Voisin On Cousins, Ranadive, D’Alessandro
A few trade rumors have surrounded DeMarcus Cousins of late, and while the noise surrounding the All-Star isn’t at a high level, he’d be the league’s most prominent trade candidate, if he could indeed be considered a trade candidate. Cousins has complained publicly and privately about Sacramento’s fast-paced system, but the Kings have no plans to move him, writes Ailene Voisin of The Sacrameno Bee. Vlade Divac, the Kings front office chief who’s apparently enchanted with the talent of the former fifth overall pick, wants Cousins’ tenure in Sacramento to endure, as Voisin details.
“DeMarcus is here,” Divac said forcefully, according to Voisin. “It’s a process of growing up. And I really believe that, behind that shield of his, he is a really good guy. I want to create a healthy environment where we trust each other, and I want to see him in a situation when he’s winning games. What, five losing seasons? Winning changes everything. Like I told DeMarcus, he played so great for coach George [Karl]. It will only get better when we get him more help.”
Voisin’s latest column has more insight on the seemingly ever-changing dynamics of the Kings front office and roster, and we’ll hit the highlights here:
- Owner Vivek Ranadive has been less of a hands-on presence in recent weeks, allowing Divac and coach George Karl to perform their respective duties without undue influence, Voisin writes.
- Divac replaced GM Pete D’Alessandro as head of the basketball operations, but the subsequent departure of former adviser Chris Mullin for the head coaching job at St. John’s has helped restore some power to D’Alessandro, according to Voisin. Some perceived Mullin, who was eminently powerful within the organization, as the team’s de facto GM, Voisin explains.
- It’s uncertain whether D’Alessandro will remain with the Kings now that he reports to Divac, but Divac, in his comments to Voisin, seemed to make an appeal of sorts to the GM. “When I first came here,” Divac said of joining the front office in February, “I just observed everything and listened. I wasn’t sure [the front office] was going to work. But Vivek trusted me, trusted coach. I called everyone into a meeting and said, ‘If you want to be here, forget the past. You can’t change the past, but you can change the future. We need everyone’s help.’ Pete can be a big part of this. And these last two weeks, I see tremendous progress. We are getting along, functioning. Slowly we are fitting in together.”
- Divac will prioritize the acquisition of a “lanky frontcourt defender” this summer, followed by shooting, playmakers and depth, Voisin writes.
And-Ones: HGH Testing, Demps, Simmons
The NBA and the NBPA announced today that blood testing for Human Growth Hormone will commence under the league’s anti-drug program, beginning during the 2015/16 NBA season. According to the official announcement, all NBA players will be subject to three random, unannounced HGH tests annually (two in-season, and one during the offseason), and players will also be subject to reasonable cause testing for HGH. If a player tests positive for HGH, he will be suspended 20 games for his first violation, 45 games for his second violation, and he will be dismissed and disqualified from the NBA for his third violation.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Pelicans GM Dell Demps refuted a report asserting that he and coach Monty Williams were under the mandate this season to make the playoffs or lose their jobs, John Reid of the Times Picayune relays. ”I am hoping to keep the focus on the Pelicans and our playoff run,” Demps said. ”To answer the question, I did not receive a mandate to make the playoffs from ownership or anyone else. That conversation did not happen. Our ownership group has been very supportive, patient and given us all the resources to be successful.”
- 21-year-old Bosnian forward Adin Vrabac, who is currently playing in Germany, will declare for the 2015 NBA draft, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets. Vrabac, who isn’t currently projected to be picked in June, withdrew from last year’s draft after initially declaring his intent to enter.
- The 2016 NBA draft is projected to be a much weaker field than this year’s, Givony told Josh Newman of SNY.tv (Twitter links). The player pool could improve based on which underclassmen decide to return to school this year, Newman adds.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com unveiled his initial 2015 mock draft and his top three players are Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and Emmanuel Mudiay.
- Despite the 2015 NBA draft still being over two months away, scouts and executives are already turning their gaze toward the 2016 class and Australian Ben Simmons, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. The 6’10” Simmons possesses point guard skills and is the projected No. 1 overall pick next season by Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), Beck notes. One NBA executive was so enamored with Simmons’ potential, he said that the player was worth tanking for, Beck adds. Simmons will attend LSU next season.
Southeast Notes: Fournier, Henderson, Heat
Al Jefferson indicated earlier today that he would likely opt in and remain with the Hornets next season. Swingman Gerald Henderson also has player option for 2015/16, his being worth $6MM, but Henderson says that he hasn’t thought about free agency yet, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer writes. The 27-year-old did say that he would prefer to remain with Charlotte, Bonnell adds. Henderson appeared in 80 games for the Hornets this season, averaging 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest.
