Atlantic Notes: Dunn, Trimble, Wiltjer, Hart
Coach Brett Brown has promised Providence sophomore point guard Kris Dunn a chance to play right away if the Sixers draft him, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Dunn met with Sixers officials Wednesday and both he and the team appeared to come away impressed. “They made me feel like they really wanted me there,” he said. “We all were very engaged. We talked about a lot of things. I appreciate them having me.” Philadelphia notched the NBA’s worst record this season and has a 26.9% chance at landing the top overall pick. That will probably be LSU’s Ben Simmons or Duke’s Brandon Ingram, but the Sixers will also get the Lakers’ pick if it falls outside the top three, which is where they might take Dunn.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers are interviewing a lot of guards, including Maryland sophomore point guard Melo Trimble, Pompey tweets.
- Gonzaga senior power forward Kyle Wiltjer will work out for the Sixers later this month, Pompey tweets.
- Villanova junior shooting guard Josh Hart plans a workout with the Sixers, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com. Hart is undecided on whether to stay in the draft or return to school. Philadelphia will also work out freshman small forward Dedric Lawson of Memphis on Monday (Twitter link).
- The Celtics have met with several top prospects, including Ingram, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Other projected top-10 players that Boston has interviewed include Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield, Kentucky’s Jamal Murray and California’s Jaylen Brown. The team has also scheduled an interview with Utah center Jakob Poeltl. According to Himmelsbach, the Celtics have either met with or are planning interviews with Oakland’s Kay Felder, Maryland’s Diamond Stone, Vanderbilt’s Wade Baldwin, New Mexico State’s Pascal Siakam, Michigan State’s Deyonta Davis, China’s Zhou Qi, Syracuse’s Malachi Richardson, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw, Louisville’s Chinanu Onuaku, Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones, Mississippi State’s Malik Newman, North Carolina State’s Cat Barber, Kansas’ Cheick Diallo, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes and high school prospect Thon Maker.
- Seton Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead, who has met with the Sixers, Celtics, Knicks and Nets among others, will “100%” leave college if a team offers him a first-round guarantee, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. “You can’t give up opportunities like that,” Whitehead said. “I mean, when they tell you it’s time to go, you just gotta go.”
- Assistant GM Allan Houston conducted the Knicks‘ meeting with Whitehead as team president Phil Jackson apparently skipped the draft combine, Zagoria writes in a separate piece.
- Diallo is scheduled to meet with the Knicks, Celtics and Raptors on Friday, Zagoria tweets.
Northwest Notes: Leonard, Diallo, Felder, Davis
Impending free agent center Meyers Leonard is making progress with his injured shoulder, according to The Oregonian. In a video interview posted on the paper’s website, Leonard discusses the torn labrum in his left shoulder and what he expects out of restricted free agency this summer. “The frustrating thing is I’m not in pain, but it just takes time for things to heal,” said Leonard, who faces a six- to eight-month timetable to return after undergoing surgery last month. He admits feeling jealous while watching his teammates during the playoffs. The injury could limit the offers for Leonard, who declined an extension from the Blazers in October.
There’s more news from the Northwest Division:
- Kansas freshman big man Cheick Diallo will have an interview with the Jazz on Friday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- Oakland junior point guard Kay Felder had meetings with the Jazz and Nuggets, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
- Freshman big man Deyonta Davis of Michigan State talked with the Jazz, according to Beard (Twitter link).
- The Jazz also interviewed Purdue freshman power forward Caleb Swanigan, according to Nathan Baird of The Lafayette Journal & Courier.
- The Wolves, who own the league’s fifth-worst record entering the draft lottery, held interviews with Providence sophomore point guard Kris Dunn and California freshman swingman Jaylen Brown, tweets Jerry Zgoda of The Star-Tribune.
- Minnesota also interviewed Dunn’s teammate, sophomore power forward Ben Bentil (Twitter link). Bentil joined several other players in a workout for the Wolves last week.
- Also meeting with the Wolves was Henry Ellenson, a freshman power forward out of Marquette, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Cal Swingman Jaylen Brown To Enter Draft
Cal freshman swingman Jaylen Brown will enter this year’s NBA draft, he announced in a press conference today, the school relays via Twitter. The 6’7″ 19-year-old is the fourth-best prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 9 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. It’s not immediately clear whether he’ll hire an agent right away, a move that would prevent him from returning to college ball if he were to withdraw from the draft by May 25th.
Brown is a slasher on offense and a long, skilled defender, according to Ford. His wingspan is more than 7 feet, according to the latest measurement Givony shows. The Georgia native didn’t put up flashy numbers, playing just 27.6 minutes per game, but his 6.4 free throws per contest show his ability to get to the rim. He averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds a night, though his 29.4% 3-point shooting and 3.1 turnovers per contest are troublesome. His final game of the season was a four-point, seven-turnover nightmare in Cal’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Hawaii.
Still, he was already an elite prospect by the time he entered college. The Recruiting Services Consensus Index pegged him third, with only Ben Simmons and Skal Labissiere in front of him. Brown was a mainstay in competitions involving elite high school talent, and he had nine points in 21 minutes at the 2015 McDonald’s All-American game, the most well-known showcase.
