Raptors Likely To Retain Colangelo, Casey
Sources tell Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun that there has been "no appetite" among the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment board, which controls the Raptors, to replace either GM Bryan Colangelo or coach Dwane Casey. The team has appeared to have been leaning toward keeping both, and Colangelo said today that if the Raptors pick up his option for next season, Casey will be back as well.
The Raptors finished tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference this year, at 34-48, and participated in the most significant in-season trade of 2012/13, acquiring Rudy Gay in a three-team deal that sent away Jose Calderon. The move leaves the team close to luxury-tax territory for next season, and Colangelo is reportedly likely to offer Gay, who's never been an All-Star, an extension to his five-year, $82.3MM contract. The team played .500 ball after the Gay trade, and benefitted down the stretch from the improved play of rookie center Jonas Valanciunas, who averaged 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in 31.6 minutes during April.
Toronto was without the injured Andrea Bargnani for much of the season, though Wolstat takes Colangelo to task for his continued trust in the Italian big man. Colangelo came on board in 2006, and made Bargnani the first overall pick in the draft that year, passing up power forward LaMarcus Aldridge, the No. 2 pick. Colangelo said today that a trade may be in the best interests of Bargnani and the Raptors, but sources tell Wolstat that Toronto would have to include an asset to entice teams to take on the final two years and $22.25MM on Bargnani's contract.
Eastern Notes: Pacers, Wall, Watson, Musselman
The Pacers have called a "major" press conference for tomorrow morning, leading Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com and HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy to speculate that Paul George will be named the league's Most Improved Player (Twitter links). While we wait to find out exactly what the presser is about, here's more from around the Eastern Conference:
- John Wall is eligible for an extension to his rookie-scale contract this summer, and has repeatedly expressed his belief that he's worthy of a max. J. Michael of CSNWashington.com wrote last month that "all the signals" indicate the Wizards would be open to such a deal. Now, Michael thinks Wall's recent comments suggest he'd be willing to take less if it meant greater flexibility for the team to pursue free agents.
- C.J. Watson told Stefan Bondy he'd love to return to the Nets next season, though Bondy doesn't believe that will happen (Twitter link). Watson has a player option for the minimum salary next season, but if he opts out, the most the taxpaying Nets could offer would be 120% of the minimum under Non-Bird rights.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio thinks former Kings and Warriors coach Eric Musselman would make sense for the Cavs, and points out that Musselman once offered Cleveland GM and fellow University of San Diego product Chris Grant a job on his staff in Golden State.
Nate McMillan Front-Runner To Coach Pistons?
7:53pm: McMillan also tells The Plain Dealer that the Cavs have not spoken to him about their opening.
7:35pm: McMillan tells Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune that neither he nor agent Lonnie Cooper has had contact with an NBA team about its coaching position (Twitter link).
6:55pm: Sources tell Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News that Nate McMillan has emerged as the frontrunner for the Pistons head coaching vacancy. The Pistons are seeking a proven coach, and it seems McMillan, whose record in 478-452 with the Blazers and Sonics, fits the bill for them. Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News heard last week that McMillan was a potential candidate.
McMillan has apparently expressed interest in the Cavs head coaching job as well, and he's been expected to interview for the Sixers opening. McMillan said in March that he's "definitely looking to get back into coaching" and expressed interest in coaching the Kings if they moved to Seattle and parted ways with Keith Smart. McMillan's name came up when the Nets and Lakers changed coaches in the middle of this past season. He interviewed with the Bobcats last summer.
The 48-year-old former point guard last coached in the NBA with the Blazers, who fired him at the trade deadline in March 2012. He's coached parts of 12 seasons in the NBA, but has only once taken a team past the first round of the playoffs, with the Sonics in 2004/05. He was an assistant coach on Team USA's Olympic squads in 2008 and 2012, both of which won gold medals.
J.R. Smith ‘Would Love To Retire A Knick’
J.R. Smith, fresh off winning the Sixth Man of the Year award today, figures to be in high demand if he declines his $2.933MM player option for next season. Other teams will be able to give Smith more money on a new contract than the Knicks could, since the team only possesses Early Bird rights on him, but Smith said on ESPN's SportsCenter today that he would like to stay in New York, as Jared Zwerling and Ian Begley note.
"Without a doubt," the 27-year-old swingman said. "I was born in New Jersey, born and raised. I would love to retire a Knick."
This time of year, it's common for free agents to express their desire to remain with their current teams, only to reverse course in the summer. It's noteworthy, though, that Smith insists he doesn't want to go elsewhere since he could make more money if he signs with a team that has ample cap room, unlike many other free agents who have financial incentive to stay put.
