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Suns Notes: Ott, Next Steps, Grill, Carroll

June 12th, 2025 at 10:23pm CST by Earnest Marshall

New Suns coach Jordan Ott had his introductory press conference on Tuesday, sharing how each coach in his journey helped him get to where he is, Arizona Republic’s Duane Rankin writes. Rankin compiled comments from several coaches Ott worked with

“Jordan Ott is an outstanding hire,” former Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said. “His work ethic, demeanor, passion, and deep knowledge of the game will resonate with both young and veteran players. Jordan will leave no stone unturned in pursuit of finding solutions and will be committed to building a sustainable and successful brand of basketball.”

Ott coached with the Nets for six seasons as an assistant, which directly overlapped with Vaughn’s time there. Ott also served as a video coordinator and graduate assistant under Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo before making it to the league.

“He’s great, a really smart kid. Works his ass off,” Izzo said. “He’s a guy that has enjoyed the process. He’s really a thorough guy. He worked under some good people. I think [Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson] is one of the best coaches in the league. That will be a big plus with him.”

Ott also served as a video coordinator with the Hawks and most recently was an assistant under Atkinson in Cleveland. He worked under former Lakers coach Darvin Ham from 2022-24.

“He has a great feel, which is an intangible, I think, that is just as valuable,” Ham said. “You’ve got to know your Xs and Os, you’ve got to be well equipped with player development, programs and understanding both sides of the ball, but I just think the feel for people nowadays with so much going on. The world is moving so fast between social media and the ever-changing landscape of our league from playing styles to playing trends, he’s abreast to all of that. He stays on top of all of that.”

We have more from the Suns:

  • After hiring Ott, a trade involving Kevin Durant seems like the next order of business, Rankin writes in another piece. Beyond that, Phoenix currently holds the Nos. 29 and 52 overall picks in the 2025 draft. They’ve previously hosted Michigan big man Danny Wolf and Alabama forward Grant Nelson on pre-draft workouts. Filling out Ott’s coaching staff is another top priority.
  • In addition to Wolf and Nelson, the Suns hosted Missouri guard Caleb Grill on a pre-draft workout, per Rankin. Grill is ESPN’s 74th best-available player in the 2025 class. He averaged 13.7 points while shooting 39.6% from three on 6.8 attempts per game in his final collegiate season en route to winning SEC Sixth Man of the Year.
  • The Suns finalized an agreement to add NBA veteran DeMarre Carroll to their coaching staff, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto (Twitter link). John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 previously reported the move was expected, though an official announcement may not come until later in the offseason, once Phoenix has finalized Ott’s staff.
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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.
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NBA Announces 75 Invitees For 2025 Draft Combine

May 2nd, 2025 at 3:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 75 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 11-18.

In addition to those 75 players, a handful of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.

Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2025 draft pool, since many are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility.

College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 28 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 15. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.

Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2025 draft combine:

(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)

