Tag: Kai Jones

Four 2021 NBA draft prospects projected to the Boston Celtics

This foursome of 2021 NBA draft prospects have recently been mocked to the Boston Celtics.

While tiebreakers still need to be taken care of to set the final order of the 2021 NBA draft, the Boston Celtics know they’ll be selecting in the later teens of the first round should they elect to use their pick.

And while there’s an excellent chance the team simply flips it in a deal for another, more seasoned NBA player, there’s still value in keeping tabs on who Boston might choose in the draft should they use it. Drawing on a number of recently-released mock drafts circulating in the wider NBA media sphere, we found these four prospects as popular mocks for the Celtics to choose come draft night.

Let’s dive into the foursome drawn from mocks created by The Athletic, NBADraftRoom.com, Bleacher Report, CBS, our sister site Rookie Wire and NBADraft.net.

Texas basketball could have the most players selected in the 2021 NBA draft in school history

The Texas Longhorns basketball program could have the most draft picks in program history during the 2021 NBA draft.

With the recent news surrounding Texas forward Greg Brown choosing to declare for the 2021 NBA draft, it brought the total number of Longhorn draft prospects to three. Brown will join teammates Kai Jones and Matt Coleman III who have each announced their decision to turn pro.

The only remaining player that Texas is waiting to hear from is Jericho Sims, who must make a decision by midnight on May 31 as it’s the deadline to declare for the NBA draft. If he does in fact declare, it would bring the total Longhorns in the draft to four players.

If each of these four players were to be selected in either the first or second round of the draft, it would set a program record for the number of Texas players selected in a single NBA Draft.

Texas’ program has had as many as three players selected in a single draft. Coincidentally enough, this happened only three times in 2006, 2010 and 2011.

Brown has been considered a lottery pick going back to the start of the 2020-21 season, but has since been projected as a mid-to-late first round pick. Jones has been considered a first-round pick after a strong season, with the potential to go in the top-10.

Coleman hasn’t been considered a first round player, but he has potential second-round talent due to his ability to score from the field, three-point line and from the free-throw line. He lacks ideal size and has struggled in man defense.

Sims is in the same projected draft range as Coleman, to become a second-round talent for his ability to be a strong scorer and defender in the paint, but lacks the ability to shoot outside or from the free-throw line.

Texas’ program under head coach Chris Beard seems to be turning the page as a premiere basketball school. Having four players drafted in a 60-pick draft (6.7% of the draft) would be another stepping stone to how the Longhorns will be viewed in the future landscape of college basketball.

Two Longhorns projected to go in the first round of the 2021 NBA draft

A pair of Texas Longhorns basketball prospects are projected to become first round picks in the 2021 NBA draft.

At the moment, Matt Coleman III and Kai Jones are the only Texas players that have declared for the upcoming 2021 NBA draft.

Greg Brown and Jericho Sims have yet to announce whether their plan is to return for the 2021 season in Austin, continue their careers elsewhere via the NCAA transfer portal, or declare for the draft.

Despite the uncertainty around Sims and Brown’s futures, it hasn’t stopped the speculation that if Brown does in fact enter the draft, would he become a first round pick?

Vincent Frank of Forbes and Sportsnaut projects a pair of of Texas players to be selected in the first round. At No. 19 overall, Frank projects the Atlanta Hawks to select Kai Jones. He projects the New York Knicks to take Greg Brown with the No. 23 overall pick.

If this were to happen, it would be the first time where at least two Texas players were taken in the first round of the NBA Draft since 2011, where three Longhorns were taken in the first round.

2021 NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 100 prospects pre-early entry deadline

As the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season nears its close, the league’s next wave of talent is preparing to take the great leap to become pros.

As the NBA’s 2020-21 regular season nears its close, the league’s next wave of talent is preparing to take the great leap to become pros.

Players have until the end of this month, May 30, to apply for entry into the 2021 NBA draft. They will then have until July 19 to determine whether or not they plan to stay in this class or (unless they hired an agent who does not have NCAA certification) return to school.

This is obviously an incredibly difficult decision and as the majority of early entry candidates have made their intentions public, those who are testing the waters are already weighing their options.

Fortunately, the NBA’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee (UAC) exists to help answer some of those questions.

The advisory committee, which began in 1997, offers feedback to prospects on their potential draft stock. As many prospects are facing pivotal decisions about their future, this kind of intel is incredibly important.

Players like Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Baylor’s Jared Butler both went through this process last season, likely were not satisfied with the results and opted to return. Now, after tremendous efforts last season, both are projected first-rounders.

These decisions have tremendous financial implications for these individuals as well. For example, even if Kispert or Butler went with the last pick in the first round in 2020, they would have likely earned a contract worth around $5 million over three years. This year, even if they went outside of the lottery at at No. 15 overall, that would be around $8.5 million.

With that in mind, for the latest version of For The Win’s 2021 NBA draft big board, I’ve provided my evaluation for the top prospects expected to be in the pre-draft process. Players excluded from this exercise were likely because the reporting suggests that they are going back to school.

Note that these decisions were fully based on where I would have each player ranked, not a projection, although various conversations with scouts as well as other talent evaluators around the league have factored into my evaluation.

