Tag: Azuolas Tubelis

Recapping additions the Philadelphia 76ers made in 2023 offseason

Here is a recap of the moves made by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2023 offseason to add to their roster.

The 2023-24 season is right around the corner for the Philadelphia 76ers with training camp beginning on Oct. 3 and the season getting underway on Oct. 26. Thus will begin another 82-game adventure in Sixers history and now is the time to begin previewing the upcoming season.

Philadelphia was limited in what they could do in the 2023 offseason with everything hinging on the James Harden situation. It has been a tumultuous summer for the franchise as The Beard made it clear that he wants out and the Sixers had to focus on trying to resolve that situation.

To recap, here are the moves the Sixers made to add to their roster for the 2023-24 season:

Brooklyn Nets projected to take Azuolas Tubelis with 51st overall pick

Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire predicts that the Brooklyn Nets will select forward Azuolas Tubelis with the 51st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

The Brooklyn Nets have some important choices to make between now and the start of the 2023-24 season. With the 2023 NBA Draft coming up in less than two weeks, Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire said in a recent mock draft article that the Nets are projected to take forward Azuolas Tubelis with the 51st overall pick.

Tubelis, 21, averaged 19.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 57% from the field and 31.3% from three-point land. The 6’11” 245-pound junior from Lithuania has plenty of accolades to his name due to his stellar play for the Wildcats such as being named to the Consensus All-American second-team as well as being named MVP of the Pac-12 tournament.

What Tubelis would bring to a team like the Nets is his ability to score inside the paint thanks to his strong build. While his shooting at Arizona was not elite, it looks like he has enough touch on his shot to be a threat from deep. Where Tubelis lacks upside is that he’s not particularly athletic and seems to be a bit of a tweener between a center and a power forward which could make his fit in the NBA unknown at this juncture.

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Arizona All-American Azuolas Tubelis declares for 2023 NBA draft

Tubelis was a consensus second-team All-American after averaging 19.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, two assists and 1.1 steals.

Arizona junior Azuolas Tubelis on Thursday told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he will declare for the 2023 NBA draft after a decorated season with the Wildcats.

He is not expected to return to school next year.

Tubelis, who was born in Lithuania, was named a consensus second-team All-American after averaging 19.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.1 steals. His 694 points were the sixth-most in a season in program history and his 320 rebounds ranked ninth.

The 6-foot-11 forward led the Pac-12 in scoring, rebounding, field goals (274) and free throws (136). He was also named to the all-conference first team, becoming the 16th Wildcat to earn the distinction three times in a career.

Tubelis is not projected to be drafted, though, will have the opportunity to improve his stock in private workouts. He also figures to be among the prospects invited to participate in the draft combine next month in Chicago, Illinois.

Underclassmen have until April 23 to declare for the draft.

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Midseason 2023 mock NBA draft has the Boston Celtics taking trio of forwards

As the 2022-23 season advances in the NCAA ranks, a number of prospects at that level have seen some significant change in where they are projected to be drafted.

As the 2022-23 season advances in the NCAA ranks, a number of prospects at that level have seen some significant change in where they are projected to be drafted (if anywhere) in the 2023 NBA draft this summer. At the NBA level, a clearer picture of what individual teams like the Boston Celtics around the league will be doing at the season’s end also has an effect on draft projections.

With that in mind, Bleacher Report’s NBA draft expert Jonathan Wasserman assembled a new 2023 mock draft that has seen him adjust his projections about which teams will take what players this coming offseason on the big day.

And with three second-round picks in this year’s draft, Wasserman has found three prospects he could see the Celtics drafting — let’s take a look at the trio of prospects.

2022 NBA Draft Big Board 1.0: Debut rankings of the top 101 prospects

Let’s be honest. Ranking the best NBA draft prospects is a fool’s errand. But evaluating this class is an especially challenging assignment.

Let’s be honest. Ranking the best NBA draft prospects is a fool’s errand. But evaluating this class is an especially challenging assignment.

One of the top pre-season prospects (Patrick Baldwin Jr.) is playing for a mid-major program that has just two wins so far this season. Other top prospects (AJ Griffin and Peyton Watson) are not getting much playing time for their high-major programs. Meanwhile, guard Jean Montero is playing in the inaugural Overtime Elite league. How do we compare his productivity to other prospects? I’m frankly not sure.

But nevertheless, my big board exists. Rather than going small, I decided to blow it up and do the opposite. Why did I go ahead and rank 101 prospects if this class has been so challenging to evaluate? There are two distinct reasons.

One is that I’m absolutely crazy and get a very fulfilling satisfaction with the completion of a mock draft and big board because it feels complete. It looks awesome seeing as many names as I can fit on one article, even if the science behind the rankings is a bit inconclusive.

The other reason is that as I make more big boards throughout the year, it’s interesting to track the progress (and regression) of certain prospects. I am inevitably wrong about most of these placements! But this article serves as a barometer for where I feel certain players are at in their development right now.

Note that several notable prospects (e.g. freshmen Max Christie, Matthew Cleveland, Nolan Hickman, Hunter Sallis, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Jeremy Sochan, Kobe Bufkin) were excluded because I expect them to go back to school to improve their draft stock.

More likely than not, some of those players will declare for the 2022 NBA draft. When that happens, I obviously will not have them outside of my top 101.

Until then, as we prepare to turn the calendar into a new year, here are the debut rankings for 101 of my favorite prospects.

All stats are accurate as of Dec. 14 and are from Sports-Reference unless noted otherwise.

Aggregate NBA mock draft 2.0: Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith battle for No. 1

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, The Athletic, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, Basketball News and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Since our last update, the players who have improved the most spots are Ismael Kamagate (Paris), Moussa Diabate (Michigan), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Hugo Besson (New Zealand), Efe Abogidi (Washington State),  Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Max Christie (Michigan State), EJ Liddell (Ohio State), and Ochai Agbaji (Kansas).

