Tag: Tyrese Haliburton

Avdija ranks somewhere behind Edwards, …

Avdija ranks somewhere behind Edwards, Wiseman and Ball, mixed in with Obi Toppin, Isaac Okoro, Killian Hayes, Tyrese Haliburton and possibly Onyeka Okongwu. Still, according to a source, this draft is “all over the place” and teams are using this extra time to dig even more into one of the most uncertain classes since 2013.

If Warriors don’t want to draft a center, which prospects make sense?

The Warriors reportedly do not want Onyeka Okongwu or James Wiseman with a top-five pick. Which player of a different position might they be interested in?

The San Francisco Chronicle reported the Warriors are “unlikely” to draft USC center Onyeka Okongwu with a top-five pick, and that Golden State likes Okongwu more than fellow center James Wiseman.

Since acquiring Andrew Wiggins, a starting center has appeared to be the Warriors’ biggest position of need. But if they do believe in Marquese Chriss as the center of the future, as the Chronicle reported, that incentives management to broaden the prospect pool and look for best player over positional need.

Let’s take a brief look at those other players the Warriors would have interest in with a top-five pick, something they would be assured of if the draft lottery proceeds with the current standings.

Players are broken up into guard and forward positions and listed in alphabetical order.

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Guards

LaMelo Ball

Listed at 6-foot-7, Ball is an offensive wizard with his passing abilities and flair. His upside, after averaging 17 points, 7.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists in a pro league while his counterparts were against college students, is enormous.

Ball as a lead ball-handler off the bench would allow the Warriors to continue playing up-tempo even with Steph Curry and Klay Thompson off the floor. The three of them on the court together would result in gobs of points. But it would be difficult to hide both Ball and Curry on defense — Ball has good instincts in passing lanes, but isn’t a disruptive on-ball defender. With a 6-foot-10 wingspan, though, he has the size that would allow him to develop into a good one.

With that said, his low shooting percentages are worrisome: He shot 37.5% from the field and 25% from 3 while shooting 72.3% from the free-throw line last season.

Yet his potential makes him a candidate for the No. 1 pick. If he blossoms in Golden State, the Warriors do too.

Anthony Edwards

Often slotted in the No. 1 spot by analysts, Edwards offers scoring that would ideally allow starting Warriors guards to take the bench without a drop-off in production against another team’s second unit.

Edwards is athletic. He can create his own shot. He was inefficient last season, but that may be a symptom of poor shooting and spacing around him at Georgia — only two players shot above 33% from 3, and one of those players attempted only 18 shots from beyond the arc.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Edwards averaged about 19 points, five rebounds and three assists per game at Georgia. He shot 40.2% from the field, 29.4% from 3 and 77.2% from the free throw line. With his size, he also shows promise on the defensive end of the ball.

If Edwards is the player optimists believe and he’s available for the Warriors’ pick, they would luck into a future All-Star to join the talented core.

Tyrese Haliburton

Haliburton shot above 50% from the field and 40% from deep while dishing 6.5 assists per game this past season for Iowa State. The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie wrote he’d be best in a secondary playmaker role next to a lead guard and getting backup point guard minutes.

That’s no problem for the Warriors, who happen to have an MVP point guard but could use another creator. Similar to how Ball offers intrigue on the court with Curry and Thompson, Haliburton could be a less ball-dominant option to run around the backcourt.

Haliburton would be a stretch with one of the top couple picks, as he lacks the upside and athleticism of some of these other players, but he has shown he’s a good playmaker and shooter, one who averaged 2.5 steals per game with his 7-foot wingspan. If he can be a strong two-way player from day one, it will be worth it for the Warriors.

Killian Hayes

Rising up big boards more recently than others on this list, most notably being Kevin O’Connor’s top prospect at The Ringer, Hayes is another player who impressed playing internationally.

The most glaring concern about his fit on the team might be one that is actually a compliment. Hayes, with his lefty flair, receives comparisons to D’Angelo Russell. That didn’t work out in Golden State. But maybe this less-expensive player who wouldn’t be a starter could work better?

A strong playmaker with an arsenal that includes a good off-the-dribble shooting and step-backs, Hayes would be a better backup point guard than most for the 2020-21 Warriors team.

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Tyrese Haliburton on his first big NBA purchase: A pair of Kobe 6s

The former Iowa State guard has his sights set on his first big purchase as an NBA player.

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After a strong sophomore season at Iowa State, Tyrese Haliburton has his sights set on the NBA Draft where he is projected to be a first-round selection.

Haliburton has also targeted his first big purchase as an NBA player.

