Southeast Notes: Brown, Magic, Allen, Meeks
At age 35, former Wizards draftee Kwame Brown hasn’t given up on his hope of a return to the NBA, relays Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. The first pick in the 2001 draft, Brown spent four seasons in Washington before embarking an a journeyman career that took him to the Lakers, Pistons, Bobcats, Warriors and Sixers. He hasn’t played pro basketball since the 2012/13 season, but will be part of the new BIG3 league, which he hopes leads to an NBA comeback. “I would definitely come in and do a workout for an NBA team so they can see I’m healthy,” Brown said. “That’s been the biggest thing for everybody: my health. I’ve had a couple of conversations with teams overseas, but everyone wants to see how I look in the BIG3 since I haven’t played in so long and they want to make sure I’m healthy.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- With four picks among the top 35, the Magic have the freedom to gamble in the draft, writes John Denton of NBA.com. Orlando came out of the lottery with the sixth overall pick, along with Nos. 25, 33 and 35. The Magic haven’t found much success with second-rounders in recent years, Denton notes, but new GM John Hammond has a very good track record in that area and coach Frank Vogel has helped turn late first-rounders into stars.
- Texas center Jarrett Allen will be among the prospects in Atlanta Monday as the Hawks resume pre-draft workouts under new GM Travis Schlenk, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Allen was the Longhorns’ top rebounder and shot blocker this season and led the Big 12 in field goal percentage at .567. The Hawks, who own the 19th pick, were among the teams that interviewed Allen at the draft combine.
- North Carolina center Kennedy Meeks takes inspiration from Heat center Hassan Whiteside, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. They both played for the same AAU organization, and like Meeks, Whiteside wasn’t a highly regarded prospect coming out of college. “He’s always been a big brother to me,” said Meeks, who held his pro day in front of several scouts this morning. “And I’ve seen him grow tremendously from not being in the NBA to making a lot of money. So I’m definitely proud of him.” Others involved in today’s session were Miami forward Kamari Murphy, former Miami center Tonye Jekiri, Florida Atlantic guard Adonis Filer and Florida guard Kasey Hill.
Pacific Notes: J. Jackson, Isaac, Tatum, Thompson
The Suns potentially have a difficult decision to make when they find themselves on the clock with the fourth overall pick, writes Doug Haller of AZCentral Sports. Three talented freshman small forwards could be available: Josh Jackson, Jonathan Isaac, and Jayson Tatum. Defense and three-point shooting are likely the Suns’ two most glaring weaknesses, and one of these athletes could certainly help.
Haller writes that Jackson’s real impact could come defensively. The scribe adds that, while Tatum is nowhere near the defender that Jackson is, the Duke freshman may be the most polished scorer in the draft. As for Isaac, he can play both forward positions, with many believing that he will also be able to man the center position when his body fills out. Furthermore, the departing Seminole would contribute defensive versatility, having defended all over the floor for Florida State.
Here are some more pertinent notes from the Pacific division:
- On Tuesday, the Suns were set to host two pre-draft workouts, per the club’s official Twitter page. The announced participants were Zak Irvin, Wesley Iwundu, Luke Kornet, Kennedy Meeks, Semi Ojeleye, Devin Robinson, and Jarrett Allen.
- The Kings will hold two pre-draft workouts on Wednesday, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. The first group is full of big names: Justin Jackson, Jordan Bell, Frank Mason, Kyle Kuzma, London Perrantes, and Devin Robinson. Jones points out that, prior to last year’s draft, the Kings convinced just once first-round pick to visit the team, even though Sacramento held the eighth overall selection. To find out which players are part of the second group that is working out for the Kings on Wednesday, check out Jones’ full story.
- Ivan Rabb does not regret returning for his sophomore season at Cal despite falling from a likely lottery pick in the last draft to an expected low first-round selection this time around, reports Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. On the contrary, Rabb believes that staying in school an additional season will help him at the next level. Rabb was one of six players to work out for the Lakers on Tuesday. The others were Jaron Blossomgame, Sterling Brown, Tyler Dorsey, Cameron Oliver, and Xavier Rathan-Mayes.
