Draft Notes: Cavs, Pistons, Thunder, Blazers
With the 2013 NBA draft just eight days away, various outlets continue to update their mock drafts, with Chris Mannix of SI.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com the latest experts to provide new versions of their respective mocks. Mannix and Givony actually agree on the top four – Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Otto Porter, and Alex Len, respectively – but starting at No. 5, their first rounds diverge significantly. Here are more of today's draft-related updates:
- Mannix's latest mock draft includes a number of interesting tidbits, including word that the Cavaliers continue to shop the first overall pick, but "have completely overvalued it," according to one executive.
- We already passed along one notable update from Chad Ford's latest chat at ESPN.com, but the entire chat was full of interesting answers, as Ford addressed nearly every first-round pick.
- C.J. McCollum and Michael Carter-Williams worked out with the Pistons today, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
- If Carter-Williams falls to No. 12, he'd be an ideal fit for the Thunder, says David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider-only link).
- The Trail Blazers worked out Mason Plumlee, Archie Goodwin, Myck Kabongo, Phil Pressey, E.J. Singler, and Dewayne Dedmon today, according to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com (Twitter link).
- The Grizzlies, who hold three second-round picks, will work out Erick Green, Elias Harris, Brandon Davies, Jason Jones, D.J. Stephens, and Mareks Mejeris tomorrow, the team announced in a release.
- James Ennis was among the players who worked out for the Clippers today, according to the team's official site.
Draft Notes: Magic, Pistons, Timberwolves
A few more notes on the upcoming NBA draft.
- Holders of the number two pick in the draft, the Magic will host Otto Porter and Cody Zeller in the days ahead, tweets the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins.
- The Pistons will work out former Michigan State center Derrick Nix, according to MLive.com's Diamond Leung.
- The Timberwolves worked out Lehigh's C.J. McCollum on Tuesday and liked what they saw, especially with his ability to shoot and handle the ball like a point guard, reports TwinCities.com's Marcus R. Fuller.
Draft Rumors: Noel, Snell, Olynyk, Blazers, Adams
Chad Ford of ESPN.com delivered enough draft rumors for their own post this afternoon, and we rounded up more draft-related news in another post this morning. It's not hard to tell that the big event takes place just two weeks and two days from now. Here are tonight's updates, via Twitter unless otherwise noted:
- In spite of rumors that the Cavaliers probably won't draft him first overall, Nerlens Noel will visit with Cleveland on June 20th, following Saturday's meeting with the Wizards, The Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer reports.
- Tony Snell's stock is on the rise, and two executives have told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the New Mexico swingman has solidified a spot in the first round.
- Kelly Olynyk is the most prominent name among a group of six prospects working out for the Blazers today, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com passes along. John Allen, Chris Babb, Erik Murphy, D.J. Stephens and Khalif Wyatt were the others in attendance.
- The Timberwolves will turn their focus to big men Thursday, when Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert and Mike Muscala will participate in a group workout for the team, observes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Cody Zeller will be in Minnesota the same day, but he'll work out separately.
- C.J. McCollum will participate in a workout Wednesday for the Jazz that will also include Scott Bamforth from nearby Weber State, notes Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
- Jared Berggren has shown off his skills in front of the Blazers and Suns, and the Wisconsin power forward will get to do so for the Bucks, likely on Thursday, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
- Mason Plumlee is the headliner in a Wizards audition set for Wednesday, the team announced via press release. Karron Johnson, Bruce Massey, Brock Motum, Dexter Strickland and Kellen Thornton will join him.
Draft Notes: Blazers, Muhammad, McCollum
Here's a look at the latest draft news as we close in on June 27th..
- The Trail Blazers took a gamble on a mid-major guard last season when they drafted Damian Lillard and Joe Freeman of The Oregonian wonders if they might do the same in 2013 with Lehigh's C.J. McCollum. Portland, who owns the No. 10 pick, worked McCollum out earlier today.
- On paper, Shabazz Muhammad is just the type of player that the Kings need, but the outside issues could dissuade them from taking him at No. 7, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Today's Suns draft workout featured North Texas small forward Tony Mitchell, Duke center Mason Plumlee, Murray State point guard Isaiah Canaan, USC center DeWayne Dedmon, Delaware power forward Jamelle Hagins, and Temple shooting guard Khalif Wyatt, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- The Nets released the workout lineup for their workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Jeff Withey of Kansas, Ray McCallum of Detroit, and Vincent Council of Providence are among the players who will audition in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Draft Updates: Eurocamp, McCollum, Kings
The Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy just completed its first day showing off the best players Europe has to offer NBA teams in this month's draft. Sports Illustated's Chris Mannix said that executives were raving about Giannis Antetokounmpo. According to Mannix, one executive said the 18-year-old Nigerian born "Greek Freak" point forward had "Kevin Durant-like ability" (Twitter).
Here are a couple more links detailing what went down during the first day of Adidas' Eurocamp:
- HoopsHype video on Raul Neto.
- Draft Express and European Prospects detail the good and the bad from day 1.
