Spurs First-Rounder To Stay Overseas In 2014/15
Spurs 2013 first-round draft pick Livio Jean-Charles will remain with French team Asvel Villeurbanne next season, according to Tony Parker, the Spurs point guard who owns part of Asvel, as Catch-and-Shoot reports (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 20-year-old forward hasn’t played this season because of a knee injury.
San Antonio took Jean-Charles with the 28th overall pick last year after an impressive performance in the Nike Hoop Summit in which he competed against many of this year’s premiere draft prospects, including Jabari Parker, Julius Randle and Noah Vonleh. Still, the 6’9″ forward put up underwhelming numbers with Asvel in 2012/13, notching just 3.3 points in 14.0 minutes per game.
The extra year overseas isn’t altogether surprising, given that the injury kept him from using this season to improve his game. If he had signed this summer, the Spurs would have given him a rookie scale contract worth the equivalent of what this year’s 28th overall pick is set to receive. There might be some degree of pressure for the Spurs to sign Jean-Charles in the summer of 2015, the last year he’d be subject to the rookie scale. Still, he’d be unlikely to command more money unless he shows significant improvement in his game, and Parker, who’s buying a majority stake in Asvel, probably wouldn’t attach an exorbitant buyout to Jean-Charles’ deal with the French team.
Joel Embiid To Enter Draft?
11:09am: Embiid says via Twitter that he has yet to make a decision (hat tip to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders).
8:08am: Potential No. 1 overall pick Joel Embiid has decided to enter the draft, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, with a formal announcement to come soon. The Kansas freshman center hasn’t played since March 1st with a stress fracture in his back. Jayhawks coach Bill Self maintained that Embiid could have played in the later rounds of the NCAA tournament if Kansas had advanced, but NBA teams have some concern about the injury, which will undergo close scrutiny during predraft medical evaluations.
Embiid was widely considered the slight favorite to become the top pick before the injury. The native of Cameroon is the No. 2 pick on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress board and Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates him third. The 20-year-old is a raw talent and came off the bench for the first eight games of the season, but he has shown vast potential on both sides of the ball. He averaged 11.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 23.1 minutes per game this year.
The 7-footer gave indication in January that he wasn’t sure about heading for the draft, but it appears the chance to go in the top three picks, if not first overall, is too appealing to pass up. A loss to Stanford this weekend knocked Kansas out of the tournament, likely ending his college career. He has yet to select an agent, but this week he’s made progress toward a decision, according to Wojnarowski.
Metta World Peace Seeking Return To Knicks
Metta World Peace asked for and received a buyout from the Knicks last month, but he’s said he wouldn’t have done that if he knew Phil Jackson, who coached him with the Lakers, was going to become New York’s president of basketball operations. A source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post that World Peace yearns to return to the Knicks and would love to re-sign with the team. The Knicks have an open roster spot, though Berman makes it seem as though a reunion with World Peace is more likely in the offseason. World Peace met with Jackson during New York’s game with the Lakers on Tuesday, and it was tantamount to a job interview, Berman says.
Jackson is high on the former Ron Artest, and he’s praised the defensive-minded forward’s practice habits, Berman writes, while pointing out that the Zen Master was more critical of World Peace in his latest book. The Marc Cornstein client will be seeking a minimum-salary deal this summer, according to Berman. World Peace gets $250K from the Knicks as part of his buyout arrangement, Berman notes, though it’s not quite clear if that’s all he’s receiving or if the Knicks are paying his full salary for 2013/14, too. His contract with the team originally called for him to make $1.59MM this season with a player option worth more than $1.66MM for next year.
World Peace has said he requested his buyout when coach Mike Woodson apparently asked him not to attempt to become a locker room leader. There’s a strong chance Woodson will be let go in the offseason, so perhaps his replacement will find World Peace a better fit. The 34-year-old World Peace, who suffers from arthritis in his knees, said in December that he wanted to play through 2018/19, but he scaled that back to 2015/16 in recent comments to the Post.
And-Ones: Abdul-Jabbar, CBA, Ennis, Grant
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News that he has some interest in becoming a part of the Bucks ownership group. “The team very likely will change hands and there are a number of people that are interested, and I’ve had some people approach me. But there’s nothing yet,” said Abdul-Jabbar. “I talked with [Bucks owner] Mr. Kohl, but he’s talked to a lot of people. The team isn’t doing well and not making money.” More from around the league:
- While the Sixers are derided for approaching the worst losing streak in NBA history, Jeré Longman of The New York Times looks at how many members of the young and unproven roster are fighting more for a career than a record-halting win. “It’s an audition for the whole team,” said guard James Anderson. “A lot of people, all they see is the streak, but we’re out here fighting, trying to stick around in this league.”
- Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders believes that the current CBA has had unintended consequences that have hurt small market and mediocre teams. Duncan thinks the harsh repeater tax, meant to deter big market teams from exceeding the salary cap, only widened the gap in salary flexibility since the tax is an even greater deterrent for small market teams that otherwise might splurge during a window of title contention. Duncan also covers changes in contract extensions and trade regulations that have weakened mediocre teams and resulted in dull trade deadlines.
- Multiple league sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that they are concerned an over-reliance on advanced statistics is blocking NBA former players from getting as many front office jobs, since they aren’t as devoted to metrics as “stat guys” with a background in analytics or finance. “Generally speaking, neither the [newer generation of] owners nor the analytic guys have basketball in their background,” one longtime league executive told Broussard. “This fact makes it easy for both parties to dismiss the importance of having experience in and knowledge of the game.”
- Jim Boeheim tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv it could be a while before freshman Tyler Ennis and sophomore Jerami Grant make their decisions on whether to declare for the draft or return to Syracuse. “I don’t think there will be any word on them for a while,” said Boeheim. ”You never know in this business. They’ll figure it out somehow.”
Western Notes: Mavericks, Lakers, D’Antoni
With their loss tonight, the Nuggets were eliminated from playoff contention, ending a 10-year streak of postseason action in Denver. Here’s more from out West:
- Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW writes that the Mavericks will prioritize the center and small forward positions in free agency this summer, looking for cheaper options to fill their other gaps.
- In a video with HoopsHype, Mark Heisler says the Lakers front office has a rebuilding plan in place, but that everyone with important ties to the organization has lost confidence in the plan. Heisler is pessimistic that the Lakers can truly turn the team around until the 2015/16 season or later, when they could start landing marquee free agents.
- Heisler also speculates that coach Mike D’Antoni won’t last beyond this season, even though he will be a scapegoat for problems he isn’t responsible for.
Eastern Notes: Young, Rose, Murry
Former Bulls MVP Derrick Rose has begun practicing with the team in non-contract drills, coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters including K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. His progress puts him on track to participate in USA Basketball’s July minicamp, but doesn’t change his status as out for the season. Here’s more from the East:
- Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told Andy Greder of Pioneer Press that frontcourt injuries spurred Atlanta to bring rookie Mike Muscala over from Europe sooner than planned, but the coach added that the big man is in their long term plans. “It is because of the injuries, but it’s also because he is somebody that we really think has a future with us,” said Budenholzer. “He is a smart player and he is picking things up quickly.” After selecting Muscala in the second round of the 2013 draft, the Hawks signed him mid-season to a four-year contract that isn’t fully guaranteed beyond 2013/14.
- The Sixers‘ Thaddeus Young would have embraced a trade to the Spurs, had rumors along those lines come to fruition at the deadline, he tells Jabari Young of The San Antonio Express-News. “You know, it’s a great opportunity … I want to play for a winning team, I want to win a championship. At the end day, right now, the trade deadline is over and I’m just trying to develop guys and rebuild the culture,” said Young, who sounded open to the possibility of joining the Spurs in the future. “It can happen. Like I said, I can play with anybody.”
- Toure’ Murry is living his dream, telling Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders that time spent in Summer League, overseas, and the D-League have all been worth it now that he has a spot at the end of the Knicks bench. “Everybody’s dream is to get to the NBA. It just makes me feel great to say I play in the NBA and (my family and peers are) basically living their dream through me,” Murry said. “It’s kind of like a real story when I look back on it. It just shows you never give up, never get sidetracked because there’s a lot of things that can do that, and just know you can do it if you have a strong mental state and always believe in yourself. Even when you’re short, you’re skinny, always believe in yourself.”
Draft Rumors: McDermott, Vonleh, Tournament
Former NBA team consultant Travis Heath writes at Basketball Insiders about being wrong as a scout. Watching a player like James Harden dominate in the NBA can be torture for him, since he was wrong about the Rockets star’s potential. Here’s a roundup of the rest of the night’s draft rumors:
- A group post by several USA Today writers features their takes on tanking for this draft class, whether poor NCAA tournament performances from Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker hurt their draft stocks, and which players have boosted their draft stocks the most in the tournament. The USA Today scribes single out Kyle Anderson, Adreian Payne, and Shabazz Napier as players proving their NBA talent in March.
