian presents the video interview of Perry Jones III after his workout for the Trail Blazers.
Nate Mulberg of CSN Philly discusses the mutual interest between the 76ers and Terrence Ross.
Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld quoted an NBA executive who thinks that the lottery is loaded with impact rotation players, but not impact starters. Pincus also offered highlights from interviews with JaMychal Green and Kevin Jones.
Tomorrow's workout schedule for the Wizards includes Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Austin Rivers, Terrence Ross, and Tomas Satoransky, according to Michael Lee of The Washington Post (Twitter link). Gene Wang, also of The Washington Post, wrote about today's workout with Hollis Thompson.
Stephen Hewitt of WEEI.com provided a breakdown of Mitchell Watt, a 6'10'' forward out of Buffalo who could be a realistic target for the Celtics' second round pick (51st overall).
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com wrote an interesting piece on the mental toughness of 27-year-old draft hopeful Bernard James, a 6'10'' power forward who served in the Air Force and did tours in Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq before starring at Florida State. Howard-Cooper also tweeted an update on John Henson, saying that he has no plans to rest his injured ankle in the midst of upcoming workouts with the Suns, Rockets, Bucks, Cavaliers, Raptors, Pistons, and 76ers.
Darren Heitner of Sports Agent Blog briefly documents the separation of Renardo Sidney and his agent, Johnny Foster.
Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld believes John Jenkins and the Bulls could be a perfect fit at pick No. 29.
Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com published the second version of his mock draft today.
Thomas Robinson will work out for the Bobcats on June 22nd, according to SI.com's Sam Amick (Sulia link). Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com calls Robinson the "clear frontrunner" to be picked second overall (Twitter link).
Jeremy Lamb turned an ankle at his Raptors workout this morning, but it's not serious, tweets Sam Amick of SI. According to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (via Twitter), the ankle is sprained, and Lamb will cancel at least his workout with the Blazers.
The Sixers announced in a press release today that they'll work out Moe Harkless and Hollis Thompson tomorrow.
Arnett Moultrie is the biggest name among the six players working out for the Trail Blazers today, tweets Joe Freeman of the Oregonian.
Harrison Barnes and Bradley Beal will work out against one another for the Cavaliers on Saturday, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). The two players are the most likely candidates to be picked at No. 4 by Cleveland, so that will be an intriguing workout.
Discussing potential targets for the Bobcats if they trade their No. 2 pick, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com names James Harden as a possibility. It's not clear of Goodman's source, who says Harden "could be in play," means the Bobcats will pursue Harden or the Thunder could make him available. Either way, I'm skeptical about how realistic that scenario is. Even with the long-term cap restraints facing the Thunder, overhauling the roster mere days after making the Finals seems unlikely.
SI.com's Sam Amick examines the question marks surrounding John Henson and the rising stock of Miles Plumlee in his latest draft piece.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld compares Perry Jones III to Jordan Hamilton, who slipped to 26th overall last year because most teams thought the risk outweighed the upside. Within the same piece, Kyler also says the odds the Bobcats keep a player the select at No. 2 overall are "extremely slim."
The Raptors have a big day of workouts scheduled, with Jeremy Lamb highlighting the first session, Austin Rivers in the second, and Harrison Barnes in an individual workout. Jay Satur of Raptors.com has the details. Unfortunately, Eric Koreen of the National Post passes along a bit of bad news from the first session, tweeting that Lamb left the workout with an apparent injury.
Chad Ford tries his hand at predicting where the players on the first-round bubble will land in an Insider piece for ESPN.com.
Will Barton and five other prospects will work out for the Pacers today, according to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
The Pistons' workouts so far suggest they're eyeing big men not just with their first-round pick but in the second round as well, says Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
Bucks.com profiles the prospects that Milwaukee will be working out today.
Damian Lillard thinks he's ready to be an NBA starter, but he probably won't be a fit for the Kings at No. 5, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.

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Woelfel On Bucks, Phil Jackson, Kwame Brown

By Luke Adams | at June 14, 2012 8:32 am

It was easy to miss in the midst of our flurry of draft updates on Wednesday, but Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times weighed in yesterday to discuss the Bucks' options with the 12th overall pick. According to Woelfel, Milwaukee has zeroed in on a short list of prospects, mostly big men, for pick No. 12 — Meyers Leonard, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Perry Jones III, and Terrence Ross are among the team's targets.

