Kings, Mavs Open To Trading Down In Draft?
The Kings and Mavericks are open to the possibility of moving down in the draft, multiple NBA front-office executives tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Sacramento holds the No. 2 pick, while Dallas owns the No. 5 overall selection.
As O’Connor observes, the Kings are in the “asset-stacking business,” so if they can still nab a player they like with a later pick and acquire an extra asset or two in the process, that could appeal to them. Sacramento has shown a willingness to move down in each of the last two drafts, trading the No. 8 pick in 2016 and the No. 10 pick in 2017. The Kings have also reportedly shown “significant interest” in Michael Porter Jr. over the past year, and Porter isn’t expected to go as high as No. 2.
As for the Mavericks, they’ll be trying to compete for the playoffs next season, according to O’Connor. I get the sense that Dallas would be happy to keep that No. 5 pick to pair Dennis Smith Jr. with another potential franchise cornerstone, and GM Donnie Nelson has suggested as much. However, it sounds like the Mavs wouldn’t rule out trading down if the right offer came along.
We’ve now heard rumors that all five teams picking in the top five might be open to moving down. A May report indicated that the Grizzlies would listen to offers for the No. 4 pick, and the general managers in Phoenix and Atlanta have both left the door open to potential deals for No. 1 and No. 3, respectively.
As ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz wrote today, while Deandre Ayton is the strong frontrunner to be picked first overall, there are several prospects at the top of this year’s draft class that certain teams are very high on. Givony notes that some clubs love Luka Doncic, for instance, while others only have him sixth and seventh on their boards. “You hear similar things about [Mohamed] Bamba, [Jaren] Jackson, [Marvin] Bagley, Porter and even Ayton at times,” Givony writes.
[RELATED: Teams angling to move up, grab Jaren Jackson]
In other words, the possibility that a team picking in the top five might view a top prospect much differently than a team outside the top five could create some interesting trade opportunities next week.
2018 NBA Head Coaching Carousel Recap
After a 2017 offseason in which no NBA team made a head coaching change, the coaching carousel started spinning again once the 2017/18 regular season got underway. The Suns fired Earl Watson just four games into the season, and the Bucks and Grizzlies followed suit with in-season changes of their own.
At the end of the 2017/18 campaign, six more teams made coaching changes, meaning nearly one-third of the league’s 30 clubs will enter next season with head coaches who have been on the job for less than a year.
Here’s a recap of which teams have made head coaching changes during the ’17/18 NBA league year:
Atlanta Hawks
- Hired: Lloyd Pierce (story)
- Replaced: Mike Budenholzer (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal; fourth-year team option (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: Nate Tibbetts, Stephen Silas, Jay Larranaga, Jarron Collins, Darvin Ham, David Fizdale
Pierce has an extensive résumé as an NBA assistant, having worked for the Cavaliers (2007-10), Warriors (2010-11), Grizzlies (2011-13), and Sixers (2013-18). His time in Golden State overlapped with Travis Schlenk‘s tenure in the Warriors’ front office. This will be Pierce’s first NBA head coaching job.
Charlotte Hornets
- Hired: James Borrego (story)
- Replaced: Steve Clifford (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: Jay Larranaga, Jerry Stackhouse, Ettore Messina, David Fizdale, Ime Udoka, David Vanterpool, Jim Boylen, Nick Nurse
Although he earned a little experience as an interim head coach in Orlando in 2015, Borrego has primarily served as an NBA assistant throughout his coaching career. He was previously an assistant for the Spurs (2003-10; 2015-18), Hornets (2010-12), and Magic (2012-15). This will be Borrego’s first permanent NBA head coaching job.
Detroit Pistons
- Hired: Dwane Casey (story)
- Replaced: Stan Van Gundy (story)
- Contract details: Five-year deal, $35MM+ (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: Kenny Smith, Juwan Howard, Ime Udoka, John Beilein, Jason Kidd, Nick Nurse
- Note: The Pistons reportedly wanted to interview Mike Budenholzer before he was hired by the Bucks.
The 2018 recipient of the National Coaches Basketball Association’s Coach of the Year award, Casey is coming off a successful seven-year run as the Raptors’ head coach. A former assistant for the SuperSonics (1994-2005) and Mavericks (2008-11), Casey also had a head coaching stint with the Timberwolves (2005-07). This will be his third NBA head coaching job.
