Jeremy Sochan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Spurs Notes: Sochan, Branham, Hall, Days

July 17th, 2022 at 9:55am CST by Arthur Hill

Most of the NBA’s top draft picks saw at least some playing time in Las Vegas, but not Spurs rookie Jeremy Sochan, whose Summer League plans were derailed by COVID-19, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. The ninth overall selection tested positive for the virus shortly after the draft and couldn’t practice with the Summer League squad. He agreed with the team’s decision to not have him try to play in any games.

“I didn’t have any injuries, but COVID still affects you, affects your lungs,” Sochan said.“I didn’t practice, and I was out of shape. … It made sense for me not to play here and I am always going to listen to the people in the organization.”

Sochan said he “stayed in bed and slept a lot” after contracting COVID, but he felt better after three days. He has spent most of his time in Las Vegas doing weight training and working with Summer League coach Mitch Johnson to learn the team’s playbook. He has also been a prominent cheerleader during the games and has been impressed by fellow first-round picks Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley.

“I think both have done great,” Sochan said. “There are some areas where they could have done better, but it’s a learning experience for everyone. (Two-way player) Dominick Barlow has also done well. I think it’s been a learning experience for them. They just want to learn and win.”

There’s more on the Spurs:

Branham turned in his best performance Saturday in San Antonio’s final Summer League game, Orsborn notes in a separate story. The 20th pick in the draft scored 23 points while hitting 8-of-15 shots from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range. “Him being decisive is going to be the key,” Johnson said. “He gets in between sometimes with, ‘Should I drive it? Should I shoot it?’ Or he’s thinking, ‘I missed the last one.’ When you are as versatile and as skilled as he is, you just need to play and be aggressive. … That’s going to be one of his strengths (three-point shooting), so he needs to try to score.”
Jordan Hall, an undrafted rookie out of St. Joseph’s, declared for the draft in 2021 but took the Spurs’ advice and returned to school for another year, Orsborn states in another piece. Hall, a combo forward who’s competing for an open two-way slot, reminds a lot of people of former Spur Kyle Anderson.
Johnson called it “bittersweet” to have Darius Days sign a two-way deal with the Heat after a strong performance with the Spurs, but he said that’s one of the purposes of Summer League, Orsborn tweets. “It’s all about these guys either finding jobs or trying to promote themselves within their current job,” Johnson said. “So that’s good on him.”

Spurs Sign Jeremy Sochan To Rookie Contract

July 9th, 2022 at 8:22am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Spurs have signed forward Jeremy Sochan to a rookie scale contract, according to a team press release.

The lottery pick became the first top-10 selection for San Antonio since Tim Duncan went first overall in 1997. The Spurs used the No. 9 overall pick on Sochan, who played one season at Baylor and was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 9.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG and 1.3 SPG while appearing in 30 games.

Assuming the usual 120% rate above rookie scale, Sochan’s four-year deal is worth $23,046,751. He’ll make $5,063,520 during his rookie campaign.

Sochan won’t play in the Summer League after missing all of the team’s pre-Vegas practices due to COVID-19. He also suffered a hamstring injury, Paul Garcia of Project Spurs relays via Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). The injury occurred prior to the draft, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets.

This leaves Dyson Daniels (Pelicans) and Walker Kessler (Jazz) as the only unsigned first-round selections.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, McGee, Spurs, Pelicans

July 8th, 2022 at 5:05pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Rockets became convinced on draft day that the Magic were going to use the first overall pick on Paolo Banchero, Houston made Orlando a trade offer for that No. 1 pick, sources tell Tim MacMahon and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

As MacMahon and Windhorst explain, the Rockets had been expecting to end up with Banchero and had only recently been given Jabari Smith‘s medical information from his agent, Wallace Prather. Bill Duffy, Chet Holmgren‘s agent, told the Rockets he’d only give them Holmgren’s medicals if he got the sense that both Orlando and Oklahoma City were passing on his client.

