And-Ones: Nets, Rondo, Draft
There is no truth to the report that the Nets are among the teams interested in trading for Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica, tweets NetsDaily’s Robert Windrem, who cites league sources. The Wolves acquired the rights to Bjelica on draft night in 2010 after the Wizards made him the 35th overall pick. He has a contract with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker that runs out after next season, but an opt-out clause would allow him to join the NBA this summer. Earlier today, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities listed (in a tweet) the Mavericks, Spurs, Heat, Nets and Bulls as teams that would be interested in Bjelica, if he were made available.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe labels the Kings as a darkhorse team to land Rajon Rondo in free agency this summer, citing Sacramento’s need for a premiere point guard in a pivotal year for the franchise. Rondo spurned Sacramento the last time he was a free agent, as Washburn points out. However, Washburn adds, Rondo is close friends with Kings forward Rudy Gay, and that could make it a more desirable location this time around.
- Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders confirmed on SI.com’s Chris Mannix’s radio show that Kevin Garnett will be part of the draft process and will meet with in person and/or talk on the phone with players, Wolfson relays in a tweet.
- Former Arizona swingman Stanley Johnson believes that the Thunder are enamored with his versatility and added the team has scouted him since high school, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. “I think they think I’m the best two-way player in the draft,” Johnson said. “And that’s appealing to them, as it is to most people. They really like me.”
- Former Murray State point guard Cameron Payne will work out for the Knicks and Lakers, who both own top five picks in the draft, tweets Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, who cites a source.
- Darion Atkins, Wayne Blackshear, Marcus Burton, Michael Frazier, Terry Rozier and Matt Stainbrook all worked out for the Hornets, according to the team’s official website.
Hoops Links: LeBron, Pistons, Cavs
On this date in 1993, tragedy struck on the Autobahn when a car crash took the life of rising star Drazen Petrovic. Beloved from Zagreb, Croatia to East Rutherford, New Jersey for his willingness to shoot from anywhere on the court and infectious enthusiasm, Petrovic’s premature death shook the basketball world to its core.
Since it has been more than two decades since his passing, there are some readers of this website who were not old enough to remember Draz’s glory days in New Jersey and his impact on the game around the world. A good place to start for those of you who want to learn more about the Hall of Famer would be a viewing of the 30 for 30 production Once Brothers, which profiles the relationship between the Petro and Vlade Divac. Before you start watching that, let’s take a look at the best stuff from around the basketball blogosphere this week.
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…
- The Starting Five says LeBron James is the king of rock.
- Six Championship Drive looked at Joe Johnson as a trade target for the Pistons.
- Keep It Cavalier recapped Game 1.
- Hoop Trends caught up with former Mavs first-round pick Maurice Ager.
- Steve’s Stance gave a tip of the cap to Harrison Barnes.
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Legion Report looks at three keys to a Cavaliers Finals victory.
Please send submissions for Hoops Links to Zach at HoopsLinks@gmail.com.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Speights, Barbosa
With his ankle issues behind him, Stephen Curry‘s four-year, $44MM extension that he signed with the Warriors in the fall of 2012 is looking more and more team-friendly, writes Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com in a lengthy profile. The league’s Most Valuable Player missed only 10 games in the three years since and is making just a little more than $10.629MM on the backloaded deal. Improved coordination and balance with his hips has helped Curry stay on the court, Haberstroh explains after speaking with Keke Lyles, the Warriors’ director of athletic performance. Curry has added strength the past two years as well, which has helped him stay injury-free, Haberstroh adds. For example, Curry, who is listed at 190 pounds, can now deadlift 400 pounds, according to Lyles.
Here’s more out of Golden State:
- Without Kyrie Irving for the remainder of the finals, the Cavaliers are expected to increase the role of Matthew Dellavedova, who can become a restricted free agent this summer if Cleveland tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,147,276, and the Warriors are not underestimating the backup point guard, Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group writes. “We’re preparing for him to come out and all guns are blazing,” said Warriors center Andrew Bogut. “We need to make sure we’re ready for him because if we think this is going to be easy with Kyrie out, we’ve got another thing coming.”
- The Warriors’ second unit, comprised of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli and Leandro Barbosa, has allowed the team to use rotations of 10 and 11 players during the season and it gives them a big advantage over the injury-riddled Cavs in the finals, Jeff Faraudo of the Bay Area News Group writes. Barbosa and Speights, who have both played well off the bench, will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Barbosa has averaged seven points per game this season, while Speights has averaged 10.4 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Dwyane Wade Hints At Opting Out
Dwyane Wade, appearing on ABC’s pre-game show for Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight, hinted that his contract status won’t be decided by the end of this month, which is when he must decide whether to opt out of his $16.1MM salary for 2015/16 and become a free agent on July 1, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes. Wade, 33, has been with the Heat since they drafted him No. 5 overall in 2003.
