Kevon Looney Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Russell, Looney, Porzingis

June 23rd, 2015 at 11:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell has made a strong case for the Lakers to select him with the No. 2 overall pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. The young guard isn’t intimidated by playing alongside Kobe Bryant, and would embrace the chance if Los Angeles defies projections and selects Russell instead of Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, Wojnarowski adds. “If I went to the Lakers, I wouldn’t want anyone to hand me anything,” Russell told the Yahoo! scribe. “I wouldn’t expect Kobe to take me under his wing. I think he will want to see a resemblance of that hunger and fire that he came into the league with as a young kid. No one needs to be the nicest guy in the world, or pretend to be that. He will see through that, pick all that apart. I’ve got to be me.”

Here’s more from around the league:

UCLA forward Kevon Looney has a workout scheduled with the Spurs prior to the NBA Draft, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets.
Indian big man Satnam Singh has worked out for a total of seven teams, including the Spurs, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (on Twitter).
Kristps Porzingis‘ workout scheduled for Tuesday with the Knicks had to be cancelled because the young Latvian was suffering from a muscle cramp, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal tweets.
The league’s share of each team’s playoff gate receipts will shrink from 50% to 25% under action the Board of Governors recently approved, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. That means less money will go into revenue-sharing, a negative for small-market teams that miss the playoffs, as Lowe examines.
The Knicks worked out Frank Kaminsky last week, and the former Wisconsin big man wouldn’t have scheduled the meeting if he didn’t believe that New York was seriously considering selecting him with the No. 4 overall pick, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Of course, the Knicks, who are considering trading down in the draft, could be looking at Kaminsky as a target later in the lottery as well, Deveney adds.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Lakers, Johnson, Berzins, Payne

June 21st, 2015 at 9:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers would prefer Karl-Anthony Towns to Jahlil Okafor, but Towns appears to be the player that the Timberwolves are targeting with the top pick, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (Twitter link). L.A. has swung and missed on attempts to have Towns in for a workout, while Mark Heisler of Forbes.com heard recently that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders has become enamored with the Kentucky big man. The Lakers have zeroed in on Okafor if Towns is off the board, as Mannix reported earlier. Here’s more on the rapidly approaching draft:

Stanley Johnson is refusing to work out with the Hornets, who pick ninth, in hopes that either the Pistons, at No. 8, or the Heat, with the 10th pick, will draft him, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Latvian small forward Janis Berzins is working out for the Spurs and Celtics in addition to his audition with the Jazz this past Friday, as VEF Riga, his Latvian team, revealed via Twitter (translation via HoopsHype).
Cameron Payne has worked out for the Lakers, Kings, Nuggets, Pacers and Thunder, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. In addition, Payne held a meeting with the Celtics.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson said earlier this week that he has workouts left with the Jazz, Kings and Hawks, tweets Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
Justin Anderson recently completed his eighth workout, Castillo tweets. He has the Cavaliers and Thunder remaining.
Larry Nance Jr. tells the Associated Press he has worked out for “about a dozen” teams, including the Spurs, Sixers, Celtics, Suns, Heat, Pacers and Knicks. The last workout on his schedule will be Wednesday with the Cavaliers.
Pat Connaughton has managed to fit more than a dozen teams into his workout schedule, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. The Notre Dame product has received positive reviews at most of the workouts and has a chance to be a second round pick, Himmelsbach writes.
Kevon Looney has worked out for “nine or 10 teams,” tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. One of those sessions was with the Celtics on June 17th, writes Josh Slavin of WEEI.com.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Winslow, Knicks

June 20th, 2015 at 9:42pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers own the No. 3 selection in Thursday’s draft and Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor are expected to be off the board by the time Philly picks. Tom Moore of Calkins Media speculates what the team will do should either big man fall to them. If the draft goes as expected, the Sixers will most likely choose between D’Angelo Russell, Kristaps Porzingis and Emmanuel Mudiay, who I opined should be the selection in the franchise’s Offseason Outlook. Moore notes that the team could easily trade down in the draft or make some other unexpected move, citing GM Sam Hinkie‘s unconventional approach in the past.

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division

The Sixers have worked out Justise Winslow, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The forward should be an impact defender for a team right away, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors explains in his Prospect Profile of the forward.
Tim Bontemps of the New York Post examines the journey that Winslow has taken through high school and college to become a surefire lottery selection. Winslow is reportedly the “leader in the clubhouse” to be taken by the Knicks with their No. 4 overall pick. Scarito has Winslow going to New York in his latest Mock Draft.
The Knicks worked out Frank Kaminsky and Joshua Smith in addition to working out Trey Lyles and Kevon Looney yesterday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

Eastern Notes: Williams, Knicks, Celtics

June 17th, 2015 at 5:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

There have been reports that the Knicks intend to trade down in the NBA Draft if Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and D’Angelo Russell are off the board when New York is set to pick at No. 4 overall. As for what team president Phil Jackson is seeking in return for the fourth pick, in his weekly chat Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) relays that the Knicks want a young veteran player and a pick in the 8 to 14 range. One player who New York has been linked to in that draft range is fast-rising playmaker Cameron Payne of Murray State, who would fill a glaring need for the franchise at the point guard spot.

Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:

Reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams is expected to receive strong interest from teams that include the Kings, Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, providing a clear competition for the Raptors to retain his services, Shams Charania of RealGM writes. Williams is expected to seek a three-year deal in the range of $27MM or four years for $35MM, Charania adds.
The Celtics held workouts today for Kevon Looney (UCLA), Brandon Ashley (Arizona), JayVaughn Pinkston (Villanova), and Maurice NDour (Ohio), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays (Twitter link).
The Wizards will hold workouts on Thursday for Justin Anderson (Virginia), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), Jordan Mickey (LSU), Aaron White (Iowa), Derek Cooke Jr. (Wyoming), and Maxie Esho (UMass), Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
Working out for the Cavaliers today were Josh Richardson (Tennessee) and Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops notes (on Twitter).
The Hornets are hoping that newly acquired Spencer Hawes can help replace the outside shooting the team lost when Josh McRoberts signed with the Heat last offseason, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. “In the offseason you try to make your team fit better together, and I think that’s what this trade does. Our defense is more than good enough to win and our offense isn’t,” Clifford said. “If you look more specifically into the numbers [the flaw] is our [long] range shooting. What Spencer will do is improve our range shooting and he’s also a very good passer.”

New York Notes: Kaminsky, Looney, Jack

June 15th, 2015 at 7:41pm CST by Will Joseph

The Knicks are toying with the idea of trading down in the draft if Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell are off the board before they make their pick at No. 4, reports ESPN.com’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required), who cites sources. It seems like the Knicks are on the fence about both Emmanuel Mudiay and Kristaps Porzingis, Ford writes, and that’s why they’ve been hosting players such as Cameron Payne and Frank Kaminsky in workouts recently.

Here’s more out of the Big Apple:

Speaking of the Knicks, Kaminsky and UCLA forward Kevon Looney, another player who is not considered one of the top four in the draft, are scheduled to work out for New York on Thursday, reports ESPN.com’s Ian Begley, who cites league sources.
Rutgers forward Kadeem Jack replaced D.J. Newbill in a workout with the Nets today, Josh Newman of SNY.tv tweets. Ryan Boatright, T.J. McConnell, Sir’Dominic Pointer, Larry Nance Jr. and Brandon Ashley were also part of the audition, as we previously noted.
The Nets were also believed to have some interest in France’s Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, who withdrew from the draft, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post tweets.

Atlantic Notes: Monroe, Raptors, Bogdanovic

June 14th, 2015 at 4:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

There is “strong speculation” that Pistons free agent Greg Monroe will sign with the Knicks or Celtics, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Detroit apparently prepared for Monroe’s departure with this week’s trade that sent Caron Butler and Shawne Williams to the Bucks for Ersan Ilyasova. Monroe signed a one-year qualifying offer with the Pistons for nearly $5.5MM last offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent July 1.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Minor injuries disrupted a scheduled workout with the Raptors Saturday for Kansas’ Cliff Alexander and Utah’s Delon Wright, writes Steven Loung of sportsnet.ca. Alexander was nursing an injury from a prior workout and was forced to skip the event, while Wright had to end his session early after tweaking something, a team official said. The biggest names at the workout were Montrezl Harrell of Louisville and Kevon Looney of UCLA. Louisiana Tech forward Michale Kyser was also on hand, conducting his second workout of the week for Toronto.
Bojan Bogdanovic may have a larger role with the Nets next season, according to Fred Katz of Bleacher Report. Bogdanovic averaged 9.0 points per game and was a second team All-Rookie selection this season, but his responsibilities could increase dramatically if Brooklyn can find a taker for Joe Johnson.
The Knicks are in position to land the tall type of point guard they like for the triangle, according to the latest mock draft from Tim Bontemps of The New York Post. Bontemps has New York selecting 6-foot-5 Emmanuel Mudiay with the fourth pick, behind Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor and D’Angelo Russell.

Draft Notes: Hornets, Looney, Jazz, Turner

June 13th, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Hornets will work out Kevon Looney, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links). The team owns the No. 9 selection in the upcoming draft. Looney’s agents believe his range is anywhere from No. 7 to No. 20, as the UCLA product tells Zach Links of Hoops Rumors. Looney is represented by both Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management and Todd Ramasar of Stealth Sports, as our agency database indicates.

Here’s more news on player workouts:

The Hornets are also scheduled to work out Jonathan Holmes, Jay Hook, Cady Lalanne, Josh Richardson and LeBryan Nash, as Bonnell reports in the same set of tweets.
Myles Turner has worked out for the Jazz, Aaron Falk of Salt Lake Tribune reports (Twitter link). Falk notes that this was Turner’s first workout with any team. Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks the Texas product as the ninth best prospect, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks him as the 13th. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors has Kelly Oubre Jr. going to the Jazz with the No. 12 selection, but he mentions Turner as a possible alternative.
The Jazz will conduct workouts for Will Cummings, Rakeem Christmas, Kelly Oubre Jr., Keifer Sykes, Chris Walker and K.T. Harrell, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
Utah will also work out George de Paula, Royce O’Neale, Ousmane Drame, Levi Randolph, Derrick Marks and Jarvis Williams, according to the team’s Twitter feed.

