Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Draft, Anunoby
The Sixers want to select someone in the mold of Landry Shamet with the No. 24 overall pick.
“[Shamet has] always been an overcomer and mature and very very self-aware,” senior director of scouting Vince Rozman said (via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer). “…I think those are the guys that tend to make it in that range, because they know their role and they know what’s going to be asked of them.”
Pompey suggests that Cameron Johnson fits the profile and speculates that the UNC product may slip in the draft because of his age. Johnson turned 23 in March.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers will work out six prospects on Tuesday, Pompey tweets. Darius Bazley (Princeton HS), Armoni Brooks (Houston), Charlie Brown Jr. (St. Joseph’s), Kyle Guy (Virginia), James Palmer Jr. (Nebraska), and Yovel Zoosman (Israel) will participate in drills with the club.
- The Nets recently worked out Bazley, Eric Paschall (Villanova), and Grant Williams (Tennessee), according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- OG Anunoby will not play in summer league, according to Raptors coach Nick Nurse (h/t Eric Koreen of The Athletic). “I think he’s past that,” Nurse said.
Bucks Shopping Snell, Ilyasova For Cap Room
The Bucks are looking to move either guard Tony Snell or forward Ersan Ilyasova in a trade this week with draft compensation as the sweetener to the deal, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets.
Milwaukee had the league’s best record but its roster is in a state of flux. The Bucks’ second-best player, swingman Khris Middleton, will become an unrestricted free agent when he opts out this month. Starting center Brook Lopez will also be unrestricted and guard Malcolm Brogdon will be a restricted free agent. The Bucks are also expected to make guard George Hill an unrestricted free agent, rather than guaranteeing his $18MM salary before the end of the month.
Snell has an $11.4MM salary next season and a player option for $12.2MM in 2020/21. Ilyasova’s contract might be easier to move. He’ll make $7MM next season but his $7MM salary for 2020/21 is not guaranteed.
There are also limitations to which draft picks the Bucks can offer, since they already are obligated to move several of them. They owe a protected first-rounder to the Suns next year and a protected first-rounder to the Cavaliers in 2022. They’ve also traded second-round picks to the Kings (2019), Pelicans (2020) and Pacers (2021).
This year’s first-round pick (No. 30) could be officially traded after the pick has been made, but not before then, due to the Stepien rule.
Snell, 27, appeared in 74 regular-season games this season, including 12 starts, but was a non-factor in the postseason due to an ankle injury. He’s a career 38.2% 3-point shooter.
Ilyasova, 32, has played for six organizations since the 2015/16 season. He’s a 36.5% career 3-point shooter and also led the league this past season in charges drawn.
Latest From Charania: Davis, Beal, Irving, Conley, Suns
The Knicks discussed a trade package for Anthony Davis that included Frank Ntilikina, Dennis Smith, Thursday’s No. 3 overall pick and other draft compensation, but they never fully offered forward Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports. The Pelicans weren’t particularly high on either Knox or Robinson anyway but the Knicks were reluctant to jeopardize their future flexibility because they weren’t convinced Davis would re-sign with them.
Contrary to other reports, the Celtics were open to discussing Jayson Tatum and the future first-rounder owed by the Grizzlies in a trade package for Davis but didn’t want to part with both of those assets, Charania continues. Boston’s unwillingness to give up multiple major assets tipped the scale in the Lakers’ favor. The Nets also made a bid, Charania adds, but the Pelicans weren’t enamored with their available assets, especially since the Nets couldn’t include restricted free agent D’Angelo Russell.
Here are more highlights from Charania:
- The Rockets were willing to get involved in three-team scenarios in Davis trade talks with Clint Capela being dangled.
- The Pelicans are monitoring the Wizards’ interest in trading All-Star guard Bradley Beal.
- The Celtics and impending free agent Kyrie Irving will meet soon, possibly before the draft, to discuss his future with the organization.
- The Grizzlies have ramped up trade talks involving point guard Mike Conley. The Jazz are the leading contenders for Conley’s services.
- The Suns have discussed moving the No. 6 pick, as well as forwards T.J. Warren and Josh Jackson, in separate trade packages.
Nets Won’t Make Qualifying Offer To Hollis-Jefferson
The Nets will not make a qualifying offer to forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who will become an unrestricted free agent, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. By letting Hollis-Jefferson walk, the Nets will have approximately $46MM in cap space this summer, Wojnarowski adds.
Brooklyn would have needed to extend a $3,594,369 qualifying offer to Hollis-Jefferson to make him a restricted free agent. The Nets are looking to open up as much as cap space as possible to bring in two high-level free agents.
A 2015 first-round selection, Hollis-Jefferson has spent all four of his seasons with Brooklyn. He averaged 8.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG in 20.9 MPG last season after posting career bests of 13.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG in 28.3 MPG during the 2017/18 campaign. Adductor and groin injuries limited him to 59 games this past season.
In 234 career games, he’s averaged 9.9 PPG and 5.9 RPG.
