Terence Davis

Draft Workouts: Clarke, Caroline, Franks, Murphy, Bolden

Potential lottery pick Brandon Clarke of Gonzaga worked out for the Heat on Monday, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. The 6’8” forward is ranked No. 13 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. the same draft spot that Miami possesses. Team president Pat Riley and the Heat’s brass recently attended Priority Sports’ Chicago workout, in which Clarke participated. Cal State Fullerton guard Kyle Allman Jr. will also work out for the team this week, Jackson adds.

We have more draft workouts:

  • Nevada forward Jordan Caroline will work out for the Cavaliers on Tuesday, Jordan Schultz of ESPN tweets.
  • Washington State forward Robert Franks, ranked No. 94 by Givony, worked out for the Celtics, Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype tweets.
  • Minnesota forward Jordan Murphy will visit the Nets and Spurs, Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweets.
  • Duke center Marques Bolden will work out for the Knicks on Friday, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets. He also has workouts scheduled with the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, Cavs and Celtics.
  • Ole Miss guard Terence Davis will visit for the Jazz on Tuesday, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. Davis has been asked to second workouts with the Celtics and Warriors, Jones adds.

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:

And-Ones: Combine, Coach Challenges, World Cup

Eleven prospects who participated in this week’s G League Elite Camp in Chicago have been invited to stick around to attend the actual draft combine, which will begin today and run through this Sunday.

According to a tweet from the NBA G League, those 11 players are as follows: Oshae Brissett (Syracuse), Tyler Cook (Iowa), Terence Davis (Ole Miss), Tacko Fall (UCF), Jared Harper (Auburn), Dewan Hernandez (Miami), DaQuan Jeffries (Tulsa), Terance Mann (Florida State), Cody Martin (Nevada), Reggie Perry (Mississippi State), and Marial Shayok (Iowa State).

A total of 40 draft-eligible prospects who weren’t initially invited to the draft combine worked out in front of NBA teams at the G League Elite Camp. Teams were then polled on which prospects they’d most like to get a longer look at for this week’s combine. The group of 11 prospects who were chosen will join the 65 players who were initially announced as combine participants last week.

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

  • Multiple sources tell ESPN’s Zach Lowe that the “liveliest” topic of discussion at Tuesday’s GM meetings involved the possibility of instituting a system for coaches’ replay challenges, which exist in many other major sports. According to Lowe, not everyone agreed on what should be reviewable, with some GMs arguing that coaches should be able to challenge foul calls, while others disagreed. There was also discussion about whether a challenge should cost a team a timeout, regardless of whether a call is reversed or upheld.
  • Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons announced this week that he intends to play for Australia in the 2019 FIBA World Cup (link via ESPN.com). He’ll be joined on the Australian squad by Jazz sharpshooter Joe Ingles, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. However, Roy Ward of The Age Sport (Twitter link) hears that Ingles’ teammate Dante Exum is unlikely to participate in the event due to his knee injury.
  • The NBA and the National Basketball Coaches Association are creating a program intended to better identify and illuminate potential coaches among groups that are underrepresented, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. “We are not talking about a quota system,” Mavericks coach and NBCA president Rick Carlisle told ESPN. “Rival leagues have proven that mandates and demands for diverse hiring practices do not work. Our goal is an absolute equal opportunity for all our members to develop their skills on a level playing field.”

Draft Notes: Hampton, Elite Camp, Celtics, Simonds, Hawks

RJ Hampton has decided to graduate high school early and reclassify to the Class of 2019, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Hampton is the No. 4 player in ESPN’s top-100 class of early 2020 rankings, explaining his major decision to reclassify to Givony.

“I’ve decided to reclassify to the 2019 class,” Hampton told ESPN. “I am doing this because I feel that from a development standpoint, this is the right move for me at this time in order to play against the highest level of competition possible. I am eager to test myself against older and more physically developed players in order to help improve my weaknesses and prepare me for reaching the ultimate goal of playing in the NBA.”

With his decision, Hampton will enroll for college this summer and be eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft. A 6-foot-5 versatile player at 188 pounds, Hampton is one of the most promising young point guards in high school, now shifting his focus to interested schools such as Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis and Texas Tech, according to ESPN.

