Draft Workouts: Walker, Clippers, A.J. Davis, Hawks
Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV, considered a potential lottery pick, had his first pre-draft workout on Sunday when he met with the Hornets, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. According to Bonnell, Walker indicated that he’ll audition for about six more teams, all of whom are picking in the 10-to-20 range in this month’s draft.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com has Walker going to the Clippers at No. 13 in his most recent mock draft, noting that the former Hurricane is a candidate to increase his stock during the pre-draft process due to his ” youth, strong frame, wingspan, and ability to shoot with his feet set or off the dribble.”
Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts, including another note on the Clippers:
- The Clippers are hosting six prospects for a workout today, with De’Anthony Melton (USC), Drew Eubanks (Oregon State), Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech), Troy Brown Jr. (Oregon), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), and Brandon Sampson (LSU) getting a look from the club (Twitter link).
- UCF forward A.J. Davis, the son of former NBA big man Antonio Davis, will audition for the Bulls, Pacers, and Magic, a league source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Jacob Evans (Cincinnati), Devonte’ Graham (Kansas), Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt), Landry Shamet (Wichita State), and Zach Thomas (Bucknell) make up the latest group of Hawks workout participants, according to the team.
- Texas A&M big man Tyler Davis is among the prospects working out for the Knicks on Wednesday, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link).
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.
Draft Decisions: McDaniels, Cody & Caleb Martin
Forward Jalen McDaniels will return to San Diego State for his sophomore season, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. McDaniels is part of a crop of late decision makers who waited until shortly before tonight’s deadline of 11:59pm Eastern to announce whether they are staying in the draft.
“After thoughtful consideration with my family and coaching staff, I have decided to return to San Diego State for my sophomore year.” McDaniels posted on Twitter. “I’m looking forward to furthering my education and returning to the NCAA Tournament. Go Aztecs!”
McDaniels averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first year at San Diego State. He held workouts with Cavaliers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Jazz, Warriors, Celtics, Nets, Hawks, Bucks, Spurs and Bulls, according to Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
In another significant last-minute decision, Nevada stars Cody Martin and Caleb Martin will both return to school, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Cody is ranked 90th and Caleb is 91st in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, but Jeff Goodman of ESPN suggests the Wolf Pack could be a top 10 team next season with both staying (Twitter link).
There’s also news to pass along on pre-draft workouts:
- The Lakers have a session set for Thursday with Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham and Billy Preston, Wichita State’s Landry Shamet, Penn State’s Tony Carr, Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie and Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
- The Kings will hold a workout Thursday for SMU’s Shake Milton, Arizona’s Allonzo Trier, Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson, Rhode Island’s E.C. Matthews, Cincinnati’s Gary Clark and Missouri’s Jordan Barnett.
- On Tuesday, the Suns brought in Temple’s Obi Enechionyia, Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans, Arizona State’s Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice, Wyoming’s Alan Herndon and Australia player William McDowell-White.
- Donte Ingram of Loyola Chicago had “solid” workouts with the Bulls and Bucks last week, according to Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox (Twitter link). The Bucks also brought in UCLA’s Thomas Welsh.
- Texas center Mo Bamba will work out Friday for the Bulls, tweets Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago.
Jacob Evans To Remain In 2018 NBA Draft
Cincinnati swingman Jacob Evans, who initially entered the 2018 NBA draft without an agent, will keep his name in this year’s draft pool and go pro, he confirmed to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
“The NBA is a lifelong dream and I am making every day count to make the most of it,” Evans said. “I’m excited about the feedback that I have received in this process so far. I can’t wait to lace up my kicks in Chicago (at the draft combine) and show all of the teams what I can do.”
Evans’ decision doesn’t come as a surprise. Even though he didn’t initially sign with an agent, the junior said when he first announced his decision in early April that he expected to be picked in the first round and wasn’t testing the waters just “to come back to school.” Presumably, Evans wanted to make sure that NBA evaluators agreed with his perception of his own stock before making his decision official.
While Evans isn’t a lock to be selected in the first round this May, he ranks as the No. 24 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s top-100 list at ESPN.com, and came off the board 24th in Givony’s most recent mock draft.
Evans averaged 13.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.1 APG with a shooting line of .427/.370/.754 shooting line for the Bearcats in 2017/18. Although his shooting numbers were better in his sophomore year (.473/.418/.732), Evans has intrigued NBA executives with his potential as a two-way wing, Charania notes.
Jacob Evans Enters 2018 NBA Draft
Cincinnati swingman Jacob Evans announced on Sunday that he has elected to enter the 2018 NBA draft, confirming his decision on Twitter.
Speaking to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com, Evans called the decision “the best move for me,” noting that he won’t yet hire an agent, preserving his NCAA eligibility for the time being. However, it doesn’t sound like he intends to simply test the waters and then withdraw his name.
“I didn’t sign an agent yet, but I’m entering my name with plans on getting picked in the first round,” Evans said. “I’m not just testing to come back to school.”
Evans, a junior, averaged 13.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 3.1 APG with a shooting line of .427/.370/.754 shooting line for the Bearcats in 2017/18. Although Evans’ shooting numbers were better in his sophomore year (.473/.418/.732), his performance this past season still has him positioned as a potential first-round pick.
Givony ranks Evans 24th overall on his big board, and had him at No. 25 in his most recent mock draft, referring to the 20-year-old as an “ultra-versatile player who guards all over the floor.”