Lonzo Ball To Meet With Lakers Again Friday
Potential No. 2 pick Lonzo Ball will have his final pre-draft session with the Lakers on Friday, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. The workout will not take place at the team’s facility, according to Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
Ball wants Lakers officials to see his work ethic and training methods, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. Representatives from the team met with Ball’s UCLA coaches this week (Twitter link).
The 19-year-old guard worked out for L.A. seven days ago, with mixed reports coming out of that session. Ball said the messages he received from the Lakers were “very positive,” but some media reports indicated the team wasn’t overly impressed by Ball’s performance and had concerns about his conditioning.
Ball is listed as the second pick in the latest mock drafts from ESPN’s Chad Ford and DraftExpress. Despite the rumors coming out of last week’s workout, most league executives expect him to wind up in Los Angeles.
The Lakers have a workout scheduled for Thursday with Washington point guard Markelle Fultz, who is widely expected to be the first player selected.
Nuggets Promote Karnisovas, Scramble Bucks’ GM Search
Arturas Karnisovas, one of the finalists for the Bucks’ vacant GM position, has accepted a promotion from the Nuggets, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Denver owner Stan Kroenke has promoted Karnisovas to general manager and made GM Tim Connelly the new president of basketball operations (Twitter link). Karnisovas has withdrawn as a candidate in Milwaukee (Twitter link).
He and Bucks assistant GM Justin Zanik were reportedly the two finalists for the position, which opened up when John Hammond was hired last month as the new GM in Orlando. Former Hawks GM and current advisor Wes Wilcox was also listed as a finalist in stories last week.
Karnisovas, 46, has been serving as assistant GM with the Nuggets since 2013. He was also a candidate for the Nets’ open GM job last year.
And-Ones: World Peace, Lillard, Blatt, Calathes
Veteran NBA forward Metta World Peace, who said at season’s end that he doesn’t expect to be back with the Lakers in 2017/18, has an uncertain basketball future and intends to put off a decision on his next move until August. As Emiliano Carchia of Sportando details, World Peace told Italy’s La Gazzetta Dello Sport that he’s leaving the door open to the possibility of playing in China or Europe if no NBA opportunities arise for him.
The man formerly known as Ron Artest has maintained in recent months that he’d like to play 20 professional basketball seasons before he calls it a career. World Peace, who will turn 38 this fall, has spent 17 seasons in the NBA and also played in China and Italy in 2014/15, so he’ll need to play for two more years to meet that goal.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Damian Lillard created some speculation fodder during a Twitter Q&A with fans today when he answered a question about where he’d sign if he had to leave Portland. “If [the] Blazers said they didn’t want me… Utah Jazz or Lakers,” Lillard replied (via Twitter). Lillard is under contract through 2021, so Blazers fans should have nothing to worry about anytime soon.
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer makes the case for why 2017’s NBA draft looks primed for more draft-pick trades than usual.
- After coaching Darussafaka in Turkey this past season, David Blatt is meeting Darussafaka officials in Istanbul this week to resolve his release from the team and pave the way for his return to Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, per international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). Blatt coached the Israeli club for several seasons before joining the Cavaliers in 2014.
- Nick Calathes, a former second-round pick who spent two seasons with the Grizzlies, is content to continue his playing career in Greece, as he tells EBasket (English link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). “The NBA is still on my mind. Obviously I want to play at the highest levels. But in this moment the Panathinaikos is my priority,” Calathes said. “I am not in a hurry to go to the NBA. I love Panathinaikos and I am doing well here. So I am not pushing for something else.”
Mavs Serious Contenders To Sign Jrue Holiday, Justin Holiday
The Mavericks have emerged as serious contenders to sign point guard Jrue Holiday in free agency, according to Jake Fischer of SI.com (Twitter links). Fischer reports that Dallas is also a contender to sign free-agent-to-be swingman Justin Holiday, which would allow the Holiday brothers to play on the same team.
A report in early March quoted Justin Holiday as saying that it would be a “dream come true” to play with his younger brother Jrue. With both players set to hit the free agent market this summer, it appears they’ll get a chance to make that dream a reality, though there’s certainly no guarantee that a team making a strong offer to one brother will want to add the other as well.
The Mavs, however, would make some sense as a destination for both Holidays. Dallas has long been in the market for a point guard in the future, having struck out on top free agents at the position – including Mike Conley in 2016 – for the last last several years. Jrue Holiday would be a nice addition to the Mavs’ backcourt, while Justin could help fill a hole created in the team’s rotation when Justin Anderson was traded to Philadelphia.
[RELATED: 2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Dallas Mavericks]
It remains to be seen whether the Mavs will have the cap room necessary to accommodate both Holidays, though the club could get creative to make some space. Currently, Dallas has about $60MM in guaranteed salary on its books for 2017/18, which doesn’t include Nerlens Noel‘s cap hold worth nearly $11MM, Dirk Nowitzki‘s team option worth $25MM, or a handful of other non-guaranteed salaries.
