Wolves Rumors: Rubio, Ricky Davis, Hummel
The latest edition of Darren Wolfson's Scoops column for 1500 ESPN Twin Cities focuses more heavily on college basketball than the pro game, but Wolfson still manages to squeeze in a few Timberwolves notes toward the end of the piece. Let's check out the highlights:
- GM David Kahn has said in the past that the T-Wolves weren't saving their five-year designated player tag for Ricky Rubio when they decided not to sign Kevin Love for more than four years. Kahn has suggested that when the time comes, Rubio will receive an offer similar to Love's, but according to Wolfson, the belief from Rubio's camp is that the Spaniard will get a five-year offer when he becomes extension-eligible in the summer of 2014.
- Wolfson confirms what Ricky Davis told Jonathan Abrams of Grantland in a story that was published yesterday: Davis had a tryout with the Wolves in January of this season. "They signed [Mickael] Gelabale for the whole year," said Davis, who is trying to resume his NBA career after undergoing knee surgery. "I played with him in France, so that really makes me sick. That makes me really sick. That really hurts. They signed him for the whole year."
- Robbie Hummel, the Wolves' 58th overall pick in last year's draft, is playing well in Europe, and Minnesota will likely talk to him after the season about returning stateside. At the very least, Wolfson says, Hummel figures to play for the Wolves' Summer League squad.
- Rob Babcock, R.J. Adelman, and Matt Bollero are representing the Wolves at this week's Portsmouth Draft Invitational, according to Wolfson.
Odds & Ends: Millsap, Martin, Mejri, Blazers
The Bulls might not have Derrick Rose, but they proved again Thursday that they can beat anybody, giving the Knicks their first loss after 13 wins in a row. This comes just a few weeks after Chicago stopped the Heat's epic 27-game streak, and it seems like the Bulls will be a tough out no matter who they draw in the playoffs. There's plenty of intrigue involving off-court matters as well, and here's the latest:
- Friday's matchup with the Timberwolves could be Paul Millsap's last home game as a member of the Jazz, and the soon-t0-be free agent reflected on his time in Utah, as Jody Genessy of the Deseret News details. "I owe a lot to this community," Millsap said. "I owe a lot to this organization."
- Cartier Martin probably won't have much leverage when it comes to choosing a team as a free agent this summer, but he expressed a desire to re-sign with the Wizards, notes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
- HoopsHype's Jorge Sierra looks at Tunisian center Salah Mejri, who continues to draw interest from NBA teams after coming close to signing last year. Still, agent Bouna Ndiaye tells Sierra that he and Mejri will look to European clubs first before considering the NBA.
- The Oregonian's Joe Freeman reviews the first year of the Trail Blazers' exclusive partnership with the D-League's Idaho Stampede. Portland made a half-dozen assignments with four different players, and planned to make even more use of their affiliate.
- Greg Esposito of Suns.com chronicles the many travels of Suns point guard Diante Garrett, who spent Thursday night on his latest trip to the D-League, putting up a team-high 23 points for the Bakersfield Jam in a playoff loss to the Austin Toros.
- Cavs power forward Kevin Jones is no stranger to the D-League either, having been assigned to the Canton Charge six times this season, but he's begun to see consistent time for the big club, as Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal points out.
Decline Of College Seniors In Draft Continues
The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament got under way yesterday, but what once was a key pre-draft showcase now seems the exclusive territory of second-round hopefuls and future D-Leaguers. The tournament is for the top college seniors, but seniors have become decreasingly relevant in the draft. Even the most highly regarded seniors are now staying away from Portsmouth, yet the more significant development is the lack of highly regarded seniors at all.
The No. 1 senior on Jonathan Givony's DraftExpress board is Duke's Mason Plumlee, whom Givony ranks 13th overall. C.J. McCollum of Lehigh is the top senior for Chad Ford of ESPN.com, and he likewise checks in at No. 13 on Ford's overall list.
In 2006, the first year of the NBA's current age limit eliminating high schoolers from the draft, the Hawks took Duke senior Shelden Williams fifth overall. He was the first of three consecutive college seniors taken in that draft, and a total of eight went in the first round. Since then, only one senior has been drafted in the top 10: Jimmer Fredette, who went 10th overall to the Kings in 2011.
