Nikola Vucevic Interested In Long-Term Deal With Magic
Magic center Nikola Vucevic is happy in Orlando and can see a long-term future with the franchise, as he told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. Vucevic has one year and $12.75MM remaining on his contract, then becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. Vucevic would like to see progress from the team next season but has faith that it’s headed in the right direction.
“I believe we aren’t too far away and we can compete very soon,” he said. “When you win in this league, that’s the best feeling. So that’s what is most important to me. I do believe we can get there, though.”
There’s more nuggets from Kennedy’s interview with Vucevic:
- The 7-footer is focused on expanding his 3-point game in a league that increasingly demands that big men stretch the floor. Vucevic didn’t venture out much to the 3-point line until last season, when he averaged 3.6 attempts per game and connected on 31.4% of them. “This is something that I’ve wanted to add to my game to help our team get better, so I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for me this summer. I’ll continue to focus on that. I’ll also be playing with my national team, and I’ll continue to work on that while I’m with them.”
- Vucevic had dinner with new coach Steve Clifford and was very impressed by the ex-Hornets head man. “You can tell he knows the game really well. He’s really creative. He’s going to do a really good job of putting our guys in positions to be successful and making us better. Everything we talked about throughout our conversation was very positive.”
- Forward Aaron Gordon‘s steady improvement was a product of hard work, rather than simply his athleticism, according to Vucevic. “He works as hard as any guy on our team – if not harder. He’s always showing up early and staying late. … Some people may think he’s just a freak athlete, but they don’t realize how much work he has put in to improve the way he has year after year, especially this past season.”
Southeast Notes: Chalmers, Magic, Foster, Hawks
Free agents and former Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers have been working out together in Miami, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports. They were Miami’s starting backcourt during its championship runs in 2012 and 2013. Wade finished last season with the Heat, while Chalmers played for the Grizzlies. They have been working out at DBC Fitness, a Miami gym run by David Alexander, one of LeBron James‘ trainers, Winderman notes.
In other news around the Southeast Division:
- New Magic coach Steve Clifford is bringing in two of his former Hornets assistants in Pat Delany and Steve Hetzel, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Both worked under Clifford the past four seasons. New Knicks coach David Fizdale was interested in bringing on Delany to his staff, Stein adds.
- Greg Foster will join the staff of new Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets. Foster had been an assistant with the Bucks since 2014.
- Georgia forward Yante Maten is among the draft prospects the Hawks will work out on Tuesday, according to a team release. Elijah Stewart (USC), Isaiah Wilkins (Virginia), Melvin Frazier (Tulane), Elijah Brown (Oregon) and Trevon Bluiett (Xavier) are also scheduled to visit.
Pistons Want More Talks With Casey, Beilein, Udoka
9:35pm: Spurs assistant Ime Udoka also remains on the short list and the Pistons are making plans to advance the three candidates to meet with owner Tom Gores, according to Wojnarowski.
6:04pm: The Pistons would like to have additional conversations with former Raptors coach Dwane Casey and current Michigan coach John Beilein regarding their head coaching job, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Both coaches have already met with Detroit’s front office, Wojnarowski adds.
This suggests that the duo may be emerging as the top candidates for the position, despite their very different resumes. Casey was named NBA Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association after guiding the Raptors to the Eastern Conference’s best record, then was abruptly fired after Toronto was swept by the Cavaliers during the conference semifinals.
Casey, who had coached the Raptors since 2011, was the winningest coach in team history, leading the club to a 373-307 (.549) regular season record. He had one year left on his contract with Toronto, worth $6MM.
Beilein has been a long-time college coach and led the Wolverines to the NCAA title game before they fell to heavily favored Villanova. Beilein has compiled a 248-143 record in 11 years at Michigan, including two trips to the Final Four.
Newly hired special advisor Ed Stefanski said that hiring a new head coach was a priority over hiring another front office executive. Stan Van Gundy held the positions of head coach and president of basketball operations before he was fired last month. GM Jeff Bower was let go last week.
Former Bucks coach Jason Kidd, Spurs assistants Becky Hammon and Ime Udoka, Heat assistant Juwan Howard, and TNT broadcaster Kenny Smith have also been connected to the position.
Community Shootaround: NBA Finals
The Warriors barely survived Game 1, but as the 2018 NBA Finals head to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4, the results thus far have been predictable. Heavily favored Golden State held home court and carries a 2-0 lead to the Midwest.