Despite some excellent play at Eurocamp, ESPN.com's college basketball analyst, Fran Fraschilla, doesn’t think there are a lot of European prospects that will go in the second round. He does see a lot of NCAA candidates for possible second round selections (Twitter), so lets go through the rest of the draft updates with an emphasis on the college prospects:
- Taylor Starer at Sixers.com has a draft profile up for Lehigh senior guard, C.J. McCollum.
- Alex Kramer at The Kings Blog with a report on the Kings' workouts with Michael-Carter Williams, McCollum and others.
- Kings.com also has Kings predraft workout updates on Trey Burke and Abdul Gaddy.
- The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat says that according to new GM Masai Ujiri, the Raptors don't have any predraft workouts planned right now as they've been at group workouts and combines (Twitter link).
- The Oklahoman's John Rohde has a predraft numbers assessment of 7'1" Ukranian import and Maryland sophomore center, Alex Len. Rohde also writes that Len has made great strides in his two years with Maryland.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer has been going through the various positions covered in this year's draft. Today she went through the available shooting guard prospects, highlighted by Kansas freshman and possible number 1 pick for the Cavs, Ben McLemore.
- The Arizona Republic's Paul Coro says the Suns have lots of options to choose from at the number 5 spot in this month's draft.
Draft Workout Updates: Thursday
We're now just three weeks away from the 2013 draft, so teams are busy bringing in prospects to meet with them and work them out, while we do our best to keep tabs on as many of those workouts as we can. Here's the latest:
- Tom Housenick of The Morning Call reported that C.J. McCollum will visit Portland at some point for a workout before June 20th.
- Chris Haynes of CSNNW tweets that Trevor Mbakwe will visit the Trail Blazers tomorrow.
- The Kings released a list of players who have worked out for them via their team website, noting that guards Will Cherry, Travis Releford, Brandon Triche, forward Chris Evans, and centers Rudy Gobert and Aziz N'Diaye took part in workouts this past Monday. Former Michigan star Trey Burke is scheduled to come in tomorrow.
- The Wizards plan to bring in C.J. Aiken, Junior Cadougan, Ella Ellis, Lamont Jones, A.J. Matthews, and Mike Muscala in for Friday workouts, as per the team's official website.
- Jody Genessy of the Deseret News tweets that Steven Adams, Jack Cooley, Richard Howell, Kenny Kadji, Dennis Schroeder, and Peyton Siva are all scheduled for a pre-draft workout with the Jazz on Friday.
Earlier updates:
- Mason Plumlee, Shabazz Muhammad, Kelly Olynyk, Norvel Pelle, and Scott Wood worked out for the Sixers today, tweets Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Plumlee will also work out for the Trail Blazers on June 19th and for the Pistons on June 21st, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com and Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
- Michael Lee of the Washington Post reports that Otto Porter will work out for the Wizards on June 14th.
- The Timberwolves expect to bring in C.J. McCollum for a workout, says Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter).
- Working out for the Suns today, according to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter): McCollum, Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Shane Larkin, Zeke Marshall, and Korie Lucious.
- Gorgui Dieng's agent confirms that his client will work out for both the Nets and Knicks, as Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com details.
- The Grizzlies announced in a press release that James Southerland, Will Clyburn, B.J. Young, Dewayne Dedmon, Colton Iverson, and Sherwood Brown will work out for the club tomorrow.
- The Knicks will work out the following prospects tomorrow, per the team's Twitter feed: Ricky Ledo, Tahj Tate, Adonis Thomas, Christian Watford, Tony Mitchell, and Grant Jerrett.
- Jeff Withey worked out for the Bulls yesterday, according to Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com (via Twitter).
Kotoch On Bledsoe, Magic, Oladipo, Noel, Cavs
Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com has Nerlens Noel atop the latest version of his mock draft, and he has news about the Cavaliers, Noel and other potential lottery storylines. We'll round up the highlights here:
- The Magic and Clippers have had conversations about Eric Bledsoe, according to Kotoch. Chad Ford of ESPN.com wrote a week ago that if Orlando took a shooting guard in the draft, the team would have interest in trading Arron Afflalo for Bledsoe and Caron Butler.
- Speaking of the Magic and shooting guards, Victor Oladipo has eclipsed Ben McLemore on Orlando's draft board.
- Noel's torn ACL won't allow him to work out, but he'll visit with the Cavs on June 20th.
- The Thunder are prioritizing centers at No. 12, unless C.J. McCollum falls to them.
- An established wing player is what the Timberwolves are seeking as they reportedly dangle Derrick Williams in an effort to move up from No. 9.
- The Trail Blazers are in search of a big man who can defend and rebound in exchange for the tenth pick.
- The Mavericks would also "love" to trade pick No. 13, Kotoch writes.
Blazers Notes: Trades, Aldridge, Olynyk, McCollum
After GM Neil Olshey fielded questions last week, it looked like the Blazers were deep into their player evaluation process for the NBA Draft. Let's look at the buzz coming out of Portland, draft and otherwise, on this Tuesday night:
- According to John Canzano of the Oregonian, there are whispers in Portland that the Blazers aren't enamored with anyone at No. 10, and may try to move the pick if nothing changes. Canzano advises Olshey to reconsider, citing the team's utter lack of depth as the primary reason that finding a rotational player on June 27 is critical.
