Draft Notes: Sixers, Z. Smith, Pacers, Suns, Wolves
The Sixers‘ previously-reported workout with Villanova wing Mikal Bridges is taking place today, but Bridges isn’t the only prospect in town to get a look from the club. According to a press release, the 76ers also hosted a group workout today, with Marcus Derrickson (Georgetown), Marcus Foster (Creighton), Donte Ingram (Loyola Chicago), Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), MiKyle McIntosh), and Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech) taking part.
Speaking of Smith, his busy workout schedule will continue, with an audition for the Hornets still on tap, as Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia tweets. We previously heard that Smith also has a workout lined up with Phoenix.
Let’s round up a few more draft-related notes…
- The Pacers will host their fourth pre-draft workout on Wednesday, and Marcus Foster (Creighton) will be earning a second look after working out for the club last week. Jordan Barnett (Missouri), Robert Johnson (Indiana), Quentin Snider (Louisville), Jae’Sean Tate (Ohio State), and Yuta Watanabe (George Washington) will also participate in the workout.
- As we wait for an official early entrant list for the 2018 NBA draft, news of withdrawal decisions continues to trickle in. According to Sportando (Twitter link), Italian forward Leonardo Tote pulled out of the draft before Monday’s deadline.
- The Suns brought in a pair of prospects for a closer look today, auditioning Icelandic center Tryggvi Hlinason and Arizona big man Dusan Ristic, according to the club.
- Jacob Evans (Cincinnati), De’Anthony Melton (USC), Billy Preston (Bosnia), and Zach Lofton (New Mexico State) were among the prospects who worked out for the Timberwolves on Monday, per Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (all Twitter links).
236 Early Entrants Declare For 2018 NBA Draft
The NBA has released the official list of early entrants for the 2018 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 236 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 181 are from colleges, while 55 are international early entrants.
That number blows away the previous record for early entrants, established in 2017. Last year, 182 early entrants declared for the draft, though ultimately only 73 of those prospects remained in the draft by the final deadline.
This year’s total of 236 early entrants also figures to shrink significantly by May 30 and again by June 11, the two key deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like that pool will remain crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants likely exceeding 60, the number of picks in the draft.
Our list of early entrants is now up to date and can be found right here. Here are today’s updates:
College underclassmen:
The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our own list. For now, we’re assuming they haven’t yet hired agents.
- Mike Amius, F, Western Carolina (junior)
- Sedrick Barefield, G, Utah (junior)
- Lamonte Bearden, G, Western Kentucky (junior)
- Tashawn Berry, G, Dakota College (sophomore)
- Elijah Bryant, G, BYU (junior)
- Yoeli Childs, F, BYU (sophomore)
- Jordan Davis, G, Northern Colorado (junior)
- Shawntrez Davis, F, Bethune-Cookman (junior)
- Dextor Foster, G, ASA College (junior)
- Tremaine Fraiser, G, Westchester CC (junior)
- Kaiser Gates, F, Xavier (junior)
- Michael Gilmore, F, Florida Gulf Coast (junior)
- Zach Hankins, C, Ferris State (junior)
- Malik Hines, F, Massachusetts (junior)
- Ismaila Kane, F, Atlanta Metropolitan (freshman)
- Devonte Klines, G, Montana State (junior)
- Kalob Ledoux, G, McNeese State (sophomore)
- Marquez Letcher-Ellis, F, Rice (sophomore)
- Victor Lewis II, G, West Texas A&M (junior)
- Dominic Magee, G, Southern Miss (junior)
- Malik Martin, C, South Florida (junior)
- Christian Mekowulu, F, Tennessee State (junior)
- Aaron Menzies, C, Seattle (junior)
- Max Montana, F, San Diego State (junior)
- Travis Munnings, F, Louisiana-Monroe (junior)
- Jordan Murdock, G/F, Friends University (junior)
- Ray Ona Embo, G, Tulane (sophomore)
- Keanu Peters, G, Salt Lake CC (sophomore)
- Jalon Pipkins, G, Cal State Northridge (freshman)
- Cody Riley, C, UCLA (freshman)
- Ronshad Shabazz, G, Appalachian State (junior)
- Tremont Waters, G, LSU (freshman)
The following players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.
- Tookie Brown, G, Georgia Southern (junior)
- Harry Froling, C, Marquette (sophomore)
- Aric Holman, F, Mississippi State (junior)
- Jack McVeigh, F, Nebraska (junior)
- Elijah Minnie, F, Eastern Michigan (junior)
- Kobe Paras, G, Cal State Northridge (sophomore)
- Trayvon Reed, C, Texas Southern (junior)
- Max Strus, G, DePaul (junior)
- Jordon Varnado, F, Troy (junior)
International players:
The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our list.
- Berke Atar, C, Turkey (born 1999)
- Laurynas Beliauskas, G, Lithuania (born 1997)
- Rihards Berzins, F/C, Latvia (born 1997)
- Etienne Ca, F, France (born 1997)
- Sigfredo Casero-Ortiz, G, France (born 1997)
- Berkan Durmaz, F, Turkey (born 1997)
- Aleksander Dziewa, C, Poland (born 1997)
- Stephane Gombauld, F, France (born 1997)
- Yoan Granvorka, F, Switzerland (born 1997)
- Michal Kolenda, F, Poland (born 1997)
- Antonios Koniaris, G, Greece (born 1997)
- Leon Kratzer, C, Germany (born 1997)
- Shekinah Munanga, F, France (born 1997)
- Williams Narace, F, France (born 1997)
- Marcel Ponitka, G, Poland (born 1997)
- Leonardo Tote, F, Italy (born 1997)
- Martynas Varnas, G, Lithuania (born 1997)
- Filip Zagrajski, G, Croatia (born 1997)