Celtics Notes: Irving, Lottery, Hayward, Shrewsberry
Although many Celtics fans have turned on Kyrie Irving following a disappointing playoff performance, losing him in free agency would be a worst-case scenario for the franchise, writes Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Even though he damaged his reputation and alienated younger teammates this year, Irving remains among the league’s best players at a crucial position, Forsberg states, and would be very difficult to replace.
Even if they subtract Irving’s $21.3MM salary for next season, the Celtics won’t have much cap room to work with, assuming Al Horford opts for one more season at $30.1MM. Losing Irving would also leave Boston without a superstar presence who might attract other stars or inspire Anthony Davis to sign a long-term deal if the Celtics trade for him.
A sign-and-trade deal involving Irving probably isn’t realistic, Forsberg adds. The Celtics wouldn’t be able to offer a fifth season in that scenario and it would only benefit a team that doesn’t have the cap space to sign him. Teams where Irving might be headed, such as the Knicks, Nets, Clippers or Lakers, can already offer a max deal.
There’s more out of Boston:
- Tuesday’s draft lottery will help define the Celtics’ plans for the offseason, notes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. With the Clippers’ pick at No. 20 and their own selection at 22 already in hand, Boston will wait to see what happens with the Kings’ and Grizzlies’ choices. The Celtics will receive Sacramento’s pick unless it lands at No. 1 and Memphis’ choice if it’s outside of the top eight. All those selections could be valuable in a potential trade for Davis.
- Gordon Hayward is eager for another offseason to continue his comeback from a devastating ankle injury, Bulpett relays in a separate story. “I’m definitely looking forward to having a good summer, not dealing as much with rehab but still definitely working on the ankle and all that type of stuff,” he said. “But that’s going to be nowhere near as much as before. I’m a lot of time removed from the surgery, and that’s for sure exciting. Now I can do what I’ve always done every summer, and I’m for sure looking forward to that, getting back to that and really digging in and trying to have a really good summer.”
- Micah Shrewsberry tells Dustin Dopirak of The Athletic that his decision to leave the Celtics’ staff for a job at Purdue was simply a matter of preferring the college game. “My personality is more geared toward the college side,” Shrewsberry said. “I’m a relationships guy. If you would ask anybody that’s run across me, I value relationships, continuing and maintaining and having those. That’s something you get in college.”
Lakers Notes: Davis, Vogel, Kidd, Front Office
The Lakers are in position to dictate the terms of an Anthony Davis trade and should make an offer with a firm deadline, writes Bobby Marks of ESPN. L.A. made a strong push for Davis before the February deadline, reportedly offering several packages of young players and draft picks for the Pelicans star, who can opt out of his contract and become a free agent next summer.
Marks believes getting past the constraints of the regular season could work in the Lakers’ favor as they no longer have to take on an unwanted contract such as Solomon Hill‘s to complete a deal. He suggests offering Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, this year’s lottery pick plus an unprotected first-rounder in 2021 and giving New Orleans a June 30 deadline to complete the deal so it will be resolved before free agency.
Under that proposal, L.A. would use some of its cap space to absorb Davis’ salary, eliminating the opportunity to offer a max deal on the free agent market, but the Lakers would get their second star and still have enough left over to chase second-tier free agents.
There’s more this morning from Los Angeles:
- If the Lakers can’t land Davis or sign an elite free agent, Marks recommends following the Pacers’ approach and improving the roster through two-year contracts. He identifies T.J. McConnell, Danny Green, Bojan Bogdanovic and Dewayne Dedmon as players who might be willing to take a portion of the available $35.6MM on short-term deals.
- Because he had to take on Jason Kidd as an assistant, new Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is walking into a situation similar to what LeBron James‘ former coach, David Blatt, faced in Cleveland, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Blatt wasn’t able to earn respect from James, who bonded with former player Tyronn Lue, his top assistant, setting the stage for a coaching change a year later. James and Kidd already have a strong relationship, Windhorst notes, that began when they won Olympic gold medals together in 2008.
- The Lakers’ awkward coaching search exposes the danger of having too many people trying to run the organization, writes Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times. Kurt Rambis is expanding his power as an adviser, and his wife Linda has become a “shadow owner” because of her friendship with Jeanie Buss. Ex-coach Phil Jackson is also contributing ideas, while former team president Magic Johnson has reconciled with Buss and is offering advice as well.
Community Shootaround: Lakers’ New Coach
The coaching search is over and the Lakers finally have their man.
Or men, more accurately, as former Nets and Bucks head coach Jason Kidd came along as part of a package deal with Frank Vogel. Kidd will be as an assistant and will serve as a mentor to Lonzo Ball, whose game was compared to Kidd’s coming out of college. However, it didn’t take long for speculation to spread on social media that Kidd has his eyes on Vogel’s job.
