And-Ones: Martin, Boatright, Vaughn
LSU big man Jarell Martin has a mid-first-round draft promise from a team and will likely shut down all workouts, league sources have informed Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Martin is currently the No. 29 ranked prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots the 21-year-old as the 41st best player in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Here’s more from around the league:
- UConn point guard Ryan Boatright told Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links (Twitter link) that the Clippers, Blazers, and Nets are high on him as a potential draftee. Boatright worked out for Portland earlier this week, is in Los Angeles today, and has a workout scheduled with Brooklyn on Monday.
- Duke point guard Tyus Jones has a workout scheduled for Wednesday with the Bulls, a second workout for the Rockets on Friday, and a showcase for the Suns on June 22nd, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. You can view our full prospect profile for Jones here.
- With the free agent signing period looming on the horizon, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) runs down the ideal free agent fits for teams in the Eastern Conference. Doolittle didn’t neglect the other half of the league, you can view his thoughts on the Western Conference here.
- UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn has a workout scheduled for today with the Hawks, and will show the Timberwolves what he is capable of this Monday, Jon Krawczysnki of The Associated Press relays.
- Greg Whittington has taken an unorthodox path to the NBA thus far, and the former Georgetown Hoya hopes to overcome his injury woes and hear his name called on draft night, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes.“He’s kind of chosen a difficult path but he has some talent,” said Austin Ainge, the Celtics’ director of player personnel. “So we thought we’d check him out.” A torn ACL ended the big man’s college career, and saw him play in the NBA D-League last season for Westchester, the Knicks‘ affiliate, Blakely adds. “Feeling good,” Whittington said when asked about his recovery. “The knee is better now. It’s been two years since I played. Getting back into this is big.”
Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag 6/7/15-6/13/15
In addition to our weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap, or the NBA draft? Drop me a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com or @EddieScarito on Twitter. Now for this week’s inquiries:
“What changed LaMarcus Aldridge‘s mind about potentially playing in San Antonio, and is Dallas the favorite to land him?” — Kyle
The first thing to keep in mind is that Aldridge has never come out an expressly indicated that he wanted to play for a Texas team, which obviously includes San Antonio. So it’s possible that nothing at all has actually changed. But if Aldridge has actually soured on the idea of signing with the Spurs, it likely revolves around the statuses of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. If the two are intending to play for another season it would make it extremely difficult for the Spurs to offer a max contract to Aldridge, which would almost certainly be a deal breaker. And if the duo were to retire, then San Antonio enters a rebuilding phase, regardless of whether or not Kawhi Leonard is re-signed. I don’t think Aldridge is too keen at this point in his career to struggle to make the playoffs in the brutal Western Conference.
The Mavs also have their drawbacks, and quite a bit of the roster is unsettled heading into the 2015/16 campaign. So it’s difficult to label them the favorites, but if Aldridge is determined to return to Texas on his next deal, I’d still give them the edge. Aldridge won’t be trying to replace a legend like Duncan, and the Mavs have a bit more flexibility this summer to revamp their roster than San Antonio does.
“With the Clippers looking to buy their way into the first round of the NBA draft, who should they look to select?” — Richard
The Clippers have a number of needs, and the most pressing is a starting small forward. It’s doubtful that Los Angeles would be able to find such a player at the end of the first round, which is likely where the team would be able to land a pick. If by some miracle a player like Rondae Hollis-Jefferson fell that far, then that would make things easy. But that’s almost assuredly not going to occur. Virginia’s Justin Anderson would also be a prime target, but I’m not so sure the Clippers can acquire a pick high enough to land him.
The team also badly needs to add some depth in the middle even if DeAndre Jordan is re-signed. If he departs, and I do think that he will, then the Clippers will need to land a big in the worst way. The team could take a chance on Robert Upshaw, who has a myriad of red flags, but mid-first round talent. If not Upshaw, then perhaps Dakari Johnson, Christian Wood, or Jordan Mickey could fit the bill at the tail end of the first round, or early in the second.
