Lorenzo Brown Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Wyatt, Jazz, Foster

June 15th, 2013 at 9:50pm CST by Spencer Lund

It's tough when you dominate at your college, but fail to see any interest from the professional ranks. That's what Santa Clara's all-time leading scorer, Kevin Foster, is facing as he prepares to possibly be snubbed later this month in the draft.

Foster told the San Jose Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka "it would be a dream come true" to play for the Warriors, who are so close to his adopted hometown. Foster participated in a predraft workout with six other hopefuls including five guards this morning.

Even after workouts with the Rockets and Bucks, Foster said the Warriors are his "preference" because of their locale, but followed that up by saying, "I just want to get drafted somewhere." Here are some more notes surrounding the upcoming draft.

Former Temple guard, Khalif Wyatt, worked out for the Sixers today, writes Keith Pompey at the Philadelphia Inquirer. But what wasn't reported was that Wyatt was joined by Shane Larkin, DeShaun Thomas and Glen Rice Jr. in the unannounced workout.
Tom Moore of Phillyburbs.com notes that Wyatt spent six weeks at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas, eating better and getting stronger while dropping from 223 lbs. to 210 on his 6'4" frame.
Keith Schlosser of SB Nation's Ridiculous Upside breaks down the intriguing prospects at the NBA's only 2012 National D-League Tryout next Saturday.
The Jazz had a big day of workouts highlighted by Gonzaga University center Kelly Olynyk, writes the Salt Lake Tribune's Bill Oram, but it's his connection to Hall of Famer John Stockton, who is also a Gonzaga alum, that made the workout so enjoyable.
The Salt Lake Tribune's Steve Luhm said the Jazz also worked out three other likely first round selections today: Gorgui Dieng, Rudy Gobert, and Jamaal Franklin (Twitter).
About Franklin, SB Nation's Mountain West Connection profiled the San Diego State shooting guard.
Oram said the Jazz will work out Will Clyburn, Robert Covington, Troy Daniels, Rodney McGruder, E.J. Singler and Adonis Thomas tomorrow (Twitter).
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic said the Suns worked out Steven Adams, Lorenzo Brown, Myck Kabongo, Mike Muscala, Alex Oriakhi and Brandon Paul today (Twitter)
Nerlens Noel was featured in a courtside report video by Monumental Network.
The Knicks will work out Archie Goodwin, Jordan Henriquez, Trent Lockett, Dejan Musli, Stan Okoye and Josiah Turner on Monday, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley (Twitter).
Sportando.net reports Janis Timma will work out with five NBA teams before the draft and then head to the Las Vegas. After the draft, he may play in the NBA's summer league.
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel profiled 6'6" Providence prospect, Ricky Ledo, who is receiving interest from NBA teams after workouts despite being deemed ineligible to play as a freshman for the Friars.

Draft Updates: Saric, Cavs, McLemore, Workouts

June 7th, 2013 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

Yesterday, ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported that Croatian forward Dario Saric was leaning toward withdrawing from this year's draft, a surprising stance given how much his stock has risen in recent weeks. Today, Michael McNamara of Bourbon Street Blues passes along an email he received from Saric's agent, Robert Jablan, which reads:

"We make decision this morning that we will withdraw Dario from the 2013 draft."

We have yet to hear officially that Saric has pulled his name out of this year's draft class, and it's possible something was lost in translation. But it certainly appears as if Saric is leaning in that direction. He still has 10 days to make a final decision, so while we wait for the official word on the potential lottery pick, let's check out a few more draft-related updates:

Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports that the Cavaliers are "seriously dissecting" the possibility of drafting Ben McLemore first overall, though he cautions that the team is far from decided on what it'll do with the pick (Twitter links). I'd be surprised if Cleveland eventually decided on McLemore — it sounds to me as if the team is just covering all its bases.
The latest Insider-only blog from Ford at ESPN.com is full of good info, including updates on Saric, Nerlens Noel, Trey Burke, and a handful of other prospects.
Anthony Bennett is unable to work out due to a rotator cuff injury, but he will meet with the Wizards next week, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Lorenzo Brown, Myck Kabongo, Allen Crabbe, Jeff Withey, and Mike Muscala will work out for the Knicks on Monday, according to the team's official PR Twitter feed.
The Suns' workout today included C.J. Leslie, Matthew Dellavedova, Ian Hummer, Korie Lucious, Rodney McGruder, and Phil Pressey, says Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter).
Michael Carter-Williams intends to visit the Magic soon for a meeting and workout, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
Larry Drew II, E.J. Singler, Ian Clark, Ed Daniel, Trevor Mbakwe and Glen Rice Jr. worked out for the Trail Blazers today, according to a tweet from Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com, who also reports that Cody Zeller is having an individual workout with Portland today.