Woelfel also shared a few more tidbits from around the NBA in his column, so let's dive in….

0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Milwaukee Bucks Oklahoma City Thunder Phoenix Suns Anthony Davis Dion Waiters John Henson Kwame Brown Meyers Leonard Perry Jones III Phil Jackson Scott Brooks Terrence Ross Tyler Zeller

Draft Updates: Wednesday

By Luke Adams | at June 13, 2012 11:16 pm

With 15 days remaining until draft night, we'll round up today's notes on draft workouts, stock watches, and potential selections right here, with the latest up top:

Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald believes the Celtics are targeting size with either or both of the team's back-t0-back first-round picks, at Nos. 21 and 22.
Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal has more on Royce White and his anxiety disorder.

Earlier updates:

Morley Quatroche of WEEI.com breaks down Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from a Celtics perspective.
HoopsWorld's Stephen Brotherston looks at whether Kentucky sixth man Darius Miller can be just as valuable as a key reserve in the NBA.
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times has the latest on the Bucks' search for a big man.
Portland native Terrence Jones talks about his workout for the Blazers today in a video posted by Sean Meagher of The Oregonian.
Warriors.com shares mock drafts put together by broadcasters and well-known bloggers.
Thomas Robinson worked out for his hometown Wizards today, as Michael Lee of The Washington Post chronicles.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld looks at Andre Drummond as teams try to get a handle on his boom-or-bust potential.
A number of beat writers have updates on draft workouts for the Trail Blazers, Wizards, and Bucks.
Don't expect the Jazz to make a trade to get back into the first round of the draft. GM Kevin O'Connor tells Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune that the asking price for first-round picks will be high, and he doesn't anticipate his team will make a move "unless we find something we really like."
SI.com's Sam Amick shares the list of participants for the Warriors' workout tomorrow.
The Sixers announced via press release that they'll work out Quincy Miller, Terrence Ross, and Mike Scott tomorrow morning.
Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com becomes the latest draft scribe to release an updated version of his mock draft today.
ESPN.com's Chad Ford has provided a ton of draft content today, publishing his new mock draft and answering a number of readers' questions in a chat. Among the highlights of Ford's chat: He believes the Bobcats will trade the No. 2 pick for either multiple picks or a pick and a player.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio also conducted a chat heavy on draft-related inquiries.
Harrison Barnes and Damian Lillard were among the lottery prospects to boost their stock in athletic testing, while Jared Sullinger and John Henson's scores didn't help them, says Chad Ford (Insider link).
Anthony Davis isn't the only player in this draft class with star potential, writes Jay Bilas in an Insider piece for ESPN.com.
Fab Melo and Andrew Nicholson highlighted the group of prospects in attendance at the Suns' first workout yesterday, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld and SI.com's Sam Amick each released updated versions of their mock drafts today.
The Raptors worked out six more players today, including Canadian forward Kris Joseph, according to a team press release.

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0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Boston Celtics Charlotte Hornets Golden State Warriors Milwaukee Bucks Philadelphia 76ers Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Toronto Raptors Utah Jazz Washington Wizards Andre Drummond Andrew Nicholson Damian Lillard Darius Miller Fab Melo Harrison Barnes Jared Sullinger John Henson Kris Joseph Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Mike Scott Quincy Miller Royce White Terrence Jones Terrence Ross Thomas Robinson

Draft Rumors: Monday

By Luke Adams | at June 11, 2012 8:12 pm

With the NBA draft just 17 days away, we're guaranteed to be following daily rumors and rumblings for the next two and a half weeks. We'll try to make it as easy as possible to follow the latest updates by including most of our draft-related items in a single daily post. Consider this Monday's post, and check back throughout the day for more draft notes, with the newest additions up top:

In a tweet, AZCentral.com's Paul Coro has wrangled up some news from CBSSports.com's Jeff Goodman and SI.com's Sam Amick. North Carolina teammates Kendall Marshall and John Henson will reportedly work out for the Suns this week.