“Would trading down in the draft really be the best move for the Knicks?” — Scottie
That depends on the circumstances and how far down the team were to slide in the first round to make a deal. If the team isn’t in love with any of its options with the No. 4 overall pick, and Phil Jackson were able to score a decent return, then it’s something to consider. New York has a myriad of holes that need to be filled, so I can understand the temptation to turn one pick into a few.
But the NBA isn’t like the NFL, and finding value late in the first round or anywhere in the second round is no easy task. If the team could remain in the top eight this year and score a 2016 first-rounder, that might be worth rolling the dice on. But the Knicks need building blocks, not role-players. Trading away a potential star player for a number of lesser pieces won’t excite the fanbase, nor will it turn around the team’s fortunes in any meaningful way. So I say keep the pick and try to strike gold. Praying one of the teams picking ahead of the Knicks passes on Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, or D’Angelo Russell so one slips to No. 4 wouldn’t hurt matters either.
“Which new coach will have the greatest amount of success next season?” — Andrew
There are different measures of success. But if you are referring simply to winning percentage and playoff success, then I would have to go with Billy Donovan and the Thunder. Any team with Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, and Serge Ibaka on its roster has a better than average chance of making the playoffs. Health permitting of course. But if Durant can stay on the court next season, then I fully expect OKC to make the playoffs and have the potential to make some noise once it gets there.
Fred Hoiberg should also do well in Chicago with the Bulls, but that is an aging roster that will always play under the looming shadow of an injury ready to strike. The Bulls probably blew their best shot to make it to the NBA Finals this season, which is one of the reasons that Tom Thibodeau got his walking papers. I don’t see the team making huge strides next season, though revamping the offense should make the Bulls more entertaining to watch.
The remainder of the new head coaches enter rebuilding situations, and I don’t think the coaching changes will markedly turn things around for any of those franchises in 2015/16. However, I am excited to see what Alvin Gentry‘s faster paced offense will do for the Pelicans. But that team is still a few players away from being able to contend in the West.
That’s all the space that I have for this week’s column. Thanks for continuing to fill up my inbox with inquiries, and I’ll be back next week with more responses.
Central Notes: Kaminsky, Pistons, Pacers
According to a source close to Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky, the big man has a list of three teams that he believes would be a good fit for him, and the Pacers are one of those squads, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star relays. “They kind of alluded to the fact that they want to get up and down more, get out and run a little bit more but at the same time under control,” Kaminsky said after his meeting with the Pacers at the draft combine. “That’s kind of how it was for me my last year in Wisconsin, so I think it’ll be a good fit.” It’s Indiana’s desire to switch to a more up-tempo offense that has the team reportedly hoping that incumbent big man Roy Hibbert will opt out of his $15.514MM player option for the 2015/16 campaign.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- The Pacers have workouts scheduled on Sunday for Corey Hawkins (UC Davis), Darrun Hilliard (Villanova), Kaminsky, T.J. McConnell (Arizona), D.J. Newbill (Penn State), and Myles Turner (Texas), the team announced.
- With four trades completed since October, the Pistons‘ front office combination of president/coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower is proving itself to be quite active and willing to gamble, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
- The acquisition of Ersan Ilyasova by the Pistons is intended to help center Andre Drummond unlock his enormous potential, Ellis writes in a separate piece. Ilyasova is a stretch four, and his outside shooting should provide space for Drummond’s rolls to the rim for alley-oop dunks off passes from point guard Reggie Jackson, who will be another beneficiary of Ilyasova’s career 37% three-point shooting drawing the attention of defenses, Eillis adds.
2015/16 Roster Counts: Houston Rockets
During the offseason it’s OK for teams to carry as many as 20 players, but clubs must trim their rosters down to a maximum of 15 by opening night. In the meantime, some teams will hang around that 15-man line, while others will max out their roster counts. Some clubs may actually have more than 15 contracts that are at least partially guaranteed on the books. That means they’ll end up paying players who won’t be on the regular season roster, unless they can find trade partners.
With plenty more movement still to come, here’s the latest look at the Rockets’ roster size, the contract guarantee status of each player, and how each player came to be on Houston’s roster.
(Last Updated 3-9-16, 6:00pm)
Fully Guaranteed (15)
- Trevor Ariza (F) — 6’8″/29 years old. Acquired via sign-and-trade from Wizards.