Here’s the latest from the Southeast Division:
- After a difficult first campaign with the Hornets, Lance Stephenson vowed to return next season much improved and with his confidence back, Bonnell notes. “My 3-point percentage was the lowest ever in history. That’s terrible,” Stephenson said. “It’s confidence – just wanting the shot to go in so bad and then you lose your confidence. That plays a major part when you don’t have confidence in your shot. This summer I’m going to find my confidence.” Stephenson’s 17.1% three-point accuracy wasn’t quite the worst ever, but it was a sharp drop from last season’s 35.2%.
- Evan Fournier is eligible to sign an extension this summer, and the swingman loves playing for the Magic, but he acknowledged that contract extensions are usually reserved for star players, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel tweets.
- Dwyane Wade says that he won’t be recruiting Luol Deng and Goran Dragic to remain with the Heat next season, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets. “Nope,” Wade said about playing recruiter. “They know. If they want to be here, they’ll be here.” Both Deng and Dragic possess player options for the 2015/16 campaign.
- Magic GM Rob Hennigan fully expects restricted free agent Tobias Harris to be with Orlando next season, John Denton of Orlando Magic.com relays (Twitter link). “I’ve said all along that we don’t envision a scenario where Tobias isn’t with us next season,” stated the GM.
Western Notes: McDaniels, Duncan, Brooks
Rockets rookie K.J. McDaniels will likely miss the playoffs due to a fractured wrist, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays (Twitter link). McDaniels has played sparingly since being acquired from the Sixers, appearing in 10 games and averaging 1.1 points in 3.3 minutes per night. The swingman will be a restricted free agent this summer if Houston extends him a qualifying offer worth $1,045,059.
Here’s more news out of the Western Conference:
- Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link) believes that Tim Duncan will put off retirement to return to the Spurs for his 19th NBA season. The 38-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
- Carlos Boozer said he would like to return to the Lakers if the team makes additions to the roster that would allow it to be a playoff contender, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The unrestricted free agent also indicated that he would be open to a role off the bench, Pincus adds.
- Both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook offered support to embattled Thunder coach Scott Brooks, whom the team is reportedly evaluating prior to making a decision on his future, Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman relays (Twitter links). When asked about his coach’s performance, Westbrook said, “He did a great job. I don’t think he gets enough credit behind the scenes. Obviously he can’t make players do things they don’t want to do. With the group of guys we have on our team and the guys that wanted to be here, I thought he did a great job of keeping the boat afloat.“
- Trevor Booker, whose $4,775,000 salary for next season is non-guaranteed, indicated that he would like to remain with the Jazz, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News tweets. The forward appeared in 79 contests for the Jazz this season, averaging 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 19.8 minutes per game.
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Towns, Noel, Nets
Paul Pierce fired some shots across the Nets‘ bow the other day with his negative comments regarding his year spent in Brooklyn. Current Nets coach Lionel Hollins, who was not with the team during Pierce’s tenure, dismissed the veteran’s barbs, Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily writes. “I don’t really care,” Hollins said. “I wasn’t here. I don’t care. All I can go by is how we are this year, and as I’ve said many many times, the vocal leader of our team early on was Kevin Garnett, and since he’s left it’s been more of a collective. Paul Pierce is entitled to his own opinion. I don’t get into that kind of stuff. Players say stuff all the time. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t. But they’re entitled to it.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers coach Brett Brown said that rookies Jerami Grant and JaKarr Sampson were both “keepers,” Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link). Both players are signed for next season to minimum salary arrangements, though Sampson’s pact is non-guaranteed.
- The Knicks are now assured of having no lower than the fifth pick in this year’s NBA draft. Chris Herring of the Wall Street Journal profiles prospect Karl-Anthony Towns, and what he would bring to New York. Towns is currently the No.1 ranked prospect by both ESPN.com and DraftExpress.
- The Knicks are expected to remake their roster this offseason and Tim Hardaway Jr. wants to remain a part of what New York is building, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com tweets. “I gotta get stronger and faster and hopefully I’m back,” Hardaway said. “I wanna be back.“
- Celtics president of Basketball operations Danny Ainge said that Isaiah Thomas was the type of player you had to pounce on when given the opportunity to acquire, the executive told CSNNE.com. Discussing the trade for Thomas, Ainge said, “You never know when you can get a deal like that again and you can’t sit around and wait for a player like Thomas.“
- Ainge also referred to this year’s NBA draft as “mediocre,” and is unsure if he will keep Boston’s draft picks or look to trade them away.
