logo
Former Georgia basketball star works out for Hawks ahead of NBA draft

Former Georgia basketball star works out for Hawks ahead of NBA draft

USA Today11-06-2025
Former Georgia basketball star works out for Hawks ahead of NBA draft
Georgia Bulldogs freshman forward Asa Newell recently just finished working out for the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta holds the 13th pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
Newell, an SEC All-Freshman Team selection, has been generating significant NBA draft interest. He has already worked out for the Portland Trail Blazers (holding the No. 11 pick) and the Chicago Bulls (No. 12 pick). On Monday, he completed a workout for a third lottery-bound franchise.
His outstanding freshman performance, which earned him conference-wide attention, saw him average 15.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 54.3% from the field. Newell is the 15th player in program history to receive the SEC All-Freshman distinction, and notably, he was the only Bulldog recognized by the conference, as no other Georgia players were selected for any of the All-Conference or All-Defensive teams.
In his sole season in Athens, Newell started all 33 games for the Bulldogs. He reached double-digit scoring in 30 of those contests, including six games with 20 points or more. He led the team in scoring 20 times and in rebounding 16 times, and tied Anthony Edwards' program record with four SEC Freshman of the Week honors. Newell helped Georgia return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
According to Lauren Williams of the AJC, the Hawks also worked out Alabama's Cliff Omoruyi, Florida's Will Richard and Michigan State's Jase Richardson.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Bulls' young star hints at potential Josh Giddey extension
Bulls' young star hints at potential Josh Giddey extension

Yahoo

time27 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Bulls' young star hints at potential Josh Giddey extension

Bulls' young star hints at potential Josh Giddey extension originally appeared on The Sporting News The Chicago Bulls' offseason drama might soon come to an end. This summer hasn't seen much action from the Bulls. While many other teams have made some big splashes or improved around the edges, the Bulls simply haven't done much at all. Although Chicago has been involved in trade rumors and extended coach Billy Donovan, there hasn't been much action otherwise. Most of that could be attributed to the restricted free agency of Josh Giddey. With the Australian point guard still seeking his ideal contract, there hasn't been much reported movement on negotiations since the start of free agency. With Giddey being one of a few restricted free agents holding up their team's plans around the league, it might make sense for Chicago to get this deal done sooner rather than later. One of Giddey's top teammates also appears to think a deal could come in the near future. Rookie sensation Matas Buzelis recently took to Instagram and posted an interesting message on his story. Simply tagging Giddey and adding pen and paper emojis, that could be a sign that the former Thunder guard will soon be locked down for the foreseeable future. While Giddey's $30 million per year asking price is certainly steep, it wouldn't be shocking to see him take a bit of a discount from that number that keeps him and the Bulls happy. There are still plenty of concerns about Giddey's game, but his breakout March and his typical eye-catching numbers are worth taking a chance on. If Buzelis' story means anything, the Bulls could soon be looking at a Giddey-led backcourt for the next few years.

2024-25 Thunder player grades: Dillon Jones
2024-25 Thunder player grades: Dillon Jones

