East Draft Notes: Knicks, Hawks, Bulls, Hornets, Pacers
The Knicks will work out UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday shortly before draft night, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. Holiday will have to make quite an impression to get drafted by New York. He’s currently ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and the Knicks hold the No. 9 pick.
Texas A&M big man Robert Williams, ranked No. 12 by Givony, and Missouri State forward Alize Johnson worked out for the Knicks on Monday, according to another Begley post. Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo was scheduled to work out for New York this week but it will not happen as scheduled, Begley adds.
In other draft workout news concerning Eastern Conference teams:
- The Hawks will work out Oklahoma point guard Trae Young on Tuesday, according to a team press release. Young is ranked No. 8 by Givony; Atlanta holds the No. 3 pick.
- Kentucky forward Kevin Knox, rated No. 9 by Givony, worked out for the Bulls on Monday, according to the team’s website. Bryant McIntosh (Northwestern), Donovan Jackson (Iowa State), Jae’Sean Tate (Ohio State), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt) and Nick Dixon (UTRGV) were also evaluated by Chicago. The Bulls have the No. 7 selection in the first round.
- The Hornets will soon work out Michigan State forward Miles Bridges, Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports tweets. Bridges, who visited the Sixers Monday, is ranked No. 15 by Givony and Charlotte holds the No. 11 pick.
- An injury prevented Tulane small forward Melvin Frazier from working out with the Pacers on Monday, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports tweets.
Central Notes: Bulls, Pistons, Stotts, Pacers
As Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com noted on Twitter, there’s an interesting tidbit tucked within his report on the NBA’s new Global Camp in Italy. The event, which showcased most of the top international draft-eligible prospects, was attended by 29 or 30 NBA teams. The only NBA club not present, according to Givony, was the Bulls, due to their unwillingness to pay the $10K fee the league charged for subsidizing expenses.
The Bulls, who have been criticized in the past for penny pinching, were quick to respond to Givony’s report. As K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune relays, the club insists it didn’t attend the NBA Global Camp because it had already done extensive scouting in Europe this year.
“We made a decision not to attend the Treviso camp given our trust in our director of international scouting, Ivica Dukan, and his knowledge of the event and the prospects in attendance,” Bulls executive vice president John Paxson said. “We are also currently holding workouts for our two first-round draft picks and want all of our scouts present as we go about this very important process.”
While the Bulls may not have needed to take a closer look at those international prospects this week in Italy, the team should probably be willing to put up that $10K in order to obtain the medical information on the players who participated, Givony observes (via Twitter).
Here’s more from around the Central:
- While it briefly appeared that Terry Stotts‘ job might be in jeopardy after the Trail Blazers were swept by the Pelicans in April, the Pistons wanted to talk to Stotts about their coaching job and Portland denied them permission, reports Mitch Lawrence of The Sporting News (Twitter link). Lawrence adds that John Beilein had legit interest in the Detroit job, and consulted with NBA team executives before electing to remain with the Wolverines.
- The Pacers will host their second pre-draft workout on Friday, according to the team. Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Gary Clark (Cincinnati), A.J. Davis (Central Florida), Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova), Alize Johnson (Missouri State), and Shake Milton (SMU) are scheduled to participate.
- We passed along several more items from out of the Central division on Wednesday, including details on Mike Budenholzer‘s new Bucks coaching staff, the Bulls‘ offseason plans, and more. Be sure to check those stories out here and here.
Eastern Draft Notes: Sixers, Bulls, Diallo, Raptors
The Sixers, who hold the 10th and 26th picks in the 2018 NBA draft, continue to take a closer look at potential early- and late-first-round picks. According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter links), Philadelphia will have an interesting pair of prospects participating in a group workout next Monday when they bring in Miami guard Lonnie Walker and MSU forward Miles Bridges. Both players are considered potential lottery selections, making them options at No. 10.
Duke’s Grayson Allen, a possible candidate for the No. 26 pick, participated in a workout today for the Sixers, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Allen – who will also work out for the Celtics on Friday, per Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) – wasn’t the most notable person present at the session.
According to Pompey, embattled president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo was in attendance at today’s workout. While that doesn’t mean that the Sixers have made a decision one way or the other on Colangelo’s future, it certainly doesn’t seem like bad news for him.
