New Orleans Officially Adopts Pelicans Nickname
The New Orleans Hornets have officially become the New Orleans Pelicans, the team announced today in a press release. The club's website and Twitter feed have been updated to reflect the change.
For Hoops Rumors' purposes, we will be referring to the franchise as the Pelicans going forward. Our Facebook and Twitter feeds for the team have also been updated to reflect the change.
2013 NBA Draft Standings
A handful of coin flips and May's draft lottery are still to come in deciding the final order for the 2013 NBA draft, but last night's results locked most of the draft standings in place, and resolved many of the situations we'd been watching coming into the day.
To view the final reverse standings, check out our complete list right here. Here are some items of note, based on last night's results:
- The Magic will have the best chance at the first overall pick after their loss last night. Their odds for No. 1 will be 25%. The Bobcats, who won three straight to finish the season, will have a 19.9% chance at the top pick.
- The Lakers' first-round pick, which will land between 18th and 20th, will be sent to the Cavaliers. The Suns, rather than receiving L.A.'s first-rounder, will get the Heat's 30th overall pick.
- Coin flips are still required to determine which team picks first in the following spots: 7th/8th (Pistons, Wizards); 11th/12th (Raptors, Sixers); 18th/19th/20th (Lakers, Bulls, Rockets); and 25th/26th (Clippers, Grizzlies).
- Last night's 13th straight loss by the Trail Blazers ensures that they'll keep their second-round pick, which was top-40 protected. It will be 40th overall.
Kupchak: D’Antoni To Return To Lakers In ’13/14
Although there's been speculation all season about whether or not his job is safe beyond this year, Mike D'Antoni will return to the Lakers' bench next season, according to GM Mitch Kupchak. Kupchak told Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times that D'Antoni has done a "great job" and that the team hasn't discussed the possibility of replacing him.
"I think under the circumstances, Mike did a great job. We don't anticipate any kind of a change," Kupchak told Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. "No training camp, all the injuries, through the end of the season he's done a great job."
Although D'Antoni started off slow in Los Angeles, he ended up leading the Lakers to a 40-32 record after taking over for Mike Brown early in the season. That .556 winning percentage was good enough to get the team in the playoffs, and was a better mark than any D'Antoni posted in New York with the Knicks.
With two years and $8MM remaining on D'Antoni's contract, and money still owed to Brown as well, bringing in a new coach for next season would be an expensive proposition for a Lakers team that already figures to be spending a ton of money on its roster, which could be well into the luxury tax.
Former Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who was the preferred candidate of many fans when the team was searching for a coach in the fall, is reportedly interested in returning to the NBA in some capacity. However, as we heard yesterday, it appears highly unlikely that a return will happen with the Lakers.
Odds & Ends: Jeffries, Coaches, Kahn, Raptors
Blazers owner Paul Allen spoke to reporters this evening about the offseason for his team, which begins tomorrow, and it seems one decision will have to be made fairly quickly. Jared Jeffries is under contract for the next two seasons, but neither is guaranteed. Next season would become guaranteed if he's not waived by the fifth day following Portland's final game this season, according to Mark Deeks of ShamSports. Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com believes it's likely that Jeffries won't be back, judging by the 31-year-old's lack of playing time this season, so it appears the Blazers could be cutting him loose soon. Jeffries wants to remain in the NBA next season, however, and tells Haynes that he'll be looking for more playing time wherever he winds up.
As we wait to learn the fate of Jeffries and others as the offseason begins for nearly half the league, there's plenty more NBA news:
- Sam Amick of USA Today examines which coaches are most likely to be out of work soon, placing Mike Dunlap among those in the greatest danger of losing their jobs, along with Keith Smart, Byron Scott and Lawrence Frank. He also suggests that if Rick Adelman returns to the Wolves, GM David Kahn will as well, but if the coach isn't back, Kahn may be on the outs, too.
- Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo insists to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun that he never tried to fire coach Dwane Casey this season, as Simmons had previously reported.
