The Magic appear to have heavy interest in acquiring Eric Bledsoe in return for Arron Afflalo, according to Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com, who delivers his latest mock draft. That jibes with the notion that the Clippers are holding out for an additional asset in the rumored trade proposal, which would also send Caron Butler to Orlando. Kotoch adds that Cavs executive Zydrunas Ilgauskas is pushing Cleveland to take Alex Len first overall. Here's more from around the NBA:

• The Nuggets plan for most of their interviews for a new GM to occur once the team hires a coach, reports Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Wednesday's scheduled meeting with Lionel Hollins will be the first formal interview the team will conduct for the coaching job, and it's unclear when any other candidates will be interviewed, Dempsey notes.
• Nuggets president Josh Kroenke tells Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post that he wouldn't have allowed a team other than the Raptors to have permission to speak with former GM Masai Ujiri. Kroenke admits he put himself in a difficult position because of his friendship with Ujiri, who had a soft spot for the Raptors organization for which he worked once before.
• The Rockets have paid the luxury tax just once in the 15 seasons its been in existence, but owner Leslie Alexander tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that he'd be "thrilled to pay a tax if we have a championship-caliber team."
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News glances at the personnel decisions facing the Spurs this summer once the Finals are over.
• Tyson Chandler tells Marc Berman of the New York Post that he tried all season long to convince former teammate and new Nets head coach Jason Kidd not to end his playing career. Chandler doesn't believe Kidd's 10-game scoreless streak in the postseason influenced his decision.
• Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com checks in with free agent center Jerome Jordan, who'll be playing in summer leagues for both the Knicks and Pacers and will also take part in mini-camps with the Spurs and Mavericks.
• Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun figures the Raptors may carry only 13 players next season, given their proximity to tax territory (Twitter links).

Guaranteed Contracts

• Roy Hibbert ($14,283,844)
• Danny Granger ($14,021,788)
• George Hill ($8,000,000)
• Ian Mahinmi ($4,000,000)
• Gerald Green ($3,500,000)
• Paul George ($3,282,003)
• Miles Plumlee ($1,121,520)
• Orlando Johnson ($788,872)

Options

• None

Non-Guaranteed Contracts

• Lance Stephenson ($930,000)¹

Free Agents / Cap Holds

• David West ($13,000,000)
• Tyler Hansbrough ($7,638,148)²
• D.J. Augustin ($4,200,000)
• Jeff Pendergraph ($1,950,000)³
• No. 23 pick ($1,038,900)
• Ben Hansbrough ($988,872 - QO)
• Sam Young ($884,293)

Draft Picks

• 1st Round (23rd overall)
• 2nd Round (53rd overall)

Cap Outlook

• Guaranteed Salary: $48,998,027
• Options: $0
• Non-Guaranteed Salary: $930,000
• Cap Holds: $29,700,213
• Total: $79,628,240

It may take a while for many in Indiana to get over the disappointment of a Game Seven loss in the Eastern Conference Finals, but there's no denying that this past season was a rousing success for the Pacers. The team went a step farther than it did last year in the playoffs even though Danny Granger, its top scorer from each of the previous five seasons, was injured and missed all but five games. Paul George blossomed in Granger's stead, making his first All-Star Game, winning the Most Improved Player of the Year award, and vaulting into superstar status as he went mano-a-mano with LeBron James in the playoffs. Roy Hibbert bounced back from an offensive slump in the first half of the season and continued to establish himself as an elite interior defender, especially against the Heat, proving the value of the four-year, $58.4MM contract the Pacers gave him last summer.

Now the Pacers must decide if their success this season justifies moving on from Granger, a 30-year-old former All-Star entering the final season of his contract. The Pacers are reportedly leaning toward keeping him, but there would be no shortage of teams interested in Granger if the Pacers want to put him on the market. Whether the Pacers decide to pull the trigger on a deal could come down to the strength of the trade proposals they receive. Indiana could clearly use some bench production, and Granger could be a potent sixth man if the team opts to use him in that role. He'd be an overpaid reserve, but his contract expires after this coming season, just when the Pacers will need to have more money available for George's next deal. It would be difficult for another team to put together a package of players who could equal Granger's production and whose contracts are up after one season like his is. So, unless there are some enticing first-round picks involved to sweeten the pot, the Pacers may be content to keep Granger for themselves.

