Draft Notes: Lakers, Grizzlies, McDermott
We’ll keep tabs of tonight’s draft-related links below:
- The Lakers will work out Aaron Gordon, P.J. Hairston, Elfrid Payton, Marcus Smart, and Nik Stauskas, tweets Mike Trudell of Lakers.com.
- Tomorrow’s draft workouts for the Grizzlies will include Jordan Adams, Kyle Anderson, Deonte Burton, Fuquan Edwin, James McAdoo, and Kendall Williams, per the team’s official website.
- Interestingly, the Lakers have been trying to get Doug McDermott in for a second workout but have been unsuccessful, tweets ESPN Insider Chad Ford.
- Former University of Michigan standout Mitch McGary is slated to work out for the Bucks tomorrow, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
Draft Rumors: Embiid, Nets, Celtics, Lakers
The Cavs are strongly leaning toward taking Joel Embiid first overall, a source tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. Of course, earlier reports have indicated leanings toward Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, and Cleveland threw a curveball with last season’s selection of Anthony Bennett at No. 1, so it’s tough to get a read on owner Dan Gilbert’s team. Still, Mannix and others have plenty of intel surrounding the draft with eight days to go:
- The Nets are seeking a first-round pick, according to Mannix, who echoes earlier reports that the Pelicans and Knicks are doing the same.
- The Celtics like Aaron Gordon the best among the power forwards likely to be available at No. 6, Mannix hears.
- The Lakers are leaning toward keeping their No. 7 pick rather than trading down for multiple picks, believing there’s a drop-off after the top 10 prospects, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. McMenamin nonetheless doesn’t say whether the team is leaning toward keeping the pick rather than acquiring a veteran, and the Lakers and the Kings are reportedly more open to trades than any other lottery clubs.
- The Jazz aren’t necessarily seeking Parker as they attempt to trade up from the fifth pick, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in a chat with readers.
- Several teams were disappointed when Kristaps Porzingis decided to withdraw from the draft, and one executive told Mannix that he believes the Latvian has a decent chance to become a top-five pick next year. The Thunder, who’d reportedly promised to draft him, and Mavs were particularly high on him, according to Mannix, while the Hawks were also enamored with him, Ford says in his chat.
- The Grizzlies appear likely to trade into the second round, as we passed along earlier.
Draft Notes: Cobbs, Rockets, Gordon, Jazz
We rounded up the draft news this morning and this afternoon, but there’s plenty of new info still coming out. Here’s the latest:
- Justin Cobbs had a workout with Warriors today, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News.
- The Rockets brought in Iona guard Tre Bowman for a workout, reveals Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter).
- Aaron Gordon will work out for the Celtics, tweets Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. Boston is reportedly “locked in” to big man with the No. 6 pick.
- Patric Young, Jordan Adams, T.J. Bray, Alec Brown, and Jabari Brown will work out for the Jazz, the team announced (on Twitter).
- The Hornets’ workouts tomorrow will include Jordan Bachynski, Justin Jackson, Alex Kirk, Daniel Miller, Dwight Powell, and D.J. Shelton, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).
- Jordan Clarkson made a strong impression during his workout for the Suns, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
And-Ones: Messina, Embiid, Gordon
Fort Wayne Mad Ants president Jeff Potter is under the impression that his club will indeed have affiliations, with 13 NBA teams this coming season, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Mad Ants will feature no more than four players on assignment from the NBA at any a time, with the spots alloted to NBA clubs on a first-come, first-served basis, Potter adds. Here’s more from around the league:
- Spurs GM R.C. Buford denied an earlier report that claimed Ettore Messina was joining San Antonio’s coaching staff as an assistant, telling Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News that there has been no contact made with Messina, let alone a hire. “Is someone leaving our staff that I don’t know about?” Buford said. “We have not had one conversation with anyone about a coaching position for next season.”
