Nuggets, Magic Plan To Target Billy Donovan
The Nuggets and Magic plan to target Billy Donovan among other candidates in their respective offseason coaching searches, and the University of Florida coach has an increasing desire to jump to the NBA, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. It’s likely that other teams that make coaching changes this year will go after him, too, Stein adds. Rick Pitino, a longtime Donovan confidant, said on ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike show today that he believes Donovan feels the pull of the pro game, backing up a growing sentiment around the league that he’s ready to pounce on the right NBA opportunity, according to Stein.
“I don’t recommend it for college coaches to do that unless they know what it’s all about,” Pitino said. “I take someone like Billy Donovan. I think Billy has looked at it, I think he has an urge to coach in the NBA — a strong desire to coach in the NBA — and would like to try it, very similar to Brad Stevens, who is doing a wonderful job with the Celtics. I think people like that with that type of personality will do very well. … If Billy doesn’t do well, he can go back to college. Brad Stevens can go back to college. When you get to be our age, Tom [Izzo] and my age, where are you going back to? The McBurney’s YMCA on 37th Street or 34th Street? If you’re happy where you’re at, it’s a good place to stay.”
Donovan this past December signed a deal that extended his contract with the Gators through 2020 and lifted his average annual salaries from $3.7MM to slightly more than $4MM, according to Kevin Brockway of The Gainesville Sun. He can escape the contract, which makes him the fifth most well-paid coach in college basketball, with a buyout of just $500K, though a one-month window to leave Florida for free just lapsed, as Brockway details. Donovan’s contract didn’t allow him any NBA outs from 2007/08 through 2012/13, a penance for having briefly left the school to take the Magic coaching job in 2007, when he quickly reneged on that decision, as Stein points out.
Donovan indicated this past May that he wouldn’t rule out coaching in the NBA someday, shortly after he said that he had contact with a couple of NBA teams last year. Reports indicated those were the Cavaliers and the Timberwolves, who, according to Stein, made “serious overtures.” Donovan’s Gators went an uncharacteristic 16-17 this season, a year after a Final Four appearance. The coach, who turns 50 next month, has a history of producing high-level NBA talent. No college has produced a greater number of NBA players presently making $10MM or more per year than Florida has, as we pointed out last month, and all of them played for Donovan.
Update On Traded 2015 First-Round Picks
The regular season is down to its final two weeks, and as teams clinch playoff spots and seedings, the draft order is solidifying in much the same way. The final order won’t be set until the NBA’s draft lottery on May 19th, but plenty will be determined by the end of the regular season. That includes the fate of some of the traded first round picks that have protection attached to them.
The Rockets have clinched a playoff berth, which means the Lakers have clinched the rights to Houston’s first-round pick this year. Similarly, it’s already mathematically impossible for the Celtics to receive the first-round picks that could have come their way from the Sixers and Timberwolves, and the Nuggets won’t be getting the Grizzlies’ pick this year.
Likely outcomes are apparent for all but two of the protected first-round picks that were liable to change hands this year, though the Sixers are the would-be beneficiaries of two picks that remain squarely in limbo. The next two weeks will determine whether Oklahoma City’s pick goes to Philadelphia, and the same is true for the Heat’s pick if they make the playoffs. If Miami doesn’t, the lottery will likely decide whether Philly gets that pick.
Our Reverse Standings help you follow the action on a day-by-day basis. The protection attached to each pick that has been traded is outlined at the bottom of the standings. Today, as we’ve done a few times since the start of the season, we’re taking a closer look. The traded first-round picks that involve protection are listed below and categorized by the relative likelihood of the picks going from team to team.