“Listen, it’s summertime,” Wade said. “With summertime and free agency there’s gonna be a lot of talk. Right now I’m glad the Finals are going on. We’ll worry about that in July. This is our biggest showcase.”
Wade likely is seeking at least a three-year deal, even though he has not said that, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post writes. Wade is open to leaving the Heat this summer if the sides cannot agree, Lieser adds.
Wade averaged 21.5 points per game with 4.8 assists per game last season. He shot 47% from the field and was selected for his 11th straight All-Star Game. He has led the Heat to three championships.
Malone Gets Second Interview With Nuggets
Michael Malone has landed a second interview with the Nuggets for their head coaching vacancy, tweets ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, who cites sources. Stein also tweets that he expects Mike D’Antoni to secure a second interview with the team, and that interim coach Melvin Hunt remains firmly in the mix to keep the job on a full-time basis. It is not clear when Malone’s second interview with the Nuggets will take place.
The Nuggets initially interviewed Malone, primarily known as a defensive coach, on Tuesday. Malone was fired as coach of the Kings in December. Malone’s regular season coaching record with the Kings was 39-67.
Hunt reportedly emerged as the front-runner to land the job on a more permanent basis in late May. Denver interviewed D’Antoni, who is known for running up-tempo offenses, on Tuesday as well. The Nuggets received permission to interview Wizards assistant Don Newman, who has been an NBA assistant coach for 16 NBA seasons, on Thursday. It also appears Denver is in line to interview Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson. The Nuggets have the league’s only remaining coaching vacancy.
Cavs Notes: Varejao, James, Irving
A potential comeback during the NBA Finals by Anderson Varejao is extremely unlikely, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said late last month that Varejao could be activated during the Finals if the Cavaliers were in a dire situation. The 32-year-old center, who played in 26 regular-season games this season, has been sidelined since late December after tearing his left Achilles’ tendon.
In other news regarding the Cavs:
- LeBron James looks glum about the Cavs’ predicament of trying to win the NBA championship without Kyrie Irving, who underwent knee surgery on Saturday, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reports. The Warriors seem destined to win the NBA Finals against the depleted Cavs and Cleveland’s somber mood reflects that, Kawakami continues. “I said it’s going to be one of the most challenging seasons of my career from the beginning, and this just adds on to it,” James said to the media covering the Finals. “You know, we’re undermanned right now. But we’ve got guys in the locker room that are ready for the challenge, and we look forward to the challenge [Sunday] night.”
- J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson will have to ratchet up their production to overcome the loss of Irving, Jarrett Bell of USA Today opines. The Cavaliers’ role players must provide scoring options for James to have any hope of defeating the Warriors, Bell continues. James’ 38 shot attempts in Game 1 were a product of his teammates too often standing around and watching their franchise player rather than looking for open spaces, Bell adds.
- The raw data suggests the Cavs can be competitive without Irving or injured Kevin Love, Joe Vardon of Northeast Ohio Media Group points out. Cleveland outscored its opponent by 149 points in 545 minutes when James played without Irving and Love, including the postseason, Vardon adds. It did not matter much whether James was used as the primary ball-handler, on the wing or down low in those situations, according to Vardon.
Draft Notes: Kaba, Nuggets, Rozier
Alpha Kaba is expected to withdraw his name from the draft, sources informed NBADraft.net (Twitter link). The 6’10”, 19-year-old forward from France has participated in a number of NBA workouts in recent weeks, including the Celtics, Lakers and Sixers. Kaba, who is at the adidas Eurocamp this weekend, according to NBADraft.net, played for Espoirs Pau-Orthez in the French league last season and averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. Apparently, being ranked a second-round prospect was not enticing enough for him to leave Europe. Kaba is currently rated No. 42 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s list of Top 100 Draft Prospects and No. 44 by DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony.
In other news around the league:
- The Nuggets will hold a solo workout for Kentucky big man Willie Cauley-Stein on Monday, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports tweets. Denver owns the No. 7 overall selection in the draft and Cauley-Stein could be an intriguing frontcourt option to pair with either center Jusuf Nurkic or power forward Kenneth Faried. Cauley-Stein has already worked out for the Lakers, who hold the No. 2 pick, and is scheduled to work out with the Knicks on June 16.
- Louisville’s Terry Rozier has strengthened his status as a first-round pick, Spears reports in a separate tweet. As many as 17 teams have either worked out or are scheduled to work out Rozier, as we noted late last month. Ford has Rozier ranked No. 27 in his Top 100, putting him on the fringes of the first round, but the 6’2” point guard is rated as second-round material at No. 50 by Givony.
Northwest Notes: Hunter, Bjelica, Aldridge, Jazz
The Thunder could be the team to give Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter a chance to show he belongs in the NBA, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Hunter, best known for hitting a game-winning shot against Baylor in the NCAA Tournament, rejects any accusation that he got special treatment because he played for his father in college. “Every team asks about that,” Hunter said. “They ask me how I work. And I think it’s some correlation between work ethic and coaches’ sons because they think you’re given it all.” Mayberry contends that Hunter’s outside shooting prowess could make him attractive to the Thunder, who want to create more space for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
There’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Wolves will find plenty of suitors if they decide to trade power forward Nemanja Bjelica, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. He mentions the Mavericks, Spurs, Heat, Nets and Bulls as teams that would be interested and suggests there could be more. Minnesota acquired the rights to Bjelica on draft night in 2010 after Washington made him the 35th overall pick. He has a contract with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker that runs out after next season, but an opt-out clause would allow him to join the NBA this summer.
- If LaMarcus Aldridge leaves Portland, it will be because of the franchise’s poor postseason record, according to John Canzano of The Oregonian. The Blazers have only advanced beyond the first round once in Aldridge’s nine years with the team. Aldridge will become an unrestricted free agent July 1 and is expected to be among the hottest names on the market.
- The Jazz have six players scheduled for workouts Monday, tweets Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. On the list are Ryan Boatright, Dustin Hogue, Sir’Dominic Pointer, Norman Powell, Chasson Randle and Josh Richardson.
Atlantic Notes: Mudiay, Crowder, Raptors, Nets
Emmanuel Mudiay is on his way to New York as he tries to prove that he is worthy of a top four pick in the NBA Draft, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Mudiay, who worked out for the Lakers Saturday, is scheduled to undergo physicals and have dinner with Knicks‘ brass Monday, and then follow that with a formal workout Tuesday. After skipping last month’s combine in Chicago, Mudiay is trying to make an impression through individual workouts. He gets high marks from scouts as a penetrator, defender and passer, but they question his outside shot. “I think I can be a great player when it’s all said and done,” he said. “I’m just the type of player who loves to win and compete and whatever I have to do for the team to win.’’ Berman noted that the Knicks also have interest in Duke’s Justise Winslow, who will be working out tomorrow, and Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein, who is due in June 16th.
There’s more news from the Atlantic Division:
- Jae Crowder hopes to return to the Celtics, but not before testing the market, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. The restricted free agent, who made a little more than $915K last season, is currently rehabbing a knee injury he suffered late in the playoff series with Cleveland. Despite initial concerns that the injury might impact his free agent value, it turned out to be just a sprain and bone bruise. “Of course you want to find out what your value might be,” Crowder said. “Time will tell that. I’m talking to my people and others, and everything will eventually show. My worth will be revealed.”
- The Raptors are looking at former players to fill vacancies on their coaching staff, reports Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. One of the names mentioned is Jerry Stackhouse, whose tough-guy attitude might be perfect for getting through to some of the Raptors players, Smith writes.
- The Nets are still compiling their workout schedule, but Oregon’s Joseph Young and UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn have been confirmed, tweets NetsDaily.com. Brooklyn owns the 29th pick of the first round.
Central Notes: Pistons, Howard Jr., Middleton
Team President Stan Van Gundy believes the team’s hiring of Arn Tellem will help the franchise attract free agents, but that’s not the only reason that the former agent was added to the payroll, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press writes.
“It’s certainly an advantage that some of his guys probably have a high level of trust in him and great loyalty to him. I don’t think there’s any question about that. I think that could be some help, but I think that’s different from thinking Arn’s going to go out and use that relationship and be manipulative. I don’t see that,” Van Gundy said.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Juwan Howard Jr. worked out for the Pistons on Saturday, according to Terry Foster of The Detroit News. Although Howard Jr. is not expected to be drafted, Foster speculates that Detroit could sign him as an undrafted free agent. The scribe also suggests the Heat could bring him aboard because they employ his father.
- Khris Middleton would like to re-sign with Milwaukee this offseason, Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier writes. “We have a lot of great pieces with the Bucks,” Middleton said. “If we can stay together, we can do something special.” It was reported that Middleton could command an annual salary in the range of $13MM to $15MM.
- Devin Booker is definitely on the Bucks‘ radar, Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times writes. Booker met with the team during the pre-draft camp in Chicago. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors has the guard going to the Hornets with the No. 9 pick in his latest Mock Draft.