San Diego State senior Matt Mitchell has hired an agent…

San Diego State senior Matt Mitchell has hired an agent and officially declared for the 2021 NBA draft, USA TODAY SMG’s Rookie Wire has learned. Mitchell, a lengthy 6-foot-6 senior with a plus wingspan, won the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year behind 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 2020-21. As a defender, he had the second-best steal percentage in the conference and he earned MWC First-Team All-Defense consideration. Mitchell was then honored as the MWC Tournament MVP and he helped his squad make an appearance in March Madness.

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Kentucky senior Olivier Sarr declared for the 2021 NBA Draft on Tuesday. Sarr, who transferred from Wake Forest last season, averaged 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.
San Diego State senior Matt Mitchell has hired an agent and officially declared for the 2021 NBA draft, USA TODAY SMG’s Rookie Wire has learned. Mitchell, a lengthy 6-foot-6 senior with a plus wingspan, won the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year behind 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 2020-21.
On Thursday, the Michigan Wolverines got some big news as senior leader Isaiah Livers announced he would be declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft. He put together an outstanding career in Ann Arbor and will now take his talents to the next level. This was an anticipated decision, but was made official on Thursday.
On Friday, Mobley’s younger brother, Evan, declared for the NBA Draft. A likely top-five pick, Evan Mobley followed Isaiah to USC out of Rancho Christian High.
The most acclaimed prospect in the history of USC hoops is officially on his way to the NBA. Evan Mobley declared for the NBA draft on Friday, closing the final chapter of a single storybook season in which the 7-footer helped propel a program revival, swept the Pac-12 awards and led USC to the Elite Eight.
Mobley’s decision to declare had been expected ever since he committed to USC in August 2019 as the highest rated recruit in the program’s history. But how he announced on Friday was unique. The top prospect will auction off his draft declaration as a one-of-a-kind nonfungible token (NFT) titled “League Bound.”
Alabama’s leading scorer guard Jaden Shackelford is testing the NBA draft waters. Shackelford announced on social media Thursday night that he was entering the draft but wouldn’t hire an agent, leaving the door open for a return to the university.
Duke sophomore Matthew Hurt announced Wednesday that he will declare for the 2021 NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility by hiring an agent. Hurt was named first-team All-ACC and was named the ACC's most improved player after averaging 18.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4% from 3-point range. "I'm so appreciative of Coach K, the coaches and staff at Duke for always trusting and believing in me," Hurt wrote on social media. "It was always a dream of mine to play at Duke, and it's also a dream of mine to play in the NBA."
Iowa wing Joe Wieskamp will test the 2021 NBA Draft waters, Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said on Wednesday during his press conference.
UNLV senior center Cheikh Mbacke Diong announced that he is entering the NBA draft without an agent — and the NCAA’s transfer portal — all but ending his career with the Rebels, according to an interview he did with ESPN.
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson announced that he has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft today. “I am grateful to say that with prayer and discussion with Coach (Bill) Self and my family, I will test the NBA draft process,” said Wilson. Wilson will retain NCAA eligibility while testing the draft process.
Miami Hurricanes redshirt senior guard Kameron McGusty has decided to enter his name into the NBA draft, but that doesn’t mean his time at UM is necessarily done. “I am entering my name into the 2021 NBA Draft, while maintaining my collegiate eligibility at the University of Miami,” McGusty said in a social media statement on Monday evening.
Junior center Kevin Samuel announced his intentions to test the 2021 NBA Draft waters on Monday night. Samuel, who is scheduled to graduate this spring, posted a lengthy message on his Twitter account about his decision. In part, it read: “I’ve decided to enter the NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility.”
Virginia guard Trey Murphy III will test the NBA Draft waters, but will not hire an agent leaving the door open to a potential return to Charlottesville next season.
Marquette’s Dawson Garcia is ready to test the NBA draft waters. The talented freshman announced on Monday night he is putting his name into the draft but will maintain his college eligibility by not hiring an agent.
Syracuse’s Alan Grifin will enter the NBA Draft and is expected to sign with an agent, according to sources. A 6-5 swingman, Griffin played one season with the Orange after two seasons with Illinois. He averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds in 28 games at Syracuse.
Sophomore guard Scotty Pippen Jr. has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft, according to his social media accounts Saturday morning. Pippen Jr. stated his intentions to declare for the NBA Draft, and he will retain his college eligibility by not signing with an agent as he initially goes through the process.
Illinois senior Trent Frazier announced Friday on social media he will use an NCAA-approved agent to help him enter the NBA draft, but he intends to maintain his eligibility as he explores the process. “To my teammates, my brothers, and all of Illini Nation, I want to say thank you for being part of this special journey,” Frazier’s announcement read. “We have created memories that will last forever. You guys took me in and helped me grow into the person I am today. The support you guys gave me has been overwhelming.”
