Central Draft Notes: Pacers, Cavs, Bucks, Pistons
Holding the 18th and 50th overall picks in the 2019 NBA draft, the Pacers should have a wide variety of options available to them in both the first and second rounds, so they’re doing plenty of homework in the weeks leading up to the draft.
On Wednesday, the Pacers held a pre-draft workout that featured Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple), Ky Bowman (Boston College), Tacko Fall (UCF), Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Juwan Morgan (Indiana), and Elijah Thomas (Clemson), according to the team. Fall’s ability to participate in that session was limited after he rolled an ankle, as we noted yesterday.
Today, the Pacers are working out six more prospects, announcing that Luguentz Dort (Arizona State), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Talen Horton-Tucker (Iowa State), Cody Martin (Nevada), and Josh Reaves (Penn State) are in town.
The Pacers will audition six more prospects on Friday, per the club’s latest press release. Ignas Brazdeikis (Michigan), Jon Elmore (Marshall), Aric Holman (Mississippi State), Luke Maye (UNC), Miye Oni (Yale), and Admiral Schofield (Tennessee) will attend that session.
Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts from around the Central:
- Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State) was among the prospects to work out for the Cavaliers this week, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sources tell Fedor that Kabengele, the No. 23 prospect on ESPN’s big board, was “impressive” during his session with Cleveland. He could be an option for the Cavs at No. 26.
- Matur Maker, the younger brother of Thon Maker, has a visit on tap with Thon’s former team, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, who tweets that Matur will work out for the Bucks.
- Sedrick Barefield (Utah), Kevarrius Hayes (Florida), Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky), Matt McQuaid (Michigan State), Milik Yarbrough (Illinois State), Kris Clyburn (UNLV), Tyler Cook (Iowa), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), Anthony Lawrence Jr. (Miami), Simisola Shittu (Vanderbilt), and Dean Wade (Kansas State) are among the players who have worked out for the Pistons this week, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter links). As previously reported, Darius Bazley also auditioned for Detroit this week.
Atlantic Notes: Kawhi, Lowry, Knicks, C’s, Sixers
While their star players haven’t been forced out of action like some Warriors have been, the Raptors are dealing with some health issues of their own in these NBA Finals, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
According to Vardon and Sam Amick of The Athletic, the leg injury that has been bothering Kawhi Leonard since the Raptors’ series against the Bucks is a left knee issue. While the right quad injury that sidelined Leonard for nearly all of 2017/18 hasn’t been a problem, his knee pain stems from overcompensating for that quad issue, Vardon writes.
Meanwhile, Vardon also provides more specifics on Kyle Lowry‘s left hand injury, noting that the Raptors’ All-Star point guard has a ligament tear in his thumb. Lowry has previously hinted that he may need to undergo a surgical procedure on the injury after the season, but he appears set to play through it for the rest of the Finals.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- While the Knicks‘ top free agent targets are getting all the press, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic believes there are a number of under-the-radar free agent options who could prove useful for New York this summer. Vorkunov identifies Kevon Looney, Patrick Beverley, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jeremy Lamb, and several others as possible targets for the Knicks.
- The Knicks brought in Mississippi State prospects Quinndary Weatherspoon and Aric Holman for a workout on Monday, per Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter links). New York also got a look at Markis McDuffie (Wichita State) and Phil Booth (Villanova), and will work out Kerwin Roach (Texas) tomorrow, league sources tell Vorkunov (Twitter link).
- Admiral Schofield (Tennessee), Jason Burnell (Jacksonville State), Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Milik Yarbrough (Illinois State), Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), and Ty Jerome (Virginia) worked out for the Celtics on Monday, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link). According to team executive Austin Ainge, the C’s have already worked out 70 prospects in preparation for this month’s draft (Twitter link).
- Terence Davis (Ole Miss), Zach Hankins (Xavier), Terry Harris (North Carolina A&T State), and Garrison Mathews (Lipscomb) are among the prospects who worked out for the Sixers today, according to a team release.