The most notable prospects making their debut on our rankings are Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), MarJon Beauchamp (G League Ignite), Keon Ellis (Alabama), Christian Koloko (Arizona), Wendell Moore (Duke), Blake Wesley (Notre Dame),  Josh Minott (Memphis), Zach Edey (Purdue), and Johnny Davis (Wisconsin).

Some of the top prospects who did not make the cut this time included Hunter Sallis (Gonzaga), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Tennesse), Kobe Bufkin (Michigan), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State), Jahvon Quinerly (Albama), Adam Flagler (Baylor), Jaylin Williams (Auburn), Matthieu Gauzin (Le Mans), Isaiah Wong (Miami), Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2022 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Predicting all 59 picks, starting with Paolo Banchero

After a few games, we have a much better idea of how prospects like Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren will be used until the 2022 NBA draft.

After a few games, we have a much better idea of how prospects like Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren will be used until the 2022 NBA draft.

Preseason mock drafts, like the one we published back on Aug. 11, are especially challenging. Predictions are mostly guesswork based on uninformed priors until we’ve seen the usage of how each coach will implement the prospects we are evaluating.

Additionally, several players used the offseason to work on certain skill sets (e.g. Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji is now a much better shooter) in ways we couldn’t have projected.

As such, even though it’s only been a few games, it’s a lot easier to discuss the 2022 NBA draft now than it was even just last month. The season is underway for college basketball — and the G League Ignite, Overtime Elite, and several international leagues —  which means draft boards are shaping up.

After a ton of movement, as of right now, here is how we see the 2022 NBA draft unfolding.

Draft order is pulled from Tankathon. All stats are accurate as of 11/22/21.

2022 aggregate NBA mock draft: Debut ranking of all notable prospects

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

The 2021 NBA draft class finished their first go-around in the summer league, which means evaluators are fully focused on next year’s class.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Athletic, Yahoo, SB Nation, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Collegiate teams who had more than two players appear on a mock were Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee and UCLA. Three players will be on the G League’s Ignite roster and one is on Overtime’s Elite squad.

Additionally, seven players are rostered in Spain and four are playing in Australia’s NBL. There are also three players on Serbia’s KK Mega Basket included.

Freshmen one-and-done candidates who didn’t make the list but could climb on to join during the season: Harrison Ingram (Stanford), Trevor Keels (Duke), Bryce McGowens (Nebraska), Josh Minott (Memphis), Kowacie Reeves (Florida), Bryce Hopkins (Kentucky), Nathan Bittle (Oregon) and Jeremy Sochan (Baylor).

Some of the most notable collegiate returners who were snubbed from these rankings: Marcus Williams (Texas A&M), Jonathan Davis (Wisconsin), Kofi Cockburn (Illinois), Zach Edey (Purdue), Adam Miller (LSU), Colin Castleton (Florida) and Tyson Etienne (Wichita State).

Relevant international prospects to know who were not included below: Fedor Zugic, Lefteris Mantzoukas, Jayson Tchicamboud, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Yoan Makoundou, Tom Digbeu and Makur Maker.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Main Image: Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group

2021 NBA Mock Draft: Predicting all 59 picks, starting with Chet Holmgren

Let’s look ahead to next year’s draft.

We are only a couple of weeks removed from the 2021 NBA draft and it’s silly to publish a mock draft for next year. But let’s do it anyway.

Because frankly, far away as though it may seem, ten months can go by fast. Although a lot is going to change, some things stay the same. For example, I published my first mock draft of the 2020 cycle in May 2019 and all three of the first projected picks heard their names called within the first three picks nearly fifteen months later. Much of the rest, of course, is utterly wrong and embarrassing. But it is still helpful to track progression and regression.

Before we discuss the next crop of future NBA talent, however, let’s address the elephant in the room. You have probably noticed that the headline said this mock draft highlights 59 picks. No, that isn’t a typo.

Allow me to explain. The Milwaukee Bucks have forfeited the rights to their second-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft due to violating league rules regarding an attempted transaction made back in Nov. 2020. While it sucks for the additional person who is going to go undrafted, undrafted free agency isn’t the worst thing.

Otherwise, the order of this draft was determined by reversing the NBA futures odds courtesy of Tipico SportsBook. The teams whose odds fell outside the eight best in each conference composed the projected lottery. Meanwhile, all picks involved with previous trades were included in the order as well.

Another quick housekeeping note: My mock drafts tend to be fairly data-driven. But that can sometimes lead to some blind spots for evaluating prospects playing outside the NCAA (e.g. high school, AAU, FIBA, etc.), which made pre-season mock drafts particularly difficult.

That’s no longer the case thanks to the help from our fantastic new partners over at Cerebro Sports, a stats and analytics resource that scrapes box scores to determine how top basketball prospects have stacked up against all their previous competition.

With all that in mind, far away as we may be from draft night on June 22, here is how I see everything shaking out just based on what we know so far:

30 of the best college prospects who won’t be declaring for 2021 NBA draft

A look at the big names you won’t see in this year’s draft.

As we approach the early entry deadline for the 2021 NBA draft, we have a sense of which players are set to return for another year of college basketball.

While scouts are more focused on the draft on July 29, evaluators around the league already have tabs on the best prospects that will continue their time in the NCAA next season.

Note that this list does not include notable names who have declared for the 2020 NBA draft but are just “testing the waters” like Isaiah Jackson, Miles McBride, Marcus Bagley, JT Thor, Matthew Mayer and Jason Preston.

Instead, the following players have either announced that they are returning or are expected to return to their team for the upcoming 2021-22 campaign: