Kahlil Whitney is entering the 2020 NBA draft and hiring an agent, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Whitney played 18 games before dropping out of Kentucky this season.
Fonte: Jonathan Givony.
According to Jason Jones of The Athletic, re-signing restricted free agent Bogdan Bogdanovic will be the top priority for the Sacramento Kings.
Jones says the Kings intend to match any offer sheet from another team, should Bogdanovic sign one.
Fonte: The Athletic.
The Bulls are hiring Pelicans executive JJ Polk as assistant general manager under head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas, sources tell Shams Charania of the Athletic.
Fonte: Shams Charania.
Junior College standout and Louisville commit Jay Scrubb, who said he’s declared for the NBA draft, is signing with an NBPA agent and will forgo his remaining college eligibility, his father Jason Scrubb told Evan Daniels of 247Sports.
Scrubb averaged 21.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this past season at Logan.
Fonte: Evan Daniels.
The NBA will pay players full paychecks on April 15th, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The NBA and NBPA have been negotiating withholding a percentage of salaries for players for upcoming paycheck dates. The league would keep a percentage of salaries based on canceled games.
The next payment due to players is on May 1st.
Fonte: Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Chicago Bulls have interviewed Danny Ferry and Wes Wilcox for their basketball operations leading role, according to K.C. Johnson and Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Bulls are looking for a new leader to run the basketball operations.
Former GM Danny Ferry interviewed for the Bulls lead executive position, per sources.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 8, 2020
Former Atlanta Hawks GM Wes Wilcox interviewed for the Chicago Bulls Executive VP of Basketball Operations job today, sources tell ESPN. Wilcox helped build an Eastern Conference contender with the Hawks. Wilcox is currently an analyst with NBA-TV.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 8, 2020
The Chicago Bulls have received permission to interview Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas and Utah Jazz general manager Justin Zanik for their basketball operations leading role, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
According to Johnson, other candidates could be Orlando Magic assistant general manager Matt Lloyd and Los Angeles Clippers assistant general manager Trent Redden.
Fonte: NBC Sports Chicago.
Louisville forward Jordan Nwora is entering the 2020 NBA draft. He has signed with Priority Sports agent Mark Bartelstein, according to Jake Weingarten.
Nwora is the No. 39 prospect in ESPN’s Top 100.
Fonte: Jake Weingarten.
The NBPA has postponed today’s conference call with player agents until Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The topics covered are expected to include the current negotiations with the NBA on salaries based on possibility of canceling games.
Fonte: Adrian Wojnarowski.
Stanford freshman guard Tyrell Terry announced that he’s entering the 2020 NBA draft.
Terry averaged 14.7 points per game while shooting 41% from 3-point range this season.
— Tyrell Terry (@tyterry05) April 6, 2020
Belgian prospect Joel Ekamba has decided to enter the 2020 NBA Draft, a source told Sportando.
The guard born in 2001, with a 6’9 wingspan, spent the season in LNP Espoirs with Limoges where he averaged 13 points per game adding 3.2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Ekamba spent the 2019-2020 season in Belgian league with Belfius Mons-Hainaut.
He averaged 8 points at Under 19 European Championship Division B in 2019.
Freshman guard Nico Mannion has not decided yet whether to enter or not the NBA draft.
The Italian-American spoke with Repubblica.
”Entering the NBA draft is a possibility but I have to think about it. I will decide in the upcoming days” Mannion said.
Mannion is projected in the second half of the 1st round.
French point guard Theo Maledon has declared for the 2020 NBA Draft, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Maledon averaged 7.1 points and 2.3 assists per game for ASVEL in the EuroLeague and French Jeep Elite.
Fonte: ESPN.
Chicago Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen was unhappy with the organization and his role, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Make no mistake about it, third-year big man Lauri Markkanen was one unhappy camper before the coronavirus put the NBA on hiatus,” Cowley wrote. “Unhappy enough that if the direction of the organization was going to stay unchanged, he’d rather be elsewhere.”
Fonte: Chicago Sun-Times.
Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan declined an opportunity to interview with the Chicago Bulls, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The Bulls’ original list of four candidates for their top executive job is down to Toronto’s Bobby Webster, Miami’s Adam Simon, and Denver’s Arturas Karnisovas.
Fonte: Shams Charania.
The Bulls are planning to seek permission to interview also Indiana Pacers’ Chad Buchanan and Miami Heats’s Adam Simon for lead basketball operations position, sources tell The Athletic’s Darnell Mayberry.
Chicago will not pursue OKC’s Sam Presti or Toronto’s Masai Ujiri, according to sources, and does not plan to go player agent route.
The NBA is exploring the feasibility of holding its entire playoffs in Las Vegas, according to sources who spoke with Sports Illustrated. The league has held its Summer League in Las Vegas since 2004, which has led the NBA to have relationships with hotels and arenas in the city.
