NBA draft rumors: Latest buzz around prospects, teams
The NBA rumor mill will continue to churn as we move closer to the draft next month.Check back often as we update below with all the latest scoops, including news, rumors and possible transactions.
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May 19
• Expect that the Knicks No. 4 draft pick will be very available in trade talks, reports Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski.
• 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie was the only GM that went to see Emmanuel Mudiay play in China, reports Bleacher Report's Jared Zwerling.
• An Eastern Conference general manager told Zwerling that it "wouldn't shock me" if a guard was drafted No. 1 over Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor.
• ESPN's Chad Ford reports that Karl-Anthony Towns is the "heavy, heavy favorite" to be drafted No. 1 and that it is "highly unlikely" someone besides Towns or Okafor goes No. 1.
• Multiple NBA executives think former Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell will only work out for teams who possess one of the top three picks in the draft, reports SI.com's Chris Mannix.
• Several executives said they "wouldn't touch" former Washington center Robert Upshaw in the first round, reports Mannix. The Huskies dismissed Upshaw in January, and he was also dismissed from Fresno State in 2013, both after unspecified violations of team rules.
• There are "growing signs" that the Boston Celtics are targeting former Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein, reports Comcast SportsNet's A. Sherrod Blakely. Blakeley also reports that the Celtics are "very open" to moving up in the draft.
• Multiple executives said former Boston College guard Olivier Hanlan was the "most impressive" among players interviewed at the Draft Combine, reports Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
• Multiple executives think former Kentucky guard Devin Booker will be selected with one of the top 10 picks, reports Mannix. SI.com's first mock draft pegged Booker at No. 14.
• West Virginia guard Juwan Staten is expected to work out with "close to 15" teams before the draft, reports Yahoo Sports' Marc Spears.
• The scenario exists where Karl-Anthony Towns could attempt to engineer a move to Los Angeles by limiting his individual team workouts, reports Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