- Michael Beasley (F) — 6’9″/27 years old. Free agent signing.
- Patrick Beverley (G) — 6’1″/26 years old. Free agent signing.
- Corey Brewer (G/F) — 6’9″/29 years old. Acquired via trade with Timberwolves.
- Clint Capela (F/C) — 6’10″/21 years old. Drafted with No. 25 overall pick in 2014.
- Sam Dekker (F) — 6’9″/21 years old. Drafted with the No. 18 overall pick in 2015.
- Andrew Goudelock (G) — 6’3″/27 years old. Free agent signing.
- James Harden (G) — 6’5″/25 years old. Acquired via trade with Thunder.
- Montrezl Harrell (F) — 6’8″/21 years old. Drafted with the No. 32 overall pick in 2015.
- Dwight Howard (C) — 6’11″/29 years old. Free agent signing.
- Terrence Jones (F) — 6’9″/23 years old. Drafted with No. 18 overall pick in 2012.
- K.J. McDaniels (G/F) — 6’6″/22 years old. Acquired via trade with Sixers.
- Donatas Motiejunas (F) — 7’0″/24 years old.
- Josh Smith (F) — 6’9″/29 years old. Acquired via trade with Clippers.
- Jason Terry (G) — 6’2″/37 years old. Free agent signing.
10-Day Contracts (0)
- None
TOTAL ROSTER COUNT (15)
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Wizards, Johnson
The Knicks‘ hope that either Duke big man Jahlil Okafor or Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell will still be on the board when the team picks at No. 4 isn’t likely to pan out, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. According to a league source, the Sixers, who pick third, still have a firm top three of Karl-Anthony Towns, Russell, and Okafor, and Philly won’t let any of that trio slip past them, Berman notes. There is also little chance of New York gambling on Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis, who dazzled scouts during his Friday showcase, the Post scribe adds. “The body’s a long way off so he’s couple of years away from impact,’’ one NBA scout said of Porzingis. “He’s going to look great in a workout but he’s a young European who hasn’t played much. Too much risk at [No.] 4 for the Knicks.’’
Here’s more out of the NBA’s Eastern Conference:
- The Pistons have workouts scheduled today for Sam Dekker (Wisconsin), Le’Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State), Dustin Hogue (Iowa State), and LaDontae Henton (Providence), the team announced (on Twitter).
- Working out for the Wizards on Monday will be Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington), Rashad Madden (Arkansas), Jarell Martin (LSU), Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Jordan Sibert (Dayton), and Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), the team announced.
- The Knicks‘ scheduled workout for Arizona forward Stanley Johnson, who I recently profiled, was moved from Friday to today, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. New York has also been trying to bring in Murray State point guard Cameron Payne, who is suddenly a hot commodity, for a showcase, but the two sides have been unable to agree on a date, Begley adds.
Hoops Rumors Originals 6/7/15-6/13/15
Here’s a look at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week…
- Dana Gauruder previewed the Magic’s offseason.
- Zach Links interviewed NBA first round draft prospect Kevon Looney.
- We released the latest version of our NBA Mock Draft.
- I profiled Arizona forward Stanley Johnson, a first round draft prospect.
- Chuck Myron updated us on the status of player option decisions.
- I ran down the current 2015/16 roster counts for the Bulls, Hornets, Mavs, Cavaliers, Nuggets, Warriors, and Pistons.
- Chuck took a look at the offseason ahead for the Heat and the Nuggets.
- If you missed the week’s live chat you can view the transcript here.
- I answered reader questions in Hoops Rumors’ Weekly Mailbag.
- Zach highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- We debuted our new feature, Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround, where we provide a forum for readers to voice their opinions on trending topics.
- Here’s how you can follow specific players on Hoops Rumors.
- In a reader poll we asked which contender would land the Nuggets’ head coaching position. The results were closely divided between Mike D’Antoni, Melvin Hunt, and Michael Malone.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
Week In Review 6/7/15-6/13/15
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association will open negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement in August. This is well in advance of a December 2016 deadline that both sides face to inform the other if they intend to opt out of the existing CBA after the 2016/17 season. An opt out from one side or the other has long been expected. The sides will discuss how to split a flood of new revenue from the $24 billion TV deal the league struck with its media partners this fall, among other matters. Union head Michele Roberts has taken an aggressive tack since being hired last summer, with the recent bombshell having been the revelation that the union will apparently exercise its rarely used right to independently audit five teams this summer. Adam Silver, who’ll be in the role of commissioner during CBA talks for the first time, has raised the notion that the league would push for a hard salary cap, among other measures sure to meet with union resistance.
