Suns Notes: Ellenson, Bogdanovic, Qi
Henry Ellenson is an option for the Suns at No.4 or No. 13 should he fall that far and Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details how the 6’11” power forward turned himself into a perimeter threat. “I wasn’t always taller than [opponents]…I played point guard all the way up to eighth grade,” Ellenson said. Arthur Hill of Hoops Rumors profiled the big man prior to the draft lottery.
Here’s more out of Phoenix:
- Phoenix continues to monitor Bogdan Bogdanovic with the hopes of him joining the team next season, Coro writes in a separate piece. “Physically, he keeps getting stronger,” Suns Assistant GM Pat Connelly said of the 2014 first round pick. “His feel for the game keeps improving.”
- The Suns worked out power forward Zhou Qi from China and former Arizona State center Eric Jacobsen over the weekend, Coro writes in a separate piece. Qi might be an ideal draft-and-stash candidate, Coro adds, but it’s undetermined whether Qi would be interested in such an arrangement.
- The Suns will work out six more players today. Michael Bryson, Stacy Davis, Demetrius Jackson, Damion Lee, Abdel Nader and Retin Obasohan will all be in Phoenix, per the team’s Twitter feed.
Draft Notes: Simmons, Ferrell, Murray
While it’s not unanimous, the consensus around the league is that the Sixers will take Ben Simmons with the No.1 overall pick, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Everyone wants it to be a mystery and intrigue,” one scout told Pompey “It’s simple: Ben Simmons is the best player in college basketball. He’s one of maybe a handful of guys that can transition from college to the NBA this year. So what’s the problem?” We detailed Simmons’ strengths and weaknesses in our our Prospect Profile of the 19-year-old.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- No team has made a promise to draft Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, but scouts are constantly checking up on him through his agent and his former coaches, Chris Dortch of NBA.com writes in a piece that chronicles Ferrell’s path from being the nation’s top-ranked fourth grader to becoming a hopeful NBA prospect. “[The teams that reached out about Ferrell] think he’s going to make it in the NBA,” Indiana’s associate head coach Tim Buckley said.
- Jamal Murray is confident he can play point guard in the NBA, Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes. “I did what I had to do at Kentucky. I’ve played point guard my whole life. But we had Tyler [Ulis] there,” Murray said of playing shooting guard in college. “I was just doing whatever we [needed] to win.” Ford doesn’t believe Murray will fall past the Pelicans at No. 6 overall.
- The Jazz will work out Ferrell, Tyler Dorsey, Nigel Hayes, Jalen Reynolds, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gavin Ware on Sunday, per the team’s Twitter feed.
Eastern Notes: Harrington, Hill, Hawks
The Nets will add Adam Harrington to their staff, David Aldridge of NBA.com tweets. Harrington was formerly Kevin Durant‘s personal trainer and Oklahoma City’s shooting coach. Aldridge points out that Harrington helped Durant learn Dirk Nowitzki‘s signature 1-legged jump shot.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Jordan Hill, who will be a free agent come July, doesn’t seem to be included in the Pacers’ plans this offseason, Mark Montieth of NBA.com opines. Hill fell out of the rotation midway through the year and he only saw 15 minutes of action during the team’s playoff series against Toronto.
- Edy Tavares spent a considerable amount of time in the D-League this season and KL Chouinard of NBA.com wonders if the big man is ready to take the next step and contribute for the Hawks.
- The Hawks will work out Gary Payton II, the son of former NBA player Gary Payton, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. Joel Bolomboy will also work out for Atlanta, the scribe adds.
Magic Notes: Vogel On Strategy, Team
Frank Vogel believes he can turn the Magic into a top-10 defensive team and he will implement “an analytically based offensive approach,” in which the team employs small-ball lineups and emphasizes the 3-pointer, as the coach tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The team only attempted 22.2 3-pointers per game last year, which was the ninth fewest in the league. The Magic shot 35.0% from behind the arc last season, which was tied with Atlanta for 15th in the league, so they could afford to take a few more shots from downtown.