The Pacers most assuredly want to hang on to David West, too, and team president Donnie Walsh has deemed re-signing the unrestricted free agent as priority No. 1. There's little reason to expect they won't get a deal done, particularly given West's repeated comments about his desire to return. Executives around the league reportedly expect West to draw offers for three or four years with an annual salary of $11-13MM, and that's just the range the Pacers were hoping to sign him for. I wouldn't be surprised if a team enamored with his toughness and consistent scoring ability floated an offer that exceeds that range, but many front offices will be wary of overpaying a 32-year-old with a torn ACL on his medical history. Barring the unlikely event of a max offer for West from another team, which would be four years starting at around $20MM, I expect him back with the Pacers.

West isn't the only Pacer who could wind up with a lucrative long-term deal this offseason. The Pacers have from July until the end of October to negotiate an extension for Paul George and keep him from restricted free agency in 2014. Indiana would still have plenty of leverage if it got to that point, but George appears to be a rare talent, particularly in such a small market. Walsh and GM Kevin Pritchard would do well to show George that they want him around for the long haul.

The most significant question may not be whether they'll give George an extension, but how long that extension will be for. They could make the deal for five years, but any extension that stretches beyond a fourth season would make him the team's designated player. That distinction would preclude the Pacers from signing anyone else coming off a rookie contract to a five-year extension, but no one else on the roster is likely to warrant that. The maximum George can get wouldn't be known until after he signs the extension. At the moment, he'd be eligible for a max with a starting salary worth 25% of the salary cap in 2014/15, which would mean a five-year deal would be worth around $80MM. If he wins the MVP or, more likely, makes an All-NBA Team again, he would be eligible for 30% of the cap, pushing a five-year extension to a total of about $100MM. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Pacers push to work out an arrangement similar to the one the Thunder had with Russell Westbrook, in which Westbrook agreed to stay at the 25% max even if he became eligible for the 30% max. 

Either way, George is in line for a significant raise, yet an extension wouldn't kick in until 2014/15, meaning he'll remain a bargain on his rookie contract for the upcoming season. Tyler Hansbrough's rookie deal is up this summer, but even though he entered the league as a No. 13 pick with about as much fanfare as George, who was taken 10th overall, Hansbrough's current situation is drastically different. He's been more efficient than most bench players, having put up a 15.3 PER this year that nearly mirrors his 15.4 career number, but he saw fewer minutes per game this season than ever before. The Pacers tried to find takers for Hansbrough, along with D.J. Augustin and Gerald Green, a pair of underwhelming bench pieces, at the trade deadline, but had no luck. Now, Hansbrough is eligible for restricted free agency, and his $4.1MM qualifying offer amount is about the same as the annual salary the Pacers are paying Ian Mahinmi, the other bench big man in their rotation. Keeping two bigs on the floor as often as possible is part of the team's ethos, but presuming West re-signs for $12MM a year and the team brings back Hansbrough for an amount equivalent to his qualifying offer, the Pacers would be paying $34.5MM to four bigs next season. That's a figure that takes the team nearly halfway to luxury tax territory, and only two of the four bigs can be in the lineup at the same time. Indiana may prefer a cheaper option — perhaps Jeff Pendergraph, another restricted free agent who performed capably in limited minutes for the Pacers this season.

Augustin seems even less likely to return than Hansbrough, unless the point guard takes a significant paycut from his $3.5MM salary this past season. The five-year veteran put up career lows across the board, and while much of that had to do with his reduced playing time, he didn't play efficiently in the minutes he did see, since this season's 11.0 PER was a low watermark as well. Walsh and Pritchard could look to the draft to find a replacement for Augustin. The Pacers aren't likely to land a starting-caliber player with the No. 23 pick, but they might come across a backup point guard capable of stepping into that role immediately.

The free agent reserve the Pacers might be most interested in retaining is the same one they waived in January and re-signed three weeks later. Sam Young showed his worth in the playoffs as a defender who could make LeBron sweat, and he should be able to command a seven-figure salary for the first time in his career. The Pacers can use his Non-Bird rights to ink him to a four-year deal worth as much as $4.866MM, and while I don't think he'll get a contract that lengthy, a two- or three-year deal with annual salaries in the $1.2MM range sounds about right.