  1. Izan Almansa, F/C, Australia (born 2005)
  2. Neoklis Avdalas, G/F, Greece (born 2006)
  3. Ace Bailey, G/F, Rutgers (freshman)
  4. Joan Beringer, C, Slovenia (born 2006)
  5. Koby Brea, G, Kentucky (senior)
  6. Johni Broome, F/C, Auburn (senior)
  7. Carter Bryant, F, Arizona (freshman)
  8. Miles Byrd, G, San Diego State (sophomore)
  9. Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida (senior)
  10. Nique Clifford, G, Colorado State (senior)
  11. Alex Condon, F/C, Florida (sophomore)
  12. Cedric Coward, F, Washington State (senior)
  13. Egor Demin, G, BYU (freshman)
  14. Eric Dixon, F, Villanova (senior)
  15. V.J. Edgecombe, G, Baylor (freshman)
  16. Noa Essengue, F, Germany (born 2006)
  17. Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke (freshman)
  18. Jeremiah Fears, G, Oklahoma (freshman)
  19. Cooper Flagg, F, Duke (freshman)
  20. Boogie Fland, G, Arkansas (freshman)
  21. Rasheer Fleming, F/C, St. Joseph’s (junior)
  22. Vladislav Goldin, C, Michigan (senior)
  23. Hugo Gonzalez, F, Spain (born 2006)
  24. PJ Haggerty, G, Memphis (sophomore)
  25. Dylan Harper, G, Rutgers (freshman)
  26. Ben Henshall, G/F, Australia (born 2004)
  27. Kasparas Jakucionis, G, Illinois (freshman)
  28. Sion James, G, Duke (senior)
  29. Tre Johnson, G, Texas (freshman)
  30. Kameron Jones, G, Marquette (senior)
  31. Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton (senior)
  32. Karter Knox, F, Arkansas (freshman)
  33. Kon Knueppel, G/F, Duke (freshman)
  34. Chaz Lanier, G, Tennessee (senior)
  35. Yaxel Lendeborg, F, UAB (senior)
  36. RJ Luis, F, St. John’s (junior)
  37. Khaman Maluach, C, Duke (freshman)
  38. Bogoljub Markovic, F/C, Serbia (born 2005)
  39. Alijah Martin, G, Florida (senior)
  40. Liam McNeeley, F, UConn (freshman)
  41. Jalon Moore, F, Oklahoma (senior)
  42. Collin Murray-Boyles, F, South Carolina (sophomore)
  43. Grant Nelson, F, Alabama (senior)
  44. Asa Newell, F, Georgia (freshman)
  45. Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky (junior)
  46. Dink Pate, G/F, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2006)
  47. Micah Peavy, G/F, Georgetown (senior)
  48. Noah Penda, F, France (born 2005)
  49. Tahaad Pettiford, G, Auburn (freshman)
  50. Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (freshman)
  51. Drake Powell, G/F, UNC (freshman)
  52. Tyrese Proctor, G, Duke (junior)
  53. Derik Queen, C, Maryland (freshman)
  54. Maxime Raynaud, F/C, Stanford (senior)
  55. Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State (freshman)
  56. Will Riley, F, Illinois (freshman)
  57. Michael Ruzic, F, Spain (born 2006)
  58. Hunter Sallis, G, Wake Forest (senior)
  59. Kobe Sanders, G, Nevada (senior)
  60. Ben Saraf, G, Germany (born 2006)
  61. Mark Sears, G, Albama (senior)
  62. Max Shulga, G, VCU (senior)
  63. Javon Small, G, West Virginia (senior)
  64. Thomas Sorber, F/C, Georgetown (freshman)
  65. Adou Thiero, F, Arkansas (junior)
  66. John Tonje, G, Wisconsin (senior)
  67. Alex Toohey, F, Australia (born 2004)
  68. Nolan Traore, G, France (born 2006)
  69. Milos Uzan, G, Houston (junior)
  70. Jamir Watkins, G/F, Florida State (senior)
  71. Brice Williams, G/F, Nebraska (senior)
  72. Darrion Williams, F, Texas Tech (junior)
  73. Danny Wolf, F/C, Michigan (junior)
  74. Hansen Yang, C, China (born 2005)
  75. Rocco Zikarsky, C, Australia (born 2006)

It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to several combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:

  • A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child).
  • Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
  • Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.
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Draft Notes: Strawther, Bagley, LeDee, Flanigan, Nelson, Gaines

May 30th, 2023 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Gonzaga forward Julian Strawther has decided to remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. Strawther averaged 15.2 points and shot 41 percent from beyond the arc last season. He’s ranked No. 56 on ESPN’s Best Available list, making him a potential second round pick.

Arizona’s Marcus Bagley – the younger brother of Pistons big man Marvin Bagley III – has also decided to remain in the draft despite appearing in just five games over the last two seasons, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein tweets.

Several other players who declared for the draft have opted to remove their names as the withdrawal deadline for early entrants nears. Here are some of the players who are headed back to school:

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Central Notes: Pacers, Pistons, Duren, Cavs

May 11th, 2023 at 4:11pm CST by Rory Maher

Indiana will be hosting six prospects on Friday for the team’s first pre-draft workout, the Pacers announced in a press release.