According to ESPN’s duo, the Rockets were comfortable staying at No. 3 if Smith fell to them, but were worried about having to make a decision on Holmgren without getting much time to look over his medicals, which was why they inquired about moving up. After the Magic turned them down, the Thunder took Holmgren at No. 2, with Smith falling to Houston at No. 3 — all three teams ultimately left the draft happy, and while Banchero and Smith were surprised by where they ended up, neither was upset by the outcome.

“Jabari ended up in a place that fits who he is,” Prather said. “There was nothing but excitement on Jabari’s part about going to Houston. We love their young core. We love the city. We love the passion of their fan base.”

For what it’s worth, Banchero got the upper hand on Smith in their respective Summer League debuts on Thursday, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. The Magic forward scored 17 points in Orlando’s win over Smith and the Rockets.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

A coaching assistant last season with the Rockets, Will Dunn has been promoted to an assistant coach position, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
Appearing on ESPN’s NBA Today (video link), Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd confirmed that the plan is to insert newly-signed big man JaVale McGee into the starting five. McGee told ESPN when he agreed to a deal with Dallas last week that he expected to be the team’s starting center.
The Spurs ruled out Jeremy Sochan and Joe Wieskamp for the entire Las Vegas Summer League, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Sochan missed all of the team’s pre-Vegas practices due to COVID-19, while Wieskamp, who remains a restricted free agent for San Antonio, sprained his ankle in a Tuesday practice.
Noting that the Pelicans‘ front office has shown a knack for identifying under-the-radar talent, Christian Clark of NOLA.com identifies three players on the team’s Summer League roster who could warrant a longer look from the club.

Spurs Notes: Branham, Wesley, Walker, Sochan, Popovich

June 25th, 2022 at 7:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley impressed the Spurs so much with their competitiveness at a pre-draft workout that the team decided to take both players, writes Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. The two guards were matched up against each other in a 3-on-3 scrimmage and both took advantage of the opportunity.

“I felt like we was competing for a spot, so I was going extra hard and going after him,” Wesley said of Branham. Wesley also tried to outshine Duke’s Wendell Moore, who took part in the scrimmage as well, explaining, “They had a lot more hype than me, so I wanted to go at them.”

General manager Brian Wright said the Spurs expected Branham to be selected in the mid-teens or possibly late in the lottery and were prepared to trade up for him before he fell to No. 20.

“He’s smart, tough, competitive and coachable, and those are all things we were looking to find in this draft,” Wright said.

There’s more from San Antonio:

The addition of two guards casts doubt on the future of Lonnie Walker, who is headed for free agency, Orsborn adds in a separate story. The Spurs can make him restricted by extending a $6.3MM qualifying offer by Wednesday, but there may no longer be a role for him in San Antonio. “He has done a phenomenal job in his development over the years and we saw the consistency he brought, especially in the second half of the season when he really hit his stride,” Wright said. “At the appropriate time, we will sit with (his representatives) and him and try to find out what’s next for him and the franchise.”
Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News looks at the international background of lottery pick Jeremy Sochan, who had to learn basketball from his mother because there weren’t many accomplished coaches in the English town where the family lived when he was young. The organization is impressed by Sochan’s versatility and plans to use him all along the front line.
Coach Gregg Popovich called each of the Spurs’ draft picks Thursday night to welcome them to the team, McDonald tweets, adding that it’s a pretty clear indication that Popovich plans to return for another season.

Draft Notes: Magic, Sochan, Hardy, Daniels

June 20th, 2022 at 7:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While such comments typically produce eye rolls, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman insists the Magic haven’t decided who they’ll take with the top overall pick, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.

Weltman says “it’s still early in the process,” even though draft night is Thursday. “Dialogue is always ongoing,” Weltman said. “But, most importantly, we get to do what we want. That’s the real benefit of having the No. 1 pick.”