Fighting Illini senior Trent Frazier is now the third player on the team to declare for the 2021 NBA Draft. Frazier joins Ayo Dosunmu and Giorgi Bezhanishvili as 2021 draft entrants. He is the second to confirm he plans to hire an agent, joining Dosunmu in that regard.
Moussa Cisse announced Tuesday he is declaring for the NBA Draft. The 6-foot-10 center recently completed his freshman campaign at Memphis after enrolling a year early following a standout season at Lausanne. In a statement he posted on social media, Cisse said he will not sign with an agent in order to maintain his collegiate eligibility.
In a social media post this afternoon, Coastal Carolina guard Devante Jones said he’s declaring for the 2021 NBA draft. Jones will not hire an agent, therefore he can possibly return to Conway for his senior season.
After a single season at USC in which he helped the Trojans to their first Elite Eight in two decades, point guard Tahj Eaddy is turning pro. The senior guard, who transferred from Santa Clara to USC last spring, announced his intent to declare for the NBA draft Thursday in an Instagram post. He’ll forgo the extra year of eligibility provided by the NCAA in hopes of being drafted this summer.
Arkansas freshman guard Moses Moody declared for the NBA Draft on Friday. He appeared on ESPN’s “The Jump” to make the announcement. “I would like to hire an agent and enter my name into the 2021 NBA Draft,” he said on ESPN.
Kansas forward Jalen Wilson announced that he has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft today. “I am grateful to say that with prayer and discussion with Coach (Bill) Self and my family, I will test the NBA draft process,” said Wilson.
Villanova forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl announced Friday that he is declaring for the NBA Draft and hiring an agent after a standout sophomore season for the Wildcats. Robinson-Earl averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game this season and became a double-double machine late in the season.
After one of the best seasons in Alabama men's basketball history, senior Herb Jones has announced he will enter into the upcoming NBA Draft. Jones joins fellow senior John Petty in the NBA Draft pool, due to the pandemic seniors had the option to return to universities for an additional year. Both Jones and Petty went through draft evaluations last year but opted instead to return to Tuscaloosa for their senior years.
Arizona State freshman forward Marcus Bagley has declared for the NBA Draft, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Bagley told ESPN he is keeping all of his options open and has not yet hired an agent.
Sophomore guard Terrence Shannon Jr. announced via Twitter on Thursday that he’s declaring for the 2021 NBA draft. Shannon said in his post that has decided to retain his eligibility and will not sign with an agent just yet.
Yves Pons posted a thank you note to Tennessee fans on social media on Friday afternoon and appears to be moving on with his basketball career. “I’ll always cherish my four great years at Tennessee,” Pons posted on Instagram and Twitter, “and I’m proud to be a Vol For Life!” Pons could have returned next season, using the free year of eligibility granted by the NCAA because of the coronavirus pandemic, but it was widely expected that he would move on to whatever is next in his career — the NBA, the NBA’s G-League or playing overseas.
Shams Charania: Baylor junior Davion Mitchell -- a potential lottery pick -- is declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft and plans to hire an agent, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Mitchell led Baylor to the national championship on Monday.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Tennessee freshman guard Keon Johnson – No. 6 in ESPN’s Top 100 -- will enter the 2021 NBA Draft and hire an agent, Johnson tells @DraftExpress . “The NBA has always been my goal, but I never expected it to come this soon.”
Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu has decided to enter the 2021 NBA draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, he said on ESPN’s The Jump on Wednesday (link via Jonathan Givony of ESPN).
The Jump: 🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨 Ayo Dosunmu declares for the #NBADraft! 👏 #NBA #NBATwitter #TheJump
Maryland senior Darryl Morsell will declare for the NBA Draft and enter the NCAA transfer portal, he announced Monday. But he although he also hasn't ruled out a return to College Park.
Rutgers junior forward Ron Harper Jr. announced his plans to submit his name for the 2021 NBA Draft and go through the NBA’s evaluation process while maintaining his college eligibility in an Instagram post Friday.
D.J. Stewart Jr. announced Thursday that he'll enter his name into the NBA Draft pool, but unlike the other players that have decided to leave the program, the redshirt sophomore standout left the possibility of coming back.
Clemson guard Clyde Trapp announced Wednesday that he is putting his name in for the NBA Draft. Trapp, the former Lower Richland High School standout, posted on Twitter that he is entering the NBA Draft but not signing with an agent — a move that opens the door for him to return to college.
Coppin State senior guard Anthony Tarke has declared for the 2021 NBA draft, he announced on social media Wednesday night, but will maintain his college eligibility.
Arizona point guard James Akinjo has declared for the 2021 NBA Draft but may still return to the Wildcats next season, he announced Wednesday.
UNLV junior wing Bryce Hamilton is entering the 2021 NBA draft. Well, sort of. Hamilton on Tuesday announced via Twitter that he is going to partake of the draft process to “test the waters.” But he won’t be hiring an agent, allowing him to maintain his college eligibility and make possible a return to the Rebels in 2021-22.
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June 3, 2023 | 9:09 pm EDT Update

