Wolves GM Milt Newton Not Assured Of Job
9:00pm: Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger is among the candidates the Wolves will consider, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com tweets. The ESPN scribe also notes that Mitchell won’t be among the coaches considered for the post. Team owner Glen Taylor has hired the search firm Korn Ferry to help in the hunt for a new coach as well as a new president of basketball operations, though the team may elect to hire one person for both slots, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press relays.
A chance exists that the team will circle back to Mitchell, but it appears to be a long shot, as Krawczynski details. Minnesota’s plans also throw into question the future of Newton, as the new president of basketball operations would decide whether to retain him, Krawczynski writes. Wojnarowski wrote earlier that it was unclear whether Newton would remain atop the basketball operations department, but Newton isn’t initially a candidate for the president of basketball operations job, according to Krawczynski. It’s possible the next coach and president of basketball operations will be the same person, as Taylor is intrigued with the success the Pistons have had under coach/executive Stan Van Gundy, Wojnarowski hears.
3:07pm: The Timberwolves coaching search will include Mitchell as part of candidate process, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays (on Twitter). Minnesota’s current coaching short-list includes Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau and Scott Brooks, Wojnarowski adds.
1:37pm: The growing belief around the NBA coaching community is that the Timberwolves will elect not to retain coach Sam Mitchell, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The Wolves only assured Mitchell of the head coaching position through this season when he took over for the late Flip Saunders this fall, and Mitchell’s contract doesn’t cover next season, Stein notes (on Twitter). Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Shabazz Muhammad have endorsed Mitchell’s return in the past few days, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press have noted, but it appears that might not be enough to save the coach’s job.
Minnesota is just 28-53 this season under Mitchell, but it’s a significant improvement on last season’s 16-66 record, and not much was expected from the youthful roster despite the presence of Wiggins and Towns, the last two No. 1 overall picks. The team has shown promise, particularly in a win at Golden State earlier this month, and Towns has swept the league’s Rookie of the Month honors thus far. Mitchell was to have continued serving as an assistant coach this season but took the head coaching reigns in September while Saunders suffered complications from cancer treatment. Saunders died in October, a few days before opening night.
“We’ve done a great job this year, especially the coaching staff,” Towns said this week, as Krawczynski relays. “With the tragedy happening, I think they did a great job for us this year.”
Veteran leader Kevin Garnett made it known earlier this season that Mitchell has his support after speculation to the contrary, but it’s unclear whether Garnett, who turns 40 next month, will return to play next season. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor will make the call on whether to retain Mitchell, Taylor said, though he added that he’ll solicit the input of GM Milt Newton. Taylor said last month that Newton would keep his job through the summer, at least.
Latest On Wizards, Randy Wittman
4:45pm: Multiple Wizards players tell J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic they expect the team will fire Wittman.
12:47pm: The belief is widespread in NBA coaching circles that the Wizards are poised to fire Wittman, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
9:52am: It’s unlikely the Wizards will keep Randy Wittman for next season, the last on his contract, league sources tell Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post, who adds that Wizards players believe that Wittman senses the team won’t retain him. That jibes with the general sentiment of late, with Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops reporting last week that Wittman isn’t expected to keep his job and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com expressing that same belief in a recent appearance on WTEM-AM’s “The Tony Kornheiser Show” (audio link, scroll to 10:45; transcription via James Herbert of CBSSports.com).
Conversely, the Wizards are expected to retain team president Ernie Grunfeld, Castillo writes. Previous reports have conflicted on that matter.
Wittman’s contract calls for him to make more than $3MM per year, Castillo notes, though only an unknown portion of that is guaranteed for next season. Several people around the league wondered as the season began about the possibility that the Wizards would let Wittman’s fate hang in the balance until July so that free agent target Kevin Durant could weigh in on the decision, as The Vertical’s Chris Mannix reported for SI.com in November. That was before a disappointing season that’s appeared to dampen the chances of Durant choosing to play in his native Washington, D.C.
The season has taken a toll on the relationship between Wittman and his players, as J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic recently wrote, and it’s the combination of that and the team’s subpar performance that have sparked the belief amongst the players that Wittman thinks he’s about to lose his job, according to Castillo. Wittman took the team to the second round of the playoffs the past two years, the first time that’s happened for the franchise since back-to-back trips to the Finals in 1978 and 1979, but Washington has been eliminated from contention for a postseason berth with a 40-41 record this season.
Does Wittman deserve to take the fall for the struggles of the Wizards? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript
4:02pm: We hosted the weekly live chat.
3:15pm: It’s a busy around the NBA on the final day of the regular season, Kobe Bryant‘s last as an active player. So, little introduction is necessary for today’s chat.
Utah C Jakob Poeltl Declares For Draft
University of Utah sophomore center Jakob Poeltl will enter this year’s draft and plans to hire an agent, the school announced. The 7’1″ 20-year-old is the No. 8 prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 10 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com. He’ll lose his college eligibility once he signs with an agent, so it appears he won’t withdraw from the draft by the NCAA’s May 25th deadline.
