Atlantic Notes: Reed, Sixers, D-League
Sixers GM Sam Hinkie predicts that this coming offseason will be an active one for the franchise and will have a different feel from the previous few summers, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays. “It will feel different by the number of young players that are added to our team, the number of players out of the draft, and even the vibe around our team in free agency will have a different type of feel,” Hinkie said. The GM also remains hopeful that upper-tier free agents will view Philadelphia as a viable destination, Pompey adds. “I think the best players in the world have great options,” Hinkie told reporters. “They will continue to, and they will choose what’s best for them. But I think we will be able to provide opportunities for guys that will be interesting, too.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Power forward Willie Reed has left the Nets for personal reasons and isn’t likely to rejoin the team this season, Brian Lewis of The New York Post tweets. The 25-year-old has reportedly been upset with his lack of playing time under interim coach Tony Brown. Reed is eligible to become a restricted free agent this summer provided Brooklyn tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,215,696. He’s appeared in 39 games for the Nets this season and is averaging 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes per outing.
- Hornets assistant coach Patrick Ewing hopes to secure an interview this summer for the Knicks head coaching position, though he isn’t banking on landing the job, as he told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Audio link). “Naturally, I’d love to be back in New York,’’ Ewing said. “I still have a home there in the offseason. I still get to go back there. My kids are still in that area. I guess it’s not meant to be. I’m happy where I am in Charlotte. It is my goal to be a head coach. If the Knicks called me and offered me a position and gave me an interview, I think it would be great. I’ve played there. I’ve been one of their best players. My number is in the rafters. I think it would be a great fit.’’ Interim coach Kurt Rambis is reportedly team president Phil Jackson‘s preferred choice to lead the team next season.
- The Celtics have recalled power forward Jordan Mickey and swingman James Young from their D-League affiliate, the team announced. This was Mickey’s 13th trip to Maine on the season and Young’s 12th.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
In addition to our regular weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted every Sunday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript
4:02pm: We hosted the weekly live chat.
3:30pm: Early entrants for the NBA draft have dominated the headlines this week, but it’s been a newsy day in more traditional NBA circles, with the Knicks, Timberwolves and a possible reunion for Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons making waves. All the stories have left less than the usual amount of time to chat, but we can still cover lots of ground.
Kris Jenkins, Josh Hart To Enter NBA Draft
Villanova combo forward Kris Jenkins and shooting guard Josh Hart will test the waters and enter the 2016 NBA draft, Reuben Frank of CSNPhilly.com reports (via Twitter). The players don’t appear to be hiring agents, which would allow them to withdraw prior to the May 25th deadline and return to school if they want.
Jenkins, a junior, connected on the game-winning shot Monday evening that gave Villanova the 2015/16 NCAA championship. He appeared in 40 games for the Wildcats this season and averaged 13.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists. His slash line on the campaign was .459/.386/.845. The 22-year-old entered school as the No. 74 overall prospect according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. He isn’t currently ranked among the top 100 prospects by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Hart comes in at No. 36 overall according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, though he’s only the 17th-best junior according to Givony, who tabs him 68th overall and projects him as a second-round pick in 2017. The 21-year-old was the No. 97 overall recruit in his class according to the RSCI. Hart made 40 appearances for the Wildcats this season, notching averages of 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists to accompany a shooting line of .513/.357/.752.
Rubio Says GM Told Him He Was Almost Traded
Ricky Rubio says Timberwolves GM Milt Newton told him the team “almost traded” him at the deadline but didn’t because the right offer didn’t come, but Newton dismissed that notion, saying the point guard might have misinterpreted their conversation, as both relayed in interviews with Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Reports indicated the Wolves engaged in trade talk regarding Rubio before the February deadline with the Bucks and, to a lesser degree, the Knicks. Milwaukee turned down an offer of Rubio and a protected 2016 first-round pick for Khris Middleton, while Minnesota rejected a counterproposal of Michael Carter-Williams for Rubio, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.
“When the GM comes to you and says that’s what happened, it hurts, but you’ve got to be professional,” Rubio said. “You’ve been here all your career and thinking they were supporting you. At some point, they weren’t. But I’m professional. I’m going to give it my all. I love playing basketball and every time I step on the court I want to win.”
Newton told Krawczynski he would try to communicate more often with Rubio and said he’s already sought the point guard’s input on possible moves. The GM, to whom the Wolves have committed through at least the summer, called Rubio “extremely valuable to the organization,” as Krawczynski notes.
“I told him we’ve never, ever called another team to trade you, but it is my job to listen,” Newton said. “I even shared that with his agent. I never told him we almost traded you, because we didn’t almost trade him.”
Parsons To Discuss Teaming Up With Dwight
Chandler Parsons answered affirmatively when Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com asked whether he and Dwight Howard would have conversations this summer about teaming up again. Parsons and Howard, who played together on the Rockets during the 2013/14 season, are both expected to turn down their respective player options for next season and hit free agency this summer.
The Mavericks are the front-runners to retain Parsons, as MacMahon previously reported, and while the Mavs have interest in Howard, they wouldn’t approach the maximum salary of nearly $30MM in a contract offer to him, MacMahon hears (ESPN Now link). Parsons, in his interview with MacMahon, expressed his affection for Dallas, the Mavs organization, coach Rick Carlisle and Dirk Nowitzki. Parsons called Mark Cuban the best owner in the NBA and said he wouldn’t want to play for anyone else, but he stopped short of committing to stay with the Mavericks. The versatile forward has played a key recruting role for the Mavericks as they’ve pursued free agents in the past, but he indicated that’s on hold until his own contractual situation is resolved.
“It’s tricky, because if I’m going out and I’m recruiting a free agent right in the beginning of free agency, and they obviously know that I’ve opted out of my contract and I’m still not signed with the Mavs, it’s difficult for them to get an understanding of what the foundation of the Mavs is going to be going forward when the main guy recruiting them still isn’t signed,” Parsons told MacMahon. “That’s something that [agent Dan] Fegan and Mark and [president of basketball operations] Donnie [Nelson] and everybody, they have to talk early on to maybe get something done. Obviously, Dan will be talking to every team in the league with there being so much cap space everywhere, but that’s a tricky thing. I can’t really recruit anybody to Dallas until I know that I’m coming back to Dallas.”
The Magic are reportedly Parsons’ second choice, and Howard apparently has interest in returning to Orlando if he can’t re-sign with the Rockets. Parsons also detailed the close relationship he still has with other former teammates still with Houston as part of his chat with MacMahon.
Dragan Bender Enters Draft
11:40am: Bender is unlikely to take part in any predraft workouts for NBA teams, Pick hears (Twitter link). The season for his team in Israel could stretch until June 9th, precisely two weeks prior to the draft, as Pick points out.
9:14am: The buyout in Bender’s Israel deal is in excess of $1MM, a source told Pick, who nonetheless adds that he still won’t become a draft-and-stash prospect (Twitter link).
8:46am: Elite European prospect Dragan Bender officially entered the draft this morning, agent Doug Neustadt says, according to Fran Fraschilla of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 18-year-old power forward already told Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli team he’s played for this season, that he intends to leave, tweets international journalist David Pick. Bender is the No. 3 prospect in the rankings that both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress compile.
Officials from at least one NBA team believe the buyout clause in his contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv requires only $650K, precisely the amount an NBA can pay without it affecting his rookie scale contract, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported earlier this week. That, combined with the news that he’s told the Israeli team he’s headed elsewhere, seems to make it clear that Bender won’t be a draft-and-stash player and will appear on NBA hardwoods this fall. If so, it’ll bring years of anticipation to a climax, though he doesn’t turn 19 until November, and his body isn’t close to ready for the NBA, Givony wrote in February.
Bender has nonetheless been the object of intrigue for quite some time despite his pedestrian stats overseas. He’s seen just 12.3 minutes per game for Tel Aviv so far this season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds, though he’s shown an emerging 3-point stroke, hitting 39.7% of his 63 attempts. He can play small forward or center in addition to the four, as Ford notes in his profile, and that versatility comes with an underrated toughness, according to Givony.