And-Ones: Pelicans, Draft, Hornets
New Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon said leaving Brooklyn was a “very difficult decision” for him and his family, as he told Hoops Rumors and other outlets during his introductory press conference call earlier today. However, the chance to team up with head of basketball operations David Griffin again was too great to pass up.
“The opportunity to join up with Griff again and do something special in a place that nobody believes it can be done — aside from the people in this organization and the city — is something that is very intriguing,” Langdon said.
[RELATED: David Griffin Plans To Meet With Anthony Davis In Los Angeles]
Langdon will serve under Griffin, but his roles and responsibilities are not yet fully defined. The two men previously worked together in Cleveland and are familiar with one another, with Langdon emphasizing during today’s conference call that Griffin is not a micromanager. Griffin said that their relationship allows them “to challenge each other in ways strangers may not be able to.”
Langdon aided the Nets‘ turnaround, helping the franchise rebuild, and was key in helping to build talent in Brooklyn’s G League team. The Pelicans will put out a G League squad for the first time in franchise history next season.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Pelicans and David Booth have mutually parted ways, Will Guillory of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). Booth was previously the team’s Director of Player Personnel.
- Charles Williams is withdrawing from the draft, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Williams will enter his senior season at Howard University.
- Francis Alonso (UNC-Greensboro) and Jessie Govan (Georgetown) worked out for the Hornets today, the team relays on its website. Dedric Lawson (Kansas), Myles Powell (Seton Hall), Marial Shayok (Iowa State) and Jalek Felton (Finland) also showcased their ability for the team.
- The Hornets had several prospects in for a workout this week, according to Charlotte’s Twitter feed Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Charlie Brown Jr. (St. Joes), Jon Davis (Charlotte), Milik Yarbrough (Illinois State), and Markell Johnson (NC State) all worked out for the club.
- Elijah Thomas (Clemson) worked out for the Hornets this week as well, per the team’s Twitter feed. Frankie Ferrari (San Francisco) and Garrison Mathews (Lipscomb) also worked out for Charlotte.
Atlantic Notes: B. Brown, Butler, Anunoby, Nets
After telling ESPN on Monday night that head coach Brett Brown would be retained by the Sixers for the 2019/20 season, managing partner Josh Harris insisted today that Brown was never on the hot seat and knew during the series vs. Toronto that his job wasn’t in jeopardy (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of Philly.com).
“Lots (has) been made about this in the press, and truthfully, you can’t believe what you’re hearing,” Harris said of the Brown rumors, per Jon Johnson of WIP (Twitter link).
While the Sixers ultimately decided to stick with Brown, it’s odd that Harris should act as if the decision was never in doubt, according to Derek Bodner of The Athletic. In a tweet, Bodner points out that the team had a number of opportunities to squash speculation about Brown’s job security in recent weeks and months, and never did so.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Although he was quiet at times and saw his stats dip during the regular season after joining the Sixers, Jimmy Butler showed in the playoffs why he’ll still be one of the top free agents on the market this summer. As Marc Narducci of Philly.com relays, Butler believes the offers he gets this July will reflect that. “Technically I think, knock on wood, I will get a max contract anywhere I choose to go,” Butler said on Monday. “So if you are talking a four-year, five-year, that is more than enough money anyway. I think I still have more than enough money now from my first deal.”
- Raptors forward OG Anunoby is starting to get more active, but it’ll still be another week before he can get up close to full speed, head coach Nick Nurse said today (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of The Athletic). In other words, Anunoby – who is recovering from an appendectomy – sounds unlikely to play a real role in the Eastern Finals unless he’s able to get back near the end of the series.
- Draft-and-stash prospect Isaia Cordinier expects to play for the Nets in this year’s Summer League and hopes to join the team at some point, as he tells French site BeBasket (link via NetsDaily).
- Illinois State wing Milik Yarbrough was among the prospects who worked out for the Nets last week, tweets Nicola Lupo of Sportando.