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2014 NBA Draft

Odds & Ends: Marshall, Warriors, Knicks

November 12th, 2013 at 4:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls aren’t in action today, but it’s a big basketball night in Chicago nonetheless, as Kentucky plays Michigan State and Duke plays Kansas in the NCAA’s Champions Classic. In the eyes of ESPN.com’s Chad Ford (Insider link), those four teams have 13 projected first-rounders for the 2014 draft, including an incredible eight projected lottery picks. As GMs and scouts look forward to an eventful night of college basketball, let’s check out what’s going on around the NBA….

  • Kendall Marshall, traded last month by the Suns and then released by the Wizards, is drawing some NBA interest, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that Marshall had been considered by the Jazz, and remains on other teams’ radars.
  • Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle talks extensively to Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob about the challenges he’s faced since taking over the team, and the direction in which the franchise is headed. Lacob provides a number of interesting quotes on the acquisition of Andre Iguodala, the plans for a new arena, and increasing expectations for the Warriors.
  • In his latest mailbag for SI.com, Ian Thomsen examines the Knicks and discusses a hypothetical trade between the Rockets and Trail Blazers.
  • D.J. Foster of Bleacher Report explores the possibility of the Knicks trading Iman Shumpert.
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Odds & Ends: Wiggins, Lakers, TV Revenue

November 11th, 2013 at 9:43pm CST by Zachary Links

Tanking might be a dirty word in the NBA today, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com tells colleague Henry Abbott that this year’s class is worth losing for.  Aside from Andrew Wiggins, this year’s class features impressive prospects like Julius Randle, Jabari Parker, Marcus Smart, Dante Exum, and Aaron Gordon.  Here’s more from around the Association..

  • Is Wiggins the top talent in the 2014 class?  A few front office executives and scouts aren’t sure, writes Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports.  “He’s not LeBron,” one NBA general manager said. “It’s not his fault regarding all the hype. People say he’s pretty humble. He’s a top-three pick for sure, if not No. 1.“
  • While the Lakers have struggled early on in the year, offseason acquisitions Wesley Johnson and Jordan Farmar have been bright spots, writes ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Dave McMenamin.  D’Antoni has kicked around the idea of promoting one of them to the starting lineup, but he fears weakening the second unit, which has been pretty sharp as a whole.
  • The league is engaged in settlement talks with Ozzie and Daniel Silna to end what has long been described as the greatest sports business deal of all-time, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.  The Silnas are the former owners of the ABA’s Spirit of St. Louis.  At the time of the NBA/ABA merger, the Silnas agreed to dissolve their team for a small percentage of the NBA’s television revenues.  The concession didn’t seem like much at the time, but the Silnas have racked up $300MM since the late 70s and are taking in a nice chunk of change that would otherwise be shared by the league’s 30 owners.
  • The NBA is using the D-League to experiment with the possibility of shortening games, explains Zach Lowe of Grantland.
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Odds & Ends: Head, Corbin, Exum, Mavericks

November 11th, 2013 at 1:48pm CST by Luke Adams

As we get ready for a Monday evening slate that features nine NBA games, let’s round up a few odds and ends from around the league….

  • Luther Head, who last played in the NBA with the Kings prior to the 2011 lockout, is fielding interest from teams in Turkey, Ukraine, and Australia, according to Shams Charania of RealGM.com. While Head is hoping to return to the NBA at some point, it looks like a trip overseas might be his next move.
  • Tyrone Corbin has faced difficult circumstances ever since he took over as Jazz head coach in 2011, and he deserves a chance to coach the current roster after Trey Burke gets healthy, writes Kurt Kragthorpe of the Salt Lake Tribune. Still, Kragthorpe suggests that if things don’t get any better on the court, the team may eventually have to consider making a change.
  • ESPN.com’s Chad Ford fielded both NBA and NCAA questions in his latest chat, discussing some of the early-season developments as well as looking ahead to next year’s draft and free agent period. Within the chat, Ford notes that 2014 prospect Dante Exum is strongly leaning toward entering the draft rather than attending college.
  • The Mavericks‘ offseason additions are meshing very well with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas so far, says Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
  • In his latest piece, Sam Smith of Bulls.com proposes some trade scenarios involving Pau Gasol, Omer Asik, and Evan Turner.
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2013/14 NBA Reverse Standings

November 11th, 2013 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

For the third straight season, Hoops Rumors is introducing a feature that will allow 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 Nuggets’ and Knicks’ 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 Orlando, since Denver and New York have combined for just three wins.

