Tony Snell

Draft Updates: Tuesday

ESPN.com's Chad Ford has released version 4.0 of his 2013 mock draft (Insider-only link), and as usual, the piece is chock-full of rumors and rumblings he's heard from GMs, scouts, and other league sources. Let's dive in and round up some of the highlights from Ford's latest….

  • Nerlens Noel remains the default pick at No. 1, but the Cavaliers still haven't made a decision. Otto Porter and Alex Len would be the best bets to supplant Noel.
  • The Magic's decision at No. 2 is still extremely wide open, with nine players still under consideration, according to Ford.
  • If Porter and Anthony Bennett are still on the board at No. 3 for Washington, it will be a tough decision, since the Wizards' front office is split over which player it likes better.
  • The Pelicans will consider point guards with the sixth overall pick, but the team hasn't given up on Austin Rivers as its point guard of the future, so it may go in a different direction.
  • Ford is "hearing with increasing frequency" that the Pistons could target a point guard with the No. 8 pick.
  • Dario Saric appears to be a lottery pick, with Ford identifying the Blazers at 10 and the Sixers at 11 as real possibilities for the Croatian prospect, who is a "hot name" right now.
  • Shane Larkin's workout in Milwaukee was a "wow" for the Bucks, according to Ford, who has the point guard going at No. 15 to Milwaukee.

In addition to Ford's latest mock, there are plenty of other draft updates to pass along this afternoon. Here are a few of them:

  • Speaking to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, Dennis Schroeder and his agent downplayed reports that he has received a first-round guarantee from an unknown team, perhaps the Celtics. "I don’t know where that came from," agent Alex Saratsis said. "I don’t know anything about that."
  • The Knicks' workout on Wednesday will feature the following prospects, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday (via Twitter): Isaiah Canaan, Brandon Triche, Deshaun Thomas, Murphy Holloway, A.J. Matthews, and Norvel Pelle.
  • The Pistons will bring in Ray McCallum for a workout, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
  • After recently working out for the Jazz, Cody Zeller will work out for the Suns next, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. Amico adds in another tweet that Mark Lyons, who averaged 24.3 PPG in three NCAA tournament contests in March, is working out for the Nuggets.
  • Ricky Ledo has already worked out for six teams, including the Nuggets, Bulls, Rockets, and Spurs (link via NBA.com).
  • Ledo will work out for his seventh team on Wednesday, when the Grizzlies hold a session that will also include Jud Dillard, Carrick Felix, Solomon Hill, Angelo Sharpless, and Tony Snell, according to a team release.

Bucks Links: Coaching Search, Drew, Workouts

At least eight NBA teams appear to be in the market for a new head coach, so the Bucks certainly aren't alone in what's becoming a crowded marketplace. However, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Milwaukee is in no rush to complete its search. Spears tweets that the team will likely conduct a second round of interviews at some point in the near future. Here's more on the coaching search and other Bucks-related notes:

  • Larry Drew, who is technically still under contract with the Hawks, interviewed for the Bucks' open position and said it "went well," tweets Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
  • Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel takes a look at how the Bucks' coaching search compares to the searches being conducted by a handful of other teams.
  • The Bucks worked out a number of guards today, according to the team's official PR Twitter account. Junior Cadougan, Will Clyburn, Tyrone Gordon Jr., Glen Rice Jr., James Southerland, and Tony Snell were among the participants.
  • Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel explains how Chris Hansen's huge $625MM bid for the Kings could ultimately have an impact on the Bucks.

Kings Notes: Ownership, Ranadive, Draft, Ellis

Kings fans received some great news yesterday, when the NBA's Board of Governors rejected a bid to relocate the franchise to Seattle. Even with the sale to Chris Hansen's Seattle group seemingly dead, the Kings aren't quite safe in Sacramento yet. The Maloofs still have the right to hang on to the team, though they're currently attempting to negotiate a sale to the Sacramento investment group led by Vivek Ranadive. Here's the latest on the Kings, on and off the court:

  • George Maloof believes a deal will be reached with Ranadive's group, as he tells David Bienick of KCRA in Sacramento (Twitter link). However, he's not sure it will happen in the 24-48 hour window David Stern is hoping for (Twitter link). Maloof also added that Hansen remains interested in buying a minority share of the Kings, so that's part of the current talks as well (Twitter link).
  • With Kings ownership still up in the air, front office and roster decisions remain on hold as well, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Head coach Keith Smart and GM Geoff Petrie are approaching this week's draft combine as if they'll continue in their current roles.
  • The team interviewed six draft prospects on Wednesday, according to Jones: Reggie Bullock , Alex Len, Tim Hardaway Jr., Richard Howell, Tony Snell, and Deshaun Thomas.
  • Expect Ranadive to "eviscerate" the Kings' business and basketball operations should he assume control of the team, says Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. Voisin also hears that Ranadive's reps shot down a previous report that the Sacramento group was interested in Monta Ellis.
  • Dale Kasler, Tony Lillis, and Ryan Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee, who have done a terrific job of chronicling the entire saga, recap an eventful Wednesday and look ahead to the next step for the Kings.

