Eastern Draft Notes: Cavs, Wizards, Bulls
The Cavaliers will cast a “wide net” when searching for the right prospect to select with the No. 5 overall pick, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. Kevin Porter Jr. (USC) and Bol Bol (Oregon) are two of the players the team will consider in that spot.
Porter, who was suspended during the 2018/19 season for a “personal conduct issue” at USC, met with the Cavs on Wednesday. The team plans to bring him in for a pre-draft workout in the coming weeks.
Bol underwent measurements at the combine in Chicago but is not expected to workout or conduct interviews. The 7’2″ center suffered a foot injury back in December and was unable to play the remainder of the campaign for the Ducks.
Here’s more from on the draft from teams in the Eastern Conference:
- Cam Reddish will meet with the Cavaliers on Friday, Fedor adds in the same piece. Reddish is a candidate to be a top-five pick.
- The Wizards hold the No. 9 overall pick and they have interviewed several top prospects, according to Candace Buckner of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Reddish, Coby White (North Carolina), Brandon Clarke (Gonzaga), Jarrett Culver (Texas Tech), and Jordan Poole (Michigan) were interviewed by Washington. Other players who the team sat down with included Eric Paschall (Villanova), KZ Okpala (Stanford), and Ty Jerome (Virginia).
- Prior to the combine, the Bulls worked out six prospects, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic relays (Twitter link). Alpha Diallo (Providence), Fletcher Magee (Wofford), Isaiah Roby (Nebraska), Justin Turner (Bowling Green), Quinndary Weatherspoon (Mississippi State), Zach Norvell (Gonzaga/Simeon) all participated in drills with the team.
Celtics Believe Kyrie Irving Stays If Team Acquires Anthony Davis
The Celtics still have eyes for an Anthony Davis–Kyrie Irving pairing. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge wants to bring back Irving and he believes that the point guard will re-sign if Boston trades for Davis, sources tell Frank Isola of The Athletic.
The Pelicans won the NBA draft lottery but that hasn’t curbed Davis’ desire to leave the franchise. Boston doesn’t appear to be high on his wish list, though the six-time All-Star doesn’t own a no-trade clause (no player in the NBA currently does), so his landing spot will not necessarily be on his terms.
The Celtics have a collection of young assets and picks to offer new VP of basketball operations David Griffin. Jayson Tatum is the team’s top asset, though it’s unclear if Boston will include him in trade talks.
Irving appeared distant from teammates during the Celtics’ series loss to the Bucks and speculation that he could bolt for another organization continues. The Lakers and Nets are believed to be possibilities for Irving. The Knicks have been tied to the point guard for quite some time.
New York is expected to pursue two max-level free agents. There are plenty of NBA executives, coaches, players and agents who are “convinced” Durant is going to the Knicks, Isola writes. Irving has been linked as Durant’s future partner in the Big Apple.
Irving isn’t the only 2018/19 Celtics who could find himself in New York next season. The Knicks reportedly have interest in Terry Rozier and Marcus Morris. However, they’d be secondary targets behind the top tier of upcoming free agents.
Draft Notes: Hawks, Culver, Morant, Knicks
The Pelicans and Grizzlies made meteoric rises in tonight’s draft lottery, landing the first and second picks respectively. It’s widely assumed that Zion Williamson and Ja Morant will be the selections, however, much can happen before the draft next month.
Let’s take a look at some notes from teams that didn’t move up in the lottery:
- The Hawks are fond of Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes. The franchise believes Culver’s “blend of athleticism and defensive prowess” will allow him to make the leap from the college ranks to the professional level. Atlanta owns the Nos. 8 and 10 picks in the draft.
- Had the Hawks landed the No. 2 pick, they likely would have drafted Culver or made a trade, according to Deveney, who suggests Atlanta was never going to draft Morant. Atlanta is fully committed to Trae Young as its point guard of the future and Young’s game next to Morant would be an awkward fit, writes Deveney.
- The Cavaliers and the Mavericks are other teams that would have explored options outside of Morant had they landed No. 2, Deveney adds. Cleveland drafted Collin Sexton last June while Dallas invested in Luka Doncic.