Duke SG Grayson Allen Declines To Enter Draft
Duke sophomore shooting guard Grayson Allen has decided against entering this year’s draft, the school announced. The leading scorer for the Blue Devils was a fringe first-round prospect, ranking 30th in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider listings and 34th with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
The 20-year-old broke out in a major way this season, averaging 21.6 points in 36.6 minutes per game after seeing single digits in both categories last year on a richly talented Duke squad that won the national championship. Still, Allen made his presence felt with 16 points in the 2015 title game. This year’s Blue Devils fell in the third round of this year’s NCAA Tournament despite the presence of Allen and Brandon Ingram, a strong candidate for the No. 1 overall selection. Allen’s size is an issue for NBA scouts, according to Ford, who lists him at 6’5″. Givony pegs him as only 6’4″. Allen led the Blue Devils with 3.5 assists per game this season and can play the point, according to Ford, so that could ultimately ease size concerns.
It’s somewhat surprising to see Allen decide against the draft, particularly given the ability prospects have this year to take part in workouts for NBA teams, as well as the combine, while still retaining their college eligibility if they refrain from hiring an agent and withdraw by May 25th. Allen could have shown NBA teams what he can do at the point, though he figures to have an opportunity to do the same with next season’s Blue Devils, who are positioned as the favorites for the 2017 title with another strong recruiting class coming in.
Knicks See Ujiri As Potential Jackson Successor?
Knicks owner James Dolan is exploring potential successors for team president Phil Jackson, with Raptors GM Masai Ujiri believed to be among them, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News indicates and as fellow Daily News scribe Stefan Bondy confirms via Twitter. Jackson can opt out of his contract after next season. The Zen Master is currently pushing for a new multiyear deal for Kurt Rambis that would remove the interim tag from his head coaching title, sources tell Marc Stein and Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
Dolan confidant Irving Azoff supports Jackson and is close with Rambis, according to Isola, who points out that Azoff also has ties to Ujiri. Former Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke, who brought Ujiri to the Raptors, is a business partner of Azoff, Isola notes.
It would be no shock for Ujiri to become heavily sought after given his success with Toronto, which has already set a franchise record with 52 wins this season and is poised to enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and in Denver, where Ujiri’s final team also set a franchise record with 57 wins. Still, it remains to be seen whether he would have interest in leaving the Raptors for New York, particularly given the strong pull he felt toward the Toronto organization when he left the Nuggets. Plus, his Raptors contract runs for two more years, Isola points out.
Jackson, 70, has been vague about whether he intends to finish the five-year contract he signed to run the Knicks in 2014, though comments he made last month seemed to indicate he doesn’t intend to go anywhere soon. People close to him even reportedly raised the idea he would coach on a part-time basis next season, though Jackson shot that idea down.
Instead, Jackson appears ready to formally give the coaching job to Rambis, an outcome Jackson has reportedly hoped for ever since naming Rambis interim coach in February. New York is just 8-16 since firing former coach Derek Fisher, and sources indicated to Marc Berman of the New York Post that Fisher drew more respect from Knicks players than Rambis does. Carmelo Anthony has said he’d like Jackson to at least listen to other candidates for the head coaching job.
Nets Sign Henry Sims For Rest Of Season
The Nets have signed center Henry Sims for the rest of the season, the team announced via press release. His second 10-day contract expired overnight. The move restores Brooklyn to a 15-man roster, with every player signed through at least the end of the season. It’s not entirely clear whether the new deal for Sims extends into next season, but unlike the press release Brooklyn sent about its multiyear contract with former 10-day signee Sean Kilpatrick, the Sims press release refers only to the rest of the 2015/16 campaign. Thus, it appears Sims will once more become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Sims has seen plenty of opportunities in his brief time with the Nets, averaging 17.1 minutes per contest across nine games, two of which he started. The 26-year-old turned in arguably his finest Brooklyn performance Sunday, when he started and delivered 12 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Those numbers closely match the 11.8 points and seven rebounds he averaged in 26 games down the stretch for the Sixers in 2013/14.
Philadelphia gave him 32 starts last season, but he went unsigned for most of this past offseason until he hooked up with the Suns on a non-guaranteed deal in late August. Phoenix waived him before opening night and he spent the majority of this season with the D-League affiliate of the Pistons before the Nets gave him another shot at the NBA last month.