- Klay Thompson‘s historic Game 6 against the Thunder in the 2016 Western Conference Finals had a transformative effect on basketball history, chronicles Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News. Although Thompson’s performance that night did not lead to a second-straight Warriors championship, without it, Kevin Durant very well may not have joined Golden State during the ensuing offseason.
Draft Notes: Knicks, J. Jackson, Suns, Lakers
There are a number of potential player/team matches in the top 10 of this year’s draft that might make sense on paper, but should be avoided in reality, according to the staff at The Ringer. Danny Chau identifies De’Aaron Fox as a less than ideal fit for the Sixers, while Jonathan Tjarks makes the case for why the Knicks should steer clear of Dennis Smith Jr.
Other picks to be avoided, in the views of The Ringer’s NBA writers? The Mavericks and Lauri Markkanen; the Kings and Jayson Tatum; and the Magic and Jonathan Isaac.
Here are a few more draft-related items from around the basketball world:
- Former North Carolina swingman Justin Jackson is scheduled to work out for the Knicks on June 13, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York has the No. 8 pick, and most experts don’t expect Jackson to come off the board quite that early, but the ACC Player of the Year is viewed as a potential lottery pick.
- The Suns are kicking off their pre-draft workouts today by taking a look at a handful of intriguing prospects, including Kyle Kuzma (Utah), Johnathan Motley (Baylor), Kobi Simmons (Arizona), and Josh Hart (Villanova). Troy Caupain (Cincinnati) and Tidjan Keita (France) round out the team’s Monday workout group (Twitter link).
- Another Pacific team, the Lakers, is working out a handful of draft prospects on Memorial Day. According to a press release from the club, the Lakers are taking a closer look at Dwayne Bacon (Florida State), Jordan Bell (Oregon), Amida Brimah (Connecticut), Kennedy Meeks (UNC), Derrick Walton Jr. (Michigan), and local prospect Bryce Alford (UCLA).
Texas Notes: Ntilikina, Mudiay, Paul, Rockets
Several Mavericks executives have traveled to Europe over the past month to watch French point guard Frank Ntilikina, relays Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. At 6’5″, Ntilikina is among the bigger point guards in the draft, and he possesses athleticism and skill to go with his size. Dallas is believed to be targeting point guards after waiving Deron Williams in February so he could sign with a contender. The Mavericks hold the No. 9 pick, and Sefko expects Ntilikina to be among the players considered, along with North Carolina State’s Dennis Smith Jr., Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen and Gonzaga’s Zach Collins.
There’s more news today out of Texas:
- The Mavericks have a better shot at solving their point guard problems through the draft than by trading for someone like Emmanuel Mudiay, writes Matt Mosley of The Dallas Morning News. The seventh pick in the 2015 draft, Mudiay was a heralded prospect but has experienced shooting problems through his first two NBA seasons. He is a 37% shooter from the field and was stuck behind Jameer Nelson in the Nuggets’ rotation. Mosley says Ntilikina or Markkanen would be a better gamble with the No. 9 pick.
- Signing Chris Paul may not get the Spurs any closer to challenging the Warriors for Western Conference supremacy, argues Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. Adding the All-Star point guard would requiring sacrificing someone like LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol or Danny Green in a trade, and it would destroy the salary flexibility the team has set up for next summer.
- North Carolina center Kennedy Meeks was the biggest name to attend a pre-draft workout for the Rockets this week, relays Tom Miller of The Grand Forks Herald. Also at the session were Quinton Hooker of North Dakota, Paris Lee of Illinois State, JaJuan Johnson of Marquette, Kavin Gilder-Tilbury of Texas State and Tacko Fall of Central Florida, who decided to withdraw from the draft and return to school. “My agent hadn’t said anything about the Rockets’ interest,” Hooker said. “I was anticipating at least one [NBA tryout]. But for the last month, I’ve just been waiting. It was definitely a humbling experience to get that first one and show my talents.” The Rockets own picks 43 and 45 in next month’s draft.
Draft Notes: Kanter, Bucks, Swanigan
Kerem Kanter has withdrawn from the draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. Kanter, who is the younger brother of NBA player Enes Kanter, graduated from Green Bay and will play for Xavier this year.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- The Bucks will work out six players today, according to the team’s website. Frank Mason III, T.J. Williams, Luke Fischer, Isaac Humphries, Amida Brimah and Kennedy Meeks will all participate in drills for Milwaukee.
