Hawks Notes: Howard, Millsap, Bazemore, Workout
Dwight Howard expressed anger today after his exit interview about his deteriorating role with the Hawks, relays Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Howard saw less playing as the season wore on, then averaged just 26.2 minutes per game during the playoff series with Washington. Coach/executive Mike Budenholzer believed the offense worked better without Howard and frequently opted for a smaller lineup with Paul Millsap at center. This comes just months after the Hawks gave Howard $70.5MM over three years to return to his hometown. “It was very difficult,” Howard told reporters. “I want to play. I want to be out on the floor. I want to make a difference. I want to make an impact, and I can’t do that on the bench.”
- Earlier today, we told you that Millsap intends to opt out of his nearly $21.5MM deal for next year. Even though he’s hitting the open market, the 32-year-old power forward says his first choice is to remain in Atlanta, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Eventually I probably will opt out, yes,” Millsap said. “But I want to be here. I think talks have been pretty good, so we’ll see what happens.” Millsap led the Hawks in scoring this season at 18.1 points per game, and was second in rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Vivlamore expects him to get maximum offers this summer, but Atlanta has the advantage of Bird rights. The Hawks can offer five years at up to $205MM, while other teams will be limited to four years at $158.4MM.
- The Hawks’ efforts to keep Millsap will stretch from the front office to the locker room. Owner Tony Ressler has said the organization will make “every effort imaginable” to re-sign Millsap, and Charles Odum of The Associated Press writes that teammates will be involved as well. “I’m definitely recruiting Millsap to come back,” said Kent Bazemore.
- Utah’s Kyle Kuzma was among the players at the Hawks’ pre-draft workout this morning, Vivlamore tweets. The junior power forward is ranked 59th in the latest mock draft from Jonathan Givony at DraftExpress.
- Rookies Taurean Prince and DeAndre’ Bembry are definites for summer league, according to Budenholzer, and they may be joined by Isaia Cordinier, a second-round pick in 2016 who spent this season in France (Twitter link).
Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/22/17 – 4/29/17
The Hoops Rumors team produced a lot of original content again this week. Take a look at some of our favorite pieces and give us your response.
- We responded to questions involving Carmelo Anthony, the Sixers‘ draft prospects and a possible return of the SuperSonics in this week’s mailbag.
- Luke Adams examined salary guarantee dates for this summer.
- A poll asked readers to forecast first-round playoff upsets.
- We looked at the offseason cap situations for the Pacers, Trail Blazers, Thunder and Bucks.
- A Community Shootaround asked readers what the Clippers should do about Blake Griffin.
- Another posed the question of whether the Hawks made an error in signing Dwight Howard.
- If you missed last week’s Hoops Rumors Originals summary, you can catch up here.
- Don’t forget to download the Trade Rumors app for iOS and Android.
Bulls Notes: Wade, Hoiberg, Rondo, Portis
Dwyane Wade doesn’t feel the need to “ring-chase” as he considers his options for next season, relays Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Wade has a $23.8MM player option and is in no hurry to make a decision. He plans to take a vacation, then meet with GM Gar Forman and VP of basketball operations John Paxson to discuss their plans for the team’s future. Wade’s first season in Chicago after 13 in Miami didn’t turn out the way he hoped, with the Bulls struggling to make the playoffs, then getting dispatched in the first round. Still, he likes being in Chicago and stands by the choice he made last summer. “If I could say anything, one word I could pull out, it’s just ‘different,’ as I expected to be different,” Wade explained. “Only playing in one organization my whole career [prior to this season]. The biggest thing, I came here and I was embraced, not only by the city. Up top, I was embraced by the coaches, the players, and it was some good moments and bad moments. Just like every season. But I don’t regret my decision at all.”
There’s more today out of Chicago:
- If Wade does return, he wants Fred Hoiberg to be with him, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Wade defended his coach today and criticized the fans who chanted “Fire Hoiberg” during Friday’s Game 6 loss. “I definitely don’t agree with the chants that were going on in the arena,’’ Wade said. “I definitely believe [Hoiberg] got better throughout this year. And I think you have more a grasp moving forward with what he wants to do with this team. You have to give people a chance.’’
- Rajon Rondo missed his exit interview today, but it’s not a Kristaps Porzingis situation where he’s protesting the state of the team, Friedell tweets. Rondo had a family commitment and plans to reschedule the interview for next week. His future in Chicago remains uncertain as the Bulls decide whether to pick up his $13.397MM option for next season. Several young players expressed their admiration of Rondo in today’s exit interviews (Twitter link).
