NBA draft rumors: Latest buzz around teams, players
The NBA rumor mill will continue to churn as we move closer to the draft next month. Even as the Warriors and Cavaliers compete in the NBA Finals, check back often as we update below with all the latest draft scoops, including news, rumors and possible transactions.
For more on the NBA draft, check out Luke Winn's look at Karl Anthony-Towns and Jahlil Okafor in historical context. And, SI.com's Chris Mannix does a full first-round mock draft, which can be found here.
The draft will be held on June 25. The Minnesota Timberwolves hold the No. 1 pick, and the Los Angeles Lakers hold the No. 2 pick. The Philadelphia 76ers will pick third.
• Common Sense Mock Draft 2.0: New No. 1, two trades and more
June 9
• Former Duke center Jahlil Okafor worked out with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, reports the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina. Okafor had dinner with the team’s basketball operations staff Monday night and will do the same with coaches Tuesday night. Okafor "downplayed" rumors that he has been angling to get to the Lakers, who own the second pick in the draft.
• The Lakers have been unable to schedule a workout with former Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns, but general manager Mitch Kupchak said he was "very hopeful" they would be able to before the draft on June 25.
• The Phoenix Suns worked out Sir'Dominic Pointer, Treveon Graham, Ryan Harrow, Corey Hawkins, Yanick Moreira and Gabriel Olaseni on Tuesday, reports SheridanHoops.com's Michael Scotto.
• The Portland Trail Blazers worked out Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Justin Anderson, Mouhammadou Jaiteh, T.J. McConnell, Dez Wells and Ryan Boatright on Tuesday, reports Scotto.
• Former Duke wing Justise Winslow is "definitely in play" for the Knicks at No. 4, reports ESPN's Ian Begley. Begley's source said Winslow left his workout with "positive feedback" Monday after a strong performance.
• According to Begley's report, the Knicks will also work out the draft's top two point guards. They're scheduled to work out Emmanuel Mudiay on Tuesday morning at their facility, and Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell told reporters Monday in Los Angeles that he has a workout scheduled with New York.
• One Western Conference executive believes Okafor could fall to the Knicks at No. 4, according to SNY.tv's Keith Schlosser. In this scenario, the Timberwolves select former Kentucky center Karl Towns first overall, with D'Angelo Russell going to the Lakers second and Philadelphia selecting Emmanuel Mudiay third.
June 8
• The New York Knicks are "serious" about considering former Murray State point guard Cameron Payne in the draft, reports ESPN's Ian Begley. The Knicks, who will also work out former Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein, according to Begley, hold the No. 4 pick in the draft.
• D'Angelo Russell had dinner with the Los Angeles Lakers' basketball operations department Sunday and is expected to go through an individual workout with the team Monday afternoon, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times. Mannix projects the Lakers to select Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 pick.
• Okafor spoke to Basketball Insiders about whether he should be selected with the No. 1 pick in the draft. “I can’t say why I should be the number one overall pick,” Okafor said, according to Basketball Insiders. “They try to have me and Karl debate with one another about why we should be number one, but we both thought the other should be number one. We have a lot of respect for each other. But if I’m talking to a team, any team, about why I should be picked, I’d say that I just want to win. That’s all I’m looking to do. That’s what I’ve done at every level and that’s all I want to do at the next level as well. That’s what I want to do. I want to be known as a winner, and I always have been. At the next level, I want that to continue.”
• The Lakers are working out Okafor and Payne separately on Tuesday, reports Pincus.
• Willie Cauley-Stein worked out for the Denver Nuggets on Monday, according toThe Denver Post. Mannix projects the Nuggets to select former Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky at No. 6, with Cauley-Stein falling to the Phoenix Suns at No. 13.
• Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports that talk of former UCLA forward Kevon Looney struggling in workouts with teams is a "little unfounded." Looney is projected as the No. 16 pick, to the Boston Celtics, in Mannix's mock draft.
• Minnesota Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said on The Chris Mannix Show that center Kevin Garnett will be part of the team's draft process and that he will meet with and/or talk on the phone with players.
