Central Draft Notes: Pacers, Cavs, Bucks, Pistons
Holding the 18th and 50th overall picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Pacers should have a wide variety of options available to them in both the first and second rounds, so they’re doing plenty of homework in the weeks leading up to the draft.
On Wednesday, the Pacers held a pre-draft workout that featured Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple), Ky Bowman (Boston College), Tacko Fall (UCF), Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Juwan Morgan (Indiana), and Elijah Thomas (Clemson), according to the team. Fall’s ability to participate in that session was limited after he rolled an ankle, as we noted yesterday.
Today, the Pacers are working out six more prospects, announcing that Luguentz Dort (Arizona State), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Cody Martin (Nevada), and Josh Reaves (Penn State) are in town.
The Pacers will audition six more prospects on Friday, per the club’s latest press release. Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), Jon Elmore (Marshall), Aric Holman (Mississippi State), Luke Maye (UNC), Miye Oni (Yale), and Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) will attend that session.
Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the Central:
- Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State) was among the prospects to work out for the Cavaliers this week, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sources tell Fedor that Kabengele, the No. 23 prospect on ESPN’s big board, was “impressive” during his session with Cleveland. He could be an option for the Cavs at No. 26.
- Matur Maker, the younger brother of Thon Maker, has a visit on tap with Thon’s former team, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, who tweets that Matur will work out for the Bucks.
- Sedrick Barefield (Utah), Kevarrius Hayes (Florida), Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky), Matt McQuaid (Michigan State), Milik Yarbrough (Illinois State), Kris Clyburn (UNLV), Tyler Cook (Iowa), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), Anthony Lawrence Jr. (Miami), Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt), and Dean Wade (Kansas State) are among the players who have worked out for the Pistons this week, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter links). As previously reported, Darius Bazley also auditioned for Detroit this week.
Bulls Notes: Point Guard, Cap Room, Workouts
Finding a solution at point guard and making savvy additions in free agency will be among the Bulls‘ goals this offseason, writes Bobby Marks of ESPN.com (Insider link) in his preview of the team’s summer.
In Marks’ view, there’s a role for Kris Dunn in Chicago, but he’s probably not the long-term solution at point guard, so the club needs to use its No. 7 overall pick or a chunk of its cap space to address the position. Coby White as a possible option at No. 7, according to Marks, who says that if Chicago doesn’t draft a point guard, the club should set aside about $13-14MM of its cap room to try to get one in free agency.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- Within his latest mailbag, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune says he expects the Bulls to spread out their cap room (projected to be about $20-23MM) among multiple players, rather than spending it all on a single free agent. Johnson also discusses the No. 7 pick, potential frontcourt targets, and much more.
- It has been a busy week of pre-draft workouts for the Bulls, who brought in Jared Harper (Auburn), Dino Radoncic (San Pablo Burgos), Ethan Happ (Wisconsin), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Aric Holman (Mississippi State), and Tyus Battle (Syracuse) on Wednesday, according to the team.
- The Bulls held two other pre-draft workouts earlier in the week. On Monday, the club auditioned Vic Law (Northwestern), Luke Maye (UNC), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), Lamar Peters (Mississippi State), Jordan Poole (Michigan), and Justin Simon (St. John’s). Tuesday’s workout participants were Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), D’Marcus Simonds (Georgia State), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Juwan Morgan (Indiana), Matur Maker (Zlatorog Lasko), and Lagerald Vick (Kansas).
Northwest Notes: J. Howard, Jazz, Nuggets, Noel
Before he reached a deal to become the new head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Juwan Howard reportedly drew interest from the Timberwolves as they considered whether to retain head coach Ryan Saunders or go in a different direction.
While Minnesota ultimately opted to retain Saunders and Howard left the NBA for a college job, the Wolverines’ new head coach revealed today that the Timberwolves’ interest was real. According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (via Twitter), Howard said that the Wolves offered him their associate head coach position – presumably under Saunders – but he declined. “My heart is with Michigan,” he said.
Let’s round up a few more items from around the Northwest…
- The Jazz worked out 12 draft-eligible prospects on Sunday, according to Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Grant Williams (Tennessee), Naz Reid (LSU), KZ Okpala (Stanford), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), Dylan Windler (Belmont), Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Jared Harper (Auburn), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Louis King (Oregon), Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) all got a look from the club.
- Many of those players could be in the mix for the Jazz‘s No. 23 pick in the first round. Tony Jones of The Athletic explores 10 prospects Utah may be eyeing at that spot, naming Reid, Okpala, Edwards, and Windler as potential targets. Jones adds (via Twitter) that Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) is working out with the Jazz this week.
- In a mailbag for The Athletic, Nick Kosmider addresses several Nuggets-related topics, identifying veteran forward Trevor Ariza as a possible target for Denver if the team stays over the cap and has the mid-level exception available.
- After a solid year as the backup center in Oklahoma City, Nerlens Noel seems unlikely to return to the Thunder unless he’s willing to play for a discount again, writes Brett Dawson of The Athletic.