Memphis Grizzlies
- Hired: J.B. Bickerstaff (story)
- Replaced: David Fizdale (in-season change)
- Contract details: Three-year deal; third-year team option (link)
Of the nine teams who named new permanent head coaches this spring, Memphis was the only one not to conduct a full-fledged search. The Grizzlies opted to remove Bickerstaff’s interim tag, despite his 15-48 record last season. Bickerstaff was the Rockets’ interim head coach in 2015/16, but this will be his first role as a permanent head coach.
Milwaukee Bucks
- Hired: Mike Budenholzer (story)
- Replaced: Jason Kidd (in-season change); Joe Prunty (interim coach)
- Contract details: Four-year deal (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: Joe Prunty, Ettore Messina, Steve Clifford, Monty Williams, David Blatt, Becky Hammon, Jay Larranaga, Jim Cleamons
- Note: The Bucks reportedly wanted to interview James Borrego before he was hired by the Horents.
Budenholzer began interviewing for other head coaching positions while still under contract with the Hawks, but eventually he and Atlanta formally parted ways. The Milwaukee job will give Budenholzer the chance to avoid going through the rebuild in Atlanta. A longtime Spurs assistant (1996-2013), Budenholzer led the Hawks for five seasons. This will be his second NBA head coaching job.
New York Knicks
- Hired: David Fizdale (story)
- Replaced: Jeff Hornacek (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: Jerry Stackhouse, Mark Jackson, Mike Woodson, Kenny Smith, Mike Budenholzer, David Blatt, James Borrego, Jay Larranaga, Juwan Howard (story), Mike Brown
Fizdale, a veteran assistant with the Warriors (2003-04), Hawks (2004-08), and Heat (2008-16), received his first shot as an NBA head coach in Memphis in 2016. He was fired just 19 games into his second season with the Grizzlies, but was a popular candidate for teams with coaching openings this spring. This will be Fizdale’s second NBA head coaching job.
Orlando Magic
- Hired: Steve Clifford (story)
- Replaced: Frank Vogel (story)
- Contract details: Four-year deal (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: David Vanterpool, Ime Udoka, Kelvin Sampson, David Fizdale
The Magic conducted the longest-lasting head coaching search of any team and ultimately landed on Clifford, who is coming off a five-year stint as the head coach in Charlotte. Prior to joining the Hornets, Clifford worked as an assistant for the Knicks (2001-03), Rockets (2003-07), Magic (2007-12), and Lakers (2012-13). This will be his second NBA head coaching job.
Phoenix Suns
- Hired: Igor Kokoskov (story)
- Replaced: Earl Watson (in-season change); Jay Triano (interim coach)
- Contract details: Three-year deal (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: David Fizdale, Frank Vogel, Steve Clifford, Vinny Del Negro, James Borrego, Nick Nurse, Chris Finch, Jason Kidd, Mike Budenholzer
Kokoskov has been an assistant coach for several NBA teams, including the Clippers (2000-03), Pistons (2003-08), Suns (2008-13), Cavaliers (2013-14), Magic (2015), and Jazz (2015-18). He also has some international head coaching experience, having coached the Serbian, Georgian, and Slovenian national teams. This will be Kokoskov’s first NBA head coaching job, and he also becomes the league’s first European-born head coach.
Toronto Raptors
- Hired: Nick Nurse (story)
- Replaced: Dwane Casey (story)
- Contract details: Three-year deal, $10MM (link)
- Also reportedly interviewed: Rex Kalamian, Jerry Stackhouse, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Mike Budenholzer
Nurse coached outside of the NBA for much of his career, spending more than a decade in the British Basketball League and six seasons in the G League. He arrived in Toronto as an assistant in 2013 and has spent the last five years on the Raptors’ bench. This will be his first NBA head coaching job.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Draymond Green Unlikely To Sign Extension This Summer
Draymond Green will be eligible for a veteran contract extension this summer, and Warriors owner Joe Lacob recently said the team plans to offer one. However, league sources tell ESPN’s Chris Haynes that Green figures to turn down that extension when it’s offered.
The NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement limits veteran extensions to five total seasons, so with two years and $36MM+ still remaining on his current deal, Green could add three more years to that deal this offseason. Based on other CBA limitations, such an extension would be worth up to about $72MM over those three years. However, as Haynes observes, if the veteran forward earns All-NBA honors or the Defensive Player of the Year award next season, he’d be eligible for a super-max extension worth well over $200MM for five years.