The 24-year-old Hollis-Jefferson is well-regarded for his defensive versatility and should attract interest from multiple teams on the open market.
Rockets Plan To Keep Spending, Add Another Top Player
The Rockets are planning to keep their starting five intact and will attempt to “add a third star or a top mid-level player to our core,” GM Daryl Morey said in an ESPN Radio interview on Monday.
Reports surfaced late last month after the Rockets were eliminated by the Warriors during the conference semifinals that Morey had made available everyone on his roster with the possible exception of James Harden. Morey declared on the Golic & Wingo show that he plans to keep the core group of Harden, Chris Paul, Clint Capela, P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon intact while adding another impact player to the mix.
Morey says he’s been given the green light from owner Tilman Fertitta to upgrade the roster, despite major luxury tax issues. The salaries next season for the above five players alone add up to approximately $115MM.
He also believes that with significant injuries to Warriors’ stars Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson and despite the pending trade of Anthony Davis to the Lakers, the Rockets should be considered the Western Conference’s premier team.
“We feel like we should be the favorite in the West, and we’re going to do moves to show people that we should be the favorite in the West, and that’s going to create a little tension when we do that,” Morey said. “But at the end of the day, we’re going to have at least our starting five back, which again most teams are scrambling to keep it together and we’re going to spend mid-level, we’re going to spend into the tax. We’re going to be one of the most expensive rosters, like we were last year and this year, and we’re going to be right there.”
Morey also addressed a few other issues:
- He downplayed any disconnect between his superstar guards. An in-depth story from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon detailed the turmoil within the organization, including the tension between their two best players due to the differences in their preferred playing styles and personalities. “Two competitive superstars at that level, there’s going to be times when they are extremely competitive, extremely focused on how do we get to that next level, and when we don’t there’s going to be frustration,” Morey said.
- He expressed optimism that the organization will reach a contract extension agreement with coach Mike D’Antoni, who is entering the final year of his deal. D’Antoni’s agent indicated a week ago that there was a lack of progress. “He’s going to be our coach next year. We’re hoping to work things out for the future right now; if we don’t, we’re going to work it out after next season,” Morey said.
- He insisted that Paul had not asked for a trade, though his contract would be tough to move anyway. Paul has three years and approximately $124MM remaining on his deal, which includes a player option in the final season.
Cavaliers Notes: Garland, Sexton, Culver, Smith
The Cavaliers were well represented at Darius Garland‘s private workout Friday night in Los Angeles, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cleveland officials had been hoping for a close-up look at the Vanderbilt point guard, whose Klutch Sports representatives limited his availability early in the pre-draft process.
There’s no guarantee Garland will still be on the board when the Cavs pick at No. 5, as the Pelicans now hold the fourth pick and are reportedly receiving strong interest from teams looking to move up. There are questions surrounding Garland’s durability after he played just four games in college before suffering a meniscus injury, but many teams view him as a potential All-Star because of his exceptional shooting and ball-handling, along with the ability to take charge of an offense.
The No. 4 pick may be more unpredictable now that the Lakers are sending it to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade, Fedor adds. The Suns and Bulls might trade up for Garland if they believe he’s significantly better than Coby White, while the Hawks, who own the eighth and 10th picks, may decide to move up for Jarrett Culver.
The Cavs wouldn’t be afraid to team Garland with last year’s No. 1 pick, Collin Sexton, even though that would be an undersized backcourt with a pair of 6’2″ guards. Fedor notes that the organization is early enough in the rebuilding process that draft decisions will be based more on talent than fit.
There’s more from Cleveland, all courtesy of Fedor:
- Cleveland also likes Culver, but Fedor believes the chance to get him decreases if the Pelicans keep their pick. If another team trades up for Garland, then Culver becomes a strong possibility at No. 5. He had a private workout and dinner with several Cavaliers representatives last week, and the team has scouted him several times. New coach John Beilein faced Culver in the NCAA Tournament, where he scored 22 points in Texas Tech’s win over Michigan.
- Even though the Cavaliers were hoping for a top three pick, they’re confident they can add a contributor at No. 5. De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish are on their radar as well as Garland and Culver.
- The Cavaliers have less than two weeks to work out a trade involving J.R. Smith before his $15.6MM contract becomes guaranteed for next season. It carries just a $3.8MM guarantee until then and could be an enticing trade chip for a team looking to unload salary. Fedor sees the Heat as a prime contender for Smith, but lists the Hornets, Bucks, Thunder and Trail Blazers as other teams that could use some cap relief.
Kings Not Expected To Chase Nikola Vucevic
The Kings are hoping for an upgrade at center, but they won’t pursue Orlando’s Nikola Vucevic when free agency starts June 30, according to James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Vucevic is in line for a huge raise after posting his best NBA season and his first All-Star appearance. The 28-year-old averaged 20.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.1 blocks in 80 games this year. Despite reports that Sacramento might be one of his free agent suitors, Ham states that he doesn’t fit the up-tempo approach that the Kings prefer.