The Knicks have commitments that would almost certainly make them a taxpaying team next season, so the best they could do for Smith would be to use his Early Bird rights to give him 104.5% of this season's average salary. The average salary won't be known until the league finalizes its books in July, but it's currently estimated to be $5.276MM. If that figure holds, the most the Knicks could pay Smith next season would be $5,513,420. The contract would be limited to raises of no more than 7.5%, so the Knicks couldn't backload their offer.
Smith could probably command offers of around $8MM or $9MM annually from other teams, though that's just my speculation. Still, Zwerling and Begley point out that Smith has received more endorsement opportunities in New York, and he's certainly played better with the Knicks than in his previous stops with the Pelicans and Nuggets.
Pistons Rumors: Hunter, Budenholzer, Cheeks
For most of the 2000s, the Pistons were playoff regulars, but in the 2010s, the only way the team has drawn headlines at this time of year is through the draft lottery or with a coaching change. That's the case again in 2013, as we detail in the latest dispatches from the Palace.
- If the Suns let go of Lindsey Hunter, a move that seems increasingly likely, he could become a candidate for the Pistons coaching vacancy, as Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press suggests. Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer and former Sixers and Blazers head coach Maurice Cheeks, who's believed to want another head coaching job, could also emerge as candidates, Ellis believes.
- Two coaches who apparently won't have a shot at the Pistons job are Rockets assistant Kelvin Sampson and Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, according to Ellis.
- Zeljko Obradovic, who spent 13 seasons coaching Panathinaikos in Greece, tells El Juego de Naismith that he would consider taking a coaching job in the NBA this summer if a team with a chance to make the playoffs reaches out to him, (translation via Sportando). Obradovic pointed to his relationship with the Pistons, who invited him to observe training camp last fall and attend the team's game against the Knicks in London this past season. Still, Obradovic's agent, Alexander Raskovic, tweets that they won't negotiate any deal until after the season. It's unclear if Raskovic means the end of the NBA's postseason or the end of European play.
- Pistons assistant GM George David is excited about having won a pair of draft-order tiebreakers, particularly the one that gave the Pistons the No. 7 overall position heading into next month's lottery, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. "The difference between having six or seven, or seven or eight, or five or six, becomes – as Pistons fans, I’m sure, recognize – extremely valuable to our team over the last three or four drafts," the executive said. "If we were one slot lower than where we were in Andre (Drummond)’s draft, Brandon (Knight)’s draft or Greg (Monroe)’s draft, there’s a very, very high probability that none of those guys are on our roster. When you’re picking that high, the difference between one slot is really, really big."
Pelicans Won’t Rule Out Eric Gordon Trade
The Pelicans didn't hesitate to bring a seemingly unwilling Eric Gordon back last summer, matching a four-year maximum-value offer sheet from the Suns. This time, New Orleans doesn't appear to have reservations about letting him go. GM Dell Demps told reporters today, including John Reid of The Times-Picayune, that the team would consider deals for Gordon or anyone else on the team's roster.
The news is in keeping with what we heard close to the deadline, when it appeared the Pelicans were more likely to revisit trade offers in the summer than pull the trigger immediately. Part of the reason for that appears to have been the reservations that several teams had about Gordon's balky right knee, not to mention his contract, as Reid writes. Gordon would have to approve any trade that takes place from now until July 14th, since that's when the Pelicans matched his offer sheet from the Suns.
One deadline rumor linked the Warriors to Gordon in a deal involving Klay Thompson. Gordon counted Golden State and Phoenix as places he wouldn't mind winding up via trade, but regardless of whether Gordon would OK a trade to the Suns, that can't happen at all until one year from the time the Pelicans matched his offer sheet from them.
Gordon was out for the first 29 games this season with a patella tendon disorder and bone bruise in his right knee, the same one on which Gordon underwent arthroscopic surgery during the 2011/12 season, when he saw action in just nine games. He was under a minutes restriction for most of this past season, and averaged 30.1 minutes per game in 42 contests while shooting 40.2%, both career lows.
Mike Brown Twice Turned Down Suns Job
The Suns attempted to bring Mike Brown aboard as coach at midseason, when they let go of Alvin Gentry, and again this month, but Brown rebuffed the team both times, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein says Brown passed this time around to focus on the Cavs, where he remains the leading candidate, according to the Associated Press, and other openings (Twitter links). It's further indication interim coach Lindsey Hunter could be on his way out, following the departure of GM Lance Blanks within the hour, as the ESPN.com scribe surmises.
Brown and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert met yesterday and could meet again as soon as today. There's pressure on Cleveland to move quickly, since Brown would reportedly be the top choice of Hawks GM Danny Ferry if he decides to let go of Larry Drew after the team finishes its postseason run.