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, speaking with the team's broadcasters during tonight's game, said retaining unrestricted free agent Martell Webster will be key, confirming a pair of recent reports. CSNWashington.com has the video, in which Leonsis also expresses a desire to keep John Wall long-term.
- Executives around the league who spoke to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game are widely split on how much O.J. Mayo could command if he turns down his $4.2MM option for next season. Some figure he can't expect much of a raise, and others believe he could easily make $10MM-$12MM (Sulia link).
- Point guard Josiah Turner, who played professionally in Canada this year after leaving the University of Arizona, will enter the draft, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Neither DraftExpress nor ESPN.com rate Turner as a top 100 prospect.
Blazers Owner On Olshey, Stotts, Tax, Kings
Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen met with reporters this evening before the team's final game, expressing his disappointment about the Blazers' failure to make the playoffs as well as his belief that the team is nonetheless headed in a positive direction. Allen had plenty more to say, and Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge provides a full transcript. We'll pass along a few highlights here:
On GM Neil Olshey and coach Terry Stotts, both in their first year with the team:
I think they are both doing a very good job. Obviously the end of the season, injuries can really get you. Wes (Matthews), Nic (Batum) and (LaMarcus Aldridge) having some issues. That can always — especially when you don' t have as much depth as you would like. I think you saw Terry institute that new brand of basketball to start out the season and I think compared to styles we've had in previous seasons, I think it's refreshing, unselfish style. In terms of what Neil did, we did very well in the draft, there's no question about that. I think getting Eric Maynor at the trade deadline that was a nice move. We're positioning ourselves for the future with cap room, draft picks, flexibility. It's going to be a very interesting offseason.
On his approach to the luxury tax:
Well, I'm not going to be a repeat offender with the multiplicative tax. That's something we'll try to stay, we'll be moderate, we're not going to be like the big-market teams that are paying the tax when they're in a championship window. People should understand, big markets have a huge local cable deal and can afford it when you're in a championship window, otherwise those taxes are so punitive they'll have their desired effect.
On the fight over the Kings between Sacramento and Seattle:
I think the league announced that there wasn't going to be a decision at this owners meeting. If there was, I'd be back in New York talking to people, forming my opinion. I think it's a tough call. While I supported the Sonics staying in Seattle when they ended up leaving, I think in general there's some feeling that if there's good fan support and there's good political support sufficient to have a state of the art facility, that's more than enough reason to keep a franchise in the same place. Then you can get into all the parameters of who has made the best offer, who hasn't made the best offer. It's a very difficult thing. Steve Ballmer is a very good friend of mine and I think he would be a great owner. I reserve my final decision.
Frank Wants Out Unless Pistons Pick Up Option
Lawrence Frank has told Pistons owner Tom Gores and team president Joe Dumars that he doesn't want to return as coach unless they exercise his option for 2014/15, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Frank is concerned about being a lame-duck coach as the team continues to rebuild, Wojnarowski writes. The team has already picked up Frank's option for next season, but he's reportedly on thin ice after leading the team to back-to-back lottery seasons in his two years as coach.
The Pistons will be on the hook for Frank's salary next season regardless of whether he's their coach. Wojnarowski pegs that guarantee at $4MM, while Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News has the figure at $3.7MM. The 2014/15 option would be for $4MM, according to Wojnarowski. Regardless, Gores wasn't enthusiastic when he spoke about the performance of Frank and Dumars earlier this week, and Frank wasn't optimistic when he spoke to reporters, including Goodwill, before the team's loss to the Nets tonight.
"Let's hope for the best, but we understand what reality could be," the coach said. "There's dialogue there so we'll see what happens."
The Pistons are expected to give Frank their decision tomorrow. A decision could be coming soon on Dumars as well, as a report this weekend suggested he could be on his way out as well.
Grant Jerrett To Enter Draft
Sources tell Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com that Arizona power forward Grant Jerrett will announce tomorrow that he's entering the NBA draft . The 6'10" freshman, who averaged just 5.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Wildcats this season, will likely hire agent Brian Dyke of Shibumi Sports, according to Goodman.
