Chibuzo Agbo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Kidd, Blazers, Kings, Nelson, Nuggets

June 10th, 2025 at 5:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Letting Jason Kidd go to the Knicks would be a terrible outcome for the Mavericks, according to Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News. There’s reportedly mutual interest between Kidd and the Knicks.

Under Kidd, Dallas has won five playoff series in four seasons. Cowlishaw also notes that Kyrie Irving likes Kidd and believes in him. In Cowlishaw’s viewpoint, the only way general manager Nico Harrison‘s vision for the current group will work is dependent on Anthony Davis staying healthy and Irving getting healthy and remaining happy. If Cooper Flagg then plays up to his draft status, the Mavs have a chance to secure a title in 2026/27 before the window of opportunity runs out for their aging stars.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Arthur Kaluma (Texas), Gabe Madsen (Utah), Chibuzo Agbo (USC), Alex Toohey (Sydney Kings), Jahmai Mashack (Tennessee) and Dylan Cardwell (Auburn) worked out for the Trail Blazers on Tuesday, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report tweets. Toohey is the biggest name in the group, as the Australian forward is ranked No. 36 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
Jeremy Roach (Baylor), Caleb Love (Arizona), Jaxson Robinson (Kentucky), John Tonje (Wisconsin), Great Osobor (Washington), CJ Huntley (Appalachian State) will work out for the Kings on Wednesday, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee tweets. That group is headed by Tonje (19.6 PPG with the Badgers last season), a high-scoring guard who is ranked No. 42 by ESPN.
Grant Nelson (Alabama) is expected to reschedule a workout with the Jazz, Brian Lewis of the New York Post tweets. Nelson, who worked out for the Nets on Tuesday, is currently rated 65th by ESPN.
Though the Nuggets took the Thunder to a Game 7 in these playoffs, they can’t afford to run it back with the same group, Sean Keeler of the Denver Post opines. The bench is in serious need of upgrades, Keeler argues, as the Nuggets basically went six deep this season and that forced the starters to empty their tanks.

Pacific Notes: Durant, Lakers, Kings Draft

June 1st, 2025 at 9:02pm CST by Eli Cohen

Kevin Durant is one of the biggest names to watch this offseason following reports that the Suns‘ 36-year-old star has likely played his last game in Phoenix. With that in mind, Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin broke down six 2025 playoff teams who might make sense as Durant suitors, exploring how he would fit on each roster and what they could offer the Suns in a potential trade.

The first destination Rankin looked at is the Timberwolves, who reportedly had legitimate interest in Durant at the 2025 trade deadline. While Rankin says the Suns should be most interested in Julius Randle, his proposed deal includes Rudy Gobert, Mike Conley, and young depth like Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark.

Other trade options considered by Rankin involve a one-for-one trade with the Warriors for Jimmy Butler, a deal that lands the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant or Desmond Bane in Phoenix, two centered around young upside swings for either the Rockets’ Jalen Green and Jabari Smith or the Pistons’ Jaden Ivey, and a depth-replenishing trade with the Heat for Andrew Wiggins, Duncan Robinson, and Kel’el Ware.

While the Suns face cap-related limitations on any deal, Durant will undoubtedly have his share of suitors once the trade markets open.

We have more from the Pacific Division:

After rescinding their trade for the Hornets’ Mark Williams, the Lakers were stuck without a playable starting center in the 2025 playoffs. Going into the 2025/26 season, filling that hole will be priority one, especially given Luka Doncic‘s love of playing with a lob threat, writes Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. Price quotes general manager Rob Pelinka‘s address to the media following the season: “It would be great to have a center that was a vertical threat, lob threat, and someone that could protect the interior defensively… There’s also spread centers that can protect the rim. We’ll look at those as well. I wouldn’t want to limit the archetype, but we know we need a big man.” Price lists the Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford and the Nets’ Nic Claxton as prime trade targets, while the Hawks’ Clint Capela stands out as a top free agent option.
The Kings announced six pre-draft workouts for Monday, June 2nd, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). That list includes Marcus Williams from USF, Alijah Martin out of Florida, Chibuzo Agbo from USC, Texas’ Arthur Kaluma, David N’Guessan from Kansas State, and Daniel Batcho of Louisiana Tech. While a majority of the candidates are big men, Williams and Martin are both 6’2″ well-rounded guards. Martin is the only ranked player on ESPN’s top-100 board from the group of candidates, coming in at No. 61, after averaging 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 36% from three.

