Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Combine Notes: Young, Carter, Knox, Walker, Bowen

May 18th, 2018 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trae Young claims the Sixers are interested in him, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The Oklahoma freshman point guard was interviewed by Philadelphia at the NBA draft combine. “They are looking for a playmaker all-around,” Young said. “I know they are interested in me. But you never know how things will fall.”

Given the composition of the Sixers’ roster, it’s hard to see how Young would fit in. They have budding superstar Ben Simmons and last year’s No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz along with valuable backup T.J. McConnell to share the ballhandling duties. The Sixers hold the No. 10 and No. 26 picks in the first round and Young is currently ranked No. 6 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, so Philadelphia would likely have to move up to draft him if the interest is genuine.

In other combine developments:

Duke center Wendell Carter Jr. and Kentucky forward Kevin Knox met with the Knicks on Friday, Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports. The Knicks own the No. 9 pick. Carter is ranked No. 7 by Givony while Knox is listed at No. 15.
Carter also interviewed with the Bulls, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets, and the Sixers, according to Pompey. The Bulls have the No. 7 pick.
Miami shooting guard Lonnie Walker met with the Magic, Bulls, Sixers and Knicks, all teams with Top 10 selections, Bryan Kalbrosky of Hoops Hype tweets. The Clippers, who hold picks 12 and 13, are also interested in Walker, Kalbrosky adds. Walker is ranked No. 14 by Givony but those meetings could indicate that he’ll go higher in draft day.
The Trail Blazers interviewed forward Brian Bowen, who sat out last season after his controversial recruitment by Louisville, Jason Quick of NBCSNorthwest tweets. Bowen is still mulling whether to attend South Carolina or remain in the draft, Quick adds. Bowen barely cracks Givony’s Top 100 at No. 96.
Top point guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Collin Sexton and Young were interviewed by the Suns, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic relays. Phoenix has the No. 1 and No. 16 selections. Texas center Mohamed Bamba, Michigan State forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and Carter are some of the other prominent players who met with the Suns.

Kentucky Guard Gilgeous-Alexander Declares For Draft

April 9th, 2018 at 6:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kentucky freshman point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will enter the draft and sign with an agent, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s decision certainly comes as no surprise, given that he’s a projected lottery pick and could be the first college point guard off the board. He’s currently ranked No. 12 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

That’s a few notches below the two other top college point guards, Oklahoma’s Trae Young (No. 8) and Alabama’s Collin Sexton (No. 9). But his stock could certainly rise during predraft workouts and he also has the versatile to swing over to the shooting guard spot.

At 6’6”, Gilgeous-Alexander has exceptional size for a point man.

In his lone college season, he averaged 14.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 5.1 APG and 1.6 SPG in 33.7 MPG. He shot a solid 48.5% from the field and 40.4% from long range, though he only attempted 57 3-pointers.

Gilgeous-Alexander posted 27 points, six rebounds and six assists in Kentucky’s opening-round NCAA Tournament win over Buffalo but was held to 15 points by Kansas State when the Wildcats were eliminated.

And-Ones: NCAA Prospects, BIG3 Draft, McDaniels

March 19th, 2018 at 9:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Trae Young‘s late-season struggles have put Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Kentucky’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on even terms with the much-hyped Oklahoma freshman for the status of top point guard in the draft. That’s one of the observations made by ESPN’s Mike Schmitz and Jonathan Givony in a look at first-round prospects whose teams were knocked out early in the NCAA tournament.

Missouri forward Michael Porter will have to show more than other players projected in the top half of the lottery during predraft workouts to solidify his status after a back injury sidelined him most of the season, according to Givony. Jaren Jackson Jr.‘s poor and abbreviated performance against Syracuse Sunday didn’t help the Michigan State freshman’s cause in comparisons to the draft’s other top big men, in Givony’s opinion.

