Central Notes: Frank, Pistons, Cavs, McMillan
The Bulls squared off against the Heat in Miami today on national TV, but couldn't match the performance they gave in their last meeting. The Bulls snapped Miami's 27-game winning streak last month and couldn't come away with the W this time, even though Carlos Boozer finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds. Here's more out of the Central..
- Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press weighs the issues surrounding the uncertain future of Pistons coach Lawrence Frank, and points to owner Tom Gores' public endorsement of the way team president Joe Dumars has cleared cap space as reason Dumars might return.
- Nate McMillan would be a candidate to take over the Cavs if they part ways with Byron Scott, but he'll also be in the mix if the Kings move to Seattle, notes Bob Finnan of the News Herald. McMillan has previously indicated that he would be interested in returning to Seattle to coach.
- Meanwhile, Scott says that the rumors about his job security don't bother him, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Newspapers (on Twitter).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Dario Saric To Enter NBA Draft
Croatian forward Dario Saric has decided to enter the NBA draft in June, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The 19-year-old previously planned to spend one more season with the Adriatic League's KK Cibona Zagreb before joining the NBA but has apparently changed his mind.
Saric can still change his mind and pull out of the draft before June 17 and re-apply in 2014. He can use this time through to weigh his projected draft status, which NBA executives say could rise as high as the mid-first round. Marc Cornstein of Pinnacle Sports is set to represent Saric in the NBA.
The youngster has advanced passing skills and an improving perimeter shooting game. DraftExpress rates Saric as the No. 1 international player in his birth year (1994).
Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/8/13 – 4/14/13
Here's a look back at the original analysis delivered by the Hoops Rumors staff this week..
- This week, Hoops Rumors introduced the brand new Agency Database!
- Chuck Myron pointed out the decline of college seniors in the draft.
- The Prospect Profile series will get you up to speed on all of the top draft entrants for 2013 and I looked at Lehigh senior C.J. McCollum earlier this week.
- We asked you who should win Defensive Player of the Year. Larry Sanders was the leading votegetter with Joakim Noah not far behind.
- Luke Adams compiled a list of draft picks that are still up in the air.
- Tony Allen is hitting the open market at an ideal time, Luke writes.
- If you missed out on this week's chat with Luke, you can check out the transcript here.
- Here's how you can follow Hoops Rumors on Facebook/Twitter/RSS.
- Michael Carter-Williams won't let his last college performance dictate his future, Chuck writes.
- A long-term deal with a starting salary of $10MM is Monta Ellis' best bet, Chuck writes.
- The majority of you see Nerlens Noel being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft despite his injury.
Free Agent Stock Watch: Monta Ellis
Monta Ellis appears likely to exercise his early-termination option and get out of his $11MM contract with the Bucks for next season, and the GMs who spoke to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times agree he's in line for a paycut. Ellis is the NBA's 11th leading scorer this year at 19.2 points per game and is headed for his third straight finish among the top five in steals per game, but those figures belie his inefficiency and inattentiveness in defense.
The former second-round pick of the Warriors has seen his field goal, three-point and free throw shooting percentages decline in each of the past two seasons. This year, his shooting line is .413/.279/.772, and part of the reason his scoring output is so high is because he's taken the fifth most field goal attempts in the league. He's jacking up 3.9 three-pointers a game this season, far too many for someone who makes less than 30% of them. Observers, including Rob Mahoney of SI.com, have pegged him as a defensive liability during his career in part for his habit of watching the ball when he should be looking at his man. Ellis' defensive win shares leaped to 3.3 this season, a drastic improvement on his previous career high of 1.9, though it's hard to accurately convey defense through statistics.
