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Magic Sign Anthony Black, Jett Howard To Rookie Deals

July 1st, 2023 at 12:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Magic have officially signed rookie lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the team has announced in a press release (Twitter link).

Based on the 2023/24 rookie scale, Black’s first-year salary is expected to be worth about $7.25MM, while Howard’s will be approximately $5MM. The first two years of both contracts will be guaranteed, while the Magic will hold team options on the third and fourth seasons.

The Magic selected Black, an SEC All-Freshman shooting guard out of Arkansas, with the sixth pick in last month’s draft. During his lone NCAA season, the 6’7″ swingman averaged 12.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.9 APG, 2.1 SPG and 0.6 BPG.

Howard, a 6’8″ wing out of Michigan, was drafted with the No. 11 selection. The 2022/23 All-Big Ten honoree averaged 14.2 PPG on .414/.368/.800 shooting splits, along with 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.7 BPG, while a Wolverine under father and head coach Juwan Howard.

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Draft Rumors: Miller, Henderson, Pistons, Howard, Jaquez

June 22nd, 2023 at 10:10am CST by Arthur Hill

Numerous insiders have stated that the Hornets are leaning heavily toward taking Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick in tonight’s draft, but Miller indicated Wednesday that he hasn’t been promised anything, writes Adam Zagoria of NJ.com.

“Probably when I get drafted is when I’ll know where I’m going,” Miller said. He added that he’ll be equally happy heading to Charlotte with the second pick or Portland at No. 3.

In an updated mock draft released this morning, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic moved G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson up to No. 2 ahead of Miller. Vecenie has been skeptical of rumors that Charlotte is leaning toward Miller because he’s a better fit, and he continues to doubt leaks that the Hornets have decided on Miller after bringing both players in for a second workout on Monday.

Vecenie points out that general manager Mitch Kupchak said at a news conference Wednesday that team officials didn’t get a lot of new information from that second visit. Vecenie adds that incoming owners Gabe Plotkin and Rich Schnall will be involved in the draft decision, and they may view Henderson as the better prospect.

There’s more draft news to pass along:

  • The Pistons are listening to offers for the No. 5 pick, but their asking price is “prohibitively high,” Jonathan Givony states in ESPN’s updated mock draft (subscription required). He cites the Jazz, who hold the ninth and 16th picks, as a team that would like to move up if Detroit eases its demands. Givony adds that Pistons’ ownership may be reluctant to trade down, hoping to add an exciting prospect after such a difficult season. Givony lists Ausar Thompson as his choice for Detroit, noting that Cam Whitmore has likely fallen into the 6-9 range.
  • Michigan’s Jett Howard tells Sean Deveney of Heavy.com that he worked out this week for the Lakers, who hold pick No. 17. Deveney points out that the freshman guard already has a connection with L.A. general manager Rob Pelinka, who played with Jett’s father, Juwan Howard, for two seasons with the Wolverines. “Rob was there, talked to him a little bit,” Howard said of the 30-minute session with the Lakers. “I have known him so long, it was kind of an organic conversation. And yeah, if they pick me, I would be more than happy to play for them.”
  • The Lakers, Heat (18) and Warriors (19) may all have interest in UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez, Deveney adds in a separate story. Jaquez credits strong workouts with helping to raise his draft stock. “I think I did well in the workouts, I went out there and showed what I can do, and hopefully teams saw what I was capable of,” he said. “There were question marks going into those workouts, I went into those workouts trying to answer those questions. I think that is why I got this invite here.”
  • Jaquez is one of the final additions to the Green Room list issued by the NBA (Twitter link), along with Brandin Podziemski and Rayan Rupert.
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Draft Notes: Rockets, Thompsons, Black, Green Room Invites, Osunniyi, Burton

June 13th, 2023 at 5:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets hold the No. 4 pick and they were visited this week by three candidates who could potentially be selected at that spot. The Overtime Elite brother duo of Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson and Arkansas’ Anthony Black met with Houston’s brass. Amen and Ausar are currently ranked No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on ESPN’s Best Available list with Black slotted at No. 8. The Thompsons reportedly met recently with the Pistons, who hold the No. 5 pick. They’ve also visited the Hornets (No. 2) and Trail Blazers (No. 3). There has been much less intel on Black’s pre-draft visits.

