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.
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.
Jalen Brunson Entering 2018 NBA Draft
A day after word broke that Villanova’s Mikal Bridges will be leaving school to go pro, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that teammate Jalen Brunson will follow suit. According to Wojnarowski, Brunson will enter the 2018 NBA draft and will forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility.
“After careful consideration and prayer, I have decided to enter the June NBA draft and hire an agent,” Brunson wrote in an essay for ESPN.com.
Brunson, a two-time NCAA champion like Bridges, is coming off an incredibly productive junior year in which he averaged 18.9 PPG, 4.6 APG, and 3.1 RPG with a shooting line of .521/.408/.802. The performance earned him 2018’s Naismith and Wooden awards for College Player of the Year.
Although he’s just the 36th-ranked player on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com, Brunson boosted his stock in this year’s NCAA tournament, making an impression on NBA scouts with his leadership and toughness. Givony has the junior point guard coming off the board at No. 26 in his most recent mock draft.
Draft Rumors: Collins, Carroll, Brunson, Lessort
Gonzaga big man Zach Collins has signed with veteran agent Mark Bartelstein of Priority Sports, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. The 7-footer is ranked No. 12 by both DraftExpress and ESPN Insider Chad Ford. The freshman helped his draft status during the Zags’ run to the national title game. He declared for the draft last week.
In other news regarding the draft:
- Euroleague prospect Vasilis Charalampopoulos will not enter the draft, international journalist David Pick tweets, citing a source. He wants more Euroleague exposure, Pick adds. The 20-year-old small forward, who plays for Panathinaikos, is listed at No. 10 in DraftExpress’ International 1997 rankings.
- Oklahoma State forward Jeffrey Carroll has opted not to go through the draft process, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. Carroll decided to test the waters late last month after a breakout junior season with the Cowboys in which he averaged 17.5 PPG and 6.6 RPG.
- Villanova guard Jalen Brunson is headed back to college for his junior season, Adam Zagoria of the 4 Quarters Podcast tweets. He averaged 14.7 PPG and 4.1 APG during his sophomore year. Brunson didn’t crack DraftExpress’ Top 100.
- French draft prospect Mathias Lessort has signed with Wasserman and will be represented by Jason Ranne and former Pistons executive George David, HoopsHype tweets. The 6-9 forward is rated No. 34 by DraftExpress and No. 51 by Ford.