With Curry already on a super-max deal for the Warriors and Kevin Durant likely to ink a lucrative new contract of his own this summer, it seems unlikely that the team would be willing to give Green a super-max of his own if he qualifies next year. Still, there’s some context to Green’s apparent stance, as Haynes explains.
As Green tells it, when he negotiated his last contract with the Warriors in 2015, he accepted about $12MM less than he could have earned. While agent B.J. Armstrong pushed for him to max out his potential earnings, Green wanted to take a slight discount in order to help Golden State create the cap room a star free agent like Durant.
“I took less so we could go after K.D.,” Green told Haynes during the NBA Finals. “I am a student of this game, and I studied the business side of it and the numbers, where some people don’t. They leave it up to their agent to do it.”
Having made that sacrifice on his last deal, Green is unlikely to accept any sort of discount on his next contract, sources tell Haynes. Even though that next contract may not be a super-max, Green seems likely to continue playing out his current deal for another year before seriously considering an extension.
Central Notes: Casey, Nwaba, Bulls, Pacers
While Dwane Casey was always viewed as a strong candidate for the Pistons‘ head coaching job, right up until the team hired him on Monday, the former Raptors coach seriously considered taking a year off, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. As Lewenberg observes though, the Pistons really sold Casey on their situation, and sitting around isn’t really in his nature anyway.
TNT’s David Aldridge provides further context on Casey’s decision, tweeting that the veteran coach wasn’t inclined to accept the job as recently as Saturday morning. However, Pistons ownership and management – led by Tom Gores – put the “full-court press” on in order to finalize a deal.
According to Aldridge, one concession the Pistons made was letting Casey pick his assistants. Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) hears from a source that there was no pressure from ownership to pick Casey’s assistants for him, and Aldridge notes the team’s denial, but insists that multiple sources say otherwise (Twitter link). As Aldridge notes, it wouldn’t have been unprecedented for Casey to inherit some assistants that Pistons management likes, and it’s possible he’ll do just that, but he won’t be obligated to do so.
Here’s more from around the Central division:
- With his restricted free agency approaching, Bulls swingman David Nwaba has hired new representation, signing with agent Charles Briscoe, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Charania previously identified Nwaba as an under-the-radar RFA target who should generate plenty of interest this summer.
- When word of Jimmy Butler‘s trade broke last June, Butler’s trainer Travelle Gaines made some pointed comments about the Bulls and GM Gar Forman in a now-deleted tweet. However, as he tells Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago, Gaines doesn’t “feel the Bulls are a bad organization or franchise” and wouldn’t steer current clients like Trae Young away from Chicago.
- As Thaddeus Young considers opting out of his contract, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter) that the Pacers could easily carve out about $23MM in cap space if Young walks. Meanwhile, J. Michael and Scott Horner of The Indianapolis Star identify some free agents the Pacers could go after with that space.
Myers: Warriors Will Give Durant ‘Whatever He Wants’ On New Deal
Kevin Durant indicated several days ago that he fully intends to re-sign with the Warriors after opting out of his contract this summer, and it doesn’t sound like president of basketball operations Bob Myers will draw any sort of hard line in negotiations. As Janie McCauley of The Associated Press relays, Myers said the team is prepared to give Durant “whatever he wants.”
“Sometimes you don’t negotiate. I’d love to have him for 10 years. Kevin Durant, look what he did for us last year, he did us a great service,” Myers said. “He’s earned the right to sign whatever deal he wants. I just want him to sign a deal. But want him to be happy and want him to know that we want him as long as he wants to be here. He’s earned that, to kind of lay out the terms. He can do whatever he wants. That shouldn’t be a long negotiation.”
In each of the last two summers, Durant has signed a two-year contract with a second-year player option in order to maximize his flexibility. However, the Early Bird exception prohibits that sort of deal. If the Warriors re-sign the star forward using his Early Bird rights, the contract would have to be for at least two years (with no options) and couldn’t exceed four years.