The past 15 drafts show a steady decline in the number of seniors drafted in the first round each year, and that's also reflected in the draft position of the highest senior selected. Nearly half of the first-round picks from 1998 to 2000 were seniors, as were two of the three No. 1 overall selections in that span. Since then, no senior has gone higher than Williams at No. 5 in 2006. Fredette was the only senior to become a lottery pick in the past three seasons.
The "one-and-done" eligibility rule, which sees many top-ranked prospects spend one year in college before entering the draft, is an easy target for explaining why fewer college seniors are picked, but the number of first-round seniors was dwindling even before 2006. Underclassmen have, for years, taken advantage of the opportunity to jump to the NBA as soon as they're deemed ready by scouts and executives, who in turn continue to draft them. Players and teams alike perpetuate the phenomenon.
Here's a look at the number of seniors taken in each draft since 1998, with the highest senior picked in parentheses:
- 2012: 4 (Tyler Zeller, 17th)
- 2011: 7 (Jimmer Fredette, 10th)
- 2010: 5 (Trevor Booker, 23rd)
- 2009: 6 (Terrence Williams, 11th)
- 2008: 5 (Jason Thompson, 12th)
- 2007: 6 (Acie Law, 11th)
- 2006: 8 (Shelden Williams, 5th)
- 2005: 9 (Channing Frye, 8th)
- 2004: 4 (Rafael Araujo, 8th)
- 2003: 9 (Kirk Hinrich, 7th)
- 2002: 7 (Melvin Ely, 12th)
- 2001: 5 (Shane Battier, 6th)
- 2000: 11 (Kenyon Martin, 1st)
- 1999: 12 (Wally Szczerbiak, 6th)
- 1998: 13 (Michael Olowokandi, 1st)
Draft Rumors: Dobos, McCollum, Muscala
Hungarian center Laszlo Dobos is entering the draft, agent Giorgio Dimitropoulos tweets. The 19-year-old is 7'2" with a 7'8" wingspan, but he's been largely off the radar for draftniks — neither DraftExpress nor ESPN.com has ranked or profiled him. Unlike college underclassmen, who can't return to school if they don't withdraw by Tuesday, Dobos can leave the draft pool any time from now through June 17th and still return to CAI Zaragoza, his Spanish league team. Here's more on the draft front:
- A pair of college seniors have signed with the Excel Sports Management agency, reports Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal. C.J. McCollum will have Sam Goldfeder as his representative, while Mike Muscala's agent will be Sean Kennedy (Twitter links).
- An NBA assistant GM shared his list of the top 30 prospects with Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Sulia link). Not surprisingly, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore and Marcus Smart lead off, though the unnamed executive cautioned that it's "extremely early," and much could change between now and the draft.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com implores Louisville junior guard Russ Smith to leave the draft field by Tuesday's deadline. Most teams peg him as a second-rounder, while others have him going undrafted, Mannix says. Mark Deeks of ShamSports thinks Smith's should stay in the draft, arguing that his stock isn't getting any higher (Twitter links).
- The ideal draft scenario would allow the Timberwolves to draft Victor Oladipo, according to Jim Rand of the Star Tribune.
Kings Updates: Maloofs, Hansen, New Investors
It's difficult to get a sense of who the frontrunner is in the tug of war over the Kings between Sacramento and Seattle. Yesterday's updates seemed to indicate that momentum was in Seattle's corner, but there's conflicting news today, as we detail:
- Sacramento's bidders will fully match Seattle's $341MM price for the Maloofs' 65% stake in the team, USA Today's Sam Amick hears. The bidders initially tried to come in $30MM short, based on the non-refundable payment Seattle investors made as part of their agreement to buy the team, but when the league told them that strategy wouldn't work, Sacramento's group agreed to add the $30MM.
- The Maloofs are concerned that Chris Hansen, the primary investor in Seattle's bid, may sue them if their purchase agreement falls through and Hansen winds up losing money in the ordeal, Amick adds in the same piece, which points to David Stern's influence behind Sacramento's effort.
Earlier updates:
- A group of 27 millionaires will join Sacramento's bid, but they're not going to be major investors in the effort, reports Nick Monacelli of News10 in Sacramento (Twitterlinks).
