Cedi Osman, Nikola Milutinov Entering Draft
Small forward Cedi Osman and center Nikola Milutinov will enter this year’s draft, according to their agents, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reports (Twitter links). Both are overseas prospects with decent chances to become second-round picks in June. Small forward Rade Zagorac, another international hopeful, will also declare for the draft this year, agent Misko Raznatovic said, as Givony notes (Twitter link), though Zagorac isn’t as highly regarded. He’s not within the top 100 prospects for either Givony or Chad Ford of ESPN.com, and Givony ranks him 16th-best among overseas prospects born in 1995. Osman is No. 52 with both Ford and Givony, while Ford has Milutinov 59th and Givony ranks him 68th.
The 6’6″ Osman, another Raznatovic client, has averaged 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game this season for Turkish mainstay Anadolu Efes. He’s not a strong three-point shooter at this point, having averaged 32.4% from behind the arc this year and 32.9% last year. The now 20-year-old averaged 2.3 points in a little more than nine minutes per game during last year’s FIBA World Cup.
Milutinov, who’s also 20, has put up somewhat more impressive numbers for KK Partizan in his native Serbia, averaging 9.2 PPG and 7.4 RPG in 26.4 MPG this season. The 7-footer isn’t much of a shot-blocker, swatting just 0.8 shots per contest. He’s a client of agent Marko Jelic.
Zagorac, 19, is the only double-figure scorer among the trio in spite of his status as a lesser prospect, having put up 10.8 PPG in 28.9 MPG with 39.4% three-point shooting this year for Serbia’s KK Mega Vizura. All three can withdraw from the draft anytime between now and June 15th.
Suns Notes: Knight, Wright, Green
Brandon Knight would like to re-sign with the Suns, and he’d like that to happen in a swift process that would contrast sharply from last summer’s drawn-out negotiations with Eric Bledsoe, and Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic relays.
“If it can be quick and easy, that’s the best thing,” Knight said. “You don’t want to go through a fight or anything like that or you don’t want to drag it out as well. Definitely don’t want anything that leads up to training camp. For me, it’s just about doing what’s best for me and my family and the Suns will do the same. I’m optimistic about the situation. I like it here. I like the way I’ve been treated so far. Top-class organization. I’m looking forward to a future with the Suns.”
GM Ryan McDonough admits the team has learned from what happened with Bledsoe and expressed belief and hope that negotiations with Knight will go more smoothly, as Coro notes in separate piece. The Suns want to bring him back, and he told them that he has no issues pairing with Bledsoe in the backcourt, Coro writes. While we wait to see how it turns out for Knight and the Suns in restricted free agency this summer, here’s more from Coro on the Suns:
- McDonough said the team will go after a star this summer and pledged to be active on the trade market, and he expressed confidence that the team is in a strong position to land any marquee players who become available, according to Coro. “Short of that, we’ll try to do it with depth and do it as a team,” McDonough said. “We tried to do that last year. It’s just the roster wasn’t as balanced as it should’ve been and, frankly, the players didn’t handle it as well as we would’ve liked them to.”
- Adding size, rebounding, shooting and veterans will be priorities, McDonough said, as Coro notes.
- The team would like to re-sign Brandan Wright, according to Coro, and that feeling is mutual, Coro writes via Twitter.
- Soon-to-be free agent Gerald Green struck a more optimistic tone about a future with the Suns than emanated recently from agent Kevin Bradbury, who alleged coach Jeff Hornacek of unwarranted criticism of his client. “I think they want me back as well … Actually, it was a good conversation [with president of basketball operations Lon Babby] so I’m a little positive about that,” Green said, as Coro tweets.
Thunder Non-Committal Toward Scott Brooks
10:50am: For his part, Brooks remains optimistic, telling reporters today that he expects to return for next season, as Royce Young of ESPN.com tweets.
7:51am: Several league sources close to Thunder coach Scott Brooks have expressed doubt about his job security as the Thunder are expected to “spend time evaluating the partnership” with the coach before committing to him for another season, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Magic and Nuggets would have significant interest in Brooks if he became available, sources told Wojnarowski. Oklahoma City’s contract with Brooks runs through 2016/17, with a team option on the final season, Wojnarowski adds.
