Cavaliers sign former Washington State guard Justin Powell to training camp roster

Powell averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season in 34 games as a junior at Washington State.

Former Washington State guard Justin Powell, who went undrafted this year, on Wednesday signed a contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team announced.

The signing was first reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Powell averaged 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 42.6% shooting from 3-point range last season in 34 games as a junior with the Cougars. He led the team in minutes (1,146) and finished fourth in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage.

The 6-foot-6 Powell appeared in the summer league with the Miami Heat, totaling six points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in three appearances.

Powell will participate with the Cavaliers in training camp and spend next season in the G League with the Cleveland Charge. He likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which would entitle him to a $75,000 bonus if he is waived and stays with the Charge for at least 60 days.

The Cavaliers open the preseason on Oct. 10 at Atlanta.

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Report: Justin Powell worked out for the Thunder in pre-draft visit

Justin Powell could be an option in undrafted free agency.

The 2023 NBA draft is roughly three weeks away, which means pre-draft visits and workouts have ramped up.

The Oklahoma City Thunder own the picks at No. 12, No. 37 and No. 50, which creates a wide range of prospects they could select at those spots.

Justin Powell could be a possibility for the Thunder; Adam Zagoria confirmed he worked out for them along with several other teams.

The 22-year-old spent three seasons in college from 2020 to 2023, each with a different team. He spent his freshman season at Auburn, sophomore season at Tennessee and junior season at Washington State.

In 34 games last season, Powell averaged 10.4 points on 40.8% shooting, 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He also shot 42.6% from 3 on 5.4 attempts.

Powell could be an option at No. 50, but will more likely be available as an undrafted free agent.

The 2023 NBA draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 22. A full list of prospects who’ve met with the Thunder can be read here.

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Catching up with the Boston Celtics’ 2023 NBA draft workouts

Boston is likely looking for players who’d be able to help right away, or a player with some upside to stash abroad or as a two way player.

As the 2023 NBA draft draws ever closer, the Boston Celtics have kept themselves very busy working out prospective targets for the top of the 2023 draft’s second round, with a pick owed them from either the Portland Trail Blazers (35th overall) or the Houston Rockets (33rd overall), pending the outcome of complicated protections which will be determined the night of the draft lottery.

The Celtics are looking for players who would be able to help a little depth-wise right away, or perhaps a player with some upside to stash abroad or as a two way player with the extra slot having been added in the league’s new collective bargaining agreement.

Let’s take a look at the prospects we know the team has worked out (thanks to Rookie Wire’s Cody Taylor) that we have not already covered on the Celtics Wire (see our previous articles on wing Landers Nolley II, big man Oscar Tshiebwe, and center Isaiah Miranda).

Auburn Basketball set for December matchup with Memphis in Atlanta

It will mark the second time in three seasons that Auburn will face Memphis at State Farm Arena in Downtown Atlanta.

As the months draw closer to basketball season, Auburn Basketball has learned that another opponent has been revealed for the 2022-23 season.

Jon Rothstein of College Hoops today broke the news Thursday that Auburn will face Memphis as part of the annual Holiday Hoopsgiving event at State Farm Arena in Downtown Atlanta on December 10.

This will be the third season in a row that Auburn will compete in Holiday Hoopsgiving, and their second time facing Memphis in the neutral-site affair.

In 2020, Auburn defeated Memphis 74-71 behind a 26-point, eight-rebound game from former Tiger [autotag]Justin Powell[/autotag]. All eleven players that saw action in the game scored at least two points. Behind Powell, [autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag] scored 16 points.

Last season, Auburn manhandled Nebraska in the event, 99-68. Five players reached double-digits in scoring, led by Jabari Smith’s 21 points.

With the announcement of the neutral site game in Atlanta, marks four locations where Auburn will play a non-conference game this season. Auburn will travel to compete in the Cancun Challenge on November 22 and 23, will play two true road contests on the west coast at USC and Washington on December 18 and 21 respectively, and will travel to West Virginia as part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on January 28.

Former Auburn basketball player transferring to Pac-12 program

Justin Powell has found his new school.

Justin Powell has found his new home.

The former Auburn point guard announced that he is transferring to Washington State for his junior season. Powell spent his freshman season at Auburn before transferring to Tennessee for his sophomore campaign.

Powell was recruited by Auburn as a shooting guard but he was forced to become the team’s point guard to start the 2020-21 season when Sharife Cooper was ineligible to play at the start of the season. He excelled in his new role, averaging 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in 10 games before a head injury ended his season.

He then entered the transfer portal and headed to Knoxville. Powell saw his stats dip across the board at Tennessee. He averaged 3.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game. He made three’s at a 38.1% clip but took just 1.4 per game.

Part of this was they used him as a spot-up shooter, a role he no longer looks comfortable in. Washington State is in need of a point guard and it looks like they plan to use Powell in that role.

The Cougars went 22-15 last season and made it to the semifinals of the NIT where they lost to Texas A&M.

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Justin Powell transfers to Washington State

Tennessee’s Justin Powell transfers to Washington State.

Tennessee guard Justin Powell has transferred to Washington State.

Powell has transferred for the second time during his career. He began his college career at Auburn for former Volunteers’ head coach Bruce Pearl in 2020-21.

For the Tigers, Powell played 10 games before his season ended due to injury. He averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

Powell had a season-high 26 points against Memphis Dec. 12, 2020 before concussions caused him to miss the majority of the campaign.

He transferred to Tennessee for the 2021-22 season, appearing in 30 games and averaging 14 minutes per contest.

Powell averaged 3.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

Powell must apply for a waiver to gain immediate eligibility for the Cougars since he has transferred for a second time.

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How Auburn’s basketball transfers performed this season with their new team

A look at how the former Auburn transfers performed with their new teams in the 2021-22 season.

The Auburn Tigers were not the same team by any means in 2020.

They were led by the likes of Sharife Cooper (Atlanta Hawks) and JT Thor (Charlotte Hornets). Those two played a huge role in any success that the Tigers had last season.

After the Tigers finished with an abysmal 13-14 record, several of the team’s players decided to transfer elsewhere. The four of them all had contributions this season to their respective teams.

The men’s basketball team received several contributions from players that transferred in as well. The new group of transfers are led by former North Carolina Tar Heel, Walker Kessler.

We are highlighting the impact that each of the four players has had at their transfer destinations since their departures from Auburn.

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.

Devan Cambridge responds on Twitter when asked about Justin Powell

This could get wild…

Devan Cambridge has had his share of explosive plays this season.

Auburn Twitter wants him to have another explosive play against his former teammate Justin Powell.

Powell left the Auburn basketball program after a weird series of events that started with a concussion that put him out for the season. He entered the transfer portal and went to play for Tennesee.

On Twitter, the account “Blue Blood Barner” got fans engaged when calling out Powell for his inefficient night shooting in the loss against Texas Tech.

A fan responded and said, “Imagine the social media reaction if someone on auburn posterizes him.” Cambridge was tagged in a response to this tweet and he responded and said “I got u.”

I guess this confirms that there is some bad blood still between some members of the Auburn basketball team and their former teammate.

Auburn plays Tennessee on February 26 at 11:00 CT.

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