Jerami Grant To Enter Draft
Syracuse sophomore Jerami Grant is planning to announce today that he’s entering this year’s NBA draft, tweets Pete Thamel of SI.com. The small forward is No. 17 in the prospect rankings that Chad Ford of ESPN.com puts together, and No. 21 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Grant averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game for the Orange this season, but he rarely took a shot from behind the arc, failing to nail a single trey all year. He started only 20 of 32 games this season, but it was still a much more significant role than he had as a freshman, when he started just nine times and notched 14.3 minutes per contest.
The 6’8″ Grant helped Syracuse to a 25-0 start, but Dayton eliminated the Orange in the NCAA tournament’s round of 32. He went scoreless in a late-season loss to Virginia, and he had just four points in what appears to have been his final college game.
Bulls Waive Tornike Shengelia
The Bulls have waived Tornike Shengelia, the team announced via press release. The team hasn’t announced a corresponding move, making Shengelia’s dismissal a bit curious even though he hasn’t been a part of Chicago’s rotation since coming over from the Nets in a January trade. Shengelia is on an expiring contract that pays him the one-year veteran’s minimum salary of $788,872, but unless a team claims him off waivers, that money will remain on Chicago’s books. It seems less likely that Shengelia, on an expiring deal, would warrant a waiver claim like former Bull Erik Murphy did, as Murphy’s contract includes a non-guaranteed 2014/15.
Shengelia saw a total of just 17 minutes for the Bulls, who acquired him in a cost-cutting move for Marquis Teague, who makes $1,074,720 this season. The difference was not insignificant to Chicago, which has struggled to create room beneath the luxury tax threshold in case Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah trigger bonuses that force the team into the tax for the second year in a row. That would set the team up for the league’s steep repeat offender tax rates if the team made it three straight taxpaying seasons in 2014/15.
The 22-year-old saw slightly more playing time while with the Nets, who acquired him shortly after the Sixers drafted him 54th overall in 2012. He averaged 1.5 points in 8.1 minutes per game in 17 appearances for Brooklyn this season, and 1.6 PPG in 4.9 MPG in 19 contests for the Nets as a rookie.
Montrezl Harrell Declines To Enter Draft
Louisville sophomore Montrezl Harrell has decided against entering this year’s draft, he’s announced via Twitter (hat tip to Chris Mannix of SI.com). His decision counters an earlier report that he would declare for this year’s field, and it comes as a surprise, given his solid first-round stock. The big man is the 15th-ranked prospect with Chad Ford of ESPN.com, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 20th.
Harrell averaged 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game this season for Louisville, which lost in the NCAA Tournament sweet sixteen to Kentucky. He stepped into a starting role this year after serving mostly as a reserve last season when the Cardinals won the national championship. He’ll look to improve his free throw shooting as a junior after making just 46.4% of his shots from the line this year.
The news is no doubt a disappointment to teams projected to end up with a mid first-round pick, particularly those looking for an inside player. The 6’8″ Harrell is somewhat undersized at power forward, but it hasn’t hurt his production on the boards in college.
Pistons, Joe Dumars Part Ways
The Pistons have officially announced via press release that Joe Dumars “will step aside” from his job as president of basketball operations, effective immediately. That suggests that Dumars tendered his resignation, as he’d reportedly planned to do, though reports Sunday indicated the team had told Dumars they wouldn’t renew his contract, which was set to expire in the offseason. In any case, the move ends Dumars’ nearly 14-year tenure atop the Pistons basketball operations department. He’ll remain with the team as an adviser, as expected. Director of basketball operations Ken Catanella and assistant GM George David will assume the responsibilities that had been Dumars’ while the club searches for a formal replacement.
“Joe Dumars is a great champion who has meant so much to this franchise and this community,” Pistons owner Tom Gores said in the team’s statement. “We are turning the page with great respect for what he has accomplished not only as a player and a front office executive, but as a person who has represented this team and the NBA with extraordinary dignity.”
The 50-year-old Dumars was the longest-tenured executive in charge of day-to-day basketball operations in the league, with the possible exception of Pat Riley, who’s split much of his more than 18 years with the Heat between the front office and coaching. Dumars became president of basketball operations in Detroit in June of 2000, and he’s been with the Pistons in some capacity since 1985, when he began his Hall of Fame playing career with the club. His time as an executive included the 2004 championship and six straight conference finals appearances, but also the drafting of Darko Milicic at No. 2 overall in 2003 and an ongoing string of five non-playoff seasons.