- Speaking of trades, Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge addresses the idea of the Blazers putting LaMarcus Aldridge on the block this summer.
- Many Blazers fans have probably seen plenty of Gonzaga big man Kelly Olynyk in the Pacific Northwest, and they don't appear too impressed with him at No. 10, according to this post from the Oregonian. With Aldridge locked in as one big man, Olynyk is probably not the best fit alongside him considering their similar attributes and deficiencies.
- Sean Meagher rounds up some Blazers draft links for OregonLive.com, evaluating how C.J. McCollum would fit alongside fellow mid-major guard Damian Lillard, who ESPN's Chad Ford has the Blazers taking in his latest mock.
Draft Links: Schroeder, Larkin, Cavs, Mavs
The Bucks, who pick 15th and 43rd later this month, are looking seriously at guards and small forwards, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The Bucks worked out six players, all of them guards, on Friday and with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis' uncertain futures, they're looking closely at German import Dennis Schroeder and Shane Larkin from Miami.
Ellis has a player option for $11MM next season with the Bucks, but if he opts out before June 20th, he'll become an unrestricted free agent. Jennings is a restricted free agent looking for a max contract this offseason, but recent reports point towards the Bucks looking to re-sign Ellis instead of Jennings. Another point in Ellis' favor: the Bucks hired former Hawks coach, Larry Drew, when Jennings would have preferred Kelvin Sampson.
Regardless of the Bucks' attempts to bring back J.J. Redick, Ellis and/or Jennings, they're still looking to shore up their backcourt. Here are some more links as we're now inside of four weeks until the big night.
- The ostensible top pick on that big night, Nerlens Noel, is part of the pre-draft positional preview focusing on centers by Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Cavs, of course, own that first pick, and Boyer keys in on Noel's rehab in Birmingham from that torn knee ligament.
- The Mavericks continue to shop the 13th overall pick in an effort to clear cap space this offseason, and they're not asking for much, several executives tell Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link).
- Mannix also got input from executives from around the league on this year's top foreign prospects, with Dario Saric and aforementioned Schroeder topping the list.
- Local product, Doug Anderson, highlighted a group of second-round prospects who worked out with the Pistons, observes Perry A. Farrell of the Free Press. Solomon Hill, Brandon Paul, D.J. Stephens, Will Clyburn, and Carrick Felix were the others in attendance.
- Kansas center Jeff Withey will work out for the Knicks and Nets before the June 27th draft, says his agent, Darren Matsubara, to ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling.
- The Timberwolves are looking to bring Lehigh senior C.J. McCollum in for a workout, but they still haven't scheduled a time yet, says ESPN1500's Darren Wolfson (Twitter link).
- HoopsHype.com just updated their list of players past workouts and future workouts by team.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post
Cavs Would Give Up No. 1 Pick For Kevin Love
Immediately after the Cavaliers won this year's draft lottery, we heard that the team would be open to fielding trade offers for the first overall pick. But according to Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com, there's one particular the team with whom the Cavs would like to deal: The Timberwolves. Kotoch reports that the No. 1 pick would be available to the T-Wolves if they were willing to part with Kevin Love.
Kotoch's report doesn't come as a huge surprise — Love is a two-time All-Star and was a member of the gold-medal U.S. Olympic team in 2012, so he's a proven commodity, whereas there's no real consensus top pick in this year's draft class. Nerlens Noel, who sits atop many draft boards, is recovering from ACL surgery. As such, it makes sense that the Cavs, who hope to earn a playoff spot next season, would target a veteran who could make an immediate impact.
Love has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate in the past because he and the Timberwolves have had an up-and-down relationship since the team was unwilling to give him the five-year rookie scale extension he was seeking. Still, with former GM David Kahn out of the picture and Flip Saunders now running the show in Minnesota, I'd be shocked if the T-Wolves seriously considered moving Love this summer. Even if he does intent to opt out down the road, Love still has at least two more years remaining on his contract, so there'd be plenty of time for the Wolves to weigh their options.
In addition to the nugget on the Cavs and Love, Kotoch shared a few more draft-related rumors to go along with his latest mock draft. Here are the highlights:
- Kotoch echoes a report by ESPN.com's Chad Ford (Twitter link) suggesting that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been given a first-round guarantee. According to Kotoch, two teams have made such a promise to the so-called "Greek Freak," and Kotoch believes one of them may be the Hawks, who have two first-round picks.
- The Jazz are interested in C.J. McCollum, but would be happy to select Michael Carter-Williams or Dennis Schroeder if McCollum is off the board at No. 14, says Kotoch.
- McCollum also intrigues the Thunder, who pick 12th, though Oklahoma City has been primarily linked to bigs so far.
- The Knicks "really like" Shane Larkin, according to Kotoch.