Draft Notes: Rockets, Thompsons, Black, Green Room Invites, Osunniyi, Burton
The Rockets hold the No. 4 pick and they were visited this week by three candidates who could potentially be selected at that spot. The Overtime Elite brother duo of Amen Thompson and Ausar Thompson and Arkansas’ Anthony Black met with Houston’s brass. Amen and Ausar are currently ranked No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, on ESPN’s Best Available list with Black slotted at No. 8. The Thompsons reportedly met recently with the Pistons, who hold the No. 5 pick. They’ve also visited the Hornets (No. 2) and Trail Blazers (No. 3). There has been much less intel on Black’s pre-draft visits.
We have more draft-related info:
- Green Room invites have been sent out and the first batch includes Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson, the Thompson twins, Cam Whitmore, Jarace Walker, Black, Taylor Hendricks and Gradey Dick. The second group to receive invites include Bilal Coulibaly, Cason Wallace, Nick Smith, Dereck Lively, Kobe Bufkin, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jett Howard, Jordan Hawkins and Keyonte George, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter links).
- Iowa State big man Osun Osunniyi will work out for the Hawks on Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria (Twitter link). He has also visited the Bulls, Spurs and Celtics, among others. He averaged 8.2 points and 3.9 rebounds last season.
- The Hawks are also working out Pittsburgh guard Jamarius Burton on Wednesday, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The All-ACC First Team selection will soon visit the Celtics.
Southeast Notes: Wallace, Smith Jr., Hornets, Herro, Donaldson
Potential lottery picks and point guards Cason Wallace and Nick Smith Jr. worked out for the Wizards on Monday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets.
Kentucky’s Wallace is ranked No. 14 overall on ESPN’s latest Best Available list, one slot under Arkansas’ Smith. Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, UCLA’s Tyger Campbell, Texas’ Marcus Carr and Iowa State’s Osun Osunniyi also participated in the Wizards’ workout.
We have more from the Southeast Division:
- From all indications, the Hornets’ selection with the No. 2 pick will come down to guard Scoot Henderson or forward Brandon Miller, according to Roderick Boone of the Charlotte Observer. Henderson worked out for the Trail Blazers, who hold the No. 3 pick, on Saturday. Charlotte is expected to get a visit from Henderson sometime before the draft. When he does come in to see the Hornets’ staff, he’s expected to go solo. “For sure, that’s what I’ve been doing all summer, working out by myself,” Henderson said. Miller hasn’t worked out for Charlotte yet, though did speak with the Hornets at the combine.
- Should the Heat even bother to play Tyler Herro at this point? South Florida Sun Sentinel beat writer Ira Winderman tackles that question in his latest mailbag. Herro has ramped up his workouts after undergoing hand surgery and could be in uniform for Game 3 on Wednesday. However, Miami’s rotation has been so effective without him, Herro may not have a spot to claim. Perhaps he could take Kyle Lowry or Duncan Robinson‘s minutes but both have produced in key moments, particularly Robinson. It may be a moot point, since Herro is still feeling soreness in the hand.
- The Hawks have added former Pistons and Raptors assistant Brittni Donaldson to Quin Snyder’s coaching staff, Jeff Schultz of The Athletic tweets. She is the first female coach in franchise history and her job will focus on analytics as well as player development. She worked frequently with Detroit rookie guard Jaden Ivey at his request this past season, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets.
Draft Notes: Henderson, Sheppard, Wizards, Hornets, Magic, Warriors
With Scoot Henderson ranked second or third in nearly every mock draft, the G League Ignite star only plans two workouts during the pre-draft process, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report.
Henderson was in Portland on Saturday to show off the skills that have made him one of the most talked-about prospects in this year’s class. The Trail Blazers hold the third pick and appear to be the most likely destination for Henderson if speculation about Brandon Miller going to Charlotte at No. 2 is correct. There’s been plenty of conjecture that Portland may trade the pick for veteran help, but some sources believe the team would be comfortable adding another young player.
Henderson hasn’t scheduled a session with the Hornets yet, but he told Casey Holdahl of NBA.com that he expects to work out for them at some point before the June 22 draft. He also talked about what he’ll bring to the team that selects him.
“You always want a guy like me, that dog mentality,” Henderson said. “Just my personality, the culture I bring to the locker room. I’m a great leader, I’ll tell what’s up and I can do everything on the floor. I can do everything on the floor. I’m going to go out there and give my 110 percent every day. And that’s the thing about me: I’m very consistent in effort. Even if it’s not there, I just try to even it out the next game, try to get right to it. Give it a 120 if I didn’t give it 110 the last game.”
There’s more draft news to pass along:
- Belmont’s Ben Sheppard is quickly moving up draft boards, tweets Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Wasserman cites a “boom of interest” in the senior guard after his performance at the draft combine. Sheppard has already worked out for the Hawks and Jazz, according to Wasserman, and he has upcoming sessions with the Pelicans and Warriors.