The Pelicans are expected to aggressively try to retain Jrue Holiday, so the Mavs will have some competition from at least one division rival for the veteran point guard.
Woj’s Latest: Celtics, Griffin, CP3, LeBron, Snell
The Celtics are expected to be the Clippers‘ biggest threat for Blake Griffin this summer, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who discussed 2017 free agency on a podcast with Bobby Marks. Wojnarowski suggests that Griffin and Gordon Hayward are expected to be the Celtics’ top two targets next month, adding that if Hayward leaves the Jazz, it would be a “tortured” decision.
As for the Clippers, Wojnarowski doesn’t see a scenario in which the club is able to bring back Griffin, Chris Paul, and J.J. Redick. And while Redick is probably the most likely of the three to change teams, Woj thinks there’s a “real chance” the Clippers would move on from from Paul if the two sides can’t come to a quick agreement when free agency begins. Wojnarowski names the Spurs, Heat, Lakers, and Rockets as teams that could get involved in the CP3 sweepstakes if the veteran point guard seriously considers leaving the Clips.
Here are some of the other highlights from Wojnarowski’s conversation with Marks:
- The Cavaliers aren’t necessarily assuming it’s a given that LeBron James will re-sign with them in 2018. A move out west – possibly to the Lakers or Clippers – a year from now is “very much in play” for LeBron, according to Wojnarowski.
- Wojnarowski suggests that Tony Snell may be a popular restricted free agent this summer, since teams may feel like they can put pressure on the Bucks, who won’t want to approach tax territory. An annual salary in the $11-13MM range is within range for Snell, says Wojnarowski.
- During a discussion of possible Nets RFA targets, Wojnarowski mentions Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and notes that the Pistons don’t really want to max him out. However, the idea of losing KCP for nothing would likely be even less appealing to Detroit.
- While the Lakers haven’t necessarily made any decisions yet, they’re “looking hard” at Josh Jackson with the No. 2 pick. Wojnarowski observes that there are a lot of voices in the team’s front office, so Jackson has support from some execs.
- Wojnarowski and Marks dismiss the idea that the Kings would trade the fifth and 10th overall picks to move up to No. 3 to nab a top point guard. However, they acknowledge that Sacramento packaging the No. 5 pick with something a little less valuable in order to trade up wouldn’t be unrealistic.
CSKA Moscow Attempting To Retain Milos Teodosic
Euroleague star Milos Teodosic said way back in September 2016 that he was looking forward to exploring his NBA opportunities in the summer of 2017, but his current team won’t let him go without a fight. According to Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops, CSKA Moscow is offering Teodosic a new three-year contract worth 12 million euros.
In 29 Euroleague games this season, Teodosic averaged 16.1 PPG and a team-high 6.8 APG while making 38.1% of his three-point attempts. His play helped CSKA Moscow earn a VTB League championship and a spot in the Euroleague Final Four, where the team finished third behind Fenerbache (Turkey) and Olympiacos (Greece). Teodosic’s performance also attracted plenty of NBA interest.
The Nets have been frequently cited throughout the last year as a likely suitor for Teodosic, and various reports have named the Jazz, Kings, Heat, and Nuggets as other NBA clubs that could be in the mix for the point guard’s services.
CSKA’s alleged offer to Teodosic is based on a net figure, since European teams often pay the taxes on player contracts, Varlas notes. So, taking into account the money he’d pay in taxes and the conversion from euros to U.S. dollars, Teodosic would require a substantial offer from an NBA team to make a move stateside worth his while financially.
As Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays, Teodosic recently suggested that he wants to rest and take his time deciding on his future, but CSKA Moscow will push for a decision soon. “We will try to build a stronger team and that’s why we are waiting Teodosic’s answer as soon as possible,” CSKA president Andrey Vatutin said this week, per Varlas.
Nuggets GM Talks Draft, Free Agency, Jokic
With the NBA draft right around the corner, Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly appeared on Altitude Sports Radio on Tuesday (SoundCloud link) and spoke to Vic Lombardi about his team’s plan for the upcoming offseason. Connelly, who suggested that he’d like the free agent period to happen before the draft, discussed the Nuggets’ approach to both of those major events on the NBA’s offseason calendar.
The interview includes a handful of interesting comments from Connelly about the Nuggets’ roster-building process, competing with the Warriors, Danilo Gallinari‘s status, and other topics. The conversation is worth checking out in full, but here are a few highlights from the Denver GM:
On the Nuggets’ approach to the draft:
“We have a handful more workouts, we’re bringing a bunch more guys at the end of this week, then watch a bunch of tape and work the phones. A large part of the analysis is done, we just have make sure our order makes sense and get a better sense of what’s going to happen before us and after us in the draft. … Anything certainly can happen, we always try to be aggressive. There’s a couple guys we’d be pretty motivated to move up for, but it’s difficult to get to certain areas of this draft. We like to make a lot of calls and see if we can’t shake up a little bit.”