Here’s a look back at the rest of the week that was…
Trades
- The Pistons acquired Ersan Ilyasova from the Bucks in exchange for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams. Butler expects that Milwaukee will waive him.
2015 NBA Draft News/Rumors
- French forward Alpha Kaba is expected to withdraw his name from the draft.
- The Knicks are reportedly involved in active discussions to acquire a late first round or early second round pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
- Second-round draft prospect Nedim Buza has signed with Oostende of Belgium. Buza’s deal runs three years with an option for a fourth, though it’s unclear whether it’s a team, player or mutual option.
- German forward Paul Zipser intends to withdraw from this year’s draft.
- You can keep up with all of the scheduled and completed player workouts and interviews here.
Coaching News/Rumors
- Michael Malone landed a second interview with the Nuggets for their head coaching vacancy. Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool has also interviewed for the post.
- The Jazz hired Hawks strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watkinson as an assistant coach.
- The Kings have added John Welch and Chad Iske as assistants on George Karl‘s coaching staff.
- Robert Pack has signed on to be an assistant on the staff of new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry.
- Adrian Griffin is being considered for a spot on Scott Skiles‘ coaching staff with the Magic.
- The L.A. D-Fenders, the Lakers‘ D-League affiliate, named Conner Henry as the team’s new head coach.
News/Rumors
- The Cavaliers announced that point guard Kyrie Irving suffered a fractured left kneecap during the first game of the NBA Finals, and he underwent surgery to repair the damage and will be out of action for a minimum of three to four months.
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro accepted an offer to join the Nuggets front office. He’ll work in a supporting role under team president Josh Kroenke with both the Nuggets and the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche.
- The Warriors and Harrison Barnes share a mutual interest in a contract extension.
- Draft-and-stash prospect Nikola Jokic reportedly has his sights set on joining the Nuggets next season.
- The Rockets will reportedly exercise their team option to keep Kostas Papanikolaou under contract for next season.
- Eric Gordon is reportedly leaning toward picking up his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans for next season.
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge’s quest to acquire Kevin Love has reportedly cooled off a bit, though Ainge still has an interest in the big man.
- The Mavericks will look at avenues of ridding themselves of Raymond Felton‘s salary of more than $3.95MM for next season in an effort to clear flexibility to re-sign Al-Farouq Aminu.
- The Guangdong Southern Tigers have reportedly given Will Bynum a standing offer to return to China on a three-year deal.
- The Mavericks are reportedly the “biggest threat” to sign LaMarcus Aldridge away from the Trail Blazers this summer.
- Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby will move into a role as senior adviser and GM Ryan McDonough will become the team’s head of basketball operations on August 1st.
- The Lakers are likely to retain Robert Sacre past June 30th, when his non-guaranteed salary becomes fully guaranteed.
- Andrei Kirilenko is expected to retire this offseason.
- The Bulls, Mavericks, Pacers and Magic have expressed interest in signing point guard Aaron Jackson, who plays for Russia’s CSKA Moscow.
- The Jazz are reportedly expected to make an active pursuit of soon-to-be free agent Paul Millsap this summer.
- The Bucks have grand designs for the summer ahead and plan a hard push to sign at least one of Brook Lopez and Tyson Chandler.
- The Sixers are reportedly in talks with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes to bring 2014 draftee Dario Saric to the NBA next season.
Western Notes: Calathes, Jazz, McCullough
Grizzlies guard Nick Calathes has insisted that he prefers to remain in the NBA, but rumors continue to signal that his camp is soliciting his services overseas, as David Pick of Eurobasket.com hears that he’s seeking a $3.5MM annual salary from international clubs (Twitter link). Calathes can become a restricted free agent this summer if Memphis tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,147,276.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Jazz have two sets of workouts scheduled for tomorrow, the team announced (Twitter links). The first group consists of Jonathan Holmes (Texas), Gabriel Olaseni (Iowa), Charles Jackson (Tennessee Tech), Kenneth Smith (Louisiana Tech), J.J. O’Brien (San Diego State), and Marcus Thornton (William and Mary).
