West Draft Workouts: Jazz, T-Wolves, Blazers, Suns
UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday and Duke guard Grayson Allen were among the first-round prospects that the Jazz evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Holiday is ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his latest Top 100 prospects list, while Allen checks in at No. 30. Creighton’s Khyri Thomas (No. 27), Villanova’s Jalen Brunson (No. 34), Louisville’s Ray Spalding (No. 52) and San Diego State’s Malik Pope were the other prospects who visited Utah.
We have some other draft workouts involving Western Conference clubs to pass along:
- Villanova point guard Donte DiVincenzo and Miami (Fla.) shooting guard Bruce Brown were the top prospects that the Timberwolves worked out on Monday, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP. DiVincenzo and Brown are ranked No. 28 and No. 29 by Givony. They were joined by Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), D.J. Hogg (Texas A&M) and Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech). Contrary to a previous report, Okogie visited Minnesota for the first time (Twitter links here).
- Kentucky shooting guard Hamidou Diallo headlined the prospects that the Trail Blazers brought in on Monday, according to a team press release. Diallo is ranked No. 36 by Givony. Anfernee Simons, Jairus Lyles (UMBC), Victor Sanders (Idaho), Trevon Duval (Duke) and Shake Milton (SMU) were the other guards that Portland checked out.
- French guard Elie Okobo topped the list of prospects the Suns evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Okobo is ranked No. 21 by Givony. He was joined by Jevon Carter (West Virginia), Joel Berry (North Carolina), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Thomas Welsh (UCLA) and Ajdin Penava (Marshall).
Draft Decisions: McDaniels, Cody & Caleb Martin
Forward Jalen McDaniels will return to San Diego State for his sophomore season, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. McDaniels is part of a crop of late decision makers who waited until shortly before tonight’s deadline of 11:59pm Eastern to announce whether they are staying in the draft.
“After thoughtful consideration with my family and coaching staff, I have decided to return to San Diego State for my sophomore year.” McDaniels posted on Twitter. “I’m looking forward to furthering my education and returning to the NCAA Tournament. Go Aztecs!”
McDaniels averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first year at San Diego State. He held workouts with Cavaliers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Jazz, Warriors, Celtics, Nets, Hawks, Bucks, Spurs and Bulls, according to Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
In another significant last-minute decision, Nevada stars Cody Martin and Caleb Martin will both return to school, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Cody is ranked 90th and Caleb is 91st in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, but Jeff Goodman of ESPN suggests the Wolf Pack could be a top 10 team next season with both staying (Twitter link).
There’s also news to pass along on pre-draft workouts:
- The Lakers have a session set for Thursday with Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham and Billy Preston, Wichita State’s Landry Shamet, Penn State’s Tony Carr, Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie and Gonzaga’s Johnathan Williams, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
- The Kings will hold a workout Thursday for SMU’s Shake Milton, Arizona’s Allonzo Trier, Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson, Rhode Island’s E.C. Matthews, Cincinnati’s Gary Clark and Missouri’s Jordan Barnett.
- On Tuesday, the Suns brought in Temple’s Obi Enechionyia, Cincinnati’s Jacob Evans, Arizona State’s Shannon Evans and Kodi Justice, Wyoming’s Alan Herndon and Australia player William McDowell-White.
- Donte Ingram of Loyola Chicago had “solid” workouts with the Bulls and Bucks last week, according to Gery Woelfel of WoelfelsPressBox (Twitter link). The Bucks also brought in UCLA’s Thomas Welsh.
- Texas center Mo Bamba will work out Friday for the Bulls, tweets Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago.
Lakers Notes: Ball Family, Allen, Workouts
LiAngelo Ball, the younger brother of Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, will take part in a pre-draft workout with the team on Tuesday, per ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. St. Bonaventure’s Jaylen Adams, UCLA’s Thomas Welsh, Virginia’s Devon Hall, Syracuse’s Tyus Battle and Arizona’s Dusan Ristic are also scheduled for the workout.
LiAngelo returned to the United States recently after completing his first professional season overseas with Vytautas Prienu of the Lithuanian league. He averaged 12.6 PPG during his stint. LiAngelo’s year got off to a rough start after he was arrested in China along with two other UCLA teammates on suspicion of shoplifting. Following his release, LiAngelo left the NCAA and, along with younger brother LaMelo, signed contracts with Vytautas.
