And-Ones: Martin, Boatright, Vaughn
LSU big man Jarell Martin has a mid-first-round draft promise from a team and will likely shut down all workouts, league sources have informed Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Martin is currently the No. 29 ranked prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots the 21-year-old as the 41st best player in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Here’s more from around the league:
- UConn point guard Ryan Boatright told Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links (Twitter link) that the Clippers, Blazers, and Nets are high on him as a potential draftee. Boatright worked out for Portland earlier this week, is in Los Angeles today, and has a workout scheduled with Brooklyn on Monday.
- Duke point guard Tyus Jones has a workout scheduled for Wednesday with the Bulls, a second workout for the Rockets on Friday, and a showcase for the Suns on June 22nd, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. You can view our full prospect profile for Jones here.
- With the free agent signing period looming on the horizon, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) runs down the ideal free agent fits for teams in the Eastern Conference. Doolittle didn’t neglect the other half of the league, you can view his thoughts on the Western Conference here.
- UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn has a workout scheduled for today with the Hawks, and will show the Timberwolves what he is capable of this Monday, Jon Krawczysnki of The Associated Press relays.
- Greg Whittington has taken an unorthodox path to the NBA thus far, and the former Georgetown Hoya hopes to overcome his injury woes and hear his name called on draft night, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes.“He’s kind of chosen a difficult path but he has some talent,” said Austin Ainge, the Celtics’ director of player personnel. “So we thought we’d check him out.” A torn ACL ended the big man’s college career, and saw him play in the NBA D-League last season for Westchester, the Knicks‘ affiliate, Blakely adds. “Feeling good,” Whittington said when asked about his recovery. “The knee is better now. It’s been two years since I played. Getting back into this is big.”
Southwest Notes: Barea, Grizzlies, Hanga, Jones
The Mavericks have interest in re-signing J.J. Barea, but only to a point, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com examines. Barea is seeking a multiyear deal with an average salary around $3MM, as MacMahon reported earlier, while the Mavs want him to sign another minimum salary contract. MacMahon predicts that the sides will settle on a two-year deal with a starting salary close to the value of the $2.139MM biannual exception. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace admits that the player the team takes with the 25th overall pick probably won’t be a factor for Memphis next season, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays in a subscription-only piece. “When you see what’s going on with the rookies and their usage with the playoff teams, how many rookies play for a playoff team?” Wallace said. “So you’re building your base of talent. You’d love to have a rookie come in and play right off the bat but you can’t draft on that premise. You’re drafting for overall talent, who is going to have the best career and who can provide the most value for that pick down the road.”
- Small forward Adam Hanga tells BB1.hu, a website in his native Hungary, that he’ll attend a Spurs mini-camp in San Antonio but prefers to remain overseas (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The draft-and-stash prospect whose NBA rights belong to the Spurs added that he wants to play again for Laboral Kuxta, the Spanish club that loaned him to Italy’s Avellino this season.
- Former Duke point guard Tyus Jones has returned to action from a back injury, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Chad Ford of ESPN.com had speculated that the injury was actually a ruse to cover up a promise from the Rockets, but Jones’ workout with Houston was cut short, according to Wolfson, apparently because of his back. In any case, the Timberwolves are interested in auditioning Jones but haven’t scheduled a workout with him yet, Wolfson adds.
Draft Notes: Payne, Mudiay, Wood, Upshaw
The Knicks are giving serious thought to drafting Murray State point guard Cameron Payne, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. That’s sign that the team is also strongly considering trading down from the fourth pick, since Payne isn’t widely considered a top-four prospect, Begley surmises. The notion that Payne has a promise from a team late in the lottery doesn’t hold too much water, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece, suggesting that Payne has a decent chance to rise all the way to the Kings at the No. 6 spot. That would exceed Payne’s goal of going as high as seventh that the point guard told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors that he’d set for himself. Here’s more from around the draft:
- It appears that No. 6 is the floor for Emmanuel Mudiay, as a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that the Kings would snap him up if he were still available when they pick.
