Draft Notes: Early Entrants, Fultz, Ferguson
The deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the NBA draft came and went on Monday evening, with several more international prospects pulling their names out of the 2017 draft pool. The NCAA’s deadline to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility passed in May, so NCAA underclassmen generally weren’t affected by this week’s deadline, but it was a key date for international early entrants.
As agent Misko Raznatovic tweets, a handful of his clients withdrew from the draft on Monday — Ege Arar and Aleksa Ilic will now be draft-eligible in 2018, while Borisa Simanic and Kostja Mushidi will have the option of declaring again next year. Israeli forward Leo Cizmic has also withdrawn from the draft, according to agent Gerard Darnes (Twitter link).
As we wait for official word from the NBA on this year’s list of early entrants, let’s round up a few more draft-related items…
- Probable No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz has hired an agent, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that Raymond Brothers will represent the former Washington point guard. The new client of IAM Sports & Entertainment is expected to meet with the Lakers this week.
- Speaking to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, first-round prospect Terrance Ferguson explained why he circumvented the usual path to the NBA, criticizing the NCAA system. “At college, the only people making money off you are the coaches,” said Ferguson, who claims he’s more prepared for the NBA after playing international pro ball out of high school. “You’re not making anything off your jersey sales, ticket sales. Not anything. So go overseas, the way I did, and get your money’s worth. Get paid for what you’re doing.”
- Pittsburgh’s Jamel Artis will work out this week for the Hornets on Wednesday and the Nets on Thursday, a source tells Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- South Carolina prospect P.J. Dozier, who worked out for the Hornets today, will audition for the Pelicans and Hawks next, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link) adds the Pistons, Jazz and Clippers to the list of teams that Michigan’s Derrick Walton has worked out for.
Finals Roundup: Kerr, Warriors, Cavs, Barnes, West
An NBA general manager typically doesn’t need to confirm in the hours following a championship that his head coach will return for the following season, but in Steve Kerr‘s case, it wasn’t necessarily a sure thing — for health, rather than performance, reasons. However, despite Kerr’s back issues, Warriors general manager Bob Myers is confident that his head coach will be back on the bench for the 2017/18 season, as he tells Chris Haynes of ESPN.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he will return as the coach of this team,” Myers said after Game 5. “I’m confident we’ll have him back. Steve will be our coach.”
Kerr expressed a similar sentiment in a recent interview with Tim Kawakami of The San Jose Mercury News, suggesting that even if he wasn’t able to make it back to coach the Warriors in this year’s Finals, he’d be ready for opening night in the fall. Ultimately, Kerr returned to the sidelines in time to lead the Warriors to their second title in three years.
Here are a few more Finals-related odds and ends worth passing along:
- Although it only took five games for the Warriors to dispatch of the Cavaliers, Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t believe there’s a “big gap” between the two teams, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com details.
- Within McMenamin’s piece, LeBron James acknowledged that the Warriors will “be around for a while,” but said he doesn’t think the Cavaliers are going anywhere either. “I know our front office is going to continue to try to put our franchise in a position where we can compete for a championship year in and year out,” James said. “Like I said, teams and franchises are going to be trying to figure out ways that they can put personnel together, the right group of guys together to be able to hopefully compete against [the Warriors].”
- The Warriors are already massive favorites to win the 2018 NBA Finals, according to professional oddsmakers. “They’re going to be the highest favorite we’ve ever had going into a season, any team in any sport,” Jeff Sherman of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook tells David Purdum of ESPN.com.
- The Cavaliers need to find a way to get younger and more athletic, according to Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net, who writes that the club’s bench is “a mess.”
- After 14 NBA seasons, Matt Barnes finally has a championship under his belt, but he doesn’t plan to ride off into the sunset. According to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link), Barnes said that he has no plans to retire and hopes to return to the Warriors.
- Two years ago, David West left $11MM on the table by turning down his option with the Pacers to chase a ring. Dakota Crawford of The Indianapolis Star takes a look at the culmination of West’s hunt for a championship.
Lowe’s Latest: Warriors, Celtics, Heat, Hayward
In the wake of the Warriors‘ second championship in three years, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com details the scene in the team’s locker room a year ago, following Golden State’s Game 7 loss to the Cavaliers in the 2016 Finals. As Lowe describes it, Andre Iguodala told his teammates that if the Warriors responded the right way, they could put themselves in position to chase several titles.
According to Lowe, Kevin Durant‘s name wasn’t mentioned, and Iguodala never said anything about free agency, but there were some glances at Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, who would be the expendable pieces if Durant came to Golden State. A couple weeks later, Durant was a Warrior, and a year later, he has captured the first title of his career, as well as being named Finals MVP.