Central Notes: Boylen, Ilyasova, Looney

June 13th, 2015 at 6:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Assistant Jim Boylen is leaving the Spurs to become the associate head coach of the Bulls, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Boylen had the offer from Fred Hoiberg and had been weighing his options for several days, according to the Yahoo! scribe. Coach Gregg Popovich wanted to keep Boylen on his staff, but understood the financial opportunity and promotion that Chicago was offering, sources tell Wojnarowski. The terms of Boylen’s new contract have not yet been disclosed.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Ersan Ilyasova is embracing his new opportunity with the Pistons, Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times writes. “I spoke with coach [Stan] Van Gundy for about 20 minutes and he shared his plans for me and the team next season,’’ Ilyasova said. “Coach Van Gundy said he was following me since he was coaching in Orlando several years ago and he really liked the way I played and how I fit into the system. It’s exciting, for sure. I think it’ll work out good for me and it will be the right fit for me. It’s going to be a fresh start.’’
Some neutral observers of Kevon Looney‘s workout with the Bucks believe the UCLA product had an ordinary workout, citing his lack of aggression and failure to make plays, Woelfel writes in the same piece. However Bucks director of scouting Billy McKinney had nothing but praise for Looney. “We were all impressed,’’ McKinney said, referring to the Bucks’ representatives in attendance. “He’s only 19. He has tremendous growth.’’

Atlantic Notes: Russell, Celtics, Draft

June 12th, 2015 at 6:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Illness prompted D’Angelo Russell to cancel a workout with the Sixers planned for this weekend, a source close to the combo guard told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who heard from another source who wouldn’t rule the notion of the workout taking place sometime later. Still, Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Twitter links) speculates that Russell may have received a promise from the Lakers, a prospect that could have a trickle-down effect that would make Jahlil Okafor available to the Knicks at pick No. 4. That seems far-fetched, particularly since the Lakers have reportedly zeroed in on Okafor for the second pick. Still, plenty is unknown with less than two weeks to go before the draft.

Here’s the latest from the Atlantic Division:

The Celtics are having trouble attracting players with lottery aspirations to work out with them in spite of “better than average” odds that Boston trades up from the 16th overall pick, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Wisconsin small forward Sam Dekker pulled out of a workout with the C’s last week.
Working out for the Raptors this Saturday will be Delon Wright (Utah), Jabril Trawick (Georgetown), Kevon Looney (UCLA), Michale Kyser (Louisiana Tech), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), and Montrezl Harrell (Louisville), the team announced.
The Nets have four upcoming workouts scheduled, the team has announced. Monday’s group will be Ryan Boatright (UConn), T.J. McConnell (Arizona), D.J. Newbill (Penn State), Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), Larry Nance Jr. (Wyoming), and Brandon Ashley (Arizona).
Working out for Brooklyn on Tuesday will be Marcus Thornton (William and Mary), Will Cummings (Temple), Tyler Haws (BYU), Julian Washburn (UTEP), Jordan Mickey (LSU), and Yanick Moreira (SMU).
Displaying their wares on Wednesday for the Nets will be Mike Caffey (Long Beach State), Ray Parks Jr. (Melrose H.S.), Dez Wells (Maryland), Norman Powell (UCLA), Le’Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State), and Vince Hunter (UTEP).
The final batch of players working out for the Nets, which will take place on Thursday, are Travis Trice (Michigan State), Rashad Madden (Arkansas), Michael Qualls (Arizona), Trawick, Richaun Holmes (Bowling Green), and Josh Smith (Georgetown).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Central Notes: Ilyasova, Cavs, Bucks

June 11th, 2015 at 6:05pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons got the better end of today’s trade with the Bucks that netted Detroit Ersan Ilyasova, Daniel Leroux of RealGM writes in his breakdown of the deal. While the trade was essentially a salary dump for Milwaukee, the Pistons taking a flyer on Ilyasova without giving up any significant assets was a better outcome than most of their realistic free agent options in July, Leroux opines. In addition to creating some cap flexibility, the Bucks also cleared some minutes for the team’s bevy of young frontcourt players, the RealGM scribe notes.

Here’s the latest from the Central Division:

The Cavaliers are conducting a group workout today involving Pittsburgh shooting guard Cameron Wright, league sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter links). Also participating in the workout are Utah’s Delon Wright, Kentucky’s Andrew Harrison, and North Carolina State’s Trevor Lacey, Scotto adds.
Dealing away Ilyasova will also have an impact on who the Bucks look to select with the No. 17 overall pick in the NBA Draft, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times relays (Twitter link). The franchise could potentially nab Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker or UCLA’s Kevon Looney with that pick, Woelfel adds.
The Pistons interviewed LSU big man Jordan Mickey via Skype, but there are currently no plans for an individual workout because of scheduling issues, Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press relays (on Twitter).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.