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Draft Notes: Shead, Bona, K. Jones, Mock

April 11th, 2024 at 4:33pm CST by Rory Maher

Houston senior Jamal Shead is entering the 2024 NBA draft and forgoing his final year of college eligibility, he told Chancellor Johnson of KPRC 2.

The 2023/24 Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, the 6’1″ point guard was also named to the All-America First Team after leading the Cougars to a 32-5 record. Shead sustained an ankle injury in Houston’s Sweet 16 loss to Duke, which ended the team’s season.

Shead is ranked No. 61 on ESPN’s big board, making him a potential second-round pick. Jonathan Givony of ESPN describes Shead as an exceptional defender, leader and strong floor general, but there are questions about his relatively diminutive stature (by NBA standards) and jump shot.

In 37 games this season (31.1 MPG), Shead averaged 12.9 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 6.3 APG and 2.2 SPG on .409/.309/.779 shooting.

Here are a few more notes regarding June’s draft:

  • UCLA sophomore big man Adem Bona is expected to declare for the draft and is “unlikely to return to college,” a source tells Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 (Twitter link). A Nigerian forward/center, Bona is another possible second-rounder, currently ranked No. 50 on ESPN’s list. He was the 2023/24 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 12.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 SPG and 1.8 BPG in 33 games for the Bruins (26.5 MPG).
  • Guard Kameron Jones, who is ranked No. 67 on ESPN’s board, has decided to return to Marquette for his senior season, he announced on Twitter. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic says (via Twitter) Jones should be the Big East’s preseason Player of the Year next season, writing that he had a top-50 grade for Jones this year.
  • Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports recently released her latest mock draft for 2024, with some noteworthy differences compared to ESPN’s rankings. For instance, she has UConn’s Stephon Castle, who is No. 9 on ESPN’s board, going No. 3 to Charlotte. Peek is also high on Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II, who goes No. 27 to Utah. Holmes is No. 53 on ESPN’s list.
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And-Ones: Dumars, Nwaba, Vildoza, 2024 Draft

January 9th, 2024 at 1:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Last week, the Nets became the first team to get fined for resting healthy players since the NBA introduced its new player participation policy in September. Joe Dumars, the league’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations, told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps that the rules will continue to be enforced when teams try to sit multiple players who are not legitimately injured.

“We are serious about this,” Dumars said. “We talked to people, we talked to everyone, all parties we talked to before the season started. And to not follow through with this would not be right of us. It would not be the thing to do, to not follow through. So yeah, we are very serious about this. We communicated, we overly communicated with everyone about this, and we made very clear that if your guys can play or we feel that your guys can play, they should be on the court. And it’s gone over extremely well this year.”

We have more from around the international basketball world:

  • The London Lions have officially signed former NBA guard David Nwaba, Sportando relays. The Lions’ interest in Nwaba was reported by BasketNews last week. Nwaba’s last NBA stint was with Houston in 2021/22. The six-year veteran appeared in 237 regular season games during his NBA career, averaging 6.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game.
  • Luca Vildoza, who played seven games with Milwaukee in 2021/22, suffered a ruptured lateral meniscus in his left knee while playing for Greece’s Panathinaikos, according to Sportando’s Allesandro Maggi. The Argentinean guard will undergo surgery on Tuesday, according to the Greek club.
  • In his latest mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman has the Pistons taking French big man Alexandre Sarr with the top pick. Wasserman compares Sarr, who’s playing in Australia with the Perth Wildcats, with Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. Point guard Nikola Topic, who recently suffered a knee injury while facing EuroLeague competition, goes at the No. 2 spot to the Spurs in Wasserman’s mock, while another European, French wing Zaccharie Risacher, comes off the board at No. 3 to the Wizards.
  • ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo (Insider link) have put out another roundup of notes on 2024 draft prospects, exploring what’s gone wrong for UCLA’s top three NBA prospects (Aday Mara, Adem Bona, and Berke Buyuktuncel) and whether recent injuries to Sarr and Topic will hurt their stock, among other topics.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

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Draft Decisions: Bona, J. James, Da Silva, More

May 31st, 2023 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

College players who declared for the 2023 NBA draft as early entrants while maintaining their NCAA eligibility have until the end of the day on Wednesday to either withdraw from the draft or forgo their remaining eligibility. Players who take the latter route could still technically pull out of the draft before the NBA’s June 12 deadline, but wouldn’t have the option of returning to school if they miss the NCAA’s May 31 deadline.

As a result, we’re getting a flurry of updates today on prospects who had been testing the draft waters.

UCLA’s Adem Bona, for instance, has decided to remove his name from the draft pool and rejoin the Bruins for his sophomore year, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Bona, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, had been the No. 48 player on ESPN’s 2023 big board.

