Draft Rumors: Pistons, Suns, Doncic, Z. Smith
The Pistons‘ meetings at this week’s draft combine have included an interesting twist, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, who writes that the prospects interviewed by Detroit talked about being outfitted with a virtual reality headset.
“They didn’t really ask any tricky questions,” Kansas guard Devonte’ Graham said of his meeting with the Pistons. “They did a virtual reality where I was like in the headphones and goggles and I was making plays – see if you made the right reads and stuff like that. It was cool.”
Penn State’s Tony Carr had a similar account of his interview with the Pistons: “They definitely did some interesting virtual-reality testing things just to kind of figure out your decision making and things like that (with) the 3-D glasses. It was pretty cool. I actually watched my little brother play with them but I’ve never used them myself.”
According to Langlois, the list of prospects who have met – or will meet – with the Pistons at the combine also included Tyus Battle (Syracuse), Shake Milton (SMU), Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Brian Bowen (South Carolina), Jevon Carter (West Virginia), and Trevon Duval (Duke). In a tweet, Langlois adds Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo to that list as well.
Here are a few more draft notes and rumors:
- Sources familiar with the Suns‘ thinking tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that new head coach Igor Kokoskov likely won’t be too involved with the team’s decision on the No. 1 pick. Kokoskov may have some input, but the Suns don’t want to put him in a tough position by creating the impression that he lobbied for or against Luka Doncic, who has played for Kokoskov on the Serbian national team.
- Speaking of Doncic, agent Bill Duffy tells Deveney that “Luka has stated no particular thought on any NBA teams.” The comment is certainly intended a response to those who interpreted Doncic’s lack of commitment to the NBA as a signal that he doesn’t want to play for the Kings or another team that might use a high pick on him.
- Deveney has another draft-related tidbit for us, writing in a separate article that no player has been drawing more interest this week from “late-lottery” executives than Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith. In Jonathan Givony’s latest mock draft at ESPN.com, Smith comes off the board at No. 16, but he could end up sneaking into the back end of the lottery, as Deveney details.
- According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link), the Pelicans, Hawks, Cavaliers, Kings, Thunder, Grizzlies, Jazz, Spurs, Sixers, Nets, and Timberwolves have reached out to express interest in IMG Academy prospect Anfernee Simons.
Draft Updates: M. Robinson, Hutchison, Edwards, More
Two notable prospects have withdrawn from this week’s NBA draft combine, according to reports. Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com tweets that Mitchell Robinson won’t participate in the event, while Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets that Boise State’s Chandler Hutchison has also withdrawn. In each case, it’s not clear if the player has received a promise from a team or if there’s another reason for his decision.
While NBA evaluators have four years of film on Hutchison to watch, Robinson remains one of the mystery men of this year’s draft class. Due to eligibility issues, he didn’t play a single minute of college basketball, so his draft stock remains cloudy.
Let’s round up a few more draft-related news items and notes…
- Purdue guard Carsen Edwards was spotted at the combine, so it appears he received a last-minute invite due to the late withdrawals, tweets Givony.
- Following the official NBA combine this week, another event called the Pro Basketball Combine will take place next week. The Pro Basketball Combine released its full list of participants today, with Deng Adel, Maverick Rowan, and LiAngelo Ball among the names on that list.
- A handful of early entrants have withdrawn – or will withdraw – from the draft to return to school next season, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN (Twitter link). Those players include Malik Hines (UMass), Kalob Ledoux (McNeese State), Malik Martin (South Florida) and Zane Martin (Towson), with Ledoux and Malik Martin expected to transfer.
- A ton of meetings will take place at the combine this week, so it’s likely not worth reading too much into each one, but here are a few early updates: The Pistons are meeting with Kansas guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (Twitter link via Vince Ellis of The Detroit Press), the Bucks are interviewing Texas Tech’s Zhaire Smith (Twitter link via Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times), the Timberwolves are interviewing Anfernee Simons (Twitter link via Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News), and the Knicks are meeting with Trae Young (link via Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News).
Zhaire Smith To Enter 2018 NBA Draft; Hire Agent
Texas Tech freshman Zhaire Smith is expected to sign with an agent and remain in the 2018 NBA Draft, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Smith, 18, averaged 11.3 PPG and 5.0 RPG this season for the Red Raiders.
We had previously relayed that Smith was testing the NBA Draft waters without hiring an agent, but the decision to forgo the remainder of his college eligibility makes sense given his potential to be picked in the lottery and the money he stands to make.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony currently ranks him 17th overall on his Top 100 Prospects, and a rookie salary for the 17th overall selection in this summer’s draft could be as high as $2.46MM.
Zhaire Smith To Test 2018 NBA Draft Waters
Texas Tech swingman Zhaire Smith has decided to go through the NBA draft process for 2018, he announced today (via Twitter). Smith won’t sign with an agent, giving him the option of withdrawing his name by the NCAA’s May 30 deadline and returning to school for the 2018/19 season.
“I am excited to say that I am going to enter my name in NBA Draft without an agent,” Smith wrote. “I would like to see where I stand after my freshman year. I would like to thank coach [Chris] Beard, my parents, and the best fans in college basketball.”
Smith, 18, had a solid freshman year for the Red Raiders, averaging 11.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.1 BPG, and 1.1 SPG with a shooting line of .556/.450/.717.
Describing Smith as “long-armed and explosive,” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony recently wrote that the youngster was originally viewed as more of a 2019 draft candidate. That could still ultimately be the case if Smith withdraws from this year’s draft and plays out his sophomore year with Texas Tech. However, he would be one of the best athletes in this year’s class and is considered a potential first-round pick — Givony ranks him 17th overall on ESPN’s big board.