Tyler Dorsey

Atlantic Draft Notes: Dorsey, Dozier, Meeks, Dotson

Oregon shooting guard Tyler Dorsey will work out for the Sixers on Wednesday, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Dorsey is considered second-round material by both DraftExpress, which currently rates him 46th overall, and ESPN.com’s Chad Ford, who pegs him at No. 47. Philadelphia owns four second-round picks.

In other draft-related news around the Atlantic Division:

  • South Carolina shooting guard P.J. Dozier was among the prospects worked out by the Raptors on Monday, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Dozier is ranked No. 51 by DraftExpress and No. 56 by Ford. North Carolina center Kennedy Meeks was also present at the workout. Meeks isn’t ranked among DraftExpress’ Top 100 prospects but Ford has him at No. 67. The Raptors have the No. 23 overall pick but don’t own a second-rounder, so this would be a case of doing due diligence or perhaps an indication they’re interested in trading for a second-round pick.
  • Georgia point guard J.J. Frazier will be among the prospects the Raptors will work out on Tuesday, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets.
  • Damyean Dotson will work out for the Knicks on Tuesday and the Nets on Wednesday, Scotto reports in another tweet. DraftExpress ranks the Houston swingman at No. 64, while Ford has him slightly higher at 58.
  • The Knicks will bring in Meeks on Wednesday, according to Scotto (Twitter link).

Pacific Notes: J. Jackson, Isaac, Tatum, Thompson

The Suns potentially have a difficult decision to make when they find themselves on the clock with the fourth overall pick, writes Doug Haller of AZCentral Sports. Three talented freshman small forwards could be available: Josh Jackson, Jonathan Isaac, and Jayson Tatum. Defense and three-point shooting are likely the Suns’ two most glaring weaknesses, and one of these athletes could certainly help.

Haller writes that Jackson’s real impact could come defensively. The scribe adds that, while Tatum is nowhere near the defender that Jackson is, the Duke freshman may be the most polished scorer in the draft. As for Isaac, he can play both forward positions, with many believing that he will also be able to man the center position when his body fills out. Furthermore, the departing Seminole would contribute defensive versatility, having defended all over the floor for Florida State.

Here are some more pertinent notes from the Pacific division:

Western Rumors: Kerr, Parker, Ingles, Lakers

Warriors coach Steve Kerr says it’s unlikely that he’ll be on the bench for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, as he discussed with Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News and the assembled media on Monday. Mike Brown has filled in for Kerr on the sidelines for much of the postseason, though Brown himself missed practice on Monday because of the flu. Kerr will travel to Cleveland when the series shifts there and says he’s been at practices and coaches meetings, but coaching during a game is still an issue because of back pain, Slater continues. The pain became severe during the opening-round series against the Trail Blazers. “You saw me in the fourth quarter of Game 2. I could not sit still in my chair,” Kerr said. “There was that much pain. I would say I’ve gotten a little bit better. That’s why I’m here talking to you right now. But you can probably tell, I’m not sitting here happy-go-lucky.”

In other news around the Western Conference:

  • Spurs guard Tony Parker expects to return from his torn quad injury in January, as he told the French magazine L’Equipe and relayed by Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Parker required surgery earlier this month for the tear, which he suffered during the Western Conference semifinals against the Rockets. Parker will make $15.45MM in the final year of his contract next season.
  • Gordon Hayward‘s decision in free agency won’t influence Jazz swingman Joe Ingles, according to Olgun Uluc of  Foxsports.com. Ingles will be a restricted free agent once the Jazz extend him a qualifying offer of $2.687MM, which they almost assuredly will do. Ingles averaged 7.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 2.7 APG while shooting 44.1% from long range this past season. He would like to stay put, as he told Uluc.  “I think we’ve got the team,” he said. “Obviously, Gordon is a big part of that, so his free agency — it’s not going to change what I’m going to do or where I want to go — but, we’re a different team depending on whether he’s there or not. I’m not gonna be sitting there calling Gordon every two minutes, but if everything works out in Utah and they want me, and it all comes together, that’s great.”
  • California forward Ivan Rabb headlines a group of six players that will work out for the Lakers on Tuesday, which was posted on the team’s website. Rabb is currently ranked No. 25 overall by DraftExpress and Los Angeles owns the No. 28 selection, as well as the No. 2 overall pick. He’ll be joined by four potential second-rounders in Clemson forward Jaron Blossomgame (49th), Oregon guard Tyler Dorsey (46th), Nevada forward Cameron Oliver (59th) and SMU forward Sterling Brown (57th), as well as Florida State guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