It’s no surprise that Poeltl is in this year’s draft to stay, given his intriguing size, his rebounding and shot-blocking acumen, and his coordination in the pick-and-roll, attributes Ford lists among the big man’s many strengths. He averaged 17.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game as he picked up Consensus All-American and Pacific-12 Player of the Year honors. His 64.6% shooting led the conference and was eighth in NCAA Division I.
Poeltl’s low-post game could use some work, according to Ford, but he scored a career-high 32 points against NCAA Tournament-bound Temple in a game this past November. Poeltl came to Utah from Vienna, competing on the amateur level in Austria and representing the country in international competitions.
Pistons Sign Lorenzo Brown To Two-Year Deal
1:29pm: The signing is official, the team announced.
7:53am: The Pistons plan to re-sign point guard Lorenzo Brown to a contract that encompasses tonight’s regular season finale against Cleveland, the playoffs and a team option for next season, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). It’s a move that hints at some concern regarding an abdominal strain that kept Reggie Jackson from playing in Tuesday’s loss to Miami, since coach/executive Stan Van Gundy said last week that he didn’t plan to re-sign Brown and intended to keep an open roster spot, barring injury. Van Gundy nonetheless said Tuesday that he wasn’t too worried about Jackson’s availability for the start of the playoffs in spite of the ab issue, MLive’s Aaron McMann notes.
Brown didn’t appear in a game for the Pistons on either of the 10-day contracts he signed last month. Van Gundy referred to the first 10-day deal with Brown as an insurance move, as Jackson was dealing with a viral issue while third-stringer Spencer Dinwiddie recovered from a deep bone bruise in his ankle. Brown’s last NBA action came in January, when he was on two 10-days with the Suns. The 25-year-old averaged 2.5 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 turnovers in 7.6 minutes per game across eight appearances with Phoenix. He spent much of the season with Detroit’s D-League affiliate, putting up 18.3 points, 5.8 assists and 2.9 turnovers in 33.3 minutes per game. The relationship between the Pistons and the former N.C. State standout, who was the 52nd pick in the 2013 draft, dates to the 2014 preseason, when Brown was on Detroit’s NBA roster for training camp.
The latest deal between the Pistons and Brown figures to be worth $5,572 for the balance of this season, plus whatever playoff share Brown receives, assuming it’s a minimum-salary arrangement, as would be standard for this type of signing. Next season’s minimum for Brown is $1,015,696, though a chance exists that it’s a non-guaranteed salary rather than a true team option.
Cavs Sign Dahntay Jones
The Cavs have signed veteran swingman Dahntay Jones for tonight’s regular season finale and the playoffs, the team announced via press release. The team had an open roster spot, so no corresponding move is necessary. Cleveland was reportedly unlikely to fill the vacancy, so the signing appears to be a reversal of plans, perhaps related to concern regarding the injured Mo Williams, who’s traveling to New York today for further examination on his sore left knee, as Chris Haynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Northeast Ohio Media Group reports.
Jones, 35, spent most of the season with the D-League affiliate of the Pistons following a preseason stint with the Nets, who waived him before opening night. The Cavs will face the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.
The 11-year NBA veteran played a bit role on the Clippers last season, averaging less than a point per game in 33 appearances. The Clippers were apparently fond of Jones for his contribution to team chemistry, so it’s conceivable that played a role in Cleveland’s decision, given the pressure surrounding the Cavs. Still, Jones proved he still has on-court value during his time in the D-League this season, sticking 41.2% of his 3-pointers. He averaged 15.7 points, but he made his reputation in the NBA as a stout defender.
Cleveland is limited to the minimum salary, so the deal figures to cost the Cavs $26,467 in salary and luxury tax payments. Jones is in line to see $8,819 plus a playoff share.
Memphis SF Dedric Lawson Opts Against Draft
University of Memphis freshman small forward Dedric Lawson won’t be in this year’s draft, the school announced (Twitter link). The school refers to the 6’8″ 18-year-old as having withdrawn from the draft, though it doesn’t appear as though he ever entered. In any case, it looks like he won’t take advantage of the new rules that would have allowed him to go through workouts with NBA teams and, if invited, take part in the NBA combine while retaining his college eligibility. That’s somewhat surprising, since he was a candidate to go in the middle of the second round, with Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranking him the 45th-best prospect. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress pegs Lawson as the 28th-best freshman.
Lawson put up strong numbers this season, with 15.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. His rebounding average led the American Athletic Conference, and he was third in the conference with 1.7 blocks per contest. He showed range, knocking down 35.0% of his 3-point attempts, but he committed a conference-leading 104 total turnovers over 33 games, so NBA types will surely look for improvement in that area when he returns to school for next season.
The native of Memphis entered his hometown school at No. 32 in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. His impact was almost immediate, as he went for 22 points and 15 rebounds against eventual Final Four team Oklahoma in just the second game of the season.
Notre Dame SF V.J. Beachem To Test Draft Waters
Notre Dame junior small forward V.J. Beachem will enter the draft without an agent, the school announced. The 6’8″ 21-year-old is a second-round prospect, checking in at No. 61 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress doesn’t list him among his top 2016 prospects but pegs him 41st in his 2017 mock draft. He’ll be able to retain his college eligibility for next season if he pulls out by May 25th and refrains from hiring an agent.
