2014 NBA Draft Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Rivers, Amnesty, Guards, Draft

December 10th, 2013 at 7:34pm CST by Alex Lee

A day before he returns to Boston as the head coach of the Clippers, Doc Rivers conceded on Boston radio that he essentially walked out on a Celtics team destined for a rebuild, writes Matt Moore of CBS Sports. It must be a strange couple days for the remaining Celtics, who play in Brooklyn tonight against Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce before returning home to host their former head coach and his new team on Wednesday night.

Doc’s emotional return should dominate the NBA headlines tomorrow. Let’s take a look at some odds and ends from around the league tonight:

Of the 10 eligible names left, only Carlos Boozer and Kendrick Perkins remain as realistic candidates for the amnesty clause after the Kings jettisoned John Salmons in the Rudy Gay trade, writes ESPN’s Marc Stein, who adds that even the Bulls and Thunder are “conflicted” as to whether or not they’d use the clause on Boozer or Perkins.
Mark Deeks of ShamSports, writing for the Score, details guards that are currently unsigned or have flexible contracts who could be in-season additions to NBA teams.
In an Insiders-only piece, ESPN’s Chad Ford and Jay Bilas discuss a number of hot-button issues surrounding the much-hyped 2014 NBA Draft, including the No. 1 selection, sleepers, Kansas’ Joel Embiid and the freshman class of Kentucky.
Speaking of Embiid, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman evaluates the recent play of the raw-but-talented freshman in another Insiders-only story. According to Goodman — and Ford and Bilas, for that matter — Embiid may be considered for the No. 1 overall selection in June.

2013/14 NBA Reverse Standings

December 10th, 2013 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

For the third straight season, Hoops Rumors is maintaining a feature that allows you to keep an eye on how next summer’s draft order will play out: Our 2013/14 NBA reverse standings. Throughout the season, these standings, which list the NBA’s 30 teams from worst to first, will be updated daily to reflect the previous night’s outcomes.

Our reverse standings take into account playoff teams in each conference, so they’re essentially a reflection of what 2014’s draft order would look like with no changes to lottery position. Traded picks are also included via footnotes — for instance, the notes next to the Knicks’ and Nuggets’ picks indicate that Denver will receive the more favorable of those selections, while the Magic will receive the less favorable of the two. For now, that looks like pretty good news for the Nuggets, since they’d be able to grab the Knicks’ lottery pick (currently No. 3) and send their own pick (currently No. 23) to Orlando.

It’s still too early in the season to put too much stock in a team’s spot in the draft lottery, but unlike last year, when there were no legit blue chip prospects to dream about, 2014’s draft class figures to include Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Dante Exum, and Marcus Smart. The general consensus among draft experts is that any one of those players, and perhaps others, would have had been selected first overall if they’d been available in 2013. So it’s worth getting excited if your favorite team has a shot to land a top pick.

Our reverse standings feature can be found at anytime on our right sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features.” It’s a great resource not just for monitoring a team’s draft position, but also for keeping an eye on whether or not traded picks with protection will be changing hands in 2014. So be sure to check back often!

Categories:
2014 NBA Draft

Raptors Notes: Gay, Valanciunas, DeRozan

December 9th, 2013 at 5:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was the catalyst behind Sacramento’s trade for Rudy Gay, and he’s wanted the 6’9″ forward for months, regardless of the advanced metrics that suggest Gay is no star, a source tells TNT’s David Aldridge. His enthusiasm allowed the Raptors to unload a player that GM Masai Ujiri clearly wasn’t as high on. Here’s more on the swap along with other news from Toronto:

Jonas Valanciunas is the Raptor least likely to be traded, but even he isn’t entirely off-limits as Ujiri attempts to overhaul the team, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. A desire to sell tickets and the expectation that Gay would raise his trade value helped keep the Raptors from trading Gay before the season, Wolstat suggests.
Wolstat adds more thoughts on the trade in a separate piece, passing along word from a source who says it’s likely the Raptors trade one or both of DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson.
It’s clear that Ujiri is rebuilding the Raptors, but it’s not as easy to see what he’s building toward, writes Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.
Andrew Wiggins isn’t the lock for the No. 1 overall pick he once appeared to be, but there’s no way the Raptors would pass him up if they won the draft lottery, writes Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who looks at what several teams would do with the top pick (Insider only).

