Tracy McGrady To Consider Retirement
Tracy McGrady didn't play a significant role for an NBA team in 2012/13, landing a deal with the Spurs just in time for the playoffs. But that doesn't mean he didn't remain active, spending most of the season playing overseas in the Chinese Basketball Association. However, that may not be the case next season. According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), McGrady will consider retiring after the NBA Finals.
McGrady turned just 34 years old last month, so he probably still has something left in the tank if he wants to continue his career. In 29 CBA games, the former ninth overall pick averaged 25.0 PPG and 7.2 RPG for the Qingdao Double Star Eagles. While he certainly wouldn't post those numbers in the NBA, he was reasonably effective off the bench for the Hawks in 2011/12, averaging 5.3 PPG and 3.0 RPG in limited minutes.
If this is the last we see of McGrady in the NBA, he would end his career with an overall scoring average of 19.6 PPG and a list of achievements that includes seven All-Star appearances, two scoring titles, and two All-NBA First Team berths. Perhaps, within the next couple weeks, he'll be able to add an NBA championship to his resume as well.
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Draft Updates: Karasev, Saric, Workouts
With two teams still standing in the 2013 NBA playoffs, most of the Association's franchises have turned their attention to this month's draft. We're probably still a week or two away from seeing any draft picks change hands via trades, but prospects continue to jockey for draft position, working out for teams, or perhaps pulling out of workouts in the case of at least one international prospect. Here are Wednesday's latest draft-related items:
- Sergey Karasev has returned to Moscow and plans to remain in Russia until the draft, fueling speculation that he has been given a first-round promise, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. With agents Andy Miller and Justin Zanik telling teams their client won't be available for predraft workouts, Wojnarowski think Karasev probably received a guarantee from a team between Nos. 14 and 24.
- Appearing on the Taking the Charge podcast, Croatian forward Dario Saric said he still may withdraw his name from this year's draft, though he expects to be selected in the first round. If he stays in the draft and is selected, he still plans to play in Europe for at least one more year, according to HeinNews.com.
- The Suns have yet to confirm the participants of today's workouts, but it appears they've brought in a star-studded group that includes Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Rudy Gobert, and Shabazz Muhammad, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic outlines.
- It's unclear where Muhammad will land in the draft, since his stock seems to be on the decline, says Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
- Peyton Silva, Archie Goodwin, and Scootie Randall worked out for the Sixers on Tuesday, according to John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. None of those prospects are likely to land in the lottery, so Philadelphia appears to be weighing its second-round options.
- Working out for the Jazz today, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: Shane Larkin, Tony Mitchell, Reggie Bullock, Lorenzo Brown, Amath M'Baye, and Malik Story.
- The Bucks officially announced (via Twitter) that they'll be working out the following prospects today: Trent Lockett, D.J. Stephens, Dewayne Dedmon, Jack Cooley, Korie Lucious, and D.J. Seeley.
- Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com and Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe have the details on yesterday's Celtics workout, which included Mason Plumlee, Reggie Johnson, Ian Clark, and Jonathan Lee. It was the second workout with the C's for Lee.
Nets Seriously Considering Brian Shaw
WEDNESDAY, 10:01am: The Nets have received permission from the Pacers to speak to Shaw, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, Brooklyn will interview Shaw soon and a formal offer could come shortly that meeting.
TUESDAY, 2:11pm: Now that his Pacers are out of the playoffs, assistant coach Brian Shaw is free to talk to teams interested in hiring him as a head coach. At the moment, four teams, the Nets, Clippers, Pistons, and 76ers, are without a head coach, and Shaw has been linked at one time or another to all four clubs. However, the team that is most interested in Shaw may be the Nets.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Chris Broussard report that Shaw is a "serious target" for the Nets' coaching opening. Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star also reported earlier today (via Twitter) that GM Billy King has been doing a lot of background checking on the Pacers assistant. According to Stein and Broussard, Brooklyn will request permission to interview Shaw now that Indiana is out of the postseason.
