March 2016 Basketball Wiretap

Julian Jacobs To Declare For NBA Draft

Mar 31, 2016 12:42 PM

Julian Jacobs will declare for the 2016 NBA Draft, leaving USC after his junior season.

Jacobs is considered one of the best athletes in the class.

NBA front-office executives are expecting Jacobs to solidify a second-round selection early in the draft process and potentially raise his stock through team workouts because of his high motor.

Jacobs averaged 11.6 points, a team-high 5.5 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 31 minutes per game in 31 games for the Trojans.

 

Shams Charania/The Vertical

Tags: Julian Jacobs, USC Trojans, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Buddy Hield's Tournament Unlikely To Have Major Impact On Draft Stock

Mar 30, 2016 12:06 PM

While Buddy Hield has had an outstanding NCAA Tournament and has become a household name, it is unlikely to have a major impact on his draft stock.

“It’s nothing we didn’t know or haven’t seen already, but it’s good to see him doing this on the biggest stage he’s played on in his college career so far,” an NBA general Manager said.

Hield hoped to enter the NBA Draft last season but feedback he received from teams indicated he'd likely be a mid-second round pick.

Hield is now expected to be drafted in the lottery after a successful junior season.

Tyus Jones, Shabazz Napier, Luke Hancock, Kyle Singler and Wayne Ellington are five of the last seven players to be named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Jonathan Givony/The Vertical

Tags: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Cheick Diallo Declares For NBA Draft, Will Wait On Hiring Agent

Mar 28, 2016 1:50 PM

Cheick Diallo will declare for the 2016 NBA Draft, leaving Kansas after his freshman season.

Diallo has a chance to be selected in the first round, but the opportunity to be selected in his preseason-projected lottery slot would come from excelling in the NBA Draft Combine and team workouts.

Diallo will make a decision on an agent after the combine.

In 2015, he was named MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game and co-MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic with Arizona’s Allonzo Trier.

Shams Charania/The Vertical

Tags: Cheick Diallo, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Tim Quarterman Leaves LSU For NBA Draft

Mar 28, 2016 1:10 PM

Tim Quarterman will declare for the 2016 NBA draft and hire an agent, leaving LSU after his junior season.

Quarterman, 21, could garner interest in the first round of the draft and is ranked as the No. 7 junior by The Vertical draft insider Jonathan Givony. 

Quarterman is a big point guard who averaged 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists this past season.

Shams Charania/The Vertical

Tags: Tim Quarterman, LSU Tigers, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Stephen Zimmerman Leaving UNLV For NBA Draft

Mar 27, 2016 5:28 PM

Stephen Zimmerman will enter the 2016 NBA Draft and sign with an agent.

Jonathan Givony, the Vertical’s draft insider, has Zimmerman at No. 26 in his most recent mock draft.

Zimmerman averaged 10.5 points and 8.7 rebounds for UNLV.

Adrian Wojnarowski/The Vertical

Tags: Stephen Zimmerman, UNLV Runnin' Rebels, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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76ers Interested In Drafting Kris Dunn

Mar 27, 2016 1:34 PM

The Philadelphia 76ers are interested in drafting Kris Dunn in June.

Philadelphia is still looking for their long-term solution at point guard.

The 76ers could also pursue a trade for a point guard as they did at the deadline for Dennis Schroder and Jeff Teague, or in free agency.

Keith Pompey/Philadelphia Inquirer

Tags: Kris Dunn, Philadelphia Sixers, Providence Friars, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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John Calipari: All Draft-Eligible Kentucky Players To Declare

Mar 23, 2016 9:35 PM

Every Kentucky player eligible to declare will submit their names for this year's draft.

John Calipari posted tweets Wednesday saying Kentucky players of age will declare for the draft, though all might not attend the league's invitation-only combine.

Players declaring for the draft can return to school if they don't sign with an agent, have up to 10 days after the pre-draft combine to withdraw from consideration and can try out with an NBA team.

"It's a true win-win for the student-athlete," wrote Calipari on Twitter.

Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray and Skal Labissiere are considered likely draft choices, but Calipari said walk-ons also will declare.

Freshmen Isaac Humphries and Tai Wynyard won't because they will not turn 19 this year.