Moses Moody, Jalen Johnson among prospects to sign with Klutch Sports

Moody and Johnson headlined the group of prospects that were signed by the Klutch Sports Group on Thursday.

Arkansas guard Moses Moody and Duke forward Jalen Johnson headlined the group of prospects that were signed by the Klutch Sports Group on Thursday, the agency announced.

In addition to Moody and Johnson, Texas forward Kai Jones, Kentucky players BJ Boston and Terrence Clark, and Florida guard Scottie Lewis also signed with Rich Paul-led group to form a talented haul of draft prospects this year.

Moody, Johnson and Jones each enter the pre-draft process projected by most to be lottery selections, while Boston is thought to be a late first-round pick. Meanwhile, Clark is believed to be a late second-rounder and Lewis is currently outside of the top 60 by most mocks.

Of course, the pre-draft rankings will change from now until the NBA draft on July 29. Prospects will conduct interviews and workouts with teams in the coming weeks while scouting events like the combine and NBA G League Elite Camp will return to help players improve their draft stock.

Klutch Sports has emerged as perhaps the top agency in the NBA given its All-Star clientele, headlined by LeBron James, Anthony Davis and John Wall among others. In 2020, the agency signed Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Maxey.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Two Longhorns selected in the first round of latest NBA mock draft

Texas Longhorns players Kai Jones and Greg Brown both mocked to go in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft.

The 2021 NBA Draft will take place on July 29. At the moment, the only Texas player to declare for the draft is Kai Jones.

Other Longhorns such as Greg Brown, Matt Coleman III, Courtney Ramey and Jericho Sims haven’t decided on their futures with the team. Each of these players could either return to the Forty Acres for the 2021-22 season, enter the NCAA transfer portal, or declare for the draft.

Their uncertainty hasn’t stopped NBA analysts from getting in on the early draft buzz. Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports recently published an early first-round NBA mock draft and he predicted a pair of Texas players to be be taken off of the board in the first round.

No. 9 overall: Forward Kai Jones, Orlando Magic

No. 23 overall: Forward Greg Brown, Los Angeles Lakers

It’s interesting to see Brown tumble in projections from his initial hype to be a lottery pick. Jones to essentially traded places with Brown as a potential lottery pick.

It makes sense considering Jones showed more of an ability to play on both ends of the court down the stretch and Brown’s playing time lessened as he became more of an offensive liability, which limited his playing time.

It’s still early, as Brown has yet to declare, but seeing two Longhorns taken in the first round of the draft would give the Texas program a boost in exposure that we’ve already began to feel in the early stages of the Chris Beard era.

2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Checking in after March Madness

Which future NBA players played the best during March Madness? Who has made the most significant improvements to their draft stock since our last update?

Which future NBA players played the best during March Madness? Which prospects made the most significant improvements to their draft stock?

In order to get a better sense of where all of the prospects stand right now, we compiled mock drafts from ESPN, NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo, The Athletic, SB Nation and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win to see where the prospects rank at the moment.

Since our previous update last month, these are the players who have improved their stock and are trending up on mock drafts: Davion Mitchell (Baylor), Josh Giddey (Adelaide), Chris Duarte (Oregon), Miles McBride (West Virginia), Aaron Henry (Michigan State), Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona), Kessler Edwards (Pepperdine), Trey Murphy (Virginia) and Neemias Queta (Utah State).

Some of the names that did not make the list last time but now appear among the Top 60 include Isaiah Todd (G League Ignite), Johnny Juzang (UCLA), Max Abmas (Oral Roberts), RaiQuan Gray (Florida State), Santi Aldama (Loyola Maryland and Austin Reaves (Oklahoma).

Below are the full rankings based on the latest mock drafts from top analysts and experts.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

2021 NBA Mock Draft 3.0: Latest updates after March Madness

Front offices have seen what some of the best prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft have done on the biggest stage.

Now that the NCAA tournament is in the rearview mirror, front offices have seen what the best prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft have done on the biggest stage.

With a new champion crowned, fans have seen the first wave of prospects declare early entry for the draft and forego the remainder of their collegiate eligibility. Others, meanwhile, are testing the waters to gain feedback from teams around the league as they decide whether or not to return to college.

Based on the general consensus learned thus far, now is a great time to offer an update since we last published a mock draft back in February.

The main difference from the big board that I published last month is that my mock also factors intel, team fit, front office evaluation philosophy and roster construction. For example, there are more international players included here because I’m projecting teams with surplus picks will select draft-and-stash players rather than roster four or five rookies next season.

This should act as a barometer for a player’s stock before pre-draft workouts, interviews and the 2021 NBA Draft Combine. As those factors come into the light over the next few months, expect some potentially significant changes.

This draft order, which factors in trades and pick protections, was pulled from the latest Tankathon update following the games on April 12.

Pregame buzz as Texas prepares to face Abilene Christian in the NCAA Tournament

Fans, players and media members can’t contain their excitement as Texas inches closer to their NCAA Tournament opener.

March Madness is one of the most exciting events across all sports. Continue reading “Pregame buzz as Texas prepares to face Abilene Christian in the NCAA Tournament”

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