Orlando is expected to draft either Jabari Smith or Chet Holmgren.

We have more draft-related info:

Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan attended the Wizards’ pre-draft workout on Monday but didn’t participate due to an injury, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Sochan sat out with a mild hamstring strain. Washington owns the No. 1o pick. Sochan is ranked No. 15 on ESPN’s Best Available list.
G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy, ranked No. 22 by ESPN, worked out for the Sixers on Monday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. St. Joseph’s forward Jordan Hall, Delaware guard Kevin Anderson, Alabama guard Keon Ellis, Baylor wing Kendall Brown and UNLV shooting guard Bryce Hamilton joined him, Pompey adds in another tweet. Philadelphia owns the No. 23 pick.
G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels cancelled a visit with the Kings after receiving a green room invitation, Sean Cunningham of KTXL tweets. Daniels is ranked No. 6 by ESPN. Daniels is the second-ranked point guard behind Jaden Ivey, who revealed that he hasn’t had contact with the team holding the No. 4 pick.

Northwest Notes: Jazz, Blazers, Wolves, Nuggets

June 15th, 2022 at 5:48pm CST by Rory Maher

Sources told Tony Jones of The Athletic that “there is a world where the Jazz keep most of their top-seven core with the hope that a new coach energizes them.” Jones explores the potential cost of a Rudy Gobert trade to Chicago with fellow Athletic writer Darnell Mayberry, but stresses that Gobert won’t be traded just for the sake of shaking up the roster, noting that the asking price for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year will be very high.

Utah is casting an extremely wide net as they seek a replacement for Quin Snyder. As our head coaching search tracker shows, Sam Cassell became the 15th candidate linked to the Jazz after it was reported that he’ll interview for the vacancy.

Here’s more from the Northwest:

The Trail Blazers are hosting a pre-draft workout with six prospects on Wednesday, including a couple of potential lottery picks, tweets Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian. Shaedon Sharpe, the No. 7 prospect on ESPN’s big board, headlines the group, followed by Jeremy Sochan (No. 15), Dalen Terry (No. 25), John Butler (No. 67), Jamaree Bouyea (No. 79) and Jordan Hall (No. 87). Portland holds the Nos. 7, 36 and 59 picks in the draft.
The Timberwolves are also hosting workout of draft-eligible players on Wednesday, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link). The group features multiple potential second-round picks, including Hugo Besson (No. 41 on ESPN’s board), Michael Foster Jr. (No. 49), Jean Montero (No. 52) and Gabe Brown (No. 78). It also includes Nysier Brooks, who is unranked, and David Roddy (No. 30), as Wolfson previously reported. The Wolves hold the Nos. 19, 40, 48 and 50 picks, but aren’t expected to have four rookies on the roster next season.
Peyton Watson (No. 34) headlines a group of six prospects working out for the Nuggets on Thursday, as Harrison Wind of DNVR Sports relays (via Twitter). The other five players are Florida’s Anthony Duruji, UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton, Flagler’s Jaizec Lottie, Marquette’s Darryl Morsell and Buffalo’s Ronaldo Segu, all of whom project to go undrafted and are unranked on ESPN’s board. After reaching an agreement to trade JaMychal Green to the Thunder, Denver now controls the Nos. 21 and 30 picks in the 2022 draft.

California Notes: Diabate, Sochan, Reaves, Green

June 14th, 2022 at 11:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Kings worked out Michigan center Moussa Diabate on Tuesday, per Andrew Slater of Pro Insight (via Twitter). Sacramento holds the Nos. 4, 37 and 49 picks in next week’s 2022 draft. Diabate is ranked as the No. 70 prospect on the ESPN big board.

The 6’11” big man was voted onto the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in his lone NCAA year. Slater adds that Diabate logged the best vertical of all center prospects, 36.5″, at the pre-draft combine in Chicago. Through 32 games with the Wolverines, Diabate averaged 9.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 0.9 BPG during 24.9 MPG during the 2021/22 season.

