He was a 2nd round pick by the Denver Nuggets in the 2014 NBA Draft. Shortly after being drafted by the Nuggets, he was dealt to the Magic in a draft-night trade.
Devyn Marble (Getty Images)
In his appearances with the BayHawks this season, he’s averaging 17 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. He’s expected to play for Erie tomorrow night against the Westchester Knicks at 7 pm.
Since January 2nd with the Magic, he’s appeared in 11 games. He had a career-high 32-minutes and eight points against the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 16th.
This season, he’s appeared in 16 games while averaging 2.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. The 22-year-old Iowa Hawkeyes product has scored just 37 points on the season.
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: January 18th, 2015 at 2:18 PM EST
The Philadelphia 76ers took center Joel Embiid, because they thought he would be the cornerstone of the team’s future. However, according to a report, Embiid has gotten heavier instead of bulking up.
According to The Sporting News, Embiid is close to 300 pounds. He weighed in at 250 pounds while he was a freshman at the University of Kansas.
Joel Embiid (Getty Images)
Embiid, who has been making jokes on Twitter and Instagram, has forgot his conditioning.
“A blowup with assistant strength and conditioning coach James Davis is one of the reasons he was sent home during the team’s recent West Coast trip,” according to the story.
Embiid has only been playing basketball for the past three-years. Yet, he is expected to miss the 2014-15 season with a foot injury.
This is reportedly causing him to miss conditioning. He is also reportedly missing workouts.
With Embiid out for the season, reporters are not allowed to talk to him. So, nobody knows the reasons why he is doing all this.
He was the third overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft by the 76ers.
“He’s a young, 20-year-old kid, who is trying to figure his way into being a professional basketball player and learning life,” Sixers forward Luc Mbah a Moute – and Embiid’s mentor – said.
The Sixers, who are no longer the worst team in the league, will have a Martin Luther King Jr. game tomorrow at 2 pm in Washington, D.C.
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 9:27 pm EST
Isaiah Austin was able to live a life-long dream.
In between the 15th and 16th draft selections, the NBA stopped the draft to recognize Austin. At that time, the NBA made him a ceremonial draft pick.
“For Commissioner Silver to even invite me here was a tremendous blessing and it just shows how much class that man has,” Austin said. “It’s really been a tough week for me, and it’s been really rough. I’ve just had a tremendous amount of support from everybody around the world, telling me they’re praying for me and everything. I can’t thank everybody enough.”
Isaiah Austin (Getty Images)
As Silver announced Austin’s name, the crowd rose at the Barclays Center to their feet. Austin was sitting with many of the first round draft picks in the “green room.”
Before he walked up to meet Commissioner Adam Silver, he put on a generic NBA hat, and began to cry. He got to pose with Silver for some pictures, just like all the other first-round draft picks in attendance at the opportunity to do.
“I have a whole life ahead of me,” Austin said. “I’m not going to sit here and I’m not going to sulk about not being able to play basketball anymore, because I can still be involved with the game somehow or some way.”
Austin said that he enjoyed the night being with the other draft prospects.
“Just being around all the draftees and seeing my friends get drafted, it just brings joy in my heart because I know how hard we work to get to this point,” Austin said. “I’ve been through it. … Just to see how people persevere through their own problems, because everybody has their own problems. It’s touching and it’s heart-warming, really.”
The 20-year-old Austin was projected to be a late first-round draft pick, before being diagnosed with a serious medical condition last week that cost him his NBA dream. At the NBA combine, he went through a standard physical, which came back with the medical condition.
He would be tested positive for Marfan syndrome, and he was recommended to quit basketball all together.
“They said I wouldn’t be able to play basketball anymore at a competitive level,” Austin told ESPN’s Holly Rowe last Sunday. “They found the gene in my blood sample. They told me that my arteries in my heart are enlarged and that if I overwork myself and push too hard that my heart could rupture. The draft is four days away, and I had a dream that my name was going to be called.”