With quarantining the players and staff in one location being the only current viable solution for playing games, Las Vegas is the only city the NBA is currently seriously considering. “We all want to play. But we all know we can’t play until things are dramatically different,” said one high ranking executive from a playoff team.
Fonte: Sports Illustrated.
Tom Thibodeau is expected to be a candidate for both the head coaching vacancies of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“Thibodeau, I believe, is going to be a candidate for the Knicks’ job as well,” said Windhorst on his podcast. “He’s got a really good working relationship with Leon Rose and Wes Wesley. I know Wes hasn’t been named anything official with the Knicks, but trust me, he will be involved. That connection will matter.”
Fonte: Brian Windhorst.
NBA executives still hope they can arrange a one-site 16-team playoff with a five-to-seven-game regular season as a warmup, all conducted without fans in attendance, according to New York Post’s Marc Berman.
“They’re very determined to have a champion,” one industry source said. The playoffs could be reduced to best-of-three series for the duration of the playoffs, while a single-elimination format has been all but ruled out and would only be considered as a last resort.
Las Vegas, Orlando, Atlantic City, Hawaii and Louisville have been mentioned as possible place to host the playoffs. The NBA hasn’t ruled out the possibility of canceling the season altogether.
Fonte: Marc Berman.
Georgetown sophomore guard Mac McClung announced he’s entering the 2020 NBA draft.
McClung told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony that he has signed with an NBA/NCAA certified agent which gives him an opportunity to go through the pre-draft process while also maintaining his college eligibility.
Fonte: ESPN.
The 2020 NBA draft could be pushed to August or September in the event the season resumes in the summer, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
“Any scenario where the draft happens, it’s very likely going to be still be at the back end of the playoffs, and you would still have a time when you would have the draft and free agency,” Wojnarowski said. “So potentially if the season is resumed at some point and the league is playing in July and August and maybe even into September, it’s possible you don’t have a draft and free agency until those finals are over.”
Fonte: Forbes.
DePaul junior forward Paul Reed has declared for the NBA draft.
Reed is the No. 51 prospect in ESPN’s Top 100.
Fonte: Shams Charania.
The NBA could look at resuming games at venues in a centralized location, perhaps in non-NBA cities, as reported by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. Teams could sleep, train, eat and play in the same location to minimize the possibility of COVID-19 infection.
Hypothesis have floated around a sprawling casino property in Las Vegas where everything could be held under one roof; playing in the Bahamas where a ballroom could be converted into a playing court specifically for broadcast; taking over a college campus in the Midwest where reported cases of COVID-19 are lower.
Fonte: Brian Windhorst.
Arizona freshman big man Zeke Nnaji will declare for the 2020 NBA draft, according to Jon Rothstein.
Nnaji, a 7-foot + 19-year-old power forward, is the No. 34 prospect in ESPN’s Top 100.
Fonte: Jon Rothstein.
According to beat writer Ronald Tillery, Memphis Grizzlies owner Robert Pera inquired about the possibility of relocating the franchise last summer.
Pera purchased the Grizzlies in 2012 and primarily lives in Northern California.
Fonte: Ronald Tillery.
The NBA is still talking to teams about clearing arena dates in the summer for resumed games, sources tell John Hollinger of The Athletic.
The widespread expectation is that the NBA will return without fans in attendance at least initially.
Fonte: John Hollinger.
Killian Hayes announced that he is entering the 2020 NBA Draft.
Hayes, 2001, has played with Ratiopharm Ulm this season averaging 11.6 points and 5.2 assists in Bundesliga and 12.8 points and 6.2 assists in EuroCup.
Fonte: Ratiopharm Ulm.
Dayton star Obi Toppin announced in a video that he’s signing with an agent and declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft.
The sophomore forward led the Flyers to a 29-2 record with 20 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 assist, shooting 63% from the field, 39% from long range and 70% from the foul line.
?Once again Thank You Flyer Nation ✈️
✍?
Love you always ❤️
Obi Toppin pic.twitter.com/NOa3pMtGDM— obadiah (@otoppin1) March 25, 2020
New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball has decided to part ways with CAA, a source told Sportando.
Ball has been with Creative Arts Agency where he was represented by Steven Heumann and Aaron Mintz .
CAA was Ball’s second agency in the NBA after being represented by Harrison Gaines of SPLASH Sports & Entertainment at the beginning of his pro career.
Sports Illustrated’s Melissa Rohlin first reported that Ball was set to leave CAA.
In an interview with the New York Post, Stan Van Gundy has stated his disinterest in becoming head coach of the New York Knicks, suggesting his brother Jeff Van Gundy would be a better candidate for that specific job.
“I’m not interested in the New York Knicks. No,” Van Gundy said. “First of all, there’s a family history there. If anyone would be interested in that, and I’m not sure he is either, it would be my brother.”
Van Gundy, however, would be interested in the Brooklyn Nets’ job: “Of the two the Nets are the better job. There’s no question about that right now,” he said. “The organization has been more stable. They’ve won more games. They have more talent.”
Fonte: New York Post.