Sam Hinkie's list of targets for the Sixers head coaching job remains mostly unknown, and the Pistons are said to be focusing on Maurice Cheeks and Nate McMillan, but the Nets and Clippers appear to have plenty of overlap in their respective wish lists. As of last week, Shaw and Jeff Van Gundy were believed to be atop the Clippers' list, and there may also be mutual interest between the team and Lionel Hollins, or at least Hollins' reps. The Nets, meanwhile, have contacted Van Gundy about their open position, and have asked permission to speak to Hollins as well, according to the ESPN.com report.
Although the eliminations of the Grizzlies and Pacers open the door for candidates like Hollins and Shaw to talk to teams, the Nets remain in no rush to complete their search, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com.
Richard Jefferson Exercises Player Option
JUNE 5TH: Jefferson has officially exercised his 2013/14 option, according to RealGM's transactions log. Although we've heard plenty of reports on players who will pick up or turn down options, Jefferson becomes just the fourth player to make his decision official so far this offseason. Aaron Gray, Linas Kleiza, and Charlie Villanueva have also exercised their respective player options.
MAY 29TH: Richard Jefferson will exercise his player option for 2013/14, opting into the final year of his contract, reports Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The decision, which comes as no surprise, comes about a month in advance of the June 30th deadline, with agent Todd Eley of Stratosphere Sports suggesting it may already be official.
"Richard has exercised his option to include the 2013/14 season in his current contract," according to Eley.
The option will pay Jefferson $11,046,000 next season, which is an exponentially higher annual salary than he'd find on the open market. The veteran forward is coming off the worst season of his 12-year NBA career, having averaged just 3.1 PPG, 1.5 RPG, and a 10.3 PER in 10.1 minutes per game. All of those marks were career-lows for the 32-year-old.
With Jefferson and Andris Biedrins both under contract for 2013/14, the Warriors will be paying more than $20MM to a duo that didn't play or produce much last season. Neither player is eligible to be amnestied, but both deals will be expiring, and will come off the club's books in the summer of '14.
Atlantic Notes: Ujiri, Raptors, Smith, Sixers
Here is what is going on in the Atlantic Division on Tuesday night:
- With Masai Ujiri introduced in Toronto this morning, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun reports that the one thing made clear was that Ujiri is the main man in charge of basketball decisions for the Raptors right now.
- Meanwhile, Mike Ganter, also from the Sun, writes that landing the NBA's Executive of the Year is a coup for the Raptors, and a sign that their ownership group is intent on shedding their mediocre label.
- Ian Begley of ESPN New York provides a primer to the free agency of J.R. Smith, who earlier today we heard will decline his player option with the Knicks, but will likely re-sign with the team. Begley points out that Smith will have plenty of suitors, and spells out the ramifications of whether or not Smith re-ups in New York.
- The Sixers will work out Kentucky's Archie Goodwin, Louisville's Peyton Siva and Temple's Scootie Randall, writes Nick Menta of CSN Philly. Since the Sixers pick No. 11, they could only be looking at this trio via trade in the first or with one of their two second round selections (No. 35 and No. 42).
Blazers Notes: Trades, Aldridge, Olynyk, McCollum
After GM Neil Olshey fielded questions last week, it looked like the Blazers were deep into their player evaluation process for the NBA Draft. Let's look at the buzz coming out of Portland, draft and otherwise, on this Tuesday night:
- According to John Canzano of the Oregonian, there are whispers in Portland that the Blazers aren't enamored with anyone at No. 10, and may try to move the pick if nothing changes. Canzano advises Olshey to reconsider, citing the team's utter lack of depth as the primary reason that finding a rotational player on June 27 is critical.
- Speaking of trades, Ben Golliver of the Blazers Edge addresses the idea of the Blazers putting LaMarcus Aldridge on the block this summer.
- Many Blazers fans have probably seen plenty of Gonzaga big man Kelly Olynyk in the Pacific Northwest, and they don't appear too impressed with him at No. 10, according to this post from the Oregonian. With Aldridge locked in as one big man, Olynyk is probably not the best fit alongside him considering their similar attributes and deficiencies.