Draft Notes: Hairston, Burton, Wolters, Greek Freak

With a blank slate tonight in the professional ranks, expect most NBA fans to turn their attention to the NCAA title game between Michigan and Louisville.  Both teams are loaded with future NBAers.  Let's round up all draft-related news and notes from tonight here:

  • Per the Associated Press (via ESPN), New Mexico guard Tony Snell will enter the NBA draft.  There were reports a few weeks back that Snell was leaning towards the draft and on Monday he made it official, stating at an on-campus news conference, "in my heart, I feel like it's a good decision to leave now."
  • Mitch McGary's NBA draft stock is soaring, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.  Quoting a pair of pro scouts, Zagoria implies that McGary needs to at least consider leaving Ann Arbor because it is unlikely that his stock will ever be this high again. 

Earlier updates:

  • Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports tweeted yesterday that North Carolina sophomore guard P.J. Hairston will be returning to Chapel Hill.  However, Hairston's mother says that they are still in the process of making that decision, writes Andrew Carter of the Charlotte Observer.  Hairston emerged as a legitimate scoring threat once he was inserted into the starting lineup for the Tar Heels in mid-February.  According to Carter, Roy Williams is optimistic that Hairston, James McAdoo and Reggie Bullock will all return, though he cautioned that no announcement will be made by the school until all three decide. 
  • Nevada's Deonte Burton will return for his senior season, reports Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal.  The point guard, who averaged 16.3 points and 3.6 assists per game as a junior for the Wolf Pack, was projected anywhere from a late second-rounder to undrafted. 
  • South Dakota State senior Nate Wolters has signed with agent Jared Karnes, tweets HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy, who adds that the Jack Rabbits star is expected to be an early second round pick.  Wolters has been one of the best mid-major players in the country in his career, averaging 19.5, 21.2 and 22.3 points-per-game from his sophomore to senior seasons. 
  • Giannis Antetokoumpo, a 6-foot-10 point guard from Greece with a giant wingspan, is shooting up NBA draft boards, reports Chris Sheridan in a video courtesy of Sheridan Hoops.  As we've seen, the "Greek Freak" is drawing a ton of interest from NBA teams  and Sheridan opines that Antetokoumpo could end up being a lottery pick if he decides to enter this June's draft.
  • Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops shares his latest NBA mock draft here, adding that Antetokoumpo could end up being this year's Bismack Biyombo

Odds & Ends: Turkoglu, Kings, Draft, Nocioni

Having served his 20-game suspension for a failed drug test, Hedo Turkoglu is eligible to return to action for the Magic, but the team may not have him in its short- or long-term plans, as he acknowledges to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

"I don't even know my future right now," Turkoglu said. "I don't know if I'll be here next year or not. At the end of the season, I'll be here and I'll try to do my best for these young guys and for this organization. When the summertime comes, we'll see what happens."

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

  • With a big City Council vote coming up tonight, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld discusses the Sacramento group's bid to keep the Kings. According to Kyler, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and the investment group have received a "fairly specific set of objectives" to meet if they want to have a realstic chance to keep the team.
  • Two more NCAA underclassmen are eyeing the NBA draft. Marshawn Powell of Arkansas announced on Twitter that he has decided to declare his intent, while New Mexico announced that junior forward Tony Snell will test the waters (Twitter link via ESPN.com's Andy Katz).
  • In his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Alex Kennedy examines the effect the NCAA tournament has on a prospect's draft stock and speaks to Rashard Lewis about his first year with the Heat.
  • Andres Nocioni, who previously played for the Bulls, Kings, and Sixers, is in the final year of his contract with Spain's Caja Laboral, but it doesn't sound as if he's considering an NBA comeback. Nocioni spoke this week about his future, and Emiliano Carchia of Sportando has a translation of the highlights, via PlanetACB.com.