“This is a move we’ve been contemplating for some time and we don’t take lightly,” Hampton’s father, Rod, told ESPN. “As someone that played in college as well as professionally in Europe, I know that you can’t skip steps in a player’s development. Thankfully, because of the hard work that RJ has put in in the classroom — achieving a 3.75 GPA and a 1280 SAT — he was able to have this option. This weekend playing against the top players in high school basketball at the Nike EYBL, as well as earlier this month at USA Basketball, my wife, Markita, and I realized that RJ is ready to take the next step and challenge himself by taking the next step in level of competition.”

Here are some other draft-related notes today:

Draft Notes: Wright-Foreman, Davis, Clippers, Kings

Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman is returning to school for his senior year, he announced on Twitter. The 6’1” point guard averaged 24.4 PPG and 3.2 APG in his junior season. Ole Miss guard Terence Davis is also going back to school for his senior campaign, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweets. The 6’4” Davis averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG in his junior year.

In other draft-related news:

  • The Clippers and Lakers worked out forwards Omari Spellman (Villanova) and Terry Larrier (UConn) on Thursday, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com tweets. Larrier also has workouts lined up with the Nets (June 5), Knicks (June 6) and Mavericks (June 14), Zagoria adds in another tweet. Spellman is ranked No. 49 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his Top 100 prospects list.
  • Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado will work out for the Jazz in the near future after visiting the Lakers on Thursday, according to Zagoria (Twitter link).
  • The Kings will bring in centers Jock Landale (St. Mary’s) and Dusan Ristic (Arizona); forwards Todd Withers and Billy Preston; and guards Joel Berry (North Carolina) and Jordan McLaughlin (USC) on Friday, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets.
  • Rhode Island guard E.C. Matthews has worked out for the Nets, Knicks and Celtics, Zagoria tweets.

Draft Notes: Ponds, Lakers, Grizzlies, Cavaliers

The NBA draft lottery is still a week away, but teams have already started bringing in prospects for pre-draft workouts. Those workouts are especially important for early entrants who are still testing the waters, since they’re a great opportunity for those players to find out where they stand with NBA teams.

One of those players is St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds, who entered the draft process this spring as a sophomore, and will have until May 30 to decide whether to withdraw and return to school for his junior year. According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link), Ponds has already worked out for the Celtics, and has auditions for the Nets and Cavaliers lined up this weekend.

Here are a few more draft-related updates, with a focus on workouts:

Southeast Notes: Morris, Hawks, Hornets, Adebayo

Markieff Morris will be entering the final year of his contract with the Wizards this fall, raising questions about his long-term future in D.C. While Morris’ outlook could change between now and his 2019 free agency, his current preference would be to not only stick with the Wizards beyond his current deal, but also to remain in Washington for several years, as Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington details.

“I would definitely want to finish my career here,” Morris said of the Wizards. “I love playing here. I love being in the city that I was basically raised in and playing for this organization.”

After a first-round exit in the postseason this spring, the Wizards will be looking for ways to improve their roster this season, so Morris isn’t necessarily a lock to return. However, his $8.6MM salary makes him a better value than the team’s two centers, Marcin Gortat ($13.57MM) and Ian Mahinmi ($15.94MM).

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Draft Notes: Edwards, Ponds, Davis, Wiggins

Purdue guard Carsen Edwards plans to test the draft waters without hiring an agent, Gregg Doyel of the Indianapolis Star tweets. The 6’1” Edwards averaged 18.5 PPG and 2.8 APG as a sophomore for the Boilermakers, who were knocked out in the Sweet Sixteen by Texas Tech. Edwards will get some feedback and likely return to Purdue unless he gets some sort of draft guarantee, Doyel adds. Edwards is currently ranked No. 72 on the prospect list by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

In other draft-related news:

  • St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds has declared for the draft but won’t hire an agent, according to Sportando. The 6’1” Ponds averaged 21.6 PPG, 5.0 RPG and 4.7 APG in his sophomore season with the Red Storm. Ponds is ranked No. 60 by Givony.
  • Mississippi junior guard Terence Davis will enter the draft, Givony reports. “I am hoping for an invitation to the NBA combine,” Davis told Givony. “I just want to show NBA executives that I have the physical tools and the skills to play in the NBA.” Davis, a 6’4” junior, averaged 13.8 PPG and 6.2 RPG for Ole Miss. He’s ranked No. 79 by Givony.
  • Bowling Green junior big man Demajeo Wiggins will enter the draft without hiring an agent, Givony tweets. The 6’10” Wiggins averaged a double-double this season at 13.7 PPG and 10.1 RPG. He’s not ranked among the Top 100 prospects.