The six players are UConn’s Andre Jackson, UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez, Missouri’s Kobe Brown, Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma, North Dakota State’s Grant Nelson, and Liutauras Lelevicius, a Lithuanian prospect who played for Zalgris II this past season.

Jackson (30), Jaquez (32), Brown (43), Kaluma (90), and Nelson (94) all appear on ESPN’s top-100 prospects list, while Lelevicius is unranked. The Pacers control their own lottery pick, two late first-rounders (26th and 29th), and two second-round picks (either 50th or 32nd, plus 55th).

Here’s more from the Central:

  • Hiring the right head coach, having a successful draft, and acquiring forward depth in free agency are among the top offseason priorities for the Pistons, according to Mike Curtis of The Detroit News (subscriber link), who thinks the team should pursue Nets restricted free agent Cameron Johnson.
  • Pistons center Jalen Duren, who was recently named to the All-Rookie Second Team, was mostly pleased with his debut season, but he’s going to work on his conditioning and consistency in year two, Curtis writes in another subscriber-only story. “Consistency is a huge word,” Duren said. “To be great, you have to be consistent. For me, it’s honestly just being locked in and trying to understand what’s going on. ‘Being where my feet are,’ I like to say, and try to take over games, dominate games and affect games in any way possible. … I feel like that will come. I’m excited about what I can be in this league.”
  • Josh Richardson, Kelly Oubre, Max Strus, Gary Trent Jr. and Jalen McDaniels could be the types of wings the Cavaliers choose to go after in free agency with their mid-level exception, Kelsey Russo states in a mailbag for The Athletic. I don’t see Trent falling to that price point, especially since he could just opt in to his $18.8MM player option if he isn’t confident about getting a better payday, but the other four might be attainable (whether or not they’d be a good fit is another story).
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NBA Reveals Players Expected At 2023 Draft Combine

May 9th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced 78 players that are expected to attend this year’s draft combine, scheduled for May 15-21 at in Chicago, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

Additionally, a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which takes place May 13-14 in Chicago, will be invited to participate in the combine.

Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five scrimmages, as well as shooting, strength and agility drills. Some top prospects opt out of the scrimmages.

Victor Wembanyama, the projected top pick, is not on the list. His French League season is still ongoing.

The list of invitees is as follows:

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Draft Notes: Bona, Walsh, Nelson, Broome

April 19th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

UCLA big man Adem Bona has decided to test the 2023 NBA draft waters after wrapping up his freshman season, he tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. He’ll maintain his remaining NCAA eligibility during the process.

Bona had a promising year in 2022/23, averaging 7.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.7 BPG in 22.9 MPG (33 games) for the Bruins, earning Pac-12 All-Defensive and Rookie of the Year honors. He’s the No. 45 player on ESPN’s big board, making him a solid candidate to be drafted.

However, Bona injured his shoulder in the Pac-12 tournament last month, then aggravated the injury during the NCAA tournament. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and isn’t expected to fully recover until the fall, Givony writes.

Bona will be able to go through interviews with NBA teams during the pre-draft process, but will be unable to conduct full workouts, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll opt to keep his name in the draft pool or withdraw and return to school for his sophomore year.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

  • Freshman forward Jordan Walsh has decided to test the NBA draft waters following his first college season at Arkansas, he tells Curtis Wilkerson of HawgSports.com. The No. 51 prospect on ESPN’s board, Walsh started 22 of 36 games as a freshman for the Razorbacks, averaging 7.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.1 SPG while playing strong, versatile defense.
  • North Dakota State junior power forward Grant Nelson is entering the draft while preserving his remaining NCAA eligibility, he announced on Instagram. A member of the All-Summit first team and the conference’s All-Defensive team in 2022/23, Nelson averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds in 30 games (30.7 MPG). He ranks 94th on ESPN’s list of 2023 prospects.
  • Auburn junior forward Johni Broome is testing the NBA draft waters for a second straight year, he announced on Instagram. Broome transferred to Auburn after two standout seasons at Morehead State, where he was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2021 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. He averaged 14.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 2.4 BPG in 33 games (26.5 MPG) as a junior with the Tigers.
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