Earlier updates:

On Tuesday, the Wizards will hold a workout to help decide what direction they want to go with their two second round picks (as of today, the team holds both the 32nd and 46th picks in the draft), tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Some notable names Washington plans to workout are Syracuse's Scoop Jardine, and Duke's Miles Plumlee.
The Trail Blazers will work out North Carolina's John Henson on Tuesday, tweets SI.com's Sam Amick.
Also from Amick, the Kings will work out several players, including North Carolina's Tyler Zeller, on Tuesday. Sacramento currently holds picks 5 and 36.
The Hornets plan on bringing in several point guards and shooting guards when they resume workouts next week, writes Nola.com's John Reid.
After predicting the top 15 picks in the draft last week, TNT's David Aldridge takes a crack at the rest of the first round in this week's NBA.com column.
Royce White and Jordan Taylor are among the six prospects scheduled to work out for the Timberwolves on Tuesday, says Ray Richardson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
The Pistons are eyeing potential fits for the second round, working out Miles Plumlee and Kyle O'Quinn, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
Perry Jones III tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that he'd love to play on the Trail Blazers alongside LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Magic will be prepared for the draft no matter how long it takes to hire a GM, but a lengthy GM search could have other negative effects, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
If the Hornets decide to deal their tenth overall pick, gaining future draft assets is more important to them than ditching bad contracts, says Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. Kyler doesn't expect the Hornets to include players like Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza with the pick in a deal that merely creates cap space. According to Kyler, New Orleans could seeking a 2012 second-rounder along with a future first-rounder in any deal.
Within the same piece, Kyler adds that the Warriors and Knicks have expressed some interest in Alabama's Tony Mitchell.
In a pair of tweets, Kyler says Harrison Barnes did not officially meet with the Bulls, and that a brief chat with coach Tom Thibodeau was blown out of proportion.
The Sixers met with Andre Drummond at the draft combine and could be trying to trade up, since Drummond will be long gone at No. 15, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com makes some changes in his latest post-combine mock draft.
The Kings will need some help if they want a shot to land Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.

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0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Chicago Bulls Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans New York Knicks Orlando Magic Philadelphia 76ers Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Sacramento Kings Washington Wizards Andre Drummond Harrison Barnes John Henson Jordan Taylor Kendall Marshall Kyle O'Quinn Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Miles Plumlee Perry Jones III Royce White Scoop Jardine Tony Mitchell (Alabama)Tyler Zeller

Free Agent Stock Watch: Nick Young

By Chuck Myron | at June 8, 2012 5:58 pm

Nick Young made an unusual decision in December, and this summer he’ll see if it pays off. Before the season, Young became just the 12th player ever to sign a qualifying offer, the minimum offer a team can make to retain the right of first refusal on a player coming off his rookie contract. Usually, the offer is just a starting point for negotiations, if that, but in Young’s case, the one-year, $3,695,857 deal on the table from the Wizards came in handy when the condensed post-lockout market limited his options.

None of the other players who signed qualifying offers wound up re-signing with their teams as unrestricted free agents the following summer. The Wizards got the jump on a divorce from Young, sending their leading scorer from 2010/11 to the Clippers in a three-team swap at the trade deadline this March. Young went from starter to reserve as a result, but it gave him the opportunity to show what he could do as a significant contributor to a playoff team. He displayed plenty of clutch shooting in the postseason, nailing 51.5% of his three-point attempts, including three in a row down in the fourth quarter of L.A.’s 27-point comeback in Game 1 against the Grizzlies.

Still, Young didn’t really prove anything we didn’t already know, aside from an ability to perform under pressure. He’s always been a solid three-point shooter, making 37.8% for his career, but his field goal percentage overall was a career-low 40.3% this past regular season, including 39.4% during his time with the Clippers. In the playoffs, he shot 35.3% on two-pointers. Those sort of numbers help explain why Young has never posted a single season with a PER of at least 15.0, the mark of an average player. He’s also a liability defensively, as he had one of the worst defensive ratings for his team in both the regular season and the playoffs this year, according to Basketball-Reference.com. Young’s unimpressive per-36-minute career highs of 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals demonstrate that if his long-range shots aren’t falling, there isn’t much he does to help his team on the floor.

For all his shortcomings, the 27-year-old Young is probably this year's most attractive unrestricted free agent shooting guard under the age of 35. That might change if the cash-strapped Grizzlies decide not to tender a qualifying offer to O.J. Mayo, but Young is likely in line for a raise and a multi-year deal. He reportedly sought $9MM per year from the Wizards in December, but I can’t see him approaching that figure. In the same report, Michael Lee of The Washington Post noted a that Young rejected an offer from the Wizards of around $5MM per year, so Young may be seeking to top that in order to justify his gamble on the qualifying offer.