Odds & Ends: Rondo, Carmelo, Tyler, Ayres

December 7th, 2013 at 10:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rajon Rondo doesn’t put much stock in the rumor that Carmelo Anthony is trying to recruit him to the Knicks, but Anthony has been privately yearning to see Rondo in orange and blue since July, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. The Knicks attempted to trade Iman Shumpert for Rondo, and Newsday’s Al Iannazzone thinks it’s critical that New York continue to see if it can pry the All-Star point guard away from the Celtics or make some kind of splash, lest Anthony bolt in free agency. Here’s more on the Knicks and the rest of the NBA:

Berman, in the same piece, also suggests the Knicks may look to re-sign camp invitee Jeremy Tyler in another week as he continues to round into form after a preseason injury.
Unlike some free agents who were happy to leave their former teams behind, Spurs big man Jeff Ayres told Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News that he feels “no animosity” toward the Pacers and is “still really cool with all the guys on the team.”
Kendall Marshall is off to a fast start with the D-League affiliate of the Sixers, and Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks the big club should consider signing last year’s 13th overall pick to an NBA contract.
Doubts about the ability of Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe to play together left some executives around the league believing the Suns would trade Dragic, but early returns show the pairing has been successful, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
Joel Embiid is developing into a potential No. 1 overall pick, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, joining ESPN colleague Chad Ford on the Kansas center’s bandwagon.
Knee troubles have sidelined Al Harrington for a good chunk of this season, but he remains involved with the Wizards. As he tells Michael Lee of the Washington Post, Harrington can imagine himself coaching after he retires and has been acting as a de facto assistant in Washington while he recovers.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Mavs Notes: Dalembert, Cuban, James, Draft

December 5th, 2013 at 3:35pm CST by Zachary Links

When Mark Cuban talks, we all listen. Here’s a look at the latest thoughts from the mind of the league’s most charismatic owner..

The Mavericks need more from offseason acquisition Samuel Dalembert, Cuban said before last night’s win over the Pelicans, writes ESPNDallas.com’s Tim MacMahon. They signed him to a two-year, $7.6MM deal with a partial guarantee for the second season because they needed a big man who could serve as a defensive anchor. It has been said that Dallas’ front office has long coveted the big man as well.
Cuban said the Mavs have thought about sending center Bernard James down to play for the D-League’s Texas Legends, tweets Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram.
Cuban pointed out that if the Eastern Conference’s struggles continue, it will mean that better draft picks will be coming to the West, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. “As unbalanced as it seems, it means that worse teams will make the playoffs in the East, which hurts their draft position, which means that better teams in the West will get better players out of the draft since this is a good draft,” Cuban said. “So the law of unintended consequences comes into play. So many teams in the East weren’t really out there to be the best possible. They’ll win games against each other, have better records, get into the playoffs, which means they won’t be in the lottery, so they’ll end up hurting [themselves].”

Odds & Ends: Mozgov, Hawks, Garnett, Draft

December 4th, 2013 at 9:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Timofey Mozgov might be the hottest player in the NBA right now and that can be largely attributed to assistant coach Melvin Hunt, writes Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. “All the Russian I know can’t be repeated,” Hunt explained, “because when he gets frustrated and says them, I know they’re bad words.” More from around the Association..

