Toppin is 22 and appears to be the most NBA-ready in this class. However, his ceiling doesn’t appear to scream “multiyear All-Star.” People I’ve talked to believe Toppin will be a solid player for many years, but choosing him doesn’t necessarily point toward an emphasis on the future. Almost any other selection does.
NBA Rumor: Draft Workouts
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Key for Makur Maker is ensuring he is a first-round draft pick. If it appears teams will not draft him in the first round he will take up a college scholarship, build up his draft stock and take another shot at the NBA next year. Maker and his guardian Ed Smith are hoping the NBA allows face-to-face workouts with teams before next month’s draft. “If Makur gets workouts with NBA teams he feels he will be a first-round pick,” Smith said.
The same goes for Ball, who played a dozen games this winter in Australia’s National Basketball League before a foot injury prompted him to return to the United States. His statistics were impressive—17.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists in 31.2 minutes per game—but again, NBA executives say they’d feel more comfortable selecting him if they could study him in person when he talks about the anticipated involvement of his father, LaVar Ball, who became persona non grata with the Lakers after they drafted one of his other sons, Lonzo, three years ago.
Adrian Wojnarowski: UNC guard Coby White — perhaps the fastest rising prospect on the board — had a private workout with the Knicks at team’s facility today, league sources tell ESPN. Knicks have been locked on RJ Barrett at No. 3, but summoned White after Darius Garland’s workout yesterday.
Jeremy Woo: League sources tell me and @Jake Fischer that the Celtics had the following players in today for a last-minute workout: Darius Bazley, Jalen Lecque, Tremont Waters, Jordan Bone, Chris Clemons and Jared Harper. Boston has picks 14, 20, 22 and 51 and is expected to be active.
Mark Medina: The Warriors had a pre-draft workout today for some prospects, and I’m told that Jarrell Brantley and Isaiah Roby were part of that group. Looks like Warriors were evaluating prospects today to consider for their No. 58 pick.
Chris Grenham: In other news… Brewster Academy’s Jalen Lecque and Campbell’s Chris Clemons will each have their second workout with the Celtics tomorrow in Boston.
Jordan Schultz: Purdue-FW SG John Konchar recently had workouts with the #Warriors, #Kings and #Rockets, per source. Keep in mind his stellar 64 percent TS percentage as well.
The New Orleans Pelicans exercised its team option on Head Coach Alvin Gentry’s contract for the After Garland pulled out of the NBA draft combine in Chicago last month and sat out his agency’s (Klutch Sports) pro day in Los Angeles, draft pundits wondered whether he had received a promise from a lottery team. Garland and his agent, Rich Paul, lifted the smoke screen this week, however, as the guard granted private workouts to both the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers in L.A., sources told ESPN.
Both workouts occurred prior to the Lakers’ blockbuster trade Saturday for New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis, which included Los Angeles sending the No. 4 overall pick to the Pelicans, sources said. Garland impressed with his shot-making ability and deep range, according to sources present for the Lakers’ workout.
Tom Withers: Michigan’s Ignas Brazdeikis worked out for #Cavs today. He averaged 14.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and was B1G freshman of year in one season for new Cleveland coach John Beilein.
Brian Lewis: Terry Harris – brother of #Sixers free agent Tobias Harris – worked out for the #OKCThunder today. He worked out for the #Jazz before that, and for both the #Knicks and #Nets last week. He shot well for Brooklyn. @TerryHarris115
Gery Woelfel: With the NBA draft set for Thursday night, the Bucks conducted a pair of important six-player workouts on Monday. Arkansas center Daniel Gafford was in attendance but didn’t participate in drills.
Rod Boone: #Hornets final pre-draft workout: Morning session: Tyus Battle, Syracuse; Goga Bitadze, Mega Vizura; Matur Maker, Zlatorog; Jeremiah Martin, Memphis; Matt Mooney, Texas Tech; Brandon Randolph, Arizona
Kyle Neubeck: Tomorrow’s (presumed final) #Sixers workout: Darius Bazley (Princeton HS, Ohio), Armoni Brooks (Houston), Charlie Brown, Jr. (St. Joseph’s), Kyle Guy (Virginia), James Palmer, Jr. (Nebraska), Yovel Zoosman (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
James Edwards III: Keldon Johnson is here doing an individual workout with the Pistons, per team. Can only have six in one workouts — seven on today’s sheet.