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 was no clear No. 1 pick to dream on, 2014’s draft class figures to include Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Dante Exum, and Marcus Smart, among others. The general consensus among draft experts is that any one of those players would have had a great shot to go first overall 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!

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Odds & Ends: Turner, Draft, SportVU

November 9th, 2013 at 10:54pm CST by Jonathan Nehring

Coming off a 31-point performance this evening, Evan Turner continues to impress so far this season. Averaging the same amount of playing time as he did last year, Turner is putting up nearly 10 more points per game in what appears to be his last year on the 76ers’ roster. This strong improvement would seem to warrant a long-term deal from his current team but Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer feels Turner and the Sixers will part ways either by trade in February or free agency next summer, regardless of Turner’s play this season. Turner is motivated by Philadelphia’s lack of interest and promises to be “a gem” to whatever teams he winds up on in the future. Here’s more news from around the league:

  • One of the reasons the 76ers may not be interested in Turner returning to their roster is the talent in store for next year’s draft. Three of the players predicted to be in the top of that draft, Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, and Jabari Parker, will play on the same court this Tuesday at the Champions Classic in Chicago. In addition to those three players, five of the Draft Express projected top 10 picks for 2014 and 18 of their top 100 players will all play in the event. Of course, this is no secret to the 76ers or any other NBA team as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports there are expected to be over 80 NBA personnel on hand to watch these future NBA picks compete against each other.
  • Shane Battier, known for his deep interest in analytics, explains the impact he anticipates SportVU technology will have on contract negotiations in the NBA to Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel.
  • Mark Cuban told Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News he expects “there’s a good chance” one or two NBA expansion teams are on the horizon. Cuban believes expansion will occur before a current NBA team relocates.
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Odds & Ends: Jackson, Fesenko, Clippers

November 8th, 2013 at 11:48am CST by Luke Adams

As we look forward to a weekend full of NBA action, let’s round up a few odds and ends from around the Association….

  • Veteran free agent Stephen Jackson has changed agents, according to Interperformances, who announced today that the ex-Spur has signed with the agency. Jackson had previously been represented by Dan Fegan and Relativity Sports, but it seems his lack of employment prompted him to make a change.
  • Following an offseason that included a record 13 head coaching changes, one unnamed coach tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that “everyone’s scared s—less out there.” Added the anonymous coach: “There’s different criteria being measured on coaches and it is not just winning. You can win your ass off and still get fired.”
  • Former NBA big man Kyrylo Fesenko has signed with Slask Wroclaw in Poland, according to the team (English link via Sportando). Fesenko, a second-round pick in 2007, played with the Jazz for four seasons before a brief stint with the Pacers in 2011/12.
  • In the view of Lang Greene of HoopsWorld, the Clippers‘ offseason signing of Byron Mullens was an unheralded move that could pay long-term dividends.
  • ESPN.com’s Chad Ford continues his week-long, Insider-only breakdown of top prospects by position, as he previews the best big men expected to be available in the 2014 draft.
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Odds & Ends: Bynum, Warriors, Howard, Draft

November 7th, 2013 at 3:36pm CST by Luke Adams

Andrew Bynum has returned to the court for the Cavaliers this fall after a lost season in Philadelphia, but as the big man prepares to suit up against the Sixers tomorrow night, the news coming out of his camp isn’t exactly positive. Bynum indicated earlier this week that he doesn’t expect to ever regain his old explosiveness, and acknowledged that he’s still getting “little sharp” pains in his knees.