The 6-foot-5 guard appeared on “The Jump” on Tuesday with Rachel Nichols and discussed a variety of topics, including what he wants to buy with his first NBA paycheck.

“As a little kid, of course, it’s like, ‘Man, I want a house with an elevator or a pool,'” Haliburton said. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to relax a little bit so the No. 1 thing that I will buy once I get my first NBA contract is a pair of Kobe 6 “Grinch” [shoes]. I’ve wanted those since he wore them on Christmas Day. I’m definitely going to get me a pair of them.”

Of course, Kobe Bryant wore the “Grinch” shoes on Christmas Day in 2010 and they have become a popular colorway over the years. As of now, the shoe is going for over $1,000 on several shoe websites given its limited availability.

The shoe is reportedly expected to make a return in early 2021.

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Tyrese Haliburton says his game is most often compared to Lonzo Ball

With a low-usage, pass-heavy playing style, Iowa State prospect Tyrese Haliburton compared his game to New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball.

Lonzo Ball’s unique game makes him a prospect that few are compared to. Even as he came into the league, the only players he was compared to were Jason Kidd and Magic Johnson, due almost entirely to his up-tempo style and passing ability.

That makes Tyrese Haliburton’s comments on his recent appearance on the Lightharted Podcast with Josh Hart all the more interesting. When discussing who his game most resembles, Haliburton, a guard from Iowa State, brought up Ball’s name.

“Every comparison you’ll see about me until I play my first game is going to be Lonzo. We had basically similar college numbers. I have an unorthodox form like he does and I’m tall and light-skinned. It makes sense, we play kinda similar types of basketball. Growing up like everybody, my favorite players were LeBron and Kobe; those have been the two I watched my whole life. Being a point guard, CP3 I watched so much film on him.”

Statistically, Haliburton and Ball had very similar output when comparing the latter’s lone year at UCLA to the former’s sophomore season as a Cyclone. Per 40 minutes, Haliburton averaged 16.6 points, 7.0 assists and 6.4 rebounds, eerily similar to Ball’s 16.6 points, 8.7 assists and 6.0 rebounds. Both shot just over 41% from the three-point line.

While Haliburton has a unique jumper, nothing compares to the jumper Ball had in college and his first years in the NBA.

The latest Rookie Wire mock draft has Haliburton going 10th overall to the Phoenix Suns. As noted in the mock draft, Haliburton’s low-usage playstyle draws another comparison to Ball.

Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton is a peculiar player because while he is one of the best primary ballhandlers in this class, he does not require a very high usage rate to get his job done. He helped display that when leading Team USA to gold at the U19 World Cup in 2019. He would provide a perfect fit next to an overwhelmingly ball-dominant off-guard in Devin Booker. For a team that already has strong offensive weapons such as Booker and DeAndre Ayton, Haliburton could be the glue that helps transform the Suns into a playoff team.

It will be interesting to see how Haliburton adapts to the league and whether his game is similar to Ball’s once he establishes himself with a professional team.

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Tyrese Haliburton detailed his reason for entering the NBA Draft

Haliburton averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 22 games as a sophomore with Iowa State.

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Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton announced last month that he would leave school early and declare for the 2020 NBA Draft after playing two seasons with the Cyclones.

The 6-foot-5 Haliburton averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 22 games as a sophomore and has established himself a projected lottery pick. He has been touted as a strong 3-and-D threat given his 7-foot wingspan and ability to shoot from deep.

Haliburton appeared on the LightHarted Podcast on Sunday with New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart and host Matt Hillman to discuss his journey to this point and detailed his reasoning behind entering the NBA Draft.

It was kind of inevitable, right? Everybody knew I was going to leave because [I am projected to go] in the top 15 or whatever but everybody knew how much I cared about the university. If there was a football rule where you gotta stay for three years, I would have been happy to come back for my junior year.

The way the NBA works is the older you are, it hurts your draft stock. I was hurt already so I didn’t want to risk coming back and getting hurt again or hurting my draft stock anymore. It was kinda a no-brainer to put my family in the best situation. I kinda had to go; it wasn’t much of a choice.

Haliburton saw his season come to an end early after suffering a fractured wrist in February. He told Hart and Hillman that he was just cleared to begin shooting again but hasn’t been able to train much due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Based on his style of play, Haliburton has been compared most commonly to Lonzo Ball given his unorthodox shooting form and ability to get his teammates involved. He projects to be a player that can step in and start immediately.

Haliburton is projected to be selected 10th in the latest 2020 Rookie Wire NBA Mock Draft.

