Jimma Gatwech

Southeast Notes: Mosley, Barnes, Wizards, Gallinari, Hornets

Jamahl Mosley has interviewed for head coaching jobs before, but he said the experience with the Magic was different because of the relationships involved. In an interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Mosley talks about his prior experience with president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman in Denver and front office official Anthony Parker in Cleveland.

“I started to sense that there was a little bit of a joy to where it was going,” said Mosley, who was officially hired Sunday morning. “That happened after the second or third interview. It felt good. And I met the DeVos family, and you just saw family. That’s when it really kind of set in.”

Mosley chose to sidestep a question about the end of his time in Dallas, where he served as an assistant to Rick Carlisle for the past seven years. There was an expectation that Mosley might become the Mavericks‘ next head coach when Carlisle left for Indiana, but the front office chose Jason Kidd instead.

“It’s me moving forward, and that’s the best thing,” Mosley said. “I’m moving into a situation that allows me to grow, allows me to walk into exactly what I started out doing, and that’s developing and helping young men become better individuals on and off the court.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • The Magic, who hold picks No. 5 and 8 in this year’s lottery, brought in Florida State forward Scottie Barnes for a private workout over the weekend, Robbins tweets. Barnes is ranked sixth on ESPN’s big board and is considered a possible top-five pick.
  • With Bradley Beal eligible for free agency next summer, the Wizards may value veteran help more than the No. 15 pick they hold in the draft, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic. He notes that not many teams are willing to part with useful players in exchange for a mid-round draft choice, but he proposes a few trades involving the Knicks, Lakers, Hawks, Grizzlies and Pacers.
  • Hawks forward Danilo Gallinari has confirmed on Instagram that he will play in the Tokyo Olympics. Gallinari has been representing Italy in international competitions since he was a teenager, but this will be his first Olympic Games.
  • The Hornets are hosting six players today in a pre-draft workout, according to a tweet from the team. Taking part are West Virginia’s Derek Culver, prep school player Jimma Gatwech, Nikita Mikhailovskii of Avtodor (Russia), UNC-Greensboro’s Isaiah Miller, Georgetown’s Jamorko Pickett and Kentucky’s Olivier Sarr.

And-Ones: Batiste, Hall Of Fame, Cotton, Gatwech

Magic assistant coach Mike Batiste shot down a rumor that he’s returning to Europe to coach Greece’s Panathinaikos, Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. Batiste, who was a star player for the EuroLeague team, said on Greek radio’s ERA Sport he’s staying in Orlando. “No one has contacted me, these are rumors. I have a two-year contract and I will honor it, when I’m done with that I don’t know what will happen,” Batiste said.

We have more from around the basketball world:

  • The Basketball Hall of Fame remains hopeful in can hold the induction ceremony for this year’s class as scheduled in late August, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. This year’s class has nine inductees, including the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
  • Australia NBL MVP and former NBA player Bryce Cotton has opted out of his deal with the Perth Wildcats, Olgun Uluc of ESPN reports. The NBL and its players agreed to a tiered system of pay cuts and the highest-salaried players are having their pay cut in half.  The agreement allowed players to opt out of their contracts before May 4, with the Wildcats holding Cotton’s domestic rights. Cotton, who appeared in 23 NBA games before heading to Australia, is being pursued by European teams Panathinaikos and Asvel, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
  • Jimma Gatwech had his name pulled from the NBA draft, but will pursue other pro opportunities in 2020/21, Evan Daniels of 247Sports tweets. Gatwech, 19, spend the past year at CORE4 Academy in Atlanta.

205 Early Entrants Declare For 2020 NBA Draft

The NBA has released the official list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 205 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 163 are from colleges, while 42 are international early entrants.

That number falls just short of the previous record for early entrants, established in 2018. Two years ago, 236 early entrants declared for the draft, though ultimately only 91 of those prospects remained in the draft by the final deadline. A year ago, 233 early entrants declared, with 98 remaining in the draft.

This year’s total of 205 early entrants also figures to shrink significantly by June 3 and again by June 15, the two tentative deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool — assuming those dates aren’t pushed back. But it still looks like the pool will remain crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants likely to exceed 60, the number of picks in the draft.

Our list of early entrants is now up to date and can be found right here. Here are today’s updates:

College underclassmen:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our own list.

The following players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.

International players:

The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our list.

  • Philippe Bayehe, F, Italy (born 1999)
  • Vinicius Da Silva, C, Spain (born 2001)
  • Imru Duke, F, Spain (born 1999)
  • Michele Ebeling, F, Italy (born 1999)
  • Dut Mabor, C, Italy (born 2001)
  • Sergi Martinez, F, Spain (born 1999)
  • Joel Parra, F, Spain (born 2000)
  • Mouhamed Thiam, C, France (born 2001)
  • Andrii Voinalovych, F, Ukraine (born 1999)