“It’s time to turn the page on a wonderful chapter and begin writing a new one,” Dumars said as part of the press release. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great people throughout the last 29 years as both a player and executive, and I’m proud of our accomplishments. Tom Gores and ownership is committed to winning and they will continue to move the franchise forward.”
Dumars will reportedly have the ability to seek GM jobs with other NBA clubs, and he figures to be much sought after. A report earlier today indicated he already has a gig lined up with another team. The Pistons have already begun their search process for a new head of basketball operations as well as a new coach, since John Loyer is filling in only on an interim basis for Maurice Cheeks, whom the team fired in February.
Gores has appointed a pair of executives with Platinum Equity, his investment firm, to oversee the club’s searches. Those execs, Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth, will also supervise Catanella and David, and Norment, in the team release, says the club has developed a preliminary list of candidates to replace Dumars.
Pelicans Sign Melvin Ely, Waive Greg Stiemsma
The Pelicans have signed Melvin Ely and waived Greg Stiemsma, the team announced. Ely, an eight-year NBA veteran who last saw regular season NBA action in 2010/11, has been playing with the D-League affiliate of the Mavs. Stiemsma’s one-year, $2.676MM contract was about to expire anyway, so the Pelicans won’t take much of a financial hit even if he goes unclaimed off waivers. It’s unclear whether Ely is joining the team simply for the final three days of the regular season or has a non-guaranteed 2014/15 tacked on to his deal.
Ely was the 12th overall pick in the 2002 draft, but he never averaged as many as 10 points per game in the NBA. The 35-year-old has averaged 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per contest with a 10.6 PER over his NBA career. The Byron Irvin client was with the Grizzlies in preseason this past fall and was briefly on the preseason roster of the Mavs in 2012. He produced 15.8 PPG and 5.5 RPG in 28.9 MPG for the D-League’s Texas Legends this season.
Stiemsma is something of a curious cut for the injury-ravaged Pelicans, who’ve been using him as a starter of late. The 28-year-old is averaging 2.9 PPG and 4.1 RPG in 18.3 MPG overall, but those numbers aren’t much different in games he’s started. New Orleans is carrying 16 players thanks to special permission from the league, as I detailed when the team signed James Southerland last week.
Latest On Pistons, Joe Dumars
The parting of Joe Dumars and the Pistons isn’t coming about via a resignation from Dumars, but rather the team’s decision not to renew his contract, reports David Mayo of MLive. Detroit’s longtime president of basketball operations has accepted the team’s offer to remain as an adviser, as we passed along last night from Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The Pistons have already begun looking for someone new to lead their basketball operations, Mayo writes, with assistant GM George David set to lead the team in the meantime, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Director of basketball operations Ken Catanella will also play a leading role in the team’s draft and free agency preparations, Goodwill tweets.
Phil Norment and Bob Wentworth of owner Tom Gores’ Platinum Equity investment firm will lead the search for Dumars’ replacement, according to Mayo, who adds that Gores is looking for stability and someone who, like Dumars, will stay atop the team’s basketball operations for many years. It’ll probably be someone with a background in analytics who won’t shy away from the spotlight and will be the public face of the franchise, Mayo writes.
The Pistons are already screening candidates to become the team’s new head coach, Mayo reports, though it’s unclear if the team is considering interim coach John Loyer for the long-term job. The team is likely to deliver a list of finalists to the new head of basketball operations, who’d make a choice from that list, Mayo adds.
Dumars will serve in a capacity similar to Jerry West‘s job with the Warriors, according to Berger, though Mayo contradicts that, writing that he’ll have a “non-basketball role.” Sharp says Dumars will have no say in the daily operations of the team. Berger says the advisory gig won’t preclude Dumars from seeking a GM job with another NBA team, and Berger’s sources expect him to draw interest from clubs around the league. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders hears Dumars might have another such job lined up already, though he seconds a tweet from Matt Dery of Detroit Sports 105.1 and says it’s not with the Cavaliers, who were linked to Dumars in February.
Dumars still has the respect of owner Tom Gores, Berger hears, and source tells him the organization considers it important that his dismissal be carried out in a dignified manner. The Pistons consider the appointment of Dumars as an adviser to be a respectful compromise, but still a condemnation of his oversight of the team during five consecutive non-playoff seasons, Sharp writes.