Durant could still sign a one-year pact with an eye toward hitting free agency again in 2019, when he’ll have full Bird rights and could sign a five-year contract. But a one-year deal this year would use the Non-Bird exception and wouldn’t allow him to earn his full max, since he accepted a discount last summer. As such, Durant will have some decisions to make this offseason, and it sounds like the Warriors are ready to accommodate whatever path he chooses.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have a few other extension candidates to keep an eye on this summer, including Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and head coach Steve Kerr. For his part, Kerr said he expects to get a new agreement “done pretty quick,” suggesting that wouldn’t be an acrimonious negotiation either. As for Thompson and Green, Myers agreed with team owner Joe Lacob that the team will explore new deals for those stars this offseason, but suggested that won’t necessarily be a top priority.
“It’s a lot of different conversations that have to take place and if that’s something that we want to look into, I’m sure we could have those (conversations),” Myers said. “Klay’s got another year, Draymond’s got two more. Kevin’s really the free agent we have to focus on.”
Draft Workouts: Brown, Lakers, Grizzlies, Alkins
Oregon shooting guard Troy Brown worked out for the Spurs on Sunday, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets. The Spurs hold the No. 18 pick and Brown is ranked No. 19 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Brown then worked out for the Wizards Monday and is headed to Milwaukee for an evaluation by the Bucks, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington tweets. Washington owns the No. 15 selection with the Bucks at No. 17.
We have plenty of other workouts to pass along:
- The Lakers will work out Abdul-Malik Abu (North Carolina State), Trevon Bluiett (Xavier), Kameron Chatman (Detroit), Manu Lecomte (Baylor), Marcus Lee (Cal) and Matt Mobley (St. Bonaventure) on Tuesday, the team’s PR department tweets. Seton Hall big man Angel Delgado will get a second look from the Lakers on Tuesday, Adam Zagoria of the New York Times tweets.
- The Grizzlies will bring in six second-round prospects on Tuesday, according to a team press release. That group includes A.J. Davis (UCF), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Brandon Goodwin (Florida Gulf Coast), Devonte’ Graham (Kansas), Terry Larrier (Connecticut) and Ray Spalding (Louisville). Memphis held a workout with projected lottery pick Wendell Carter Jr. on Monday, Chris Herrington tweets. Carter is ranked No. 6 by Givony; the Grizzlies have the No. 4 pick.
- Arizona guard Rawle Alkins will be evaluated by the Warriors on Tuesday, according to another Zagoria tweet.
- Swingman Todd Withers (Queens) has worked out for the Thunder, Nets and Hornets, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
- Zhaire Smith will work out for the Sixers and Suns after visiting the Wizards on Monday, Chase Hughes of NBCSWashington tweets. The Texas Tech forward is ranked No. 16 overall by Givony.
Draft Decisions: Antetokounmpo, Bowen, Kurucs, Bonga
Kostas Antetokounmpo opted to remain in the draft prior to Monday afternoon’s early-entry deadline, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony tweets. The 6’10” forward, Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s brother, cancelled all of his remaining scheduled private workouts, Givony adds. That suggests that he might have a guarantee from some team to draft him.
The Dayton freshman averaged a mere 5.2 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 15.1 MPG during his lone college season. Givony has the younger Antetokounmpo ranked No. 57 in his latest Top 100 rankings.
We have other early-entrant decisions to pass along:
- Swingman Brian Bowen has withdrawn his name from the draft, Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com reports. Bowen, who was swept up in the Louisville scandal and then transferred to South Carolina, would have had to sit out next college season. He is now free to pursue opportunities in the NBA G League or overseas and then potentially re-enter the draft next year, Zagoria adds.
- Rodions Kurucs will remain in the draft, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets. The 6’10” Latvian forward, who withdrew from the draft last year, is ranked No. 42 by Givony. Isaac Bonga has also remained in the June draft, Charania adds in another tweet. The 6’9”, 18-year-old German forward is ranked No. 54 by Givony.
- Matur Maker, brother of the Bucks’ Thon Maker, has withdrawn from the draft, Zagoria tweets.
- Karim Jallow, a small forward from Greece, has decided to pass on this year’s draft, according to Givony (Twitter link). He was ranked No. 67. Georgios Kalaitzakis and Vasilis Charalampopoulos, another pair of Greek prospects, have withdrawn their names, Givony tweets. The same goes for two French prospects, Adam Mokoka and Amine Noua, Givony adds in another tweet.
- We relayed several other prospects’ decisions earlier today, including that of Luka Doncic.