Here’s more on pre-draft workouts from around the Eastern Conference:
- Miles Bridges (MSU), Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova), De’Anthony Melton (USC), Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), and Kaiser Gates (Xavier) worked out for the Bulls today, according to the team. Lonnie Walker, whose workout with Chicago was previously reported, was also present.
- Hamidou Diallo, a Queens native, will stick close to home for this weekend’s workouts, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who tweets that the Kentucky prospect works out for the Nets on Friday and Knicks on Saturday.
- Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell has a couple more pre-draft workouts coming up, with a Bulls audition scheduled for Friday and the Hornets sometime next week, tweets Josh Newman of The Asbury Park Press.
- Although the Raptors don’t have any picks in this year’s draft, they continue to hold workouts with an eye on potential undrafted prospects. Today’s session featured Andrew Rowsey (Marquette), Kassius Robertson (Missouri), Darius Thompson (Western Kentucky), Jacobi Boykins (Louisiana Tech), Cameron Reynolds (Tulane), and Justin Tillman (VCU), according to the club (Twitter link).
West Draft Workouts: Jazz, T-Wolves, Blazers, Suns
UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday and Duke guard Grayson Allen were among the first-round prospects that the Jazz evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Holiday is ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his latest Top 100 prospects list, while Allen checks in at No. 30. Creighton’s Khyri Thomas (No. 27), Villanova’s Jalen Brunson (No. 34), Louisville’s Ray Spalding (No. 52) and San Diego State’s Malik Pope were the other prospects who visited Utah.
We have some other draft workouts involving Western Conference clubs to pass along:
- Villanova point guard Donte DiVincenzo and Miami (Fla.) shooting guard Bruce Brown were the top prospects that the Timberwolves worked out on Monday, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP. DiVincenzo and Brown are ranked No. 28 and No. 29 by Givony. They were joined by Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), D.J. Hogg (Texas A&M) and Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech). Contrary to a previous report, Okogie visited Minnesota for the first time (Twitter links here).
- Kentucky shooting guard Hamidou Diallo headlined the prospects that the Trail Blazers brought in on Monday, according to a team press release. Diallo is ranked No. 36 by Givony. Anfernee Simons, Jairus Lyles (UMBC), Victor Sanders (Idaho), Trevon Duval (Duke) and Shake Milton (SMU) were the other guards that Portland checked out.
- French guard Elie Okobo topped the list of prospects the Suns evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Okobo is ranked No. 21 by Givony. He was joined by Jevon Carter (West Virginia), Joel Berry (North Carolina), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Thomas Welsh (UCLA) and Ajdin Penava (Marshall).
Draft Notes: Hornets, Grizzlies, Blazers, Lakers, Nuggets
Villanova’s Mikal Bridges had his conditioning tested during his first pre-draft workout today in Charlotte, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges and St. Joseph’s James Demery were the only players at the hour-long session, which featured full-court sprints mixed with long-range shooting toward the end of the process.
“They pushed us,” Bridges said. “I’m really well conditioned and they [wanted to see me] shoot the ball while I’m tired. [It was about] showing them everything, like some ballhandling that they didn’t see” when he was in college.
Projected as a lottery pick, Bridges may still be available when the Hornets select at No. 11. However, Bonnell notes that the Cavaliers, Knicks and Sixers — the three teams directly in front of Charlotte — could all have interest.
There’s more draft-related news to pass along:
- The Hornets have six more players coming in tomorrow, highlighted by potential lottery pick Lonnie Walker of Miami, Bonnell tweets. Dayton’s Kostas Antetokounmpo, whose brother is a star with the Bucks, will also be on hand.
- Antetokounmpo will be in Memphis on Monday for a six-player workout, the Grizzlies announced in an e-mail. Joining him will be Missouri’s Jordan Barnett, Temple’s Obi Enechionyia, Virginia’s Devon Hall, Kansas’ Malik Newman and North Carolina’s Theo Pinson.
- The Trail Blazers focused on 3-and-D players in today’s workout, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo, Miami’s Bruce Brown and Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans all fit that description, which appears to be what the Blazers want with the 24th pick. “I can guard multiple positions and it’s kind of a role where the responsibility isn’t so great,” DiVincenzo said. “The responsibility is you have two things to really do, really focus on, and be great at. And when you can do that, it just opens up time on the floor.”