“The Lakers are my priority, for sure,” LiAngelo said during a recent appearance on the Marcellus and Travis show on ESPNLA radio. “I want to play with my brother. Ever since I played with Zo, we went undefeated. When we get older, we will get stronger, faster and a better feel for the game. I’m willing to play for other teams, but my priority is to play with my brother.”
Check out more Lakers notes below:
- LaVar Ball, the patriarch of the Ball family, has never been shy to speak his mind when it comes to his sons and his latest comments are no different. During an interview with Hoops Hype’s Alex Kennedy, LaVar said that Lonzo’s health was compromised due to the Lakers’ training tactics. “My expectation for Lonzo is for him to be twice as good as he was this year, and to be more healthy,” he said. “He understands, he went through it. If you’re going to be doing those [workouts with] rubber-bands like that dude Gunnar has him doing, that [is] bulls–t training. That’s what I call it. S–t, he wasn’t like that when I brought him over there. When he first came [to the Lakers], he never got hurt. He was never hurt.”
- Duke’s Grayson Allen, one of the more controversial players in this year’s NBA Draft, has shown on-court potential but his composure and attitude have long been questioned. Allen worked out for the Lakers on Friday and Bill Oram of the Orange County Register examined a potential fit between L.A. and the sharpshooting Blue Devil.
- In addition to Allen, here is the latest list of players to have participated in pre-draft workouts for the Lakers.
Draft Notes: Bradley, Swanigan, Deadline Decisions
North Carolina center Tony Bradley will hire an agent and remain in the NBA draft, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. After helping the Tar Heels capture the national championship, Bradley faces conflicting opinions about his draft status, with DraftExpress placing him 41st on its list of top 100 prospects but ESPN’s Chad Ford projecting him as a first-rounder at No. 22. The 6’10” freshman averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds during his lone season at North Carolina.
Bradley is among several dominoes that will fall as the deadline for withdrawing from the draft looms tonight. Here’s a roundup of some other prospects:
- Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan will work out for the Knicks today before making his final decision, according to Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog. The reigning Big 10 Player of the Year is projected as a second-round selection.
- Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo will hold a meeting with his advisers today, tweets Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com.
- Borzello’s list of other high-profile players with decisions to make today includes Michigan’s D.J. Wilson and Moritz Wagner, Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, North Carolina State’s Omer Yurtseven, Gonzaga’a Johnathan Williams, Central Florida’s Tacko Fall and Ohio State’s Kam Williams.
Here are several players have made a final decision to forgo the draft and head back to school:
- Deng Adel, Louisville (via Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports)
- Angel Delgado, Seton Hall (via Zagoria)
- Donte Grantham, Clemson (via Rothstein)
- Justin Jackson, Maryland (via Rothstein)
- Braxton Key, Alabama (via ESPN’s Jeff Goodman).
- Markis McDuffie, Wichita State (via Rothstein)
- Victor Sanders, Idaho (via Goodman)
- Thomas Welsh, UCLA (via Goodman)
- Brandon Goodwin, Florida Gulf Coast (via Goodman)
- Vince Edwards, Purdue (via Brian Neubert of Rivals.com)
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Comanche, Haas, Bozic
Arizona’s Chance Comanche will test the NBA Draft waters, but will not hire an agent, Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star relays.
“I am excited about the opportunity to explore my NBA options, gather information and dedicate the next month to reaching my goals of becoming an NBA player,” Comanche said. “At the conclusion of this process, my family and I will make the best decision for my future both on and off the court. I also want to thank coach [Sean] Miller and the Arizona staff for supporting my decision.”
The Sophomore is not ranked in Draft Express’ Top 100. Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Purdue’s Isaac Haas has declared for the draft, but will also not hire an agent, according to the University’s Twitter feed. Prospects who declare, but opt not to hire an agent, have until May 24 to make a final decision.
- Luka Bozic has entered the draft, according to Milan Nikolic of Adriatic Region (Twitter link). Bozic is a 20-year-old, 6’5″ guard who plays for KK Zagreb in the Croation League.
- UCLA’s Aaron Holiday and Thomas Welsh are entering the draft, according to Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports. Neither player has hired an agent.