Atlantic Draft Notes: Johnson, Monk, Workouts

The Sixers don’t have a definite long-term answer at point guard, but that doesn’t mean they will necessarily address the position in the first round of this year’s draft, Jonathan Givony writes in a mock draft for The Vertical.

The team is expected to field offers for the No. 3 overall pick and if it decides to keep the selection, it’ll be hard to predict who the selection will be. Givony adds that the team is high on Kentucky guard Malik Monk, but also suggests that Kansas’ Josh Johnson could be the pick due to his upside.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft out of the Atlantic Division:

Draft Workouts: Bucks, Knicks, Raptors, Kings, Lakers

With the lottery out of the way, pre-draft workouts are starting to intensify around the league. We bring you a roundup of several that we heard about today:

Draft Workouts: Nets, Smith Jr., Magic, Bucks, Celtics

The Nets will be the only non-playoff team without a close eye on Tuesday night’s lottery results, since the Celtics have swap rights to their first-round pick. But after that swap is made, the Nets will hold the rights to the first-round picks for the two teams in action on Monday night, the Celtics and the Wizards. And Brooklyn is busy exploring its options for those two late first-round selections, along with its second-round pick.

According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com, the Nets will bring in Rawle Alkins, Melo Trimble, Kobi Simmons, Davon Reed, Amida Brimah, and Omer Yurtseven for a group workout on Tuesday. On Thursday, Brooklyn will take a closer look at Josh Hart and Tyler Dorsey. Meanwhile, Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan is also expected to be a part of that Thursday workout, per Nathan Baird of The Journal & Courier (Twitter link).

As Brooklyn does its homework on the non-lottery prospects in this year’s draft class, let’s check out a few more workout-related updates, including an additional note on Swanigan:

Tyler Dorsey Declares For Draft

Tyler Dorsey has declared for the draft and will sign an agent, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Dorsey led the Oregon Ducks to their first Final Four since 1939 during this year’s NCAA Tournament.

Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks the point guard as the 53rd-best prospect in the upcoming draft. Ford notes that Dorsey is a good passer and an elite scorer, but adds that the sophomore needs to improve his decision-making.

The 21-year-old averaged 14.6 points per game this past season. He added 1.7 assists per contest and shot 42.3% from downtown.

Draft Decisions: Lee, Briscoe, Dorsey, Blackmon

Kentucky forward Marcus Lee won’t be eligible for the 2016 NBA draft, with the school announcing today in a press release that he’ll remove his name from consideration. While Lee isn’t headed to the NBA, he’s also not returning to Kentucky, as head coach John Calipari confirmed that the senior-to-be will transfer to a school “out west” to be closer to his family.

“We talked it through together and discussed the team next season, which he said had no bearing on his decision,” Calipari said. “I also told him he was a semester away from graduating. With that said, he was still adamant that, after the combine experience, a year off and regrouping would be the best thing. As always I support my players and their decisions.”

Lee isn’t the only player to make a decision this morning. Here are a few more updates on underclassmen in advance of today’s deadline to retain NCAA eligibility:

  • Lee may not be returning to the Wildcats, but Isaiah Briscoe will be. As the 6’3″ guard explains to Evan Daniels of Scout.com, he is withdrawing his name from draft consideration and returning to Kentucky for his sophomore season, since he thinks it’s the right call for his long-term future.
  • Tyler Dorsey has joined teammate Dillon Brooks in making the decision to return to Oregon for the 2016/17 season, sources tell Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Dorsey, who will be a sophomore, worked out for Utah and Denver while he was testing the draft waters.
  • Indiana’s James Blackmon Jr. has decided to return to school for his junior year, a source tells Jeff Rabjohns of Peegs.com. The decision has since been confirmed by Indiana. Blackmon will be looking to rebound from an ACL injury after undergoing surgery in January.
  • Blackmon’s teammate, Troy Williams, won’t be joining him in Indiana next season — Williams had decided to stay in the draft, a source tells Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). Rothstein confirms (via Twitter) that Williams is forgoing his remaining college eligibility and signing with agent Stephen Pina of ASM Sports.