- St John’s Bashir Ahmed is expected to withdraw from the draft and return to the school, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Ahmed scored 13.4 points per game in college last season.
- Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan will work out for the Knicks on Wednesday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog tweets. Swanigan, like all prospects on the fence, has until this Wednesday to make a final decision on whether or not he’ll stay in the draft.
And-Ones: Rabb, Meeks, Griffin, Appling
A desire to enter the NBA as a more polished prospect drove Ivan Rabb to decide against entering this year’s draft in spite of his strong chances of becoming a lottery pick, as he told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Rabb was widely considered the No. 1 player in this year’s class before suffering an injury in high school, Goodman writes, and the 6’10” power forward has heard the talk about the lack of stellar prospects in the draft, but in recent weeks he grew more attracted to the idea of returning for California for his sophomore year, as Goodman details.
“I know I need to get stronger,” Rabb said. “I want to come back better defensively, a better shooter, a better rebounder, more comfortable on the floor. I want to be the leader. I wanted to have a bigger role.”
Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranked him No. 11 among this year’s draft prospects and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress had him at No. 14 just before he announced he would stay in school. Multiple NBA executives told Goodman he was unlikely to fall out of the top 10 picks, and Cal coach Cuonzo Martin told Rabb that NBA personnel had said his draft range extended as high as No. 6. See more on the draft amid a look at news around the league:
- Center Kennedy Meeks will withdraw from this year’s draft and return to North Carolina for his senior season, the school announced. The 6’9″ 21-year-old entered the draft without an agent last month, thus preserving his college eligibility. He was outside the top 100 in both Ford’s and Givony’s rankings.
- Ex-Iona combo guard A.J. English will have predraft workouts with the Bucks, Cavaliers and Wizards, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- Xavier small forward Trevon Bluiett will work out for the Timberwolves on Saturday and the Celtics on May 14th, Goodman tweets.
- Valparaiso power forward Alec Peters is working out with the Rockets today and the Celtics on Friday, according to Goodman (Twitter link).
- Former Heat, Mavericks and Pistons preseason signee Eric Griffin pleaded not guilty Monday to attempted murder charges stemming from a Friday arrest, reports Sam Gardner of Fox Sports. Griffin allegedly fired gunshots at an Orlando man in the early morning hours of April 27th. The 25-year-old swingman has been in NBA training camps the past three seasons but has yet to make a regular season roster.
- Keith Appling, who spent time with the Magic this season, faces a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon and misdemeanor charges of possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle and possession of marijuana, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. An arraignment is set for today in Dearborn, Michigan, where police arrested Appling outside a strip club on Sunday night, MLive’s Kyle Austin notes.
UNC’s Justin Jackson, Kennedy Meeks To Test Draft
North Carolina sophomore small forward Justin Jackson and junior center Kennedy Meeks will enter this year’s draft, but they will do so without hiring agents so they can retain their college eligibility, the school announced. Jackson is the 64th-best prospect on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress board, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him only 126th. Meeks is right behind him at No. 127 in Ford’s listings, while Givony, whose top overall prospect rankings only go to No. 100, views his stock more optimistically for next year, pegging him 47th in his 2017 mock draft. Jackson and Meeks can return to college ball if they withdraw by May 25th, as long as they don’t hire agents before then.
Jackson, a 6’8″ 21-year-old, was highly touted coming out of high school in 2014, when he was ninth in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, sandwiched between 2015 first-round NBA draft picks Kelly Oubre and Rashad Vaughn. The past two years have seen Jackson’s stock slip as he’s posted underwhelming numbers for the Tar Heels, with just 12.2 points and 3.9 rebounds to his credit in 28.4 minutes per game this past season. He shot only 29.2% from 3-point range, a slight decline from his 30.4% accuracy as a freshman.
Meeks, who’s also 21, is only 6’9″ and has struggled with his weight, with Givony listing him at 279 pounds. Meeks arrived at UNC with less promise than Jackson did, ranking just 56th in the 2013 RSCI, and the past season represented a regression for him as he experienced declines in minutes, field goal percentage, scoring and most other categories. He averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game. Still, his strength and skilled post play are commodities, according to Ford.