- The Trail Blazers also held a workout on Friday, relays Casey Holdahl of NBA.com, with UCLA’s Aaron Holiday, Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, Duke’s Gary Trent Jr., Tulane’s Melvin Frazier, Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop and Louisville’s Raymond Spalding attending.
- The Lakers will bring in six players for a Sunday workout, the team announced on Twitter. Scheduled to attend are Michigan’s Moritz Wagner, Missouri State’s Alize Johnson, Connecticut’s Terry Larrier, Rhode Island’s Jared Terrell, Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder and TCU’s Kenrich Williams.
- The Nuggets have a pair of sessions set for early next week, the team announced through e-mail. Coming in Monday will be Bates-Diop, along with Creighton’s Marcus Foster, Colorado’s George King, USC’s Chimezie Metu and Oakland’s Kendrick Nunn. Scheduled for Tuesday are Holiday and Williams, as well as Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell, Penn State’s Tony Carr and Elie Okobo of France.
- Micah Seaborn of Monmouth, one of the late deciders at Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline, elected to remain in the draft, according to Josh Newman of USA Today.
Donte DiVincenzo To Remain In 2018 NBA Draft
Villanova sophomore Donte DiVincenzo, the star of last month’s NCAA championship game, will keep his name in the 2018 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility, sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports. Charania initially reported last week that DiVincenzo was likely to remain in the draft.
DiVincenzo, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, racked up 31 points in this year’s title game against Michigan, knocking down five three-pointers to help Villanova secure its second championship in three years. For the season, DiVincenzo averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.5 APG with a .481/.401/.710 shooting line.
The 6’5″ shooting guard raised his stock substantially during the Wildcats’ NCAA tournament run, and impressed NBA evaluators again at this month’s draft combine in Chicago. DiVincenzo, currently ranked No. 33 on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, suggested at the combine that the prospect of being a first-round pick made it likely he’d go pro.
“I think I have a really good chance to being a late first-round pick,” DiVincenzo told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski at the time. “Obviously, things can change, other people can fall in the draft. I’m aware of that. But my confidence level is that I can be a first-round pick.”
Villanova is also losing Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson to the NBA draft this offseason, with Omari Spellman‘s decision due on Wednesday.
East Draft Notes: Hawks, Wizards, Raptors, Nets
UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday and Villanova floor leader Jalen Brunson headline the list of six players the Hawks will work out on Friday, according to a team press release. Holiday is ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, while Brunson is rated No. 26 overall.
Gary Clark (Cincinnati), Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Juwan Morgan (Indiana) and Tony Carr (Penn State) are the other players trying to make a favorable impression. The Hawks hosted Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova), Ben Lammers (Georgia Tech), Jalen McDaniels (San Diego State), Markis McDuffie (Wichita State), Doral Moore (Wake Forest) and Brandon Sampson (LSU) on Thursday.
In other draft workouts by Eastern Conference clubs:
- The Wizards hosted six players on Thursday, according to the team’s website. Yuta Watanabe (George Washington), Junior Robinson (Mount St. Mary’s), Junior Etou (Tulsa), Marcus Derrickson (Georgetown), James Daniel III (Tennessee) and Phillip Carr (Morgan State) were the players Washington’s staff evaluated.
- Jon Elmore (Marshall), Marcus Foster (Creighton), Jairus Lyles (Maryland Baltimore-County), Dakota Mathias (Purdue), Marcus Lee (California) and Nana Foulland (Bucknell) worked out for the Raptors on Thursday, the team’s media relations department tweets.
- Among the players the Nets have worked out are Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Barry Brown Jr (Kansas State), Chris Silva (South Carolina), Mustapha Heron (Auburn), PJ Washington (Kentucky), Reid Travis (Stanford), Jordan Caroline (Nevada), Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure), Abudushalamu Abudurexiti (Xingyang Long Lions), Cody Martin (Nevada) and Admiral Schofield (Tennessee), according to NetsDaily.com.
Atlantic Notes: Ivey, DiVincenzo, Lin, Bridges
In some similar news for two different franchises from the Atlantic Division, both the Knicks and the Sixers are reportedly interested in hiring Royal Ivey as an assistant coach, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic and Ian Begley of ESPN.