- The Sacramento bidders, as a whole, are more focused on the NBA's protocol for the process than the Maloofs' deadline, though they're not ignoring it, Monacelli tweets.
- The league committee weighing the competing bids for the Kings will recommend keeping the team in Sacramento as long as that city's investors match "the essential elements" of Seattle's offer, according to Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (Sulia link). Vivek Ranadive, who took over last month as the principal financial backer of the Sacramento effort, has been a "game changer," Bucher writes.
- Ranadive's impressiveness is second only to the one Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson has made on owners, many of whom want Johnson to work in the league office, as Bucher also notes.
- Speaking to reporters last night in Sacramento, Johnson reiterated multiple times that money isn't expected to be a problem when it comes to Sacramento's offer for the Kings (video link via News10).
- The NBA has asked the Sacramento group to cover the $30MM non-refundable payment that Seattle investors made as part of their deal to buy the controlling interest in the Kings from the Maloof family, reports Daniel Kaplan of Sports Business Daily. Ranadive and company are expected to submit their final offer to the NBA tomorrow, presumably ahead of the Maloofs' deadline, and announce additional investors as well, according to Kaplan.
- A pair of attorneys threatening to sue the city of Sacramento over its contribution to a new arena say the city has understated the amount of money it's putting into the project, report Ryan Lillis and Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee.
Casspi Would Be ‘Really Happy’ To Return To Cavs
It seems unlikely Omri Casspi will be back with the Cavaliers next season, given that we've heard he's no longer in the team's plans and could be headed to to play in Israel. There were conflicting reports early this season about whether he had requested a trade, but Casspi tells Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer that he wouldn't mind a return to Cleveland as a free agent this summer.
"One thing I learned is to not think about the future too much,'' Casspi said. "Take it one day at a time, one game at a time, play hard when you get the opportunity on both ends of the floor. That's what I'm trying to do. Whatever happens happens. I'll be really happy to be back. If not I'll find my way through the league. I'm happy that there's a lot of teams interested. Everything happens for a reason.''
Casspi would become a restricted free agent in the offseason if the Cavs extend a $3.3MM qualifying offer to him, but that probably won't happen, Boyer writes. If it doesn't, Casspi would become an unrestricted free agent. The former first-round draft pick's assertion that "there's a lot of teams interested" seems to conflict with what transpired around the buyout deadline, when the Rockets appeared to be the only team with legitimate interest. Of course, teams will have more flexibility in the summer, so it's possible more clubs could come after Casspi. The Israeli native may also have been referring to interest from overseas teams.
Casspi has seen his playing time and most of his other numbers decline in each season following his rookie campaign. That year, he averaged 10.3 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game for the Kings, who drafted him 23rd overall in 2009. He's down to 3.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG and 10.8 MPG this season.
Bulls Won’t Sign Nikola Mirotic Until 2014
There's "no possibility" the Bulls will sign 2011 first-round draft pick Nikola Mirotic this summer, GM Gar Forman said today on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000 radio. ESPNChicago.com rounds up Forman's comments about Mirotic, who's currently playing in Spain for Real Madrid. Forman said the Bulls will wait until the summer of 2014 because the rookie-scale amount the team would be limited to offering this summer wouldn't match what he's making overseas.
Mirotic was the 23rd overall pick in 2011, so if he signed this summer, he could get a first-year salary of up to 120% of the $1,038,900 rookie-scale amount for this year's 23rd pick. That would come to $1,246,680. But, if the Bulls wait until next summer, three years after they drafted him, the collective barganing agreement would allow them to ignore the rookie-scale amounts and use whatever cap space or exceptions they have at their disposal.
The Bulls see the 6'10" Mirotic as a power forward in the NBA, and Forman called the 22-year-old's ceiling "incredible." Mirotic has won the Euroleague's Rising Star Award two times, and Forman said he's about to win the honor again.
"He shoots it from 3, can handle it, good mobility," Forman said. "And he's a tough, tough kid."
The Grizzlies faced off against Real Madrid in the preseason, and after the game, Zach Randolph said Mirotic reminded him of Dirk Nowitzki and, to a lesser degree, Danilo Gallinari.