Anthony Puccio: I’m told Terence Davis (Mississippi) is set for a workout with the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow. Sources say he’s due for a 2nd workout with Boston and Golden State. #Nets
James Ham: Kings announce change to Monday’s final workout. Shamorie Ponds out, Kyle Guy in. pic.twitter.com/ttJ0ALg5SK
Chase Hughes: The Wizards are working out two players tomorrow, Coby White and Nassir Little. Both are options for the 9th pick and both are from UNC. No Kevin Porter Jr. of USC anymore.
Chris Vivlamore: Sekou Doumbouya’s workout with the Hawks will be private.
Chris Fedor: Sources: #Cavs will conduct workout with Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter early next week cleveland.com/cavs/2019/06/d…
Chris Kirschner: The Hawks will work out the following players tomorrow: Nic Claxton, C, Georgia; Sekou Doumbouya, F, Limoges; Aric Holman, F, Miss. St.; Mfiondu Kabengele, F, FSU; Romeo Langford, G, Indiana (won’t workout); Naz Reid, F, LSU; Luka Samanic, F, Olympia
Jordan Schultz: UCF center Tacko Fall has an upcoming workout for the #Lakers, a source tells ESPN. The 7-6 Fall averaged 11 PPG and 8 RPG, while also ranking in the top 10 nationally with his 2.6 blocks. Fall broke the all-time NCAA FG percentage record as well. @UCF_MBB @tackofall99
James Edwards III: Pistons pre-draft participants today: Bryce Brown, G, Auburn. Jon Elmore, G, Marshall. Donta Hall, F, Alabama. Juwan Morgan, F, Indiana. Matur Maker, F, Australia. Nick Ward, F, Michigan State.
Mike Vorkunov: Knicks will work out Miami center Dewan Hernandez Friday, according to league sources, and worked out Shaw guard Amir Hinton earlier. Hernandez sat out this yr bc of the NCAA but did well enough at G League Elite camp to get combine invite. Heard Hinton’s workout went well.
Mike Vorkunov: Knicks worked out Hofstra guard Justin Wright-Foreman, Eastern Michigan big man James Thompson IV, and North Carolina A&T wing Terry Harris today, according to league sources. Wright-Foreman averaged 27.1 ppg this year. Harris shot 41% from 3, and is Tobias Harris’ brother.
The following is a list of scheduled attendees for the 16th Sacramento Kings Pre-Draft workout, which will take place at the Kings Practice Facility on Friday, June 14. Jalen Adams (G – 6’3” 197 lbs.) UConn Quinndary Weatherspoon (G – 6’4” 207 lbs.) Mississippi State Shaqquan Aaron (F – 6’7” 175 lbs.) USC Markis McDuffie (F – 6’8” 202 lbs.) Wichita State Jordan Caroline (F – 6’6” 240 lbs.) Nevada Dylan Osetkowski (C – 6’9” 261 lbs.) Texas
Eager to become more familiar with an interesting prospects in its draft range, the Heat plans to bring Indiana swingman Romeo Langford to AmericanAirlines Arena for a visit in the coming days, according to a league source.
Jordan Schultz: Source: Jordan Caroline worked out for the #Lakers today. The former @NevadaHoops standout (17 PPG on 37 percent 3s, 10 RPG, 2 APG) will workout for the #Kings tomorrow.