The news came less than a week before the draft last Friday, as his mother Lisa Green drove from Kansas to Dallas to give him the devastating news in person. Scott Drew, the Baylor Bears head coach, wants Austin to return to school to finish his degree.
“This is devastating news, but Isaiah has the best support system anyone could ask for, and he knows that all of Baylor Nation is behind him,” Drew said in a statement. “His health is the most important thing, and while it’s extremely sad that he won’t be able to play in the NBA, our hope is that he’ll return to Baylor to complete his degree and serve as a coach in our program.”
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 9:12 pm EST
There has been two trades at the 2014 NBA Draft so far.
Doug McDermott was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 11th overall pick. A short time later, he was moved to the Chicago Bulls for the 16th and 19th picks.
2014 NBA Draft
Reece Davis, who is a part of the ESPN crew working the NBA draft, said McDermott wanted to play for the Bulls all along.
The complete McDermott deal has Anthony Randolph also going to Chicago for Jusuf Nurkic (16th overall pick) and Gary Harris (19th overall pick) and a 2015 second round pick.
Randolph has bounced around on his career. He began his career with the Golden State Warriors, before moving on to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2010-11 and also made a stop with the New York Knicks that season.
He rejoined the Wolves for the 2011-12 season, before spending the past two years with the Nuggets.
He has averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.7assists, and 0.9 blocks in 252 career games since the 2008-09 season. He has made 42 starts in his career.
With the 10th overall pick, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Elfrid Payton, while the Orlando Magic drafted Dario Saric with the 12th overall pick.
Besides Sarc, the 76ers also acquire a 2015 second round draft pick and a 2017 first-round draft pick. The first round draft pick was originally the 76ers, before it was dealt to the Magic in the Dwight Howard blockbuster deal from two years ago.
These two players were then swapped for each other. Payton, who rose up the draft board, will be the replacement for point guard Jameer Nelson.
On June 23rd, Saric signed a three-year contract with Anadolu Efes, a Turkish powerhouse. This past season, he played with Cibona Zagreb, where he averaged 19.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.
This contract is two years with a player option for the third year. It also prohibits him from playing in the NBA for at least two years.
The 76ers did not have a single foreign player play for them during the 2013-14 season.
The Philadelphia 76ers used their 10th overall selection on point guard Elfrid Payton.
Michael Carter-Williams, who was at the NBA Draft, was surprised when Sam Hinkie and the 76ers brass made the Payton pick. It fueled speculation that the reigning Rookie of the Year will be moved.
Elfrid Payton (Getty Images)
While Carter-Williams has been rumored to be moved, it was Payton that is moving on. Payton would be later moved to the Orlando Magic for Dario Saric.
The 76ers also acquired a 2015 second round draft pick, and their original 2017 first round draft pick.
Payton came out after three-years at Louisiana Lafayette. As a junior, he averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.3 steals in 32 games.
He was a late riser up the draft board, and many mock drafts had Payton going anywhere between the 6th and the 8th draft pick. He is the first pick since Andrew Toney, who also played for the 76ers, that was also drafted out of Louisiana Lafayette.
The hit on Payton was that he played in a low major conference, where he did not play against NBA talent on a nightly basis.
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 8:49 pm EST
Noah Vonleh fell down the NBA Draft boards.
Vonleh, who was expected to be a Top 5 draft pick, fell all the way down to the bottom of the Top 10. With the 9th overall selection, the Charlotte Hornets drafted the 18-year-old.
Vonleh played just one season with the Indiana Hooisers, before entering the NBA Draft. He averaged 11.3 points, 9 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 30 games during the 2013-14 season.
Noah Vonleh (Getty Images)
He was linked to the Los Angeles Lakers with the 7th overall pick. However, they decided to go elsewhere by drafting Julius Randle out of Kentucky.
He was ranked as the fifth best freshman that came out for the draft, and the 10th best prospect in the draft. He is rated as a power forward or center in the NBA after being a power forward in college.
The Hornets have Al Jefferson as the center, and Vonleh is expected to back up Jefferson going forward.
