Draft Notes: Towns, Harrison Twins, Looney
The 2015 draft is more than nine months away, but teams track prospects year-round in an effort to make the right decisions when the day finally arrives. All that work doesn’t prevent draft busts, as is proven time and again, but teams can still gather valuable information so they can limit their mistakes. Here’s the latest:
- University of Kentucky coach John Calipari has invited all 30 NBA teams to send personnel to watch him put his star-studded roster through a two-day scouting combine of sorts next month, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Calipari is believed to be the first college coach to set up such a showcase for his players, but Wojnarowski adds that he won’t allow anyone from the league to observe his practices for an indefinite time thereafter.
- There’s no shortage of NBA prospects on Kentucky, as nine fall within the top 43 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress ratings, but forward/center Karl-Anthony Towns, shooting guard Aaron Harrison and combo guard Andrew Harrison will be the main attractions at the team’s preseason showcase, scouts tell Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Duke center Jahlil Okafor remains the top-ranked player on the second version of Chad Ford’s ESPN.com Insider-only draft board, but 6’10” UCLA combo forward Kevon Looney vaults to the No. 8 spot after Ford left him outside his top 30 the first time around.
And-Ones: Parker, Heat, Roberts. Allen
Jabari Parker knows the history of second-overall pick busts in the NBA, and is determined not to be the next, writes Brett Pollakoff of NBC Sports.com. The Bucks rookie said, “There’s been a lot of second pick busts. I’m just trying not to be that bust. Everyday that I step on the court, I just remind myself that I have a long ways to go. If I want to be one of those guys in the first tier of the NBA, like a LeBron [James], like a Kobe [Bryant] , like a [Blake Griffin], then I have to have that mentality starting off from the ground, and work my way up.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Cavs are optimistic about their chances to sign Ray Allen prior to the start of training camp, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- With the NBA reportedly considering a change in the lottery system, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel explains why such a move would be an overreaction from Adam Silver and company.
- The Heat’s win total this season could be affected if any changes are made to the NBA Draft lottery system, writes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. If there is less of a reason for franchises to tank, then Miami couldn’t necessarily count on padding their record against the Sixers, Magic, and Bucks, opines Winderman.
- The selection of Michele Roberts as NBPA head was a historic one, with Roberts becoming the first female to lead a professional sports union. In an interview with Andrew Keh of The New York Times, Roberts said she was all too aware that if she was selected, she would represent several hundred male athletes in the NBA; she would deal with league officials and agents who were nearly all men; and she would negotiate with team owners who were almost all men. To this, Roberts said, “My past is littered with the bones of men who were foolish enough to think I was someone they could sleep on.”
- Kentucky freshman Karl-Anthony Towns will be a strong possibility to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. DraftExpress currently has Towns ranked fourth behind Jahlil Okafor, Cliff Alexander and Emmanuel Mudiay.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Draft Links: 2015, Randle, McDaniels
The 2015 NBA Draft could be abound with promising big men, as Josh Newman and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv discuss. Among those already garnering attention are Duke-bound Jahlil Okafor, incoming Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander, and Kentucky-recruit Karl-Anthony Towns; all three are currently projected to be in the top five according to DraftExpress‘ 2015 mock draft. Other potential lottery prospects include Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, Florida’s Chris Walker, and top uncommitted center Myles Turner.
Here are some other draft-related links that we’ll pass along this evening:
- Julius Randle has had high expectations as a top ranked college player and should still be among the notable names selected on draft night. With that being said, ESPN Draft experts Kevin Pelton, Amin Elhassan, and Chad Ford go over some of the limitations that may cause Randle to fall out of the top five.
- Clemson product K.J. McDaniels has hired Rival Sports to represent him, per Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
- Draft prospects C.J. Wilcox, Gary Harris, and Elfrid Payton have signed with Creative Artists Agency, an NBA source tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
- Former Michigan State standout Adreian Payne is among a trio of fellow projected lottery talents who have signed with agent Mark Bartelstein, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
Draft Rumors: Williams-Goss, Clarkson, Towns
There’s been a flurry of draft-related news today, with reports indicating Aaron Gordon, Jerami Grant and Glenn Robinson III are all entering the draft, while Montrezl Harrell took to Twitter to announce that he won’t be in this year’s draft. Our list of early entrants is up to date, and you can follow all of this year’s draft-related news on this page. Here’s the latest:
- Washington point guard Nigel Williams-Goss has decided against entering this year’s draft, as he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The freshman was a 2013 McDonald’s All-American while in high school, but he’s just the 178th-best draft prospect in the rankings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him outside his top 100 prospects, rating him as the 23rd-best freshman in this year’s class.
- A source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that Missouri combo guard Jordan Clarkson has signed with Mike George of Excel Sports Management (Twitter link). That contradicts an earlier report suggesting that Clarkson is going with ASM Sports. The move remains unofficial, so it remains to be seen which agency Clarkson ultimately picks.
- Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports profiles Karl-Anthony Towns, a 7-foot high schooler headed to Kentucky next year who’s a potential 2015 lottery pick.