We have more draft-related info:

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Draft Workouts: S. Henderson, Blazers, Howard, Nowell, Roberts

June 3rd, 2023 at 2:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers, who control the No. 3 overall pick, are holding a pre-draft workout Saturday with G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson, a projected top-three pick, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report.

Henderson has said in the past he thinks he’d be a good fit alongside Damian Lillard and he reiterated that again today, according to Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian (Twitter link).

Recent mocks have Henderson, who was a candidate for No. 1 overall at one point before Victor Wembanyama went to a different level this season, going No. 3 to Portland, with Alabama’s Brandon Miller going to Charlotte at No. 2.

Highkin recently said he thought the Blazers would trade their pick for an established star player, mentioning Jaylen Brown and Pascal Siakam.

Here are a few more 2023 NBA draft-related notes ahead of June 22:

  • Michigan wing Jett Howard will work out for the Magic Saturday, per Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire (Twitter link). The Magic control the Nos. 6, 11 and 36 picks in the draft, while Howard is currently ranked No. 17 on ESPN’s big board. The son of Juwan Howard, Jett is thought to be one of the better shooters in the draft.
  • Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell has workouts lined up with the Mavericks, Pacers, Suns and Clippers. He also worked out for the Jazz and Wizards the past couple days, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). The 5’8″ Nowell had a memorable performance in the NCAA tournament for the Wildcats, averaging 23.5 points, 13.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 4.0 steals on .446/.419/.920 shooting in four games (40.0 MPG) en route to the Elite Eight.
  • Georgia guard Terry Roberts worked out for the Nets this week and had a previous workout with the Rockets, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Roberts had previous experience with Florida SouthWestern State College and Bradley before playing for the Bulldogs as a senior.
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Pre-Draft Workouts: Whitmore, Pacers, Hornets, Lakers, More

June 1st, 2023 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers will host Cam Whitmore for an individual workout on Thursday, according to Wheat Hotchkiss of NBA.com. The Villanova forward is part of a group of prospects that are expected to come off the board shortly after the top three of Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson. Indiana holds the No. 7 pick in this year’s draft.

The Pacers welcomed Johnell Davis of Florida Atlantic, Adam Flagler of Baylor, Armaan Franklin of Virginia, Nate Laszewski of Notre Dame, Leonard Miller of G League Ignite and Isaiah Wong of Miami to a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Davis has since decided to pull out of the draft and return to school.

We have a few more updates on draft workouts:

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NBA Reveals Players Expected At 2023 Draft Combine

May 9th, 2023 at 6:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA has announced 78 players that are expected to attend this year’s draft combine, scheduled for May 15-21 at in Chicago, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

Additionally, a select number of standout players from the G League Elite Camp, which takes place May 13-14 in Chicago, will be invited to participate in the combine.

Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five scrimmages, as well as shooting, strength and agility drills. Some top prospects opt out of the scrimmages.

Victor Wembanyama, the projected top pick, is not on the list. His French League season is still ongoing.

The list of invitees is as follows:

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Michigan’s Jett Howard Declaring For 2023 NBA Draft

March 23rd, 2023 at 5:22pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Freshman Michigan guard Jett Howard has informed Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he intends to declare for the 2023 NBA draft.

Howard, currently recovering from injuries to both his ankles for the next month, is projected as the No. 15 prospect in Givony’s latest mock draft.

“This was a great learning year for me,” Howard told Givony. “It’s what I needed. It taught me how to play within a pro-style offense and be effective, to get out of my comfort zone, and play with other good players.”

The 6’8″ swingman was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team and All-Freshman Team. Givony adds that, before his ankle ailments, Howard had been considered a possible top-10 selection in this year’s draft. Across 29 games in 2022/23, all starts, he posted averages of 14.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.7 BPG.

“I’ve had both ankles nagging for a while, so my dad [Michigan head coach and former All-Star big man Juwan Howard] and the coaching staff agreed with the specialist that it’s better for me to get to 100%,” Howard said. “I was only 50-60% [healthy] for most of the Big Ten. My dad being the coach, he is was looking out for me and wanted the best for my health. He understands that ankles are tricky. I met with a specialist after the Big Ten tournament and they wanted me to rehab for four to five weeks.”

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