LeBron, Durant Highlight All-NBA Teams
The league officially announced its All-NBA teams today, and there are no surprises on the First Team, with MVP LeBron James and runner-up Kevin Durant leading the way. Here's the complete list of players who earned spots on 2012/13 All-NBA squads, as voted on by the media:
First Team:
- Chris Paul (G, Clippers)
- Kobe Bryant (G, Lakers)
- LeBron James (F, Heat)
- Kevin Durant (F, Thunder)
- Tim Duncan (C, Spurs)
Second Team:
- Russell Westbrook (G, Thunder)
- Tony Parker (G, Spurs)
- Carmelo Anthony (F, Knicks)
- Blake Griffin (F, Clippers)
- Marc Gasol (C, Grizzlies)
Third Team:
- Dwyane Wade (G, Heat)
- James Harden (G, Rockets)
- Paul George (F, Pacers)
- David Lee (F, Warriors)
- Dwight Howard (C, Lakers)
Kostas Papanikolaou’s Agent Expects Trade
After bringing over a pair of international players, Joel Freeland and Victor Claver, last summer, the Trail Blazers aren't expected to do the same for Kostas Papanikolaou this offseason. George Sfairopoulos, the agent for Papanikolaou, tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com that he expects the Blazers to trade the rights to his client.
"As of now, we don't have any sign that leads us to believe that Kostas will go to Portland," Sfairopoulos said. "Therefore, we believe that he will not be in the plans of the organization next season and probably will be traded."
Papanikolaou, 22, was drafted 48th overall in 2012 by the Knicks, before being sent to the Blazers as part of the sign-and-trade deal that saw Raymond Felton head to New York. Earlier this month, EuroHoops.net reported that the young forward was receiving some interest from the Spurs, Mavericks, and Knicks, among other teams.
As I noted when rumors about Papanikolaou's trade candidacy first surfaced, the Blazers have four picks in this year's draft and should have a nice chunk of cap space available in July. So Papanikolaou's rights will be just one of many assets at Portland's disposal if the team elects to explore the trade market.
Mitch Kupchak Talks Howard, D’Antoni, Lakers
With Dwight Howard's free agency less than six weeks away, the All-Star center has been making headlines lately, with one report suggesting he was intrigued by the Rockets and Mavericks, while another indicated he expressed displeasure and frustration with head coach Mike D'Antoni to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak.
Kupchak himself spoke to Mark Medina of InsideSoCal.com about the latest reports on Howard, the big man's free agency, and a few other Lakers-related topics. Here are the highlights from the Q&A with the Lakers GM:
On the report that Howard voiced his displeasure with D'Antoni:
"Criticism of a coach did not come up [in Howard's exit meeting]. Our coach did not come up. In terms of the way the season went and our talent, group and players and how they think in general, I would venture to say most of our players felt this was a frustrating season and that they didn’t get to show their talents as much as they would have liked to…. Pau [Gasol], Steve Nash and everybody felt the season didn’t go the way they wanted to. I think in general they all felt that there are ways to utilize their talent better going forward. That would include Dwight in that group."
On Howard's relationship with D'Antoni:
"I don’t want to start nitpicking. There are 13 guys on a team. The eight guys who don’t start don’t like the coach and the five who do start, there are usually two or three that aren’t happy either for one reason or another. I would venture to say at one point during the season for every player, they have a problem with the coach. But being around as long I’ve been around, it doesn’t bother me when I hear at some point a player didn’t see eye to eye with a coach. Players don’t have to like coaches. They just have to play hard. In L.A., our coaches get evaluated on wins and losses and not whether our players like them or don’t like them. It doesn’t matter."
On Howard's free agency:
"A player a has a right to be a free agent. It bothers me that there seems to be some media attention and criticism early in the process about Dwight and the coach and Dwight and free agency. Don't get me wrong. The sooner he makes his mind up, the better for everybody. That's my take on it. But he can't sign until July 10th anyway. I told him when he first got here, 'I'm not going to bug you. I believe this is the place for you. When you make your mind up, let me know.'"
On whether he's still confident that Howard will re-sign:
I’m optimistic…. We can’t get outbid. The city is a rabid Laker city. It extends from San Diego to Santa Barbara. When you’ve traveled with us, when you go to arenas on the road, there are three or four thousand Lakers fans in every arena. Our following is huge. The loyalty of the fans is huge. Players love the lifestyle, like a lot of people do to live in Southern California."
On whether the Lakers have a contigency plan if Howard signs elsewhere:
"That’s what we do. We plan years in advance. That’s what we have to do. Coaches go day to day. Management has to look a year, two or three down the road."
2013 Draft Picks By Team
With the 2013 draft order finalized, rumors have already started swirling about teams potentially trading in or out of the draft, or up or down. That includes the Cavaliers, who hold four picks in the top 33 and are reportedly open to moving their first overall pick.
Besides the Cavs, another three teams – the Hawks, Timberwolves, and Trail Blazers – each hold four picks, while six more clubs hold three picks each. Teams rarely carry more than a couple rookies on their regular season rosters, so it's possible we'll see some action on the trade market on or before June 27th.