Hollins Confident His Fate Isn’t Tied To Playoffs
Lionel Hollins doesn't believe a "growing perception" that the Grizzlies may be waiting to see if the team advances past the first round of the playoffs before deciding whether to bring him back, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. Hollins and the team haven't discussed an extension to his deal, which is up at the end of the season. Still, a source recently told Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Hollins is "very likely" to receive a new contract after the playoffs even if the team bows out in the first round.
"There are a lot of teams that have successful seasons that don’t win in the first round," the coach said. "Look at San Antonio against us a couple of years ago. They won 61 games. That’s a successful season. But what happens in the playoffs is a different story. They caught a team on the rise and playing well. It happens."
Players, including Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Tony Allen, spoke in support of Hollins, as Tillery details. There have been rumors of a rift between Hollins and Zach Randolph, but both said last month that such speculation wasn't true.
Hollins will likely have offers from other teams if he hits the offseason without a deal, but he's nonetheless made it clear he wants to remain in Memphis, according to Tillery. Hollins criticized the team's Rudy Gay trade earlier this season, but later said it was an emotional reaction, and that he's on board with the team's revamped management, which places a greater emphasis on analytics.
Sixers Hope Doug Collins Steps Down?
5:52pm: Sixers spokesman Mike Preston offered a no-comment on the situation, but in so doing, implied Ford's story may have been off-base. Moore tweets Preston's statement: "We will not comment on a column loaded with innuendo and speculation."
THURSDAY, 3:49pm: Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com spoke to Collins' agent, John Langel, who says whether or not Collins returns to the Sixers next season will be up to the head coach.
"The relationship with Doug, me and Sixers management has been terrific," Langel said. "What they told me beyond this season and as recently as today and yesterday is how long Doug stays here is Doug’s decision."
Langel also denied that Ford's report originated from Collins' camp. It's worth noting that although Collins' agent downplayed rumors of tension between the coach and the team, his comments don't necessarily contradict what Ford reported.
WEDNESDAY, 10:25pm: Members of the Sixers front office hope coach Doug Collins resigns after the season, and the team has no plans to extend his contract past 2013/14, sources tell Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A source tells Ford he thinks Collins will indeed walk away once the season is over. Ford doesn't specify which executives would prefer Collins to move on, but writes that some members of the organization want a coach who's less demanding not only on players, but with management as well.
The Sixers fell to 31-47 with tonight's loss to the Hawks, a disappointment after playoff appearances in Collins' first two seasons as coach, including last year's push to the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Philadelphia seemed poised to climb further up the ladder when they traded for Andrew Bynum in the summer, but the former Lakers center has missed the entire season with problems in both knees.
Part of the reason the team doesn't plan to fire Collins is because it fears a backlash from fans who might side with the coach and stop buying tickets, according to Ford. The decision on whether Collins will return next season is in the coach's hands, just as Marc Stein of ESPN.com wrote this weekend. The 62-year-old Collins has, at various points this season, given the impression he's ready to leave, and a plurality of Hoops Rumors readers believed in February that Collins would step aside at the end of this season.
If Collins steps down, assistant Michael Curry could be next in line, as Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game wrote earlier this year. Collins could resurface with the Bulls, as Ford suggests, or as an assistant coach with Team USA, a position in which Collins has expressed interest.
Odds & Ends: Mavericks, Joseph, Harris, Jordan
After failing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000, the Mavericks will be opportunistic as they look to upgrade their roster this summer, Mark Cuban tells Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com, vowing that the team will be better next year.
"We maximized for the first generation of Dirk [Nowitzki]'s golden years to win a championship," Cuban said. "So we'll do our best for his second generation of golden years and then the next generation and the next generation until he runs out of golden years."
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Kris Joseph's 10-day contract with the Nets is set to expire tonight, but teammate Jerry Stackhouse tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that he expects the club to retain Joseph. If Joseph re-signs with Brooklyn, it figures to be a rest-of-season contract, which would make him eligible for the postseason.
- Since being traded from the Bucks to the Magic, Tobias Harris has looked like a future star, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes. Kennedy spoke to the second-year forward, who is averaging 16.9 PPG and 8.8 RPG in 24 games with Orlando.
- Ian Thomsen of SI.com examines what the next step is for all 14 teams headed for this year's draft lottery.
- Following a D-League stint, former Knick Jerome Jordan is heading overseas to join Talk 'N Text in the Philippines, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.