There’s more out of California:

Among first-round candidates, Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan worked out for the Kings on Sunday, per Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. Anderson notes that the 19-year-old is among the top defensive players in the 2022 draft. During his lone college season, the 6’9″ combo forward averaged 9.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG and 0.7 BPG in 30 contests. ESPN lists Sochan as the No. 15 pro prospect on its latest big board.
Lakers rookie Austin Reaves had quite the first NBA season. After going undrafted in 2021 out of Oklahoma, he latched on with L.A. and soon found himself earning the praise of All-NBA forward LeBron James. Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times takes an in-depth look at the development of the 6’5″ shooting guard. Though Woike writes that Reaves had received some interest in the second round of the draft, Reaves and his representation demanded a guaranteed contract from any team with interest in taking him. His preferred destination was Los Angeles, and when he fell out of the draft, Reaves eventually signed with the Lakers on a two-way contract. The team promoted Reaves ahead of the regular season to a standard two-year deal. “When you have an opportunity to see the arc of a player, to discover him in the scouting process, bringing him in for workouts, acquiring him, developing him and bringing him along, seeing that arc is really satisfying,” team president Rob Pelinka said. Through 61 games, including 19 starts, Reaves averaged 7.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.8 APG in 23.2 MPG for the Lakers.
All-Star Warriors forward Draymond Green played a big part in Golden State’s critical 104-94 Game 5 Finals win over the Celtics on Monday thanks to his disruptive defensive pressure and offensive court sense, per Marcus Thompson II. Though Green scored just eight points on a respectable 3-of-6 shooting from the floor, he also notched eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal. Thompson reports that Boston players converted just 7-of-23 (30.4%) of their looks with Green defending them during the series’ past two contests, both Warriors wins. Those players otherwise connect on 49.3% of their attempts from the floor. “I felt more like myself… aggressive on both ends of the ball,” the 32-year-old Green said. “I look forward to going into Game 6 with the same energy and effort.”

Draft Notes: Green Room, Draft Targets, Comps, Mock, Minott

June 14th, 2022 at 2:42pm CST by Rory Maher

The list of prospects invited to the green room on draft night has expanded to 16, tweets ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. The list includes all of the top-16 ranked players on ESPN’s big board: Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Dyson Daniels, Shaedon Sharpe, Bennedict Mathurin, AJ Griffin, Jalen Duren, Johnny Davis, Ousmane Dieng, Malaki Branham, Mark Williams, Jeremy Sochan and Ochai Agbaji.

A source tells Givony that the list could expand further, with four more invites still a possibility. The draft is nine days away.

Here are some more draft-related notes:

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report lists three realistic prospects for each team’s first pick of the draft. For instance, Wasserman believes Sochan, Tari Eason and TyTy Washington would be solid choices for Atlanta with the 16th overall pick.
In a separate article for Bleacher Report, Wasserman provides NBA comps for 14 projected lottery picks, including Sharpe, whom Wasserman compares to Zach LaVine.
The early entrant withdrawal deadline passed at 5:00 pm ET on Monday, so BasketballNews.com updated their 2022 mock draft to include some international prospects who were previously on the fence, such as Yannick Nzosa, Gabriele Procida and Ibuo Badji, who all go late in the second round (Twitter link via Matt Babcock of BasketballNews).
Memphis wing Josh Minott recently worked out for the Kings, and has upcoming workouts with the Jazz, Trail Blazers, Timberwolves and Heat, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com (Twitter link). Minott is ranked 46th on ESPN’s board.