Thunder GM Sam Presti has long been friends with University of Florida coach Billy Donovan, according to Wojnarowski. Donovan is another Nuggets and Magic candidate who has an increasing desire to coach in the NBA, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported a couple of weeks ago. League sources who spoke with Wojnarowski brought up the possibility of Presti targeting Donovan should the Thunder let go of Brooks.
Injury-plagued Oklahoma City went 45-37 and remained alive for a playoff berth until the final night of the regular season, but the Thunder missed the postseason for the first time since 2009. Brooks took over midway through that season, and in spite of the Thunder’s fast rise to title contention, the coach has come under fire from critics for his in-game strategy. The Thunder organization has largely remained supportive, but negotiations in the 2012 offseason on a four-year extension worth about $18MM were difficult, according to Wojnarowski, even though Oklahoma City was fresh off a trip to the NBA Finals. The Blazers were among several teams with interest in swooping in to hire Brooks then if those talks fell apart, Wojnarowski notes.
Many in the Thunder organization like Brooks, who has close relationship with management and players alike, Wojnarowski writes. Still, the specter of Kevin Durant‘s contract, which expires after next season, clouds the Thunder’s future. Durant, the league’s reigning MVP and scoring champ, played in only 27 games this season largely because of a broken foot, precipitating the Thunder’s slide down the standings.
2015 Draft Order, Lottery Odds
Here’s a look at the odds for the May 19th draft lottery. The figures in red denote the chances that the Sixers, who get the Lakers’ pick if it falls out of the top five and the Heat’s pick if it falls out of the top 10, have of receiving those picks in each lottery position. Picks marked with an X are impossible for a team to land. Spaces in which “0.0%” appears means there’s less than a 0.05% chance the team will end up with that pick.
Here’s a look at the full order, with each of the 60 picks as they stand:
First Round
- *Timberwolves
- *Knicks
- *Sixers
- *Lakers — to Sixers if pick falls out of top five
- *Magic
- *Kings
- *Nuggets
- *Pistons
- *Hornets
- *Heat — to Sixers if Miami is passed in lottery
- *Pacers
- *Jazz
- *Suns
- *Thunder
- Hawks (via Nets)
- Celtics
- Bucks
- Rockets (via Pelicans)
- Wizards
- Raptors
- Mavericks
- Bulls
- Trail Blazers
- Cavaliers
- Grizzlies
- Spurs
- Lakers (via Rockets)
- Celtics (via Clippers)
- Nets (via Hawks)
- Warriors
*— subject to lottery
Second Round
- Timberwolves
- Rockets (via Knicks)
- Celtics (via Sixers)
- Lakers
- Sixers (via Magic)
- Timberwolves (via Kings)
- Sixers (via Nuggets)
- Pistons
- Hornets
- Heat
- Nets
- **Jazz or Pacers
- **Jazz or Pacers
- Suns
- Celtics
- Bucks
- Sixers (via Pelicans)
- Thunder
- Wizards
- Hawks (via Raptors)
- Magic (via Bulls)
- Mavericks
- Cavaliers (via Trail Blazers)
- Jazz (via Cavaliers)
- Spurs
- Pelicans (via Grizzlies)
- Nuggets (via Clippers)
- Sixers (via Rockets)
- Hawks
- Sixers (via Warriors)
** — The Jazz and Pacers finished with identical regular season records, but the random draw for the teams’ first-round picks only determined lottery position, not final draft position. It’s possible that Utah’s first-rounder will emerge from the lottery in a higher position than Indiana’s. If that happens, Indiana will take the 12th pick in the second round (42nd overall) and Utah will take the 13th (43rd). Otherwise, the Jazz will have the 12th pick in the second round and the Pacers will have the 13th.
NBA.com and a Celtics.com piece by Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren were used in the creation of this post. For more on how the lottery works, check out our Hoops Rumors Glossary item.
Coaching Rumors: Thibodeau, Skiles, Williams
Scott Brooks appears to be in trouble with the Thunder, but there are at least two coachiing jobs already up for grabs, with the Magic and Nuggets having interim bosses in place. Here’s the latest as the annual period of coaching unrest tips off:
- Tom Thibodeau and the Bulls are “widely expected” to part ways after Chicago’s season ends, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes within a larger look at the coaching landscape. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wrote in January that the relationship between Thibs and the front office is “beyond repair,” but no definitive decision has been made, and Thibodeau is under contract through 2016/17. Johnson wrote this week that Thibodeau wouldn’t walk away from the team if the choice were solely up to him.
