Hoops Links: LeBron, Draft, Carter
On this date in 1994, led by Hakeem Olajuwon‘s 25 points, ten rebounds, and seven assists, the Rockets defeated the Knicks 90-84 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, giving the Rockets their first NBA championship in franchise history. Olajuwon averaged 26 9 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.86 blocks for the series and was unanimously voted the Finals MVP, the first player to ever win the Defensive Player of the Year and both the regular season and Finals MVP awards in the same season. Meanwhile, Knicks guard Derek Harper set a Finals record for the most 3-point field goals made (17) in a seven-game series and Patrick Ewing set a Finals record for the most blocks in a series with 30.
Got a great basketball blog post that you want to see featured on Hoops Rumors? Send it to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com. Here’s this week’s look around the basketball blogosphere…
- FanDuel has the definitive timeline of the Spurs trolling LeBron James.
- Six Championship Drive turned in their final 2014 NBA Draft big board.
- Sir Charles In Charge plays buy or sell with NBA Draft rumors.
- Shaw Sports looks at under-the-radar free agents, including Vince Carter.
- The Daily Dribble looks at how Joel Embiid‘s injury could affect the draft.
- NBADraft.net rolled out their latest mock draft.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Week In Review: 6/16/14 – 6/22/14
Tough break for Kansas center Joel Embiid. The center, viewed by some as the best talent in the 2014 draft, broke the navicular bone in his right foot and while he could be healed up in as little as four months, it seems a lot less likely that he’ll be the No. 1 overall pick in this week’s draft. There should be plenty of fallout from the news and the Magic are apparently eyeing a trade up to the top two to make sure they can land Dante Exum. Here’s more from the week that was..
- David Blatt will be the next coach of the Cavaliers.
- The Bulls are in the lead for Carmelo Anthony, who is opting out.
- The Grizzlies and Zach Randolph seem close to a deal that would keep the power forward in Memphis for the next several seasons.
- The Sixers are considering Embiid.
- Rudy Gay will opt in with the Kings.
- The Mavs plan to go after Pau Gasol.
- The Warriors are reportedly in the lead in the Kevin Love sweepstakes. Klay Thompson may or may not be available in such a deal, depending on who you ask. Talks appear to be at an impasse currently.
- The Bulls are pursuing Arron Afflalo.
- The Bulls are willing to trade Joakim Noah.
- The Celtics are dangling the sixth and 17th picks, future first-rounders and young players in their attempt to trade for Love, according to ESPN’s Chad Ford.
- The Rockets have deals in place to move Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik.
- The Sixers are high on Andrew Wiggins.
- The 76ers are in talks to add another top ten pick.
- It sounds like LeBron James will stay put but it’s also likely that he’ll opt out.
- The Grizzlies and others have an eye on Sebastian Telfair.
- Alec Burks is available as the Jazz look to move up in the draft.
- The Clippers did some shuffling and hired Dave Wohl as GM. It sounds like Doc Rivers will still get final say, however.
- There’s mutual interest between the Knicks and Patty Mills.
- Suns big man Channing Frye will probably opt out.
- There’s mutual interest between the Heat and Kyle Lowry.
- Chris Wallace will remain as the Grizzlies‘ GM.
- The Mavs will go after Chris Andersen.
- Shane Battier retired.
- Glen Davis and Danny Granger are set to opt out of their contracts with the Clippers and become free agents next month.
- The Nets and the Cavs may or may not be discussing a swap of Marcus Thornton and Jarrett Jack.
- Francisco Garcia will opt out.
- The Knicks have just $1.8MM to offer in a trade.
- Josh McRoberts will opt out of his deal with the Hornets.
- The Warriors are dangling Harrison Barnes in trade talks as they attempt to trade for a first-round pick in this year’s draft.
- Isaiah Austin has been diagnosed with a career-ending condition.
- Anthony Morrow will opt out.
- Andrea Bargnani is opting in with the Knicks.
- Alvin Gentry will join the Warriors as an assistant.
- We had a few flip-flops on draft decision day.
- The Grizzlies gave the Nuggets cash rather than forking over a pick.