And-Ones: Jones, All-Stars, Draft Picks, Inglis
The Timberwolves have assigned rookie point guard Tyus Jones to the D-League, the team tweeted tonight. The former Duke star was drafted 24th overall by the Cavaliers in June and then shipped to Minnesota in a draft-night trade. He has played just 14 minutes in two games with the Wolves, with 1 point, 1 rebound and 1 assist. Minnesota officials had previously announced their intention to have Jones spend part of the year in the D-League to get more playing time. Jones will be sent to the Idaho Stampede, the affiliate of the Jazz. Wolves GM Milt Newton will address the situation Sunday, according to a tweet from the team.
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- Pistons center Andre Drummond heads a list of most likely first-time all stars compiled by Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. With Drummond averaging more than 18 points per game and leading the league in rebounds, Brigham considers the fourth-year center a shoo-in for the February 14th contest in Toronto. Potentially joining him from the Eastern Conference are Knicks rookie Kristaps Porzingis, the Hornets‘ Kemba Walker, the Celtics‘ Isaiah Thomas and the Heat’s Hassan Whiteside. Brigham’s five picks for the Western squad are the Warriors‘ Draymond Green, the Spurs‘ Kawhi Leonard, the Suns‘ Eric Bledsoe and/or Brandon Knight and the Jazz’s Derrick Favors.
- LSU’s Ben Simmons looks like the clear No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, Brigham writes in a separate story analyzing the top six contenders for that honor. Brigham cites the Australia freshman’s versatility on offense, where he possesses the skills of a point guard but the 6’10” frame of a power forward. Also on Brigham’s list are Kentucky freshman Skal Labissiere, California freshman Jaylen Brown, Duke freshman Brandon Ingram, Providence junior Kris Dunn and Utah sophomore Jakob Poeltl.
- The Bucks recalled Damien Inglis from the Canton Charge of the D-League, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. He was sent to Canton on November 22nd.
- The Raptors recalled Bruno Caboclo and Delon Wright from Raptors 905, the team tweeted today. Neither was active for today’s game with the Warriors.
And-Ones: Thunder, Batum, 2016 Draft
The ESPN Summer Forecast panel tabs the Thunder as the team most likely to vault in the standings this year, which is no surprise given the return of Kevin Durant and the team’s decision to match the Blazers’ offer sheet for high-scoring big man Enes Kanter . The Heat, who re-signed Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic and get Chris Bosh from his blood clot ailment, and the Jazz, who surged late last season, also appear in the top three.
There’s more on Oklahoma City amid other NBA-related news:
- The Thunder allowed a trade exception that had been worth $1.25MM to expire when they didn’t make a move by Wednesday’s deadline to use it. It was a vestige of the trade that sent Hasheem Thabeet to Philadelphia. Oklahoma City still has other trade exceptions, the largest of which is worth $2.75MM thanks to the last of this summer’s many deals involving Luke Ridnour.
- Hornets coach Steve Clifford says that he envisions Nicolas Batum having a more prominent offensive role in Charlotte than he did with the Blazers last season, as Adi Joseph of The Sporting News relays (via Twitter). Charlotte acquired Batum, 26, from the Blazers in June as part of the trade that shipped Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson to Portland.
- ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) released his initial mock draft for 2016, and snagging the top spot is LSU freshman small forward Ben Simmons, followed by Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere and California swingman Jaylen Brown.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Cousins, Clifford, Knicks, Covington
We heard yesterday that DeMarcus Cousins has been out for the past two weeks with a case of viral meningitis and could miss another week or two as he recovers. Kings head coach Michael Malone said today that Cousins is out “indefinitely,” reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). After a 9-5 start, Sacramento has lost four of five without its emerging superstar. Let’s take a look at what else is going around the Association:
- The Hornets‘ playoff appearance last season automatically triggered a team option for the third year of head coach Steve Clifford‘s contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Clifford, hired in May 2013, signed a three-year, $6MM deal with Charlotte that is now officially fully guaranteed through next season.
- While the disappointing Knicks might not be ready to turn their focus toward the draft, team president Phil Jackson also said that he doesn’t plan to make any in-season moves that might jeopardize the team’s long-term flexibility, writes Ian Begley of ESPN.com. “I’m not going to make movement for movement’s sake,” Jackson said. “There is sometimes addition by subtraction but I don’t see anybody that doesn’t want to be part of this organization, doesn’t want to play with his teammates, doesn’t want to learn… What we have to do is protect our future… If we evaluate a player and see he’s going to be a long-term player who is going to fit in our organization, we’ll do that.”
- Duke center Jahlil Okafor remains the top prospect in the latest update to Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, while high school senior Jaylen Brown, a small forward, is No. 1 on Givony’s 2016 mock draft.
- Robert Covington has quickly worked his way into Brett Brown‘s rotation in Philadelphia, writes Marc Narducci of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Sixers added Covington in mid-November and he has averaged 9.5 points in 11 games since arriving in Philly. However, the Tennessee State product has scored 63 points and played significant minutes in Philadelphia’s last three contests, two of which the success-starved Sixers have won.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.