- Orlando indeed has interest in Thibodeau should he become available, Stein writes. Several league sources suggested to Chris Mannix of SI.com in February that the Magic might pursue Thibodeau.
- The Magic have said that they’ll interview interim coach James Borrego, and some sources insist to Stein there’s a chance that Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt will have a chance to remain in the job, but sources told Stein this week that neither team is expected to retain its interim boss.
- Conflicting reports have emerged on whether the Magic have spoken with Scott Skiles. Sources tell Stein that Orlando has held informal discussions with its former point guard, while Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel later tweeted that no such talks have taken place. Still, Robbins believes they eventually will, and Skiles and Magic CEO Alex Martins have a strong relationship, Stein notes.
- The Pelicans told coach Monty Williams and GM Dell Demps before the season that they had to make the playoffs to keep their jobs, regardless of whether the team suffered a rash of injuries, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). New Orleans qualified for the postseason with a win Wednesday.
Terran Petteway To Enter NBA Draft
APRIL 16TH: The shooting guard is indeed entering this year’s draft, he announced in a statement released through the school.
APRIL 3RD: Petteway took to his private Twitter account to deny that he’s made a decision regarding the draft, notes Brian Rosenthal of the Lincoln Journal Star. He and Miles are scheduled to meet Tuesday, Miles told Rosenthal.
APRIL 2ND: Nebraska junior shooting guard Terran Petteway plans to declare for the 2015 NBA draft, Shams Charania of RealGM.com reports (Twitter link). Petteway plans on making the announcement official after the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, Charania adds. In 91 career NCAA games, Petteway averaged 13.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 27.1 minutes per contest. His career slash line is .407/.317/.749. Petteway notched a career best 18.2 PPG during the 2014/15 season, though he connected on only 39.6% of his field goal attempts.
The 6’6″ swingman isn’t a sure thing to be selected in June’s draft. Petteway is currently the No. 98 ranked prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), and he doesn’t appear at all amongst the top 100 prospects according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. The 22-year-old is most likely ticketed for the D-League or to play overseas next season, though that is merely my speculation.
Petteway began his college career at Texas Tech, appearing in 28 contests for the Red Raiders, averaging 3.1 points per game. At the completion of his freshman campaign Petteway chose to transfer to Nebraska, citing his relationship with Cornhuskers coach Tim Miles, who had recruited the swingman when he was still playing in high school. The guard was originally recruited to Texas Tech by Pat Knight, who was replaced as coach by Billy Gillispie prior to Petteway’s freshman campaign, which likely contributed to Petteway’s exodus from Lubbock.
And-Ones: Drummond, Price, Afflalo
Pistons owner Tom Gores gave Andre Drummond a vote of confidence during tonight’s contest against the Knicks, calling the big man a “max player,” David Mayo of MLive.com relays (Twitter link). Drummond, who is set to earn $3,272,091 next season, is eligible to ink an extension this summer, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the Pistons will offer him one, since the team would have the right to match any offer sheet the big man were to sign as a restricted free agent in 2016. Detroit could be wary of taking that chance given how the team is likely to lose Greg Monroe, who reportedly declined to ink an extension of his own with the club, as a free agent this summer, though that is merely my speculation.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Arron Afflalo will let his playoff performance dictate whether he picks up his $7.75MM player option for next season with the Blazers, as a source close to the swingman tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops that he’ll opt out if he plays well.
- One executive who spoke with Scotto for the same piece pegged Danny Green‘s value at $6MM a year. The Spurs swingman is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Ronnie Price indicated that his desire is to remain with the Lakers, even if it is as a third-string guard, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “I enjoyed being a voice in the locker room. I enjoyed being able to help younger guys. I helped great veterans that can help me. I’d be selfish not to extend that knowledge to players that are younger than me,” Price said. “Of course you want to play. That’s why we do what we do. You want to play. You never know what’s ahead. Whatever role is my role, I’ll embrace it whether it’s being here or the third guard.” Price will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
- Suns forward Markieff Morris believes that the team needs to add players with more experience to its roster, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic tweets. “Veteran leadership for sure,” Morris responded when asked about Phoenix’s needs. “We have to have more older guys around so we can keep this thing intact.“
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Sefolosha, Faverani, Pierce
Thabo Sefolosha said his right leg hurt following his arrest last week outside a New York nightclub, but he refused immediate treatment, a New York City Police Department spokesperson told Greg Hanlon of SI.com. Sefolosha’s attorney told Hanlon that he advised his client not to appear before a judge before he went to the hospital. The Hawks swingman suffered a season-ending broken fibula in the incident.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Former Celtics big man Vitor Faverani intends to use the NBA summer league to try and work himself into playing shape as he recovers from a knee injury, David Alarcón of HoopsHype.com relayed via Twitter (translation). If Faverani is unable to land an NBA deal he intends to play in Europe next season, Alarcón adds. Boston has been in contact with Faverani to check on the status of his balky knee, Alarcón notes.
