Tag: NBA Draft

Gators star guard declares for NBA draft, might return to Florida

This Gators guard definitely has the chops for the pros but he could come back for one more season if things don’t pan out.

The news that the Gator Nation has been waiting for finally dropped on Monday when Florida basketball’s standout guard Walter Clayton Jr. announced his intention to enter the 2024 NBA draft.

However, if things do not work out, he noted that he will return “to no other than the University of Florida” for his senior collegiate season.

The 6-foot-3-inch, 195-pound guard, who is originally from Lakeland, Florida, returned to his home state last year through the transfer portal after two seasons under Rick Pitino with the Iona Gaels. There, he won the MAAC Player of the Year award in his sophomore campaign after leading his team to regular season and conference tournament titles.

He blossomed further under Todd Golden’s tutelage, picking up where he left off when he arrived in Gainesville in March 2023. Clayton averaged 17.6 points per game, including 36.5% from beyond the arc (in 255 attempts), giving him the highest season scoring average by a Gator since Anthony Roberson (17.9, 2003-04) and the fifth-best in school history.

The junior’s efforts earned him second-team All-SEC honors for the regular season while grabbing an All-SEC Tournament Team mention as well. He tied a program record with 42 consecutive free throws made and had a top-10 single-season UF free throw percentage of .877.

Clayton scored at least 20 points in nine of the final 14 games, including the postseason, for a total of 15 such performances over the 2023-24 campaign. The guard dropped a career-high 33 points in the NCAA Tournament against the Colorado Buffaloes — the second-most ever by a Gator in March Madness play.

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Everyone is interested in Bronny James declaring for the NBA draft

Bronny James offers a one-of-a-kind story. No wonder the curiosity about him as a draft prospect is so widespread.

Bronny James, when sized up and measured as an NBA draft prospect, is not an electrifying player. Bronny James as a man who could play alongside his famous father, LeBron James, as NBA teammates? That is endlessly fascinating. Lil Wayne is just one of the celebrities who has weighed in on Bronny James and the NBA draft. Pop culture figures having a take on the NBA or the draft is nothing new, but there is something which tugs at the heartstrings and also creates a singular curiosity when Bronny James is the topic of conversation.

Bronny James playing with LeBron James on the same NBA team, whichever team that is, will be a special moment in NBA history. The fact that LeBron James is already a legend of the game and one of the greatest basketball players of all time makes the idea of a Bronny-LeBron on-court pairing quite fascinating, even if that pairing isn’t going to play extended minutes together. Just one lob pass from one to the other, one backcut and assist, one screen set to open up a jump shot, will be talked about by many, and it will be remembered and cherished by father and son in ways we on the outside can’t appreciate. Bronny James is no ordinary draft story, and generic draft analysis will never fully capture that overall reality.

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Jay Bilas looks at Bronny James’ NBA draft profile

Bronny James is no ordinary or typical draft prospect.

Just how ready is Bronny James for the NBA? Jay Bilas is one of the foremost college basketball analysts in the country, and when college basketball season ends — as it is about to — Bilas moves from game analyst to draft analyst. He weighed in on Bronny James’ NBA draft situation and where he currently stands in the larger draft pecking order.

The thing to remember about Bronny James is that he is no ordinary draft prospect. For most draft-eligible players, it’s a pure assessment of what the individual can do. With Bronny, that calculus does not apply, since Bronny’s immediate value to a team is not his own self or his own production, but the simple fact that LeBron James will come with him as part of a package deal. Drafting Bronny means getting LeBron. In the Los Angeles Lakers’ case, drafting Bronny means keeping LeBron, presumably until the end of his NBA playing career. Bronny can sit on the bench and learn, developing his game on the practice court more than in live-game action. He could get mop-up minutes in the first two years of his NBA career while LeBron plays his remaining seasons and the two spend time together on an NBA roster, sharing plane flights and all the other aspects of NBA life LeBron has experienced for two decades. Sharing that with his son would be special.

Again, this is no ordinary draft situation.

Here’s Jay Bilas on Bronny James:

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Terrance Williams declares for NBA draft and enters transfer portal simultaneously

All options are on the table for the longtime Wolverine. #GoBlue

Dusty May won’t have Michigan basketball’s senior-most veteran to count on in his inaugural year in Ann Arbor, most likely — one way or another.

On the same day that forward Will Tschetter announced that he will be returning to the Wolverines for another year, there have been several other players still up in the air. Terrance Williams II (a 2020 prospect), transfer Nimari Burnett, and Jace Howard had yet to share their future plans. But Williams took to social media on Thursday to share that he’s entering the NBA draft, but will not hire an agent, thus retaining his eligibility to return to the college game.

Given that Williams is not seen as an NBA draft prospect, good news, right? Well, if you were hoping for an eventual return to the maize and blue, not so fast.

That’s because simultaneous to his announcement (and unbeknownst to me when I crafted the above tweet) Williams entered the transfer portal. So it appears that he will either play for another school or try his hand at the professional ranks.

Michigan will wait to hear the fate of the other two mentioned, but still has signee Durral Brooks in the mix, as well. George Washington III did enter the transfer portal but left it open that he could return to Ann Arbor.

Filipowski, McCain both go top 20 in ESPN’s post-Elite Eight mock draft

ESPN released a new NBA mock draft after the Elite Eight, and the Blue Devils had two players drafted in the top 20.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo released an updated NBA mock draft on Monday morning in light of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games.