Woelfel hears Ellis would be "quite receptive" to joining the Grizzlies, though he points to their likely shortage of cap space as reason to doubt that Ellis winds up in Memphis. The Journal Times scribe mentions the Hawks, Suns, Mavs and Timberwolves as teams that figure to be in the market for two-guards in the offseason, noting the connection between Atlanta and Ellis at the trade deadline this year. The Hawks made Ellis their primary target in a proposed Josh Smith trade with the Bucks. I don't think Ellis will be that high on Atlanta GM Danny Ferry's list come the summer, since the Hawks will no doubt go after Dwight Howard and other maximum-salary level talents first.
Ferry and company may view him as a complementary piece and pursue Ellis after they sign another player for the max, a stance that other teams with cap room, like the Suns and Mavs, could take as well. The Mavs and Ellis' teammate Brandon Jennings reportedly have mutual interest, so if Jennings signs in Dallas and the Bucks fail to match, that would probably take the Mavs off the table for Ellis, unless the team is eager to duplicate a backcourt that's proven only mediocre in Milwaukee.
The Timberwolves could have plenty of cap space, too, if Andrei Kirilenko declines his $10.219MM player option and the team allows restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic to depart. If Kirilenko opts in and the team is confident Nikola Pekovic won't see an offer close to the max, the team would have room sign Ellis to fill its longstanding hole at shooting guard with a starting salary in the neighborhood of $10MM. That would be less than Ellis would make next year on his option, but a contract for three or four years could give the 27-year-old much more guaranteed cash in the long run.
Players are often attracted to the offer with the most guaranteed money, with plenty of reason given the fragility of an NBA career. Still, there's no indication that Ellis' value will significantly decline in the next 12 months, so he could probably collect his $11MM option, hit the market in 2014, and see the same offers he'd get this summer. The news that he's likely to turn down the option would seem to indicate Ellis and agent Jeffrey Fried think he can get more than $11MM for next season, though that's just my speculation. If any team makes that kind of offer, it would probably be a club with trouble attracting marquee talent but intent on making a splash with its cap space — perhaps the Suns, Bobcats or Pistons.
Ellis could improve his stock with a few memorable moments against the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. No one expects the Bucks to win, but if his contributions help the Bucks steal a game or two, it could increase his chances of a raise. Either way, I still think a long-term deal with a starting salary of around $10MM is his best bet, especially if he aspires to play for a contending team anytime soon.
Latest On Kings, Sacramento, Seattle
In a few days, the NBA Board of Governors will meet to decide the fate of the Kings, though a decision may not come until a while after the meeting is finished. In the meantime, there's plenty of news as Sacramento and Seattle jockey for position.
- Christine Willmsen and Steve Miletich of The Seattle Times profile Chris Hansen, the lead investor in Seattle's effort to land the Kings. The story mentions Hansen's friendship with Celtics co-owner Irv Grousbeck, and Chris Daniels of KING-TV in Seattle points out that Irv's son, Wyc Grousbeck, sits on the joint committee currently weighing the competing Kings bids (Twitter links).
- If there's a difference in the size of the bids, the league doesn't necessarily have to go with the larger one, sports legal expert Michael McCann tells Times scribe Bob Condotta.
- Still, there's little doubt the Sacramento bidders for the Kings will match Seattle's $25MM addition to its bid, writes Marcos Breton of the Sacramento Bee, who argues that there's no compelling reason for the league to allow the team to leave a supportive market.
- Commissioner David Stern insists expansion isn't on the table, but it should be, opines Ailene Voisin of The Bee.
Pistons To Part Ways With Joe Dumars?
Sources tell Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News that Joe Dumars' run as team president will soon come to an end, though Lawrence throws a bit of cold water on his own report, noting the deep connection between Dumars and the team and writing that "we'll believe it when we see it." In any case, it appears the Pistons could be headed for a shakeup, with the Daily News scribe echoing earlier reports that the Pistons are likely to let go of coach Lawrence Frank.
The Pistons head into a critical summer, with only about $29MM in commitments for next season and another lottery pick on the way. The last time Detroit had such ample cap space, in 2009, Dumars signed Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva to long-term deals that became albatrosses for the team. The Pistons traded a first-round draft pick to the Bobcats last summer in part to relieve themselves of the final year of Gordon's deal.