The Lakers need a transformation, and we’ll find out quickly if Vogel can make it happen. He built a reputation in Indiana as a tough, defensive-minded coach who led the Pacers to five playoff appearances and two straight conference finals. His standing took a hit during two seasons in Orlando, where the Magic were never competitive or especially strong on defense.
The most important question for any Lakers coach, of course, is how does he look to LeBron James. LeBron’s coaches have very short tenures when they don’t win over his respect, with Luke Walton recently being added to the list. Vogel doesn’t have a prior relationship with James or with any of this year’s top free agents, so his hiring wasn’t designed to give L.A. an edge in rebuilding its roster.
Ben Golliver of The Washington Post speculates that the addition of Vogel could be on ongoing source of friction inside the Lakers’ management team. He reportedly received “mixed reviews” after his interview on Thursday, with team adviser Kurt Rambis as Vogel’s top advocate.
Golliver notes that three factors could limit Vogel’s time in his new position. James, who will turn 35 in December and is only committed to the team for two more years before he can opt out, expects to contend right away. However, the Lakers have a poor defense in place and no center on the current roster, while Vogel hasn’t coached a team with a better-than-average offense since 2012.
In addition, Vogel’s short contract will make him easy to part with if the organization decides things aren’t working, and Kidd will be there looking over his shoulder.
We want to get your opinion on the Lakers’ coaching search. Was Vogel the right choice? And will he get time to succeed or will Kidd eventually take over? Please leave your answers in the space below.
Rockets Notes: Paul, Free Agents, Capela, Rosas
There are a lot of concerns in Houston after another season ended with a playoff loss to the Warriors, but the decline of Chris Paul may be the most serious issue, writes Sean Deveney of Sporting News. Paul missed at least 20 games for the third straight season, playing in 58, and his production declined in several important areas.
The nine-time All-Star posted career lows in scoring (15.6 PPG), shooting (41.9% from the field), free throw frequency (3.5 per game) and PER (19.7). He had difficulty finding his shot in the playoffs, making just one of his first 10 3-point attempts and shooting 27% from long distance.
Now 34, Paul just completed the first season of a four-year extension he signed last summer. He will make $38.5MM next season, $41.3MM in 2020/21 and has a $44.2MM option for 2021/22. Paul, James Harden and Clint Capela will consume 85% of the Rockets‘ cap space next season, Deveney notes, and are all under contract through the summer of 2022.
There’s more tonight from Houston:
- Midseason acquisitions Austin Rivers, Kenneth Faried and Iman Shumpert may all be headed elsewhere this summer, Deveney adds. All three will be unrestricted free agents, and the Rockets won’t have much to offer beyond their mid-level exception. Deveney sees Gerald Green, who played for the veteran’s minimum this year, as likely to return.
- Capela’s contract could be a major issue if he can’t overcome the confidence problem that seems to plague him against the Warriors, states Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Capela is owed up to approximately $72.2MM over the next four years, and although he played well during the season, he has become a matchup problem against Golden State. “He’ll learn from this, he’ll only get better,” coach Mike D’Antoni said after the Game 6 loss. “He’s only 25, he’ll get stronger. The expectations are high for him. I think he was a little below his normal stats. Could’ve been better, but I’ll go down with guys like that.”
- The Rockets are making some front office changes after losing executive VP Gersson Rosas to the Timberwolves, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Assistant GM Jimmy Paulis has taken Rosas’ duties of coordinating the team’s scouts, and GM Daryl Morey is looking to hire someone to fill the vacancy.
Monty Williams Turned Down Lakers’ Coaching Offer
Monty Williams, who will take over as the Suns’ new head coach when the Sixers’ playoff run ends, rejected an offer from the Lakers before accepting the job in Phoenix, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Tyronn Lue made headlines on Wednesday when he turned down the Lakers’ offer and pulled his name out of consideration, but this is the first time we’ve heard that Williams was also offered the job. Lue was upset that the offer only covered three years, which is the same contract length that Frank Vogel accepted and presumably is what was offered to Williams. He received a five-year commitment from the Suns.
Williams was among the first round of candidates to interview for the Lakers’ vacancy, along with Lue, Heat assistant Juwan Howard and newly hired Lakers assistant Jason Kidd. Several members of L.A.’s front office traveled to Philadelphia to meet with Williams on April 25, less than two weeks after firing Luke Walton.
Williams’ ability to receive two head coaching offers in his first season back on the sidelines speaks to his reputation around the league. He spent two years out of the NBA following his wife’s death before returning as an assistant with the Sixers.
Cavaliers Interview More Coaching Candidates
Members of the Cavaliers‘ front office are meeting with four candidates for their head coaching vacancy today in Denver, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
We told you earlier that Magic assistant coach Steve Hetzel had an interview, but GM Koby Altman and his staff also talked to Nuggets assistants Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr.
Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool will interview tonight, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, while fellow Portland assistant Nate Tibbetts had a scheduling conflict and will hold his interview sometime after tomorrow’s Game 7. That will wrap up the first round of the coaching search, Fedor adds (Twitter link).
