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Draft Notes: Wesley, Sotto, Rockets, Timberwolves

June 13th, 2022 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Notre Dame shooting guard Blake Wesley has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Grizzlies, Heat and Bulls, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Wesley told Robbins he had already worked out for the Spurs, Cavaliers, Bucks and Pistons.

A potential first-round selection, the 6’5” Wesley is ranked No. 27 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft-related news:

  • International center prospect Kai Sotto will return to NBA team workouts this week on the West Coast after nursing a sprained ankle, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. He already worked out for the Knicks, Magic and Hawks, among others. The 7’3” big man from the Philippines spent last season in Australia’s National Basketball League, averaging 7.5 PPG and 4.5 RPG for the Adelaide 36ers.
  • The Rockets are sitting at the No. 3 spot and will presumably take the remaining big man in the trio of Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero, unless there’s a draft-day surprise. The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen picks the brains of some NBA executives and a college coach to get a handle on how the trio’s skills will translate to the NBA.
  • The Timberwolves brought in six prospects on Monday, Andrew Slater tweets. That group included Tyson Etienne (Wichita State), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown,) Justin Lewis (Marquette), Fanbo Zeng (G League Ignite) and Kalob Ledoux (Louisiana Tech).
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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.
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Northwest Notes: Nuggets, Blazers, Wolves, Jazz

June 9th, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

In addition to featuring Colorado State forward David Roddy, the Nuggets‘ group workout on Tuesday included Wendell Moore (Duke), Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest), Josh Minott (Memphis), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), and Lucas Williamson (Loyola), according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).

LaRavia (No. 31), Moore (36), and Minott (47) all rank as top-50 prospects on ESPN’s big board, as does Roddy (46). Denver only holds the No. 21 pick in this year’s draft, but may like one or more of those prospects more than ESPN’s experts do. The Nuggets could also just be doing their homework in case they trade back in the draft, pick up a extra second-round selection, or have an opportunity to sign any of these players as undrafted free agents.

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • In a mailbag for The Denver Post, Singer discusses possible offseason targets for the Nuggets, identifying Dillon Brooks, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cam Reddish, Josh Hart, and Kenrich Williams as possibilities on the trade market and Bruce Brown, Caleb Martin, and Cody Martin as free agents worth considering. While Singer doesn’t necessarily have any inside info saying Denver will pursue those players, he notes that he ran his list past a couple NBA executives and “they didn’t outright laugh at me.”
  • Memphis center Jalen Duren worked out for the Trail Blazers earlier this week, tweets Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian. It remains to be seen whether or not the Blazers will hang onto the No. 7 pick in this month’s draft, but if they do, Duren could be a player they consider — he’s ranked 10th on ESPN’s big board.
  • French big man Ismael Kamagate and Duke’s Wendell Moore were among the prospects working out for the Timberwolves this week, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter links). Both are top-40 prospects on ESPN’s board.
  • Jazz CEO Danny Ainge believes getting player input on the team’s head coaching search is important, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that candidates who have existing relationships with star guard Donovan Mitchell (or other Utah players) will have a leg up, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “You have to sell (players) on what you’re doing, whatever it is — if you’re making a trade that they might not like you have to be able to sell why you’re doing it,” Ainge said. “That’s just to get them in the right frame of mind so they can give that change an opportunity to succeed. But, I believe players are partners in this thing, too.”
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Draft Notes: O’Neal, Eason, Lakers, Weathers, Nembhard, Mobley

June 6th, 2022 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

LSU junior Shareef O’Neal is eligible to be selected in the draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The son of Shaquille O’Neal, Shareef O’Neal was mistakenly included in the list of withdrawals released by the league last week. He has upcoming team workouts, Charania adds.

We have more draft-related info:

  • Another LSU player, wing Tari Eason, has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Cavaliers, Grizzlies and Spurs, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. He has already worked out for a number of teams, including the Bulls, Thunder and Knicks. Eason is ranked No. 18 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.
  • The Lakers hosted six prospects on Monday, including UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. That group also included Remy Martin (Kansas), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech), Haowen Guo (Shanghai Sharks) and Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech).
  • SMU’s Marcus Weathers worked out for the Spurs on Monday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard and USC’s Isaiah Mobley were also among the six prospects San Antonio hosted, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. Nembhard, a point guard, projects as a potential first-rounder. He’s ranked No. 35 on ESPN’s list.
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44 Prospects Announced For 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp

May 9th, 2022 at 2:40pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA G League has formally announced its field of 44 draft prospects for the 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp.

The event, which will take place May 16 and 17 in Chicago, “gives draft prospects an opportunity to display their skills in front of NBA and NBA G League scouts, coaches and front-office executives over the course of the camp by playing in five-on-five games and participating in strength and agility drills.”

The top performers from the camp will be invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which will take place from May 18-22 in Chicago. Some NBA players who have participated in past G League Elite Camps include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, Clippers wing Terance Mann, and Heat wing Max Strus.

Here’s the list of 44 draft-eligible attendees:

The list of attendees features 13 players on ESPN’s big board, notes Jonathan Givony of ESPN (via Twitter), so some players have a chance to be drafted.

The top-ranked prospect at the camp is Scheierman (No. 69), who averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals on .508/.469/.802 shooting this season for South Dakota State (35 games, 33.3 minutes per contest).

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