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Southwest Notes: Jones, Poeltl, Harden, Hinton

December 13th, 2020 at 3:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After a knee injury prevented him from suiting up for the Grizzlies during the NBA’s summer restart, backup point guard Tyus Jones is finally returning to the court for Memphis during the preseason, according to Chris Hine of the Star Tribune.

“I’m a competitor, so I wanted to be out there on the court,” Jones said. “That motivated me this offseason to attack rehab, get back healthy, get in great shape and be ready to go when this season got started.” Without Jones, the Grizzlies finished as the No. 9 seed and lost a play-in game against the Trail Blazers to qualify for the 2020 playoffs in the West.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

  • Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is hopeful that center Jakob Poeltl will commit to scoring more during the upcoming 2020/21 season, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. Popovich wants Poeltl to channel his experiences as a chief scoring option for the Utah Utes into more offensive production this year. “Maybe he’s gotten the impression I don’t want him to score,” Popovich joked. “Maybe that’s my fault.”
  • After perennial Rockets MVP contender James Harden apparently requested a trade out of Houston, the club will need to finesse its relationship with the guard if it hopes to retain him, per Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle. As teams prepare appetizing trade packages for the eight-time All-Star, the Rockets should certainly have plenty of options should they opt to move on.
  • Mavericks rookie shooting guard Nate Hinton had a solid preseason debut for this Dallas, writes Dwain Price of Mavs.com. The former University of Houston guard scored eight points, pulled down eight rebounds, and logged four assists. “It’s more spacing on the court (than on the collegiate level), so there’s more opportunities to get into the paint and just make plays and just be a ball player,” Hinton said. “I work hard, and just being around guys like Luka (Doncic) and the vets, and Tim Hardaway and all those guys in practice kind of makes it easier and makes it better for me to play and watch to see how the pace of the game is.”
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Mavericks Sign Nate Hinton, Freddie Gillespie

November 19th, 2020 at 1:07am CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 1: The Mavericks have officially signed Hinton to his two-way contract, the club confirmed today (via Twitter). Gillespie’s deal is also official, per the Mavs (Twitter link).

NOVEMBER 19: The Mavericks have agreed to sign undrafted Houston shooting guard Nate Hinton to a two-way contract, per Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link).

Dallas has also reached a contract agreement with undrafted Baylor big man Freddie Gillespie, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Terms of Gillespie’s deal weren’t specified — he’ll either get the Mavs’ other two-way deal or come to a camp on a standard contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 clause.

Hinton and Gillespie both rank among ESPN’s top 20 prospects who didn’t get drafted on Wednesday night — Hinton at No. 4 and Gillespie at No. 19.

Hinton declared for the draft after averaging 10.6 PPG and 8.7 RPG with a .387 3PT% as a sophomore in 2019/20. Gillespie, meanwhile, averaged 9.6 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 2.2 BPG in his senior season at Baylor, earning Big 12 All-Defense honors.

It was an eventful draft night for the Mavs, who also nabbed Josh Green, Tyrell Terry, and Tyler Bey, and sent Seth Curry to Philadelphia in a deal for Josh Richardson.

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Draft Notes: Combine, Hinton, Krejci, Pinson, Miller

July 23rd, 2020 at 1:42pm CST by Luke Adams

When the NBA announced in a memo to teams earlier this week that the 2020 draft lottery has been moved up by five days, the league also informed clubs that possible dates and formats for a 2020 combine are still being evaluated, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

The combine typically takes place in May after the lottery, but holding such a big event in person this spring was impractical due to the coronavirus pandemic.

While it remains to be seen whether any sort of in-person combine can take place, the NBA told teams which 105 prospects received the most votes to be invited to such an event. If the league is able to move forward with a combine in some form, that number would likely be whittled down to about 70 players, says Bontemps.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

  • Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links) compares the list of 105 prospects in the NBA’s memo to ESPN’s big board of 2020’s top 100 prospects, noting that ESPN is higher on Houston guard Nate Hinton, while NBA teams seem to be higher on Czech guard Vit Krejci, who plays for Zaragoza in Spain.
  • Missouri guard Xavier Pinson indicated in an Instagram video this week that he’ll return to school for at least one more year after testing the draft waters. As a sophomore in 2019/20, Pinson averaged 11.1 PPG, 2.8 APG, and 2.8 RPG in 31 games (24.0 MPG).
  • UNC Greensboro guard Isaiah Miller will also remove his name from draft consideration, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Miller declared for the draft following a junior year in which he averaged 17.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.8 SPG in 32 games (28.4 MPG).
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Draft Updates: Hinton, Green, White, Hampton

May 19th, 2020 at 10:31am CST by Luke Adams

Houston swingman Nate Hinton has elected to hire an agent and keep his name in the draft, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link). Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal reports (via Twitter) that agent Tallen Todorovich will represent Hinton.

“I’m at peace with it. I prayed long and hard about it,” Hinton said of his decision to forgo his remaining two years of college eligibility, per Berman. “Through the guidance of the people around me I decided to just make that step and turn professional.”

During his sophomore season with the Cougars, Hinton became a full-time starter and put up 10.6 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG in 31 games (30.3 MPG). He shot 41.0% from the field, including 38.7% on three-pointers. Despite his solid year, Hinton doesn’t show up on ESPN’s list of 2020’s top 100 prospects, so he’s not exactly a lock to be drafted.

Here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:

  • UCF guard Darin Green, who elected to test the draft waters following his freshman year, is withdrawing and will return to school next season, a source tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
  • Junior forward Romello White, who spent three years at Arizona State, has committed to Ole Miss, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link). As far as we know, White still hasn’t technically withdrawn the draft, but his latest decision suggests he’ll likely transfer to Ole Miss rather than go pro.
  • After a report last week revealed that draft prospect RJ Hampton is working out with Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway at the team’s practice facility, the University of Memphis has stepped in to put a stop to those workouts, which aren’t in accordance with the school’s COVID-19 protocols. Mark Giannotto of The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the details.
  • A strong 2019/20 performance ensured that Killian Hayes – once considered a probable late first-rounder – is now viewed as a surefire 2020 lottery pick, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com, who takes a closer look at one of the top international prospects in this year’s draft pool.
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Draft Decisions: S. Lewis, Armstrong, Camper, Santos-Silva, More

April 6th, 2020 at 10:26am CST by Luke Adams

Florida freshman shooting guard Scottie Lewis had been considered a strong candidate to be drafted this spring, ranking 38th overall on ESPN’s big board. However, Lewis has opted not to declare for the draft, as he confirms to Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

“I was so stuck on going to the NBA when I got home, but then I thought long and hard about it and with all the uncertainty about the draft process, and if there will even be a combine and team workouts, I felt like it was the right move to go back to school,” Lewis told Stadium.

As Goodman details, Lewis got feedback from the NBA’s advisory committee, and while he was confident he’d be selected if he entered, he received a wide range of opinions on when exactly he might come off the board. With few opportunities during this year’s pre-draft process to boost his stock, Lewis has opted to play at least one more college season in the hopes of showing individual improvement and enjoying more team success.

“There’s so much more I think I can show, that we can show as a team,” Lewis said. “I want to leave a legacy at Florida. … I’m an optimistic person and no matter where I get drafted, I’m going to work my butt off. But with all this uncertainty, it was best for me to play it safe and put myself in a better position a year from now.”

Although Lewis isn’t entering his name in the 2020 NBA draft pool, several NCAA underclassmen are doing so. In addition to Kentucky guards Tyrese Maxey and Ashton Hagans, whose decisions we covered earlier today, here are some of the recent prospects who will at least test the draft waters:

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