Austin Diagnosed With Career-Ending Condition
Baylor center Isaiah Austin, once considered a first round prospect in this year’s draft, has been diagnosed with a career-ending condition, according to a press release published on Baylor University’s website.
Austin was set to make history as the first player with partial blindness to make it to the NBA. Now that he has been diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic mutation, the center will instead focus his efforts on living a healthy and productive life.
“This is devastating news, but Isaiah has the best support system anyone could ask for, and he knows that all of Baylor Nation is behind him,” head coach Scott Drew said. “His health is the most important thing, and while it’s extremely sad that he won’t be able to play in the NBA, our hope is that he’ll return to Baylor to complete his degree and serve as a coach in our program.”
Marfan syndrome can leads to problems in connective tissues throughout the body and results in aortic enlargement, which can be life-threatening. Baylor went a combined 49-26 during Austin’s two years on campus, winning the 2013 NIT Championship and advancing to the 2014 NCAA Sweet 16. Hoops Rumors wishes nothing but the best to Austin in all of his future endeavors, both in and out of basketball.
Channing Frye Likely To Opt Out
Suns big man Channing Frye has until Monday to decide on his player option but a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) that there is a “99%” likelihood that he’ll choose free agency.
Frye is on the radar of the Warriors and Cavs if he indeed opts for free agency (link). Both teams are in the market for stretch fours. Of course, opting out doesn’t mean he’ll be headed elsewhere and in fact the veteran has said that he’d like to hammer out a new, long-term deal with the Suns.
The Arizona product was one of many feel-good stories for the Suns this season. The 31-year-old missed all of 2012/13 with an enlarged heart but wound up playing and starting in all 82 of the Suns’ regular season games last season.
Frye averaged 11.1 PPG with 5.1 RPG and 0.8 BPG in 28.2 minutes per contest. He’s had slightly better marks in those categories and in PER, but he was nonetheless a bright spot for the Suns last season.
Mavs Plan To Pursue Pau Gasol
Mark Cuban is nothing if not bold. The Mavs not only plan to make a run at Carmelo Anthony this summer but they also plan to sit down with free agent big man Pau Gasol, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
If Dallas was somehow able to lure both prized free agents, they would instantly have one of the most formidable frontcourts in the NBA with Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki (once he re-signs), and Gasol. To land both, however, the Mavs will have to do some serious work to find the sapce. And, of course, the Spaniard figures to draw plenty of interest once free agency officially kicks off on July 1st and he has his eye on a handful of clubs including the Bulls, Spurs, Lakers, and Grizzlies.
Gasol, who turns 34 on July 6th, averaged 17.4 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 31.4 minutes per contest across 60 games. While Gasol won’t rule out a Lakers return, a change of scenery from a club that has dangled him in trade talks for years might be beneficial. Then again, with coach Mike D’Antoni out of the picture, the veteran might be feeling better about L.A. than he was just a few months ago.
Knicks Have Just $1.8MM To Offer For Pick
The Knicks, like their crosstown rivals, are without a pick heading into Thursday night’s draft and would like to acquire one, preferably in the first round. However, that could be easier said that done given what they have to work with. The Knicks can offer only $1.8MM to another club in a trade thanks to the $1.4MM they gave the Raptors in the Andrea Bargnani deal, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com in an update to yesterday’s column.
Just $1.8MM in cash compensation wouldn’t be enough to buy a first-round pick off of a club in a thin draft, let alone one of the deepest in NBA memory. Teams are placing a high value on those late first-round picks and Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (via Twitter) surmises that they might not be able to even land an early second-round choice with that amount of money. The silver lining for Knicks fans, however, is that they probably couldn’t have landed a first-round pick even with the max $3.2MM at their disposal (link).
During his first season in New York, Bargnani only appeared in 42 games, averaging 13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 29.9 minutes per game. To land the former top pick, the Knicks gave up a future first-round pick, two second-round picks, and – as we learned today – a nice chunk of change that could hurt their flexibility this offseason.
Sixers Very Interested in Joel Embiid At No. 3
Joel Embiid‘s unfortunately timed foot injury probably means that he won’t be a top two pick in the draft. For all of his talent, the KU big man, who was already grappling with back issues, could be in for one serious slide on Thursday night. Or, perhaps not. Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News (on Twitter) hears that the Sixers are very much interested in grabbing Embiid at No. 3 should be fall to them.