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2020 aggregate NBA mock draft 5.0: International prospects are rising

Scouting and preparing for the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft is incredibly challenging due to circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

Scouting and preparing for the upcoming 2020 NBA draft is incredibly challenging due to circumstances surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

As always, we examine the mock drafts from the most trusted analysts to give us the best idea of a consensus for what the upcoming class will look like in June. The latest 2020 NBA mock drafts from experts at ESPN, CBS Sports, SI.com, Bleacher Report, NBADraft.net, The Athletic, SB Nation, Sporting News and USA Today Sports Media Group’s Rookie Wire were used for these rankings.

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Currently, the first three players expected to be selected (Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman) have remained in the exact same order for the third aggregate mock draft in a row.

After dropping from No. 5 all the way to No. 11 between December and January, Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Deni Avdija has jumped back to No. 4 for this version.

He played well recently at the 2020 Eurobasket Qualifiers, scoring 21 points with eight rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal while also shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. This was a welcome change of pace for scouts hoping to learn as much as possible about Avdija as he had averaged just 4.0 points in 14.3 minutes in Euroleague games earlier this season.

Several other prospects playing overseas have seen their stock increase as well. This makes some sense considering many in the NCAA rely on their performance in March Madness to solidify their draft position whereas the international players gain momentum in other ways.

Killian Hayes, who was ranked No. 18 overall on our last aggregate mock draft, jumped up to No. 8 for this edition. The 6-foot-5 guard was 14-for-61 (39 percent) from 3-point range while also connecting on 90.9 percent of his free-throw attempts during Eurocup action. Several outlets are currently projecting him as a Top 5 pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

Another prospect playing outside of the United States but currently making waves is Leandro Bolmaro. He debuted on our aggregate mock draft in the most recent edition before this one but has jumped all the way to No. 29 this time around.

Meanwhile, in the NCAA, some college basketball players managed to make some serious momentum for themselves before the season was unexpectedly cut short. Some of those players are seniors Killian Tillie (Gonzaga), Grant Riller (Charleston), Udoka Azubuike (Kansas) and Desmond Bane (TCU).

As mentioned here, it makes sense for upperclassmen to be more appealing in this class than in previous years. Seniors have far more game film to draw film which may be necessary considering individual team workouts and even the 2020 NBA Draft Combine may be canceled. Plus, older players are likely more ready to contribute immediately.

On the flip side, there are freshmen around the country who have seen their draft stock drastically decline in recent months.

Oregon’s N’Faly Dante has fallen off our boards completely after playing just twelve games and making no appearances in the starting lineup. Kahlil Whitney, who was considered a lottery pick when we did this exercise in October 2019, also dropped off after withdrawing from Kentucky.

Some other freshmen who saw their draft stock fall: Duke’s Matthew Hurt was ranked No. 16 overall back in October but is now at No. 76 overall. LSU’s Trendon Watford was ranked No. 14 in October but has fallen to No. 63. Florida’s Scottie Lewis was No. 9 in July and is currently No. 53 overall.

Less drastic but still valid: Arizona’s Nico Mannion has fallen from No. 6 back in January 2020 all the way to No. 16 now in April. Likewise, UNC’s Cole Anthony dropped from No. 2 back in July 2019 to No. 10 in our new study.

But some encouraging news for prospects who were considered Top-25 recruits coming out of high school but had a disappointing freshman year (e.g. Duke’s Wendell Moore as well as the aforementioned Dante, Whitney, Watford, Hurt and Lewis) can be found in Kentucky’s Immanuel Quickley.

The 6-foot-3 guard was the No. 13 overall recruit in the nation coming into Kentucky as a freshman. But after averaging just 5.2 points as a freshman, he returned for his sophomore campaign.

Fortunately, the SEC Player of the Year dramatically improved his draft stock in 2019-20. His season was highlighted by 21.3 points per game in February and a free throw percentage (92.3%) that ranked as the sixth-best among all underclassmen. This month, he debuted on our aggregate mock draft at No. 42 overall.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report.

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2020 NBA mock draft: Obi Toppin, LaMelo Ball offer intrigue

Rookie Wire breaks down the film and crunches all the relevant statistics to predict all 60 picks of the 2020 NBA Draft.

Like much of the world right now, the 2020 NBA Draft is full of uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The cancellation of the NCAA Tournament changes the evaluation process and denies NBA teams the opportunity to see how players react to the pressure of performing on college basketball’s biggest stage. Nevertheless, scouts and front offices are doing their homework on this year’s top prospects.

As of now, the draft remains scheduled for June 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. However, the event could be pushed back in reaction to the pandemic.