Dumars took over the team's front office in 2000 after a Hall-of-Fame playing career spent exclusively with the Pistons. He won Executive of the Year in 2002/03, but followed it up with his most noteworthy error, drafting Darko Milicic second overall in the 2003 draft, ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and other standouts. Still, the Pistons won the title in 2003/04, and went to the Eastern Conference Finals six seasons in a row before their recent string of playoff misses.
MLive's David Mayo examines the questions facing the franchise, pointing out the arguments both for keeping and getting rid of Dumars and Frank.
Thunder, Bulls, Hawks May Pursue Nolan Smith
The Trail Blazers aren't going to re-sign Nolan Smith, but sources close to the combo guard tell Joe Freeman of The Oregonian that the Bulls, Hawks and Thunder lead a pack of teams that are likely have interest this summer. The Blazers drafted Smith with the 21st overall pick in the 2011 draft, but after his rookie season, they declined the third-year option on his rookie-scale contract, making him an unrestricted free agent at season's end.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks is Smith's godfather, Freeman points out, and Brooks has expressed confidence in Smith's ability to make it as an NBA player, despite the former Duke standout's inability to consistently become a part of Portland's rotation. Still, Oklahoma City seems well-stocked with backup guards, as they have Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb on guaranteed contracts for next season, along with DeAndre Liggins on a non-guaranteed deal. The Thunder will need to either re-sign or replace Kevin Martin, but Smith probably isn't someone they'd want to fill Martin's sixth-man role.
The Bulls and Hawks will probably have more room for Smith, who could have trouble commanding a salary much higher than the minimum. He's averaged just 3.3 points in 9.9 minutes per game for his career, numbers that have dipped to 2.8 PPG and 7.2 MPG this year. A team may be willing to use a portion of its mid-level exception on him, given his potential as a former first-round draft pick and first-team All-American in college, but he can't expect too much of a raise on the $1.366MM he's earning this season.
Odds & Ends: T’Wolves, Temple, Magic, Mavs
Kevin Love seemed optimistic about being able to bounce back from a difficult season with the best offseason of his life, writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. He also spoke about his desire for Rick Adelman to continue coaching the team, saying: "We need to have him back…I know his family comes first, but hopefully we can sit down and talk to him. This year has given us a lot of perspective, and hopefully he can see we have the making of a very good team here. We can make a push and have a special year next year…I think he’ll come back.”
You can find more of tonight's miscellaneous links below:
- According to Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press, Rick Adelman has deemed finding a quality shooting guard among the top of Minnesota's priorities this offseason.
- Garrett Temple hopes to have found a home with the Wizards, telling J. Michael of CSN Washington that he'd "love" to be back with them next year.
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel thinks that the Magic should look to move Arron Afflalo, Jameer Nelson, and/or Glen Davis (at least one of them) in order to continue creating cap space for the future.
- Jan Hubbard of Sheridan Hoops wonders if a 35-year-old Dirk Nowitzki will have to endure another season like this one, especially if the Mavericks are unable to hit a home run in free agency for the second straight year after breaking up their championship roster.
- Though Mark Cuban isn't happy that Dallas is going to miss the postseason, he vouched for coach Rick Carlisle: "Rick’s a great coach…We obviously didn’t have what we thought we would have, but we obviously should have had more. I don’t know if we could have, but we should have, so it’s all on me. If that means I let Rick down, I let Rick down" (Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram reports).
- Jeff McDonald of Spurs Nation writes that Manu Ginobili has been "progressing" in rehab according to coach Gregg Popovich, and that the Spurs veteran shooting guard could be cleared for full contact soon. On a more unfortunate note, Boris Diaw is expected to miss three-to-f0ur weeks (including the start of the playoffs) after the forward underwent a procedure to remove a synovial cyst that had been bothering his spine.