Vonleh is a massive player, as he has measured with a 7-foot-5 wingspan.
It is also the second straight year that the Hornets franchise, who was known as the Charlotte Bobcats last year, drafted 7-footer Cody Zeller with the fourth overall pick.
The Hornets are expected to look for a trade partner for Zeller.
“I can step out and hit some 3s. Play well in the pick-and-roll and defend pretty well,” Vonleh said during a conference call.
In the pre-draft workouts, Vonleh never worked out for the Hornets. Zeller, who did not play with Vonleh at Indiana, helped the draft prospect in the pre-draft process.
“He helped me in the draft process – it was good to have him in my corner,” Vonleh said.
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 8:35 pm EST
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Julius Randle with the 7th overall draft pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Randle is the highest selection in Lakers history since James Worthy was drafted with the first overall selection in the 1982 draft. In 1994 and 2005, the Lakers had the 10th overall pick, where they drafted Eddie Jones in 1994, then Andrew Bynum in 2005.
Julius Randle (Getty Images)
Randle came out for the NBA Draft after just one season with the Kentucky Wildcats. The 19-year-old Randle is rated as a power forward in the NBA.
Randle averaged 15 points and 10.4 rebounds in 40 games during the 2013-14 season.
With the Lakers rebuilding, they now have a nice piece to build around. The Lakers missed the playoffs this past season.
They are also without a head coach, as Kobe Bryant aims to return from a torn Achilles. Randle could move into the starting power forward role that Pau Gasol played for the past several years.
The Boston Celtics were reportedly torn between drafting Randle and point guard Marcus Smart. The C’s eventually went with the point guard, leaving Randle to go to the Lakers.
Randle is already being considered a dark house for the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year. He will have the opportunity to be productive right away.
He also said that he wanted to go to the Lakers all along, so it’s a perfect match.
“It’s the organization that I wanted to go to,” Randle said while on a conference call from New York with reporters covering the draft at the Lakers’ practice facility. “I couldn’t be a in a better situation for me and I’m just really excited to get things started there.”
Leading up to the draft, there was talk that Randle may have to have surgery on his right foot to correct a pin that was previously placed incorrectly when he broke it in high school. When he was working out in the pre-draft workouts with the Lakers, he saw a specialist in Los Angeles, who cleared him to play.
It is likely that this saga with his foot cost Randle several slots. According to the Lakers, he was their 4th-best player on their draft board.
“I think I should’ve went higher for sure, but you know, the teams that passed on me will regret it,” Randle told ESPN’s Jay Williams. “I’m healthy, I have no problem with my foot. Whether (the Lakers) want to do something (to correct his foot) or not, we’ll see. But I’ll have that conversation with them when I get there.”
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 8:26 pm EST
The Boston Celtics have drafted Marcus Smart with the sixth overall draft pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Smith is rated out as a point guard, and this move has already begun the rumors that Rajon Rondo will be moved. Before the draft started, Rondo was rumored to be dealt to the Sacramento Kings for the 8th overall pick.
Marcus Smart (Getty Images)
Smith came out after two season at Oklahoma State. He averaged 18 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in 31 games in his sophomore season.
He came out after his freshman year, but decided to go back for this sophomore year after being told by NBA scouts to work on his game some more.
Smart has some flaws that he still has to work on, yet he is an amazing defender and a super competitor.
The Celtics were reportedly down to Smart or Julius Randle with the pick.
Smart has been linked to the C’s since the NBA draft combine last month in Chicago. At that time, Danny Ainge, the Celtics President of Basketball Operations, still tried to hide his affection for adding Smart.
“I sorta like Marcus Smart,” Ainge said. “I like his fire.”
He would later say, “I think he’s a great kid, a great player, and I think he’ll have a bright future.”
He can play shooting guard, but at Oklahoma State, he established himself as a point guard. He worked out for the Celtics twice, including once earlier this month and again this week.
“Our war room is very happy with our pick,” Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said. “My job is to be part of that and to be supportive. Our basketball guys are very excited and have been focusing on Marcus for several weeks. We really liked the top six or seven kids in the draft quite a bit, but I really thought he’s pretty exceptional in a couple of ways and am really looking forward to having him.