- Paul Pierce backtracked a bit on the negative comments he made yesterday regarding his time with the Nets, Rachel Nichols of CNN.com relays (Twitter links). Pierce said that he regretted using the word “horrible” to describe his 2013/14 season in Brooklyn, but he did relay that the Wizards have more of a “family feel,” and that there is a distinct culture difference between the two organizations, Nichols notes.
- Goran Dragic said that the Heat missing the playoffs this season would not affect his opinion of the organization in regards to his pending free agency, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald tweets.
- The 28-year-old guard also indicated that he is more than open to re-signing with Miami this summer and that it might not be necessary to speak with other teams prior to inking a new deal, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes. “Of course,” Dragic said. “If you’re gonna find the same language, then it’s easy for everybody. It’s hard to talk about that right now. We’ll see. I need to sit down with my family and explore the options and see what option is the best, but the last two months that I was here [in Miami] was beautiful for me.”
2015/16 Salary Commitments: Jazz
With the NBA regular season ending tonight, teams are now focusing on their first round series or anxiously awaiting the draft lottery results. With the playoffs set to begin on Saturday, teams’ rosters are now essentially locked in for the remainder of the postseason. We at Hoops Rumors are in the process of taking a look ahead at each franchise’s salary cap situation heading into the summer, and the free agent frenzy that occurs every offseason. While the exact amount of the 2015/16 salary cap won’t be announced until July, the cap is projected to come in somewhere around $67.4MM, with the luxury tax threshold projected at approximately $81MM. This year’s $63.065MM cap represented an increase of 7.7% over 2013/14, which was well above the league’s projected annual increase of 4.5%.
We’ll continue onward by taking a look at the Jazz’s cap outlook for 2015/16:
Here are the players with guaranteed contracts:
- Trey Burke — $2,658,240
- Alec Burks — $9,463,484
- Dante Exum — $3,777,720
- Derrick Favors — $12MM
- Rudy Gobert — $1,175,880
- Rodney Hood — $1,348,440
- Gordon Hayward — $15,409,470
- Grant Jerrett — $947,276
Here are the players with non-guaranteed contracts:
- Trevor Booker — $4,775,000 ($250K Guaranteed)
- Jack Cooley — $845,059
- Bryce Cotton — $845,059
- Chris Johnson — $981,348
- Elijah Millsap — $845,059
Players with options:
- None
The Jazz’s Cap Summary for 2015/16:
- Guaranteed Salary: $46,730,510
- Options/Non-Guaranteed Salary: $8,041,525
- Total: $54,772,035
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Kristaps Porzingis To Enter NBA Draft
Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis will declare for the 2015 NBA draft, his agent Andy Miller, told Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required). The 19-year-old is a projected lottery pick, with Ford ranking him as the No. 5 overall prospect and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slotting him at No. 8.
Many NBA scouts and executives opine that Porzingis is the most gifted international player to come along in the past five years, Ford notes. “He’s an athletic, super-skilled seven-footer who can do everything well,” one GM told the ESPN scribe. “I was watching him warm up and had flashbacks to when I saw Pau Gasol take the floor for the first time in Spain, only this kid is much more athletic than Gasol but plays with that same fluidity. I’ve been asking my team since then: Are you sure he’s not the No. 1 guy? Are these guys in college really better than him?”
Another long-time international scout told Ford, “He’s my favorite player in this draft. I keep telling my staff: This one is not like other international players. He’s the real deal. He’s special in all the ways a player can be special. He just needs to get stronger. That’s it. He’s going to be a big-time pro.”
Porzingis is averaging 10.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and is shooting 33% from 3-point range in 21 minutes per contest for Baloncesto Sevilla in the Spanish ACB. His numbers are superior in Eurocup play, with the big man logging 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and shooting 46% from beyond the arc.