Cameron Thomas Signs Rookie Contract With Nets
Cameron Thomas, the 27th overall pick in this year’s draft, has signed his rookie contract with the Nets, the team announced today in a press release.
While terms weren’t officially disclosed, we can project what Thomas will earn based on the NBA’s rookie scale. If he signed for the maximum allowable amount – as most first-rounders do – the 6’4″ guard will earn a first-year salary of $2.04MM and a four-year total of $10.46MM. The third and fourth years of the deal will be team options.
Thomas, who declared for the draft following his freshman season at LSU, was one of college basketball’s top scorers in 2020/21, averaging 23.0 points per contest in 29 games (34.0 MPG). Although the 19-year-old struggled a little with his shot from the floor (40.6%) and from beyond the three-point line (32.5%), his ability to get to the free throw line (7.6 attempts per game) and make his foul shots (88.2%) was a big plus.
Brooklyn entered draft night last Thursday with four picks and – somewhat surprisingly – kept all of them and agreed to acquire another, drafting five players in total. We should hear more in the coming days about the Nets finalizing deals with some of their other draftees.
Draft Notes: Mitchell, Duarte, Thomas, Şengün
Baylor point guard Davion Mitchell worked out for about seven or eight NBA clubs in the lead-up to Thursday’s draft, including the Thunder, Warriors, and Spurs, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link).
Mitchell, whose team won the NCAA championship this season, is currently slated as a mid-lottery pick on ESPN’s latest big board. The 6’2″ guard averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.9 SPG across 30 games, all starts, during the 2020/21 season. During his final collegiate season, Mitchell posted a shooting line of .511/.447/.643.
Mitchell was honored as the 2020/21 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, as well as being a two-time All-Big 12 and two-time Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection.
Here are some other draft-related notes to pass along:
- Oregon guard Chris Duarte is not anticipated to fall beyond the No. 15 pick in Thursday’s upcoming NBA draft, per J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star (subscription required). For the 2020/21 season, the 6’6″ Duarte was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and the All-Defensive Team.
- 6’4″ LSU shooting guard Cameron Thomas, expected to be a first-round selection in the upcoming draft, has thus far worked out for the Pacers, Warriors, Hornets, Grizzlies, Hawks, Knicks and Lakers, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (via Twitter). Hughes adds (Twitter link) that Thomas is also set to work out for the Wizards on July 27. Thomas was a 2020/21 All-SEC selection.
- Beşiktaş center Alperen Şengün, the 2021 Turkish League MVP, has worked out for the Warriors, Kings, Spurs, Hornets, Magic and Thunder, tweets Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. The big man is projected as a mid-first-round selection on the current ESPN big board.
Eastern Draft Notes: Hawks, Sixers, Cavaliers, Hornets
Tennessee guard Jaden Springer and Oregon guard Chris Duarte are expected to work out for the Hawks shortly before the draft, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic tweets. Duarte is ranked No. 23 on ESPN’s Best Available list, though he’s expected by some outlets to go higher, and Springer is rated No. 27. Atlanta holds the No. 20 pick.
We have more draft news involving Eastern Conference teams:
- Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl worked out for the Sixers on Friday and former Wisconsin big man Nigel Hayes will visit on Saturday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers have a late first-round pick at No. 28 that they’re reportedly shopping and a second-round selection at No. 50. Robinson-Earl, the co-Big East Player of the Year, is ranked No. 58 by ESPN.
- Arkansas guard Jalen Tate, brother of the Rockets’ Jae’Sean Tate, worked out for the Cavaliers on Friday, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets.
- The Hornets have been very busy. On Thursday, they worked out Justin Champagnie (Pittsburgh), Marek Dolezaj (Syracuse), Juwan Durham (Notre Dame), Ty Gadsden (UNC-Wilmington), Neemias Queta (Utah State), Colbey Ross (Pepperdine) and Moses Moody (Arkansas), the team’s PR department tweets. On Friday, they brought in Corey Kispert (Gonzaga), Denzel Mahoney (Creighton), Mac McClung (Texas Tech), EJ Onu (Shawnee State), Alperen Sengun (Besiktas-Turkey) and Cameron Thomas (LSU), according to another PR department tweet. Kispert (No. 13) and Sengun (No. 15) are the top-rated prospects in those groups. Charlotte holds the No. 11 pick and two late second-rounders.