Perhaps the easiest decision that Walsh and Pritchard have will be to fully guarantee the contract of starting shooting guard Lance Stephenson, who's set to make slightly more than the minimum. Next season is the last on the four-year deal to which the Pacers shrewdly signed Stephenson after they drafted him in the second round in 2010, so he's eligible for an extension. The front office will probably wait to see how much West, and perhaps George, wind up making before entering such talks with Stephenson, but the matter isn't pressing. Stephenson and the team can negotiate an extension all the way until June 30th of next year, unlike with George, a former first-round pick whose rookie-scale contract falls under a different set of rules that call for an October 31st extension deadline.

The Pacers are faced with many decisions this offseason, but the growth of George, as well as Stephenson, has given them enticing options. Granger has become expendable, but there's still one more season before keeping him together with West and George becomes financially unfeasible. Indiana can dangle Granger in exchange for future upgrades, or bank on his recovery from injury and make a strong push for the title next season. That's the storyline that may truly define the team's summer. 

Cap footnotes:

1. Stephenson's contract becomes fully guaranteed if he's not waived on or before July 15th.
2. The qualifying offer for Hansbrough is $4,135,391, which is less than 250% of his salary in 2012/13. The cap hold for a former first-rounder who made less than the league average salary in the fourth season of his rookie-scale contract is always the greater of those two amounts in the summer after his rookie deal expires. Hansbrough's QO would have been $4,225,423, but it was reduced because he failed to meet the league's starter criteria.
3. The qualifying offer for Pendergraph is $1,875,000, which is slightly less than 130% of his salary in 2012/13. The cap hold for an Early Bird free agent who isn't coming off the second year of a rookie-scale contract is always the greater of those two amounts.

Storytellers Contracts and Sham Sports were used in the creation of this post.

The Pacers are leaning toward keeping trade candidate Danny Granger for the final season of his contract in 2013/14, report Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com amidst a piece rounding up rumors about a Celtics/Clippers deal. The Clippers are among the teams targeting Granger, with Eric Bledsoe as the primary trade chip, according to Stein and Shelburne.

Still, the Pacers want to keep Granger, and they're banking on his ability to return fully healthy from left knee troubles that kept him out of all but five games this past season. If he can come back at full strength, the Pacers believe that could help them overcome the Heat next season, as Indiana pursues its first NBA championship.

Granger is set to make slightly more than $14MM next season, and his expiring contract could prove a valuable asset in trade talks if Indiana wants to pursue them. The Cavs and Rockets are other teams that may have interest in acquiring the 30-year-old small forward who's averaged 18.1 points per game and 38.4% three-point shooting for his career.

A source that spoke to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald expects Doc Rivers to return to the Celtics, if for no other reason than the fact that no other team will offer him the $7MM annual salary he's earning in Boston. However, if Rivers does decide to part ways with the team, Vinny Del Negro would receive serious consideration as his replacement, multiple sources tell Murphy.

"As a stopgap for that situation, sure," one source said. "Vinny would be the perfect person for what they need. All of the All-Star coaches, or whatever you want to call them, are going, and knowing how Danny [Ainge] feels about him, [Del Negro] would be a good fit."

Here's more from around the Atlantic Division on a Friday morning:

• Appearing on WFAN this morning, Nets GM Billy King said he expects C.J. Watson to opt out of the final year of his contract to become a free agent (link via Josh Newman of SNY.tv).
• Jason Kidd confirmed on ESPN Radio this morning that he has extended an offer to former Nets head coach Lawrence Frank to join his staff in Brooklyn (link via Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com). "The invitation is out there, so it's up to him," Kidd said.
• Even after hiring Kidd, the Nets are still a move or two away from becoming a legit contender, says Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News.
• Pacers president Donnie Walsh tells Fred Kerber and Mark Hale of the New York Post that he was "disappointed" the Nets didn't decide to hire Indiana assistant Brian Shaw.
• Yesterday, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press named the Knicks as a team with interest in Will Bynum, and today he adds another Atlantic team to Bynum's potential list of suitors: The Sixers (Twitter link). The Pacers and Lakers may also be interested, according to Ellis.

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau appeared to be excited as he described the progress that Derrick Rose has made, saying that the superstar point guard's speed and explosiveness have come back to the point to where he's comfortable and confident (Jon Greenberg of ESPN Chicago): 

"I worked him out about a week ago...Watching the way he's moving now, there's a confidence.(Reporters) may not have been able to see the total work he was putting in. But he was putting in an enormous amount of work each and every day. He just never got to the explosiveness he was comfortable with. I think he's there now. He feels great, and that's the most important thing."

