Matur Maker Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: B. Brown, Govan, Lakers, Bulls

May 25th, 2018 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

Kansas State junior guard Barry Brown will be returning to the Wildcats for his senior year, he confirmed in an announcement today on Twitter.

“Although the process was more than enjoyable, I have decided to withdraw my name from the 2018 NBA Draft,” Brown wrote in a statement. “Thank you to everyone who supported me, and I am looking forward to finishing my senior season as a WILDCAT!”

Brown, who had workouts with the Lakers and Nets, averaged 15.9 PPG, 3.2 APG, 3.1 RPG, and 1.8 SPG for Kansas State in 2017/18. He’ll look to build on those numbers in his senior season before becoming draft-eligible again next spring.

Here are more draft-related notes and updates:

We can remove another name from this year’s list of early entrants, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, who tweets that Georgetown big man Jessie Govan is withdrawing from the draft. That’s good news for the Hoyas, who will get Govan back for his senior year after he posted a double-double (17.9 PPG, 10.0 RPG) as a junior.
The Lakers‘ pre-draft workout on Friday featured some interesting faces, with Grayson Allen (Duke), Allerik Freeman (NC State), Kevin Huerter (Maryland), Arnoldas Kulboka (Capo D’Orlando), Matur Maker (Mississauga Prep), and Bryant McIntosh (Northwestern) earning a look from the team, per a press release.
After working out for the Lakers earlier this week, Missouri forward Jordan Barnett auditioned today for the Celtics, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Barnett’s session with the Lakers also included Jordan Caroline (Nevada), Drew Eubanks (Oregon State), Jock Landale (Saint Mary’s), Daryl Macon (Arkansas), and Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), according to the team.
The Bulls‘ pre-draft workout on Thursday, which was heavy on local prospects, featured Eugene German (Northern Illinois), Anas Mahmoud (Louisville), Fred Sims Jr. (Chicago State), Donte Ingram (Loyola Chicago), Ben Richardson (Loyola Chicago), and Nick Ward (Michigan State), according to the club.

And-Ones: Davis, Roberts, Maker, Referees, Travel

March 17th, 2018 at 11:55am CST by marksuleymanov

NBA veteran Glen Davis was arrested in a Maryland hotel room last month on drug possession charges, reports Brian Kuegler of ABC 2 WMAR in Baltimore. The former NBA champion reportedly gave signed consent for his room to be searched after the hotel owner called police complaining of a strong scent of marijuana coming from Davis’ room.

“They recovered 126 grams of marijuana,” Aberdeen Police Lieutenant William Reiber said. “In addition to that, there was a briefcase that contained 92,164 dollars of U.S. currency along with a ledger that contained language which is consistent with someone involved in the sale and distribution of narcotics.”

The 32-year-old last played in the NBA during the 2014/15 season, averaging 4.0 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 74 games for the Clippers. He had signed on to participate in the BIG3 this season.

Davis’ attorney said that his client is innocent of the charges and looks forward to his day in court. Davis is due back in court next month.

Check out more news around the basketball world:

The executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, Michele Roberts, plans to seek a new deal when her current contract expires in September, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Roberts, 62, assumed her post in 2014 and seemed to be interested in leaving the job when her deal expired, but she has reportedly changed her mind, Wojnarowski writes.
Thon Maker‘s younger brother, Matur Maker, will be eligible for the NBA Draft in June and the Bucks’ young center feels his brother can be a first-round pick, Gery Woelfel of Woefel’s Press Box writes. “He does a lot of things well at both ends of the floor,’’ Thon said. “Offensively, he handles the ball well; he’s a playmaker. When I say playmaker, I don’t mean like he just passes first or passes only. He makes the right play every single time. He’s very unselfish.”
There may be an issue brewing between the NBA and its referees. After the official Twitter account for the NBA’s referees criticized the Last 2 Minute report and its effectiveness, an official NBA Twitter account fired back, calling the referees’ take “inaccurate.”
It’s possible that the NBA changes its playoff format in the near future but going to a 1-16 format seems unlikely, Sam Amico of Amico Hoops writes. Commissioner Adam Silver indicates that the league is not ready to make a change and that geographically, it would be a difficult proposition.“We’re serious about looking at it. We’re far from a place where there’s a solution,” Silver said. “Of course it makes sense to seed teams 1-16 in the league but we have two conferences that are geographically apart.”

And-Ones: Non-Guaranteed Deals, Maker, Morris

January 5th, 2018 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets‘ release of Bobby Brown today may be the first in a series of roster moves made by NBA teams before Sunday night. Sunday (January 7) is the last day for clubs to waive a player on a non-guaranteed contract to avoid having that player’s salary become fully guaranteed for the season.

We’ve compiled our own list of players on non-guaranteed contracts to keep an eye on, but over at ESPN.com, Bobby Marks goes one step further, running through each team in an Insider-only piece and assessing each non-guaranteed player’s chances of surviving the cut. As Marks details, some of the players on non-guaranteed salaries, such as Spencer Dinwiddie in Brooklyn, are in no danger of being cut. But others, like Bucks swingman DeAndre Liggins, may be holding their breath until that deadline passes.

Here are a few more odds and ends from across the NBA:

Thon Maker‘s brother Matur Maker will bypass college and enter his name into the 2018 NBA draft pool, according to reports from Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com and Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com. The younger Maker almost certainly won’t be a lottery pick like his brother in Milwaukee, but he’s hoping to make a similar prep-to-pro leap. He plans on hiring an agent in the spring, guardian and mentor Ed Smith tells Daniels.
Earlier today, we passed along word that former Suns guard Mike James was being eyed by China’s Guangdong Southern Tigers as a potential replacement for Edwin Jackson. However, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays, it appears Guangdong will sign another ex-NBA guard, Darius Morris, rather than James.
While you could make a case for several other players, including Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, there’s no question that Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma and Warriors big man Jordan Bell have been two of the biggest steals from the 2017 draft. Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) examines what lessons NBA front offices and scouts can learn from Kuzma and Bell.