Prospect Profile Series
The June 23rd draft is less than two months away, and the fate of NBA teams hangs in the balance. Only a few players at the top of the draft rankings have superstar potential, but the remainder of this year’s crop offers some intriguing possibilities. Hoops Rumors will be tracking all of the breaking developments, and one of the ways we’ll cover the potentially franchise-altering event will be to take a closer look at many of the prospects in line to hear their names called on draft night.
Our list of Prospect Profiles will be updated in the weeks ahead as we build our inventory of reports for your perusal. This post can be found anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on the right sidebar. The players we’ve profiled so far can be found below, sorted by their rankings on the DraftExpress list of the top 100 prospects for 2016.
- Brandon Ingram, Duke (F)
- Ben Simmons, LSU (F)
- Dragan Bender, Croatia (PF)
- Kris Dunn, Providence (PG)
- Jamal Murray, Kentucky (G)
- Buddy Hield, Oklahoma (SG)
- Jakob Poeltl, Utah (C)
- Skal Labissiere, Kentucky (F/C)
- Deyonta Davis, Michigan State (F/C)
- Denzel Valentine, Michigan State (SG)
- Henry Ellenson, Marquette (PF)
- Demetrius Jackson, Notre Dame (PG)
Kings Consider Henry Bibby; Morway Talks End
The Kings have reached out to former NBA assistant and USC head coach Henry Bibby about their head coaching vacancy, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, who includes the information in a story about the team’s desire to meet with Warriors assistant Luke Walton. The team appears set to accelerate its coaching search, as Jones hears the Kings would like to make a hire by sometime next week (Twitter link), though that would require the team to drastically pare its wide-ranging list of candidates.
The Kings are meanwhile no longer engaged in talks with former Bucks and Pacers executive David Morway about a front office role that would have made him an assistant to Vice President of Basketball Operations Vlade Divac, sources tell The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). A deal with Morway was reportedly close as of late last month, when the Kings signed Divac to an extension. Sacramento has sought an experienced hand to pair with Divac, a front office neophyte.
Bibby, 66, joins a crowded field of Sacramento coaching candidates that also includes Grizzlies assistant Elston Turner, as Jones reported Tuesday. The Bee’s Ailene Voisin reported last week that Divac was inquiring about at least two college coaches, so perhaps Bibby is one of them. Still, the father of former Kings point guard Mike Bibby hasn’t been with USC since 2004, having more recently been an assistant for the Sixers, Grizzlies and Pistons. He was last on an NBA bench with Detroit for the 2013/14 season.
Walton appears much higher on Sacramento’s list of priorities, and while Voisin reported that Divac and Walton were expected to meet to discuss the job, Jones raises the possibility that Walton will decline to talk to the Kings about the vacancy. The team has already interviewed Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro and, as Jones reports, Mike Woodson, whose meeting with the team had reportedly been imminent. The Kings intend to meet with Jeff Hornacek, too, as Jones wrote last week.
Kevin McHale is a serious contender and he and the Kings have had exploratory talks, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier this week. The former Rockets coach is well-liked within the Sacramento organization and many consider him a front-runner for the job, according to James Ham of CSN California. The Kings would like to interview McHale, but, as of last week, he hadn’t decided whether he wants to talk, as Wojnarowski reported.
Mark Jackson, Brian Shaw, Ettore Messina, Ime Udoka, Nate McMillan, Monty Williams, Jeff Van Gundy, Patrick Ewing, David Blatt and Jay Larranaga are the other reported candidates for the coaching job. Some people around the league think Kings assistant Corliss Williamson deserves an interview, Jones tweets, but it’s unclear if the team is considering him.
LSU SG Antonio Blakeney Pulls Out Of Draft?
APRIL 26TH, 7:09pm: The NBA released its official early entrants roster and Blakeney’s name is among those listed, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets. The freshman still can withdraw and return to school prior to the May 25th deadline, provided he doesn’t hire an agent.
APRIL 19TH, 2:09pm: LSU freshman shooting guard Antonio Blakeney has decided against entering the draft, the school announced. Blakeney earlier this month said he would go into the draft without an agent, a move that would allow him to work out for NBA teams and retain his college eligibility as long as he withdrew by May 25th, but it appears he’s had a change of heart and has decided against testing the waters. The 6’4″ 19-year-old was only a fringe draft prospect, ranking 94th in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider listing and outside Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress top 100.
Blakeney entered college as a highly touted prospect, ranking 15th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, but his numbers underwhelmed as he averaged 12.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game with 33.5% shooting from 3-point range. He stands to benefit from increased offensive opportunity next season, since teammates Ben Simmons, who’s a strong candidate to become the No. 1 pick this June, and Tim Quarterman are both staying in this year’s draft.