Scott Agness: Pacers pre-draft workout No. 8 — scheduled for June 14. Devin Cannady (Princeton) JaKeenan Gant (Louisiana-Lafayette) Tyler Herro (Kentucky) Cameron Jackson (Wofford) Christian James (Oklahoma) Lamar Peters (Mississippi State)
Zach Braziller: Hofstra’s Justin Wright-Foreman worked out for #knicks today
Rod Boone: Tomorrow’s #Hornets pre-draft workout: Louis King, Oregon James Palmer Jr., Nebraska Trey Phills, Yale Rayjon Tucker, Arkansas-Little Rock Jared Harper, Auburn Amir Hinton, Shaw
Jamie Hudson: Today’s pre-draft workout participants for the Trail Blazers are: David Crisp Matur Maker KZ Okpala Samir Sehic Jaylin Walker Cameron Young
Kyle Neubeck: Tomorrow’s #Sixers draft workout participants Kyle Alexander (Tennessee) Daulton Hommes (Point Loma Nazarene) Mahir Johnson (Goldey-Beacom College) Nick Mayo (Eastern Kentucky) Jordan Poole (Michigan) Isaiah Roby (Nebraska)
Keith Langlois: Today’s Pistons draft workout: Jordan Bone, Tennessee Charlie Brown, St. Joseph’s Jalek Felton, Uniion Olimpija (Slovenia) Trevor Manuel, Olivet Zach Norvell, Gonzaga Derek Pardon, Northwestern
Chase Hughes: Tomorrow’s Wizards pre-draft workout will include another option at No. 9, Sekou Doumbouya (visit only): Corey Davis (Houston) Sekou Doumbouya (France) Jessie Govan (Georgetown) Jaylen Hands (UCLA) Lyle Hexom (Peru State) Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield) V.J. King (Louisville)
LaGerald Vick, a guard from Kansas who worked out for the Knicks, also had a strong shooting performance in a recent workout for the Pelicans. The Knicks have the No. 55 pick in the draft and have worked out several players who could fall into that real estate.
Chris Haynes: Yale guard Trey Phills — son of the late Bobby Phills — has a workout scheduled with the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, the franchise that retired his father’s No. 13 jersey, his agent @kengestevenson tells Yahoo Sports.
Zach Braziller: St Johns Marvin Clark II had a workout with the Heat today #sjubb
Tony Jones: Maryland star big man Bruno Fernando will work out for the Utah Jazz this weekend
Gery Woelfel: Sharpshooter Cameron Johnson (N. Carolina) appears on the rise in NBA draft. Johnson, who auditioned for Bucks (30th pick) last month, works out today for Minnesota (11th pick). Boston (14, 20, 22), Orlando (16), OKC (21), Philly (24) & Golden State (28) have also worked him out
Kevin Chouinard: Goga Bitadze said that he has already worked out for the Spurs and will also go on to work out for Boston, Detroit and Charlotte. Will attend draft in NY afterward.
Rod Beard: #Gonzaga G Zach Norvell said he’s had 15 predraft workouts, including today with the #Pistons.
The following is a list of scheduled attendees for the 15th Sacramento Kings Pre-Draft workout, which will take place at the Kings Practice Facility on Thursday, June 13. Rickey McGill (G – 6’2” 185 lbs.) Iona Jeremiah Martin (G – 6’3” 186 lbs.) Memphis Ar’Mond Davis (G – 6’6” 190 lbs.) UC Santa Barbara Jalen McDaniels (F – 6’10” 192 lbs.) San Diego State Simisola Shittu (F – 6’10” 227 lbs.) Vanderbilt Christ Koumadje (C – 7’4” 274 lbs.) Florida State
Sam Vecenie: According to a source, Georgia forward Nic Claxton has canceled and shut down all workouts for non-lottery teams. Feels good about where he’ll be picked based off of feedback during the pre-draft process.
Scott Agness: Pacers pre-draft workout No. 7 — scheduled for June 13: Sandy Cohen III (Wisconsin-Green Bay) Bruno Fernando (Maryland) Daniel Gafford (Arkansas) Paul Jorgensen (Butler) Terance Mann (Florida State) Jaylen Nowell (Washington) Tremont Waters (LSU) – visit only, no workout
Besides bringing in Southern California guard Kevin Porter Jr. for a workout, the Heat also has scheduled North Carolina small forward Nassir Little for that same workout on Thursday, according to a league source.
Trey Mourning, son of Heat executive Alonzo Mourning, worked out for Heat officials on Wednesday at AA Arena, according to a source. Mourning, a 6-9 forward, averaged 6.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in 26 games for Georgetown last season (including 11 starts). He played entirely off the bench his first three seasons with the Hoyas.
Among under-the-radar prospects the Heat summoned for a workout this week is Division II Shaw (Raleigh, North Carolina) guard Amir Hinton, an explosive scorer who averaged 29.4 points last season and shot 48.8 percent from the field.