On the Nuggets’ approach to free agency:
“I think we will dive in for a couple guys. Certainly our own guys are extremely important and they’re going to take priority, but there’s two or three guys I think we’ll be extremely aggressive with. What we don’t want to do is sign guys to sign guys, and don’t want to overpay for role players. There are a couple guys we think may be difference makers for us and we’ll make a good pitch to those guys. If that doesn’t work out, then we’ll essentially step back a little bit and let the market develop.”
On how the free agent process will work for the Nuggets:
“It really depends. It can take shape numerous ways. If I have a direct relationship, I’ll just reach out to the player. As you know, I’m always not the most serious guy so it would probably be through humor and gauge their interest. Sometimes, an agent will reach out to us. This offseason, it’s been encouraging, we’ve had a handful of agents reach out to us and say, ‘My guy would really like to play with Nikola Jokic.’ I think that speaks well to our future. When guys want to play with someone, it’s encouraging.”
Central Notes: Pistons, Bucks, Wade, Pacers
A pair of Michigan prospects are among the players to work out for the Pistons this week, with both Derrick Walton Jr. and Zak Irvin getting a look from the club. Walton was part of a Tuesday workout group that also included Tony Bradley (UNC), Melo Trimble (Maryland), Davon Reed (Miami), Peter Jok (Iowa), and Luke Fischer (Marquette) (Twitter links via Rod Beard of The Detroit News and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com).
Meanwhile, Irvin’s pre-draft workout will take place today, as the Pistons audition a group that also features Tyler Lydon (Syracuse), Marcus Keene (Central Michigan), Bryce Alford (UCLA), Derek Willis (Kentucky), and T.J. Cline (Richmond), per Langlois (Twitter link).
As Detroit weighs its draft options, let’s round up a few more items from around the Central division…
- The Bucks, who have the 17th overall pick in this year’s draft, brought in former Texas center Jarrett Allen on Tuesday and will get a look at ex-Kentucky big man Bam Adebayo today, according to a pair of press releases from the team. Milwaukee is also taking a look at a handful of other prospects today, though Antone Warren (Antelope Valley), Hassan Martin (Rhode Island), Sebastian Saiz (Ole Miss), Jack Gibbs (Davidson), and Dallas Moore (North Florida) aren’t viewed as first-round candidates.
- During an appearance on CSN Chicago’s SportsTalk Live, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune (video link) discussed Dwyane Wade‘s player option, Wade’s potential role as a sixth man for the Bulls, Nikola Mirotic‘s restricted free agency, and more.
- The Pacers are working out Dylan Ennis (Oregon), Jawun Evans (Oklahoma State), Amile Jefferson (Duke), Zach LeDay (Virginia Tech), Paul Watson Jr. (Fresno State), and Nigel Williams-Goss (Gonzaga) today, the team announced in a press release.
Sixers Exercise Team Option On Robert Covington
The Sixers have exercised their team option for the 2017/18 season on Robert Covington, the team announced today in a press release. A decision on the option had been due later this month.
[RELATED: NBA Team Option Decisions For 2017/18]
The move is a formality that has little impact on Philadelphia’s offseason plans, since Covington’s salary remains non-guaranteed even after his option has been exercised. According to Basketball Insiders’ data, $53,547 of Covington’s $1,577,230 salary for next season will become guaranteed on August 9, but the rest of his salary won’t be fully guaranteed until January.
Although Covington doesn’t really receive any more security with today’s transaction, there’s little doubt that the Sixers will eventually guarantee his ’17/18 salary. The four-year veteran, who is still on a minimum salary contract, has been a key contributor in Philadelphia’s rotation for the last few years. In 2016/17, he averaged 12.9 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG, and 2.0 3PT, while playing solid perimeter defense.
Covington will be extension-eligible during the coming season, as he enters the final year of his contract. If he plays out his final year without working out a new deal with the Sixers, the 26-year-old is on track to reach unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2018.
Official List Of Early Entrants For 2017 NBA Draft
The NBA has officially announced that 73 early entrant prospects will be eligible to be selected in the 2017 NBA draft next week. Although the number of early entrants (73) is larger than the number of picks in the draft (60), the list of early entrants is still significantly smaller than it was at the entry deadline in April. At that point, 182 early entrants had declared for the draft. More than 100 have withdrawn since then after testing the waters.