Here’s more from Orlando:
- Vogel envisions Nikola Vucevic as the Magic’s defensive enforcer, Robbins writes in the same piece. “It’s really mostly about body position in today’s NBA,” Vogel said. “I feel like I can work with him to improve him. But anybody that’s going to be caught in that center position has got to be the anchor of your defense. We work diligently on teaching the angles, teaching the anticipation, teaching the coverages for when there’s help.”
- Scott Skiles may have quit on the Magic, but that doesn’t phase Vogel, and he insists Orlando is the right place for him, as he tells Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel. “I’m not worried about the situation of how [Skiles] left,” Vogel said. “This organization checked off all the boxes. This is the place I felt my family and I would be happy.”
- Vogel sees similarities between this Magic team and the young Pacers team of a few seasons ago, Robbins writes in a separate piece. “The team really reminds me of the team I took over here in Indianapolis, with the young Paul George, Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert,” Vogel said. “Those guys hadn’t really seen success at the NBA level, and we were able to just bring a positive energy-and-enthusiasm type of approach to the young talent that they had and we watched them grow. It was really special. I see a lot of similarities with the depth of the young talent that we have on this roster.”
- Robbins details the Magic’s rapid hiring process of Vogel in that same piece. Vogel and GM Rob Hennigan had a two-hour phone conversation on Sunday. That was followed by face-to-face interviews with Hennigan and CEO Alex Martins, as well as a meeting with the DeVos family, the team’s owners, on Monday. On Friday afternoon, eight days after Skiles resigned, the Magic named Vogel their new head coach.
Lakers Notes: Shaw, Ingram, Scott
The Lakers are nearing a deal with Brian Shaw to become the team’s lead assistant coach on Luke Walton’s staff, Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Walton always wanted Shaw to be the lead assistant on his staff, Turner adds (Twitter link). Walton played for the Lakers and Shaw was an assistant coach for the team during Los Angeles’ two most recent NBA championships.
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- Brandon Ingram’s drive to be great and his dedication to winning have impressed the Lakers‘ brass, sources tell Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report. The Lakers won’t likely have a choice between Ingram and Ben Simmons, as Philadelphia is expected to take one of the two. Sixers coach Brett Brown recently said that the team isn’t leaning toward taking any particular player at No. 1.
- If the Lakers had a choice between Simmons and Ingram, Ingram should be the pick because he fits the team better, several league executives tell Mark Medina of the the Orange County Register. Medina also speculated that the team will discuss trading the pick to Sacramento for DeMarcus Cousins or Indiana for Paul George.
- Former coach Byron Scott said the Lakers were seriously considering taking Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 2 overall pick last year, but Porzingis’ conditioning during his workout with the team was the reason for passing on the big man, as Scott told Dan Patrick on his radio show (h/t Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post). Scott added that once he saw Porzingis in the Summer League that year, he knew the rookie was going be “pretty good.”
And-Ones: Lakers, Shaw, Brown
The Lakers were able to keep their 2016 first-rounder when they landed the No.2 overall pick in Tuesday’s lottery. The team still owes Philadelphia and Orlando a first round pick each and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders breaks down the possible pick exchanges in a series of tweets. Los Angeles sends its 2017 first-rounder to Philly if it falls outside the top-3. If the Sixers get the 2017 pick, then the Magic receive the Lakers’ unprotected 2019 selection. If it doesn’t convey in 2017, then the Lakers send their 2018 unprotected pick to Philly and they wouldn’t owe Orlando a first-rounder at all. Instead, the Magic would receive a 2017 second-rounder and a 2018 second-rounder. Los Angeles is in this predicament because of its 2012 trade for Dwight Howard and its 2012 trade for Steve Nash.
Here are some notes on the upcoming draft:
- The Lakers have offered Brian Shaw a spot on their coaching staff, but the former Nuggets coach is still weighing his options, reports Bill Oram of The Los Angeles Daily News.
- Jaylen Brown, who’s a projected top-10 pick, won’t sign an agent. Instead, he will use the NBPA to advise him on his rookie deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets.