Draft Updates: Karasev, Saric, Workouts

June 5th, 2013 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

With two teams still standing in the 2013 NBA playoffs, most of the Association's franchises have turned their attention to this month's draft. We're probably still a week or two away from seeing any draft picks change hands via trades, but prospects continue to jockey for draft position, working out for teams, or perhaps pulling out of workouts in the case of at least one international prospect. Here are Wednesday's latest draft-related items:

Sergey Karasev has returned to Moscow and plans to remain in Russia until the draft, fueling speculation that he has been given a first-round promise, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. With agents Andy Miller and Justin Zanik telling teams their client won't be available for predraft workouts, Wojnarowski think Karasev probably received a guarantee from a team between Nos. 14 and 24.
Appearing on the Taking the Charge podcast, Croatian forward Dario Saric said he still may withdraw his name from this year's draft, though he expects to be selected in the first round. If he stays in the draft and is selected, he still plans to play in Europe for at least one more year, according to HeinNews.com.
The Suns have yet to confirm the participants of today's workouts, but it appears they've brought in a star-studded group that includes Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Rudy Gobert, and Shabazz Muhammad, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic outlines.
It's unclear where Muhammad will land in the draft, since his stock seems to be on the decline, says Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Peyton Silva, Archie Goodwin, and Scootie Randall worked out for the Sixers on Tuesday, according to John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. None of those prospects are likely to land in the lottery, so Philadelphia appears to be weighing its second-round options.
Working out for the Jazz today, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: Shane Larkin, Tony Mitchell, Reggie Bullock, Lorenzo Brown, Amath M'Baye, and Malik Story.
The Bucks officially announced (via Twitter) that they'll be working out the following prospects today: Trent Lockett, D.J. Stephens, Dewayne Dedmon, Jack Cooley, Korie Lucious, and D.J. Seeley.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com and Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe have the details on yesterday's Celtics workout, which included Mason Plumlee, Reggie Johnson, Ian Clark, and Jonathan Lee. It was the second workout with the C's for Lee.

Odds & Ends: Lee, 76ers, Blake, Len, Draft Risers

May 7th, 2013 at 9:32pm CST by Alex Lee

The Knicks have evened their conference semifinal against the Pacers at one. While the Grizzlies try to do the same, here are some news and notes from around the league:

ESPN Boston's Chris Forberg examines the chances that Courtney Lee will stick in Boston as the Celtics head into their offseason. After being traded three of the last four summers, Lee struggled to carve out a role in his first year as a Celtic despite being given every chance to do so. Lee is under contract and the Celts coveted him a year ago, so it would make sense if they gave him another year to assimilate.
Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com has a litany of Sixers coaching updates in his latest story. According to Moore, the team won't interview Michael Malone or Jeff Hornacek until next week at the earliest. Moore reiterates the team's interst in Brian Shaw and Michael Curry, while also adding a new name, Quin Snyder, to the coaching mix in Philadelphia. Snyder coached on Doug Collins' staff in Philly during the 2010-11 season and was mentioned earlier tonight as a possible fit in Atlanta.
While Steve Blake is one of four Lakers to be amnesty eligible, his strong play this season as a role player makes it unlikely that he will be the one to go, writes Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times. Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace and Pau Gasol are his other three amnesty eligible teammates.
Alex Len and his agent, Michael Lelchitski, contemplated delaying last week's ankle surgery until after pre-draft workouts in an attempt to move into the conversation for the No. 1 pick, writes RealGM's Shams Charania. “If he had a chance to work out, I truly believe he could have moved up and gone No. 1,” Lelchitski said of the Maryland center. While it was clearly the right decision, Len's injury will certainly affect his draft stock, as it will sideline him for anywhere from four to six months.
In an Insider-only blog, ESPN's Fran Fraschilla breaks down five underrated draft prospects he believes will rise up boards as team's get a better look at them in the coming weeks. Among them, Frachilla lists Murray State's Isaiah Canaan, Cal's Allen Crabbe, Brazil's Lucas Nogueira, NC State's Lorenzo Brown and Baylor's Pierre Jackson.

Lorenzo Brown To Enter NBA Draft

March 28th, 2013 at 3:08pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 3:08pm: Brown formally announced at a news conference today that he'll skip his final season with the Wolfpack and enter the NBA draft, according to an Associated Press report (link via ESPN.com).

TUESDAY, 12:16pm: Junior point guard Lorenzo Brown is expected to declare his intent to enter the NBA draft, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. An announcement could come from N.C. State at some point this week, says Goodman.

Brown's N.C. State team was a No. 8 seed in the East region of the NCAA tournament, falling to No. 9 Temple last week. However, it'd be hard to blame the loss on Brown, who put up 22 points and nine assists in the game, well above his season averages of 12.4 PPG and 7.2 APG.

Brown, 22, is projected as a borderline first-round pick by most experts. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com currently has him ranked 34th among this year's prospects, while ESPN.com's Chad Ford places him 36th.

So far, two underclassmen, Tony Mitchell and Eric Moreland, have officially declared for June's NBA draft. Brown, Anthony Bennett, and Norvel Pelle are among the others expected to file their paperwork in the near future.