- The Knicks would not have traded Williamson if they landed the No. 1 pick, Adrian Wojnarowski said during ESPN’s Draft Lottery coverage. New York will have no such opportunity, as the team ended up with the No. 3 selection.
- New York didn’t land the No. 1 pick as the franchise had hoped, but the Suns should be more disappointed than the Knicks in their result, Katherine Fitzgerald of the Arizona Republic writes. Phoenix landed the No. 6 overall pick in the draft.
Jerry West To Return To Clippers For Another Season
Jerry West will return to the Clippers as a consultant for another season, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times reports.
West is one of three key front office members who decided to remain with the franchise this offseason. The Wolves pursued GM Michael Winger and the Pelicans aimed to poach assistant GM Trent Redden, though both executives turned down promotions to stay in Los Angeles.
West, whose Hall-of-Fame NBA career began in 1960, joined the Clippers in June of 2017 as an advisor and he assisted in the overhaul from the Lob City era to the current state of the franchise, which is in position to pursue two max-level free agents. Kawhi Leonard is expected to be a top target this offseason. The team will also pursue Kevin Durant.
Anthony Davis’ Stance On Trade Remains Unchanged
Anthony Davis is not impressed by the Pelicans winning the NBA draft lottery. Davis, who requested a trade from New Orleans back in February, has not wavered on his stance on a trade and still prefers to play elsewhere, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
New executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin has stated he plans on making an attempt to convince Davis to stay. New Orleans landing the No. 1 overall pick gives Griffin a major asset that he could use to appease Davis if the six-time All-Star would consider staying put.
The franchise could pitch Davis the opportunity to play alongside one of the brightest prospects in league history or it could trade the rights to Zion Williamson for nearly any player Davis wanted as a sidekick.
The Lakers and Knicks appear to be the two destinations Davis is angling toward. Rumors that he would re-sign with the Knicks if they can provide him with a chance to be successful are in full swing and the Lakers-Davis connection has been well-documented. B0th franchises now have a top-four pick available to dangle in trades.
Draft Notes: Reid, Waters, Childs, Porter
There’s “no chance” Naz Reid returns to LSU, as the prospect tells Jeff Goodman of Stadium Sports (Twitter link). Reid’s teammate Tremont Waters will also remain in the draft. Waters and Reid are the 47th and 48th prospect, according to ESPN.
- BYU’s Yoeli Childs will remain in the draft, per Goodman (Twitter link). Childs is not listed in ESPN’s top 100.
- Jontay Porter will not return to Missouri instead electing to remain in the draft, Goodman tweets. Porter is still recovering from a knee injury.
- Arizona State’s Luguentz Dort tells Goodman (Twitter link) that he is “100 percent” staying in the NBA Draft. Dort is No. 27 on ESPN’s draft board.
Stein’s Latest: Beilein, Lakers, Rockets
John Beilein, who recently accepted the Cavaliers‘ coaching position, strongly considered the Pistons‘ job last offseason, Marc Stein of the New York Times writes in his latest newsletter. Beilein passed up on the chance to become an NBA head coach then but couldn’t pass up the opportunity this time around in part due to Dan Gilbert. The Cavs owner has a reputation for his willingness to spend when necessary in order to win on the court.
Here’s more from Stein’s latest piece:
- The Lakers did not formally offer their coaching job to Monty Williams before Williams signed on with the Suns, Stein hears. Williams ultimately decided to go to Phoenix before the competition between he and Tyronn Lue was complete. Stein also hears that Kurt Rambis and Linda Rambis were the strongest supporters of hiring Williams and the couple was the loudest influence when it came to hiring Frank Vogel.
- Not offering a five-year deal to Lue—a coach that won a championship with LeBron James—was a major mistake for the franchise, Stein opines. Los Angeles only offered Lue a three-year deal, something that Lue had to see as disrespectful.
- The Rockets may be limited in what they can spend, but don’t count out GM Daryl Morey when it comes to making major moves, Stein contends. Houston doesn’t have much flexibility with regard to signing free agents, as it has roughly $116MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season. However, we’ve seen Morey pull of unlikely trades in the past, as he did with Chris Paul.
Anthony Davis Would Consider Re-Signing With Knicks
If the Knicks were to trade for Anthony Davis, the big man would consider re-signing with the franchise if he felt he could be successful in New York, sources Ian Begley of SNY.tv Speculation about the Knicks landing three max-level players this offseason has surfaced and Begley explains how New York could put together an intriguing big three before opening night of the 2019/20 season.