Despite the concerns about his bad back, Embiid was very much in the mix for the Cavs at No. 1 until the news of his injury broke. The early prognosis is that Embiid could be sidelined for four to six months, which would mean that he’d miss the start of the regular season. Selecting Embiid at the top of the draft would be a sizable risk for any team, but it’s a particularly touchy issue for the Sixers. Philly used a top ten pick last season on Kentucky star Nerlens Noel last June and they’re still awaiting his NBA debut after a torn ACL cost him his entire rookie season.
Of course, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to draft rumors this time of year. Just last week it was reported that Philly was hoping to trade for the Cavs’ No. 1 pick in order to land Embiid’s teammate, Andrew Wiggins.
And-Ones: Pistons, Draft, LeBron
Stan Van Gundy doesn’t necessarily view the Pistons lack of a first round pick as a negative, writes David Mayo of MLive. Van Gundy believes that the cap room that would have gone to a first-rounder can be used to acquire useful veterans, notes Mayo. Van Gundy wants to find what he termed, “winning players.” Van Gundy expanded on that saying, “I’ve had the good fortune to be around a lot of them, and they’re not winning players because they’re the most talented guys. I had Udonis Haslem in Miami and he’s still helping teams win championships. He’s a good player but he’s not the most talented guy in the world. I had a lot of those guys in Orlando — Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick — who help you win a lot of games, and they’re very good, but they’re not the most talented guys. But they’re winning guys.”
More from around the league:
- The Pistons are looking to add a shooting guard this summer, and Perry A. Farrell of The Detroit Free Press examines some potential free agent targets, including Dwyane Wade, Lance Stephenson, and Avery Bradley.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com has published his latest mock draft. His first three players off the board are Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, and Julius Randle.
- Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun has Wiggins atop his mock draft.
- The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) chime in on which potential draftee will have the biggest immediate impact on the hardwood.
- One of this offseason’s biggest questions is where will LeBron James play next year. Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders believes re-signing with the Heat is James’ best option, but breaks down his next best alternatives.
Bargnani Informs Knicks He’s Opting In
In a move that shouldn’t come as a surprise, Andrea Bargnani has informed the Knicks that he intends to exercise his player option and opt in for next season, Marc Stein of ESPN.com has reported. This news was also confirmed by Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link). Bargnani had until Wednesday to make this official.
Bargnani joins Amar’e Stoudemire in exercising his option to remain with the team. Bargnani is set to make $11.5MM next season, after pulling in a salary of $11,862,500 during the 2013/14 campaign. During his first season in New York, Bargnani only appeared in 42 games, averaging 13.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 29.9 minutes per game.
The Knicks appeared to play better with Bargnani out of the lineup, evidenced by their record of 15-27 when he was healthy, versus going 22-18 after he suffered a season-ending elbow injury. The team also scored 6.8 points more per 100 possessions when Bargnani was on the bench compared to when he was on the court. On defense, they gave up one fewer point per 100 possessions when Bargnani was playing compared to when he was on the bench. Overall, the Knicks were 7.9 points better per 100 possessions without Bargnani on the floor.
Western Notes: Hairston, Suns, Thompson
P.J. Hairston is this draft’s best-kept secret, writes Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post. Hairston has already caught Knicks president Phil Jackson’s eye, and the Knicks are desperately trying to find a way into the first round in order to have a chance to grab him, notes Dempsey. But Dempsey believes that the Nuggets should consider selecting Hairston with the 11th pick, citing his lottery-level talent and the added experience of having already played in the NBA D-League.
More from way out west:
- The Suns front office is looking to build off of this past season’s success, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Coro details a number of the options the team can explore this summer in the draft or via trades.
- Joel Embiid is the “X-Factor” in this year’s draft, and in a separate article, Coro speculates on whether or not Embiid could slide and be available when the Suns pick at No. 14.
- With Klay Thompson being discussed in multiple trade rumors, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group examines why the Warriors are so reluctant to part with him in a deal.
- Mike Sorensen of The Deseret News looks at the options the Jazz will have with the No. 5 pick in Thursday night’s draft.