Beachem holds plenty of promise as an outside shooter, having canned 44.4% of his 3-pointers on 5.5 attempts per game this season. Ford suggests he can play both forward positions, indicating the Fort Wayne, Indiana, native could have a future as a stretch four in the NBA. The ESPN scribe praises his defense, too, but it was only this season that Beachem became a starter for the Irish, and he averaged just 12.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in 31.3 minutes per game this year. Still, he stepped up at key times, striking for a career-high 22 points against eventual Final Four team Syracuse in January and averaging 16.7 points per contest in six total appearances during the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
He was 77th in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index coming out of high school, one spot ahead of Kris Jenkins, who went on to hit the buzzer-beating shot that gave Villanova the national championship this year. Beachem had one of his best games this season against North Carolina, the team that eventually lost to Villanova in the national final, scoring 18 points and playing all but one minute in Notre Dame’s Elite Eight loss.
And-Ones: Dunn, Murray, Coaches
Former Providence point guard Kris Dunn has hired Ty Sullivan of the Creative Artists Agency to represent him, as Dunn told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Sullivan represents Elfrid Payton, among other NBA players. Jamal Murray, Dunn’s primary competition to become the first point guard drafted this year, has hired Mike George of Excel Sports to be his agent, sources told Goodman (Twitter link). International journalist David Pick reported earlier that Excel was the overwhelming favorite to land Murray, the former Kentucky standout. George has recently drafted standouts Tyler Ennis and Dwight Powell among his clients. See more on the representation for some of this year’s draft prospects amid a look at other future-focused NBA items:
- Former St. Joseph’s small forward DeAndre’ Bembry has hired Pensack Sports, which has also partnered with former Iowa combo forward and fellow second-round prospect Jarrod Uthoff, Goodman reports (Twitter links). Adam Pensack will represent Uthoff, though it’s unclear who’ll be the primary agent for Bembry. N.C. State point guard Cat Barber is going with Sunny Shah of Paramount Sports (Twitter link) and former Iowa State combo forward Georges Niang will sign with Thad Foucher and Makhtar Ndiaye of Wasserman (Twitter link), Goodman also reports, while Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal hears former Syracuse swingman Michael Gbinije has signed with Rich Kleiman of Roc Nation Sports (Twitter link).
- Swingman Josh Jackson, who chose Kansas for his college this week, tops the early look at 2017 draft prospects that Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiled for an Insider-only piece. Incoming Duke power forward Harry Giles is No. 2 and soon-to-be Washington point guard Markelle Fultz is No. 3. Jayson Tatum, a small forward who’s headed to Duke, is No. 1 on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress 2017 mock draft but No. 4 on Ford’s list.
- A panel including GMs, coaches, veteran players, agents, scouts and executives named assistant coaches Nate Tibbetts of the Trail Blazers, Jarron Collins of the Warriors, Nick Nurse of the Raptors, Chris Finch of the Rockets, Stephen Silas of the Hornets and Sean Sweeney of the Bucks as strong candidates to eventually become NBA head coaches, as Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com details.
Suns Notes: Majerle, D-League, Goodwin
Dan Majerle said the Suns haven’t contacted him about their head coaching job, in spite of a report indicating that he’s among those the team is considering, according to Richard Obert of the Arizona Republic. Majerle, who coaches upstart Grand Canyon University, added that the Sixers haven’t spoken with him either, short-circuiting any speculation connecting him to Jerry and Bryan Colangelo, Sixers executives with whom he’s close, Obert writes. Majerle’s remarks came before he attended Monday’s Suns game to hand out an award for the organization (Twitter link).
While we wait to hear whether the Suns will ultimately reach out to their former player and assistant coach, see more from Phoenix:
- The Suns bought out the local ownership of the Bakersfield Jam, their D-League affiliate, and are moving the team to Prescott Valley, Arizona, for next season, the D-League and the Suns announced. The D-League club will henceforth be known as the Northern Arizona Suns. An option in Phoenix’s operating agreement with Bakersfield ownership allowed the NBA team to make the purchase, and Phoenix team president Jason Rowley said the organization considered moving the affiliate to locations around Phoenix and Tucson before settling on Prescott Valley, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. It’s unclear how much money changed hands in the deal, but Adam Johnson of D-League Digest hears the former Bakersfield owners will seek to partner with another NBA team looking for an affiliate (Twitter link).
- Archie Goodwin has seen more minutes and an increased role in the offense the past two games for the Suns, and he’s hopeful that it’s a harbinger of what’s to come, as Coro details in a separate piece. Goodwin, the 29th pick in 2013, is eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer heading into the final year on his contract, but he’s made just 15 career NBA starts. “I’ve always been confident in knowing that I work hard to where I can be a starter in this league,” Goodwin said. “I just have to remain patient, work hard and it’s going to happen for me eventually. Hopefully, it’s here. I just hope that the opportunity that I use won’t be wasted and I can go and continue to prove myself.”