LeBron James‘ monstrous 51-point game in the opener nearly allowed the Cavaliers to steal one at Oracle Arena. A controversial reversal of a block/charge call, along with J.R. Smith‘s brain lock after rebounding a free throw in the closing seconds of regulation, gave the Warriors a reprieve and they dominated the overtime session. Stephen Curry‘s 3-point barrage assured the Warriors wouldn’t have to sweat out the closing minutes of Game 2.
However, the Cavs have been tough at the Q this postseason, winning their last eight games at their cozy and noisy home arena. Also, as Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com notes, the Warriors are not as deep or as disciplined as they have been in past playoff runs.
What they do have, of course, is more superstar power. And they could back their defensive stalwart, Andre Iguodala, as soon as Game 3. Iguodala has missed the last six games with a knee injury.
Certainly, everyone outside of Golden State fans would like to see the Cavaliers make a stand and provide some suspense to the series. If the Warriors win on Wednesday, a sweep or a five-game series, as was the case last season, would seem inevitable.
That leads us to our question of the day: Can the Cavaliers climb back in the series or have the Warriors already established their dominance?
Please take to the comments section and voice your opinion.
Monty Williams Agrees To Become Top Sixers Assistant
Monty Williams has reached an agreement with the Sixers to become Brett Brown’s top assistant, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Williams emerged last week as a candidate to join Brown’s staff. He’ll replace Lloyd Pierce, who was named the Hawks’ head coach. Brown agreed to a three-year extension with the Sixers last week.
Williams will be leaving his position as the Spurs’ vice president of basketball operations. He spent five seasons as a head coach with the Pelicans, compiling a 173-221 record and reaching the playoffs twice, and wanted to return to coaching.
Williams served as associate head coach with the Thunder during the 2015/16 season before the Spurs hired him.
West Draft Workouts: Jazz, T-Wolves, Blazers, Suns
UCLA point guard Aaron Holiday and Duke guard Grayson Allen were among the first-round prospects that the Jazz evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Holiday is ranked No. 17 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony on his latest Top 100 prospects list, while Allen checks in at No. 30. Creighton’s Khyri Thomas (No. 27), Villanova’s Jalen Brunson (No. 34), Louisville’s Ray Spalding (No. 52) and San Diego State’s Malik Pope were the other prospects who visited Utah.
We have some other draft workouts involving Western Conference clubs to pass along:
- Villanova point guard Donte DiVincenzo and Miami (Fla.) shooting guard Bruce Brown were the top prospects that the Timberwolves worked out on Monday, according to Darren Wolfson of KSTP. DiVincenzo and Brown are ranked No. 28 and No. 29 by Givony. They were joined by Rawle Alkins (Arizona), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), D.J. Hogg (Texas A&M) and Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech). Contrary to a previous report, Okogie visited Minnesota for the first time (Twitter links here).
- Kentucky shooting guard Hamidou Diallo headlined the prospects that the Trail Blazers brought in on Monday, according to a team press release. Diallo is ranked No. 36 by Givony. Anfernee Simons, Jairus Lyles (UMBC), Victor Sanders (Idaho), Trevon Duval (Duke) and Shake Milton (SMU) were the other guards that Portland checked out.
- French guard Elie Okobo topped the list of prospects the Suns evaluated on Monday, according to a team tweet. Okobo is ranked No. 21 by Givony. He was joined by Jevon Carter (West Virginia), Joel Berry (North Carolina), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Thomas Welsh (UCLA) and Ajdin Penava (Marshall).
Latest On Bryan Colangelo Investigation
The Sixers hired the law firm of Paul/Weiss to independently investigate a potential connection between president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo and a handful of burner Twitter accounts, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. According to Wojnarowski, the 76ers are pushing for a resolution on the situation within the next few days.
The law firm is the same one that was hired by the National Basketball Players Association in 2013 to look into the business practices of former executive director Billy Hunter. According to Wojnarowski, Paul/Weiss is believed to be using cyberintelligence consultants to aid the investigation, with Colangelo giving up his electronic devices as part of the probe.
Wojnarowski reports that the Paul/Weiss investigation has become primarily focused on Colangelo’s wife Barbara as the possible author of a number of tweets that criticized Sixers players and revealed private information about them. The tweets from the anonymous accounts also discussed proposed trades, former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, and Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, who took over for Colangelo in Toronto.
While Colangelo continues to insist that he had no previous knowledge of any of the tweets, which may have been published by his wife, there’s skepticism “inside and outside” the Sixers in regard to that claim, says Wojnarowski.
