Western Notes: Craig, Snyder, Kings, Pelicans
Torrey Craig missed the last two games of the Suns‘ series vs. Dallas due to a right elbow contusion, but said today that he’s ready to go for Game 5, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link).
Craig only played six total minutes in the first two games of the series and hasn’t logged more than 11 minutes in a single playoff contest to date, so his availability won’t have a major impact on the Suns’ rotation.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- Jazz head coach Quin Snyder was vague when discussing his future during his end-of-season press conference on Monday, but both Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune and Tony Jones of The Athletic noticed Snyder’s willingness to look ahead to the future, which could bode well for Utah. There has been speculation that Snyder, whom the Jazz reportedly want to retain, could decide to move on.
- The Kings held their first pre-draft workout of 2022 on Tuesday, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. Jaden Shackelford (Alabama), Johnny Juzang (UCLA), Hyunjung Lee (Davidson), Tyler Burton (Richmond), Keion Brooks (Kentucky), and Justyn Mutts (Virginia Tech) came to the Golden 1 Center practice facility to audition for the team.
- If the Pelicans win this year’s draft lottery, they should use the No. 1 pick to select Jabari Smith Jr., according to Christian Clark of NOLA.com, who makes a case for why the Auburn star would be the best fit for New Orleans.
44 Prospects Announced For 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp
The NBA G League has formally announced its field of 44 draft prospects for the 2022 NBA G League Elite Camp.
The event, which will take place May 16 and 17 in Chicago, “gives draft prospects an opportunity to display their skills in front of NBA and NBA G League scouts, coaches and front-office executives over the course of the camp by playing in five-on-five games and participating in strength and agility drills.”
The top performers from the camp will be invited to the NBA Draft Combine, which will take place from May 18-22 in Chicago. Some NBA players who have participated in past G League Elite Camps include Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado, Pacers forward Oshae Brissett, Clippers wing Terance Mann, and Heat wing Max Strus.
Here’s the list of 44 draft-eligible attendees:
- Max Abmas (Oral Roberts)
- James Akinjo (Baylor)
- Keve Aluma (Virginia Tech)
- Jules Bernard (UCLA)
- Buddy Boeheim (Syracuse)
- Jamaree Bouyea (San Francisco)
- Eli Brooks (Michigan)
- Keion Brooks Jr. (Kentucky)
- Tevin Brown (Murray State)
- Gabe Brown (Michigan State)
- Tyler Burton (Richmond)
- Darius Days (LSU)
- Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech)
- Allen Flanigan (Auburn)
- Kyle Foster (Howard)
- Javon Freeman-Liberty (DePaul)
- Kellan Grady (Kentucky)
- AJ Green (Northern Iowa)
- Brison Gresham (Texas Southern)
- Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State)
- Jordan Hall (St. Joseph’s)
- Quenton Jackson (Texas A&M)
- Hyunjung Lee (Davidson)
- Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Louisiana Tech)
- Brady Manek (North Carolina)
- Tyrese Martin (Connecticut)
- David McCormack (Kansas)
- Kevin McCullar (Texas Tech)
- Kameron McGusty (Miami FL)
- Pete Nance (Northwestern)
- JD Notae (Arkansas)
- Shareef O’Neal (LSU)
- MJ Randolph (Florida A&M)
- Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall)
- Jermaine Samuels (Villanova)
- Marcus Sasser (Houston)
- Baylor Scheierman (South Dakota State)
- Luke Travers (Perth Wildcats)
- Ryan Turell (Yeshiva University)
- Fabian White Jr. (Houston)
- Bryson Williams (Texas Tech)
- Vince Williams Jr. (VCU)
- Jalen Wilson (Kansas)
- Kok Yat (Overtime Elite)
The list of attendees features 13 players on ESPN’s big board, notes Jonathan Givony of ESPN (via Twitter), so some players have a chance to be drafted.
The top-ranked prospect at the camp is Scheierman (No. 69), who averaged 16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals on .508/.469/.802 shooting this season for South Dakota State (35 games, 33.3 minutes per contest).
Draft Notes: Burton, Mitchell Twins, Beauchamp, Early Entrants
Richmond junior forward Tyler Burton will test the 2022 NBA draft waters while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Twitter.
Burton, the No. 90 prospect on ESPN’s big board, was named the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player in 2022 and made the All-A10 Second Team in 2022. In 37 games (33.0 MPG) this season for the Spiders, he put up 16.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG with a .457/.365/.791 shooting line, leading the team in scoring, rebounding, and three-point percentage.
Here are a few more Friday draft notes:
- Makhi Mitchell and Makhel Mitchell, announced on their respective Instagram accounts that they’ve committed to Arkansas after spending the last two seasons at Rhode Island. The Mitchell twins had been testing the draft waters in addition to entering the transfer portal — it’s unclear whether or not their commitments to the Razorbacks mean they’re pulling out of the draft pool.
- After spending the 2021/22 season with the G League Ignite, MarJon Beauchamp projects to be a first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft. That didn’t always look like a given though. In an interesting story for The Athletic, Joe Vardon takes a look at why it took longer than Beauchamp expected to get his professional career off the ground.
- The following players are also entering the 2022 NBA draft:
- Forgoing remaining NCAA eligibility:
- Maurice Calloo, F, Oregon State (senior) (Twitter link via Jon Chepkevich)
- Testing the waters:
- Souley Boum, G, UTEP (senior) (Twitter link)
- Sincere Carry, G, Kent State (junior) (Instagram link)
- Devonaire Doutrive, G, Boise State (senior) (Twitter link)
- Note: Doutrive was dismissed from Boise State’s men’s basketball team in December.
- Isiaih Mosley, G/F, Missouri State (junior) (Instagram link)
- Caleb Murphy, G, South Florida (sophomore) (Instagram link)
- Grant Sherfield, G, Nevada (junior) (Instagram link)
- Forgoing remaining NCAA eligibility: