Tag: Luka Garza

Pistons’ Luka Garza earned ‘MVP’ chants from fans in Detroit

Garza hasn’t been with the organization very long but the second-round pick is quickly becoming a fan favorite in the Motor City.

Detroit Pistons rookie Luka Garza hasn’t been with the organization very long but the second-round pick is quickly becoming a fan favorite in the Motor City.

Garza checked into the game midway through the fourth quarter on Friday to a warm ovation from Pistons fans at Little Caesars Arena. He finished the win over the Philadelphia 76ers with six points and two rebounds in five minutes of work.

On one sequence, Garza earned a trip to the free-throw line after completing an And-1 layup in transition. When he stepped to the line, he was showered in “M-V-P” chants by fans, according to Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press.

Garza wrapped up the preseason by averaging 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds in four games. He played mostly in mop-up duty but had a strong training camp with the Pistons and is clearly a favorite among fans, likely because of his storied collegiate career at Iowa.

With the Pistons building toward the future, the team has liked what it has seen with Garza. He will be part of a promising young core that could turn Detroit into a team on the rise over the next several seasons.

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

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Report: Pistons to sign rookie Luka Garza to two-year contract

Detroit will convert Garza from a two-way contract to a standard NBA deal with the signing.

Detroit Pistons rookie Luka Garza will reportedly sign a two-year contract after a strong showing with the team in the Las Vegas Summer League, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Garza previously signed a two-way contract with the Pistons but the team opted to convert it into a standard deal. The news of the contract change was first reported as a possibility last week as opposing teams expected the Pistons to make the move.

Detroit now has an open two-way contract available.

The 52nd overall pick was named to the all-summer league second team after averaging 15 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and one blocked shot in five games with the Pistons. He finished his stay in Las Vegas with his best game, recording 21 points and 15 rebounds.

With the Pistons building toward the future, the team certainly liked what it saw from Garza in summer league. He could be part of a promising young core that could turn Detroit into a team on the rise over the next several seasons.

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

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Pistons expected to convert Luka Garza to standard contract

Garza was named to the All-Summer League second team after averaging 15 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and one block.

Detroit Pistons rookie Luka Garza turned in a strong performance in the Las Vegas Summer League and was rewarded with a two-way contract last month.

The former National Player of the Year may soon receive more good news regarding his contract situation.

Garza, who was the 52nd overall pick, was named to the All-Summer League second team after averaging 15 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and one blocked shot in five games with the Pistons. He finished off his stay in Las Vegas with his best game, recording 21 points and 15 rebounds.

According to Ian Begley of SNY, the Pistons are expected to convert Garza’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal prior to the start of the season. Detroit would then have an open two-way spot they could use to sign an additional player.

With the Pistons building toward the future, the team certainly liked what they saw from Garza in Las Vegas and could soon sign him to a multiyear contract. The Pistons have a promising young core, and could be a team on the rise over the next several seasons.

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

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Pistons second-round pick Luka Garza to sign two-way contract

Garza is averaging 13.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, two assists and 1.3 blocks with the Pistons in summer league.

Detroit Pistons rookie Luka Garza, who was the 52nd overall pick, will reportedly sign a two-way contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Garza finished his career at Iowa as the 2021 consensus national player of the year and a two-time first-team All-American. He averaged 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31 games last season on 44% shooting from 3-point range.

With the Pistons, Garza has had a strong showing in the Las Vegas Summer League.

He is averaging 13.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, two assists and 1.3 blocks heading into the Pistons’ final game on Monday. He is shooting 53% from the field, including 43% from 3-point range, and is coming off of his best game, recording 20 points and 14 rebounds on Saturday.

Garza will split his time next season between the Pistons and Motor City Cruise in the NBA G League. He will have the opportunity to develop with the Cruise while gaining some NBA experience throughout the season with the Pistons.

Players this season signed to two-way contracts are eligible to spend no more than 50 games in the NBA. They will earn a flat salary equal to 50% of the minimum salary applicable to a player with zero years of service.

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

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A roundup of NBA sleepers draft analysts are higher on than others

Who owns the most real estate on Davion Mitchell Island? Who is buying stock in Sharife Cooper?

Everyone loves Cade Cunningham. It’s not a hot take for an analyst to say that Cunningham is their favorite player in the class. That’s not particularly interesting to read, either.

But what is fascinating, however, is when an analyst deviates from the norm and ranks someone significantly higher than where the prospect falls in other rankings. What does that tell us about their individual scouting process and what they value? Further, what does that tell us about the potential draftee?

Some folks call it “buying stock” in a player. Others, like ESPN’s Zach Lowe or The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, call it owning real estate on a player’s island. I like to refer to it as a “draft crush” when I wind up higher than consensus in my evaluation of a player.

My process is ridiculously tedious but the results can be fairly useful. I’ve tracked the evolution of more than sixty unique mock drafts, big boards and draft models from trusted analysts and popular accounts on Twitter.

Each placement is assigned a value based on Kevin Pelton’s draft pick trade value chart. I do this because, as Pelton notes, the difference in relative value between the No. 5 overall pick and the No. 7 overall is much more stark than, say, that of the No. 45 pick and the No. 47 pick.

After composing an aggregate score based on each ranking, I can see where each analyst strays from the pack.

I’ll leave the conclusions drawn from these results up to the reader. But if nothing else, this can eventually be used as a bragging point if one writer was higher than consensus on a draftee who eventually ends up outperforming his draft position.

Final 2021 NBA Mock Draft: Latest intel, trade rumors and predicting all 60 picks

Wasn’t it just the 2020 NBA draft? How is the 2021 NBA draft already here? Crazy, maybe, but the league is about to have a ton of new faces.