- Second-year power forward Bobby Portis was playing with a severely burned foot since March 4th, Friedell reveals in a separate story. The burn was caused by a heat pack that Portis used before a game, and he kept it secret so it wouldn’t threaten his spot in the rotation. “I had a third-degree burn on my foot,” Portis said. “On top of my foot. Every time I tied my shoe up, it was right there on the spot. After the game, it would be bloody and nasty.”
- Paul Zipser plans to play for the Bulls’ summer league team, but isn’t sure if he will join the German National Team after that, Friedell tweets.
Scola Doesn’t See Himself Returning To NBA
In an interview with TSN 1050 Toronto, former Raptors forward Luis Scola said that he doesn’t see himself playing another season in the NBA. The 36-year-old didn’t rule it out altogether, however.
Over the course of 10 seasons, the big man established himself as a consistently underrated threat, his best year as a pro being the 2010/11 campaign in which he averaged 18.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Rockets.
In 2016/17, Scola played sparingly for the Nets, an anticlimatic cap on an effective, if unspectacular NBA career.
Although he never earned any All-Star appearances, the big man rode a deft shooting stroke to solid career per-36 numbers and even an Olympic gold medal when he teamed with Manu Ginobili to lead Argentina in 2004.
Alas, given the ever changing NBA landscape, especially for relatively slow big men, Scola seems pretty convinced that he won’t be back playing professional basketball stateside.
“I like to play, it’s just that the NBA became too difficult for me,” Scola said, age no doubt also being a factor for the man who didn’t arrive in the NBA until age 27. “The roles that are out there for me just aren’t as appealing, I don’t enjoy them as much.“
Paul Millsap Says He’ll ‘Likely’ Opt Out
Less than a day after Atlanta’s exit from the postseason, Hawks forward Paul Millsap admitted that he’ll “most likely” opt out of his upcoming player option for the 2017/18 season, says Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After making $20.1MM in 2016/17, Millsap will turn down the player option that would have paid him $21.5MM in 2017/18.
The 32-year-old was involved in a substantial amount of trade rumors and speculation this year but ultimately stayed in Atlanta where he helped guide the Hawks to their 10th consecutive playoff berth.
The Hawks appeared to be headed toward an inevitable rebuild before ultimately choosing to hang on to their cornerstone and risk losing him for nothing as opposed to dealing him for parts.
Although there is the possibility that Millsap ends up back in Atlanta, he’ll command considerable attention on the market after averaging 18.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Hawks.
Lonzo Ball Will Not Attend Combine
The possible top pick in this year’s draft won’t be attending the combine, says Shams Charania of The Vertical. Lonzo Ball formally told the league he would not participate and several other top prospects are expected to do the same.
As The Vertical’s Bobby Marks explains in a tweet, more and more top picks are refusing to partake in the event, a growing trend over the course of the past five season. Just last season, Ben Simmons refused to participate with no impact on his draft position.
Previously, Karl-Anthony Towns, Joel Embiid, Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins all refused to attend the combine.
Without standardized combine results, teams are on their own to gather medical information about the prospects. Last year, Derek Bodner of USA Today explained what exactly the event consists of.
Kings Notes: Rebuild, Bogdanovic, Seattle
If the Kings are to succeed in their rebuild – one that they committed to by trading DeMarcus Cousins in February – they’ll need to take advantage of their lottery picks, Bobby Marks of The Vertical writes.
Last year the Kings traded down in the draft, this year they’ll need to add “quality over quantity” with, presumably, two Top 10 picks.
Marks also comments on the club’s flexibility post-Cousins and warns that the organization should steer clear of locking into long-term contracts with other players. A wiser approach, he says, would be to focus on one- and two-year contracts.
- Four years ago today the Kings officially stayed in Sacramento after the NBA’s board of governors denied the team’s request to relocate to Seattle. Sactown Royalty celebrates the anniversary.
- There’s reason to be excited about Kings prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic. Benedict Tagle of Kings.com recently broke down the shooting guard’s impressive performance in the first round of the EuroLeague postseason.
- Thrust into a larger role in the second half of the season, Kings rookie Skal Labissiere is making considerable progress. John Calipari, the big man’s head coach in one season at Kentucky, spoke with Kayte Christensen of NBC Sports about the rookie earlier this month.
Dante Cunningham Declines Player Option
Forward Dante Cunningham has declined his player option with the Pelicans, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets. The 30-year-old veteran will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
In 66 games for the Pels this season, Cunningham averaged 6.6 points per game. Although he’s never been much of a focal point during his three seasons in New Orleans, he’s established himself as a reliable rotation player.