A lack of strength is one of Blakeney’s weaknesses, according to Ford, who also suggests he’d be undersized as an NBA two-guard. He averaged less than an assist per game, so work on his passing would probably benefit him even if he doesn’t end up converting to the point.
Kings Eye Elston Turner For Coaching Job
The Kings will consider Grizzlies assistant Elston Turner for their head coaching vacancy, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). The 56-year-old Turner is a former Kings assistant, as Jones notes, and one of several candidates whom various reports have identified for the position.
The only official interviews for the team’s vacant coaching slot thus far has been with former Timberwolves interim coach Sam Mitchell and former Clippers and Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. Also said to be on the Kings’ list of candidates are former Hawks and Knicks coach Mike Woodson, former Rockets coach Kevin McHale, former Warriors head man Mark Jackson, Pacers assistant Nate McMillan and former Suns coach Jeff Hornacek. Sacramento apparently reached out to Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks prior to both men landing new posts and has also touched base with Spurs assistant Ettore Messina, Warriors assistant Luke Walton and former Cavs coach David Blatt, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee.
Hornets assistant Patrick Ewing and Celtics assistant Jay Larranaga are those without NBA head coaching experience apparently in the running for the vacant post, though GM Vlade Divac indicated that the team is seeking an experienced hand when making its next hire.
Coaching Rumors: Scott, Walton, Thibodeau, Rambis
Lakers primary owner Jeanie Buss essentially confirmed the report from USA Today’s Sam Amick that she wasn’t involved in the decision to fire Byron Scott, saying in an appearance on FS1’s “The Herd” show that she didn’t know such a move was coming, nor did she anticipate it taking place, as Kristine Leahy of FS1 tweets. Buss was reportedly advocating behind the scenes for the front office to retain Scott, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported earlier this month. Still, she expressed support for brother Jim Buss, the team’s executive VP of basketball operations and reportedly one of the decision makers regarding Scott’s fate, as he faces a deadline to turn the team around within the year, tweets Serena Winters of Lakers Nation. “I have no reason to think that he cannot be successful in terms of putting together a winning team,” Jeanie Buss said.
See more on the Lakers amid the latest coaching rumors around the league:
- People around the league feel that Warriors assistant Luke Walton is a favorite for the Lakers job, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, but the Lakers are uncertain about Walton’s relative youth and just how well the 36-year-old would perform as a full-time head coach, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Regardless, the Lakers appear to be making the ability to recruit free agents their top priority in a new coach, a league source told Deveney, and Kupchak said Monday on Time Warner Cable Access SportsNet that they’d like to make a hire before the June 23rd draft, as Medina relays.
- New Timberwolves coach/executive Tom Thibodeau would have accepted a coaching job without player personnel control on the Knicks, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com hears. However, the Knicks got the impression the opposite was true, and team president Phil Jackson and GM Steve Mills didn’t feel they’d get along with Thibs, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post. Owner James Dolan was nonetheless intrigued with the former Coach of the Year, league sources told Begley. Jackson is still leaning toward removing the interim tag from the head coaching title of Kurt Rambis, Berman writes in the same piece.
Mavs Rumors: Nowitzki, Parsons, Howard, D-Will
Dirk Nowitzki said today that he definitely won’t retire, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (on Twitter), and the German-born star dismissed the idea he won’t be back with the team next year, calling it “crazy talk,” according to Mavs radio play-by-play announcer Chuck Cooperstein (Twitter link). Still, Nowitzki has on multiple occasions included the caveat that the Mavs have to avoid rebuilding in order for him to remain committed to the franchise, and coach Rick Carlisle expressed a level of uncertainty about Nowitzki’s future in Dallas. The power forward, who turns 38 in June, has a player option worth about $8.692MM for next season.
See more from Dallas in the wake of the Mavs’ playoff elimination Monday:
- Chandler Parsons made a public recruiting pitch to Dwight Howard today, as MacMahon relays (ESPN Now link). The Mavs don’t want to pay Howard the max, as MacMahon reported previously, but Parsons is fond of the idea of again pairing with his one-time Rockets teammate. “I think he can still dominate the game,” Parsons said. “I think he can still be a great player in this league. And I think he’s going to leave Houston, so why not come here?”
- Parsons, who like Howard is expected to opt out and hit free agency this summer, also gave further indication that he prefers to stay in Dallas, according to MacMahon (ESPN Now link). “Dallas is home to me,” Parsons said. “I loved it here. I came here to be a great player and to win a lot of games, and I’ve yet to do that here. So I feel that I have a lot of unfinished business here that I’d love to continue and grow into the player that I saw myself being when I signed here. The quicker we can get that done allows me to start recruiting and doing that whole thing.”