- Memphis’ Dedric Lawson has withdrawn from the draft, as his father tells Gary Parrish of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
- Abdul-Malik Abu will withdraw from the draft and return to NC State, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- Jalen Moore will withdraw from the draft and return to Utah State, Goodman tweets.
- The Bucks have worked out Tim Quarterman, Anthony Barber, Melo Trimble, Ron Baker, Anthony Gill and Devin Williams, per the team’s website.
Northwest Notes: Blazers, Maker, Workouts
Timing will be crucial for the Blazers this offseason, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. Meyers Leonard Allen Crabbe and Maurice Harkless are all restricted free agents and leading up to free agency, it will be critical for GM Neil Olshey to understand the market for the trio in order to project how Portland operates this summer, Marks argues. The Blazers have a chance to add other pieces using their cap space and then circle back and sign their restricted free agents. However, if another team swoops in and signs one of them, there’s a good chance they won’t be able to use the cap space they’ve created.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Wolves interviewed Thon Maker last week in Chicago, reports Darren Wolfson of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Jazz have worked out Anthony Beane, Ethan Telfair, Quincy Ford, Jarrod Uthoff, DyShawn Pierre and David Walker, according to the team’s Twitter feed.
- The Nuggets will work out Anthony Barber, Isaiah Cousins, Nikola Jovanovic, Alec Peters, Josh Scott and Pascal Siakam on Friday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The Nuggets also have workouts planned for Saturday. They will work out Ron Baker, Dillon Brooks, Robert Carter, Tyler Dorsey, Marcus Georges-Hunt and Shawn Long on Saturday, Kennedy tweets.
Community Shootaround: Frank Vogel
The Magic hired Frank Vogel to be their head coach earlier today. Vogel will receive roughly $22MM over the next four seasons and the team is hoping he can develop its young core. The coach will inherit a team that won 35 games and has some nice pieces in place, but the current roster likely won’t yield one All-Star over the next few seasons.
Vogel compiled a record of 250-181 as the head coach of the Pacers. He also made back-to-back conference finals appearances in 2013 and 2014. He was able to interview for the Knicks vacancy before they offered the job to Jeff Hornacek and had he waited until next season to coach, he certainly would have garner interest among teams looking for a new head coach.
So that leads us to tonight’s question: Are the Magic a good fit for Frank Vogel or should he have waited for a better head coaching gig? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Grizzlies Interview Jeff Bzdelik
The Grizzlies have interviewed Jeff Bzdelik for their head coaching position, Marc. J Spears of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Spears adds that Bzdelik recently turned down an assistant coaching position on the Kings’ staff for personal reasons (Twitter link).
Bzdelik interviewed with the Rockets today in Cleveland and Spears indicates that the interview with Memphis happened before that meeting. The 63-year-old coach has been an assistant coach with Memphis since the 2014/15 season.
Bzdelik was the head coach of the Nuggets for three seasons, starting in the 2002/03 campaign and compiled a record of 73-119 with the team. He also spent 11 years as a head coach in the college ranks with stops at UMBC, Air Force, Colorado and Wake Forest. He only made the NCAA Tournament once.
Community Shootaround: Miami Heat
The Heat will head into the offseason after losing Game 7 to the Raptors on Sunday. Considering all the injuries the team endured, one can argue that winning 48 games and advancing to the Eastern Conference Semifinals qualifies as a successful season. The team will head into the offseason with several question marks and some big decisions to make.
Should the team offer Hassan Whiteside a max contract? There’s reportedly considerable debate within the organization over that question. Yet, Miami is rightfully waiting to see if Kevin Durant is interested in joining the team before making any decision. The Heat have to wonder if they will need another starting power forward, as they fear Chris Bosh won’t ever be medically cleared. Bosh has slightly under $76MM left on his deal over the next three seasons and should he be forced to retire, the team won’t see any cap relief until at least February 2017.
Miami has other decisions to make this offseason. Can the backcourt of Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic produce a championship contender? Should the franchise prioritize re-signing Joe Johnson? What about Luol Deng? What kind of contracts should each receive? Tonight’s shootaround is all about the Heat. Let us know what you would do if you were sitting in Pat Riley’s chair.
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say!