After plenty of speculation and rumors, Andre Iguodala may find a new home this week. The Philadelphia 76ers continue to work the phones with the NBA Draft right around the corner, and it sounds like they want this situation resolved before Thursday night.
Before the 76ers decide who they're going to select with the 16th overall pick, they want to know what their roster will look like going forward. If Iguodala isn't dealt, they'll likely draft a big man such as Markieff Morris or Donatas Motiejunas. However, if Philadelphia is able to move their star for a big, they're expected to eye a perimeter scorer such as Marshon Brooks or Jordan Hamilton.
The rumor mill will surely continue to churn as the draft approaches, but the prospects likely won't be the only ones finding new homes on Thursday. With Iguodala and so many other veterans being shopped including Monta Ellis, Andre Miller and Jameer Nelson, trades may steal the show on the draft night.
The Buzz Around Julyan Stone: The word most often used to describe Julyan Stone is "intriguing." As a 6-foot-7 point guard with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he has heard that word repeatedly throughout the draft process. Many teams have brought Stone in for workouts because of his extraordinary size, but by the time he's finished working out, most executives end up talking about his game rather than his frame.
Stone has been excellent in front of teams, which has allowed him increase his stock and generate a considerable amount of buzz with less than one week until the draft. Plenty of teams have called and seen him play, but Stone believes there are four teams that are particularly interested in selecting him on Thursday - the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami HEAT and Washington Wizards.
"Those are the teams that I feel are the most interested right now," Stone told HOOPSWORLD. "I've done about nine or ten workouts now. I feel like every team has been intrigued by me because of my size and the different things I bring to the game, but I feel like those four teams are the most serious about me. I'm just going to play my game, finish up these last three workouts and then hopefully on Thursday, my name gets called."
The process didn't hit Stone until he worked out in Los Angeles and New York and thought of all the great players that had made names for themselves on those courts.
"Being from the West coast, everybody loves the Lakers where I'm from," Stone said. "So to walk in there and see pictures of them winning the Finals and pictures of all the players on the walls including Magic Johnson, who is my basketball idol, it was like, 'Man, I'm really close to making it.'"
"With Donnie Walsh in New York, it's just crazy seeing someone like that sitting there and watching you play," he said. "Going to the Knicks practice gym where a lot of great players and coaches have been, the Knicks prestige really just caught me off guard. Walking in there and seeing everything, it was like, 'Man, I really have a chance to accomplish my goals and I'm really sitting here with all of these people looking at me.'"
Because of Stone's size, he has been able to dominate smaller guards in workouts and also display his versatility at times by guarding shooting guards and small forwards. In most workouts, teams will play him at multiple positions to get a feel for his game and see if he can handle different defensive assignments.
"Going to these workouts with all of these other point guards, they're a lot smaller than me so I'm able to use my size," Stone said. "One thing I've noticed throughout all of this is that teams like my versatility. Yesterday, in the Miami HEAT workout for instance, I was going against Andrew Goudelock and then Kyle Singler. They like to see my versatility - if I can jump from position to position. I think it has really benefitted me, being a tall point guard that can see over the small point guards and then also being able to adjust and go guard someone even at the three. A lot of these teams have liked my versatility and being bigger than the other point guards gives me an advantage defensively and offensively."
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Draft Notes:
• The Sacramento Kings are split on whether or not they should draft Jimmer Fredette with the seventh overall pick. Ownership wants the team to select Fredette because they feel he's the big name who can generate interest and sell tickets, which is crucial for Sacramento at this point. However, the Kings' coaching staff doesn't feel that Fredette is the answer and have even made their case against drafting Fredette by breaking down his game film and presenting evidence to show why his transition to the NBA is expected to be a difficult one. At the end of the day, it sounds like the coaches will win out in Sacramento, which means the Kings will likely draft a small forward on Thursday.
4 Fredette --> NY Knicks• When Tristan Thompson received an invite to the green room instead of someone like Bismack Biyombo, there was a lot of surprise around the NBA. Thompson has a lot of potential, but he had been projected as a borderline lottery pick at best throughout this process. However, it all starts to make sense when you consider that the Detroit Pistons love Thompson and there is a growing belief that he could be selected with the eighth overall pick. This would explain his invite and Thompson gives Detroit a power forward to pair with Greg Monroe.
• Andrew Goudelock continues to shoot lights out in workouts and it seems he has solidified himself as a high second-round pick at the very least. The New Jersey Nets and Chicago Bulls are expressing interest in Goudelock at the end of the first round, and if they don't snatch him up, he's expected to be drafted early in round two, with teams like the Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats very interested. Goudelock is one of the best shooters in this class and has continued to climb draft boards since his dominant showing during the Pre-Draft Camp in Chicago.
Draft Boards they be a changing.
--Mags
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