ESPN

Tags: Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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NBA Continues To Prefer Two Years Of College Before Draft Eligibility

Mar 23, 2016 1:46 PM

Adam Silver was asked on Tuesday where he currently stands on the rule that American-born high school players must go to college for at least one year before becoming eligible for the NBA Draft.

"I’m a big fan of college basketball," said Silver. "I’ve been watching the tournament. It’s been incredibly exciting. I’d say from the league’s standpoint, our stance remains the same. We’d rather these young men spend two years out of high school rather than one, which is our current rule, before entering the NBA.

"Having said that, I recognize it’s an incredibly complicated issue, and there are all kinds of life factors for these players that they need to balance. I understand it, the right to earn a living as a professional, the league interest in their spending additional time away from their homes, the maturation of them as young men, the maturation of them as players. We try to balance all of that. So we’re currently at 19 as the minimum age. Again, I recognize that there are two sides to this issue. I’m very sympathetic to the players and their families in terms of they’re feeling they’re at the point in their lives at 18 that they should be able to come directly to the NBA.

"At the same time, I’m making a business decision for the NBA, which is to the betterment of the league and the roughly 430 jobs we have in this league. We feel that these players are better off having more time developing as players before they enter into this league.

"And I’ll add one other factor, which is the more we study the wear-and-tear on their bodies, we’re now seeing the type of injuries in young players that we used to see when they were much older. I think there needs to be more of a holistic response to this. It isn’t just about whether the minimum age should be 19 versus 20. I think, as I’ve said before, we need to get together with the larger basketball community and talk about the number of games these young players, boys, are playing, beginning 12, 13, 14, often eight games in a weekend at tournaments. For example, I’ve said before, in Little League, there’s a pitch count. And this is a place where historically at least when I got involved in the league, people were telling the NBA to stay out of youth basketball. I think it’s clear now we need to be more involved in youth basketball.

"The age issue is part of it, but I think back to the question about Kobe, it’s something that he’s been particularly focused on. The last two times we’ve met, it’s almost exclusively what he wanted to talk about as he was stepping away from the game, about his experience growing up as a player, largely outside of the United States, versus sort of how the system works now and how we can do a better job preparing these young men for the NBA."

Silver was also asked how big of a factor this rule will be in CBA negotiations with the players.

"Without getting into specifics, it’s something we continue to discuss. But as I said, and Jeanie Buss is on our Labor Relations Committee, it’s not as if we’re just adversaries on this issue. It’s a discussion with the players in the room about what’s the best way to develop players going forward in the league."

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA CBA

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Malik Newman To Enter Draft, Won't Hire Agent

Mar 22, 2016 4:15 PM

Malik Newman will enter the 2016 NBA Draft but will not hire an agent.

Players can return to school after the NBA Draft combine if they don't hire an agent.

Newman is not currently projected as a first round pick, but was a highly coveted recruit for Mississippi State.

Newman averaged 11.3 points as a freshman.

Jon Rothstein/CBS Sports

Tags: Malik Newman, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Kris Dunn Leaving Providence For NBA Draft

Mar 22, 2016 3:17 PM

Kris Dunn will declare for the 2016 NBA Draft and leave Providence.

Dunn averaged 16.4 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.3 rebounds this past season.

Providence was eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Dunn is widely expected to be a high lottery pick.

Jon Rothstein/CBS Sports

Tags: Kris Dunn, Providence Friars, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Yale's Makai Mason To Test Draft Waters

Pete Thamel/Sports Illustrated

Ben Simmons Publicly Declares For 2016 NBA Draft

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Cal's Tyrone Wallace Breaks Bone In Right Hand

Shams Charania/The Vertical

Brandon Ingram Would Be No. 2 Prospect Only Once In Last Nine Drafts

Kevin Pelton/ESPN

Ben Simmons Has Disappointed But Remains Atop Team's Boards

Chad Ford/ESPN

Ben Simmons Compared To 'Taller Rondo, More Athletic Turner, Skinnier Royce White'

Jonathan Givony/The Vertical

Ben Simmons To Hire Klutch Sports As Agent

Adrian Wojnarowski/The Vertical

Ben Simmons Included On Australia's Extended Olympic Squad

AP

GMs, Scouts Believe Ben Simmons Remains Consensus No. 1 Pick

Chad Ford/ESPN