The two analysts think Duke’s two stars, All-American 7-footer Kyle Filipowski and South All-Region Team member Jared McCain, both made the top 20 picks in the projections.

Filipowski went 16th overall to the Phoenix Suns after he averaged 16.4 points and 8.3 rebounds in his sophomore season. McCain went 19th overall to the Toronto Raptors after he averaged 21.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game during the four-game March Madness run.

The two players have gotten lottery hype, Filipowski due to his combination of size, passing ability (2.8 assists per game), and speed, and McCain because of his shooting prowess.

Despite the mock draft being two full rounds, no other Blue Devils made the 58 picks that Givony and Woo built out.

Should Spurs target best player or best fit in 2024 NBA Draft?

In the 2024 NBA Draft, should the San Antonio Spurs focus on fit or just take the best player available?

The San Antonio Spurs changed the course of their franchise forever last offseason when they picked Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick. The French big man has been amazing in his rookie season, and this summer will be a chance for the Spurs to build on the success he’s found by putting a better team around him.

Because they have struggled so much this year from a win-loss perspective, the Spurs will have another top pick in the upcoming draft. This means they should be able to add a second high-level young prospect to pair with Wembanyama. But what direction should they go in during the draft?

The Locked On Spurs podcast recently discussed whether or not the Spurs should target the best for their roster or the best player in the draft.

Adding a player who fits well next to Wembanyama would be ideal for the Spurs, but at the same time, getting the best player available seems like the smart decision.

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Former Duck center Kel’el Ware declares for the NBA draft

The former 5-star Oregon recruit and Indiana transfer is heading to the NBA.

He wasn’t a one-and-done, but he was close.

Former Oregon basketball center Kel’el Ware, who transferred to Indiana after one season in Eugene, has declared for the NBA draft in June.

Ware, a 7-footer from North Little Rock, Ark. played 30 games as a Hoosier this past season after playing 35 games as a Duck in his freshman season. He was hampered with an ankle injury towards the end of this year in Bloomington.

But before the injury, Ware was productive as he averaged 15.9 points a game and 9.9 rebounds for the Hoosiers. Those numbers were significantly better than his only season under Dana Altman. Ware scored just 6.6 points a game and 4.1 rebounds.

Seeing him transfer out of the Oregon program was a disappointment as Ware clearly possesses the talent to have a season like he had at Indiana. But the center was playing behind N’Faly Dante and wouldn’t have received the minutes like he did at Indiana.

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BREAKING: Wisconsin star guard declares for NBA Draft, maintains college eligibility

BREAKING: Wisconsin star guard declares for NBA Draft, maintains college eligibility

Wisconsin star guard A.J. Storr is declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility, according to a post on his X account.

The news comes on the heels of Storr not committing to a second season with the Badgers after the team’s NCAA Tournament loss to James Madison.

Related: If Wisconsin decides to move on from Greg Gard, who could it target as its next head coach?

The former St. John’s guard averaged 28.8 minutes, 16.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.6 steals in 2023-24. He was the engine of Wisconsin’s offense for much of the season, especially the team’s run to the final of the Big Ten Tournament.

The NBA hopeful would still be able to return to college if he isn’t satisfied with his draft projection. He would then have a decision to make about whether to return to Madison for another season, or play his third collegiate season elsewhere.

Storr is the second significant member of the 2023-24 Badgers who could be out the door, joining guard Connor Essegian who recently entered the transfer portal.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Could the Spurs steal the Raptors’ 2024 lottery pick?

The San Antonio Spurs could end up getting the Toronto Raptors’ lottery pick this summer.

The San Antonio Spurs have been one of the worst teams in the league this year. Obviously, that’s not where Victor Wembanyama and company wanted to be in his first year in the league, but they have plenty of room to grow. Wembanyama has been amazing this season, and they are still a very young team.

Most importantly, the Spurs will have a big chance to add more talent this summer. Not only will they have money to spend in free agency, but they will also be able to bring in some new young talent through the draft. They could end up having two lottery picks.

The Spurs could end up getting the Toronto Raptors’ lottery pick, as they landed it in the Jakob Poeltl trade last season. The selection is top-six protected, so if the Raptors end up outside of the top-six, the Spurs will get to steal the pick. The CLAN the SPURS fan recently spoke about this chance.

Getting the Raptors’ pick would allow the Spurs to add two premier young talents to their squad.

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March Madness: The rules for players declaring for the NBA Draft, explained

Declaring for the NBA Draft seems pretty simple.

The NCAA takes center stage every March with the incredible talent featured in the tournament, but many of those players will move on and become studs at the next level in the NBA.

You’ll probably be familiar with many names for years to come in this year’s tournament. Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Dalton Knecht, Jakobe Walter, Johnny Furphy. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Before those players move on to the next level, though, they have to decide whether to declare for the NBA Draft. Have you ever thought about how one might go about doing that?

Well, no worries. You’re in the right place. Here are the requirements for players who want to move on to the next level:

  • The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement requires players to be at least 19 years old during the draft year.
  • Players can only enter the draft twice during their careers. So when a player decides to make the jump, there’s a bit of wiggle room to change their mind.
  • If a player goes undrafted during the process, they’ll still be allowed to return to school following the draft.

Declaring yourself for the draft sounds a lot more complicated than it is. On the men’s side, that’s all there is to it. Pretty simple if you ask me.

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