Here are more miscellaneous notes out of the Eastern Conference tonight: 

• Heat forward Chris Bosh downplayed the idea that he's bothered by talk about him being the most expendable of Miami's "Big Three," also mentioning that he wouldn't want to be the lead player on a team with a lesser situation (Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports). 
• Though Hall of Fame point guard Bob Cousy once doubled as a player-coach, don't expect Nets coach Jason Kidd to follow suit, as he told reporters that he has no intention of ever playing another minute (Marc Berman of the New York Post via Twitter). 
• Patrick Ewing, recently hired as an associate head coach for the Bobcats, thinks that it'll be a tough challenge for Kidd to make the transition from being an NBA player directly into becoming a head coach (Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York). 
• Former Knicks and Nets forward Shawne Williams looked good during a workout today and will audition for several NBA teams soon, tweets Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy. 
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal writes that while the presence of Dion Waiters on the Cavaliers may compound the team's interest in drafting Ben McLemore, the former Syracuse standout could thrive in a reserve role as a primary ball handler in the second unit. 
• Wheat Hotchkiss of NBA.com reviews today's draft workout hosted by the Pacers, which included Deshaun Thomas, Will Clyburn, Alex Oriakhi, James Southerland, and Troy Daniels. C.J. Leslie was present, but did not participate in the workout. 

Earlier this afternoon, I asked for your thoughts on which prospect would be drafted first overall two weeks from tonight. While I provided five names in the poll, it appears I omitted one more viable option, as Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio reports that Anthony Bennett is also under consideration for the Cavaliers at No. 1 overall. While several opposing GMs tell Amico that they don't believe Cleveland would draft Bennett (or Alex Len) first overall, the Cavs aren't tipping their hand, so plenty of options still remain in play. Here's more from Amico's latest collection of NBA news and notes:

• One source says that the Cavs have been working on "something major," but no details were given due to the magnitude. While that may not reveal much, Amico relays from the same source that Cleveland has talked to one particular team several times about the number one pick, although discussions have only been exploratory at this point (Twitter links). 
• Amico also tweets that the Cavaliers are lukewarm at the idea of taking Victor Oladipo or Anthony Bennett with their first overall pick and are going back and forth between Nerlens Noel and Ben McLemore.  

Earlier updates:

• The Sixers are high on Michael Carter-Williams, who they believe could contribute at both guard positions, according to Amico. With Carter-Williams drawing some interest from teams in the top 10, it remains to be seen whether he'll be available for the Sixers at No. 11.
• While the Magic have explored trades involving the second overall pick, they're "far from desperate" to move it.
• Depending on how their pursuit of Dwight Howard goes, the Rockets may be interested in making a bid for trade candidate Danny Granger.
• The Bucks and Bobcats have engaged in discussions involving Milwaukee's 15th overall pick, says Amico.
• If DeMarcus Cousins was available at one point, he isn't any longer. New Kings coach Michael Malone is excited about working with the young big man.

Echoing what we've heard out of Indiana for weeks, team president Donnie Walsh told reporters, including Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star, that re-signing David West this summer is "priority number one" for the Pacers.

"We want him back as much as you can want anyone back," Walsh said. "We think he’s one of the anchors of the team."

Here's more from around the Eastern Conference:

• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald brings us a few more details on the decision facing Doc Rivers, writing that the Celtics coach is torn between wanting to carve out a long career with a single franchise and worrying about losing effectiveness if he remains too long in Boston. Multiple sources tell Bulpett the odds are still "overwhelmingly" in favor of Rivers returning to the C's.
• From GM Joe Dumars to advisor Phil Jackson to owner Tom Gores, there was no dissension when it came to the hiring of Maurice Cheeks as the Pistons' new head coach, Dumars told reporters today (Twitter links via the Detroit Free Press).
• ESPN.com's Marc Stein is hearing that Cheeks would like to add former Thunder colleague Rex Kalamian as the top assistant on his Pistons staff (Twitter link).
• Jason Kidd spoke to Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News about entering the next phase of his career in the NBA, and coming "home" to the Nets.
• In addition to talking to Lawrence Frank and others about joining Kidd's staff in Brooklyn, the Nets have talked about pursuing longtime NBA assistant Dave Wohl, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

A few notes regarding draft prospects and the various teams they're meeting with throughout the league. 