Latest On LeBron James’ Future
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert cannot offer LeBron James a stake in the franchise in an effort to retain his services, Michael McCann and Jon Wortheim of Sports Illustrated point out. The Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits players from holding direct or indirect interest in the ownership of a team, thus the NBA would not approve a contract with any type of ownership provision, the story continues. The league has also been vigilant in preventing players and owners from intermingling their business interests, the SI duo notes. James can opt out of his contract or try to force a trade to a desired destination this summer.
Here’s some other interesting notes regarding the possibility of James playing elsewhere next season:
- The Rockets would need to either gut their roster or make a trade with the Cavaliers to add James, but the latter option is complicated by the team’s roster composition, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes. The Cavaliers would likely want quality young talent to kick-start a rebuild in any James trade and the Rockets don’t have enough of those players while trying to match up salaries to absorb James’ $35MM contract, Feigen adds. The most desirable option for the Rockets is to dump Ryan Anderson‘s contract ($20.4MM next season and $21.3 MM in 2019/20) on a team with ample cap room, according to Kevin Pelton of ESPN. But Houston probably doesn’t have enough first-round picks to package with Anderson to get a third party to bite, Pelton adds.
- There are major obstacles to any possible pursuit of James’ services by the Celtics, DJ Bean of NBCSports.com notes. It’s highly unlikely that Boston would include Gordon Hayward in any deal, considering the high-level free agent chose Boston last summer and hasn’t even played a full game with the franchise, Bean continues. There’s also the sticky problem of trying to reunite James with Kyrie Irving, who asked out of Cleveland last summer. Acquiring James now would likely damage the team’s long-term prospects for being the dominant team in the league, given the assets they’d likely have to trade, Bean adds. Logically, the only big contract the Celtics would be willing to move is Al Horford‘s deal, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- James’ decision will have more to do with his family than basketball, former teammate Dwyane Wade predicts, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald writes. “I don’t really think for him the basketball decision is ‘Oh, let me go team up with three All-Stars.’ I think at this point in his life it’s more so of a lifestyle thing,” Wade said. “Where is my family going to be the most comfortable at? Where am I going to be the happiest at? Because basketball-wise he’s so great, he can take along whoever.”
- The Lakers and Sixers are the favorites to land James while the Cavs are just a 5-1 shot to retain him, according to Bovada sports book, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. The odds rundown can be found here.
Teams Angling To Move Up, Grab Jaren Jackson
Numerous teams outside the top four in the lottery are trying to move up in order to draft Michigan State freshman forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Jackson was extremely impressive in a workout on Sunday for the Suns, who own the top pick, Wojnarowski continues. The teams in the next three slots — the Kings, Hawks and Grizzlies — could receive some increasingly attractive offers due to Jackson’s rising stock, Wojnarowski adds.
Jackson has the size, length, shot-blocking ability and shooting range to be a force at both ends of the floor. He averaged 10.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 3.0 BPG in his lone college season with the Spartans. The 6’11” Jackson also made 39.6% of his 3-point attempts.
Jackson is currently ranked No. 4 by ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony.
East Draft Notes: Knicks, Hawks, Bulls, Hornets, Pacers
The Knicks will work out UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday shortly before draft night, according to Ian Begley of ESPN. Holiday will have to make quite an impression to get drafted by New York. He’s currently ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and the Knicks hold the No. 9 pick.
Texas A&M big man Robert Williams, ranked No. 12 by Givony, and Missouri State forward Alize Johnson worked out for the Knicks on Monday, according to another Begley post. Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo was scheduled to work out for New York this week but it will not happen as scheduled, Begley adds.
In other draft workout news concerning Eastern Conference teams:
- The Hawks will work out Oklahoma point guard Trae Young on Tuesday, according to a team press release. Young is ranked No. 8 by Givony; Atlanta holds the No. 3 pick.
- Kentucky forward Kevin Knox, rated No. 9 by Givony, worked out for the Bulls on Monday, according to the team’s website. Bryant McIntosh (Northwestern), Donovan Jackson (Iowa State), Jae’Sean Tate (Ohio State), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt) and Nick Dixon (UTRGV) were also evaluated by Chicago. The Bulls have the No. 7 selection in the first round.
- The Hornets will soon work out Michigan State forward Miles Bridges, Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports tweets. Bridges, who visited the Sixers Monday, is ranked No. 15 by Givony and Charlotte holds the No. 11 pick.
- An injury prevented Tulane small forward Melvin Frazier from working out with the Pacers on Monday, Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports tweets.