With Scoot Henderson ranked second or third in nearly every mock draft, the G League Ignite star only plans two workouts during the pre-draft process, tweets Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report. Henderson was in Portland on Saturday to show off the skills that have made him one of the most talked-about prospects in this year’s class. The Trail Blazers hold the third pick and appear to be the most likely destination for Henderson if speculation about Brandon Miller going to Charlotte at No. 2 is correct. There’s been plenty of conjecture that Portland may trade the pick for veteran help ..read more

Following the NCAA’s early entrant withdrawal deadline Wednesday night, Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com updated his top-100 prospects list, adding 17 players based on who remains eligible. Three players at three different positions — Duke center Dereck Lively II, Metropolitans 92 wing Bilal Coulibaly, and Santa Clara guard Brandin Podziemski — have seen their stock go up over the past few months. Lively, who was ranked No. 25 on ESPN’s list on May 20, is up to No. 12 overall and goes No. 14 in Givony’s updated 2023 mock draft with Jeremy Woo of ESPN (Insider link). Lively goes No. 12 in Jonathan W ..read more

Wing Emoni Bates has upcoming workouts lined up with the Jazz, Kings and Pistons, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Bates has already reportedly worked out for eight other teams, so he is certainly getting accustomed to the extensive travel of NBA life. According to Zagoria, Bates will have more workouts as the 2023 NBA draft — which takes place June 22 — draws nearer. A former top high school recruit, the 19-year-old has seen his stock fall over two inconsistent college seasons at Memphis and Eastern Michigan, currently ranked No. 51 on ESPN’s big board, makin ..read more

Houston’s Jarace Walker appears to be the most likely draft choice for the Pistons, but the possibility of Alabama’s Brandon Miller sliding to No. 5 shouldn’t be dismissed, Mike Curtis of The Detroit News writes in a mailbag column. Miller is currently expected to be taken second or third, but unanswered questions about his connection to a fatal shooting in January continue to hang over him. He reportedly brought a legal brief from his attorneys to the draft combine that explained why he couldn’t go into detail about the case. If the Hornets opt for Scoot Henderson at No. 2, Curtis views the T ..read more

Ricky Council IV (Arkansas), Nikola Durisic (Serbia), Tevian Jones (Southern Utah), Darius McGhee (Liberty), Jordan Miller (Miami) and Keisei Tominaga (Nebraska) will work out for the Pacers on Tuesday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. Council, ranked No. 56 on ESPN’s Best Available list, and Durisic (No. 59) are the highest-rated players visiting Indianapolis. We have more draft-related news: Kentucky forward Oscar Tshiebwe (No. 75) headlines the group of six prospects that the Hawks will evaluate on Tuesday, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets. Overtime Elite ..read more

Bryan Bailey, Antonio Lang, Mike Brey and Sanjay Lumpkin will be announced as members of Quin Snyder’s coaching staff with the Hawks, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Jeff Watkinson and Steve Klei will be retained from the current staff, sources tell Carchia ..read more

Former Raptors head coach Nick Nurse is considering his options after reportedly taking his name out of the Bucks’ coaching search, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nurse had interviews this week with the Sixers and Suns, and sources tell Pompey that he’s reviewing the jobs to determine which would be the best fit. A source refused to confirm to Pompey that Philadelphia has made a formal offer. Pompey points out that Nurse has a long-time working relationship with Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, whom he worked with in Houston as head coach of the Rockets ..read more

Two of the biggest winners on draft lottery night last week were the Hornets and Pacers. Charlotte moved up two spots from the pre-lottery standings to claim the No. 2 overall pick. The Pacers, meanwhile, stayed put in the lottery, but because San Antonio leapfrogged Houston in the first round, Indiana moved up 18 spots from No. 50 to No. 32 in the second round due to a convoluted set of trade criteria. The Hornets and Pacers have something else in common: Charlotte and Indiana are the only teams that control more than three picks in the 2023 NBA draft. In fact, the two clubs own five selectio ..read more

Heat guard Gabe Vincent has been a key member of the team’s surprising playoff run, boosting his regular season averages of 9.4 points and 2.5 assists on .402/.334/.872 shooting (25.9 minutes) up to 13.1 points and 4.1 assists on .417/.375/.893 shooting in 15 postseason games, all starts (30.8 minutes). Unfortunately, the impending free agent suffered a left ankle sprain in Tuesday’s Game 4 loss to Boston and is officially listed as questionable for Game 5, per Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald hears (via Twitter) that Vincent is ..read more

A young team making an unexpected trip to the conference finals is never a bad thing, right? It generates money, which ownership loves. It gets fans excited for the future. The players gain valuable experience. All positive benefits. Unfortunately, that same core group takes a step back the following season, barely sneaking into the playoffs via the play-in tournament and then losing in the first round in five games. That seems like a good time to make changes, because maybe the roster isn’t clicking in ways you’d hope. So you make a major offseason trade to shake up the starting lineup. But t ..read more