- Joel Embiid is in Cleveland to undergo a physical with Cavs doctors in the hopes of alleviating concerns about his back, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only) says that it will take more than medical clearance for Embiid to land at No. 1 in the draft. Ford writes that owner Dan Gilbert’s anxiousness to win immediately has influenced Cleveland’s draft choices in recent years. While scouts tell Ford that Embiid has the most potential of any 2014 prospect, they don’t expect him to be a steady contributor in his rookie season.
- Dirk Nowitzki tells Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he is likely to meet with Mavs owner Mark Cuban hastily regarding his impending free agency (Twitter link).
- The Celtics will work out Isaiah Austin and Sam Dower tomorrow, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- The Wolves have been trying unsuccessfully to arrange a workout with Aaron Gordon, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Wolves are struggling to convince top tier prospects to work out in general. Wolfson notes that the Wolves think more highly of Noah Vonleh and Julius Randle than they do Gordon (all Twitter links).
- John Calipari acknowledged that he had been approached by multiple NBA teams before signing an extension to stay with Kentucky in an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio (transcription via Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News). “It was significantly more money for me to leave than to stay,” Calipari said. “It kind of tells you where my mind is.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Gordon, Kings, Napier, Stauskas
Aaron Gordon reveals some of the experiences he had while working out for the Kings, Lakers, and Jazz to Tzvi Twersky of SLAM Magazine. Gordon mentions shooting alongside Chris Mullin and playing defense against Doug McDermott among other details. Here’s a rundown of tonight’s other draft notes:
- Cleanthony Earl and Glenn Robinson III will work out for the Kings next week, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (subscription only).
- Xavier Thames will work out for the Kings and Pacers, tweets Sean Cunningham of News10 Sacramento.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com adds the Thunder, Grizzlies, and Celtics to the list of teams that have auditioned Shabazz Napier (Insider only).
- Nik Stauskas has rescheduled his scrubbed workout with the Lakers, the ESPN scribe adds.
- The Wolves will be working out K.J. McDaniels, Rodney Hood, and P.J. Hairston this weekend, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Wolfson adds that more players could be lined up for workouts in Minnesota in addition to those three.
- Stephen Holt will work out for the Warriors, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group.
Jazz Notes: Gordon, Hairston, Tomic, Snyder
The Jazz worked out Arizona big man Aaron Gordon today, and the team was quite impressed with his performance, relays Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter). In addition to the ability he demonstrated during workouts, Gordon gave a better media interview than any other prospect that Utah has brought in so far, according to Jones (Twitter link). Here’s more on the Jazz:
- P.J. Hairston will work out for Utah on Sunday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Hairston is projected to be a late first-round selection, according to the latest mock draft from Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
- Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin told Jody Genessy of the Deseret News that Utah will have conversations about bringing Ante Tomic in from overseas (Twitter link). Tomic, one of Euroleague’s dominating centers, was a second round pick for the Jazz in 2008.
- Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune recaps how newly-hired Jazz coach Quin Snyder ended up in Utah. Falk opines that bringing in Synder is perhaps the biggest move that the organization has made during the tenure of team CEO Greg Miller.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Gordon, Napier, Spurs, Raptors
The draft is three weeks from tonight, and players continue to travel around North America to show off for teams and make the best of their chances. Here’s the latest:
- The Jazz are among the teams on Aaron Gordon‘s workout schedule, tweets Sean Cunningham of News10 Sacramento.
- Shabazz Napier is set to audition for the Bulls today, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Spurs are working out Cleanthony Early, Glenn Robinson III, and Isaiah Austin today, according to Goodman (via Twitter).
- The previously unreported prospects showing off for the Raptors today are the similarly named DeAndre Kane, DeAndre Daniels, K.J. McDaniels and C.J. Fair, the team announced.
- The Suns worked out Aaron Craft, Markel Starks, Tarik Black and Casey Prather on Wednesday, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
- Bryce Cotton will audition for the Sixers next week, as agent Harold B. Woolfalk tells Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- The Knicks are set to get a look at Arkansas State forward Kirk Van Slyke today, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link).
