2015 SEC Basketball Players Leaving Early for NBA Draft Watch

[jbcarol]

Memphis GrizzliesVerified account
‏@memgrizz

.@martinjarell sustained a fractured left foot today following a collision with a player during a workout. More: http://ow.ly/RIHmX

Jarell Martin ‏@MartinJarell Sep 2

Jarell Martin retweeted Memphis Grizzlies

Minor set back. No worries Grizzlies fans the come back will be amazing!!!

[jbcarol]

Jonathan Feigen Verified account
‏@Jonathan_Feigen

Rockets officially announce signing, as we previously reported, F/C Chris Walker, C Joshua Smith, G Denzel Livingston and G Will Cummings.

[jbcarol]

Jonathan Feigen Verified account
‏@Jonathan_Feigen

Rockets officially announce signing, as we previously reported, F/C Chris Walker, C Joshua Smith, G Denzel Livingston and G Will Cummings.

Jeff Goodman ‏@GoodmanESPN Sep 21

Jeff Goodman retweeted Jonathan Feigen

Chris Walker and Josh Smith together. Darryl Morey is gonna have some fun with that duo. 

[jbcarol]

Matt Jones ‏@KySportsRadio  54m54 minutes ago
Number of sites reporting that Dakari Johnson will spend his first season on the Thunder's D-League team

[jbcarol]

M Watkins ‏@CoachWatkinsUA Oct 7

They are raving about Bobby Portis his first taste of NBA action 14 rebounds they saying he's going to be a star#gohogs #Fastest40

[jbcarol]

Kevin Brockway ‏@gatorhoops 2h2 hours ago Orlando, FL

Michael Frazier II cut by Lakers earlier this week, Chris Walker still on Rockets preseason roster (2.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg). #Gators

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria ‏@AdamZagoria 11h11 hours ago

Kentucky's Johnson, Andrew Harrison Land in NBA D-League to Begin Season, More High-Profile Names Likely to Follow http://zagsblog.com/articles/kentuckys-johnson-andrew-harrison-land-in-nba-d-league-to-begin-season-more-high-profile-names-likely-to-follow/ ...

Andrew Harrison and Dakari Johnson have signed NBA D-League contracts with the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively. Both players agreed to play in the D-League while their teams retained their rights, a source said.

Harrison was chosen at No. 44 by the Suns but dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies, while Johnson, a Brooklyn native, was taken at No. 48 by the Thunder.

"I hope some of these college guys who are considering jumping to the NBA this year follow their story and reconsider coming out," said one NBA scout...

Aaron Harrison, who went undrafted, is on the inactive list for the Charlotte Hornets, along with former Kentucky standout Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is injured.

A year ago, Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller both said the Harrisons should remain at Kentucky for another year.

"I don't think you should leave college if you're not going to be a first-round draft pick," Barkley said in March. "I do not believe that.

"I wish we could make all these kids stay in school at least two years, but I don't think they should come out unless you're going to go in the first round. I mean, you're contract's not even guaranteed."

The group of inactive players includes Boston's James Young (Kentucky), ..., Memphis' Jarell Martin (LSU) and Jarnell Stokes (Tennessee)...

Charlotte Hornets have acquired the right to own and operate an NBA D-League team that will begin in the 2016-17 season, 20 NBA teams now own a D-League team.

There are currently 228 D-League spots (including 2 inactives per team), but that number will increase to 240 when Charlotte joins the fray.

[jbcarol]

NBA on ESPN ‏@ESPNNBA  11h11 hours ago
Karl-Anthony Towns is first teen in @NBA history with double-double in each of first 2 NBA games. (via @EliasSports)

[jbcarol]

Kyle Tucker ‏@KyleTucker_CJ  11h11 hours ago
And Willie Cauley-Stein's second career NBA game went pretty well: 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/nbadleague/status/660528854876975104

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria ‏@AdamZagoria 15h15 hours ago

More high-profile names likely headed to the D-League
http://zagsblog.com/articles/kentuckys-johnson-andrew-harrison-land-in-nba-d-league-to-begin-season-more-high-profile-names-likely-to-follow/ ...