Tossups
Team: Thunder (42-33)
Pick traded to: Sixers
Protection: Top 18
Current position: tied for 18th
Team: Heat (34-40)
Pick traded to: Sixers
Protection: Top 10
Current position: tied for 15th
Traded picks likely to change hands:
Team: Pelicans (40-34)
Pick traded to: Rockets
Protection: Top 3 and 20-30
Current position: 14th
Traded picks that will change hands:
Team: Rockets (51-24)
Pick traded to: Lakers
Protection: Top 14
Current position: tied for 27th
Traded picks likely to stay put:
Team: Mavericks (46-29)
Pick traded to: Celtics
Protection: Top 3 and 15-30
Current position: 22nd
Team: Kings (26-48)
Pick traded to: Bulls
Protection: Top 10
Current position: 6th
Team: Lakers (20-54)
Pick traded to: Sixers
Protection: Top 5
Current position: 4th
Traded picks that will stay put:
Team: 76ers (18-58)
Pick traded to: Celtics
Protection: Top 14
Current position: 3rd
Team: Timberwolves (16-59)
Pick traded to: Celtics
Protection: Top 12
Current position: 2nd
Team: Grizzlies (51-24)
Pick traded to: Nuggets
Protection: Top 5 and 15-30
Current position: tied for 27th
Additional notes:
- The Clippers will send their first-round pick to the Celtics regardless of finish, since there’s no protection on the pick. It’s the No. 26 selection as it stands now.
- The Hawks have the right to swap picks with the Nets, and since Atlanta has already clinched a better record than Brooklyn, the exchange is set to take place. Brooklyn, which is currently tied for the 15th spot in the draft order, is poised to send that pick to Atlanta, which occupies the 29th spot.
- The Heat’s pick is listed in the tossups category even though there’s a five-spot difference between their position and the protected range because they’re separated from the Hornets, who are in the 10th spot, by only two games. By contrast, the Lakers are likely to keep their top-five protected pick even though they have only the fourth worst record because their 20-54 mark is six games worse than the 26-48 mark that the Kings, current occupants of the No. 6 spot, have compiled.
- To see what happens to traded picks that aren’t conveyed this year, check out the database of traded picks by round that Mark Porcaro compiled for Hoops Rumors. It runs down the protection on each pick through 2021.
Kings Sign Sim Bhullar To 10-Day Contract
THURSDAY, 11:01am: The deal is official, the Kings announced.
WEDNESDAY, 1:23pm: The Kings are about to sign Sim Bhullar to a 10-day contract, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). He’ll be the first NBA player from India, as Stein points out, and he’ll play for a team with the league’s first Indian owner, Vivek Ranadive. The Kings have been hoping that the massive 7’5″ center’s conditioning would improve so that they could see fit to bring him aboard, as Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee recently wrote. Sacramento has a full 15-man roster, but David Wear is on the last day of his 10-day contract.
Bhullar, like Wear, was with Sacramento during the preseason, and they both spent most of the year with Sacramento’s D-League affiliate. Bhullar has averaged 10.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 25.5 minutes per game. He’s seen only 6.0 field goal attempts per game in the D-League team’s go-go offense, which helps explain a scoring output that’s below what most NBA-level prospects put up against D-League competition.
Scoring wasn’t his strong point in college, as the 22-year-old went undrafted out of New Mexico State last year, but he used his size to his advantage, recording 3.4 blocks per game for the Aggies last season. He’s swatted even more shots during his time in the D-League, averaging 3.8 BPG.
Atlantic Notes: Garnett, Robinson, Datome
Nets players aren’t saying so on the record, but they’re a looser, happier bunch since the team traded Kevin Garnett at the deadline, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. It’s an odd juxtaposition, since the Timberwolves made it clear that they brought him in with the idea that he’d be a positive influence on their locker room. The Nets, though they have a number of young pieces, are more a team of veterans than the Wolves are, so that seems as plausible an explanation as any for the split opinions. While the KG-less Nets look to secure a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, here’s more from their Atlantic Division rivals:
- Thomas Robinson has bounced around quite a bit since he became the No. 5 overall pick in 2012, but with unrestricted free agency looming in the summer, he hopes he’s found his niche with the Sixers, and he tells Andy Jasner of Sixers.com that he’s “all in” with the team. “I’m getting a lot of minutes and the coaching staff has shown incredible trust in me,” Robinson said. “I know we haven’t won a lot of games here, but I’m getting my chance. To get this kind of opportunity is a great feeling. I want to be as consistent as possible and hopefully be able to stay here for the long term.”
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was unsure a month ago of how soon-to-be free agent Gigi Datome fit into the team, but it sounds at this point like coach Brad Stevens is sold, notes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. “He’s our best shooter, and one of the better shooters I’ve seen,” Stevens said. “I hope we can continue to find opportunities for him, because he’s earned that. I really like him. I’m in his corner, and I’ve had that conversation with all of our people in the front office as well.”
- Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel clarified earlier remarks he made about Ish Smith that seemed to serve as an indictment of Michael Carter-Williams, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer relays. “Nah, I’d never do that,” Noel said of the idea he would take a cut at his former teammate. “He’s a playmaker. There are times when you need a scoring point guard that’s going to get in the lane, create and make scoring opportunities.” Noel’s numbers are up since the team traded Carter-Williams at the deadline and claimed Smith off waivers two days later, Pompey notes.
Chris McCullough Plans To Enter Draft
Syracuse freshman power forward Chris McCullough plans to enter this year’s draft, sources tell Shams Charania of RealGM. That’s somewhat of a surprise, since McCullough tore his ACL in January. Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists him as the 43rd-best prospect, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress is already looking ahead to 2016 for him, listing him 21st in his mock draft for that year.
McCullough’s apparent decision is reminiscent of Spencer Dinwiddie‘s choice to enter last year’s draft after suffering a torn ACL in January 2014. The Pistons took Dinwiddie 38th overall, and he’s averaged 13.4 minutes per game in 38 appearances for Detroit this season. Still, he was a junior in college and had a longer track record of success than McCullough has. McCullough was 19th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school, but he failed to average double figures in points across 16 games with Syracuse before the injury, notching 9.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28.1 minutes per contest.
The 20-year-old began the season with a more prominent role than he was playing at the time of his injury, and his best performance probably came in November against eventual NCAA Tournament No. 7 seed Iowa, when he had 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Syracuse and coach Jim Boeheim have a long track record of producing NBA players, though the recent big men to come out of the school haven’t been stellar, with Hakim Warrick, Fab Melo, Donte Greene and Arinze Onuaku perhaps the most prominent names.
Draft Notes: Jackson, Towns, Okafor
Draft decisions among underclassmen have been coming at a fast pace this week, and we’re tracking all of them with this post. The draft is still nearly three months away, but there’s plenty of focus on it already around the league. Here’s the latest:
- North Carolina freshman small forward Justin Jackson will remain in school rather than enter the draft this year, as he revealed via Instagram (hat tip to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress). Chad Ford of ESPN.com had him listed as the 37th best prospect, though he indicated in a chat with readers Wednesday that he was in line to go in the late first round. Givony already has him slotted at No. 19 on his 2016 mock, so it looks like he stands to gain from another year with the Tar Heels.
- Karl-Anthony Towns has surpassed Jahlil Okafor as the top prospect in Ford’s and Givony’s rankings, but It’s not as if Towns has become the consensus top pick amongst NBA teams, Ford also writes in the chat. A slight majority of teams have Towns on top, according to Ford, and scouts are “praying” that Kentucky and Duke meet in the NCAA final so the two can match up. It’ll probably come down to which player is better in the context of the team picking first, Ford believes.
- An NBA executive who spoke with Zach Braziller of the New York Post agrees with the assessment that the choice between Okafor and Towns is a matter of which player is a better fit for the team with the No. 1 pick. Still, you couldn’t go wrong with either, the exec added.
Southeast Notes: Deng, Stephenson, Borrego
The Southeast Division currently has three teams owning playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. If the playoffs started tomorrow, the Hawks would play a series against the Nets. The Wizards would play the Bulls, who they knocked out of the playoffs last postseason. The Heat would play the Cavs in a series that would give Miami a chance to become the first Eastern Conference team to knock a LeBron James-led team out of the playoffs since the Celtics in 2010.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Luol Deng said he likes playing for Miami and hasn’t thought about whether he will exercise his player option worth slightly more than $10.1MM for next season, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes. The Heat have roughly $42.9MM in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2015/16 season, as our salary cap breakdown shows. That figure does not include player options for Deng, Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic as well as a team option for Michael Beasley. If the team retains its starting backcourt, Miami will most likely be over the projected $67.4MM salary cap. If Deng declines his option and departs from Miami, it would leave the Heat with a huge void on the wing and limited resources to replace the 29-year-old.
- Hornets coach Steve Clifford reiterated that he was the strongest advocate for signing Lance Stephenson last offseason, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter links). “Lance is here because of me. I’m the one who wanted Lance,” Clifford said. Stephenson has recorded a DNP-Coach’s Decision in each of Charlotte’s last two games.