- On of the biggest contributions Nerlens Noel brought to the Sixers this season was his energy and hustle, something that Philly’s coaching staff has taken notice of, Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report writes.
Lakers Notes: Hill, Johnson, Clarkson
The Lakers still have a decision to make regarding Jordan Hill‘s team option worth $9MM for 2015/16, and for his part the big man wants to return to Los Angeles, Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times writes. “It’s going to be a big off-season for the Lakers,” said Hill. Of his option, he said “it’s up in the air right now. I definitely would love to come back here, but everybody understands the business.” The 27-year-old appeared in 70 games this season, averaging 12.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 26.8 minutes per contest.
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Rookie Jordan Clarkson has a chip on his shoulder regarding being passed over in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft, he told reporters during his exit interview. “I’m a second-round pick — 46th pick,” Clarkson said. “It’s always gonna be on my mind. … I’m never going to forget draft day. It’s motivating for me. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to play for this organization in this league. I think I watched the draft maybe like 10 times throughout the year. … I don’t look at it like, ‘I should’ve been drafted there.’ Everything happens for a reason.”
- Unrestricted free agent Wesley Johnson during his exit interview also indicated his desire to be a member of the Lakers next season. “Obviously things haven’t been going the way we wanted it to, but that’s a reason to stick around,” Johnson relayed. “You want to be here when we turn it around.”
- Johnson said that his priority was to secure a long-term deal somewhere, and that the Lakers told him they would first focus on the draft before making a decision regarding re-signing him, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
- Ed Davis isn’t sure if he will be playing for the Lakers next season, Medina relays (Twitter link). The forward intends to opt out of his player option worth $1,100,602 and test free agency, but the big man would prefer to return to L.A., Pincus tweets.
- Vander Blue , whom the team recently inked for the remainder of the 2014/15 season, says that he would love to be a part of the Lakers’ future, Pincus tweets. Blue indicated that he is more than willing to play for Los Angeles’ summer league squad if it would help him earn a roster spot next season, the Times scribe relays.
Central Notes: Watson, Van Gundy, Monroe
Unrestricted free agent C.J. Watson would like to return to the Pacers next season, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star relays (Twitter link). “I don’t even know yet,” Watson answered when asked if he would return to Indiana.”Hopefully I’ll be back here. I like it in Indy. I love the team and the atmosphere of the city. We’ll see what happens. It’s not really in my hands. So we’ll see.” The 30-year-old appeared in 57 games for Indiana this season, averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 24.9 minutes per night.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Pistons owner Tom Gores says his belief in coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has only grown since he brought the veteran coach aboard, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “I believe in Stan more today than the day I hired him,” said Gores. “Stan is his biggest critic. I’m very happy with him as a coach. I’m also very happy with him as president of basketball operations. We had the bad start. I think we’ve done what we need to accomplish this year.”
- Gores also relayed that remaining in Detroit should be appealing to free agent Greg Monroe, Langlois adds. “He’ll have ownership and a coach that is behind him and a real base for his life going forward,” Gores said. “He has the ability to establish a foundation for us. But he’s a professional. Whatever Greg does, it’s going to be up to him. But he’s a real pro. He’s been with us a long time. I’ve never seen him do the wrong thing. He always does the right thing and I hope we can land Greg. And if we don’t, whoever lands him will be a very lucky franchise.“
- While he’s excited at the prospect of free agency, Monroe would have preferred the scenario where he was settled in with the Pistons for the long haul, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “You guys have been around here for the past couple of years,” Monroe told Ellis. “I much rather would have been settled in here. That didn’t happen, and I’m in this position.” Monroe is referring to Detroit failing to offer him an extension back in 2013, and not the contract he reportedly turned down last offseason.
Knicks Notes: Anthony, Jackson, Fisher
Carmelo Anthony admitted that he briefly had second thoughts this season about having re-signed with the Knicks last summer, but he says he hasn’t lost faith in team president Phil Jackson, as ‘Melo said today to reporters, including Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).
“I try to keep myself from thinking like that,” Anthony said of looking back on his decision. “But as a human being, those thoughts definitely come into play. You sit down at night and you’re thinking, ‘Did I really make the right decision?’ and just things like that,” Anthony said. “Not often did I think about that. There was one point in time this season where it was just cloudy and I didn’t really have any clarity; I was second-guessing what I did and the decision I made. But after that, I was smooth sailing.”
