Blazers Offer Max Extension To Aldridge
The Blazers have offered LaMarcus Aldridge a maximum-salary extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s unlikely that he’ll sign it, since he can make more money on a new deal in free agency next year, but Portland is set on signing him one way or another, even if it takes the max to do so.
Blazers owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey met with agents Thad Foucher and Arn Tellem last week to make the offer, according to Wojnarowski. Aldridge has expressed his strong desire to remain in Portland both in public and private amid “significant momentum” toward a long-term commitment to stay, and the meeting fostered further warmth from Aldridge’s camp, Wojnarowski writes.
Aldridge can sign an extension starting in July that could tack an additional three years onto his deal, but the starting salary in the extension would be only 107.5% of his $16,006,000 pay for 2014/15. He could make a significantly higher starting salary on a new deal that could run as long as five years if he waits until free agency.
Jazz Notes: Gordon, Smart, Vonleh, Randle
If the Jazz stay at No. 5, Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune (on Twitter) hears that Aaron Gordon will likely be the pick. Earlier today it was reported that Marcus Smart was a consideration for Utah even though he hasn’t worked out for them. Here’s more from Utah:
- Some around the Jazz aren’t high on Smart but nonetheless believe he’s the best choice, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link).
- Trading down is also a possibility for the Jazz, Jones suggests (on Twitter). Noah Vonleh, Julius Randle, and Smart are all in consideration at No. 5 but they also like guys like Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas who could be had later, Jones says.
- Trey Burke would have no concerns if the team does indeed wind up selecting Smart, a fellow point guard, as Burke’s camp tells Genessy (Twitter link).
Zach Links contributed to this post.
2014 NBA Draft Primer
The big day is finally here. The 2014 NBA draft begins at 6:00pm Central time, and we’ll be tracking the draft with pick-by-pick coverage as news breaks, as usual. You can follow our updates on the site, on Twitter, and on Facebook. We’ll also have a special live chat hosted by Eddie Scarito that will start when the draft gets underway and continue through the first round, so stop by and share your thoughts and questions as the picks and trades unfold.
In the meantime, Hoops Rumors has several resources to help you prepare:
- Our Prospect Profile Series is an in-depth look at more than two dozen top prospects. These pieces break down each player’s strengths and weaknesses and provide an idea of how they stack up against the rest of the field. Some include content from exclusive interviews with the prospects who’ve shared their insight with Hoops Rumors.
- Alex Lee’s mock drafts paint a full picture of where the top prospects figure to end up. Versions 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 cover all 30 picks of the first round.
- A running archive of news related to this year’s draft can be found right here. You can also create an RSS feed for that news by entering hoopsrumors.com/2014-nba-draft/feed into the reader of your choice.
- The draft order is sure to change throughout the night, but here’s a look at which teams are on the clock for each pick from 1 through 60. We’ll keep a running list of the picks atop the site during the draft so you’ll be able to keep on top of the draft at a glance.
The night’s event promises plenty of excitement, and if the 23 picks that changed hands as part of last year’s draft are any indication, there will be no shortage of rumors and player movement. Much of what happens tonight will influence free agency, which begins Tuesday, so now’s the time to keep a close eye on Hoops Rumors as the offseason kicks into overdrive.
Prospect Profile Series
For the last few months, Hoops Rumors has been profiling the top prospects in this year’s draft. With the Cavs on the clock in just a matter of hours, there’s no better time to get caught up on all of the big players in this year’s class.
This year’s Prospect Profile series examined most of the projected lottery selections and several projected sleepers in the 2014 draft and also featured interviews with several of this year’s most intriguing players, including Duke’s Rodney Hood and Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes. The players we’ve profiled can be found below, sorted by their ranking on the DraftExpress list of top 100 prospects for 2014.