- The Wizards hosted Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell, one of the stars of the NCAA Tournament, at a six-player workout on Saturday, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Joining him were Providence’s Ed Croswell, Marshall’s Taevion Kinsey, South Alabama’s Isaiah Moore, LSU’s K.J. Williams and George Washington’s Brendan Adams, who was a late replacement for Missouri’s D’Moi Hodge (Twitter link).
- North Carolina’s Leaky Black, Texas’ Marcus Carr, Houston’s Marcus Sasser, Notre Dame’s Nate Laszewski, Iowa State’s Osun Osunniyi and Clemson’s Hunter Tyson worked out for the Hornets on Saturday (Twitter link).
- Recent Magic workouts included Wichita State’s Craig Porter Jr. (Twitter link) and Virginia’s Armaan Franklin (Twitter link).
- The Warriors have scheduled a pre-draft workout for Monday featuring Duke’s Dereck Lively II, Kansas’ Jalen Wilson, Florida’s Colin Castleton, Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson and Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Draft Decisions: Flagler, Murphy, Muszynski, Aimaq, More
Baylor junior guard Adam Flagler is withdrawing from the 2022 NBA draft, he tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Flagler tested the waters and received feedback on his draft stock before deciding to return to school.
“I heard exactly what I needed to be able to show more of what the NBA is looking for, so that this time next year, I will be preparing to get drafted,” Flagler said, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Twitter link).
Flagler technically has two years of NCAA eligibility remaining, but it sounds like he’s planning to rejoin the Bears for just one more season.
Here are several more updates on early entrants‘ draft decisions ahead of the NCAA’s June 1 withdrawal deadline:
- A pair of Belmont seniors, Grayson Murphy and Nick Muszynski, intend to pursue professional careers and won’t be returning to school to use their last year of college eligibility next season, tweets Rothstein.
- Big man Fardaws Aimaq, who is coming off his junior year at Utah Valley, is withdrawing from the draft and transferring to Texas Tech, tweets Jeremy Woo of SI.com. Aimaq ranked third in the country with 27 double-doubles in 2021/22, Woo notes.
- The following players are also withdrawing from the draft, according to various reports:
- Cedric Henderson Jr., G/F, Campbell (senior) (Twitter link via Jeff Goodman of Stadium)
- D’Moi Hodge, G, transferring from Cleveland State to Missouri (senior) (Twitter link via Goodman)
- Justin Johnson, G/F, Texas-Rio Grande Valley (senior) (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Isiaih Mosley, G/F, Missouri State (junior) (Twitter link via Goodman)
- Bryson Mozone, G/F, transferring from USC Upstate to Georgetown (senior) (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- Caleb Murphy, G, transferring from South Florida to DePaul (sophomore) (Twitter link via Goodman)
- Gus Okafor, F, transferring from Southeastern Louisiana to Wichita State (junior) (Twitter link via Goodman)
- Osun Osunniyi, F/C, transferring from St. Bonaventure to Iowa State (senior) (Twitter link via Rothstein)
- KJ Simon, G, UT-Martin (junior) (Twitter link via Goodman)
- Jamari Smith, F, transferring from Queens University (NC) to Murray State (junior) (Twitter link via Goodman)
- Jahmir Young, G, transferring from Charlotte to Maryland (junior) (Twitter link via Rothstein)
Trayce Jackson-Davis Among Draft’s Latest Early Entrants
Indiana junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis announced on Instagram that he has decided to enter the 2022 NBA draft while maintaining his remaining college eligibility.
Jackson-Davis, who has started all 94 games he has played for the Hoosiers since his freshman year, averaged an impressive 18.3 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.3 BPG in 35 games (32.3 MPG) in 2021/22, establishing a new career high by shooting 58.9% from the field. He currently ranks 72nd overall on ESPN’s big board of 2022 prospects.
Here are a few more updates on early entrants declaring for the 2022 draft:
- Slovenian point guard Ziga Samar is entering the 2022 draft, agent Gerard Raventos tells ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link). The No. 78 prospect on ESPN’s board, Samar is considered a potential second-round pick, according to Givony, who adds that several metrics consider the Fuenlabrada guard to be the best passer in Spain’s top league.
- Two more Mega Mozzart players are joining Nikola Jovic in the 2022 draft pool. Forward/center Karlo Matkovic and shooting guard Malcolm Cazalon are declaring for the draft, per agent Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link). Matkovic is the No. 96 prospect on ESPN’s top 100. Both players tested the draft waters in 2021 as well.
- St. Bonaventure big man Osun Osunniyi has decided to test the draft waters, he announced on Instagram. Osunniyi would have one more year of NCAA eligibility if he decides to withdraw from the draft.