April 2013 Basketball Wiretap

James Young, Julius Randle Star In UK's Scrimmage

Oct 30, 2013 11:18 AM

James Young scored 25 on 11-of-16 shooting while Julius Randle added 21 as the Blue squad defeated the White 99-71 in Kentucky's Blue-White scrimmage.

Randle was impressive on both ends of the floor, adding eight rebounds.

Aaron Harrison added 19 points and six assists.

ESPN

Tags: Julius Randle, James Young, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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GM: Best Way For Us To Grab Superstar Is Tanking

Oct 29, 2013 12:00 PM

The ways in which NBA teams build a roster have been brought tightly into focus this season with so many teams unwilling to put a competitive team on the floor with the hopes of landing a high pick in the upcoming deep draft.

"Our team isn't good enough to win and we know it," said an anonymous general manager. "So this season we want to develop and evaluate our young players, let them learn from their mistakes -- and get us in position to grab a great player. The best way for us to do that is to lose a lot of games. This draft is loaded. There are potential All-Stars at the top, maybe even franchise changers. Sometimes my job is to understand the value of losing. 

"I know that sounds crazy, but if you're an NBA general manager like me, the last place you want to be is in the middle. There are only two outcomes there: Either make the playoffs and be first-round fodder for one of the premier teams or miss the playoffs and pick somewhere around 11th to 14th in the draft. Either way, the odds are that you stay in that middle range. It's a recipe for disaster.

"You need superstars to compete in this league, and the playing field for those guys is tilted toward a few big-market teams. They are demanding trades and getting together and deciding where they want to go in free agency. It's tough for us to compete with that. So a high lottery pick is all we have."

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Wiggins' Potential $180M Offer From Adidas May Be Hoax

Oct 18, 2013 12:42 PM

A report that adidas is prepared to offer an $180 million deal over 10 years to Andrew Wiggins may be the result of a hoax.

The $180 million figure comes from a letter supposedly from adidas group CEO Herbert Hainer to Wiggins' camp, but that is now believed to be a hoax.

"There is a fraudulent letter that claims to be from our company offering Mr. Wiggins a contract," said an adidas spokesman to SB Nation. "Any reasonable review of the letter would determine its lack of credibility. Beyond this, we do not comment on rumors or speculation about potential partnerships."

Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling, the reporter originally responsible for the story, responded on Twitter.

"I saw the Wiggins hoax memo and in response: My independent sources stand by their comments and had heard of no memo before talking to me."

Tom Ziller/SB Nation

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Rich Paul Considered Most Likely To Become Agent For Wiggins

Oct 15, 2013 2:17 PM

Rich Paul is considered the frontrunner to represent Andrew Wiggins.

Paul also represents LeBron James, as well as Canadians such as Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph and Myck Kabongo.

One NBA agent said he'd "be surprised" if Wiggins didn't end up with Paul. 

Paul reportedly met Wiggins last summer in Ohio while James was working out with Kevin Durant.

Jared Zwerling/Bleacher Report

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Report: Adidas Expected To Offer Huge Endorsement Deal To Andrew Wiggins

Oct 15, 2013 2:14 PM

Andrew Wiggins is the prime endorsement target for Adidas assuming he declares for the 2014 NBA Draft, according to three sources.

"(Adidas) is easily the front-runner, 100 percent," said Rich Lopez, the publisher of the popular sneaker website KixandtheCity.com.

"From what I'm hearing, (Adidas) is really high on him," an industry source said. "I've heard a range for sure, from like $140 to $180 million for like 10 years. That's a big deal for a kid coming out of school because most rookie deals are probably like four years."

Nike is also expected to bid for Wiggins, according to two sources. Wiggins wore Nikes on his AAU team, but Kansas wears Adidas.

"I'm hearing from people at Kansas that he's got a $180 million offer supposedly coming from Adidas," a source close to Wiggins' inner circle said. "But I also heard that Nike is going to match anything."

Jared Zwerling/Bleacher Report

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Self Not Expecting Wiggins To Put Up Durant, Beasley-Type Numbers

Oct 15, 2013 12:35 PM

Andrew Wiggins will begin his long-anticipated collegiate career next month with Kansas.

Expectations are high for Wiggins but he is more likely to impact the game in many small ways that don't show up in the box score than high scoring players we have seen in the Big 12.

"I don't think he has the mindset to be a natural, Michael Beasley-, Kevin Durant-guy that puts up numbers," said Bill Self. "I don't think that's the way he'll feel he can help the team the most. He's going to have games where he does it. There's going to be some games where he just doesn't feel it. But he's talented enough that he can impact the games just as much when he doesn't feel it because he can do a little bit of everything.

"The thing I'm trying to convince him to do is look to score, be aggressive. And I think his mindset is, I'll be aggressive when I get totally comfortable. Obviously, he's not close to being comfortable."

Mike DeCourcy/Sporting News

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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