Eastern Draft Notes: Sixers, Bulls, Diallo, Raptors
The Sixers, who hold the 10th and 26th picks in the 2018 NBA draft, continue to take a closer look at potential early- and late-first-round picks. According to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter links), Philadelphia will have an interesting pair of prospects participating in a group workout next Monday when they bring in Miami guard Lonnie Walker and MSU forward Miles Bridges. Both players are considered potential lottery selections, making them options at No. 10.
Duke’s Grayson Allen, a possible candidate for the No. 26 pick, participated in a workout today for the Sixers, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, Allen – who will also work out for the Celtics on Friday, per Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) – wasn’t the most notable person present at the session.
According to Pompey, embattled president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo was in attendance at today’s workout. While that doesn’t mean that the Sixers have made a decision one way or the other on Colangelo’s future, it certainly doesn’t seem like bad news for him.
Here’s more on pre-draft workouts from around the Eastern Conference:
- Miles Bridges (MSU), Donte DiVincenzo (Villanova), De’Anthony Melton (USC), Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), and Kaiser Gates (Xavier) worked out for the Bulls today, according to the team. Lonnie Walker, whose workout with Chicago was previously reported, was also present.
- Hamidou Diallo, a Queens native, will stick close to home for this weekend’s workouts, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who tweets that the Kentucky prospect works out for the Nets on Friday and Knicks on Saturday.
- Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell has a couple more pre-draft workouts coming up, with a Bulls audition scheduled for Friday and the Hornets sometime next week, tweets Josh Newman of The Asbury Park Press.
- Although the Raptors don’t have any picks in this year’s draft, they continue to hold workouts with an eye on potential undrafted prospects. Today’s session featured Andrew Rowsey (Marquette), Kassius Robertson (Missouri), Darius Thompson (Western Kentucky), Jacobi Boykins (Louisiana Tech), Cameron Reynolds (Tulane), and Justin Tillman (VCU), according to the club (Twitter link).
Draft Notes: Hornets, Grizzlies, Blazers, Lakers, Nuggets
Villanova’s Mikal Bridges had his conditioning tested during his first pre-draft workout today in Charlotte, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bridges and St. Joseph’s James Demery were the only players at the hour-long session, which featured full-court sprints mixed with long-range shooting toward the end of the process.
“They pushed us,” Bridges said. “I’m really well conditioned and they [wanted to see me] shoot the ball while I’m tired. [It was about] showing them everything, like some ballhandling that they didn’t see” when he was in college.
Projected as a lottery pick, Bridges may still be available when the Hornets select at No. 11. However, Bonnell notes that the Cavaliers, Knicks and Sixers — the three teams directly in front of Charlotte — could all have interest.
There’s more draft-related news to pass along:
- The Hornets have six more players coming in tomorrow, highlighted by potential lottery pick Lonnie Walker of Miami, Bonnell tweets. Dayton’s Kostas Antetokounmpo, whose brother is a star with the Bucks, will also be on hand.
- Antetokounmpo will be in Memphis on Monday for a six-player workout, the Grizzlies announced in an e-mail. Joining him will be Missouri’s Jordan Barnett, Temple’s Obi Enechionyia, Virginia’s Devon Hall, Kansas’ Malik Newman and North Carolina’s Theo Pinson.
- The Trail Blazers focused on 3-and-D players in today’s workout, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Villanova’s Donte DiVincenzo, Miami’s Bruce Brown and Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans all fit that description, which appears to be what the Blazers want with the 24th pick. “I can guard multiple positions and it’s kind of a role where the responsibility isn’t so great,” DiVincenzo said. “The responsibility is you have two things to really do, really focus on, and be great at. And when you can do that, it just opens up time on the floor.”
- The Trail Blazers also held a workout on Friday, relays Casey Holdahl of NBA.com, with UCLA’s Aaron Holiday, Villanova’s Jalen Brunson, Duke’s Gary Trent Jr., Tulane’s Melvin Frazier, Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop and Louisville’s Raymond Spalding attending.
- The Lakers will bring in six players for a Sunday workout, the team announced on Twitter. Scheduled to attend are Michigan’s Moritz Wagner, Missouri State’s Alize Johnson, Connecticut’s Terry Larrier, Rhode Island’s Jared Terrell, Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder and TCU’s Kenrich Williams.
- The Nuggets have a pair of sessions set for early next week, the team announced through e-mail. Coming in Monday will be Bates-Diop, along with Creighton’s Marcus Foster, Colorado’s George King, USC’s Chimezie Metu and Oakland’s Kendrick Nunn. Scheduled for Tuesday are Holiday and Williams, as well as Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell, Penn State’s Tony Carr and Elie Okobo of France.
- Micah Seaborn of Monmouth, one of the late deciders at Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline, elected to remain in the draft, according to Josh Newman of USA Today.
Draft Notes: M. Bridges, Pinson, Farrell, Rowsey
With the deadline passing for underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA draft, pre-draft workouts are taking on a new level of importance. Here are a few notes to pass on as the draft looms 20 days from now:
- Villanova’s Mikal Bridges and North Carolina’s Theo Pinson will work out for the Hornets on Saturday, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- Notre Dame guard Matt Farrell has sessions scheduled Monday with the Lakers and Wednesday with the Nuggets, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link).
- Marquette’s Andrew Rowsey has workouts upcoming with the Raptors, Mavericks, Lakers and Kings, tweets Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox.
- The Kings are welcoming six players for a session today, relays Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento (Twitter link). On hand will be Creighton’s Marcus Foster, West Virginia’s Daxter Miles, SMU’s Ben Emelogu and Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez, along with Missouri’s Alize Johnson and Jordan Barnett.
- The Jazz have a workout set for today with Oregon’s Troy Brown, West Virginia’s Jevon Carter, Georgia’s Yante Maten, Michigan’s Moritz Wagner and Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Malik Newman, the team announced on Twitter.
- Newman was in Phoenix for a workout on Thursday, the Suns tweeted. He was joined by Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop, Virginia’s Devon Hall, Colorado’s George King, Xavier’s J.P. Macura and USC’s Chimezie Metu.
Draft Workouts: Jazz, Ball, Ona Embo, Pinson
Armed with the 21st and 52nd overall picks in next month’s draft, the Jazz are taking a look at a wide range of prospects this week, according to the team.
On Tuesday, the Jazz brought in Jaylen Barford (Arkansas), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Dwight Coleby (Western Kentucky), Jock Landale (St. Mary’s), Caleb Martin (Nevada), and Kenneth Ogbe (Utah Valley) for auditions (Twitter links).
The team’s series of workouts continued today with Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Chimezie Metu (USC), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), PJ Washington (Kentucky), Mustapha Heron (Auburn), and Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure) earning a look from the Jazz (Twitter link).
Here’s more pre-draft workout news from around the league:
- After a stint in Lithuania, LiAngelo Ball has returned stateside to audition for NBA teams ahead of the 2018 draft. According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link), Lonzo Ball‘s younger brother interviewed with the Thunder and Suns at the Pro Basketball Combine, and has private workouts on tap with the Lakers, Clippers, and Warriors.
- A report earlier this week indicated that Tulane’s Ray Ona Embo is expected to withdraw from the draft, but it appears he’s going through with his scheduled workouts before making a final decision. Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link) hears from Ona Embo’s brother that the sophomore guard has a workout with the Hornets lined up for Friday.
- Former UNC wing Theo Pinson has worked out for the Celtics and Timberwolves so far, and will audition for the Rockets on Thursday, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Pinson also has a Knicks workout on his calendar for June 12, Zagoria adds.
- According to Zagoria (via Twitter), Syracuse early entrant Tyus Battle is working out for the Magic on Wednesday.
Draft Notes: Ponds, Lakers, Grizzlies, Cavaliers
The NBA draft lottery is still a week away, but teams have already started bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts. Those workouts are especially important for early entrants who are still testing the waters, since they’re a great opportunity for those players to find out where they stand with NBA teams.
One of those players is St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds, who entered the draft process this spring as a sophomore, and will have until May 30 to decide whether to withdraw and return to school for his junior year. According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link), Ponds has already worked out for the Celtics, and has auditions for the Nets and Cavaliers lined up this weekend.
Here are a few more draft-related updates, with a focus on workouts:
- The Lakers worked out six prospects on Monday, bringing in Udoka Azubuike (Kansas), Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Rob Gray (Houston), Jalen Hudson (Florida), Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Baylor), and Caleb Martin (Nevada) for a look, according to a team release.
- The Grizzlies are holding a draft workout on Tuesday for C.J. Anderson (Massachusetts), Leron Black (Illinois), Terence Davis (Ole Miss), Rob Gray (Houston), Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State), and Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), the club announced in a press release.
- The Cavaliers brought in San Diego State prospect Jalen McDaniels for a 1-on-1 workout before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a league source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- In a full article for The Athletic, Scotto spoke to several NBA evaluators to get their thoughts on some of this year’s top New York-born prospects, including Mohamed Bamba, Hamidou Diallo, and Rawle Alkins.
Keita Bates-Diop To Enter 2018 NBA Draft
Ohio State junior Keita Bates-Diop has decided to declare for the NBA draft a year early, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that Bates-Diop is entering the 2018 draft pool. A formal announcement is expected later today, Wojnarowski adds.
While Wojnarowski’s report doesn’t specify whether or not Bates-Diop will hire an agent, Woj writes that the prospect will “pass on his final year of college eligibility,” which makes it sound like he doesn’t intend to return to school. Holding off on hiring an agent would give Bates-Diop the opportunity to withdraw from draft consideration later in the spring.
A 6’7″ forward, Bates-Diop enjoyed a breakout season for Ohio State in 2017/18, averaging 19.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.6 BPG with a shooting line of .480/.359/.794. As Wojnarowski notes, the youngster’s ability to play – and guard – multiple positions makes him an ideal fit for the modern NBA.
Bates-Diop currently ranks 19th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com. In Givony’s most recent mock draft, the Buckeye came off the board at No. 17 to the Pacers.