UConn’s Karaban Among Prospects Withdrawing From NBA Draft

May 29th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

After winning a pair of national championships as a starting forward at UConn, Alex Karaban will return to the Huskies for his junior year in search of a third consecutive title, he announced today (via Twitter).

The No. 36 prospect on ESPN’s big board, Karaban had been testing the NBA draft waters but will withdraw his name from the 2024 pool in order to retain his college eligibility. He averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 31.4 minutes per game as a redshirt sophomore and has made 38.9% of his three-point attempts across his two college seasons.

Big man Ugonna Onyenso, who spent his first two college seasons at Kentucky, has also opted to withdraw from the NBA draft, agent Daniel Hazan tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Onyenso told Givony last month when he initially declared for the draft that he was “100% focused on the NBA” and wasn’t thinking about “coming back to play college basketball.” However, it appears he changed his mind after getting some feedback from teams during the pre-draft process. The No. 68 player on ESPN’s big board is in the transfer portal and still has to determine where to spend his junior season, Givony notes.

Meanwhile, another player on ESPN’s board (at No. 52), Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II has decided to keep his name in the draft and forgo his final year of college eligibility, as he announced on Instagram.

The Atlantic 10’s Defensive Player of the Year and co-Player of the Year in 2023/24, Holmes averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.1 blocks in 32.5 minutes per game for the Flyers, posting an impressive shooting line of .544/.386/.713 in 33 games (all starts).

Here are more of today’s draft decisions from early entrants ahead of the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline:

Withdrawing from the draft:

Swingman Chibuzo Agbo will transfer from Boise State to USC for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).
Northwestern swingman Brooks Barnhizer will return to school for his senior season (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68).
Guard Johnell Davis will transfer from Florida Atlantic to Kansas for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN).
Guard Garwey Dual will return to school for his sophomore season. He played at Providence last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Givony).
St. Joseph’s forward Rasheer Fleming will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
Clemson guard Chase Hunter will return to school for his super-senior season (Instagram link).
Forward Arthur Kaluma will return to school for his senior season. He played at Kansas State last season but is in the transfer portal now (Twitter link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN).
Forward Baba Miller will transfer from Florida State to Florida Atlantic for his junior season (Twitter link via Givony).
Southern Idaho center Shahid Muhammad will return to school for his junior season (Twitter link via Rothstein).
UIC swingman Toby Okani will return to school for his super-senior season (Twitter link via Goodman).

Remaining in the draft:

Memphis senior forward David Jones will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Givony).
Bowling Green State sophomore guard JZ Zaher will stay in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility (Twitter link via Rothstein).

Draft Notes: Mogbo, Bal, Agbo, Gaines, Da Silva, Edey

April 7th, 2024 at 7:00pm CST by Luke Adams

San Francisco senior forward/center Jonathan Mogbo announced on Twitter that he has decided to enter his name in the 2024 NBA draft pool while maintaining his final year of college eligibility.

The No. 70 prospect on ESPN’s list of the top 100 players in the 2024 draft class and a member of the All-WCC first team, Mogbo has played at four different programs in his four college seasons. He transferred to San Francisco from Missouri State in 2023 and had a big year for the Dons, averaging a double-double (14.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG) in 34 games (28.9 MPG).

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

Another member of the All-WCC first team, Santa Clara junior wing Adama-Alpha Bal, has also declared for the draft, announcing on Instagram that he’ll be testing the waters this spring. After playing a modest role off Arizona’s bench in his first two college seasons, Bal put up 14.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 3.1 APG on .433/.354/.821 shooting as a full-time starter at Santa Clara in 2023/24.
Boise State senior swingman Chibuzo Agbo will enter the draft while maintaining his final year of college eligibility, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Agbo averaged 13.7 PPG and 5.1 RPG with a .409 3PT% in 33 games (all starts) in ’23/24.
UAB senior guard Eric Gaines announced on Instagram that he’ll be putting his “full focus” on the NBA draft process, which suggests he’s planning to go pro rather than leaving the door open to one more year of college ball. Gaines averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.9 RPG, and 2.3 SPG in 35 games (33.7 MPG) for the Blazers this season.
Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link) share their updated prospect rankings for 2024, highlighting risers like Colorado forward Tristan Da Silva, who is all the way up to No. 18 after previously being ranked 40th. Another NCAA Tournament standout, Purdue big man Zach Edey has moved into lottery territory in ESPN’s latest rankings, at No. 13.