- UNLV power forward Christian Wood‘s stock is taking a beating, as Ford writes in the above-linked piece, suggesting that Wood is in danger of falling out of the first round. Ford also speculates that the back injury that is to keep Tyus Jones from working out for a while is cover for a promise from the Rockets at pick No. 18.
- Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw is optimistic that a heart issue that prompted him to stop workouts last week isn’t serious, citing similar scares in the past, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Upshaw is expected to be cleared to resume predraft prep this week, Howard-Cooper adds (Twitter links).
- The Mavericks, Spurs, Rockets, Celtics and Kings are among the teams interested in Indian-born center Satnam Singh, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Boston had him in for a workout, but it’s unclear if the other teams have or plan to do so.
Southwest Notes: Rockets, Jones, Mavs
With the Rockets being eliminated from the Western Conference Finals, team owner Leslie Alexander said the team could add another star player to its roster provided the opportunity presented itself, Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston writes. When asked about making marquee roster additions, Alexander said, “Yes, but I don’t think the odds are as good as they were in the previous years. If you want to win big, you have to take big risks. I’ve always been willing to take the big risk to win big. I think most of the group will be intact. There’s always going to be change, obviously, but most of the group will be intact.” Alexander also believes his team would have advanced to the NBA Finals if not for injuries to Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas, Berman notes.
Here’s more from the NBA’s Southwest Division:
- Duke point guard Tyus Jones has workouts scheduled for next week with both the Mavericks and the Rockets, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. You can view our full prospect profile for Jones here.
- The Mavs held workouts on Friday for Brandon Ashley (Arizona), Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse), and D.J. Newbill (Penn State) Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (Twitter link).
- Rockets guard James Harden wants the team to add another playmaker to its roster so he won’t need to facilitate the offense as often as he did this season, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “That’s one of the conversations me and [GM] Daryl [Morey] are going to have [and] the coaches,” Harden said. “That’s one of the pieces to add, but that’s later conversations. We’ll be all right. We’re very confident in the group we have. This summer we have to work hard and be ready for next year.”
Western Notes: Jordan, Draft, Nuggets
The Mavericks don’t have a great track record of attracting top-tier free agents to Dallas, but the franchise badly needs to land Clippers center DeAndre Jordan, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPNDallas.com writes. Jordan represents the Mavs’ last hope to put a championship-caliber team together around Dirk Nowitzki, Taylor opines. The 26-year-old big man has expressed through back channels that he’ll be “extremely interested” in signing with the Mavs this offseason, but the Clippers have indicated that re-signing Jordan is the team’s top priority.
Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Western Conference:
- The Nuggets will begin their pre-draft workouts on Wednesday, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports (Twitter links). The first group to display their wares for Denver will consist of J.J. Avila, Askia Booker, Derek Cooke, Alex Herrera, Stanton Kidd, and Mitch McCarron, Dempsey notes. Working out for the team on Thursday will be Daniel Bejarano, Michael Frazier II, Cam Griffin, and Brett Olson, the Denver Post Scribe relays.
- Arizona guard T.J. McConnell said that he worked out for the Spurs, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Working out for the Jazz on Wednesday will be Dallin Bachynski, Ryan Harrow, Kendall Gray, Tyler Harvey, Hugh Greenwood, and Tyler Kalinoski, the team announced.
- Duke freshman point guard Tyus Jones‘ first team workout will be for the Mavericks this coming Monday, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN reports (via Twitter).
- The Timberwolves have workouts scheduled with Harvey and Michael Qualls for this Friday, Wolfson tweets.
