Draft Updates: Porter, Doncic, Bagley, Bamba
Teams that had planned to attend Michael Porter Jr.‘s workout tomorrow are being told it will be held at another time, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Porter’s representatives canceled the session late Wednesday night without providing an explanation.
The move has led to speculation that Porter’s surgically repaired back may be bothering him, but it’s also possible he has received a guarantee that would make a group workout unnecessary. Porter’s camp may be rethinking his status and devoting time just to teams at the top of the draft, according to Tom Ziller of SB Nation, who adds that they now believe he will be taken in the top four.
There’s “a very real chance” that the Kings will use their No. 2 pick on Porter, Amick adds, but it’s not certain at this point whether last night’s news will impact their decision. The organization may request more medical information and take another look at Porter in action before making a commitment.
There’s more draft-related news this morning:
- The Kings, who were among the teams slated to attend Friday’s workout, have been interested in Porter for weeks, according to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area. They have also spent a lot of time looking at Luka Doncic, visiting him twice in the past three weeks, and Marvin Bagley III, who was in town Monday for a workout. Ham, who covers the Kings on a regular basis, moved Porter up to second in his most recent mock draft.
- The Hawks, who hold the No. 3 pick, will host Bagley and Texas center Mo Bamba for separate individual workouts today, the team announced in an email.
- The Spurs are hoping to schedule a second workout for Villanova’s Omari Spellman, reports Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio views Spellman, who shot 43% from 3-point range in college, as a potential stretch four.
- The Sixers plan to bring in Kentucky’s Kevin Knox for a pre-draft workout, possibly by Friday, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- Oklahoma State’s Jeff Carroll worked out Monday for the Knicks and has sessions scheduled with the Pistons, Wizards and Bucks, relays Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link).
- The Wizards will welcome six players for a workout today, tweets ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. On the schedule are Ohio State’s Keita Bates-Diop, Seton Hall’s Khadeen Carrington, Wake Forest’s Bryant Crawford, UNLV’s Brandon McCoy, Wake Forest’s Doral Moore and Murray State’s Jonathan Stark.
- The Raptors will host Rhode Island’s Jared Terrell, New Mexico State’s Zach Lofton, North Carolina’s Theo Pinson, Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez, Wyoming’s Hayden Dalton and Kentucky’s Wenyen Gabriel today, the team tweeted.
Draft Workouts: Sexton, Hornets, Lakers, Wizards
Alabama point guard Collin Sexton will headline the Hornets‘ pre-draft workouts on Thursday, according to a press release from the team. Sexton’s stock is high enough that he’s a decent bet to come off the board within the first 10 picks of next week’s draft, but if he slips to No. 11, Charlotte would face an interesting decision — drafting Sexton would almost certainly increase the trade buzz surrounding the team’s current standout point guard Kemba Walker.
In addition to Sexton and previously-reported participant Zhaire Smith, Josh Newkirk (Indiana), Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure), Deng Adel (Louisville), Gary Clark (Cincinnati), and Devon Hall (Virginia) will also get a look from the Hornets on Thursday.
Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the NBA:
- The latest group workout for the Lakers featured Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Kelan Martin (Butler), Brandon McCoy (UNLV), and Kendrick Nunn (Oakland), the club announced on its website. As previously noted, it’s Delgado’s second audition for L.A.
- Josh Okogie‘s busy workout schedule includes visits to the Suns, Jazz, Clippers, and Pacers, with possible returns to the Lakers and Celtics also possible, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Okogie is considered a potential first-round pick.
- The Wizards will audition Keita Bates-Diop (Ohio State), Khadeen Carrington (Seton Hall), Bryant Crawford (Wake Forest), Brandon McCoy (UNLV), Doral Moore (Wake Forest), and Jonathan Stark (Murray State) on Thursday, according to the team.
- Billy Preston, who last played in Bosnia, has workouts on tap with the Trail Blazers, Bucks, Hornets, and Nets, he said today (Twitter link via Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington). Preston is one of 91 early entrants hoping to be drafted this year.
Draft Workouts: Walker, Knicks, Kings, Lakers
Potential lottery pick Lonnie Walker IV has workouts on tap with the Bulls and Knicks, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Zagoria tweets that Walker’s audition for Chicago is scheduled for Wednesday, while his workout with New York will happen “down the road.” Walker previously worked out for Charlotte.
Both the Bulls and Knicks hold top-10 picks and could go in a number of different directions, depending on who’s available, so it’s no surprise that both clubs have been active in terms of pre-draft workouts. Trae Young, Kevin Knox, Mikal Bridges, and Wendell Carter Jr. are among the other prospects earning a look from both Eastern clubs.