The Timberwolves, Cavs and Suns are all teams that could be willing to reach for a shooting guard this summer, and the Clippers could use a solid two-guard as well. We heard last month that L.A. seemed interested in re-signing Young, but that was before GM Neil Olshey left to take the same job with Portland. The Blazers, who have $20.6MM and three years left on Wesley Matthews’ contract, don’t seem like candidates to provide a similar offer to Young, but if they miss out on some of their other targets and Young fails to find a team willing to overpay for him, it could be a Rose Garden reunion for Olshey and his last major acquisition for the Clippers.

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0 comments Cleveland Cavaliers Free Agent Stock Watch Los Angeles Clippers Minnesota Timberwolves Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Nick Young

Dion Waiters Leaves Combine, Has Guarantee?

By Luke Adams | at June 8, 2012 9:27 am

According to ESPN.com's Chad Ford, Dion Waiters has left the Chicago draft combine and cancelled his scheduled workouts, leading to speculation that the Syracuse guard has received assurances from a team that he'll be selected in the lottery. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link) hears from a source that the Raptors at No. 8 were the team to give Waiters a guarantee, but Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld reports that GM Bryan Colangelo emphatically denied making such a promise.

1 comment 2012 NBA Draft Phoenix Suns Toronto Raptors Dion Waiters

Bucher’s Latest: Nash, KG, Nelson, Miller, Kaman

By Luke Adams | at June 8, 2012 8:42 am

Plenty of the bigger names among this year's free agent class are in their 30s, and it's that over-30 group that ESPN.com's Ric Bucher focuses on in his latest Insider piece. Bucher spoke to GMs, scouts, and personnel experts that gave him feedback on this summer's free agents, including tidbits on Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Jameer Nelson, and plenty more. Here are a few highlights:

8 comments Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks Denver Nuggets Houston Rockets New Orleans Pelicans Phoenix Suns Portland Trail Blazers Toronto Raptors Utah Jazz Andre Miller Chris Kaman Jameer Nelson Jason Kidd Kevin Garnett Steve Nash

Knicks, Nets, Cavs, Suns Eyeing Teletovic

By Luke Adams | at June 7, 2012 3:33 pm

After leading the Euroleague in scoring this season, Mirza Teletovic may be taking his talents to North America. According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, the Bosnian forward is drawing interest from the Knicks, Nets, Cavaliers, and Suns.

1 comment Brooklyn Nets Cleveland Cavaliers New York Knicks Phoenix Suns Mirza Teletovic

Draft Rumors: Suns, Warriors, Barnes, Cavs

By Chuck Myron | at June 6, 2012 2:06 pm

The league is holding a two-day draft combine starting tomorrow in Chicago, but the event isn't likely to reveal much about the top prospects. Sam Amick of SI.com reports that Anthony Davis, Bradley Beal, Andre Drummond, Dion Waiters, and Harrison Barnes will not take part in running and shooting drills, and Matt Moore of CBSSports.com takes this as a sign that the league should either force players to participate fully or scrap the event entirely. Fellow CBSSports.com scribe Jeff Goodman nonetheless identifies some of the key issues surrounding prospects that the combine is likely to resolve. Here's more draft-related news from around the Association.

0 comments 2012 NBA Draft Cleveland Cavaliers Golden State Warriors Phoenix Suns Harrison Barnes Orlando Johnson

Pacific Notes: Bynum, Clippers, Suns, Warriors

By Luke Adams | at June 5, 2012 12:01 pm

It's been an eventful 24 hours in the Pacific Division, with Clippers GM Neil Olshey bolting for Portland and the Lakers officially locking Andrew Bynum into the final year of his contract. Let's round up a few notes on the fallout of those decisions, along with the rest of the Tuesday morning updates out of the Pacific….

0 comments Golden State Warriors Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Phoenix Suns Andrew Bynum

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Headlines

Phoenix Suns News & Rumors

Draft Updates: Thursday

Woelfel On Bucks, Phil Jackson, Kwame Brown

Draft Updates: Wednesday

Draft Rumors: Monday

Free Agent Stock Watch: Nick Young

Dion Waiters Leaves Combine, Has Guarantee?

Bucher’s Latest: Nash, KG, Nelson, Miller, Kaman

Knicks, Nets, Cavs, Suns Eyeing Teletovic

Draft Rumors: Suns, Warriors, Barnes, Cavs

Pacific Notes: Bynum, Clippers, Suns, Warriors