Here’s the complete list of early entrant prospects for the 2017 NBA draft:
College underclassmen:
- Bam Adebayo, F/C, Kentucky (freshman)
- Jarrett Allen, C, Texas (freshman)
- Ike Anigbogu, C, UCLA (freshman)
- OG Anunoby, SF, Indiana (sophomore)
- Dwayne Bacon, SF, Florida State (sophomore)
- Lonzo Ball, PG, UCLA (freshman)
- Jordan Bell, PF, Oregon (junior)
- James Blackmon Jr., SG, Indiana (junior)
- Antonio Blakeney, SG, LSU (sophomore)
- Tony Bradley, C, UNC (freshman)
- Isaiah Briscoe, G, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Dillon Brooks, F, Oregon (junior)
- Thomas Bryant, C, Indiana (sophomore)
- Clandell Cetoute, F, Thiel College (junior)
- John Collins, PF, Wake Forest (sophomore)
- Zach Collins, PF, Gonzaga (freshman)
- Chance Comanche, F/C, Arizona (sophomore)
- Tyler Dorsey, SG, Oregon (sophomore)
- P.J. Dozier, SG, South Carolina (sophomore)
- Jawun Evans, PG, Oklahoma State (sophomore)
- Tony Farmer, SF, Lee College (sophomore)
- De’Aaron Fox, PG, Kentucky (freshman)
- Markelle Fultz, PG, Washington (freshman)
- Harry Giles, PF, Duke (freshman)
- Isaac Humphries, C, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Tre Hunter, G, Mt. San Jacinto College (junior)
- Jonathan Isaac, SF, Florida State (freshman)
- Frank Jackson, PG, Duke (freshman)
- Josh Jackson, SF, Kansas (freshman)
- Justin Jackson, SF, UNC (junior)
- Jaylen Johnson, PF, Louisville (junior)
- Ted Kapita, F/C, North Carolina State (freshman)
- Marcus Keene, PG, Central Michigan (junior)
- Luke Kennard, SG, Duke (sophomore)
- Kyle Kuzma, PF, Utah (junior)
- T.J. Leaf, PF, UCLA (freshman)
- Tyler Lydon, F, Syracuse (sophomore)
- Lauri Markkanen, PF, Arizona (freshman)
- Eric Mika, F/C, BYU (sophomore)
- Donovan Mitchell, SG, Louisville (sophomore)
- Malik Monk, G, Kentucky (freshman)
- Johnathan Motley, PF, Baylor (junior)
- Austin Nichols, PF, Virginia (junior)
- Semi Ojeleye, SF, SMU (junior)
- Cameron Oliver, PF, Nevada (sophomore)
- Justin Patton, C, Creighton (freshman)
- L.J. Peak, SF, Georgetown (junior)
- Ivan Rabb, PF, California (sophomore)
- Xavier Rathan-Mayes, G, Florida State (junior)
- Devin Robinson, SF, Florida (junior)
- Josh Robinson, G, Austin Peay (junior)
- Kobi Simmons, PG, Arizona (freshman)
- Dennis Smith Jr., PG, N.C. State (freshman)
- Edmond Sumner, PG, Xavier (sophomore)
- Caleb Swanigan, PF, Purdue (sophomore)
- Jayson Tatum, SF, Duke (freshman)
- Matt Taylor, G, New Mexico State (junior)
- Trevor Thompson, C, Ohio State (junior)
- Melo Trimble, PG, Maryland (junior)
- Craig Victor, PF, LSU (junior)
- Antone Warren, C, Antelope Valley CC (sophomore)
- Nigel Williams-Goss, PG, Gonzaga (junior)
- D.J. Wilson, PF, Michigan (sophomore)
International:
- Simon Birgander, F/C, Clavijo (Spain)
- Luka Bozic, SF, Zagreb (Croatia)
- Vlatko Cancar, SF, Mega Leks (Serbia)
- Wesley Alves da Silva, SF, Paulistano (Brazil)
- George de Paula, PG, Paulistano (Brazil)
- Isaiah Hartenstein, PF, Zalgiris (Lithuania)
- Jonathan Jeanne, C, Nancy (France)
- Alpha Kaba, F/C, Mega Leks (Serbia)
- Tidjane Keita, SF, Cegep de Thetford (Canada)
- Frank Ntilikina, PG, Strasbourg (France)
The NBA’s official list of early entrants doesn’t include junior forward Darin Johnson of CSU-Northridge or sophomore guard Maverick Rowan of North Carolina State. Those players were listed on the league’s initial list of early entrants, and weren’t named among the players who withdrew last month. It appears that Johnson and Rowan pulled out of the draft after the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline in May, but before the NBA’s withdrawal deadline on Monday, which would cost them their NCAA eligibility going forward.
For details on which prospects originally declared for the draft, then withdrew their names, be sure to check out our previous unofficial early entrant list.