Cleveland has conducted the most wide-ranging interview process among the teams looking for a head coach. Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and Ettore Messina, former Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley have all interviewed for the job.
Brett Brown’s Job In Jeopardy?
Brett Brown may be coaching to keep his job as the Sixers face the Raptors in Game 7 tomorrow, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. Stein states that Brown “has little chance of surviving a second-round exit” and likely needs to reach the NBA Finals to avoid being fired.
Philadephia took two big roster gambles this season, trading for Jimmy Butler in November and Tobias Harris in February. Both will be free agents this summer, along with J.J. Redick, and it appears the front office won’t forgive Brown if the team doesn’t win big right away.
Brown’s first sign of trouble came just before the opening-round series against the Nets when managing partner Josh Harris sidestepped an opportunity to give him a vote of confidence. Harris responded to a question on the topic by saying the entire organization has “high expectations.”
A coaching change would be a costly move for the Sixers, who gave Brown a three-year extension last May. However, that decision was made by former president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo, who left the team a week later after an incident involving Twitter burner accounts.
Brown, 58, has been the head coach in Philadelphia since the 2013/14 season, surviving a lot of lean years during “The Process” as the team lost big to accumulate assets. He has led the Sixers to 52 and 51 wins the past two seasons, along with a second-round playoff loss last year.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 5/4/19 – 5/11/19
Every week, the Hoops Rumors writing team creates original content to complement our news feed. Here are our original segments and features from the past seven days:
- In this week’s polls, we asked:
- Which teams will take Game 7 in the Raptors/Sixers and Nuggets/Blazers series?
- Which team is going to win the Nuggets/Blazers series?
- Where Kyrie Irving will wind up next season?
- Our 2019 Offseason Salary Cap Digest series focused on the following teams:
- In his latest mailbag, Arthur Hill tackled the question of which players the Knicks would target if they don’t get the top pick in the draft.
- In this week’s Community Shootaround posts, we asked:
- Whether the Raptors or Sixers would be a better matchup for the Bucks in the conference finals?
- What went wrong with the Eastern Conference preseason favorite Celtics this season?
- Luke Adams took a look at Five Key Offseason Questions facing the Atlanta Hawks and Phoenix Suns.
- Dana Gauruder’s Stock Watch series focused on Western Conference playoff participants whose free agent value has risen or dropped due to their playoff performance.
Pelicans Notes: Celtics Trade, Knox, Gentry, Trainer
The Celtics’ flameout in the postseason may have reduced the possibility of the Pelicans trading Anthony Davis to Boston, according to Scott Kushner of The New Orleans Advocate. A package of forward Jayson Tatum and a handful of the Celtics’ first-round draft picks would have been considered a fair return for Davis, who can become a free agent after next season. However, Tatum regressed in his second season and struggled during the postseason, Kushner continues. Boston’s incentive to acquire Davis has diminished with the likely departure of Kyrie Irving and the lack of enough quality pieces around Davis after a potential trade to make a championship run, Kushner adds.
We have more on the Pelicans:
- The team’s front office has quietly gathered intelligence on the Knicks’ first-round pick, forward Kevin Knox, Ian Begley of SNY TV reports. Knox averaged 12.8 PPG in his rookie campaign and improved his shooting percentage as the season went along. If the Knicks win the lottery, that pick plus Knox and other assets could be attractive to New Orleans. However, there’s no consensus within the Knicks organization about trading that pick, even for a shot at Davis, Begley adds.
- Alvin Gentry’s personality is the main reason why new VP of basketball operations David Griffin retained him, Kushner reveals in a separate story. Gentry’s lighthearted, professional and charismatic persona held the locker room together after Davis’ trade request, and Gentry also deftly handled the situation in the media, Kushner continues. Gentry and Griffin developed a longstanding friendship when they worked together with the Suns, Kushner adds.
- Griffin said new athletic trainer Aaron Nelson changed the way he approached scouting, as he detailed to The Athletic’s William Guillory. Griffin poached Nelson from the Suns staff. They have been friends since 1993. “As I watched Aaron and his staff do what they were doing, it changed the way I scouted players,” Griffin said. “It changed what I looked for in players. My devotion to what they were doing in terms of changing player bio-mechanics was really complete. It literally impacted every part of my career after that.”
Magic Assistant Hetzel Interviews For Cavs’ Job
Magic assistant Steve Hetzel interviewed for the Cavaliers coaching position on Saturday, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Hetzel has worked under Steve Clifford in both Charlotte and Orlando, but has familiarity with Cleveland. He served as the team’s video coordinator and later as its G League head coach during the 2013/14 season.
Hetzel also worked four seasons as a player development coach for the Pistons and one season as an assistant video coordinator for the Spurs.
The Cavaliers have also interviewed Spurs assistant Ime Udoka, former Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley as well as another Spurs assistant, Ettore Messina. They parted ways with Larry Drew after the season.