• Maryland center Alex Len reportedly worked out with the Trail Blazers last week, reports OregonLive.com's Sean Meagher. Standing seven feet tall, Len would provide Portland with stabilizing rim protection, something they sorely lacked last season.
• The Nets worked out several wing players who've shined at making plays off the dribble, including Reggie Bullock, Tony Snell, and Archie Goodwin, according to the New York Post's Fred Kerber.
• The Hawks are set to work out St. Joseph's C.J. Aiken, a 6'9" forward who's already worked out for several NBA teams and is projected to go undrafted, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Tyler Tynes.
• According to an official release from the team, the Pacers will hold a work out for Iowa State's Will Clyburn, Virginia Commonwealth's Troy Daniels, North Carolina State's C.J. Leslie, Missouri's Alex Oriakhi, Syracuse's James Southerland, and Ohio State's DeShaun Thomas.
• The Bucks will work out Tony Mitchell, James Ennis, Solomon Hill, Adonis Thomas, Trey McKinney Jones, and Steven Pledger, according to a tweet from the team's PR account. 
• The Timberwolves are scheduled to work out six players on Thursday, according to a tweet from the team's PR account. 

The Spurs blew out the Heat tonight, behind 51 combined points from Danny Green and Gary Neal. Though Green and Neal are American-born success stories, many of the Spurs' accomplishments have been built around players from overseas, as Seth Wickersham of ESPN The Magazine examines.  Foreign players are "fundamentally harder working than most American kids," Gregg Popovich says. GM R.C. Buford is similarly high on imports, as no team in the league has more players from outside the U.S. than the Spurs do. We'll see if San Antonio's global approach sparks copycats in the years to come, but in the meantime, here's the night's news from the Association:

• The Nets, reportedly deciding between Brian Shaw and Jason Kidd for their next coach, want to make their choice by the end of the week, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. The Nets can give Shaw, also in the hunt for the Clippers job, the more lucrative offer, Bondy adds, speculating that Shaw's interview may be little more than a courtesy, given how high Brooklyn is on Kidd.
• Timberwolves president Flip Saunders had to cut short his meeting with Nikola Pekovic in Italy this past weekend, but the team still "badly" wants to re-sign their restricted free agent center, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. 
• Shabazz Muhammad will work out for the Blazers, The Oregonian's Mike Tokito notes via Twitter.
• Peyton Siva highlights a group of second-round hopefuls set to work out Thursday for the Grizzlies, reports Chris Vernon of  92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis (Twitter link). Julian Gamble, Jason Jones, Murphy Holloway, Jordan Aboudou and Romero Osby will also participate.

Last month, we heard that Mike D'Antoni and Nate McMillan wouldn't be returning to Team USA for the 2016 Olympics as assistant coaches. Today, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press reveals (via Twitter) that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau and Pelicans coach Monty Williams will be the new additions to Mike Krzyzewski's staff. Here are a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NBA:

• Timberwolves president Flip Saunders tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that every indication points to Rick Adelman returning as the team's head coach next season. Saunders also addresses Nikola Pekovic's free agency ("We plan on signing him") and Andrei Kirilenko's player option ("We don't have a gut feel [what he'll decide]") within the piece.
• Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has yet to officially state whether he'll return to Boston's bench next season, telling Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he'd address his future soon.
• In his weekend notes column for the Boston Globe, Washburn speculated that the Bobcats could be interested in trying to trade for Chris Bosh this summer, but Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer doesn't see Bosh as a fit for Charlotte.
• Asked about a potential Luol Deng trade, Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld tweets that he has heard the Bulls don't intend to change their core significantly this summer. With Deng and others coming off the books in the summer of 2014, the roster figures to see more turnover a year from now.
• CSKA Moscow assistant Quin Snyder has officially left the team to return stateside, the club announced today (English link via Sportando). Last week, ESPN.com's Marc Stein named Snyder as a potential under-the-radar candidate for the Nuggets' head coaching job, but I think it's probably more likely that Snyder ends up as an NBA assistant somewhere.
• Last June, Mike Miller's injury problems had him contemplating the possibility of retirement, but he's certainly feeling better a year later. Miller tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com that he feels like he has four or five seasons left in him.
• Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today attempts to determine why there have been so many head coaching changes in the NBA this offseason, while TNT's David Aldridge tackles the same topic in his own column at NBA.com. Aldridge also examines new Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer and asks Danny Granger about being the subject of frequent trade rumors.