Given that the veteran made just $3.0MM last season and was slated for only a modest raise in 2017/18 ($3.1MM), it’s no surprise that Cunningham opted out of the deal.
It’s not clear how much interest he’ll draw on the market but he’s a valuable addition to any club looking to add a consistent veteran, including the Pelicans themselves should they wish to pursue a new deal with the forward.
Southeast Notes: Spoelstra, Heat, Millsap
Whenever the time comes that Heat president Pat Riley decides to step down, head coach Erik Spoelstra will be eager to fill the position. Spoelstra recently spoke with Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on his podcast.
“The short answer would be, I’m a Pat Riley disciple. He’s always pushed me and nurtured me for the next step,” he said, adding that through both good and bad, the Heat feel like a family. The coach tempered expectations that anything imminent could happen, however.
“But, yeah, Pat’s going to go on hopefully for a while though. I think he’s younger now than when he was coaching. […] I want this to be the set up that it is. I feel involved, I’m in every meeting that deals with the [Heat] organization and personnel.”
Spoelstra has served as the head coach of the Heat since 2008 and was an assistant coach for ten years before that.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Though they may have ultimately lost, Dennis Schroder‘s performance in the first round of the postseason shows just what the Hawks see in him, writes Michael Lee of The Vertical. “Dennis’ competitive spirit and his competitive nature, I think we’re always going to bet on that first,” head coach Mike Budenholzer said.
- With their cap space set to shrink in 2018/19, this is the last chance for the Heat to land a major free agent, Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post writes. Gordon Hayward, Blake Griffin and Paul Millsap could be possible options.
- Although it appears they’ll offer Cavaliers general manager David Griffin their president of basketball operations position, John Hammond and David Morway are also on the Magic‘s short-list, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- It’s reasonable to expect Paul Millsap to opt out of his contract this summer but the Hawks forward hasn’t made any decisions about where he’ll go just yet, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes.
- The Wizards won’t need a seventh game to close out the Hawks but even if they did, center Ian Mahinmi wouldn’t have played in it, J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic writes. The big man had said that he hoped he would be able to recover from a strained calf in time to play in the first round.
Bulls Notes: Butler, Rondo, Payne
As the dust settles on Chicago’s elimination from the NBA postseason, the topic of conversation shifts from their impressive early series performance against the Celtics to what they’ll do in the offseason. Jimmy Butler, for what it’s worth, tells Nick Friedell of ESPN that he’d like to remain with the Bulls.
Butler is well aware of the fact that he’ll be featured heavily in trade rumors this offseason but went so far as to say that he hoped the Bulls front office would retain potential free agent Rajon Rondo. The Bulls have a player option on the second year of the veteran guard’s contract.
“He’s been huge for us this year,” Butler said. “[…] But I don’t know what the future holds for anybody. So I’ll sit back and wait on that time to come.”
The 27-year-old swingman put up 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game for the Bulls despite the notoriously chaotic campaign and has said all the right things when it comes to his future in Chicago.
Whether the Bulls front office decides to keep the core that looked so promising in Games 1 and 2 of their first-round series together for another crack at Eastern Conference success in 2017/18, however, remains to be seen.
There’s more from Chicago:
- It was a frustrating season for Bulls fans, one they can blame on executives Gar Forman and John Paxon. ESPN’s Nick Friedell recently wrote about how the front office hasn’t exactly stuck to the message they initially broadcast to fans about a pending rebuild.
- Count The Vertical’s Shams Charania among those looking to make sense of the Bulls’ options heading forward. Much of what unfolds could depend on Dwyane Wade‘s player option, which at this point remains up in the air. Per Charania, Wade and Jimmy Butler will eventually discuss the decision “face-to-face”.
- A series of ESPN Insider panelists recently discussed the looming decisions that the Bulls will have to make. Despite a dramatic 2016/17, the consensus believes we’ll see a similar roster in 2017/18 once the front office picks up Rajon Rondo’s option and Dwyane Wade takes his.
- The Bulls still need a point guard for their future, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune writes. “It’s tough. We’re asking guys to play roles they haven’t played all year,” head coach Fred Hoiberg said of asking players like Dwyane Wade, Isaiah Canaan and even Paul Zipser to bring up the ball in their elimination game Friday.
- The carousal of point guards that the Bulls trotted out this season didn’t impress Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman. The Thunder columnist wrote about how Cameron Payne – the supposed primary factor in the Taj Gibson deal – was Chicago’s fifth-string point guard.