- Andrew Wiggins, Kansas (SF)
- Joel Embiid, Kansas (C)
- Jabari Parker, Duke (SF)
- Julius Randle, Kentucky (PF)
- Dante Exum, Australia (PG)
- Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State (PG)
- Noah Vonleh, Indiana (PF)
- Aaron Gordon, Arizona (PF)
- Doug McDermott, Creighton (SF/PF)
- Tyler Ennis, Syracuse (PG)
- Gary Harris, Michigan State (SG)
- Nik Stauskas, Michigan (SG)
- James Young, Kentucky (SG)
- T.J. Warren, North Carolina State (SF/PF)
- Kyle Anderson, UCLA (PG)
- Jerami Grant, Syracuse (SF/PF)
- K.J. McDaniels, Clemson (SF)
- Rodney Hood, Duke (SF) (Q&A with Rodney Hood*)
- Zach LaVine, UCLA (SG)
- Shabazz Napier, Connecticut (PG)
- Mitch McGary, Michigan (C)
- Cleanthony Early, Wichita State (SF/PF)
- Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee (PF)*
- Josh Huestis, Stanford (SF)*
- Joe Harris, Virginia (SF/SG)*
- Jordan McRae, Tennessee (SG)*
- James Michael McAdoo, UNC (PF)*
- Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati (SG)*
- Justin Jackson, Cincinnati (F)*
- Leslie McDonald, UNC (G)*
*Includes player interview
Draft Notes: Cavs, Parker, Wiggins, Embiid
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wants the team to draft Andrew Wiggins first overall, but the front office prefers Jabari Parker, report Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. That’s somewhat surprising, considering that Parker is seemingly the better of the two for Gilbert’s desire to win now. It’s unclear if Gilbert will let GM David Griffin and company take Parker, but after letting his executives make the call on Anthony Bennett at No. 1 last year, Gilbert will at least have a “stronger voice” this time around, Ford tweets. Here’s more on the eve of the draft:
- Andrew Wiggins wants to play for the Sixers, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Sixers would take Wiggins at No. 1 if they were to move up, but the Bucks, Magic, Jazz, and Celtics would all select Jabari Parker if they wound up at the top of the draft, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
- Multiple teams are trying to buy copies of Joel Embiid‘s medical records, a source tells Jake Fischer of The Boston Globe. Other sources tell Fischer that the buying of draftees’ medical records is common practice. (Twitter links)
- James Young says his workout with the Sixers went well, and gets the sense that he could be selected by Philadelphia with the No. 10 pick, tweets Pompey.
- Julius Randle passed on a second workout with the Celtics, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
- Marcus Smart did perform a second workout with the Celtics, and also worked out for the Magic a second time, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders,
- Zach LaVine tells Andrew Perna of RealGM he has worked out for every team holding picks six through 17 (Twitter link). The Sixers, Magic, and Bulls are teams in that range that had not been linked to a workout with LaVine previously.
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo worked out for the Knicks, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Knicks acquired two second round picks earlier today.
- Bogdan Bogdanovic has come stateside to work out for the Spurs and Clippers, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets that the Serbian wing is gaining steam as a potential pick late in the first round.
- Alec Brown has worked out for the Bulls, Cavs, Mavs, Clippers, Knicks, Sixers, and Raptors, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- Tim Bontemps of The New York Post thinks it’s likely that the Nets can pick up a second round pick, and opines that they could even make their way into the late first round, where multiple teams would like to trade out of.
Earlier updates
- Dan Gilbert tweeted out his insistence that he and the Cavs front office are not split (hat tip to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel).
- An opposing GM told Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that the Cavs are entertaining “everything,” because they are in the driver’s seat (Twitter link).
- It’s still unknown if Dante Exum will work out for the Cavs at their request, but Andy Katz of ESPN.com reports that the guard is unlikely to cooperate without an assurance that there is a deal in place for Cleveland to move down and select him.
- The Hornets have shown sporadic interest in dealing away their No. 24 pick, but those talks have cooled recently, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
- The Celtics face tough odds of moving up in the draft because “lots” of other teams with better players to offer are trying to do the same, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
- One such team could be the Kings, who sources tell Ken Berger of CSBSports.com are trying to move up from No. 8 to have a chance at landing Joel Embiid.
- Rival GMs believe that Nuggets GM Tim Connelly is in “deal-making mode” with Denver’s No. 11 pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets have been reportedly shopping the pick for some time now.
- Noah Vonleh is expected to be selected first of the power forward grouping including Vonleh, Aaron Gordon, and Julius Randle, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
- Gordon is not expected to drop any lower than the eighth selection, per Spears’ source.
- Nets GM Billy King told Rod Boone of Newsday that the asking price to acquire a first round draft pick is likely too high for Brooklyn, and that a second round pick seems more possible (Twitter link).