Central Notes: Ibaka, Bucks, Branham, Pacers

June 11th, 2022 at 11:40am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Despite some chatter out of Europe regarding his future, veteran Bucks big man Serge Ibaka, an unrestricted free agent this summer, intends to remain in the NBA next season, per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

Carchia notes that Italian EuroLeague club Virtus Bologna, winners of the 2021 Italian Serie A, would be interested in adding Ibaka, but the team has not made any formal outreach to the 32-year-old. Before joining the NBA for the 2009/10 season, Ibaka played for two Spanish pro clubs: Bàsquet Manresa and EuroLeague powerhouse Real Madrid.

Last year while with the Clippers and Bucks, Ibaka posted his most modest numbers since his 2009/10 rookie season with the Thunder. For the regular season, the 6’10” power forward/center averaged 6.8 PPG and 4.6 RPG across 16.2 MPG.

Ibaka, a former three-time All-Defensive Team selection and a champion with the Raptors in 2019, played even more minimally in the postseason for Milwaukee. He appeared in only six of the Bucks’ 12 playoff contests this year, averaging 1.5 PPG and 1.7 RPG in just 3.7 MPG when he did play.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

The Bucks may look to the upcoming draft to build out their bench depth for the 2022/23 season. Eric Nehm of The Athletic assesses four point guard prospects who could fit for Milwaukee behind 2022 All-Defensive Second Teamer Jrue Holiday: Kentucky guard TyTy Washington, G League Ignite guard Jaden Hardy, Tennessee freshman Kennedy Chandler, and 6’7″ Arizona prospect Dalen Terry.
An ankle sprain prevented Ohio State guard Malaki Branham from participating in a group workout with the Cavaliers, but the team was nevertheless intrigued by the NBA prospect following a dinner, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Fedor adds (via Twitter) that Cleveland intends to bring Branham back to its facilities for a healthy workout ahead of the June 23 draft.
Due to a flight delay, three prospects missed their group workout with the Pacers on Friday, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Baylor forward Jeremy Sochan, Iraurgi Saski Baloia shooting guard Pavel Savkov and Urbas Fuenlabrada guard Ziga Samar were not able to participate in a team workout that also included G League Ignite prospect Dyson Daniels, Oklahoma guard Kameron McGusty and Villanova forward Jermaine Samuels. Given that most prospects have fairly busy schedules leading up to the draft, it is unclear whether this triumvirate’s Pacers workout will be rescheduled.

Central Notes: Mathurin, Daniels, Beauchamp, Pistons, Vucevic

June 9th, 2022 at 5:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sitting at No. 6 in the draft order, the Pacers have some projected lottery picks coming in on Friday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets.

Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, ranked No. 8 on ESPN’s Best Available list, is visiting the Pacers for a solo workout. G League Elite’s Dyson Daniels (No. 6) and Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan (No. 15) are among a group of six players coming in earlier on Friday. Kameron McGusty (Miami), Ziga Samar (Urbas Fuenlabrada), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova) and Pavel Savkov (Iraurgi SB) will join that duo.

We have more from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers, who hold the No. 14 selection, took a look at G League Ignite wing and potential lottery pick MarJon Beauchamp on Wednesday, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Potential second-rounder Alabama’s Keon Ellis visited the same day. Wagner’s Alex Morales also had a workout with the Cavs on Wednesday, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. Florida State forward Malik Osborne worked out there on Tuesday, Bosco Institute tweets.
Don’t expect the Pistons to try to move into the top three of the draft to snare one of the top bigs, James Edwards III of The Athletic speculates. Edwards doubts the franchise would surrender young assets at this stage of the rebuild. He anticipates the Pistons would have to part with at least Saddiq Bey or Isaiah Stewart along with the No. 5 pick to move up a couple of spots and that doesn’t make much sense unless they’re getting a surefire superstar in return.
While rumors are swirling that the Bulls may part with Nikola Vucevic, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic is somewhat skeptical Chicago is eager to move on from its starting center. Vucevic still has supporters in high places in Chicago due to his professionalism, versatility and consistency. If the Bulls do trade Vucevic, they’ll have to receive an obvious upgrade in return.