That’s also true of fellow free agent big man Jonas Valanciunas, who opted out of his deal with the Grizzlies last week. He’ll be seeking a significant raise over the $17.6MM salary he bypassed.
Ham suggests the Kings might opt for a short-term solution, seeking a one- or two-year contract with the Knicks’ DeAndre Jordan or the Hawks’ Dewayne Dedmon. Jordan will turn 31 this summer and Dedmon is almost 30, so neither is viewed as a long-range option.
Sacramento also hasn’t ruled out the possibility of keeping Willie Cauley-Stein, as Ham notes the team is expected to make him a restricted free agent by issuing a qualifying offer before June 30. GM Vlade Divac said the front office still sees potential in the former No. 6 pick, but has been frustrated by his up-and-down performance.
“We would like to keep Willie in terms of his talent potential,” Divac said, “but he still needs to show us the consistency that we are looking for. We are talking.”
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Horford, Rozier, Draft
The Celtics might have been willing to include Jayson Tatum in a trade for Anthony Davis, but they never would have matched the offer that the Lakers made for the Pelicans’ star, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Acquiring Davis was less risky for L.A. because of the likelihood he will re-sign there when he opts out of his current contract.
Boston was among the teams trying to work out a deal for Davis, but the offers never matched what was speculated when it seemed there was a chance to pair him with Kyrie Irving, Bulpett adds. With Irving believed to be headed for Brooklyn, the Celtics were wary about mortgaging their future when Davis had the option to leave after one season.
There’s more this morning from Boston:
- The Celtics are trying to work out a longer-term deal with Al Horford, who must decide by tomorrow whether to opt into a $30.1MM salary for next season, Bulpett reports in the same story. The team is offering to add two years to Horford’s current deal if he agrees to accept a lower salary for 2019/20. Horford, who turned 33 this month, is one of the few veteran leaders on what’s shaping up to be a very young team next year. He is coming off another productive season, posting a 13.6/6.7/4.2 line in 68 games.
- Restricted free agent Terry Rozier won’t have nearly the value on the open market that he would have last year, notes Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. A rival executive told Mannix that Rozier could have commanded $18-$20MM annually if he had reached free agency after leading the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals in 2018. Interest has fallen after Rozier experienced an uneven season while trying to adjust to a backup role again. The Celtics will have added incentive to keep him with Irving expected to leave. “I’m a big fan of Terry’s,” president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said recently. “I think that if Terry was in the right circumstance and the right role, I think he would love playing in Boston, in my opinion. And if not, then I think Terry would let me know that. But Terry and I have a very good relationship, as Terry does with (coach) Brad (Stevens) as well.”
- The failure to land Davis makes it more likely that the Celtics will hold onto all three of their first-round selections, states Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link). Boston has picks at No. 14, 20 and 22.
Suns, Bulls Interested In No. 4 Pick
The Suns and Bulls have both expressed interest in acquiring the No. 4 pick from the Pelicans to draft Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland, a source tells Fletcher Mackel of WDSU in New Orleans (Twitter link).
The Pelicans would be seeking a protected first-rounder in 2020 as the price for moving down, Mackel adds, making the deal similar to the one last year between the Hawks and Mavericks that saw Dallas move up two slots for Luka Doncic.
Both Phoenix, which holds the No. 6 pick, and Chicago, which is at No. 7, have unsettled situations at point guard. The Suns never really replaced Eric Bledsoe after trading him early in the 2017/18 season and would love to land a prospect like Garland to play alongside Devin Booker. The Bulls want to find an upgrade over Kris Dunn, who is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he was limited to 46 games.
The Pelicans are listening to offers and setting up workouts as they try to decide what to do with the pick, which is part of the return for the Anthony Davis trade that was announced Saturday.
Draft Notes: Wizards, White, Garland
The Wizards will work out Coby White (North Carolina) and Nassir Little (North Carolina) on Monday, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports relays (Twitter link) Both prospects are options for the team at No. 9.
Jonathan Givony has White, who will be the highest-ranked prospect to work out for the Wizards, going to the Suns at No. 6 in his latest mock draft on ESPN. Givony places Little in Minnesota at No. 11.
[Related: Could The Wizards Be The “Right Situation” For Keldon Johnson?]
Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) was previously scheduled to take part in the workout, though he will no longer be in attendance. Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- The Bulls will work out Darius Garland this week, Givony passes along (Twitter link). The Knicks, Lakers, Cavs, and Suns have either worked out Garland or plan to do so.
- Garland believes he’s the best point guard in the draft, as he tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. “I humbly say this, I think I’m the best [guard] in the draft,” he told McMenamin. “I mean, I think I can do everything that an NBA team wants me to do.”
- Garland’s workouts with the Lakers was particularly impressive, a source tells McMenamin while referencing the point guard’s shot-making ability and deep range. The event took place prior to the Anthony Davis trade.