- The second group working out for the Jazz on Saturday will be comprised of Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Trey Lyles (Kentucky), Olivier Hanlan (Boston College), Mouhammadou Jaiteh (France), Cady Lalanne (UMass), and Myles Turner (Texas).
- The Mavericks brought in Syracuse forward Chris McCullough for an interview on Thursday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
- The Thunder will bring in Tennessee swingman Josh Richardson on Saturday as part of a group workout, Scotto relays (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
2015/16 Roster Counts: Golden State Warriors
During the offseason it’s OK for teams to carry as many as 20 players, but clubs must trim their rosters down to a maximum of 15 by opening night. In the meantime, some teams will hang around that 15-man line, while others will max out their roster counts. Some clubs may actually have more than 15 contracts that are at least partially guaranteed on the books. That means they’ll end up paying players who won’t be on the regular season roster, unless they can find trade partners.
With plenty more movement still to come, here’s the latest look at the Warriors’ roster size, the contract guarantee status of each player, and how each player came to be on Golden State’s roster.
(Last Updated 2-22-16, 1:15pm)
Fully Guaranteed (15)
- Leandro Barbosa (G) — 6’3″/32 years old. Free agent signing.
- Harrison Barnes (F) — 6’8″/23 years old. Drafted with No. 7 overall pick in 2012.
- Andrew Bogut (C) — 7’0″/32 years old. Acquired via trade with Bucks.
- Ian Clark (G) — 6’3″/24 years old. Free agent signing.
- Stephen Curry (G) — 6’3″/27 years old. Drafted with No. 7 overall pick in 2009.
- Festus Ezeli (C) — 6’11″/25 years old. Drafted with No. 30 overall pick in 2012.
- Draymond Green (F) — 6’7″/25 years old. Drafted with No. 35 overall pick in 2012.
- Andre Iguodala (G/F) — 6’6″/31 years old. Acquired via sign-and-trade from Nuggets.
- Shaun Livingston (G) — 6’7″/29 years old. Free agent signing.
- Kevon Looney (F) — 6’9″/19 years old. Drafted with No. 30 overall pick in 2015.
- James Michael McAdoo (F) — 6’9″/22 years old. Free agent signing.
- Brandon Rush (G) — 6’6″/29 years old. Free agent signing.
- Marreese Speights (F/C) — 6’10″/27 years old. Free agent signing.
- Klay Thompson (G) — 6’7″/25 years old. Drafted with No. 11 overall pick in 2011.
- Anderson Varejao (C) — ’11″/33 years old. Free agent signing.
10-Day Contracts (0)
- None
TOTAL ROSTER COUNT (15)
Pacific Notes: Divac, West, Clippers
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive tried to bring Vlade Divac in as a goodwill ambassador and basketball adviser last year, but GM Pete D’Alessandro and adviser Chris Mullin mounted strong opposition that derailed the move, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. Of course, Ranadive brought Divac this year to head the basketball operations department, bumping the now-Nuggets-bound D’Alessandro from that role.
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers will hold workouts on Saturday for Aaron White (Iowa), David Kravish (California), Treveon Graham (VCU), Julian Washburn (UTEP), Quinn Cook (Duke), and Ryan Boatright (UConn), Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times relays (Twitter links).
- While they don’t currently possess any picks in this year’s NBA Draft, the Clippers will look to acquire a second round pick on draft night, Arash Markazi of ESPN.com tweets.
- Warriors adviser Jerry West threatened to resign last offseason if the team went ahead and dealt Klay Thompson in exchange for Kevin Love, Chris Ballard of SI.com writes in his profile of West. West predicted that Thompson’s defense would improve, and that the pairing of he and Stephon Curry would give Golden State a Hall of Fame backcourt for the next decade, Ballard adds.
- The Lakers will bring in St. John’s guard Phil Greene as part of a group workout on Saturday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (via Twitter).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.