Karl Anthony-Towns would currently be the New York Knicks' pick if they won the lottery.
The Knicks also like Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay, D'Angelo Russell and Justise Winslow in that order, according to sources.
The Knicks have a 38.7 percent chance of obtaining a top-two pick.
Phil Jackson has said he would likely keep their pick if it fell within the top-four, but would consider dealing their pick if it fell to fifth.
The Los Angeles Lakers are believed by Chad Ford to have Emmanuel Mudiay ahead of Jahlil Okafor on their board.
There could be some overlap with Julius Randle and Okafor, though they have Okafor ahead of D'Angelo Russell and Justise Winslow.
If the Lakers win the lottery, they are expected by Ford to pick Karl-Anthony Towns.
Willie Cauley-Stein posted similar numbers in his junior season as he did as a sophomore, but he significantly increased his draft stock.
Cauley-Stein is judged largely by his intangibles on defense.
"He got better," writes Chad Ford. "Not everything WCS does shows up on a stat sheet. But the big thing for him will be interviews. Lots of questions among NBA GMs on how dedicated he is to the game and personality stuff. He's a highly intelligent person and sometimes that scares NBA teams. They want guys who are focused on basketball 24/7. That's all they eat, drink or sleep. When guys have interests outside of basketball, and I think WCS does, they worry."
Henry Ellenson is a 2015 commitment to Marquette and Chad Ford believes he's the closest prospect he's seen to Kevin Love.
Ellenson is a projected top-10 pick for the 2016 NBA Draft.
Ellenson is a 6'10 power forward ranked fifth by ESPN for the incoming class of 2015.
The NBA announced that 91 players - 48 players from colleges/post-graduate institutions and 43 international players - have filed as early entry candidates for the 2015 NBA Draft presented by State Farm.
Players wishing to enter the 2015 NBA Draft were required to submit a letter to the NBA to be received no later than Sunday, April 26.
Players who have applied for early entry have the right to withdraw their names from consideration for the Draft by notifying the NBA of their decision in writing no later than 5 p.m. ET on Monday, June 15.
Following is the list of players from colleges and post-graduate institutions who have applied for early entry into the 2015 NBA Draft, which will be held Thursday, June 25.
Player School Height Status
Cliff Alexander Kansas 6-8 Freshman
Justin Anderson Virginia 6-6 Junior
Brandon Ashley Arizona 6-9 Junior
Devin Booker Kentucky 6-6 Freshman
Willie Cauley-Stein Kentucky 7-0 Junior
Sam Dekker Wisconsin 6-9 Junior
Michael Frazier II Florida 6-4 Junior
Olivier Hanlan Boston College 6-4 Junior
Montrezl Harrell Louisville 6-8 Junior
Aaron Harrison Kentucky 6-6 Sophomore
Andrew Harrison Kentucky 6-6 Sophomore
Tyler Harvey Eastern Washington 6-4 Sophomore
Jerome Hill Gardner-Webb 6-5 Junior
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson Arizona 6-7 Sophomore
R.J. Hunter Georgia State 6-5 Junior
Vince Hunter UTEP 6-8 Sophomore
Charles Jackson Tennessee Tech 6-10 Junior
Dakari Johnson Kentucky 7-0 Sophomore
Stanley Johnson Arizona 6-7 Freshman
Tyus Jones Duke 6-1 Freshman
Trevor Lacey North Carolina State 6-3 Junior
Kevon Looney UCLA 6-9 Freshman
Trey Lyles Kentucky 6-10 Freshman
Jarell Martin LSU 6-10 Sophomore
Chris McCullough Syracuse 6-10 Freshman
Jordan Mickey LSU 6-8 Sophomore
Jahlil Okafor Duke 6-11 Freshman
Kelly Oubre Kansas 6-7 Freshman
Ashton Pankey Manhattan 6-10 Junior
Cameron Payne Murray State 6-2 Sophomore
Terran Petteway Nebraska 6-6 Junior
Walter Pitchford Nebraska 6-10 Junior
Bobby Portis Arkansas 6-11 Sophomore
Michael Qualls Arkansas 6-6 Junior
Terry Rozier Louisville 6-1 Sophomore
D’Angelo Russell Ohio State 6-5 Freshman
Satnam Singh IMG Academy 7-1 Post-Graduate
Jherrod Stiggers Houston 6-5 Junior
Deonta Stocks West Georgia 6-1 Sophomore
Aaron Thomas Florida State 6-5 Junior
J.P. Tokoto North Carolina 6-6 Junior
Karl-Anthony Towns Kentucky 6-11 Freshman
Myles Turner Texas 6-11 Freshman
Robert Upshaw Washington 7-0 Sophomore
Rashad Vaughn UNLV 6-6 Freshman
Chris Walker Florida 6-10 Sophomore
Justise Winslow Duke 6-6 Freshman
Christian Wood UNLV 6-11 Sophomore
The following is the list of international players who have applied for early entry into the 2015 NBA Draft:
Player Team/Country of Team Height Status
Alberto Abalde Joventut (Spain) 6-7 1995 DOB
Dimitrios Agravanis Olympiacos (Greece) 6-10 1994 DOB
Wael Arakji Al Riyadi (Lebanon) 6-4 1994 DOB
Eleftherios Bochoridis Panathinaikos (Greece) 6-5 1994 DOB
Beka Burjanadze Coruna (Spain) 6-8 1994 DOB
Nedim Buza Spars Sarajevo (Bosnia) 6-8 1995 DOB
Alexandre Chassang ASVEL (France) 6-9 1994 DOB
George de Paula Pinheiros (Brazil) 6-6 1996 DOB
Andrey Desyatnikov Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia) 7-3 1994 DOB
Moussa Diagne Fuenlabrada (Spain) 6-11 1994 DOB