“We think that this kid really has some special attributes. We like the fact that he’s an instigator, back to Red [Auerbach]. As Red told me personally when I came in: ‘You need instigators, not retaliators.’ This kid is energetic. He’s a bull. He’s a force. When I met him, he filled the doorway. He’s got that physique and that drive and that attitude that we really like around the Celtics.”
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 8:14 pm EST
Former Arizona Wildcats player Aaron Gordon went to the Orlando Magic with the 4th overall draft pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Gordon surprised many experts, as he wasn’t even projected to go in the Top 5. Then, he swept the Magic away, and they drafted him.
Aaron Gordon (Getty Images)
Gordon played one season with the Wildcats. He averaged 12.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2 assists in 38 minutes.
The 18-year-old Gordon is expected to be a high-flyer for the Magic. He is also projected to be an all-world defender thanks to his size and athleticism.
Gordon will have to work on his shooting with the Magic. He shot just 35.6% percent from the field and 42.2% from the free throw line.
If he can get a jumper, he can be an effective big man.
He also has the potential to play alongside center Nikola Vucevic. He could form a very good future with Victor Oladipo, who was the Magics draft pick last year.
Gordon, who will be 19 in September, struggled to hit mid-range jumpers during his short tenure at Arizona. After declaring for the draft, Gordon spent the past few months trying to improve in shooting.
He has even acknowledged that his shooting game has lacked consistency leading up to the draft.
It is not clear what position the Magic expect to play Gordon. At 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, some scouts have him listed as a small forward, while other wonder if he could compete against the power forwards in the league.
“Aaron Gordon is one of the most mature kids that I’ve been around, one of the most focused players that I’ve ever coached,” Arizona coach Sean Miller told the Orlando Sentinel earlier this month. “The thing that separates him is I think he’s the youngest player in this year’s NBA Draft. He’s 18½ years old. So I think we need to consider the physical skills and the mindset that he has and the discipline — all of the intangibles of a winner. I think it’s his upside that you really fall in love with, because where he is today, he’s going to be in a much different place a few years from now.
“I think initially when he enters the NBA he’s ahead of the curve for a rookie with his ability to defend, because he can defend multiple players and he’s a great defensive rebounder. He’s really intelligent off the ball, and he can do a lot of different things that usually you get with a veteran, older player. Aaron’s going to come in and he has amazing talent on that end of the floor. Same thing with rebounding. His rebounding numbers speak for themselves.”
By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 25th, 2014 at 7:57 pm EST
The Milwaukee Bucks have selected Jabari Parker with the second overall selection in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Parker gives the Bucks new hope, as the team has a new owner. He is also considered to be the best NBA ready player in the draft.
Jabari Parker (Getty Images)
Parker also comes out after just one season at Duke. He averaged 19.1 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.1 steals in 35 games during the 2013-14 season.
Parker believed that he was going to go to Milwaukee all along. Milwaukee is just 90 miles from where Parker was born in Chicago.
There was speculation this morning that Parker was going to be drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, that did not happen when the team drafted Andrew Wiggins with the first overall pick.
Parker is now the face of the franchise, as the team is trying to bring fans back to a team that lost a franchise-worst 67 games this past season. The Bucks had 4 more losses than the Philadelphia 76ers, who went 19 and 63 this past season.
Parker will join Brandon Knight and 19-year-old forward Giannis Antetokounmpo as the cornerstones of their future.
“We were fairly assured that this is exactly what we needed to do,” Bucks GM John Hammond said. “I feel even more so after it’s done.”
Parker will add scoring, and is looking to help the Bucks make the playoffs since the 2012-13 season. The Bucks were swept by the Miami Heat in that series.
The Bucks have lost been past the first round since the 2000-01 season. In that season, they defeated the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets, before losing to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Since that Conference Finals series, the Bucks have lost in the first round five times.
The Capital Sports Report 