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel chronicles coach James Borrego‘s time in the organization and wonders if he could remain the coach of the Magic long-term. Orlando is currently 22-53 on the season, good for fifth place in our Reverse Standings.
Pacific Notes: Clarkson, Crawford, Len
The Lakers believe they have a potential All-Star in Jordan Clarkson, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles News writes. “The more he gains experience, he will learn the pace of the game, how to slow it down and use his speed when he has to do so,”coach Byron Scott said. “His ceiling is pretty high.” Clarkson will make roughly $845K next season, although his salary is non-guaranteed.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Jamal Crawford is nearing a return to the court, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com reports. If the shooting guard continues to progress the plan is for Crawford to play against the Lakers on April 7th, according to Markazi. The 35-year-old has missed the last 14 games because of a calf injury and it was previously reported that there was a chance he wouldn’t return at all this season.
- Alex Len is expected to miss a week because of a broken nose, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. Len should only miss two games, but the team doesn’t have an easy path to add a free agent big man if they find it necessary. The Suns currently have a 15-man roster, after inking Jerel McNeal to a 10-day contract earlier today. Phoenix is four and a half games behind Oklahoma City for the eighth seed in the conference with seven games remaining.
- Eric Bledsoe started more games this season than in his first four seasons combined and the team believes he is still getting acclimated to the increase in playing time, writes Paul Coro in a separate piece. “Sometimes, you just don’t have the energy. We ask him to do a lot defensively and offensively. The great players will do it and they’ll bring it every night. He’s on that verge,” coach Jeff Hornacek said. Bledsoe has played 2.1 more minutes per game since the Suns dealt Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas at this year’s deadlines.
Eastern Notes: Napier, Lopez, Tavares
Shabazz Napier underwent successful surgery to repair a sports hernia, the Heat announced. The point guard is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season, though no mention was made about Napier’s availability for the playoffs, should Miami hold onto its postseason spot. The Heat currently hold a half game lead over the Nets for the seventh seed in the East. In 51 appearances for the Heat as a rookie, Napier averaged 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports hears estimates that Brook Lopez would draw offers with annual salaries of $13-14MM in a new deal this summer if he turns down his player option, as Wojnarowski said in a radio appearance with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on WFAN-AM (transcription via NetsDaily). Lopez’s option with the Nets is worth more than $16.744MM, but a long-term deal would guarantee him more.
- A report Tuesday linked Brad Stevens to the University of Texas opening, but the idea that he’ll be coaching any team other than the Celtics anytime soon is far-fetched, as Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com explains. Stevens has indicated that he has no intentions of leaving Boston, flatly telling reporters today, “I’ll be in Boston,” as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com relays.
- The Hawks intend to bring 2014 draftee Edy Tavares, who is also known as Walter Tavares, to the NBA next season, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. Tavares’ deal with CB Gran Canaria contains NBA outs, Pick adds. The 7’3″ center was selected with the No. 43 pick in last year’s NBA draft.
- The Cavs have recalled guard Joe Harris from the Canton Charge, their D-League affiliate, the team has announced. Harris has played in nine games for the Charge this season, averaging 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 31.7 minutes per contest.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
2015/16 Salary Commitments: Thunder
With the NBA trade deadline passed, teams are focusing on locking down playoff spots or vying for a better chance in the draft lottery. Outside of the players who are added on 10-day deals, or those lucky enough to turn those auditions into long-term contracts, teams’ rosters are relatively set for the remainder of the season.
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 Thunder’s cap outlook for 2015/16…
Here are the players with guaranteed contracts:
- Steven Adams — $2,279,040
- D.J. Augustin — $3MM
- Nick Collison — $3,750,000
- Kevin Durant — $20,158,622
- Serge Ibaka — $12,350,000
- Perry Jones — $2,038,206
- Jeremy Lamb — $3,034,356
- Mitch McGary — $1,463,040
- Anthony Morrow — $3,344,000
- Steve Novak — $3,750,001
- Andre Roberson — $1,210,800
- Dion Waiters — $5,138,430
- Russell Westbrook — $16,744,218
Here are the players with non-guaranteed contracts:
- None
Players with options:
- None
The Thunder’s Cap Summary for 2015/16:
- Guaranteed Salary: $78,260,713
- Options/Non-Guaranteed Salary: $0
- Total: $78,260,713
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.