Draft Notes: Wiggins, Jazz, Randle, Sixers
The debate over how the top three picks of the 2014 NBA Draft will shake out has been covered ad nauseam at this point, and NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper throws his hat in the ring by examining what could dictate where Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins will land. Meanwhile, here are some other draft-related updates:
- Along with Nick Wiggins (brother of Andrew), the Jazz will work out Deonte Burton, Jordan Clarkson, Alex Kirk, Sean Kilpatrick and Artem Kilmenko on Thursday morning, tweets Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz have three picks on June 26, including two in the first round (5 and 23).
- As Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines, just because Julius Randle is no longer widely classified within the top tier of this draft class isn’t reason enough to sleep on the talented Kentucky forward, who still has a shot at becoming a top-5 pick.
- In a separate story, Kennedy writes that there is no confusing how much is riding on this talent-rich draft for the Sixers, who are the only team with two top-10 selections (3 and 10). Adding two franchise cornerstones to go with Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel could make Philadelphia an attractive landing spot around the league, according to Kennedy.
- After working out for the Hornets today, Northwestern’s Drew Crawford is scheduled to work out with the Kings, Jazz and his hometown Bulls, according to the Wildcats’ Twitter feed.
- The Nuggets will have Michigan State’s Gary Harris and Mizzou’s Jabari Brown in town for a workout on Thursday, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Denver picks at 11, 41 and 56.
- According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Magic will work out Randle, Aaron Gordon and Noah Vonleh individually before the draft. They will also work out Dante Exum at some point and are expected to bring in Marcus Smart for a second look. Orlando picks at 4 and 12.
Draft Rumors: Embiid, Wiggins, Gordon, Suns
Chris Mannix of SI.com hears from sources who maintain their belief that the Cavs are deciding between Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, as Mannix writes in his latest mock draft. The Sixers hope that Embiid and Jabari Parker go with the first two picks, since they covet Wiggins, as Mannix hears. There’s more from Mannix amid our latest look at the draft:
- Danny Ainge is “locked in” on Aaron Gordon at No. 6 for the Celtics, several sources tell Mannix, who nonetheless points to the distinct possibility that Ainge will trade the pick.
- The Suns are shopping the 27th overall pick, rival executives tell Mannix.
- The Wolves are listening to offers for the 13th overall selection, but they aren’t actively seeking deals, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- Clint Capela, Eric Moreland, Victor Rudd and Akeem Williams are the previously unreported names on the list of players working out for the Celtics today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com details.
- The Raptors are auditioning Deonte Burton and Niels Giffey today among others we’d already heard about, the team announced.
- Chaz Williams has the Warriors, Bucks, and Cavs on his workout agenda, as he tells Daniel Malone of MassLive.
- It appears as though Devyn Marble has set up another workout for the Bucks today after having to call off last week’s plans, as he tweeted that he would be auditioning for Milwaukee today after performing for the Spurs on Tuesday (hat tip to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
Draft Notes: Jazz, Gordon, Ennis, Napier
The Jazz aren’t looking at potential replacements for Gordon Hayward in the draft because the team is confident the soon-to-be restricted free agent will be back with Utah next season. That’s what Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin told reporters, including Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. It jibes with longstanding mutual interest between Hayward and the team, with a nod to the inherent control that clubs have over restricted free agents, but it also demonstrates the link between the draft and free agency. Both are on the horizon, so here’s the latest on the draft as prospects demonstrate what they can do for teams:
- Monday’s Kings audition for Aaron Gordon didn’t really amount to a workout in the team’s eyes, notes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter links). The power forward simply took a few shots and met with owner Vivek Ranadive and GM Pete D’Alessandro, according to Jones.
- Tyler Ennis will work out for the Hawks, Hornets and Nuggets, notes Jonathan Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom.
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds Shabazz Napier to the list of those working out for the Suns (Twitter link).
- P.J. Hairston will perform for the Sixers next week, agent Juan Murrow tells Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Russ Smith, Nick Johnson, Jahii Carson and Sam Dower are among the players showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced (on Twitter).
- Artem Klimenko is working out for the Mavs, Heat and Clippers, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com.