In other news:

The BIG3 league will hold a combine on April 11th and its draft the following evening, according to a league press release. Approximately 100 players will compete for 19 available roster spots at the combine. All but two of the league’s eight teams will fill three roster spots during the draft. Championship team Trilogy must retain its existing roster to defend its title, while runner-up 3-Headed Monsters exercised its option to retain Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and Kwame Brown and elected to place Eddie Basden back into the draft pool.
San Diego State freshman forward Jalen McDaniels will declare for the draft but won’t hire an agent, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. He averaged 10.5 PPG and 7.5 RPG this season.
Hoops Rumors’ Arthur Hill provided insights on the Spurs, Wizards and top prospects in the NCAA tournament in his weekly mailbag column. Check it out here.

NCAA Tournament Filled With Draft Prospects

March 11th, 2018 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NCAA tournament bracket was unveiled on Sunday and NBA draft prospects can enhance their resumes by leading their teams on a deep run. A majority of the projected first-rounders in Jonathan Givony’s current rankings on ESPN.com will be in action during March Madness.

Here’s a look of some of those storylines:

No player will be more closely watched than the projected top pick, Arizona freshman center DeAndre Ayton. He has remained eligible despite an FBI probe into his recruitment. The Wildcats, who won the PAC 12 tournament, were seeded No. 4 in the South region and will play Buffalo in the first round. A potential second-round matchup against Kentucky looms. The Wildcats have two players slotted as mid-first-rounders — swingman Kevin Knox (No. 12 overall) and combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15).
Duke and Michigan State were ranked 1-2 at the start of the season and faced each other in November, with the Blue Devils prevailing. They could see each again in the Sweet Sixteen, a Midwest showdown that would feature a handful of first-round prospects, Duke’s frontcourt duo of Marvin Bagley III (4) and Wendell Carter Jr. (6) and shooting guard Grayson Allen (30), and Michigan State forwards Jaren Jackson Jr. (3) and Miles Bridges (11).
How good is Texas center Mohamed Bamba (5)? We could get a better idea if the Longhorns get past Nevada and face rugged Cincinnati, the South’s No. 2 seed which also features small forward Jacob Evans (24).
Alabama’s Collin Sexton, currently the top-rated college point guard at No. 8, will try to build off his big SEC tournament performance in the East Region. If the Tide gets past their opener, they’ll likely face top seed Villanova and its No. 10 prospect, small forward Mikal Bridges.
Oklahoma point guard Trae Young (9) and his team faltered down the stretch but still got in as the Midwest’s No. 10 seed. If they upset Rhode Island, the Sooners would likely face the Blue Devils in the next round.
Texas A&M big man Robert Williams (15) could improve his stock if his team, slotted No. 7 in the West, can get by Big East tournament runner-up Providence and then upset No. 2 seed North Carolina in the next round.
Miami (Fla.) shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV (13) might move into the Top 10 if he carries his team, seeded sixth in the South, into the Sweet Sixteen and beyond.

Suns Notes: Jackson, Warren, Len, Draft

March 7th, 2018 at 4:46pm CST by Luke Adams

So far this week, we’ve relayed comments from Suns general manager Ryan McDonough and owner Robert Sarver about the state of the franchise, the upcoming search for a new head coach, and potential roster moves. We’ve got a few more Suns-related notes to pass along this afternoon, so let’s dive right in and round them up…

With Josh Jackson showing the potential to emerge as the Suns’ starting small forward for years to come, Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic suggests that T.J. Warren, whose four-year contract extension will begin in July, could become an “ideal sixth man” for the team.
Within the same article, Bordow says it’s unlikely that the Suns attempt to re-sign Alex Len this offseason, despite the big man’s solid numbers as a starter (10.0 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 2.0 BPG). Having signed his qualifying offer as a restricted free agent in 2017, Len will be an unrestricted free agent this July.
The Suns are currently on track to receive two additional first-round picks in the 2018 draft, in addition to their own lottery pick. Assuming the club keeps one or both of those picks, keep an eye on Kentucky guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as a potential target, tweets Bordow.
With the Suns set to miss the postseason for an eighth consecutive season, David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders details the moves he’d look to make this offseason to turn things around for the franchise.