Chris Vivlamore: The Hawks will work out the following players Thursday. Hawks will hold final workouts Friday and Saturday before next week’s NBA draft. C Goga Bitadze (Mega Bemax) F Jonathan Galloway (UC Irvine) G Rayjon Tucker (Arkansas Little Rock) G Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State)
Kyle Neubeck: Tomorrow’s Sixers workout participants: Jon Davis (UNC Charlotte), Dewan Hernandez (Miami), Ahmed Hill (Virginia Tech), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Marcquise Reed (Clemson), Luka Samanic (KK Olimpija Ljubljana)
Keith Pompey: Croatian basketball standout @SamanicLuka is expected to work out for the #Sixers, as early as Thursday. He also has upcoming workouts with #Hawks and #Bucks before the June 20 #NBADraft. The 6-11 PF has already worked out for the #Spurs, #Warriors, #Jazz and #Pacers. pic.twitter.com/9atfu0qPB2
Darren Wolfson: The #Twolves have a bunch of draft prospects in today, including Kentucky’s PJ Washington. He also worked out here last year, & interviewed w/ #AllEyesNorth at the Combine this year. He’s a solid first rounder: pic.twitter.com/2GhnYAkndR
Kevin Chouinard: Tomorrow’s sixth workout participant is Jordon Varnado from Troy University, brother of former MSU shot-blocker Jarvis Varnado.
Casey Holdahl: Blazers will hold their third predraft workout in Tualatin on Thursday and their final workout on Sunday. Draft is June 20, Portland owns the 25th overall pick.
Darnell Mayberry: More Bulls pre-draft workouts this week. Monday’s six-man group: Amir Coffey (Minnesota) Jaylen Hands (UCLA) Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest) Louis King (Oregon) Marial Shayok (Iowa State) Ty Cockfield (Arkansas State)
Darnell Mayberry: Tuesday’s six-man group: Chris Clemons (Campbell) Daniel Gafford (Arkansas) Jessie Govan (Georgetown) Tyler Hall (Montana State) William McDowell-White (Brose Bamberg) Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech)
Kevin Chouinard: Tomorrow’s Hawks workout: Oshae Brissett (Syracuse) – Forward – 6-8, 210 Kevarrius Hayes (Florida) – Forward – 6-9, 227 Adam Mokoka (Mega Bemax) – Guard – 6-5, 190 Nick Weiler-Babb (Iowa State) – Guard – 6-5, 205 Kenny Wooten (Oregon) – Forward – 6-9, 235
The following is a list of scheduled attendees for the 14th Sacramento Kings Pre-Draft workout, which will take place at the Kings Practice Facility on Wednesday, June 12. Josh Reaves (G – 6’5” 204 lbs.) Penn State Cody Martin (G – 6’6” 192 lbs.) Nevada Skyler Flatten (G – 6’6” 210 lbs.) South Dakota State Tyus Battle (G – 6’7” 204 lbs.) Syracuse Isaiah Pineiro (F – 6’6” 221 lbs.) San Diego Cam Jackson (F – 6’9” 256 lbs.) Wofford
The Cleveland Cavaliers conducted a private workout with Jarrett Culver on Monday, league sources told cleveland.com.
According to sources, the Cavs are still hoping to conduct a workout with De’Andre Hunter, but it hasn’t happened yet. Like Culver, Hunter is in consideration with the fifth pick.
Taylor Eldridge: Make that the 7th NBA Draft workout for Wichita State grad Markis McDuffie, this one with the Houston Rockets today. McDuffie has also worked out for Charlotte, Atlanta, Portland, New York, Miami and Minnesota.
Adam Zagoria: After working out today for Cleveland @ShamorieP works out for Dallas on Tuesday. Also has Philly and Houston coming up. pic.twitter.com/7DphZWaz0Y
Bryan Kalbrosky: Abdoulaye N’Doye has withdrawn from the 2019 NBA Draft, source tells USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s @RookieWire. He had worked out for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The international prospect is 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and has 3-and-D value.