The Sixers and the Pistons are the only two teams other than the Cavs to have coaching vacancies at the moment, but Brown does not appear to be a candidate for either job. Nonetheless, it appears the former Lakers coach has landed on his feet after his ouster in L.A. just five games into the 2012/13 season.
Suns Part Ways With GM Lance Blanks
The Suns have announced they're parting ways with general manager Lance Blanks. The move puts the future of interim coach Lindsey Hunter in doubt, since Blanks has been Hunter's primary ally in Phoenix, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). USA Today's Sam Amick tweets the same, adding that Blanks had a year left on his contract.
"Lance has been a trusted friend and colleague," said Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby, in a statement released by the team. "I thank him personally and professionally for his hard work on behalf of the Suns. We will continue to prepare for the offseason even as we look for his replacement."
Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News wrote in January that Blanks could be on shaky footing, along with Babby, who wound up getting a new two-year deal with the team earlier this month. It was in January that the Suns parted ways with coach Alvin Gentry, and around that time, Amick noticed Blanks seemed unsure about his future (Twitter link). Still, the timing of today's move comes as something of a surprise, since outgoing GMs often remain with their teams through the draft, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer points out, via Twitter.
Both Blanks and Babby came aboard in the summer of 2010. Without Amare Stoudemire, who left for the Knicks that offseason, the Suns went from a Western Conference finalist in 2010 to a mediocre team the next two seasons. Last summer, Phoenix sent Steve Nash to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade, and the Suns finished 25-57 this year, their worst winning percentage since their inaugural season of 1968/69.
The Suns vacancy is the first front-office position to come open so far this offseason. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports volunteers the name of Mark Warkentien, a Knicks executive and former Nuggets vice president of basketball operations, as a possible candidate (Twitter link).
Draft Updates: Jaiteh, Neumann, Fair, 2014
With less than a month to go until the 2013 draft lottery, let's check in on the latest draft updates and links….
- French big man Mouhammadou Jaiteh has elected to enter the 2013 draft, agent Herman Manakyan tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com (Twitter link). Givony, who ranks Jaiteh 32nd among this year's prospects, is more bullish on the 18-year-old than ESPN.com's Chad Ford, who has him 63rd.
- Givony also reports (via Twitter) that German center Philip Neumann will enter this year's draft, according to agent Brad Ames. Neumann ranks 84th on Givony's big board.
- Syracuse's C.J. Fair will hold a press conference this week, perhaps on Tuesday, to announce whether he'll go pro or return for his senior year, according to Mike Waters of Syracuse.com.
- We're still more than two months away from the 2013 draft, but Ford is also getting ready for the 2014 draft too. His Insider-only blog entry at ESPN.com today examines the freshman class of 2013/14, and next year's potential top picks, led by Andrew Wiggins and Julius Randle.
- In his latest preview of the 2013 draft class for NBA.com, TNT's David Aldridge focuses on this year's crop of small forwards.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Nets, Pistons, Knicks
After a dominant performance in Game One of their series against the Bulls, the Nets are in action again tonight as they try to take a 2-0 lead before the series heads to Chicago. As we look forward to that game, let's check in on a number of Monday items out of the Eastern Conference….
- As the Cavaliers search for a new head coach, owner Dan Gilbert had dinner with Mike Brown last night, as first reported by Cleveland's WKYC. According to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard, the meeting was a positive one, though Brown hasn't been offered the job. The two sides agreed to deliberate and talk again later this week, perhaps as soon as today, reports Broussard.
- While the Cavs also reached out to Phil Jackson, that's viewed merely as due diligence, according to Broussard, who says Jackson is more interested in a front office role. Steve Kerr says the some thing of Jackson, telling Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer that he's not sure whether the Zen Master is physically up to the challenge of diving back into coaching.
- While Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov would like to see his team add another star, Brooklyn's current cap situation won't make it easy to do so, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
- In a pair of tweets, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hints that Detroit isn't exactly a prime destination for free agents, and that the Pistons are more likely to try to use their cap space on trades this summer.
- In a column for the Detroit News, Terry Foster expands on the same point Ellis is making, pointing out that even though owner Tom Gores may be ready to spend, that doesn't mean free agents will begin flocking to the Pistons.
- Head coach Mike Woodson is happy that the Knicks' roster-building approach last offseason involved bringing aboard a handful of aging, but productive, veterans, as he tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. "We were able to do all these things thanks to ownership allowing us and field these guys who would be serious about winning a title," Woodson said. "I’m happy with the guys we chose, absolutely."