- Jusuf Nurkic has a buyout to leave his international club and join the NBA this season, tweets Wojnarowski. There was some confusion as to Nurkic’s willingness and ability to join an NBA team immediately before this revelation, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
- Joel Embiid is in “strong consideration” for the Sixers at No. 3, and it’s highly unlikely he slides past the Lakers at No. 7, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The Sixers have obtained Embiid’s medical information, as Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com reports.
- The NBA buyout in the extension that Walter Tavares signed with his Spanish team is $600K, agent Andy Miller tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, and that’s precisely the amount NBA teams can pay without it counting against the cap. There were representatives from 11 NBA teams at a private workout Tavares held on Tuesday, and Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and executives from the Knicks and Nets were among them, Zagoria reports. Zagoria also adds the Spurs to the list of teams that have brought the 22-year-old center in for an audition.
- Fellow European prospect Vasilije Micic prefers to stay overseas regardless of whether he’s drafted on Thursday, as he told Rigas Dardalis of Eurohoops.net.
- The Hawks were the last of a dozen teams to work out Zach LaVine, observes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).
- Andre Dawkins auditioned for the Kings, as Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report notes within his broader look at the draft. Dawkins tells Zwerling that the Cavs, Pistons and Wizards have expressed interest in him.
- Jordan Adams wasn’t able to get to Memphis in time as the Grizzlies scrambled to put together a last-minute audition, so Michael Dixon is taking his place in the four-man workout group, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.
Latest On Kevin Love
7:35pm: The talks between Minnesota and Golden State are not dead, Chad Ford of ESPN.com said as a guest on ESPN 710 LA (transcription via Basketball Insiders). A trade built around Love, Lee, and Thompson could still be worked out prior to free agency, since the Warriors would likely see themselves as credible suitors for LeBron James with a Stephen Curry/Love foundation.
3:57pm: The formal structure of a deal was never in place between the Cavs and Wolves, but Cleveland had been “fiercely determined” to trade for Love, Wojnarowski writes. Wojnarowski suggests that the No. 1 pick was a part of the talks, even if there was no offer, per se. Cleveland’s pursuit ended when agent Jeff Schwartz warned that Love wouldn’t re-sign, according to Wojnarowski. Love’s wish list is narrow, and Saunders has put trade discussions involving him “in neutral,” Wojnarowski hears.
2:33pm: Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that the negotiations between Cleveland and Minnesota have been exploratory and “not yet serious enough to kill” (Twitter link).
2:00pm: The Cavs have yet to offer the top pick for Love, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears. Still, Krawczynski suggests there’s a decent chance that Love indeed made it clear he wouldn’t remain in Cleveland if traded there, discouraging the Cavs from making such an offer (Twitter links).
1:06pm: One day out from the draft, and Kevin Love trade discussions appear to be slow-going, at best. The Cavs made a push to deal the No. 1 pick for Love, but he would refuse to re-sign with Cleveland, and that’s halted those talks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). At least one member of the Warriors braintrust wouldn’t be on board with a one-for-one trade of Love for Klay Thompson if it were a possibility, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. The prevailing logic within the Warriors front office is that an upgrade at power forward over David Lee that would break up the backcourt of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry isn’t worth it, the Bay Area News Group scribe adds.
Minnesota meanwhile has an eye toward waiting to see the offers from teams who miss out on Carmelo Anthony this summer, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would prefer to try to convince Love to stay rather than take a trade offer that’s less than ideal, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Saunders is optimistic that his team will improve this coming season, but even “strong improvement” wouldn’t be enough to convince Love to stay, Bulpett hears.
The Wolves are wary of Boston’s reported proposal of Kelly Olynyk, picks Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, and a future first-round pick since it would require the Wolves to take back additional, likely player-friendly, contracts to make the salaries match, Bulpett writes. The Celtics are willing to discuss including the first-round picks the Nets owe them, according to Bulpett.
Wolves Give Zach LaVine Promise At No. 13?
7:18pm: While the Wolves do have interest in LaVine, Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweets that there is no evidence a draft promise has been made.
3:15pm: Sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that they believe the Wolves have given former UCLA guard Zach LaVine a promise to draft him with the 13th overall pick (Twitter link). Such promises aren’t binding, but it does appear to indicate that Minnesota isn’t planning to use the pick in a trade involving Kevin Love.