- Deron Williams doesn’t know what he’ll do with his player option worth slightly more than $5.621MM for next season, but he said today that he’d love to be back with the Mavs next season whether he opts in or out, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. Carlisle said he wants the same outcome, MacMahon adds (Twitter link).
- Raymond Felton‘s contract is up at season’s end and, unlike Williams, he doesn’t have an option to decide on, but he said he plans to move into a house in Dallas and would like to re-sign, as Sneed also passes along (on Twitter). Felton has spent the last two seasons with the Mavs.
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Brooklyn Nets
New Brookyn GM Sean Marks is poised to have maximum-level cap flexibility to work with in the offseason ahead, even if all three of the Nets who have player options decide to opt in, and even with multiple cap hits remaining from previous buyouts. Hoops Rumors is looking at each team’s cap situation for next season, starting with the Nets:
Guaranteed Salary
- Brook Lopez ($21,165,675)
- Thaddeus Young ($12,278,652)
- (Deron Williams $5,474,787) — Salary remaining from buyout via stretch provision
- Bojan Bogdanovic ($3,573,020)
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ($1,395,600)
- Chris McCullough ($1,191,480)
- Sean Kilpatrick ($980,431)
- Jarrett Jack ($500,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below
- (Andrea Bargnani $323,599) — Salary remaining from buyout
- Total: $46,883,244
Player Options
- Wayne Ellington ($1,567,500)
- Shane Larkin ($1,500,000)
- Thomas Robinson ($1,050,961)
- Total: $4,118,461
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Jarrett Jack ($5,800,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Shane Larkin ($1,875,000/$1,875,000) — Pending player option
- Willie Reed ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Markel Brown ($1,180,431/$1,180,431)
- Totals: ($4,271,127/$4,271,127)
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Sergey Karasev ($2,463,754)1
- Wayne Ellington ($1,800,000) — Pending player option
- Thomas Robinson ($980,431) — Pending player option
- Donald Sloan ($980,431)
- Henry Sims ($980,431)
- Total: $7,205,047
Other Cap Holds
- Andray Blatche ($1,788,285)
- Jason Collins ($980,431)
- Jerry Stackhouse ($980,431)
- Total: $3,749,147
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- The Nets can’t re-sign Karasev to a contract with a starting salary worth more than the amount listed here because they declined their team option on his rookie scale contract.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
First-Round Prospect Jonathan Jeanne Out Of Draft
French big man Jonathan Jeanne decided against entering this year’s draft, agent Jeremy Medjana told Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). The 18-year-old had a strong chance to become a first-round pick in June, coming in at No. 23 in Givony’s rankings and No. 25 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Jeanne’s stock only figures to improve with an extra year overseas, as Givony lists him 16th in his 2017 mock draft, though he wouldn’t become automatically eligible until 2019.
Sunday was the last day for early entrants to formally declare for this year’s draft, but the NBA has yet to announce the official early-entrants list, so news on some decisions is still trickling in. The absence of Jeanne means this year’s draft will be without one of its tallest would-be eligible prospects, as Ford lists him at 7’4″ while Givony has him at 7’2″ with a 7’7″ wingspan. He has 3-point shooting, ball-handling and passing skills, Ford writes, but he’s raw, shows immaturity at times and is a long way off from helping an NBA team, as Givony wrote for The Vertical in February. He played just six minutes at the pro level for Le Mans Sarthe Basket of France this season.
News about the draft entry decisions of another handful of other prospects has emerged since Sunday’s deadline, as we detail:
- Indiana sophomore shooting guard James Blackmon Jr. has entered the draft, the school announced. He hasn’t hired an agent, the school adds, so he can return to college ball if he pulls out of the draft by May 25th. Blackmon is Ford’s 77th-ranked prospect but falls outside Givony‘s top 100.
- Bakari Copeland, a junior forward from Maryland-Eastern Shore, is believed to have entered the draft as well, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. He’s outside the Ford and Givony rankings.
- Emmanuel Malou, a junior college power forward who’s committed to Iowa State, has entered the draft but hasn’t hired an agent, sources tell The Vertical’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). He also falls outside the Ford and Givony rankings.
- Italian shooting guard Diego Flaccadori has entered the draft, according to Eurohoops.net. The 20-year-old is the fourth-best overseas prospect among those born in 1996, according to Givony, though neither Givony nor Ford has him within the top 100 prospects overall.
- Spanish small forward Santiago Yusta is draft-bound, the Romaior Sports agency announced (on Twitter). The 18-year-old isn’t in Ford’s rankings and is outside of Givony’s top 100, though Givony deems him the 32nd-best overseas prospect among those born in 1997.