The move seems puzzling, especially since Goodman believes Jerrett could have eventually developed into a lottery pick (Twitter link). Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him as the 124th best prospect this year, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, who has Jerrett outside of his top 100 list, expressed surprise at the news via Twitter. Multiple NBA executives told Goodman that Jerrett will be taken in the second round or go undrafted.
The timing of the move is also somewhat curious, since Tuesday was the deadline for underclassmen to withdraw their names from draft consideration and retain college eligibility. Of course, signing with an agent, as it appears Jerrett is likely to do, would have precluded a return to college either way.
Pacific Links: Dwight, Lakers, Warriors, Kings
Congratulations to the Lakers, who, after a season of nearly non-stop turmoil, have clinched a playoff spot with the Grizzlies' win over the Jazz tonight. That comes as no surprise to many Hoops Rumors readers, as the Lakers were the top choice when we asked two weeks ago which Western Conference team would grab the final playoff spot in the West. You were also right on about the Jazz, tabbing them in early March as the team most likely to miss the playoffs among a group that also included the Lakers, Warriors and Rockets. Now, as the Lakers attempt to move up to the seventh seed with a win over Houston tonight, here's more on them and a couple of their Pacific Division rivals.
- Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Jim Rome of CBS Radio that he expects to re-sign Dwight Howard, echoing a pair of sources who said the same to Sam Amick of USA Today a few days ago.
- Yannis Koutroupis of HoopsWorld concludes the Lakers can't win a title as constituted this year or next, and lays out three options for the team: a full rebuilding effort, a quick rebuild for next season, and the most likely option, a push for free agents in 2014. Regardless of what happens, re-signing Howard figures to be the first item on their offseason agenda, as Koutroupis writes.
- Dwayne Jones will be with Golden State when the playoffs begin this weekend, but Scott Machado will remain with the Warriors' D-League affiliate for its postseason run, tweets Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Warriors signed deals with both today for the rest of the season.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com figures the NBA's decision to delay a vote until next month on the future of the Kings is a positive for Sacramento, arguing the city will benefit from more time in its tug-of-war with Seattle (Twitter link).
Poll: Which City Deserves The Kings?
The NBA's Board of Governors is meeting this week to debate the future of the Kings, and though no decision is expected until next month, there's a lot riding on the next couple of days, as the league's owners will debate competing bids from Seattle and Sacramento. It doesn't appear that Sacramento's offer is quite as high as Seattle's, after Chris Hansen and company upped the ante by $25MM last week, though that may not be nearly as important as the speed with which each city can construct a new arena.
Hansen's investment group reached an agreement to buy the controlling share of the Kings from the Maloof family in January, so they can argue they were on the sale first. Sacramento can point to the fact that the team's been there since the 1985/86 season, as well as the city's repeated efforts to strike a deal with the Maloofs in the past.
Pundits on both sides of the issue have had their say over the past several months. Now, it's your turn. If you, instead of the NBA's finance and relocation committees, were making a recommendation to the Board of Governors, what would you tell them? Let us know by voting, and feel free to elaborate on your take in the comments.
Southeast Rumors: Turkoglu, Hawks, Wizards
There's a race to the bottom in the Southeast Division tonight, with the Magic and the Bobcats vying for the greatest number of ping-pong balls in the draft lottery. The Hawks have playoff seeding at stake, but judging by their effort in a loss against the Raptors last night, they may not have any more motivation to win than Orlando and Charlotte do. While we wait to see how it all turns out, here's the latest from around the Southeast:
- Hedo Turkoglu wouldn't be surprised if the Magic waived him this summer to save 50% on his partially guaranteed $12MM contract for next season, as he tells Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida. The 34-year-old wants to keep playing in the NBA, but he can't see himself in the league for longer than another three seasons.
- Multiple veteran unrestricted free agents tell Lang Greene of HoopsWorld they'd consider signing with the Hawks if the team reached out to them. GM Danny Ferry also shares a few thoughts with Greene as Atlanta eyes a summer of ample cap space.
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post looks ahead to the offseason for the Wizards, who won't have much flexibility with $57MM already on the payroll, assuming Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza opt in to the final year of their contracts, as they're likely to do.