Draft Notes: Garza, Cooper, Pacers, Mock Drafts
The Sixers, who are in the market for a reserve center, worked out a pair of big men today, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Iowa’s Luka Garza, the two-time national player of the year, was in Philadelphia, along with Utah State’s Neemias Queta.
Garza, who is projected to be taken anywhere from the end of the first round to the middle of the second round, has dropped weight since the college season ended in an effort to become more mobile on defense. Queta was named Player of the Year in the Mountain West Conference and was a finalist for Naismith Defensive Player of the Year honors.
With Dwight Howard entering free agency, Pompey notes that the Sixers don’t have a reliable backup to Joel Embiid. Philadelphia holds the 28th and 50th selections in next week’s draft.
There’s more draft news to pass along:
- The Knicks have been seeking information on Auburn point guard Sharife Cooper, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Cooper only played 12 games as a freshman because of an NCAA investigation into his eligibility, and some scouts believe he’ll be selected much higher than his current rating of 17th on ESPN’s big board. Begley isn’t sure if New York has worked out Cooper yet, but he notes that point guard is a strong position of need.
- The Pacers hosted several projected first-round picks in a workout today, according to a story on the team’s website. Oregon’s Chris Duarte, Virginia’s Sam Hauser, Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, LSU’s Cameron Thomas, Stanford’s Ziaire Williams and Colorado’s McKinley Wright all participated. Indiana has the No. 13 pick.
- With the draft eight days away, the top of the lottery appears set. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs and Scottie Barnes are the first five off the board in new mock drafts from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Their first difference comes at No. 6, where Vecenie has the Thunder taking Jonathan Kuminga, while Wasserman has James Bouknight going to OKC. Vecenie also released his final draft rankings, which list Cunningham, Suggs, Mobley, Green and Kuminga as the top five prospects.
Draft Notes: Green Room Invites, Makur, Taylor, Draft Intel
The NBA has finalized the list of 20 prospects who will be invited to the Green Room on draft night, writes ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. While 15 of the names had already been reported, the final five players were identified over the last two days: Chris Duarte, Cameron Thomas, Isaiah Jackson, Alperen Sengun and Ziaire Williams will round out the group.
While an invitation to the Green Room is no guarantee of being drafted in the top 20, the decision is considered to be an indication of teams’ thinking, as the invitations are determined through a series of conversations with general managers and a voting process where teams vote on the 25 prospects most likely to have their name called first, Givony writes.
We have more news from around the draft world:
- Howard University’s Makur Maker has withdrawn from the draft, tweets draft analyst Chad Ford. The 6’11 forward flashed versatility at the NBA Combine, but his draft stock was still hazy. Because he missed the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline, Maker will likely pursue professional options, whether in the G League, Australia’s NBL, or elsewhere.
- Terry Taylor worked out with the Bucks yesterday and the Nuggets today, tweets Adam Zagoria of Forbes. Taylor has workouts lined up with the Nets, Cavaliers and Mavericks this week, and already worked out for the Knicks, Warriors, Kings, Pacers, Grizzlies, Bulls, Spurs and Pelicans. The 6’5″ wing led the country in double-doubles, Zagoria notes.
- Sports Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo released his latest mock draft today, sharing some pieces of intel gathered from sources. Within his mock, Woo confirms that the prevailing notion is that the Rockets prefer Jalen Green to Evan Mobley, that the Thunder are being increasingly linked to James Bouknight, that the Magic covet Scottie Barnes, and that Jonathan Kuminga‘s range seems to be settling around six-to-eight, rather than being a top-five pick.
Pacific Notes: Warriors Workouts, Lakers, LeBron, CP3
The Warriors, who hold the seventh and 14th overall picks in this year’s draft, are busy this week working out prospects, many of whom could be in play for one of those two lottery picks.
As Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets, Cameron Thomas, Tre Mann, Isaiah Todd, Quentin Grimes, Nah’Shon Hyland, and LJ Figueroa came in for a group workout with the Warriors on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Baylor’s Davion Mitchell is conducting an individual workout with Golden State before Jalen Johnson, Kai Jones, and Moses Moody audition later in the afternoon, according to Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link).
Of those 10 prospects, Mitchell (No. 7), Johnson (12), Moody (16), Jones (20), Mann (22), Thomas (26), Grimes (29), and Hyland (30) are all projected by ESPN to be first-round picks.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Jovan Buha of The Athletic presents the case for and against the Lakers re-signing each of their own free agents, including Dennis Schröder, Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Andre Drummond.
- During an appearance on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ LeBron James laughed off a question asking about the possibility of the Lakers signing or trading for Suns point guard Chris Paul, but admitted that he’d “absolutely” like to play with his close friend at some point, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic details. Maybe it could happen before the two stars retire, but I wouldn’t count on it being a realistic option in 2021/22.
- In case you missed it, Suns assistant Willie Green is on track to become the Pelicans’ new head coach and is expected to finalize a deal with the team this week.
Eastern Notes: Sexton, Knicks, Heat, Hawks, Raptors
Following up on Shams Charania’s report that the Knicks have been the most aggressive trade suitor for Collin Sexton so far, Marc Berman of The New York Post confirms that the team has the Cavaliers guard on its trade radar.
According to Berman, the Knicks would’ve picked Sexton over Kevin Knox in the 2018 draft if he had slipped to No. 9 instead of being selected at No. 8. Berman adds that Knicks forward Obi Toppin, who played his college ball at Dayton, may be a player the Cavs would target in a trade.
A source tells Berman that the Knicks – who hold the 19th and 21st overall picks – are open to trading out of the first round entirely in order to acquire an “established player.” Sexton has certainly established himself as a talented scorer, having averaged 24.5 points per game in 2020/21, though it’s unclear if New York would be willing to offer both of its first-round picks in a package for him.
Here’s more from around the East:
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel explores whether Sexton might be a fit for the Heat, concluding that such an acquisition would have to be accompanied by another significant addition in order to make Miami a legit contender in the East.
- Ayo Dosunmu, Daishen Nix, Kessler Edwards, Cameron Thomas, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Josh Christopher, Joel Ayayi, David Duke, Joe Wieskamp, Luka Garza, Moses Wright, Justin Champagnie, Sandro Mamukelashvili, John Petty, JT Thor, and Carlik Jones are among the prospects that have worked out for the Hawks or will do so soon, reports Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Jalen Suggs is considered the most likely pick for the Raptors at No. 4 and has been referred to as a potential Kyle Lowry replacement. However, Eric Koreen of The Athletic isn’t convinced that the Raps will – or should – resign themselves to losing Lowry if they draft Suggs or another guard, suggesting that the veteran point guard’s free agency won’t be dependent on which player the team selects in the draft.
Pacific Notes: S. Barnes, C. Thomas, Hield, Williams
Versatile Florida State point forward Scottie Barnes possesses some of the same qualities that make Warriors veteran Draymond Green such a valuable teammate, writes Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area. Barnes also is an unselfish player who prioritizes defense and winning over personal statistics, and could be an intriguing successor to Green if he falls to Golden State’s No. 7 pick in the upcoming 2021 draft.
Though Barnes was a below-average jump shooter in college, Andrews notes that his Green-esque impact could offset his modest scoring contributions. In his lone season for FSU, the 6’9″ Barnes averaged 10.3 PPG, 4.1 APG and 4.0 RPG, with a shooting line of .503/.275/.621.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- LSU guard Cameron Thomas is scheduled to work out for the Warriors this Wednesday, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPN. The 6’4″ guard averaged 23.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.4 APG during the 2020/21 NCAA season. He posted a shooting line of .406/.325/.882.
- Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield faces a potentially tenuous future with the club, as he touched on in a podcast interview with Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes. “I see my name in trade rumors, but I can’t control all that,” Hield said. “My job is to go out there and play basketball and everybody’s goal is to get to the playoffs and win a championship.” The Kings have not made the playoffs since 2006. Hield has two years left on the four-year, $86MM contract extension he signed with Sacramento during the 2019 offseason.