Steve Kerr Wins Coach Of The Year
11:33am: Kerr has officially won the award, the league announced via press release. Terry Stotts finished a close second, with Gregg Popovich third. The Trail Blazers have yet to pick up their team option on Stotts’ contract for next season, though that figures to be a formality at this point.
10:59am: The NBA will announce Steve Kerr as the winner of the Coach of the Year award, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Kerr missed the first 43 games of the season while recovering from multiple operations on his back, but it appears voters were willing to overlook that in the wake of Golden State’s 73-9 record overall, the best in the history of the league. The Warriors adapted seamlessly to his absence, going 39-4 under acting head coach Luke Walton, who was also eligible for the award.
Kerr, 50, maintained a consistent presence around the team in practices while he was recovering, and it was clear the relaxed tone he set during last year’s championship season remained. He finished second in last year’s voting to Mike Budenholzer. Golden State finished 34-5 this year after Kerr returned in January, though an ankle injury kept presumptive MVP Stephen Curry out of a Game 3 loss to the Rockets in the first round, and a knee injury that will sideline Curry for at least the next two weeks threatens Golden State’s bid for a repeat championship.
Regardless, Kerr has become one of the NBA’s most well-regarded coaches even though he’s only been at the gig for two years. He followed up 15 years as an NBA player with stints as the Suns GM and as a broadcaster, but multiple NBA teams wanted him to hire him as head coach two years when he decided to try the profession. The Knicks lost out to the Warriors in the pursuit of Kerr, despite the presence of Phil Jackson, who coached Kerr on the Bulls in the 1990s, as team president in New York. The Knicks instead hired Derek Fisher, whom they fired midway through this season.
A panel of NBA writers, broadcasters and other journalists voted on the award, with five points for a first-place vote, three points for a second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote. Below, see how each vote-getter ranked, with first-place votes noted where applicable, and click here to see a ballot-by-ballot breakdown.
- Steve Kerr (Warriors) — 64
- Terry Stotts (Trail Blazers) — 37
- Gregg Popovich (Spurs) — 10
- Steve Clifford (Hornets) — 7
- Dwane Casey (Raptors) — 6
- Brad Stevens (Celtics) — 5
- Dave Joerger (Grizzlies) — 1
- Doc Rivers (Clippers)
- Luke Walton (Warriors)
- Erik Spoelstra (Heat)
- Quin Snyder (Jazz)
- Rick Carlisle (Mavericks)
- Mike Budenholzer (Hawks)
- Billy Donovan (Thunder)
Who was your Coach of the Year? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Southwest Rumors: Durant, Nowitzki, Conley
The chatter about the notion of Kevin Durant joining the Spurs in free agency is “eerily similar” to the talk last season that surrounded the idea of LaMarcus Aldridge signing with San Antonio before it came to fruition, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. Of course, that doesn’t mean Durant is bound for the Alamo, or even that the Spurs are the favorites for him, but it bears watching, and certainly, it would appear they’re in better position than the Mavericks after Durant issued a harsh rebuke Monday to comments from Mark Cuban. The Mavs owner said before Monday’s game that while he views Durant as a superstar, Russell Westbrook doesn’t meet that definition, as Tim Cato of SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball relays. Media asked Westbrook about the remark after the game, but Durant, who was by Westbrook’s side, fielded the question and called Cuban an “idiot,” according to The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater.
See more from the Southwest Division:
- Dirk Nowitzki reiterated that he plans to play out his contract and doesn’t intend to play for any team other than the Mavericks, but he again threw in the caveat that such would only be true as long as the Mavs don’t go into rebuilding, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com passes along (ESPN Now link). The iconic power forward has a player option worth about $8.692MM for 2016/17.
- Mavs coach Rick Carlisle made comments that seemed to caution against the widely held assumption that Nowitzki will definitely be back with Dallas next season, as MacMahon relays in another ESPN Now link. “We’ve got to hope that this isn’t Dirk’s last game as a Maverick,” Carlisle said after Monday’s season-ending loss. “Now he has the option to become a free agent. I’m ready to get on a plane and go to Germany and recruit him to be back, but I don’t think we can take that for granted. I think we have to give him that kind of respect. He’s done so much for our organization. He’s sacrificed so much. And it’s been such a life-changing experience for me to be around a player of that magnitude for eight years. It’s indescribable. I think he will be back, but I don’t want anybody to just assume anything, because he’s been too great.”
- The Knicks aren’t as high on soon-to-be free agent Mike Conley as they were during the season, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post, citing team president Phil Jackson‘s lack of emphasis on point guards, his faith in Tony Wroten, and the Achilles injury that has plagued the Grizzlies star as potential reasons why.