Tennessee wing Josiah-Jordan James, the No. 77 player on ESPN’s board, has also decided to pull out of the 2023 draft and will take advantage of his final year of college eligibility, he announced on Twitter. Colorado forward Tristan Da Silva – ESPN’s No. 83 prospect – will head back to school too, as he tells Givony.

While most players announcing decisions today are withdrawing from the draft, that’s not the case for everyone. Memphis forward Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, for instance, has opted to keep his name in the draft and go pro, agent Scott Nichols tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

In our latest batch of updates, however, Akobundu-Ehiogu is a rarity. Here are several more early entrants who are withdrawing from the draft:

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NBA Reveals Players Expected At 2023 Draft Combine

May 9th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced 78 players that are expected to attend this year’s draft combine, scheduled for May 15-21 at in Chicago, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

Additionally, a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which takes place May 13-14 in Chicago, will be invited to participate in the combine.

Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five scrimmages, as well as shooting, strength and agility drills. Some top prospects opt out of the scrimmages.

Victor Wembanyama, the projected top pick, is not on the list. His French League season is still ongoing.

The list of invitees is as follows:

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Draft Notes: Bona, Walsh, Nelson, Broome

April 19th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

UCLA big man Adem Bona has decided to test the 2023 NBA draft waters after wrapping up his freshman season, he tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. He’ll maintain his remaining NCAA eligibility during the process.

Bona had a promising year in 2022/23, averaging 7.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.7 BPG in 22.9 MPG (33 games) for the Bruins, earning Pac-12 All-Defensive and Rookie of the Year honors. He’s the No. 45 player on ESPN’s big board, making him a solid candidate to be drafted.

However, Bona injured his shoulder in the Pac-12 tournament last month, then aggravated the injury during the NCAA tournament. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and isn’t expected to fully recover until the fall, Givony writes.

Bona will be able to go through interviews with NBA teams during the pre-draft process, but will be unable to conduct full workouts, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll opt to keep his name in the draft pool or withdraw and return to school for his sophomore year.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

  • Freshman forward Jordan Walsh has decided to test the NBA draft waters following his first college season at Arkansas, he tells Curtis Wilkerson of HawgSports.com. The No. 51 prospect on ESPN’s board, Walsh started 22 of 36 games as a freshman for the Razorbacks, averaging 7.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.1 SPG while playing strong, versatile defense.
  • North Dakota State junior power forward Grant Nelson is entering the draft while preserving his remaining NCAA eligibility, he announced on Instagram. A member of the All-Summit first team and the conference’s All-Defensive team in 2022/23, Nelson averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds in 30 games (30.7 MPG). He ranks 94th on ESPN’s list of 2023 prospects.
  • Auburn junior forward Johni Broome is testing the NBA draft waters for a second straight year, he announced on Instagram. Broome transferred to Auburn after two standout seasons at Morehead State, where he was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2021 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. He averaged 14.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 33 games (26.5 MPG) as a junior with the Tigers.
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And-Ones: Zion, Silver, Chalmers, Bona, Lawson

September 21st, 2020 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

A panel of 15 NBA evaluators, including four general managers, unanimously agreed that Mavericks star Luka Doncic is the player under 25 whom they would most want to build a franchise around, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, Suns guard Devin Booker, and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant received the next-highest scores in the poll.

As Scotto notes, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Pelicans big man Zion Williamson, placed just seventh on the evaluators’ list, tied with Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. Among the respondents who spoke to Scotto, the enthusiasm for Williamson’s obvious upside was dampened by long-term weight and injury concerns.

“He’s just a special player inside the arc who’s an elite finisher,” one executive said of the Pelicans’ rising star. “… He’s one of the best finishers behind Giannis (Antetokounmpo) and LeBron (James). He can hit the open man. He’s so physically dominant. His shooting shouldn’t be a problem, but we’ll see. I think he’s always going to be hurt, though.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • NBA commissioner Adam Silver is expected to be at the league’s Walt Disney World campus this week, sources tell Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether Silver’s visit will be brief or if he plans to stick around through the NBA Finals.
  • Greek club Aris Thessaloniki has announced the signing of former NBA guard Mario Chalmers (hat tip to Sportando). A former two-time champion with Miami, Chalmers spent last season in Athens, but continues to hold out hope of making an NBA comeback.
  • Adem Bona, a 17-year-old Nigerian/Turkish big man, will spend the next two seasons stateside at Prolific Prep in California, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, who refers to Bona as one of Europe’s “most promising” prospects (Twitter links). He’ll become draft-eligible in 2023, Givony adds.
  • Agent Chris Patrick and The Sports Law Group have ended their representation of former NBA guard Ty Lawson following his ban from the Chinese Basketball Association, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Lawson last played in the NBA during the 2018 postseason with Washington.
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