Meantime, our two-round mock draft accounts for potential fit for every team that currently owns picks. Some teams, such as the Philadelphia 76ers, New Orleans Pelicans and Boston Celtics, have enough picks to trade up or turn them into higher picks for future years. Others, such as the Golden State Warriors, may want to trade down to select a player based on roster fit.

That said, we made our selections without trying to predict trades.

A few quick notes: Some notable freshmen (such as Florida’s Scottie Lewis, Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Duke’s Wendell Moore and Matthew Hurt) have been omitted because Rookie Wire expects them to return to school.

Similarly, top juniors (such as San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn, Iowa’s Luka Garza, Georgetown’s Omer Yurtseven) were excluded because we expect them to return for their senior year.

Generally speaking, players who have already declared for the draft or are testing the waters were given priority over prospects who we may rate a bit higher but have not officially put the name into the draft pool.

Draft order is based on NBA standings when the league went on hiatus.

1. Golden State Warriors: Anthony Edwards, Georgia

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Wing, 6-foot-5, 18 years old

The Warriors, obviously, have little need for a player who needs the ball in his hands as often as Anthony Edwards does. But the SEC Freshman of the Year arguably has the most star power of anyone in this draft class. Edwards averaged a strong 21.8 points per game in February and is a highlight-reel in transition. Edwards could conceivably be traded, which would allow Golden State to collect another asset while also selecting a player (perhaps either Obi Toppin or Deni Avdija) who fits better with the Warriors’ core.

Second pick | Third pick | Fourth pick | Fifth pick | Remainder of lottery | Remainder of first round | Second round

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Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa State (6-5, …

Tyrese Haliburton, PG, Iowa State (6-5, 175, 20): If the Warriors pick in the top-5, they’ll draft the best prospect available — not the player who fills a positional need. That means that even though Golden State already has Curry at point guard, it would be open to adding someone who could potentially take over for him someday. According to a league source, the Warriors are believed to be higher on Haliburton than Ball. There might not be a player in this draft with a better feel for the game than Haliburton, who, in addition to averaging 6.5 assists this season, shot 50.4% from the field (41.9% from 3-point range).

Marial Shayok on Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton: ‘I’m proud of him’

The two each played together for Iowa State during the 2018-19 season, leading the Cyclones to the Big 12 Championship.

Iowa State guard Tyrese Haliburton announced this week on social media that he will leave school early to sign with an agent and enter the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft.

Haliburton has emerged as a potential lottery pick in the NBA Draft after a strong sophomore season with the Cyclones in which he averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 22 games.

The 6-foot-5 guard has been touted as a strong 3-and-D threat given his 7-foot wingspan and ability to shoot from deep. He converted on 41.9% of his looks from 3-point range this season.

As Haliburton had a great season, his former Cyclones teammate, Marial Shayok, kept an eye on him and liked what he saw from Haliburton this season.

“It has been great. I’m just proud of him,” Shayok told Rookie Wire. “I knew coming into this year, he was expected to have a bigger role and that possibly he could make that jump to the NBA. Seeing that he could possibly be one of the top picks is great to see.”

The two each played together during the 2018-19 season before Shayok was selected with the 54th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 NBA Draft. They led the Cyclones to the Big 12 Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to No. 11 Ohio State in the first round.

Haliburton is the No. 4 prospect on the latest 2020 Rookie Wire NBA Draft Big Board.

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Updated list of NCAA prospects who declared early entry for NBA Draft

While there is uncertainty surrounding the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft, NCAA prospects have started to make announcements about their future.

While there is uncertainty surrounding the upcoming 2020 NBA Draft, NCAA prospects have started to make announcements about their future.

Some prospects mentioned below are simply testing the waters while others have both feet fully emerged with their focus set on the pros. Based on all of the reporting thus far, however, we have compiled the status of several of the top prospects in the nation.

We will continue to update this post with more information as news develops and more players announce what their decision for the future looks like in all of the chaos following the cancelation of the 2020 NCAA postseason.

Anthony Edwards, Georgia

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Wing, 6-foot-5, 18 years old

Under head coach Tom Crean, the University of Georgia freshman had become a revelation in transition offense. Edwards ranked among the top five nationally in total scoring on these plays, per Synergy, averaging 5.7 points per game. He looked his best when his shot attempts come closer to the rim, aided by his 6-foot-9 wingspan. Farther from the basket, meanwhile, more than half of his 3-pointers were unassisted. This showed he is capable of creating his own shot. Edwards, however, was shooting just 30.3% from beyond the arc on the season.Still, the reason to like him as a top-three pick is more about flashes of greatness, which was evidenced when he averaged 21.8 points per game in February.

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