LaVine is among the players the Wolves have worked out in advance of the draft. He’s No. 13 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and No. 14 with Chad Ford of ESPN.com, so it seems he’s right in line for Minnesota.
Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors suggested that the club that ends up with LaVine wouldn’t be getting a finished product and must show patience, given LaVine’s raw ability. That would seem to conflict with the desire of Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders to compete immediately.
Knicks, Mavs Swap Chandler, Calderon
7:02pm: The Knicks have officially announced the deal. The only picks changing hands are the two second-rounders for this year moving from Dallas to New York.
4:50pm: The Knicks and Mavs have reached agreement on their rumored trade, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The deal sends Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton to Dallas in exchange for Jose Calderon, Samuel Dalembert, Shane Larkin, Wayne Ellington, picks Nos. 34 and 51 in Thursday’s draft, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports detailed in earlier reports. It’s unclear if future second-round draft consideration will also head New York’s way.
The Mavs had planned a summer pursuit of Chandler, the center on their 2011 title team, three years after letting him go. Knicks president Phil Jackson seemed to dismiss the notion that he told Felton to expect to be traded, but other reports have indicated the Knicks were in the market for an upgrade at the point, which Calderon provides. Felton slumped this past season, and this week he agreed this week to plead guilty to a felony gun charge in a plea agreement that will allow him to avoid jail time.
The deal removes some of New York’s flexibility for the summer of 2015, since Calderon’s contract calls for him to make in excess of $7.4MM in 2015/16 and more than $7.7MM in 2016/17. J.R. Smith has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for 2015/16, but the Knicks otherwise don’t have commitments for that season. The trade would allow Dallas more cap flexibility for that summer, since Chandler’s contract is up after next season and Felton’s player option for 2015/16 is about $3.95MM.
Dalembert’s approximately $3.867MM salary is partially guaranteed for $1.8MM next season. He also has a 15% trade kicker on his deal that the Mavs would be responsible for paying. Chandler would receive $500K from the Knicks thanks to a trade kicker in his deal.
Nick Young Opts Out, Will Become Free Agent
WEDNESDAY, 5:06pm: Young has officially opted out, the team announced.
TUESDAY, 12:52pm: Nick Young has let the Lakers know that he’s opting out of his contract for next season to become a free agent in July, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The news is not at all surprising, as Young has appeared likely to opt out since at least March, even as he danced around the issue without giving a definitive answer. He’ll hit the market rather than collect the minimum for next season, but there’s mutual interest in a return.
Still, Young wants the Lakers to make him a “priority” this summer, according to McMenamin, suggesting that he’s angling for a significant raise. Just how much interest the Lakers will have in giving him more than the minimum will likely hinge on their pursuit of marquee targets in free agency. The team has reportedly been considering ways to pair LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in purple-and-gold, and acquiring stars of that ilk would likely erase the cap space necessary to give Young a hefty raise. The Lakers would probably be limited to giving Young a 20% raise via his Non-Bird rights or using the $2.732MM room exception on him.
The 29-year-old Los Angeles native gave his hometown team a discount when he joined the Lakers in free agency last summer, and his numbers benefited from an otherwise injury-hit roster. He averaged a career-high 17.9 points in 28.3 minutes per game as a sixth man, and he shot 38.6% on 5.5 three-point attempts per contest.
Bucks Tell Jabari Parker They’ll Draft Him?
5:00pm: The Bucks have told Parker that they’re quite high on him, but they haven’t given him a promise, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
11:45pm: Jabari Parker says the Bucks told him they’d draft him at No. 2 if he’s available, as he said to reporters, including Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Parker would prefer to play for Milwaukee rather than the Cavs, who hold the No. 1 pick, as Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com report, though, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets, he refutes the notion that he tanked his workout with Cleveland, a notion that one source raised to the ESPN scribes.
Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry indicated this week that the team would take either Parker or Andrew Wiggins, though GM John Hammond wouldn’t confirm that when asked Tuesday. The Cavs are reportedly conflicted as they attempt to decide between Parker and Wiggins, so Milwaukee will probably only be left with one of them to choose from.
Hammond said Thursday that while it would take a “very special” offer to trade the No. 2 pick, he’s nonetheless listening to offers for it. So, there’s no guarantee that Parker, who’s from Chicago, will end up an hour north in Milwaukee, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding the No. 1 overall pick.