Draft Notes: Sixers, Dunn, Bentil, Briscoe

Fresh off securing the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft, the Sixers won’t limit their options to LSU’s Ben Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Philadelphia is planning workouts for California forward Jaylen Brown, Providence point guard Kris Dunn and Kentucky combo guard Jamal Murray, Spears reports. The Sixers may also offer invitations to Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield and Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Dragan Bender. “The media has their darlings and that is perfectly fine,” Brown said of the attention surrounding Simmons and Ingram. “I’m just here to prove that I’m in the conversation with those two, if not better.” Brown also issued a challenge to the projected top two picks, saying, “Do they want to work out [against] me? I think that’s the question.”

There’s more draft-related news as Wednesday’s deadline for underclassmen to return to school approaches:

  • The results of Tuesday’s lottery may push Dunn out of the top five, according to Derek Bodner of USA Today. Bodner believes the best scenario for Dunn would have been for the Lakers to drop to No. 4 and ship their pick to the Sixers, who need help at point guard. If Simmons and Ingram are the first players selected, the next three teams — the Celtics, Suns and Wolves — all have established point guards on their roster.
  • Providence power forward Ben Bentil, who announced earlier today that he is staying in the draft, will work out for the Pacers Monday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. The sophomore will have a session in Orlando later this week.
  • Kentucky freshman Isaiah Briscoe has a workout scheduled this week for the Hawks, Zagoria tweets. Briscoe hasn’t decided whether to stay in the draft or return to school.
  • Briscoe will work out for the Wolves Monday, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Joining Briscoe will be Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet, BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, Florida’s Dorian Finney-Smith, Louisiana-Monroe’s Majok Deng and South Carolina’s Michael Carrera.
  • The Jazz believe in volume when it comes to workouts, writes Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Utah hosted Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey, Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell, Finney-Smith, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes, Xavier’s Jalen Reynolds and Mississippi State’s Gavin Ware on Sunday, and expects to work out dozens more before draft day. “We’re trying to find players, not only possibly for the Jazz but also for the [D-League Salt Lake City] Stars,” said vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin. “Get to know as many people as possible.”

Draft Notes: Simmons, Ferrell, Murray

While it’s not unanimous, the consensus around the league is that the Sixers will take Ben Simmons with the No.1 overall pick, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer“Everyone wants it to be a mystery and intrigue,” one scout told Pompey “It’s simple: Ben Simmons is the best player in college basketball. He’s one of maybe a handful of guys that can transition from college to the NBA this year. So what’s the problem?” We detailed Simmons’ strengths and weaknesses in our our Prospect Profile of the 19-year-old.

Here’s more on the upcoming draft:

  • No team has made a promise to draft Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, but scouts are constantly checking up on him through his agent and his former coaches, Chris Dortch of NBA.com writes in a piece that chronicles Ferrell’s path from being the nation’s top-ranked fourth grader to becoming a hopeful NBA prospect. “[The teams that reached out about Ferrell] think he’s going to make it in the NBA,” Indiana’s associate head coach Tim Buckley said.
  • Jamal Murray is confident he can play point guard in the NBA, Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes. “I did what I had to do at Kentucky. I’ve played point guard my whole life. But we had Tyler [Ulis] there,” Murray said of playing shooting guard in college. “I was just doing whatever we [needed] to win.” Ford doesn’t believe Murray will fall past the Pelicans at No. 6 overall.
  • The Jazz will work out Ferrell, Tyler Dorsey, Nigel Hayes, Jalen Reynolds, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gavin Ware on Sunday, per the team’s Twitter feed.