USA Today

time28 minutes ago

  • USA Today

2024-25 Thunder player grades: Dillon Jones

The calendar has flipped to August, which means we've officially hit the low point of the NBA cycle. The next couple of months are the driest part of the year. Everybody has headed to vacation and awaits training camp to kick off the 2025-26 season. The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to enjoy their NBA championship. They had a historic 68-14 regular-season campaign that eventually led to the franchise's first title with a 2025 NBA Finals Game 7 win. They'll enter next season as a favorite to be a rare repeat winner. To reflect on their title run, Thunder Wire will conduct 2024-25 season grades for all 19 players who suited up for the squad at one point during the year. Fourteenth up is Dillon Jones, who only lasted a season in OKC before being traded to the Washington Wizards: 2024-25 statistics: Advanced stats: Significant Percentile Finishes: Contract: Thoughts: After sending a package of second-round picks to acquire him, Jones' tenure on the Thunder only lasted one season. It's one of the shorter stints of a first-round selection in OKC history. The 23-year-old learned under Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he hopes to carve out an NBA career elsewhere. It was a forgettable rookie year for Jones. Because the Thunder regularly blew teams out, he was afforded plenty of garbage time. He appeared in 54 games. The tape doesn't show much as he struggled to make a positive impact on the court. Instead, it was filled with avoidable mistakes and slip-ups. The Thunder eyed Jones for a couple of years in the predraft process. Maybe they underestimated his adjustment from Weber State competition to the NBA. There's still time for him to turn it around, but he must figure out how to be effective in a role player capacity rather than being the primary ball-handler he was in college and even in the G League. Jones spent a healthy amount of his rookie season on the OKC Blue. He managed to put up numbers there. You could see the vision of him being a ball-handling tweener who could create off the dribble a little bit. But his ultimate downfall always returned to his poor catch-and-shoot numbers. If Jones wants to stay in the NBA, he must be a better outside shooter and defender. Plain and simple. He didn't show that on the Thunder in his first season. Now, it's about changing that over the offseason. Like most role players, that'll be the swing skills that decide if he can carve out a career. Unfortunately for Jones, that likely wasn't going to happen on the Thunder. The NBA champions are too deep to afford him or anybody else real developmental minutes. They have one of the deepest teams in the league. It was difficult to imagine him getting more minutes in his second season because of it. That likely explains why Jones was traded to the Wizards. The Thunder needed to create a roster spot. He was last on the depth chart. Let's see if he can turn his trajectory around at his new spot, but his short OKC tenure will be pretty forgettable in the big picture. Moving Forward: The Thunder needed to create a roster spot for Thomas Sorber. In a bit of a surprise, that turned out to be Jones. He was salary-dumped to the Wizards. He gets a fresh start on a rebuild that could afford him to learn on the court with low-leverage minutes. Let's see if Jones can take advantage of being in Washington. As said earlier, he must be better from the outside. That will decide how long his NBA career is. Most role players attempt catch-and-shoot looks for their shot diets. Maybe he can sprinkle in a few drives to the basket because of a lack of a primary ball-handler on the Wizards, but that won't make or break his ambitions. Considering how deep their draft pick pockets are, Jones was worth the swing and miss. Five second-round picks might be a lot to give up in quantity, but in quality, the Thunder didn't stomach agreeing to the deal when it happened. The Thunder had hopes that Jones could fit the forward playmaking archetype they had chased over the years. It hasn't happened yet. The low-level NBA production, paired with being an undersized wing, created a bad matchup that hindered the type of career development that could have occurred. Oh well. It happens. The Thunder were still able to have one of the greatest seasons ever despite getting little production from their rookie class. They have enough ammo to afford a few misses on projects they want to take on. It didn't work out with Jones, but that shouldn't discourage their draft process. Results speak for themselves. Final Grade: D

Nets' Egor Demin reacts to split opinions about his NBA potential
Nets' Egor Demin reacts to split opinions about his NBA potential

USA Today

time28 minutes ago

  • USA Today

Nets' Egor Demin reacts to split opinions about his NBA potential

Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin was taken by the Nets with the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, leading to some pundits wondering taking Demin was an overreach. Brooklyn has maintained since taking Demin that they believe in his ability to affect the game in multiple ways and the former BYU Cougar gave his thoughts on the split opinions about him. "There were a lot of opinions and conversations around this, and it will always be like this, as far as I understand," Demin said during an interview with Nikita Biryukov of Championat, a Russian website (h/t to NetsDaily). Demin was asked for his opinion on those who believed that him being selected with a top-10 pick was correct while some believed that the Nets made a mistake taking him that high in the Draft. "I try to simply isolate myself from any conversations and discussions of the public, I concentrate on my work and development together with people who help me to be the best version of myself," Demin continued. In an recent article from ESPN, there were various executives who believed that Demin was the biggest reach of the Draft due to where most pundits had him going heading into the event. "Even if you believe in [Demin] as a starting NBA point guard -- and I don't -- it seems like he would've been gettable at the end of the lottery, or even later," an Eastern Conference executive said of Demin, per ESPN's Jeremy Woo. Part of the criticism of Brooklyn taking Demin was due to the fact that Demin was one of four players whose profile involves being a ball-handler. Demin, 19, came away from the 2025 Las Vegas Summer League with some solid performances that involved him shifting the narrative around his ability to play off the ball. Demin played three games for the Nets in Las Vegas and he averaged 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 40.7% from the field and 43.5% from three-point land on 7.7 attempts per contest.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store