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer doesn’t expect Dennis Schröder to stay in the D-League for long. “My guess is he’ll be back sooner but we’ll see how it’s going down there and how it’s going up there,” Budenholzer said, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter). Atlanta assigned the rookie guard earlier today.
Sean Deveney of the Sporting News attempts to fix the Eastern Conference for all the teams not named the Heat or Pacers. The list, unsurprisingly, starts with the Nets and the struggles of offseason addition Kevin Garnett.
A few league executives and scouts indicated to Adam Zagoria of SNY (on Twitter) that Glenn Robinson III‘s stock is falling. The Michigan standout is currently slotted to go No. 17 on DraftExpress’ mock draft.
The Nets and Knicks better hope that they can turn things around this season because they can’t hope to build through the draft, notes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Both NYC teams have mortgaged their futures in an effort to contend in the present.

Early Updates On Protected 2014 First-Rounders

December 4th, 2013 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

As if the Knicks’ and Nets’ awful starts weren’t bad enough on their own, both teams’ early-season struggles have been amplified by the fact that neither team will have its 2014 first-round pick. New York’s first-rounder is likely headed to Denver as part of 2011’s Carmelo Anthony trade, while the Hawks will have the opportunity to grab Brooklyn’s pick due to 2012’s Joe Johnson deal.

There’s no protection on those picks or the Warriors’ first-rounder, which will be sent to the Jazz no matter where it lands, but most of the traded 2014 first-rounders have some conditions attached. It’s still too early in the season to know for sure whether or not many of those picks will change hands, but based on the results so far, we can at least make some educated guesses.

With the help of our 2013/14 reverse standings feature, let’s take a look at the status of 2014’s protected first-round picks….

Likely to change hands:

New Orleans Pelicans (to 76ers if not in top 5). Current projection: 13th.
Detroit Pistons (to Bobcats if not in top 8). Current projection: 18th.
Washington Wizards (to Suns if not in top 12). Current projection: 20th.
Portland Trail Blazers (to Bobcats if not in top 12). Current projection: 28th.
Indiana Pacers (to Suns if not in top 14). Current projection: 30th.

The Pacers’ pick is a lock to be on the move, since there’s no way Indiana misses the playoffs in the East. The same can’t be said about the Wizards and Pistons, but given how weak the conference looks so far, both teams are pretty good bets to earn postseason berths and give up their first-rounders.

Out west, the Trail Blazers would have to fall off significantly for their pick not to change hands. That’s also true of the Pelicans, though perhaps New Orleans is a likelier candidate to slide in the standings now that the club is without Anthony Davis for a few weeks. Still, the Pelicans don’t look anything like a bottom-five team.

Unlikely to change hands:

Sacramento Kings (to Cavs if not in top 12). Current projection: 4th.
Philadelphia 76ers (to Heat if not in top 14). Current projection: 9th.

There’s a very outside chance the Sixers lose their pick if the Atlantic remains as bad as it’s been so far and Philadelphia somehow sneaks into the postseason as the division winner. But that’s unlikely. Both of these teams should feel comfortable about keeping their first-round picks for 2014.

Up in the air:

Minnesota Timberwolves (to Suns if not in top 13). Current projection: 10th.
Charlotte Bobcats (to Bulls if not in top 10). Current projection: 16th.
Dallas Mavericks (to Thunder if not in top 20). Current projection: 22nd.

The nightmare scenario for the Timberwolves and Bobcats involves just barely missing the playoffs and also losing their respective first-rounders — neither pick is entirely lottery-protected, so that possibility is in play. As for the Mavericks, they’ve looked a little better than expected so far. If the Eastern playoff teams continue to hover at or below .500, the Mavs’ pick could end up in the 20s even if they finish the season as a No. 6 or 7 seed in the West.

Categories:
2014 NBA Draft

Dante Exum To Meet With Several Agents

December 3rd, 2013 at 10:19am CST by Luke Adams

Top Australian prospect Dante Exum is in the process of setting up meetings with several prominent agents, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. According to Wojnarowski, Exum, who is determining whether or not to enter 2014’s NBA draft, will host representatives from most major North American agencies in Sydney over the next several weeks.