Lucas Dias Silva Pinheiros (Brazil) 6-9 1995 DOB
Ognjen Dobric FMP Beograd (Serbia) 6-6 1994 DOB
Simone Fontecchio Granarolo (Italy) 6-7 1995 DOB
Danilo Fuzaro Minas (Brazil) 6-4 1994 DOB
Marc Garcia Manresa (Spain) 6-6 1996 DOB
Humberto Gomes Pinheiros (Brazil) 6-5 1995 DOB
Kevin Harley Poitiers (France) 6-6 1994 DOB
Guillermo Hernangomez Sevilla (Spain) 6-11 1994 DOB
Juan Alberto Hernangomez Estudiantes (Spain) 6-7 1995 DOB
Mario Hezonja Barcelona (Spain) 6-8 1995 DOB
Mouhammadou Jaiteh Nanterre (France) 6-11 1994 DOB
Alpha Kaba Pau Orthez (France) 6-10 1996 DOB
Vladislav Korenyuk Dnipro (Ukraine) 6-11 1994 DOB
Dusan Kutlesic Metalac (Serbia) 6-6 1994 DOB
Jonghyun Lee Korea University (Korea) 6-9 1994 DOB
Timothe Luwawu Antibes (France) 6-7 1995 DOB
Nikola Milutinov Partizan (Serbia) 7-0 1994 DOB
Aleksej Nikolic Spars Sarajevo (Bosnia) 6-3 1995 DOB
Cedi Osman Anadolu Efes (Turkey) 6-8 1995 DOB
Miroslav Pasajlic Uzice (Serbia) 6-1 1995 DOB
Anzejs Pasecniks VEF Riga (Latvia) 7-1 1995 DOB
Oriol Pauli Gran Canaria (Spain) 6-7 1994 DOB
Kristaps Porzingis Sevilla (Spain) 7-1 1995 DOB
Nikola Radicevic Sevilla (Spain) 6-5 1994 DOB
Djoko Salic Spars Sarajevo (Bosnia) 6-11 1995 DOB
Marko Tejic Crvena Zvezda (Serbia) 6-10 1995 DOB
Juan Pablo Vaulet Bahia Basket (Argentina) 6-6 1996 DOB
Aleksandar Vezenkov Aris (Greece) 6-9 1995 DOB
Adin Vrabac Trier (Germany) 6-8 1994 DOB
Rade Zagorac Mega Leks (Serbia) 6-7 1995 DOB
Sergiy Zagreba Dnipro (Ukraine) 7-0 1994 DOB
Alexandr Zhigulin Penas Huesca (Spain) 6-8 1994 DOB
Paul Zipser Bayern Munich (Germany) 6-8 1994 DOB
# # #
Buddy Hield announced Friday morning that he will return to Oklahoma for his senior season.
Hield was named the Big 12 conference player of the year last season.
"It was a tough decision, and I obviously took it near the deadline," Hield said. "But I just went through the process. I listened to Coach Kruger, I listened to my mentors back home, my high school coach, and my mom and my family. I did a lot of research on players and the history of the NBA Draft. I just did what I felt was best for me and my family. I feel like if I come back I'll be in a better situation next year."
Guillermo Hernangomez of Sevilla will declare for the 2015 NBA Draft.
Hernangomez is considered a potential first round pick.
Hernangomez is one of just seven players in Spanish ACB history to post a PER of 20 or better at age or younger with Stanley Roberts, Tiago Splitter, Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio, Nikola Mirotic and Luis Scola on that list.
Tennessee Tech junior center Charles Jackson has declared for the 2015 NBA Draft and signed representation with agent Scott Nichols to turn pro, sources told RealGM.
As a rapidly developing fringe prospect, Jackson is expected to entice NBA teams in the second round of the draft with his youth and raw abilities at 6-foot-10. In 30 games this past season, Jackson ranked eighth in the NCAA in double-doubles with 18 -- tied with UNLV's Christian Wood and ahead of UCLA big man Kevon Looney.
Jackson plans to go full force in pre-draft workouts with the intention to stay in the June draft, and he could use the process to rise into a selection based on potential and positional skill. Still, the 21-year-old has until June 15 to elect to pull out of the draft and play the season in the NBA Development League or overseas.
Jackson stood just six feet early in his high school career and began his collegiate career in juco at Lassen for the 2012-13 season.
After transferring and spending one year at Southern Idaho, Jackson played his lone season of Division I basketball at Tennessee Tech where he was awarded the Ohio Valley Conference newcomer of the year. He averaged 13 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 57 percent from the field this past season.
For draft preparation, Jackson is working out in his hometown Sacramento under Gus Armstead, who trains NBA players including the New Orleans Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson.
Moussa Diagne — a 6-foot-11 center prospect out of Senegal — has declared his name for the 2015 NBA Draft as an early entry, a source told RealGM.
Diagne, 21, has played the past several seasons in the ACB league Fuenlabrada. This season, Diagne averaged 4.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and nearly one block per game.
Diagne is viewed as a potential second-round draft pick, intriguing NBA teams at the adidas camp in Italy last year. His agency, Interperformances, confirmed Thursday night that paperwork has been submitted to enter Diagne into the draft.
Stanley Johnson has declared for the 2015 NBA Draft, leaving Arizona after one season.
Johnson is expected to be a lottery pick as one of the better wing prospects.
Johnson averaged 13.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 28.4 minutes per game for the Wildcats.
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