- Suns head coach Monty Williams notes that Nets head coach Steve Nash, a former two-time MVP while a point guard for Phoenix, reached out to him over text during the playoffs, tweets Mark Medina of USA Today. “It spoke to me about how those guys feel about the Suns and the fanbase,” Williams said.
Draft Updates: Combine, Thomas, Bacot, Cunningham, More
As expected, a number of draft-eligible prospects who stood out at the NBA G League Elite Camp that took place from June 19-21 are now receiving invitations to remain in Chicago for this week’s combine.
Maryland’s Aaron Wiggins and Ohio State’s Duane Washington are among the players who have been invited to the combine, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links). Givony also hears from a source that South Carolina’s A.J. Lawson has received an invite, while Jeremy Woo of SI.com reports that Louisville’s Carlik Jones did too (Twitter links).
While scouts should get an extended look at those prospects in Chicago this week, they won’t see LSU’s Cameron Thomas, who has withdrawn from the combine, as we relayed on Monday. According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link), there’s a belief that Thomas may have gotten a first-round guarantee.
Here’s more on the 2021 NBA draft:
- North Carolina sophomore forward Armando Bacot has decided to withdraw from the 2021 draft and will return to school for the 2021/22 season, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Bacot had been testing the draft waters after declaring this spring.
- Several more agency Pro Day workouts have been added to the schedule for this week in Chicago, per Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Jonathan Kuminga and Sharife Cooper are among the players expected to conduct individual workouts.
- Prospects who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 may have a harder time lining up pre-draft workouts with NBA teams, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, who says agents have been encouraging their clients to get vaccinated and some team personnel have “conveyed an annoyance” at dealing with unvaccinated players. “Life is a lot harder,” one agent said. “Teams definitely want guys who are vaccinated.”
- Sam Vecenie of The Athletic explores the best possible fits for Cade Cunningham among this year’s lottery teams, making a case for the Raptors, Warriors, and Thunder as the most ideal destinations for the likely No. 1 pick.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic has a much different top-20 list than most draft experts, listing Florida State’s Scottie Barnes at No. 3 and Turkish big man Alperen Sengun at No. 4 on his big board, with Jonathan Kuminga down at No. 8.
Draft Notes: Mayer, Murphy, Duarte, Ayayi, Combine
Baylor forward Matthew Mayer, who had been set to attend the draft combine in Chicago this week, is withdrawing from both the combine and the draft, a source tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN.
Mayer, ranked as this year’s No. 63 overall prospect by ESPN, was a candidate to be selected in the second round and almost certainly would’ve received a two-way deal or a training camp invite if he went undrafted. However, the 6’9″ junior has decided to return to the national-champion Bears for another year.
Givony expects another college season to boost Mayer’s draft stock, since he should be in line for a larger role at Baylor. The forward could be a Big 12 Player of the Year candidate and a potential 2022 first-round pick, says Givony.
Here’s more on the 2021 NBA draft:
- Potential first-round pick Trey Murphy III has decided to hire an agent, he told Givony. Murphy will remain in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility after averaging 11.3 PPG on .503/.433/.927 shooting in 25 games (29.6 MPG) at Virginia as a junior.
- Oregon’s Chris Duarte and Gonzaga’s Joel Ayayi were among the players who turned down combine invites, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Wasserman hears that Duarte may not have wanted to give up a week of working with his personal trainer, while Ayayi’s camp is confident in his draft outlook without the combine, though there are no indications he has received a promise.
- Cameron Thomas of LSU and Isaiah Jackson of Kentucky are withdrawing from this week’s combine, tweets Jeremy Woo of SI.com. Both players are projected first-round picks.
- In his preview of the draft combine, Givony (Insider link) identifies Alabama guard Josh Primo, Arizona State forward Marcus Bagley, West Virginia guard Miles McBride, and Texas Tech wing Terrence Shannon as some of the players with the most at stake this week. They all rank between Nos. 32 and 41 on ESPN’s big board and will be looking to establish themselves as first-rounders.