Here’s more from Lowe’s latest piece for ESPN.com:
- There are some team executives around the NBA who believe the league should have pushed harder to avoid last year’s cap spike after the union rejected the NBA’s cap-smoothing proposal, according to Lowe. That spike helped make the Warriors‘ signing of Durant possible.
- While some executives who have talked to Lowe believe there may be fewer “win-now” transactions made by teams looking to knock off the Warriors and Cavaliers, several teams won’t change their approach to roster-building, including the Rockets and Spurs. “They are not unbeatable,” Rockets GM Daryl Morey said of the Warriors. “There have been bigger upsets in sports history. We are going to keep improving our roster.”
- Celtics GM Danny Ainge expressed a similar sentiment, though he acknowledged that his club isn’t looking to give up key assets for small improvements either. “We are definitely not in punt mode,” Ainge said. “But trading away picks and promising young players for a veteran who might be 5 percent better is not in our plans, either.”
- The Heat aren’t shying away from win-now moves either. League sources confirm to Lowe that Miami is “loading up” to pursue Gordon Hayward in free agency.
- The Warriors have traded their first- and second-round picks for 2017, but are trying to buy their way back into this year’s draft, according to Lowe.
Five Key Offseason Questions: San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs enjoyed another banner regular season and deep playoff run, only to see their championship aspirations destroyed by a key injury. When superstar Kawhi Leonard landed on the foot of the Warriors’ Zaza Pachulia in Game 1 of the Western Conference series, all the drama was drained from the series.
Gregg Popovich railed on Pachulia’s closeout, which the coach felt was a careless and dangerous play. Whether Popovich’s criticism was justified, it certainly prevented Leonard from playing the rest of the way and turned the intriguing series into a formality.
The Spurs remain one of the league’s elite teams and they could potentially be even better next season, depending upon how free agency plays out.
Here’s a look at the major questions confronting the club this offseason:
1. Can the Spurs sign unrestricted free agent Chris Paul?
The Clippers will undoubtedly offer a max deal in an effort to retain the perennial All-Star point guard. Paul’s free agent tour could be this year’s version of the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. Paul is desperately seeking a ring and the Clippers have consistently underperformed in the postseason.
If he bolts, San Antonio is the favorite to land him. The Spurs have an obvious need at the position and the possibility of CP3 joining Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge would give the NBA a third ‘Super Team’ to rival the Warriors and Cavaliers.
The major stumbling block is that the Spurs don’t have enough cap space to give Paul a max contract without some roster maneuvers. Trading sharpshooter Danny Green and his $10MM deal for next season would help the cause. However, it’s quite possible that Paul could accept a lesser deal with an opt-out after the first or second year if he’s serious about joining the Spurs.
2. If the Spurs fail to land Paul, what should they about their point guard situation?
Tony Parker is expected to miss at least the first two months of the season and Patty Mills is an unrestricted free agent.
Josh Jackson Cancels Celtics Workout
Kansas swingman Josh Jackson cancelled his scheduled workout with the Celtics, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
Goodman didn’t elaborate why the workout was nixed by Jackson and his camp. On the surface, it seems like a curious decision to back out of a workout with the team holding the No. 1 pick.
There has been speculation that some members of the Lakers front office are enamored with Jackson and perhaps that’s where, like Lonzo Ball, he’d rather land. It could also signal that Jackson doesn’t believe Boston has a serious interest in using the top pick on him.
The news of Jackson’s cancelled workout comes on the heels of the revelation that Markelle Fultz, the favorite to be chosen No. 1, will meet with the Lakers this week. Los Angeles has the second pick.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Mason, Clippers, Reed
A Lakers backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Lonzo Ball might be potent offensively but a liability defensively, as Eric Pincus examines in a Bleacher Report piece. Russell could run pick-and-rolls, while Ball would excel in transition and ball movement, though neither tends to attack off the dribble, Pincus continues. The biggest concern would be on the defensive end because of quickness issues, which would require the Lakers to have a speedy, defensive-minded guard to rotate with both players, Pincus adds.
- Kansas point guard Frank Mason III will work out for the Kings for a second time on Wednesday, according to the team’s website. Mason is considered a second-round prospect — he’s currently ranked No. 45 on Chad Ford’s Big Board. Sacramento, which has the No. 34 overall pick in the second round, will also bring in Kentucky point guard Isaiah Briscoe, UCLA shooting guard Isaac Hamilton, Florida shooting guard Canyon Barry, Indiana center Thomas Bryant and Miami forward Kamari Murphy.