Here's the complete list of draft picks by team:
- 76ers: 11, 35, 42
- Bobcats: 4
- Bucks: 15, 43
- Bulls: 20, 49
- Cavaliers: 1, 19, 31, 33
- Celtics: 16
- Clippers: 25
- Grizzlies: 41, 55, 60
- Hawks: 17, 18, 47, 50
- Heat: –
- Jazz: 14, 21, 46
- Kings: 7, 36
- Knicks: 24
- Lakers: 48
- Magic: 2, 51
- Mavericks: 13, 44
- Nets: 22
- Nuggets: 27
- Pacers: 23, 53
- Pelicans: 6
- Pistons: 8, 37, 56
- Raptors: –
- Rockets: 34
- Spurs: 28, 58
- Suns: 5, 30, 57
- Thunder: 12, 29, 32
- Timberwolves: 9, 26, 52, 58
- Trail Blazers: 10, 39, 40, 45
- Warriors: –
- Wizards: 3, 38, 54
James Jones Intends To Return To Heat
Back in February, James Jones suggested that if the Heat were to win a title again in 2013, he may be prepared to walk away and announce his retirement. But now, with Miami just seven wins away from capturing back-to-back championships, Jones tells Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida that he's no longer considering retiring. According to Tomasson, Jones will pick up his $1.5MM player option and return to the Heat.
"Unless something crazy happens, I’ll be back," Jones confirmed.
Jones, 32, played an extremely limited role for the Heat in 2012/13. His 5.8 minutes per game were the fewest he's seen since he averaged 4.3 MPG in six contests during his rookie season in '03/04. However, Tomasson speculates that Jones could see the court a little more next season, depending on a pair of roster decisions on the team's other shooters. Ray Allen has a player option for next year that he may or may not exercise, while the Heat could use the amnesty provision to cut Mike Miller.
As for his next career move when his contract with the Heat expires in the summer of 2014, Jones was unwilling to commit to anything quite yet: "I got one more year, and we’ll see where it goes from there."
Poll: Who Will Be The Number One Pick?
The Cavaliers won last night’s lottery, their second time doing so in three years. Who will they take with the first pick?
Who Will Be The Number One Pick?
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Nerlens Noel 69% (788)
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Ben McLemore 13% (145)
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Otto Porter 12% (137)
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Trey Burke 4% (48)
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Other 2% (25)
Total votes: 1,143
Odds & Ends: Copeland, Kings, Harden
A few random notes from around the NBA.
- Knicks rookie forward Chris Copeland had a few breakout moments in the NBA playoffs, and he's more than interested in making more memories in New York, telling ESPNNewYork.com's Jared Zwerling that it's "very possible" he stays with the team next season.
- According to the Sacramento Bee's Jason Jones, Kings assistant coach Bobby Jackson would love to return to the team next season, but has no contract yet.
- James Harden is spending his offseason recruiting free agents to join him with the Rockets next season, writes Hoopsworld.com's Alex Kennedy.
Draft Notes: Cavs, Wizards, Trail Blazers, Raptors
A few notes about last night's lottery and next month's draft.
- According to a tweet from the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Schmitt Boyer, Nerlens Noel's college coach John Calipari says Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant spent more time scouting his star center than any other NBA general manager.
- The Wizards are interested in drafting based on talent as opposed to a positional need, according to a tweet from CSNWashington.com's J. Michael. Head coach Randy Wittman and general manager Ernie Grunfeld are in agreement that using both second-round picks isn't wise.
- Sean Meagher from OregonLive.com has a poll up asking what the Trail Blazers should do with the 10th overall pick.
- Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun writes that it's probably for the best that the Raptors won't have a pick in next month's draft, being that they have enough young players as it is. Toronto traded their first-round pick to the Rockets in exchange for Kyle Lowry last year. They would've been able to keep the pick only if it ended up as a top-three selection.
Latest On Suns Coaching Search
The Suns just hired a new, young general manager, and now they're onto finding a new coach. The latest has the Rockets granting Phoenix permission to interview their assistant coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, according to a tweet from Yahoo! NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski.
The team has also asked to speak with Lakers assistant Steve Clifford. Los Angeles has granted permission for the interview. Clifford has also interviewed with the Bobcats on Tuesday and the Bucks last Monday, according to InsideSoCal.com's Mark Medina.
Odds & Ends: Jackson, Cavs, Love, Lakers
When Mitch Kupchak called Phil Jackson to tell him that he was hiring Mike D'Antoni as coach, he didn't give the Lakers General Manager the most encouraging reaction. "I laughed," Jackson told ESPN's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show, according to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. "It was humorous to me when Mitch said that we think that Mike is a better coach for this group of guys." Here's the latest from around the league..
- The Cavs have a lot of options at their disposal this summer as they look to get back to the postseason, writes Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. Cleveland has just over $27MM in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season, but could create more space by dropping the non-guaranteed contracts of C.J. Miles ($2.3MM) and Kevin Jones ($789K). Veteran forward Marreese Speights also holds a player option of $4.5MM for next season and could opt out to pursue a multi-year deal this summer.
- More from Greene, who writes that Kevin Love is optimistic about the Timberwolves' future. “I think Flip is great,” Love said. “I’ve always admired what he’s done, obviously coming from the Timberwolves prior, being with Detroit and having been in the Western and Eastern Conference Finals he’s got quite a reputation."
- Phil Handy has joined Mike Brown's staff as an assistant coach with Cavs, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Handy was a player development coach with the Lakers under Brown.
- Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link) notes that Jerry Colangelo never believed Mike Krzyzewski wouldn't come back to coach the U.S. Olympic team even though Krzyzewski publicly said he was done. Colangelo said in an interview back in February that he hadn't heard from Coach K directly that he didn't want to return, which led him to believe that he could lure him back for 2016.
- Memphis senior D.J. Stephens registered a 46 inch maximum vertical at today's workout in Brooklyn, which may be the highest recorded measurement in NBA history, tweets Matt Kamalsky of DraftExpress.