Chris Kirschner: The Hawks will workout the following players tomorrow: Charlie Brown (St. Joe’s), Zylan Cheatham (Arizona St.), Keldon Johnson (Kentucky), Nassir Little (UNC), KZ Okpala (Stanford), Kevin Porter Jr. (USC)
September 28, 2020 | 5:11 am EDT Update
Gordon Hayward likely to opt in
The Celtics head into the offseason with a group that, for the most part, should return. Hayward has a hefty player option for next season that he will likely pick up. All of the other core members of Boston’s rotation will be under contract for at least next season.
Then there are the other members of the Best Five. Hayward won’t be opting out of his contract unless he has a long-term extension in place, which will be hard for a 30-year-old with a concerning injury history. Indiana is still home for the Haywards, and with Victor Oladipo looking to move on this offseason, according to sources, and Myles Turner possibly in the same boat, there could be an opportunity for Ainge to move Hayward and the abundance of draft picks in his war chest in a mutually agreeable way. Boston won’t have cap space again with three stars locked up long-term, so moving Hayward or Marcus Smart presents one of the few opportunities to get back a player making starter-caliber money.
Last year, Ainge passed on cashing in early on Terry Rozier, which worked out well as he was able to use Rozier to execute a double sign-and-trade for Walker. The move could have enabled Boston to retain Al Horford. Though it’s unlikely Horford would have struggled in the same way he did in Philadelphia if he stayed in Boston, the 34-year-old is starting to show his age. The Celtics likely will want to do the same with Hayward, who was exactly what they hoped for this season. Even with the COVID-19 recession, there should be cap space when Hayward’s deal expires, so the sign-and-trade option might not be as feasible as it was a year ago. Either way, there does not appear to be an impetus for Ainge to make an immediate move with Hayward.
The biggest move Boston has in front of it is whether to offer Tatum a max contract extension, which the team is expected to do. Tatum, though, said that wasn’t what he was thinking about right after his season came to an end. “That’s a tough question to answer,” he said. “I haven’t even thought about that yet. I was just focused on this season. “The front office and my agent gotta talk about it. But I’m not thinking about that right now. We just lost a series. Just thinking about the guys in the locker room and the games. That’s what I’m thinking about. Stuff like that, going to happen, if it happens, [is] not really my concern. I’m not even thinking about that.
Jay King: Jayson Tatum: “I believe in this group.” He thought this team had more than enough to get the job done, just let some games slip away. Said he had a lot of fun with this group, pointed out how much a lot of guys improved. “It was fun this year.”
Jay King: Jayson Tatum on what he learned playing in his role: “It’s not easy. It’s tough.” Said he thinks he can learn a lot from this season and this series. Said if you want those expectations you need to handle the ups and downs.
The Miami center turned in a near-perfect game: 11-for-15 from the field, 10-for-11 from the foul line for a playoff career-high 32 points plus 14 rebounds as the Heat topped the Celtics 125-113 on Sunday, winning the Eastern Conference finals in a close series. “Bam is one of the great competitors already in this association,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s going to become one of the great winners in the history just because he’s so competitive. He moves the needle in every single day. You can’t put an analytic to his game and that’s probably why he was overlooked in college. “He competes every single possession. He’s really going into a leadership role. Way beyond his years. His offensive game is just growing daily. And he wants the responsibility, and he wants the accountability, and he isn’t afraid of putting that responsibility on his shoulders, and that’s what he did the other night.”
Michael Scotto: Bam Adebayo: “We’ve been underdogs our whole life. Everybody up here has got a chip on their shoulder from something. It’s a tossup when you get in the Finals. We’re not backing down from anybody, and that’s what I like about this team.” (ESPN postgame interview)
Justin Kubatko: Bam Adebayo (23 years, 71 days) is the second-youngest player to record at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a win that clinched a trip to the NBA Finals. Only Rick Barry (23 years, 15 days) did so at a younger age.
“Adebayo deciding he’s just going to drive the ball put us in a real bind with the shooters around him,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “And their physicality is something that I’m not sure that we probably talked about it enough. They’re strong, they’re physical, they’re tough and, him in particular, dominated that fourth quarter. Even the plays where he didn’t score, his presence was so impactful and it put us in a real bind with the ability to guard him.”