Describing the Philadelphia ownership group as “angry” and “embarrassed,” Woj writes that there have been discussions about firing Colangelo, adding that team ownership “has been reluctant to separate Colangelo from any family member or close associate responsible” for the tweets.
Mikal Bridges Working Out For Bulls, Knicks, Sixers
Having already worked out for the Hornets, former Villanova small forward Mikal Bridges auditioned for the Bulls today, and also has workouts scheduled with the Knicks and Sixers, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com.
Bridges could end up adding more teams to his list of pre-draft workouts, but the current group is a reflection of his draft stock, as those four teams range from No. 7 (Chicago) to No. 11 (Charlotte). Bridges is viewed as a probable lottery pick who has a chance to come off the board in the top 10.
Speaking today to reporters, including Friedell, Bridges said he thinks he’d fit in “perfectly” with the Bulls’ young core. However, Chicago is far from the only good fit for the 3-and-D wing. In his latest mock draft, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony wrote that Bridges is “an easy player to slot on almost any NBA roster,” given his role-player potential.
[RELATED: Latest on Bulls’ options at No. 7]
Bridges took a major step forward during his junior year at Villanova, increasing his PPG from 9.8 in 2016/17 to 17.7 in 2017/18, en route to a second championship in three years. He also contributed 5.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and 1.1 BPG for the Wildcats, with a very efficient shooting line of .514/.435/.851.
Draft Workouts: Walker, Clippers, A.J. Davis, Hawks
Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV, considered a potential lottery pick, had his first pre-draft workout on Sunday when he met with the Hornets, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. According to Bonnell, Walker indicated that he’ll audition for about six more teams, all of whom are picking in the 10-to-20 range in this month’s draft.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN.com has Walker going to the Clippers at No. 13 in his most recent mock draft, noting that the former Hurricane is a candidate to increase his stock during the pre-draft process due to his ” youth, strong frame, wingspan, and ability to shoot with his feet set or off the dribble.”
Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts, including another note on the Clippers:
- The Clippers are hosting six prospects for a workout today, with De’Anthony Melton (USC), Drew Eubanks (Oregon State), Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech), Troy Brown Jr. (Oregon), Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), and Brandon Sampson (LSU) getting a look from the club (Twitter link).
- UCF forward A.J. Davis, the son of former NBA big man Antonio Davis, will audition for the Bulls, Pacers, and Magic, a league source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- Jacob Evans (Cincinnati), Devonte’ Graham (Kansas), Nick King (Middle Tennessee State), Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt), Landry Shamet (Wichita State), and Zach Thomas (Bucknell) make up the latest group of Hawks workout participants, according to the team.
- Texas A&M big man Tyler Davis is among the prospects working out for the Knicks on Wednesday, per Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link).
Pistons Notes: Coaching Search, Free Agency, Beilein
The NBA draft is two and a half weeks away, and the free agent period will follow shortly thereafter. However, Detroit doesn’t have a first-round pick in the draft or cap room for free agents, so special advisor Ed Stefanski isn’t rushing to get a new head of basketball operations in place. In fact, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details, it sounds as if Stefanski is prioritizing the head coaching search.
“The priority right now is going for a head coach,” Stefanski said. “You would almost say simultaneously trying to find the front office, but a head coach is important so we can get that person to put arms around our players and make sure they’re doing their offseason program and developing. The summer is when these players really develop and that’s huge for the franchise.”
Here’s more on the Pistons, including a few notes on that search for a new head coach:
- Here’s Stefanski on free agency, via Langlois: “We do not have a ton of money, so we’re not a player early on in free agency. But in any free agency period, you’ll be surprised after the A-guys go off the board and money gets tight, I believe some good players are out there and hopefully we can get them with the amount of money we have left.”
- Perhaps the most interesting name to surface in the Pistons’ head coaching search has been that of Michigan coach John Beilein. Shawn Windsor of The Detroit Free Press makes the case that a deal between Beilein and the Pistons could be a fit for both sides, while Rod Beard of The Detroit News and Andrew Kahn of MLive.com also examine the possibility of a union.
- Beard notes (via Twitter) that he doesn’t get the sense that Beilein is interviewing with the Pistons to create leverage for a larger contract from the Wolverines, adding that “this interest might be real.”
- Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) recently indicated that Raptors assistant Nick Nurse is among the candidates meeting with the Pistons about their head coaching job.