Today, speaking to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal and other media members, Bynum admitted that he considered retirement, and still thinks about it occasionally (Twitter link). I’m hopeful that the 26-year-old will get healthy and have a productive year in Cleveland, but his latest comments are a little ominous.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

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Odds & Ends: Favors, Mavs, Knicks, Draft

November 6th, 2013 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Security and comfort were concerns for Derrick Favors when the Jazz began discussing an extension with his camp this offseason, but he didn’t get very involved in the negotiations himself, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe.

“That’s more of an agent thing,” Favors said. “They talked all summer and had conversations. But that’s more for the agent and the front office. I didn’t have that much word in it. My agent really just asked me questions and stuff.”

As Favors and the 0-4 Jazz prepare to face the NBA’s other 0-4 team in Boston tonight, let’s round up a few odds and ends from around the league:

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Draft & D-League: Top Five, Smart, 66ers, Czyz

October 31st, 2013 at 9:14pm CST by Alex Lee

With David Stern putting all his weight behind the positive evolution of the D-League, it’s only natural for that avenue of player development to be contrasted with the more traditional one. Let’s take a look at Thursday night’s news and notes from the draft and the D-League here:

  • The kickoff of the NBA season isn’t complete without our first wave of NBA mock drafts. Chad Ford provides ESPN insiders a look at what the first round might look like in June 2014. In what some pundits are dubbing the best draft since 2003, Ford predicts a top five of Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, Joel Embiid and Dante Exum.
  • Speaking of Oklahoma State’s Smart, the sophomore point guard is still unsure that he made the right decision to return to school last April, writes ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. Considering the shocking results of last June’s draft, it probably isn’t far fetched to say that Smart would have been the best player on the board when the Cavs went on the clock.
  • The Tulsa 66ers, the Thunder‘s D-League affiliate, have acquired the number one pick in tomorrow night’s D-League draft along with Ben Uzoh in a three team deal with the Iowa Energy and Springfield Armor, writes Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. Along with other picks tomorrow night, Diante Garrett and Lorenzo Brown were also involved in the deal.
  • Polish forward Olek Czyz has signed a deal to join the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League, Sportando reports on Twitter. The Bucks, who use Fort Wayne as their D-League affiliate, cut Czyz on Saturday after he spent training camp with the team, indicating that they protected his D-League rights. Czyz played at Duke and Nevada before going undrafted in 2012. He played last season for Virtus Roma of the Italian League.
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Odds & Ends: Heat, Smith, Kidd, Wiggins

October 22nd, 2013 at 12:39pm CST by Zachary Links

The Heat were picked as the clear favorite to win the 2013/14 title in this year’s GM survey, writes John Schuhmann of NBA.com.  There were a few dissenters with the Spurs and Pacers receiving 6.9% of the vote and the Bulls, Clippers, and Thunder also getting nods.  LeBron James was the overwhelming pick to win the MVP trophy and Pelicans big man Anthony Davis was pegged as the breakout player of the year.  Magic guard Victor Oladipo was picked to win the Rookie of the Year award and GMs feel that he’ll be the best player out of this class five years from now.  Here’s more from around the Association..

  • Pistons forward Josh Smith spoke to Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld about his decision to leave the Hawks this summer.  “It wasn’t as hard as other people saw it,” Smith said. “It was time for me to experience a different thing in my life, a new situation, new opportunity and I’m happy where I’m at.”  It also didn’t hurt that Detroit gave him a four-year, $54MM deal.
  • David Aldridge of NBA.com sat down with new Nets head coach Jason Kidd for a Q&A.  The discussion covered his learning curve and former coaches that the point guard has apologized to now that he has discovered the difficulty of the job.
  • Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Dante Exum, Jabari Parker, and Aaron Gordon are all candidates to go No. 1 overall in next June’s draft, in Kyler’s view (Twitter link).  Not everyone would agree with that assessment as Wiggins has long been viewed as the top talent in the 2014 class.
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