Draft Notes: Alexander, Jones, Wood
Kansas big man Cliff Alexander‘s draft stock has plummeted since the beginning of his freshman campaign, and Alexander went from a projected lottery pick to a probable second-rounder, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv writes. Discussing his decline, Alexander said, “I kind of expected it. My stock was going to go down, how my season was going but it don’t matter where you get picked at. It all depends on how long you stay in the NBA.” An NBA scout explained Alexander’s slide to Zagoria by saying, “His draft stock has slipped because of his limited upside as an undersized center. It is a shame that the NCAA ruled him ineligible at the end of his freshman year because he really needed at least one more year of college. He is D-League guy no matter where he gets drafted.”
Here’s more from the NBA Draft:
- Duke freshman Tyus Jones is confident that he is the best pure playmaker in the 2015 NBA draft, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News relays. “There are a lot of great point guards in this draft,” Jones said. “This draft is strong and heavy with point guards. As far as pure, I think I am the best one. I am not an attacking or a driving point guard, but I do think I am the best pure point guard in terms of running a team.” You can check out our full prospect profile for Jones here.
- ESPN.com’s Bradford Doolittle broke down what the Sixers‘ needs are heading into the 2015 draft, as well as the franchise’s potential targets with each of its picks. Doolittle also provided an overview for the Magic.
- UNLV’s Christian Wood understands that he is a project and the team that drafts him will do so based more on his upside than his past production, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. “Yes, I know I’m based off potential,” Wood said. “But I think I can produce at the next level and that’s why I made the decision to come up. I feel like I have to get stronger. Especially at the next level, there are guys that [will be tougher]. If DeAndre Jordan was guarding me, how am I going to back DeAndre Jordan down in the post? You know? He’s a big guy. So that’s one thing I need to work on.” Wood is currently the 23rd best prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) slots him at No. 25.
Northwest Notes: Freeland, Jazz, Draft
Center Joel Freeland can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Blazers tender him a qualifying offer worth $3,766,890, and Sean Meagher of the Oregonian, along with a panel of writers, runs down the case for the team to retain the big man. While Freeland’s numbers don’t stand out, he can be a solid backup when healthy, the panel notes. Working against Freeland is the fact that he is relatively easy to replace, though there is mutual interest in the 28-year-old returning to Rip City next season, the writers add.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Jazz interviewed UNLV’s Christian Wood, Arizona’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, and Chris McCullough of Syracuse, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune relays in a series of tweets. Also scoring an interview with Utah was Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant, Jones adds.
- Arizona forward Stanley Johnson is set to interview with representatives from the Jazz on Saturday, Jones tweets.
- The Jazz also have an interest in Cameron Payne, and the team is expected to bring him in for an individual workout, Jones adds (Twitter link). Utah also wants to schedule individual workouts with Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky and Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre, Jones relays.
- The Trail Blazers interviewed Arkansas’ Bobby Portis and Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell, both forwards, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (Twitter links).
- Duke point guard Tyus Jones met with the Timberwolves today, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune writes. Jones, who is a native of Minnesota, dished on his excitement about joining the NBA, Zgoda relays. “Every kid who plays basketball dreams it, but it’s one of those things that might not seem realistic,” Jones said. “You don’t necessarily see a lot of guys from Minnesota go to the NBA. Especially for me, being out of Apple Valley, it doesn’t seem like it’s possible. But it’s just one of those things: If you work hard, put your mind to something, you can do it. I’m proud to be from Apple Valley, Minnesota, and I’m very excited about this opportunity.”
Celtics Notes: Trades, Young, Draft Combine
A league source suggests to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that the impending leap in the salary cap for 2016/17 will make teams around the league more willing to take on sizable contracts in trades. Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren also sees a more liquid trade market and more activity ahead, as he tells Bulpett.
“I think so,” Zarren said. “I think there’s just a lot of teams in the middle in the NBA right now, and they all sort of feel like they need to do something. That will create more opportunities for us, because we’ve got as many assets as any other team, if not more.”