- Doug McDermott has signed with agent Mark Bartelstein at Priority Sports, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders posted his own mock draft, slotting Joel Embiid down at the five spot and putting Wiggins, Parker, Dante Exum, and Julius Randle ahead of him.
- An NBA scout tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Indiana’s Noah Vonleh will be a high lottery pick and expects the big man to have more success in the league than Randle, who sits a few spots ahead of Vonleh in most draft projections.
Coaching Rumors: Jackson, Adelman, Fisher
The drama in Golden State continues to unfold, with more speculation about Warriors coach Mark Jackson reaching the media. Golden State’s All-Star point guard Steph Curry spoke up on behalf of Jackson today, telling reporters including Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group, “I love coach and everything he’s about.” Curry also said he wanted management to consult with him before deciding what to do with Jackson in the future.
- Some players have told Thompson that they were dismayed over Jackson’s treatment by management, and think he should be supported considering the team’s success over the last two years.
- Players also told Thompson they could see Jackson leaving after the season, either by his own decision or management’s.
- One possible source of the reported friction between Jackson and newly re-assigned, former assistant coach Brian Scalabrine was Scalabrine’s willingness to talk too specifically during an in-game interview about the Warriors‘ defensive strategy, opines Ethan Strauss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Wolves can expect to have some clarity on coach Rick Adelman within two weeks of the end of the season, since that’s the deadline for both sides on their mutual option for next season, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes.
- There’s been speculation that Derek Fisher will be the next head coach of the Knicks, and some of his Thunder teammates say he’d make a fine coach, but the 39-year-old has said he has no interest in coaching, notes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Malone, Scalabrine
Mark Jackson denied Tuesday’s report of conflict between him, management and his assistant coaches, but the story from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports appears to have some legs. Sources tell Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle that Jackson is “very insecure” about his assistants receiving credit. Jackson also felt certain that he’d receive a contract extension this past offseason, Simmons reports, but Jackson and the front office have yet to talk extension. Simmons has more in his piece, and Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group adds to the saga, too, as we highlight below:
- Kings coach Michael Malone previously served as a Warriors assistant and reportedly went weeks without speaking to Jackson, but Malone tells Simmons he and his boss were actually on somewhat better terms. “Did Mark and I have great relationship? No. There was definitely some friction, but for him to say that we went weeks without speaking is crazy,” Malone said. “We spoke every day. We worked through it, and he eventually realized that I wasn’t out there self-promoting.”
- Warriors GM Bob Myers was Brian Scalabrine‘s agent for most of Scalabrine’s playing career, Simmons notes. Golden State reassigned Scalabrine, who had been one of Jackson’s assistants, to a gig with the team’s D-League affiliate.
- There were those in the Golden State locker room who thought the media was overstating Malone’s value to the Warriors, and that Malone was more focused on becoming a head coach than his job as an assistant, according to Thompson.
- Jackson still has the support of several Warriors players, one of whom told Thompson that the coach is “absolutely not” losing control of the team, as Thompson writes in the same piece.
Rodrigue Beaubois To Play In Belgium
Former Mavericks guard Rodrigue Beaubois will play for Belgacom Spirou in Belgium, the team announced via Twitter. La Nouvelle Gazette originally reported the news (translation via Sportando). Beaubois was in talks with the Celtics about a 10-day contract last month, but a deal never materialized, and earlier this week we heard the 26-year-old turned down an offer to play in Italy and was set to audition for a French team. Beaubois, the 25th overall pick in 2009, has been out of the NBA since his rookie contract expired last summer.
The Bouna Ndiaye client was apparently set to work out for the Wizards and the Grizzlies last month before auditioning for the Celtics, although another report indicated that Washington had no plans to bring him in. The Heat wanted to have Beaubois work out for them shortly before camp, but he suffered a wrist injury that prevented that from happening. The Sixers had offseason interest, too.
Beaubois, a native of Guadeloupe, saw his role diminish with the Mavs last season, as his 12.2 minutes per game were the fewest of his career. His per-36-minute numbers in points, shot attempts and rebounds last year were also career lows.