Western Rumors: Love, Gasol, Cousins
DeMarcus Cousins received his 16th technical of the season during tonight’s Kings/Wolves game. If the technical isn’t rescinded by the league, he will incur an automatic one-game suspension and have his season ended prematurely. Here’s more from out west:
- A group of writers at Basketball Insiders looks at which marquee players could be traded this summer, including Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, and Carmelo Anthony.
- Mitch Kupchak told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News that the Lakers are interested in re-signing Pau Gasol this summer. “There’s great interest in re-signing Pau back,” the Lakers GM said. “I don’t know why there would not be interest. He’s a Hall of Famer. But by virtue of being a free agent, he’s in the market place. By being in the market place, we have to see how things play out.”
- For his part, Gasol told Mike Trudell of Lakers.com he’s excited about meeting with multiple teams when he becomes a free agent, including the Lakers (Twitter link).
Eastern Notes: Bucks, Anthony, Pistons
More information surrounding the potential sale of the Bucks continues to emerge. Mike Dunleavy is part of an newly reported investment group that was interested in purchasing a share of ownership, but a separate, local group is finalizing a deal with Herb Kohl, per Mitch Lawrence of New York Daily News. Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel counters that report, saying that there is activity but that there is no definitive partnership yet. It is still unknown whether the rumored purchases are for minority or majority ownership of the team. Here’s more from the East:
- It’s well known in league circles that Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau would love to acquire Carmelo Anthony, according to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Johnson believes Chicago will make exhaustive attempts to complete a sign-and-trade for Anthony, but deems their chances a long shot.
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson took responsibility for New York’s failure to make the playoffs, Al Iannazzonne of Newsday reports. All reports point to Woodson being fired after coming up short in the pursuit of the eighth seed.
- Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News lists five potential candidates to replace Joe Dumars as the next Pistons GM.
- While most agree that Dumars’ looming resignation as the Pistons GM is appropriate, Chad Ford of ESPN.com says his personal opinion of Dumars is very high (via Twitter). Of all the GMs that Ford has interacted with, he places Dumars in his top five.
- Nikola Vucevic has been shut down for the season, mainly as a precautionary measure by the Magic, per Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
Koonin Approved As New Hawks CEO
Steve Koonin will become the new Hawks CEO, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team has confirmed the news on its website. NBA owners have approved Koonin for the position. Atlanta sold a minority share of the team in March, which increased the team’s stakeholders to 12. Bruce Levenson will remain the primary owner for the team.
Koonin, who had been serving as president of Turner Entertainment Networks, will own a minority share of the team, as The Associated Press details. He’s spent the past 14 years at Turner, and was previously a marketing executive for Coca-Cola for more than a decade.
Koonin will oversee all business operations for the Hawks, according to the AP. It’s not clear whether he’ll have any say over the team’s basketball side, but it seems as though GM Danny Ferry will maintain autonomy over that department.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Young, Cavs, Pistons, Turner
Kentucky freshman James Young hasn’t made a decision on if he’s entering the NBA Draft yet, reports The Kentucky Advocate Messenger. Young’s godfather, Sean Mahone said, “I am not even certain what the deadline is for deciding. That shows how we are not fixated on the draft. That is just an innocent admission of where we are and what we have been thinking about. It’s just been chaos the last few weeks during this incredible run with a lot of late night worries and anxiety and then some great, great moments. That was our focus, not next year.”
More from around the league:
- The Heat were offered Evan Turner in a trade by the Sixers before the trade deadline with Udonis Haslem being the only significant piece they would have had to send in return, writes Dan Le Batard of The Miami Herald. The Heat didn’t make the trade, at least in part because they didn’t like how it would look to deal one of the club’s longest tenured players, reports Le Batard.
- According to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (Twitter link), whoever takes over as GM of the Pistons needs to clear out the logjam at power forward. Greg Monroe is looking for a big pay raise and Josh Smith doesn’t mesh well with Brandon Jennings and Monroe, opines Wolstat.
- The Cavaliers are going to have to figure out if Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving can play together, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. It’s not the players personalities that are the problem, but rather that their ball-dominant games are too alike, opines Pluto.
- The Lakers Pau Gasol is officially done for the season, reports Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (Twitter link). Team doctors had told Gasol that he was still a few weeks away from returning to action.
- Hofstra senior guard Zeke Upshaw has signed with agent Brian J. Bass, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).