Here’s more out of New York:
- Anthony is prepared to help Jackson recruit, joking that his home office looked like a GM’s, as Peter Botte of the New York Daily News relays. He said he’s OK with the Knicks bringing in someone who’d make him the second option, Begley notes, and he added that while Jackson should explore trading the team’s lottery pick, he’d ultimately like to see the team keep it, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post.
- Knicks fans should be more concerned about what Jackson is able to accomplish this summer than the state of Anthony’s knee, Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “Now we really get a chance, and he really gets a chance, to put a stamp on what he wants this organization to be about,” Anthony said. “What he wants this team to be about, what players he wants in here. This is the time he steps up to the plate.”
- Coach Derek Fisher says that he would like to be more involved in the organization’s personnel decisions, Berman writes in a separate piece. “I would hope so,’’ Fisher said. “I’ve said before, Phil and [GM] Steve [Mills] have been very open in that regard in wanting my thoughts and opinion.’’
- One NBA executive said the Knicks’ biggest mistake this season was in how the team evaluated its roster, Fred Kerber of The New York Post writes. “To me their biggest mistake was they overrated players. They’ll probably point to Andrea Bargnani getting hurt, but he’s not good enough. Jose Calderon did not have the year they anticipated,” the exec said. “They’re continuing to try to put the triangle in. How many of those guys are going to be back?”
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Mouhammadou Jaiteh Entering Draft
French big man Mouhammadou Jaiteh will indeed enter this year’s draft, agent Herman Manaykan confirmed to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Jaiteh told Givony earlier this year that he intended to do so. He’s the 50th-best prospect in Givony‘s rankings, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him 54th, so it appears that he has a strong chance to become a second-round pick if he stays in the draft this time, which he didn’t do after declaring in 2013. He said he would enter again in 2014, but he never formally submitted his name before deciding against it.
The 20-year-old averaged 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game for JSF Nanterre of France this season. The numbers are an improvement over last year, which was his first on France’s highest level. He impressed an American audience with nine rebounds in less than 15 minutes in a 2013 appearance at the Nike Hoop Summit.
It’s much easier for prospects from overseas, like Jaiteh, to declare and withdraw than it is for their counterparts from the NCAA. College players lose eligibility if they don’t pull out before April 12th, a deadline that passed this Sunday, while early entry candidates who are already pros can wait until the NBA’s draft-withdrawal deadline of June 15th, 10 days before the draft. Jaiteh wouldn’t be automatically eligible for the draft until 2016, the year in which he turns 22.
Al Jefferson Says He’ll Likely Opt In
1:16pm: Jefferson elaborated on his thinking, making his decision seem even more set in stone. “I’ve got unfinished business here,” Jefferson said when asked whether he’d opt out, as Bonnell relays via Twitter. “That’s not even an option for me.”
12:10pm: Al Jefferson said today that it’s highly unlikely he’ll turn down his $13.5MM player option for next season, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Most formal decisions on options aren’t due until June 29th, but the news is nonetheless a blow for teams in the market for a big man this summer. The 30-year-old Jefferson is the 14th-ranked free agent in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings one year removed from a career season.
Jefferson regressed this year amid injuries, but he still played in 65 games and averaged 16.6 points and 8.4 rebounds in 30.6 minutes per game. He was only the third leading scorer for Charlotte, but he nonetheless remains a key part of the Hornets, and coach Steve Clifford expressed continued faith in the 11-year veteran, saying it’s not a given that he’ll continue to struggle with injuries, Bonnell tweets. Owner Michael Jordan indicated before this season that he’d want to keep Jefferson if he elected free agency, given the chance the big man took when he signed with a downtrodden Charlotte team in 2013.
Should Jefferson indeed opt in this year, the Jeff Schwartz client would be positioning himself to hit free agency just as the salary cap rises sharply after next season. It’s a gamble that he’d have a bounce-back performance in 2015/16 and that teams wouldn’t look askance at his advancing age.
An opt in from Jefferson would give the Hornets almost $60MM in commitments against a projected $67.4MM salary cap, not counting Gerald Henderson‘s $6MM player option. The team will likely be limited to the mid-level and biannual exceptions to pay free agents more than the minimum, but Clifford doesn’t think the Hornets need to make a splashy upgrade, as Bonnell relays (on Twitter). “We’re not in a position to get a max-level player. Nor do we need to,” Clifford said today.