Here are more updates on various pre-draft workouts from around the NBA:
- Ian Begley of ESPN.com adds a few more names to the Knicks‘ workout list, reporting that Allonzo Trier (Arizona), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), and Kendrick Nunn (Oakland) are all getting a look from the club (Twitter links).
- The Kings will bring in six more prospects for a pre-draft workout on Wednesday, as James Ham of NBC Sports California relays (via Twitter). Kendrick Nunn (Oakland), Allerik Freeman (North Carolina State), Elijah Stewart (USC), Hamidou Diallo (Kentucky), Kenrich Williams (TCU), and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Kansas) will work out for the team.
- Kansas prospect Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is also auditioning for a Pacific team today, with the Lakers announcing in a press release that he’s one of six players working out for the club. The other five are Khadeen Carrington (Seton Hall), Gyorgy Goloman (UCLA), William Lee (UAB), William McDowell-White (Australia), and Anfernee Simons (IMG Academy).
- While Kentucky’s Kevin Knox was the headliner, Rob Gray (Houston), Kevin Hervey (UT-Arlington), Alize Johnson (Missouri State), Theo Pinson (UNC), and Landry Shamet (Wichita State) also worked out for the Magic today, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
NBA Confirms 182 Early Entrants For 2017 Draft
With the deadline for early entrants to enter the 2017 NBA draft now behind us, the league has officially released the list of this year’s early entry candidates, and it’s a long one. According to the NBA’s announcement, 182 players have declared early for the draft — 137 college players and 45 international prospects. That’s a new record.
As was the case a year ago, NCAA rules changes allow underclassmen to “test the waters” before officially committing to the 2017 NBA draft. NCAA early entrants can withdraw their names any time up until May 24 while maintaining their NCAA eligibility, as long as they haven’t hired agents. That means that prospects testing the waters can take part in the NBA draft combine from May 9-14 – if invited – and they can work out for individual teams in the coming weeks.
International early entrants can also withdraw their names from the draft pool within the next several weeks. The final draft list will be set after the early entrant withdrawal deadline for international and other non-NCAA players passes on June 12.
A year ago, a whopping 162 NCAA and international players declared their intent to enter the draft early, but 91 of those players eventually withdrew. This year should follow a similar pattern, so the group of eligible draftees for 2017 figures to be reduced significantly by June 12.
Listed below are the current early entrants, according to the NBA. Players whose intent to declare wasn’t previously reported on Hoops Rumors are listed in italics.
Draft Notes: Williams, Kuzma, Wilder, Ball
Texas A&M freshman forward Robert Williams decided to remain in college because he wants to be the top pick, a source told Evan Daniels of Fox Sports and Scout.com (Twitter link). Williams also believes he’s not mature enough yet to enter the league, the tweet adds. Williams averaged 11.9 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 2.5 BPG during his freshman season for the Aggies. The 6’9” Williams was considered a late lottery pick, ranked as the 10th-best overall prospect by DraftExpress and 13th in Chad Ford’s top 100 at ESPN.com.
In other news involving the draft:
- Utah forward Kyle Kuzma will enter the draft but won’t hire an agent, Kyle Goon of the Salt Lake Tribune tweets. Kuzma is ranked No. 73 among the top 100 prospects by DraftExpress and doesn’t make Ford’s top 100 list. The 6’9” Kuzma averaged 16.4 PPG and 9.3 RPG for the Utes in his junior season.
- Western Michigan’s Thomas Wilder will also test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. The 6’3” guard averaged 19.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 3.8 APG in his junior season. He is not rated among the top 100 by either DraftExpress or Ford.
- Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington will also enter the draft without hiring agents, Jon Rothstein of FanRagSports.com reports. Delgado, a 6’10” junior forward, averaged 15.2 PPG and 13.1 RPG this past season while Carrington, a 6’4” junior guard, averaged 17.1 PPG. Neither is considered a top 100 prospect.
- Former Virginia and Memphis forward Austin Nichols has declared for the draft and hired an agent, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com. The 6’9” Nichols played two seasons at Memphis, sat out a year, then played one game for the Cavaliers before he was dismissed from the team.
- UCLA freshman point guard Lonzo Ball and Kansas freshman small forward Josh Jackson have solidified their status as two of the three top prospects with their performances in the NCAA tournament, Ford writes in a stock watch column. Arizona freshman forward Lauri Markkanen and Michigan State freshman forward Miles Bridges are among the players who have improved their draft stock during the first two rounds of the tournament, according to Ford. Villanova senior guard Josh Hart and Duke sophomore guard Luke Kennard are among the players that Ford believes hurt their draft status with subpar tournament outings.