Andrew Harrison and Dakari Johnson have signed NBA D-League contracts with the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively. Both players agreed to play in the D-League while their teams retained their rights, a source said.

Harrison was chosen at No. 44 by the Suns but dealt to the Memphis Grizzlies, while Johnson, a Brooklyn native, was taken at No. 48 by the Thunder.

[jbcarol]

Former UK guard Devin Booker is off to a fast start as an NBA shooter. As of the middle of last week, he had made eight of 10 shots from beyond the three-point line.

That made him the league leader in three-point shooting percentage among players who had taken at least 10 shots.

NBA.com: "There is more than three-point shooting to Booker's game, something he proved in Sunday's game at New Orleans. Dribble-drives to the rim, leaning bank-shots and earning trips to the foul line were on display as the league's youngest player needed just 16 minutes to score a career-high 15 points."

Melvin Booker's son

[jbcarol]

Kings scramble to adjust after Willie Cauley-Stein's injury

Rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein suffered an open dislocation to his right index finger late in Thursday's game when he hit his hand on the backboard while breaking up a pass. He will be out four to six weeks.

"I was disappointed for him," said Kings coach George Karl. "I think he's had not a great rookie year but solid to decent rookie year for us so far. I've enjoyed coaching him, and I think he's done a great job of learning the game."

Cauley-Stein is averaging 4.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 18.9 minutes. The injury again has Karl scrambling to figure out his rotations.

Cauley-Stein might not average major minutes, but starting him with DeMarcus Cousins allowed Karl to bring in Kosta Koufos off the bench — Karl's preferred option to back up his All-Star.

[jbcarol]

CBS Sports NBA ‏@CBSSportsNBA 2h2 hours ago

From @Ananth_Pandian: Rookie Power Rankings: Towns historic, Winslow still can't shoot
http://cbsprt.co/1QIaArS 

With the way many of the rookies have been playing at the start of the season, you tend to forgot how young they truly are. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor just turned 20. D'Angelo Russell and Justise Winslow are still teenagers.

These are all guys that grew up watching NBA stars like Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. And now, they are actually playing against them.

These rookies are just kids now but are already making an impact in the NBA. So let's take a look at how they ranked this past week:

Studs
1. Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

Promising
10. Bobby Portis, Chicago Bulls
Fred Hoiberg opted to rest Pau Gasol against the Knicks on Saturday. This opened up playing time for Portis. Biding his time all season, Portis responded in a big way against the Knicks, recording a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Portis earned his playing time again with a nice effort against the Nets on Monday. And now that Joakim Noah is injured, Portis will likely get more minutes in the coming weeks.

Under the radar
15. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

[jbcarol]

Fred Katz@FredKatz

Karl-Anthony Towns has the highest PER for a rookie since Sabonis in '96. Sabonis was 31, though. Excluding him, best since Robinson in '90.


player efficiency rating (PER) is a rating of a player's per-minute productivity.

[jbcarol]

Suns Basketball Comm ‏@SunsBballComm 8h8 hours ago

With 32 points tonight, @DevinBook has the most points by a rookie in the @NBA this season (prev. 29 by Porzingis on Nov. 17) #SunsVsPacers

The youngest player in the NBA


Kyle Tucker ‏@KyleTucker_CJ 6h6 hours ago

So Devin Booker had kind of a big night for the Suns. In a dozen  games since he started getting major PT, averaging 15.4 ppg.

[jbcarol]

 Kyle Tucker ‏@KyleTucker_CJ 7h7 hours ago

Cauley-Stein with consecutive double-doubles. Booker 56 points the last two games. Towns still rolling. Cats' NBA rookies making noise.

[jbcarol]

Adam Zagoria ‏@AdamZagoria 5m5 minutes ago Manhattan, NY

Over his last five games, Suns rookie Devin Booker of UK is averaging 19.8 ppg and connecting on 39.4 percent from three-point range.