Draft Notes: Brazdeikis, Pistons, Pacers, Dort, Wooten
University of Michigan freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis is strongly leaning toward staying the draft, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com tweets. “Definitely leaning toward staying in,” he said while working out for the Pistons on Monday. Brazdeikis’ representatives have told him he’ll go anywhere from No. 20-40 in the draft, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony currently pegs the power forward at No. 46 overall.
We have more developments regarding draft prospects:
- The Pistons brought in two groups of prospects, including Brazdeikis, on Monday, Langlois notes in a separate tweet. The first group included centers Naz Reid (LSU) and Marques Bolden (Duke), point guards Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech) and Andrew Nembhard (Florida) and forward Louis King (Oregon) came in during the morning session; Shooting guards Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State), Ethan Thompson (Oregon State) and Ahmed Hill (Virginia Tech), forwards Martin Krampelj (Creighton) and Savion Flagg (Texas A&M) and point guard Phil Booth (Villanova) visited during the afternoon session.
- The Pacers will conduct a pair of draft workouts on Tuesday, the team announced in a press release. The first group includes Brian Bowen II (Australia), Ty Jerome (Virginia), Jaylen Nowell (Washington), Josh Perkins (Gonzaga), Dylan Windler (Belmont) and Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra). The second group includes Nicolas Claxton (Georgia), Carsen Edwards (Purdue), CJ Elleby (Washington State), Krampelj, Derrik Smits (Butler), and Lamar Stevens (Penn State). Edwards (No. 25) and Jerome (No. 29) are the highest-rated prospects among those groups, according to Givony.
- Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Luguentz Dort will work out for the Suns, Warriors, Trail Blazers and Jazz next week, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets. The 6’5” Dort (Arizona State) is rated No. 27 overall by Givony and No. 7 among shooting guard prospects.
- Oregon forward Kenny Wooten wrote on his Instagram account that he will remain in the draft, Steve Mims of DuckSports.com reports. Wooten averaged 6.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 2.2 BPG in his sophomore year. He is not listed among Givony’s Top 100 prospects.
Full List Of 2019 NBA Draft Combine Participants
The NBA has revealed its list of 66 players who have been invited to next week’s draft combine in Chicago and who are expected to attend. The combine will take place from May 15-19.
While a small handful of top prospects often skip the event, that won’t be the case this year — Zion Williamson and Ja Morant are on the league’s list of 66 names, along with R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish, Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland, De’Andre Hunter, and many more. Of course, those top prospects may not participate fully in all of the workouts and scrimmages at the combine.
A few more names figure to be added to this list, as a select number of the 40 draft-eligible prospects participating in the G League Elite Camp earlier in the week are expected to receive invites to the combine.
Here’s the full list of 66 names announced by the NBA today, in alphabetical order:
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker, G, Virginia Tech (sophomore)
- R.J. Barrett, G/F, Duke (freshman)
- Charles Bassey, C, Western Kentucky (freshman)
- Darius Bazley, F, Princeton HS (OH) (N/A)
- Bol Bol, C, Oregon (freshman)
- Jordan Bone, G, Tennessee (junior)
- Brian Bowen, F, USA (born 1998)
- Ky Bowman, G, Boston College (junior)
- Ignas Brazdeikis, F, Michigan (freshman)
- Moses Brown, C, UCLA (freshman)
- Brandon Clarke, F, Gonzaga (junior)
- Nicolas Claxton, F, Georgia (sophomore)
- Jarrett Culver, G/F, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Luguentz Dort, G, Arizona State (freshman)
- Devon Dotson, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Carsen Edwards, G, Purdue (junior)
- Bruno Fernando, F, Maryland (sophomore)
- Daniel Gafford, F/C, Arkansas (sophomore)
- Darius Garland, G, Vanderbilt (freshman)
- Quentin Grimes, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Kyle Guy, G, Virginia (junior)
- Jaylen Hands, G, UCLA (sophomore)
- Jaxson Hayes, F/C, Texas (freshman)
- Tyler Herro, G, Kentucky (freshman)
- Jaylen Hoard, F, Wake Forest (freshman)
- Talen Horton-Tucker, G, Iowa State (freshman)
- De’Andre Hunter, F, Virginia (sophomore)
- Ty Jerome, G, Virginia (junior)
- Cameron Johnson, G, UNC (senior)
- Keldon Johnson, F, Kentucky (freshman)
- Mfiondu Kabengele, C, Florida State (sophomore)
- Louis King, F, Oregon (freshman)
- Romeo Langford, G, Indiana (freshman)
- Dedric Lawson, F, Kansas (junior)
- Jalen Lecque, G, Brewster Academy (NH) (N/A)
- Nassir Little, F, UNC (freshman)
- Charles Matthews, G, Michigan (junior)
- Jalen McDaniels, F, San Diego State (sophomore)
- Ja Morant, G, Murray State (sophomore)
- Zach Norvell Jr., G, Gonzaga (sophomore)
- Jaylen Nowell, G, Washington (sophomore)
- Jordan Nwora, F, Louisville (sophomore)
- Chuma Okeke, F, Auburn (sophomore)
- Update: Okeke has elected to skip the combine.