The Celtics have only one eight-figure salary on the books for next season, the nearly $10.106MM owed to Gerald Wallace, as Bulpett points out, and Boston is willing to attach a first-round pick to him to ship him out in a trade, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported last month. While we wait to see if the Celtics can top the 11 trades they made in 2014/15, here’s more from Boston:
- One opposing GM is high on James Young, telling Bulpett for the same piece that last year’s No. 17 overall pick would be generating top-10 buzz this year if he had stayed in school another year. Young spent extensive time in the D-League this season.
- Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe adds Bobby Portis, Anthony Brown, Kelly Oubre, Dez Wells, Chris McCullough, Terry Rozier and Tyus Jones to the list of players who’ve interviewed with the Celtics at the draft combine (Twitter links), to go along with those previously reported.
- Boston is slated to speak with Devin Booker, Myles Turner, Kevon Looney, Pat Connaughton and Jordan Mickey today, a source tells Himmelsbach (Twitter link).
Western Notes: Matthews, Draft, Young
Jabari Young of CSNNW.com wouldn’t be surprised if Wesley Matthews gives the Blazers a discount to re-sign him this summer. Young interprets GM Neil Olshey‘s tone from his season-ending press conference as a signal that the team will pursue a new deal with the shooting guard. “We know his value to us,” Olshey said, adding that “We also know he’s going to have market value around the league. That’s another competitive part of the free agent process that we’re going to have to participate in.”
Here’s the latest out of the Western Conference:
- The Blazers are scheduled to meet with UNLV’s Christian Wood, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (Twitter links). Portland is also expected to take a close look at big man Myles Turner, Young notes.
- Seth Curry will join the Pelicans‘ summer league squad, Shams Charania of RealGM tweets. Curry made two appearances for the Suns during the 2014/15 season while on a lone 10-day contract.
- Oregon senior guard Joseph Young interviewed with the Spurs, Pelicans, Knicks, Wizards, and Clippers today, Jabari Young tweets.
- Sean Meagher of The Oregonian looks at Blazers point guard Tim Frazier, who inked a multiyear deal with the team this season, and what the player’s role might be next season. Frazier’s minimum salary arrangement with Portland is non-guaranteed.
- The list of players whom the Thunder have interviewed during the combine includes Kelly Oubre, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Tyus Jones, Terry Rozier, Turner, and Stanley Johnson, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman relays (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Northwest Notes: Bjelica, Draft, Wright, Kalamian
Timberwolves draft-and-stash prospect Nemanja Bjelica has won the Euroleague’s MVP award, the overseas circuit announced. The versatile 6’10” standout for Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker averaged 11.9 points and 8.6 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game in Euroleague play. Still, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities finds it tough to picture the Wolves giving him a deal comparable to the more than $16.631MM the Bulls shelled out to draft-and-stash gem Nikola Mirotic last summer (Twitter link). The 27-year-old Bjelica would seek just that sort of deal if were to make the jump to the NBA this summer, as Basketball Insiders contributor David Pick recently wrote. There’s more on the Wolves amid the latest from the Northwest Division:
- Frank Kaminsky, Tyler Harvey, Joseph Young and Terry Rozier are among the draft prospects who interviewed Wednesday with the Timberwolves, reports Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (on Twitter). Minnesota native Tyus Jones is set to meet with the Wolves on Friday, Wolfson hears (Twitter link).
- Dorell Wright‘s playing time cratered this season, but The Oregonian‘s Joe Freeman points to his locker room presence as reason why the Blazers would be well-served re-signing him if he’s willing to accept a pay cut from the $3.135MM he made this season, as Freeman writes in a roundtable piece. Still, fellow Oregonian scribe Mike Richman believes Wright will look elsewhere for more playing time, while Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com and Erik Gundersen say that where he plays next season will depend on what other free agents decide to do.
- New Thunder head coach Billy Donovan won’t be keeping assistant coach Rex Kalamian on the Oklahoma City staff, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Some believe the longtime top aide to ex-Thunder head man Scott Brooks has the capability to become an NBA head coach someday, according to Stein.