Ivey, who is from New York City, has been an assistant coach for the Thunder for the last two seasons after starting his post-playing career as a coach for their G League team, the Blue, but could perhaps be looking for an opportunity closer to home.
Per Begley, Ivey has already interviewed with the Knicks for a position of new coach David Fizdale’s staff, while the Sixers are reported to simply have interest in the 36 year old at this time.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge is apparently interested in combine standout and Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo, as the former NBA guard and the current Wildcat went to lunch together after DiVincenzo’s workout in Boston, reports Adam Zagoria of SportsNet New York.
- In a wide-ranging piece for The Athletic, Mike Vorkunov details the return from injury for Nets’ point guard Jeremy Lin, who signed a three-year, $36 million contract in 2016 but has been unable to play very often since signing the deal, appearing in only 37 games in the past two seasons. Lin now says he is nearly ready to play and “pretty much at that point where everything is good to go.”
- One target and/or option for the Knicks at No. 9 in the upcoming 2018 NBA Draft is Villanova swingman Mikal Bridges. Per Ian Begley of ESPN, team president Steve Mills, GM Scott Perry, and director of scouting Kristian Petesi were all at his pro day today in New York.
Draft Notes: Bowen, Vital, Shabazz, Ona Embo
After being linked to a scandal at Louisville, 6’7″ wing Brian Bowen II transferred to South Carolina, but has still not been cleared by the NCAA or played in a single college game. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes, it has been a frustrating journey for Bowen, who calls it “the biggest thing I’ve ever been through in my life.”
The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft and retain their college eligibility is May 30, meaning Bowen only has about another week to make up his mind. As of now, the NCAA has offered little clarity on whether or not he can expect to be cleared for the 2018/19 season, complicating his decision. Still, as Reynolds details, Bowen is trying to stay positive.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Bowen said. “Somebody’s situation is always going to be worse than mine. Other people in my family have worse situations than I have. I just have to learn, use it as a learning experience, use it as motivation and have a chip on my shoulder.”
Here’s more on the 2018 NBA draft:
- UConn guard Christian Vital has officially withdrawn his name from the 2018 draft pool, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Vital, who averaged 14.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG in his sophomore year with the Huskies, had announced his decision with a tweet that suggested he has “unfinished business” at UConn.
- Appalachian State junior guard Ronshad Shabazz confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman (Twitter link) that he’ll be removing his name from the 2018 NBA draft. Shabazz, who wasn’t considered likely to be drafted, was facing a May 30 deadline for his decision to withdraw.
- Tulane guard Ray Ona Embo, who had been testing the draft waters without an agent, is expected to head back to school for his junior season, tweets Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. Embo averaged 10.1 PPG, 3.3 APG, and 3.2 RPG with a .432/.365/.719 shooting line in 2017/18.
- Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post rounds up several of his observations from last week’s draft combine, writing that Kevin Huerter (Maryland), Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova), and Grayson Allen (Duke) were among the big winners in Chicago.
Donte DiVincenzo Expected To Remain In Draft
Villanova sophomore guard Donte DiVincenzo is expected to remain the draft barring an injury or significant change in performance during workouts, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
DiVincenzo’s stock soared during last week’s draft combine, according to Scott Gleeson of USA Today. He tied the combine’s best with a 42-inch vertical leap, Gleeson notes. He also hustled, defended well, made pinpoint passes and showed playmaking ability, Gleeson adds.
The 6’5” combo guard was ranked No. 33 on ESPN Jonathan Givony’s Top 100 prospects list prior to the combine and has now proven himself to be a first-round talent.
DiVincenzo worked out for the Celtics on Monday, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets. Boston owns the No. 27 overall pick.
DiVincenzo was the breakout star in the national championship game against Michigan, pouring in 31 points and draining five 3-pointers. He averaged 13.4 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 3.5 APG in 29.3 MPG during the Wildcats’ championship season while making 40.1% of his 3-pointers.
DiVincenzo is showing that he can do more than just fill up the net, as he told Charania.
“I’m more than just a shooter,” he said. “I want to show teams that I can do more. Playing point guard is one big thing that teams want to see — if I can control the tempo, get into the offense, get shots and pocket passes.”