- KZ Okpala, F, Stanford (sophomore)
- Miye Oni, G/F, Yale (junior)
- Eric Paschall, F, Villanova (senior)
- Shamorie Ponds, G, St. John’s (junior)
- Jordan Poole, G, Michigan (sophomore)
- Jontay Porter, F, Missouri (sophomore)
- Kevin Porter Jr, G, USC (freshman)
- Neemias Queta, C, Utah State (freshman)
- Cam Reddish, F, Duke (freshman)
- Naz Reid, C, LSU (freshman)
- Isaiah Roby, F, Nebraska (junior)
- Luka Samanic, F, Croatia (born 2000)
- Admiral Schofield, G, Tennessee (senior)
- Simisola Shittu, F, Vanderbilt (freshman)
- Killian Tillie, F, Gonzaga (junior)
- PJ Washington, F, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Tremont Waters, G, LSU (sophomore)
- Quinndary Weatherspoon, G, Missippi State (senior)
- Coby White, G, UNC (freshman)
- Kris Wilkes, G, UCLA (sophomore)
- Grant Williams, F, Tennessee (junior)
- Zion Williamson, F, Duke (freshman)
- Dylan Windler, G, Belmont (senior)
Rui Hachimura (Gonzaga) and Matisse Thybulle (Washington) are among the potential first-round picks who aren’t on the NBA’s list of combine participants, as noted by Jeremy Woo of SI.com and ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links).
P.J. Washington, Grant Williams, Others Entering 2019 Draft
Kentucky forward P.J. Washington has opted to enter the 2019 NBA draft and will hire an agent, according to a press release from the program. Washington, who considered going pro after his freshman year, returned to the Wildcats for his sophomore season and had a strong year. Now, he plans to keep his name in the draft pool, forgoing his remaining NCAA eligibility.
“When I decided to come back to school a year ago, I knew there were things I still wanted to accomplish so I challenged myself to become a better all-around player, to develop more consistency and to become a leader for this team,” Washington said in a statement. “Although we fell a couple games short of our ultimate goal, I’ll never forget the season we had with my brothers. We did some special things this season and made memories that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.”
Washington increased his numbers across the board in his second year at Kentucky, averaging 15.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.2 BPG on .522/.423/.663 shooting. He’s currently ranked 15th on ESPN’s big board, with Jonathan Givony praising his “enviable physical tools.”
Here are more updates on players declaring for the 2019 NBA draft:
- Another one of the top 25 players on Givony’s board – Tennessee junior forward Grant Williams – has announced his intention to test the draft waters. Williams, the No. 24 prospect per ESPN, averaged 18.8 PPG, 7.5 RPG, and 3.2 APG for the Vols. He indicated that he’ll go through the pre-draft process, leaving the door open to return for his senior season.
- Florida State’s Mfiondu Kabengele is entering the draft and intends to keep his name in this year’s pool, he tells Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com. “My decision is I’m going to put my name in the draft this year,” the sophomore center said. “Just because of the season I had, the growth, I feel like I did as much as I could at Florida State. I learned a lot. My next challenge is going to be to expand my game.” Kabengele is the No. 30 prospect on ESPN’s top 100.
- Three Michigan underclassmen on ESPN’s big board – freshman forward Ignas Brazdeikis (No. 48), sophomore guard Jordan Poole (No. 68), and junior guard Charles Matthews (No. 69) – will go through the draft process, the school announced today in a press release. All three players will hire agents, though they’ll still have until May 29 to withdraw if they so choose.
- Auburn junior guard Jared Harper is leaving school and declaring for the 2019 NBA draft, per a press release. “I have always been a believer in Jared,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said of the No. 61 prospect on ESPN’s big board. “He is a special player with speed, quickness, power and a skill level that is unmatched by virtually any player his size. He will make it in the NBA.”
- Kentucky’s Ashton Hagans, a candidate to be drafted this year, will instead return to the Wildcats for his sophomore season, he confirmed today. As ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets, Hagans will focus on improving his shooting and play-making in his second season at Kentucky.
- Here are a few more early entrants who don’t rank in ESPN’s top 100, but who are entering the draft:
- DaQuan Bracey, G, Louisiana Tech (junior) (press release via Louisiana Tech)
- R.J. Cole, G, Howard (sophomore) (link via Eddie Maisonet of The Undefeated)
- Jaylen Hands, G, UCLA (sophomore) (Twitter link via Hands)
- Justin Simon, G, St. John’s (junior) (Twitter link via Jon Rothstein of SI.com)
- Tres Tinkle, F, Oregon State (junior) (link via Nick Daschel of The Oregonian)