- Sean Meagher rounds up some Blazers draft links for OregonLive.com, evaluating how C.J. McCollum would fit alongside fellow mid-major guard Damian Lillard, who ESPN's Chad Ford has the Blazers taking in his latest mock.
Nets, Sixers Have Contacted Larry Brown
The Nets, Sixers and a third team have all contacted Larry Brown about their coaching vacancies, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY, citing a source close to Brown. Reports of interest in Brown, currently the head coach at SMU, is nothing new this offseason, but this is the first we've heard that he has actually been contacted. The Clippers are the only other team, outside of Brooklyn, Philly and the Pistons, to still have an opening, but it is unclear if they are the third team. Brown has coached all four franchises.
“If one of those teams offered him I think he would [take it] but I don’t think they’re going to offer him,” the source said. Brown has been constantly linked to the Nets and has a good relationship with general manager Billy King from their days in Philly, but their top choice seems to be Brian Shaw. Meanwhile, the Sixers hire of GM Sam Hinkie was supposed to eliminate any chances of Brown's return to Philly, so the source close to Brown is probably right that his return to the NBA is a long shot.
Pacific Notes: World Peace, Howard, Kings, Suns
Let's round up any and all links from the West's Pacific division in this post tonight:
- Confirming Jason Jones' report from earlier, the Kings announced the firings of assistant coaches Jim Eyen, Alex English, and Clifford Ray via press release. However, former assistant Bobby Jackson will be retained in some fashion, but will not serve as an assistant under Michael Malone.
Earlier updates:
- The Lakers have granted the Hawks and Bobcats permission to speak to Darvin Ham, currently an assistant in L.A., about joining their staffs, tweets Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News.
- Metta World Peace will continue to defer to his agent, Marc Cornstein, on what he should do about his $7.7MM player option with the Lakers in 2013/14, writes Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News, who exclusively spoke with the veteran forward. World Peace has until June 25 to make a decision. If he exercises his option, he will force the Lakers to make a decision on whether or not to use the amnesty provision on him.
- While the Lakers certainly have a built-in advantage when it comes to signing Dwight Howard, there are plenty of factors that make him obtainable for other teams, writes ESPN salary cap guru Larry Coon. In this Insider only piece, Coon breaks down what it will take for Howard to land with the Rockets or Mavericks, both of which are considered realistic destinations.
- It looks like new Kings head coach Michael Malone will not retain any assistant coaches from Keith Smart's staff from last season, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. According to the team's media guide, Smart's staff consisted of assistants Alex English, Jim Eyen, Bobby Jackson and Clifford Ray.
- Suns managing partner Robert Sarver understands that his team's rebuilding process could be long and painful, writes Paul Coro for USA Today. With the No. 5 pick in a draft that seems devoid of high-end talent, and not enough star power to lure one of the big-time free agents, franchises like Phoenix need this patient approach to avoid the pitfalls of trying to rebuild too quickly.
Poll: Will Paul George Win An MVP?
As we saw earlier today, Paul George is extension-eligible this offseason and sees himself as max contract type of player. After this postseason, George has catapulted himself into the discussion with the game's elite players. If his breakout regular season didn't ensure him of eventually landing a max deal, his playoff performance almost certainly did. At only 23-years-old, George is young enough and good enough on both ends of the floor to carry only a small amount of risk over the course of a big-dollar, long-term pact.
At this point, whether or not George deserves a max deal probably isn't the question. It is what he does once he gets it that will dictate how George compares to the NBA's best players. If his teammates' confidence in him is any indication, the former Fresno State Bulldog might be destined for huge things.
"He's the future. He has a chance to be MVP of this league next year," Roy Hibbert said last night before Game 7. A confident George agreed with him. "The more and more I get comfortable in this league and the more and more I find myself, I think I am capable of achieving that award," he said, eventually adding, "In my career, I wouldn’t be satisfied if I don't win the award."
Those are big words, especially considering that George scored only seven points last night in a game where he was primarily covered by the current MVP of the league, LeBron James. So what do you think… is Paul George good enough to win an MVP? Will he do it over the course of his career?