- The Clippers will bring in FIBA small forward Howard Sant-Roos for workouts later this week, international journalist David Pick tweets. The Cuban-born Sant-Roos, 26, has been playing for CEZ Nymburk in the Czech league, where he averaged 13.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 3.4 APG in 40 games this season.
- Kansas State shooting guard Wesley Iwundu and Vanderbilt big man Luke Kornet headed the list of six draft hopeful that the Lakers brought in on Monday, the team’s website reported. Iwundu is ranked No. 53 overall by Draft Express, while Kornet comes in at No. 67. The Lakers do not have a second-round pick.
- Miami shooting guard Davon Reed headlined a group of six players that the Clippers worked out on Monday, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets. Reed is pegged as the No. 76 prospect by Draft Express. Murphy also participated in the workout.
Bucks GM Search Down To Two Candidates?
The Bucks will likely choose between their assistant GM, Justin Zanik, and Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas as their next GM, league sources informed Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Milwaukee could announce its choice as early as this week, Stein adds (Twitter links).
The position opened up when John Hammond was named the Magic’s GM last month. Zanik was hired as Hammond’s assistant last season after serving as an assistant GM in the Jazz organization for three years. Hammond had been the Bucks’ GM since 2008 after serving as the top assistant to former Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars.
Karnisovas was hired by Denver in 2013 and is currently working under Nuggets GM Tim Connelly. He was a candidate for the Nets’ GM job last season but Brooklyn ultimately chose Sean Marks.
Markelle Fultz To Meet With Lakers
Projected top pick Markelle Fultz is expected to meet this week with the Lakers, who hold the No. 2 pick, a source told Adam Zagoria of The 4 Quarters Podcast (Twitter link).
Fultz spent two days with the Celtics earlier this month and it’s generally assumed the University of Washington point guard will be Boston’s choice on draft day. The fact that Fultz is willing to meet with the team holding the next pick at this stage suggests that the Celtics may not be completely sold on Fultz, or at least haven’t made any promises that he’ll be their pick. It’s noteworthy that Fultz is only scheduled to meet with the Lakers and not work out for them, though that obviously could change.
The Fultz meeting the Lakers could also be a hedge by his representatives in case Boston decides to swap the pick in a blockbuster deal.
The Lakers did meet with Fultz at the scouting combine in Chicago last month. While most projections have Los Angeles taking UCLA passing wizard Lonzo Ball, the Lakers are covering all their bases. Some members of their front office are supposedly bullish on Kansas small forward Josh Jackson, and they will hold a closed workout for Kentucky point guard De’Aaron Fox on Tuesday morning, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
Possible First-Rounder Kurucs Withdraws From Draft
Rodions Kurucs has withdrawn his name from the 2017 NBA draft, FIBA agent Alturs Kalnitis tweets.
This is a surprising development in that Kurucs was considered first-round material. The 19-year-old Latvian forward, who currently plays for Barcelona 2, was ranked No. 18 overall by DraftExpress, while ESPN.com’s Chad Ford ranked Kurucs at No. 33. Ford noted that Kurucs is a long, athletic shooter with good size for his position.
The Nets were reportedly high on Kurucs and perhaps even willing to move up in the first round to snare him.
Kurucs played 24 games for the Barcelona team this season, averaging 9.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 1.4 APG in 21.2 MPG. The 6’8” Kurucs shot 31.9% on 3-point attempts.
OG Anunoby Aims To Be At Full Strength Before End Of 2017
Former Indiana small forward OG Anunoby continues to recover from a knee injury, with some draft experts speculating that he could miss most or all of his NBA rookie season in 2017/18. However, a source tells Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports that Anunoby expects to be back at full health by late November or early December.
Anunoby’s sophomore season with the Hoosiers was cut short when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in January. However, Anunoby declared for the draft in the spring and the injury doesn’t appear to have significantly affected his draft stock. He still ranks 14th overall on DraftExpress’ big board, and 13th on ESPN’s top 100 list.
In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Chad Ford notes that Anunoby will be impacted by doctors’ opinions on his surgically repaired knee, since some teams believe he won’t be back to full health until well into 2018. However, Ford still had Anunoby coming off the board at No. 13, suggesting that the Nuggets are among the teams that probably won’t be scared off by that diagnosis.
Even if Anunoby feels as if he’ll be ready to make his NBA debut before the end of the calendar year, his NBA team may play it safe. As we saw with the Sixers and Ben Simmons this past season, clubs will typically take a long-term outlook with their first-round picks, rather than rushing them onto the court.