[RELATED: Knicks’ Potential Packages To Trade For Anthony Davis]
The team would need to sign two max free agents in early July, then strike a trade with another team – such as the Pelicans for Davis – later in the summer (assuming a rival team is enamored with the Knicks’ trade package).
New York would certainly need its first-round pick to be included for salary-matching purposes, as Davis is set to make slightly less than $27.1MM next season. Teams must wait 30 days once a first-rounder sign to include him in a trade, per the CBA.
Begley cautions that despite reports that the Knicks would deal their top selection for Davis, there remains no consensus in the organization. Previous reports have indicated that the team plans to pursue the big man if it can put together a package that New Orleans covets.
Joe Tsai Talks Decision To Buy Nets Over Rockets
Joe Tsai bought 49% of the Nets last year and has the rights to assume majority control of the team in 2021. The billionaire businessman had an opportunity to instead make a play for the Rockets, but he ultimately took the deal with Mikhail Prokhorov because of his love for the City of New York, as he tells Paul Carcaterra of US Lacrosse Magazine (h/t Brian Lewis of the New York Post).
“At the same time the Nets were up for sale…the owners of the Houston Rockets also put the team up for sale. We thought about it, but we decided to put the focus on the Nets because I just couldn’t imagine myself spending too much [time] in Houston,” said Tsai. “No knock on Houston, but I love New York. And owning a sports team, especially in a major league like the NBA, it’s like owning a nice apartment on Park Avenue: The value’s not going to go down.
“From a business standpoint, it made a lot of sense. Then, I was looking at the upside. The NBA and basketball is a very, very big sport globally. Everywhere, people love the NBA, especially in China. I was seeing how the people loved the sport in China. Also, in Southeast Asia, in the Philippines, they love basketball. Indonesia. Even Mexico; that’s going to be a big market. So there’s a lot of international expansion opportunities. So it all made sense.”
Tsai, who is the executive vice chairman of online retailer Alibaba, believes the players and owners each receive a “fair share” of the revenue in the NBA. He also views the league’s TV deal – specifically how the revenue is split evenly between all 30 teams – as a major positive, calling it “kind of a socialist system.”
“So as we peeled through the materials, the more we looked at it —this is really more specific to the NBA — the NBA is really interesting from a business standpoint. You have a very good system to share the economics between the owners and the players,” Tsai said. “The players are very, very important. In any sport, without the talent — the players — you’re not going to have a good team and you’re not going to have fans. So they’re very, very important.
Tsai also owns the WNBA’S New York Liberty, which he purchased earlier this year. Last year, he aligned with Sixers owner Michael Rubin among others in an attempt to buy the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, though the group’s bid was not successful.
Knicks Fond Of Cam Reddish?
The NBA Draft lottery is a week away, so it’s not yet known where the Knicks will pick in the upcoming draft. It would be an upset if New York or any team pass on Zion Williamson if given the opportunity to select No. 1 overall. However, the Knicks have just a 14% chance of landing the top overall selection.
What will New York do if they don’t land the top pick? Ian Begley of SNY.tv hears that team evaluators like Cam Reddish‘s game. Begley cautions that this piece of information doesn’t mean the Knicks will select Reddish but the organization does believe Reddish’s game will translate well to the NBA.
The Knicks can pick no lower than No. 5 overall, as our NBA Draft Lottery Odds page indicates. The team has a 40.1% chance at picking in the top three, where Williamson, Ja Morant, and R.J. Barrett are expected to go.
No matter who is selected with New York’s pick, he’ll likely be a subject of trade rumors, especially if the team expects to land a superstar like Kevin Durant. We could see a situation similar to the Cavaliers after they signed LeBron James as a free agent in 2014 and traded No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins for Kevin Love, or the Celtics when they traded 2007 No. 5 overall pick Jeff Green for Ray Allen with an eye toward adding Kevin Garnett later that summer.
The Knicks could trade their pick for a star or a more established player, though Begley notes that there is no firm consensus in the front office about whether the team should trade this year’s first-round pick for any player, including Anthony Davis.