DeJon Jarreau

Heat To Sign Marcus Garrett To Exhibit 10 Contract

The Heat will sign undrafted Kansas guard Marcus Garrett to an Exhibit 10 contract, agent Adie Von Gontard tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link).

Garrett played 129 games with the Jayhawks over four seasons, establishing career highs as a senior in 2020/21 in PPG (11.0), FG% (.459) and 3PT% (.348), among other categories.

As Givony notes, Garrett established a reputation as one of the best defenders in college basketball, winning the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020 and making the Big 12 All-Defensive team three teams from 2019-21.

Garrett is the fifth undrafted free agent reported to be signing with the Heat, who didn’t have a pick in Thursday’s draft. Houston’s DeJon Jarreau also tweeted that’s joining the Heat, though there has been no confirmation yet that he’s getting a camp invite, as opposed to just playing on Miami’s Summer League team.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Kuminga, Unseld, Oladipo, Hawks

Projected top-eight pick Jonathan Kuminga worked out for the Magic on Tuesday, writes Josh Cohen of OrlandoMagic.com. Kuminga has also worked out for the Cavaliers, Raptors and Thunder, and has an upcoming workout with the Warriors.

According to Chris Hays of The Orlando Sentinel, Kuminga said that the workout with Orlando went well and that his shooting is better than he showed during his time with the G League Ignite.

I’m not for sure if I’m a top-five pick, but I’m not worried about that,” Kuminga said. “That’s just the rankings. We don’t know where I might end up, so I don’t really be concerned about draft picks.”

We have more from around the Southeast Division:

NBA G League Announces 40 Draft-Eligible Participants For Elite Camp

The NBA G League has announced in a press release that 40 draft-eligible prospects are set to participate in the NBAGL Elite Camp next week in Chicago from June 19-21.

The G League Elite Camp is back this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The event, which takes place right before the draft combine, will give a few dozen draft-eligible players an opportunity to impress scouts, coaches, and executives through strength and agility drills and 5-on-5 games.

As today’s announcement confirms, a select number of draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp will also be invited to attend the combine itself, which is scheduled for June 21-27 in Chicago.

The list of draft-eligible players who took part in the most recent G League Elite Camp in 2019 included a handful of prospects who were eventually drafted, such as Terance Mann, Cody Martin, Justin Wright-Foreman, Reggie Perry, and Dewan Hernandez.

Many of the draft-eligible participants in the 2019 Elite Camp also made it to the NBA after going undrafted, including Oshae Brissett, Chris Clemons, Tyler Cook, Tacko Fall, DaQuan Jeffries, Caleb Martin, Justin Robinson, and Max Strus.

Two years ago, this event also featured 40 G League veterans, for a total of 80 players. Based on today’s press release, it sounds like this year’s Elite Camp may be pared down to only include draft-eligible prospects, though it’s possible the NBAGL will announce more names within the next few days.

Here are the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the 2021 G League Elite Camp:

  1. Derrick Alston Jr. (Boise State)
  2. Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
  3. Jose Alvarado (Georgia Tech)
  4. Juhann Begarin (France)
  5. Chaundee Brown (Michigan)
  6. Jordan Burns (Colgate)
  7. Marcus Carr (Minnesota)
  8. D.J. Carton (Marquette)
  9. Moussa Cisse (Memphis)
  10. Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
  11. Oscar Da Silva (Stanford)
  12. Darius Days (LSU)
  13. Hunter Dickinson (Michigan)
  14. Dawson Garcia (Marquette)
  15. Marcus Garrett (Kansas)
  16. Haowen Guo (China)
  17. Jay Huff (Virginia)
  18. DeJon Jarreau (Houston)
  19. Carlik Jones (Louisville)
  20. DeVante’ Jones (Coastal Carolina)
  21. Balsa Koprivica (Florida State)
  22. A.J. Lawson (South Carolina)
  23. E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
  24. Mac McClung (Texas Tech)
  25. JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB)
  26. Matt Mitchell (San Diego State)
  27. RJ Nembhard (TCU)
  28. Eugene Omoruyi (Oregon)
  29. EJ Onu (Shawnee State)
  30. Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
  31. Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
  32. Aamir Simms (Clemson)
  33. Javonte Smart (LSU)
  34. Mike Smith (Michigan)
  35. D.J. Stewart (Mississippi State)
  36. MaCio Teague (Baylor)
  37. M.J. Walker (Florida State)
  38. Duane Washington (Ohio State)
  39. Aaron Wiggins (Maryland)
  40. Jalen Wilson (Kansas)

Four Early Entrants Withdrawing From NBA Draft

Florida guard Tre Mann, UCF big man Collin Smith, Houston guard DeJon Jarreau, and UT Martin guard Parker Stewart are withdrawing from the 2020 NBA draft, according to a series of reports from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (all four Twitter links).

Mann tested the draft waters this spring after averaging a modest 5.3 PPG and 1.9 RPG in 29 games (17.8 MPG) for the Gators. A report in May indicated he was pulling out of the draft, but he disputed that claim, tweeting that he was still testing the waters. So far, there has been no indication that today’s report is premature.

Smith, who began his college career at George Washington, averaged 12.6 PPG and 6.3 RPG in 30 games (26.3 MPG) as a junior in 2019/20. He told Rothstein that he’s returning to school for his senior year.

Jarreau, the AAC Sixth Man of the Year in 2019, started 17 of 30 games for the Cougars in ’19/20 and saw his shooting percentage slip from a .471 FG% to just .374. He averaged 9.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 3.7 APG, and will return to Houston for his senior year.

Stewart, who transferred to UT Martin from Pitt, was the club’s second-leading scorer in 2019/20 with 19.2 PPG in 25 games (36.2 MPG) as a sophomore. He also chipped in 4.6 RPG and 3.8 APG.

Our full list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft, which has been rescheduled for October 16, can be found right here.

Draft Decisions: Jarreau, Elleby, Blazevic, Krejci

Houston guard DeJon Jarreau will enter the NBA draft without hiring an agent, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston. He averaged 9.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists during his junior season with the Cougars.

“I’m gonna test the waters, go through the process and get a draft grade. I want to get evaluated. If I don’t like what I hear I plan on coming back,” Jarreau said (Twitter link). “Basketball is my world. I’ve played all my life to get to this point. Coach (Kelvin) Sampson has helped me a lot, from being a basketball coach to a major role model (Twitter link). I’m very nervous because you never know what can happen. This is a big step. It’s always been my dream. So of course nervous, but confident.” (Twitter link)

There are more draft decisions to pass along:

  • CJ Elleby, a sophomore forward from Washington State, has entered the draft but plans to preserve his eligibility, a sources tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Elleby averaged 18.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG this season and was a first-team All-Pac 12 selection.
  • Lithuanian center Marek Blazevic has also declared for the draft, agent Tadas Bulotas tells Givony (Twitter link). The 18-year-old stands 6’11” and played professionally with Rytas this year.
  • Czech guard Vit Krejci, who saw regular minutes with Zaragoza this season, has announced he will enter the draft, Givony tweets. Bulotas also confirmed the decision for Krejci, who is 6’7″ and 19 years old.