MCT file photo
Thursday night's NBA draft officially got the NBA offseason under way. And, of course, it could be the most significant offseason in NBA history.
Aside from the plight of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, etc., there will be plenty other moves going on. And many of them will involve players from the area, state or state colleges.
To name a few:
Myrtle Beach native Ramon Sessions: The Minnesota Timberwolves point guard likely will stay put after Spain's Ricky Rubio decided to put off coming over for another year, but who knows? Few saw him signing in Minnesota until the day it happened last summer.
Myrtle Beach summertime resident Raymond Felton: The Bobcats appear to want to bring the free agent guard back, but they said the same thing last season before signing him to a one-year tender. From reports, it sounded like Felton wasn't very happy with the breakdown of contract talks last year, so his fate is up in the air.
Former Socastee High coach Dan D'Antoni: The New York Knicks assistant coach likely will be coaching a new superstar next season. When the dominos begin to fall, D'Antoni could wind up coaching the likes of a LeBron James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. The Knicks have the cap room, but can they lure the biggest fish?
West Brunswick (N.C.) High grad Cedric Simmons: Simmons could pop up in an NBA summer league after playing partly in the D-League and in China last season. He has NBA experience and is still fairly young and has potential with his size.
Florence native Carlos Powell: An NBA Development League All-Star last season before going to play in China, Powell likely will again try the NBA route. Last summer he impressed while playing for the Phoenix Suns in the summer league and preseason.
Hemingway High alum Josh Dollard: The former Auburn and USC-Aiken standout who played last year in Switzerland was eligible for the NBA draft but said earlier this week it was more likely he would land in the D-League. He is working to get a new agent and is pretty confident he'll land there via the NBDL draft or by signing as a free agent.
Georgetown native Brendon Knox: Fresh off his last season at Auburn, it's possible the D-League could be an option for Knox. Check back for details later.
Clemson alum Vernon Hamilton: The former NBA guard told me recently he expects to give the NBA summer league another go. He said one team was already showing interest. Don't be surprised if he's back in an NBA camp after playing overseas last season.
USC alum Tre Kelley: The guard was in the Oklahoma City Thunder's camp last year before being cut. He also went overseas and likely will give the NBA another shot.
USC alum Tarence Kinsey: The guard was overseas this past season, but likely will try to revitalize his NBA career this summer.
I'm sure I'm missing some guys here, but those were the ones on the top of my head. Jockeying for overseas jobs isn't too far off either.
It's officially basketball offseason.
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