Michael Malone on team's success: 'We haven't done a damn thing'

Barely prompted, Malone turned his attention to the fourth quarter where the Nuggets were outscored 30-20 and saw a sizable double-digit lead shrink to just nine as the Heat found its 3-point stroke. Think Malone, with a chance to do something no other team in Nuggets history has done, would allow for even an ounce of complacency? Think again. No one’s getting fat with success right now. Not on his watch. “I told our players today, don’t read the paper, don’t listen to the folks on the radio and TV saying that this series is over and that we’ve done something, because we haven’t done a (dang) thing,” Malone said with his trademark fire.
Aaron Gordon admitted it’s hard not to let the outside chatter filter into his headspace. “It’s difficult because the people around you get excited, as well,” Gordon said. “So, you have to keep like a calmness. You have to keep a poise to you, like an intense energy but calm, while the rest of everybody else is really frenetic. It’s important to just make the main thing the main thing and just be focused on what the task is at hand.”
Gordon began to get out of his seat at the podium before he decided to make one more point. “Still reading the newspaper and the news around the world is important and not being consumed with kind of the bubble that is the NBA, even though it expands during the Finals,” he said. “But still, being aware of the other things that are going on outside of the media, the NBA, and the things that are going on outside of the world and reading world news is still really important.”

June 3, 2023 | 7:24 pm EDT Update
Phoenix Suns associate head coach Kevin Young is staying with the franchise on a new $2 million annual deal that’ll make him the NBA’s highest-paid assistant coach, sources told ESPN on Saturday. The Suns were determined to keep Young on new coach Frank Vogel’s staff and made a significant commitment to keep him from following former coach Monty Williams to the Detroit Pistons, sources said.
Fast-forward four years, and they’re teammates on a No. 8-seed Heat team that has clawed its way to the NBA Finals. Highsmith still remembers the lessons Butler imparted to him in Philadelphia. “Working out twice a day, three times a day, which he would do sometimes,” he says. “Also understanding your body, not pushing it too far where you’re feeling not the best. Maintaining good diet as well.”