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Central Notes: Tucker, Bucks, Pacers, Workouts, Pistons

July 6th, 2021 at 3:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

P.J. Tucker is used to being a part of contending teams, but this season took a detour before he landed in Milwaukee, notes Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Tucker had to endure a lot of losing in Houston after the Rockets dealt James Harden in mid-January. He was stuck in a rebuilding situation until the Bucks traded for him in March.

“I thought about the stuff I was doing with Houston this year, this season has just been a long year for me,” Tucker said. “To go from being a top team in the West to falling apart instantly and being the last one left (in Houston) and everything I went through with that, the transition, it was just a lot this season.”

Tucker has enjoyed his time with the Bucks and is looking forward to competing for his first NBA championship, but isn’t sure whether his time in Milwaukee will extend beyond this season, as Nehm writes.

“I’m really excited to be able to pick where I want to go,” Tucker said. “The (contract) extension thing was for a different period of time. We didn’t even talk about that when I came to Milwaukee. There was no extension. I just wanted to come play and get a chance to do what I do and that was it. I just wanted to have a chance.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

Florida guard Scottie Lewis worked out for the Bucks on Monday, Adam Zagoria of Forbes tweets. Milwaukee owns the top pick in the second round after a swap with Houston.
The Pacers hosted Kai Jones and Moses Moody for pre-draft workouts on Tuesday, according to a press release. The club also announced that it will have Derrick Alston Jr., Ayo Dosunmu, Isaiah Jackson, Kyle Mangas, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Terry Taylor in for auditions on Wednesday.
In addition to the No. 1 pick, the Pistons hold three second-rounders in this year’s draft (Nos. 37, 42, and 52). James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, who believes Detroit will look to consolidate some of those assets and acquire a second first-round pick, examines a few prospects the team could target late in the first round or early in the second, including VCU guard Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Draft Notes: Thor, C. Parker, Combine, T. Taylor

June 7th, 2021 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

Auburn freshman forward JT Thor has decided to remain in the 2021 NBA draft and go pro, announcing on Instagram that he has signed with an agency (hat tip to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).

Thor’s numbers were modest during his first and only college season. In 27 games (all starts) for the Tigers, he averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 BPG on .440/.297/.741 shooting in 23.0 minutes per contest. However, his stock is thought to be rising ahead of next month’s draft.

Thor, currently ranked No. 66 on ESPN’s big board, is generating a “ton of buzz” based on his workouts in Miami, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, who tweets that the 6’10” youngster is showing “flashes of untapped shot-making versatility.”

Here’s more on the 2021 draft:

Liberty guard Chris Parker, who declared for the draft following his senior season, tells Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link) that he has signed with an agent and plans to keep his name in the draft pool rather than using his extra year of NCAA eligibility. Parker, who began his college career at Henderson State, averaged 10.3 PPG and 3.4 APG on .455/.373/.826 shooting in 29 games (28.3 MPG) in 2020/21.
Approximately 100 prospects will be invited to participate in either the 2021 draft combine or the college portion of the G League Elite Camp, says Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Givony expects a few more international prospects at this year’s combine since the pre-draft calendar has been pushed back by about a month.
Austin Peay wing Terry Taylor has workouts lined up with the Warriors, Grizzlies, and Kings this week, according to Alex Kennedy of BasketballNews.com (Twitter link).

Terry Taylor, Jomaru Brown Withdraw From Draft

May 26th, 2020 at 2:55pm CST by Luke Adams

A pair of early entrants in this year’s draft have decided not to go pro in 2020 after all. Jeff Goodman of Stadium reports (via Twitter) that Austin Peay guard Terry Taylor has withdrawn from the draft, while Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets that Eastern Kentucky guard Jomaru Brown has done the same.

Taylor, who averaged 21.8 PPG and 11.0 RPG in 33 games (36.6 MPG) in 2019/20, is the second Austin Peay underclassman to withdraw from the draft after testing the waters, joining teammate Jordyn Adams. Coming off his junior year, Taylor has one more year of college eligibility and will automatically be entered into the 2021 NBA draft.

Brown, meanwhile, was Eastern Kentucky’s leading scorer in his sophomore season, putting up 18.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 32 games (29.5 MPG) for the Colonels. However, he struggled with his efficiency, recording a .386/.315/.751 shooting line, and didn’t take great care of the ball, averaging 4.7 turnovers per contest, compared to just 2.7 APG. He’ll be a junior in 2020/21.

The pre-draft calendar initially called for NCAA early entrants to make their decisions on whether or not to remain in the draft by June 3 in order to maintain their college eligibility. That deadline has been indefinitely postponed, but a number of early entrants are still pulling out of the draft class now, as our tracker shows.

Draft Notes: Joe, Bailey, Kurucs, Taylor, Eboua

April 20th, 2020 at 5:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Arkansas sophomore guard Isaiah Joe will test the 2020 NBA draft waters, head coach Eric Musselman told reporters today, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).

Joe is coming off a season in which he averaged 16.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 1.4 SPG in 26 games (36.1 MPG) for the Razorbacks. Although his .390 FG% over two college seasons isn’t particularly impressive, it’s largely a result of his reliance on the three-point shot — 548 of his 718 total shot attempts came from beyond the arc, where he shot 37.8%.

Joe is ranked 61st on ESPN’s big board of 2020 prospects, making him a viable candidate to be drafted.

Here are a few more of the latest draft decisions:

Marquette forward Brendan Bailey is declaring for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, a source tells Evan Daniels of 247Sports.com (Twitter link). Bailey averaged 7.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG with a .383 3PT% in 30 games (all starts) as a sophomore.
Arturs Kurucs, the brother of Nets forward Rodions Kurucs, has entered the 2020 draft, tweets ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. The Latvian guard spent this past season playing for VEF Riga in Latvia.
Austin Peay junior guard Terry Taylor announced on Twitter that he’ll be testing the draft waters without hiring an agent. Taylor, who averaged 21.8 PPG and 11.0 RPG in 33 games (36.6 MPG) in 2019/20, is the second Austin Peay underclassman to declare for the draft, joining teammate Jordyn Adams.
Cameroonian forward Paul Eboua has signed with BDA Sports for representation, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Eboua – who ranks 56th on ESPN’s big board – hasn’t declared for the draft yet, but is expected to do so soon, per Carchia.