Exum, 18, will have the option of enrolling at an NCAA school for next season or simply entering his name into the 2014 draft class. As we noted yesterday, he has yet to make up his mind, but figures to finalize a decision by February. According to Wojnarowski, several agents involved in the process believe Exum will go pro, and that he’ll come stateside in February to start working out in advance of the June draft. One major U.S. college coach who recruited Exum “hard” also told Woj that he believes the young guard will enter the draft.

Assuming he does submit his name for 2014, Exum looks like a good bet to be a top-five pick. ESPN.com’s Chad Ford currently has him ranked fourth overall, behind Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, and Jabari Parker, and when Ford polled scouts and execs about the top pick for 2014, a few even said they’d take Exum over all three of those guys. However, Ford cautions that not playing college or professional ball could negatively impact Exum’s stock, especially if the top NCAA prospects continue to shine.

Odds & Ends: Booker, Kobe, Wade, Exum

December 2nd, 2013 at 9:40pm CST by Zachary Links

After receiving eight DNP-Coach’s Decisions this year, Trevor Booker is none too pleased with the Wizards. A source close to the power forward said recently that if the Wizards don’t extend him a qualifying offer and let him become an unrestricted free agent, he would look elsewhere for employment based on how the season has gone, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. It’s been a strange quarter-season for Booker, who started the first three games of the season but has seen little burn since. More from around the Association..

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com looks at how Kobe Bryant‘s lucrative two-year extension could affect the Heat and Dwyane Wade.
In today’s column, David Aldridge of NBA.com looks at how Kobe’s deal will affect the Lakers over the next couple of years.
Dante Exum is a mortal lock to go top five in the 2014 Draft, but he says that he hasn’t decided whether to go pro, writes Joe Pierik of the Sydney Morning Herald. ”To be honest, I haven’t been thinking about it too much,’‘ Exum said. ”I am back home but my mum is still in Singapore, so she is going to head back soon. After that I will make my decision with my whole family. I want to get it done by February. It shouldn’t be too hard [a decision] to make. But I just want to make sure I use my time right so I make the right decision.’‘
The Bulls might be thinking about rebuilding or retooling in the wake of Derrick Rose‘s injury, but Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com isn’t sure if coach Tom Thibodeau would be on board for that.
Guard Jose Calderon is going out of his way to assist rookie point guards Gal Mekel and Shane Larkin with their transition to the NBA, writes Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. While coach Rick Carlisle appreciates Calderon passing along his veteran wisdom, he says he’s more concerned with seeing him back on the hardwood. Calderon is currently dealing with a bone bruise on his right ankle.
The Lakers announced that they have recalled Ryan Kelly back from their D-League affiliate, the L.A. D-Fenders. To keep track of all of this year’s D-Leage assignments, check out Hoops Rumors’ running list.

Draft Rumors: Parker, Wiggins, Randle, Smart

November 27th, 2013 at 7:23pm CST by Chuck Myron

The draft is seven months away, but it’s clearly on the minds of Bucks fans who are raising money for a billboard that would encourage their team to tank, as we noted earlier today. Milwaukee is 2-11, already 10-and-a-half games behind the Pacers in the Central Division, and at least a segment of the team’s faithful is already prepared to chalk it up as a lost season and focus on whom the Bucks might take in June. Here’s the latest on a few top prospects:

Jabari Parker probably won’t stick around an extra year at Duke to play with top recruit and former AAU teammate Jahlil Okafor, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, but Parker is at least giving thought to the idea, Zagoria notes. “Oh, it would be great,” Parker said. “I would just work off him. A lot of attention would come up towards him and a lot of attention will come towards me, so we can work hand-in-hand with each other depending on where we are on different spots on the floor.”
Chad Ford of ESPN.com chatted with readers today, writing that he’s not sure there’ll be a consensus No. 1 pick. It may come down to need for whichever team scores the top draft choice, Ford opines, pointing to Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Marcus Smart as possibilities.
The top eight players in Ford’s rankings are unchanged, with Wiggins still at No. 1. Indiana power forward Noah Vonleh and Michigan State shooting guard Gary Harris are newcomers to the top 10.