Wasn’t it just the 2020 NBA draft? How is the 2021 NBA draft already here? Crazy, maybe, but the league is about to have a ton of new faces.

The names that you’re most likely to hear at the top are Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green and Evan Mobley. But the draft will start heating up once guys like Jalen Suggs, Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Kuminga start to find their new homes.

This draft will also be unique in that there will be fewer players in attendance than usual. According to one prospect who recently spoke to For The Win, due to COVID-19 restrictions, those not invited to the green room are not allowed to come to the stage and shake the hand of the commissioner as they have been in years past.

Regardless of who is actually in the building, however, it is certain to be an exciting and life-changing night for the next generation of NBA talent.

Based on conversations I’ve had with scouts around the league, and from reports and tea leaves left in other mock drafts from trusted draftniks, below is how I project the events will unfold at Barclays Center and on ESPN and ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET on July 29.

2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 7.0: Ranking the full class of prospects

The 2021 NBA draft is less than a week away and we finally have an idea of who is in — and who has withdrawn — from the class.

The 2021 NBA draft is less than a week away and we finally have an idea of who is in – and who has withdrawn – from the class.

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

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

Since our previous update last month, some of the players with the most positive momentum include Quentin Grimes, Joe Wieskamp, Vrenz Bleijenbergh, Aaron Wiggins, Justin Champagnie, Jericho Sims, Jason Preston, Josh Primo, Neemias Queta, Trey Murphy and Bones Hyland.

Among players who ranked on our previous update who have since withdrawn from the draft include Roko Prkacin (32), Marcus Bagley (39), Terrence Shannon (48), Ariel Hukporti (50), Max Abmas (53), Johnny Juzang (54), Jordan Hall (66), Carlos Alocen (69) and Ochai Agbaji (75).

The most notable omissions who remain in this class but not these rankings are Yves Pons, Scottie Lewis, Jay Huff, Marcus Zegarowski, Aamir Simms, Dalano Banton, Matt Mitchell, Jose Alvarado, Carlik Jones, Derrick Alston Jr., Romeo Weems, Balsa Koprivica, Chaundee Brown, Isaiah Miller, Jordan Schakel and D.J. Carton.

Note that for the offensive roles, we borrowed a fun idea from Todd Whitehead (formerly of Nylon Calculus) with help from our friends at Bball-Index.com to create a slightly tweaked formula from the version they use.

The goal of that is not to explain how well a player scores but rather offer context for the way that he was used on his most recent team. This should help you predict how he might be used at the next level.

Meanwhile, 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

Sixers hosted Luka Garza, Neemias Queta for pre-draft workouts

Garza and Queta are both projected to be second-round picks, and could be reliable backup options for the Sixers.

Iowa center Luka Garza and Utah State center Neemias Queta on Wednesday were among the prospects that worked out with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Garza finished his career at Iowa as the 2021 consensus national player of the year and a two-time first-team All-American. He averaged 24.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31 games last season on 44% shooting from 3-point range.

Queta was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 14.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 29 games. He finished as the only player in the conference to average a double-double during the season.

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Garza and Queta each enter the draft as perhaps two of the most productive big men from college. They are both projected to be mid-second-round picks next week, and could step in and provide the Sixers with a reliable backup option behind Joel Embiid.

Philadelphia enters the draft with the 28th and 50th selections, respectively. Garza and Queta both could be available when the Sixers are on the clock in the second round. Of course, they could always trade the pick but taking either Garza or Queta could be good value at 50.

The NBA draft will take place at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, July 29.

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

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Iowa All-American big man Luka Garza had pre-draft workout with Sixers

The Philadelphia 76ers have brought in Iowa big man Luka Garza for a workout.

With the Milwaukee Bucks knocking off the Phoenix Suns to win their first NBA title since 1971, the focus around the NBA is now on the July 29 draft. Teams are beginning to bring in potential prospects and begin to figure out what they will do with their selections.

The Philadelphia 76ers have picks at 28 and 50 in the upcoming draft and they have to decide what they plan to do with either selection. They have begun to bring in prospects into the facility to figure out what each player can do and they brought in an interesting one on Wednesday.

The Sixers brought in Iowa All-American big man Luka Garza on Wednesday for a workout and he is somebody who could be selected at 28. Garza averaged 24.1 points and 8.7 rebounds and he shot 44% from deep on 3.2 attempts in his senior season with the Hawkeyes.

Philadelphia needs some big man depth behind Joel Embiid as well as Tobias Harris so bringing in a guy like Garza for a workout suggests that president Daryl Morey sees the lack of bench help for his star. There is a chance that the Sixers could trade this selection, but going with a guy like Garza would be a nice addition.

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

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2021 NBA Draft Big Board 5.0: Final rankings of the Top 100 prospects

With just over a week left until the 2021 NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it’s officially the most wonderful time of the year! 

With just over a week left until the 2021 NBA draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, it’s officially the most wonderful time of the year!

That means that after a slew of surprising early entry withdrawals impacted the worlds of both college and international basketball, the next generation of NBA talent is getting closer to entering the league. As players finalize their place on big boards in front offices, I wanted to offer my opinion on how I think those rankings should look.

Note that our list is certainly going to look different from the lists at ESPN, The Athletic, Bleacher Report and other publications. Player evaluation is an inexact science. Part of the process is being willing to admit when you were wrong about a player.

But avoiding group-think and ending higher than consensus on a player is how an NBA team ends up selecting them in the draft. With that in mind, here is who I would target if I were running a front office.