Cavs Notes: Thompson, Scott, Ellington, Gibson
Aside from shedding light on Tristan Thompson as arguably the Cavaliers' most valuable player (aside from Kyrie Irving), Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer makes the case that Cleveland will have to add a couple of experienced and productive veterans through trades or free agency if they are to make significant progress in 2013-14. We've got a few more notes to share out of Ohio tonight:
- Pluto finds it odd that Irving didn't comment on Byron Scott, especially considering that Thompson gave the head coach a strong vote of confidence. Even if Irving was wary of saying the wrong thing, it didn't seem to indicate that all was well between the two.
- The team will offer restricted free agent Wayne Ellington some type of contract for next year, and although they'd like for Marreese Speights to exercise his $4.5MM player option, they'll also take a look at the type of offers he'll get if he declines.
- After an injury-riddled season and one of his worst statistically, Daniel Gibson tells Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer that he doesn't want to end his tenure with the Cavaliers this way and would be willing to consider any offer that they'd give him this summer.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer (also of The Plain Dealer) answered a bunch of questions from her readers about the Cavs, saying that the team should look to add a defensive specialist this summer and isn't sure whether or not Byron Scott will be back. Boyer doesn't think Scott should be fired, and believes that the team will make the playoffs if they are healthy next season.
- Cleveland has four draft picks in June, and Boyer doesn't foresee them ultimately adding four rookies to an already young roster. With that being said, she expects some of those picks to be shopped.
Seattle Bidders Raise Offer By $25MM
SATURDAY, 10:38pm: According to Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler, and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento group refrained from delivering a counter to the Seattle investors' increased offer, looking at it as a move of desperation that "isn't much money in the grand scheme of things" and downplaying the notion that it will do anything to ultimately sway the NBA's decision.
FRIDAY, 11:21pm: Hansen has released a brief statement on the Seattle bidders' website.
"While we already have a binding purchase agreement to purchase the controlling interest in the team, the Seattle Ownership Group has elected to voluntarily raise its purchase price as a sign of our commitment to bring basketball back to our City and our high degree of confidence in our Arena plan, our financing plan, the economic strength of the Seattle market, individual and corporate support for the team and, most importantly, the future of the NBA," the statement reads in part.
11:09pm: Seattle's group has officially upped its offer by $25MM, a source tells Ian Thomsen of SI.com (Twitter link).
10:54pm: It's unlikely the NBA will allow a "bidding war," Bruski hears (Twitter link).
8:22pm: The Seattle investors are contemplating upping their bid by $25MM in reaction to the competition from Sacramento, tweets Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee.
6:40pm: The Sacramento bidders have no plans of adhering to the Maloofs' deadline, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, who adds that the deadline primarily signals the Maloofs' acknowledgement that the league may block their move to Seattle. Meanwhile, the Sacramento group has withdrawn its claim to minority owner Bob Cook's 7% share of the team. The bidders were operating via minority owner Dave Luchetti, who had the right to exercise the right of first refusal to deny the share's sale to Hansen's group. Since the league will ultimately vote up or down on any sale of the 7% stake, this move simply shows the Sacramento group's desire to focus on the larger issue of the majority stake, Amick explains.
5:20pm: The Maloofs still prefer to sell to Chris Hansen's group, and regard the Sacramento bid as a backup offer that they only intend to accept if the NBA rejects the Hansen sale, Aldridge writes.
4:49pm: Both the NBA and the Sacramento group are operating on their own timelines at the moment, sources tell Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com (Twitter link).
3:54pm: The Maloofs have agreed to give the Sacramento group additional time beyond today's 5:00pm deadline to submit a competing offer, reports TNT's David Aldridge (via Twitter). Of course, as noted below, the Maloofs' deadline may ultimately not matter a whole lot, since the NBA isn't adhering to it.
3:47pm: The Sacramento investment group attempting to buy the Kings has informed the NBA that it will match the offer made by Chris Hansen's Seattle group, according to Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). Sam Amick of USA Today first reported last night that the Sacramento group was expected to match the Seattle offer.