Bucks Notes: Ownership, Hammond, Drew
New Bucks owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry have met with candidates to buy minority shares in the team, and they hope to add five to 10 new investors, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Former Bucks player Junior Bridgeman and Milwaukee businessman Ted Kellner are candidates, Walker hears, and Lasry acknowledged Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s desire to get in the mix, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Here’s more on the Bucks and the rest of the Central Division:
- Edens appears to have assumed the role of primary owner, as he’ll represent the Bucks on the Board of Governors, Gardner notes (Twitter link).
- Edens and Lasry spoke of their support for GM John Hammond and coach Larry Drew, but the owners stopped short of guaranteeing their long-term futures with the club, Journal Sentinel scribe Charles F. Gardner reports. Edens said previously that Hammond will remain with the Bucks at least through the draft.
- The Bucks will work out a handful of big man prospects tomorrow, including former Marquette standout Davante Gardner, per Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times (Twitter link).
Ryan Raroque contributed to this post.
Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Griffin, Pistons, Saric
A source tells Ian Begley of ESPN.com that Carmelo Anthony would “embrace” playing for Mark Jackson, but that doesn’t mean he only wants to play for Jackson or would feel uncomfortable playing for anyone else, Begley cautions. Knicks president Phil Jackson hasn’t ruled out hiring the former Warriors coach, but it doesn’t appear as though there are plans for an interview. Jackson appears to be a leading candidate for the Cavs job, though no interview has been scheduled with Cleveland, either. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Adrian Griffin impressed the Cavs during his interview for the team’s coaching job this week, with one source telling Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that the performance as “fantastic” (Twitter link).
- Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, former Heat GM Randy Pfund and former Pelicans GM Jeff Bower are among the candidates for the Pistons GM job, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Stu Jackson, who’s completed an interview for the job, and Otis Smith are the previously reported names.
- Dario Saric reportedly would come to the NBA for next season if the Celtics or Lakers were to draft him, but the C’s consider him a candidate for their pick at No. 17, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, indicating that he’s not in the mix to go at No. 6.
- Marcin Gortat is likely in line for $10-12MM salaries while Trevor Ariza will look for $8-9MM as both Wizards hit free agency this summer, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
NBA Willing To Postpone Sterling Hearing
3:20pm: Ballmer is the early favorite in the bidding process, Shelburne tweets.
2:39pm: The NBA will postpone its Tuesday hearing on Donald Sterling’s fate as owner of the Clippers if the league gets a “favorable impression” of the bidding group that emerges as Shelly Sterling’s choice, reports Michael McCann of SI.com. The league would keep the hearing on hold while it vetted the prospective owners, and, if it approves them, there’d presumably be no need for the hearing, since Sterling and wife Shelly Sterling would no longer own the team. The league’s preferred outcome is for the Sterlings to voluntarily sell the team, as it would like to avoid having to forcibly strip ownership, according to McCann.
The NBA is intent on resolving the Clippers ownership situation by the beginning of next season, McCann writes. The vetting process usually takes at least a month, though the NBA has already screened some of the candidates to buy the team, as TNT’s David Aldridge noted Wednesday. One such bidder is Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, though there are conflicting reports about whether he’s submitted a bid to Shelly Sterling, who began working with potential buyers last week after Donald Sterling gave her his blessing to do so. He’s apparently changed his mind and will only sell the team if the NBA withdraws its allegations against him, with perhaps further conditions attached to his would-be cooperation.
The NBA was to vote on taking the team away from the Sterlings at the end of Tuesday’s Board of Governors meeting. Donald Sterling is still pondering a lawsuit against the NBA, which banned him for life and fined him $2.5MM. Shelly Sterling is willing to sell 100% of the team, which the league would demand if it were to accept any deal she strikes, though she’s arranging for a non-ownership role with the team as part of negotiations with the bidders. It’s unclear if the NBA would go along with that.
Latest On Potential Clippers Sale
2:22pm: Shelly Sterling is arranging for a continued association with the team in some capacity other than as owner as she negotiates with the bidders, according to Shelburne. The ESPN scribe also reports that Magic Johnson is not a part of the Ellison-Geffen-Winfrey bid at present (Twitter links).
1:36pm: A source tells Ronald Grover of Reuters that Ballmer has not submitted a bid, while Grover also hears that the value of the Ellison-Geffen-Winfrey group bid is more than $1.5 billion.
12:28pm: Shelly Sterling has let bidders for the Clippers know that she intends to sell 100% of the Clippers, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. That would seemingly satisfy one of the league’s conditions for allowing her to conduct the sale of the club, but Donald Sterling intends to put up resistance. Attorney Maxwell Blecher, one of Donald Sterling’s lawyers, tells Shelburne that the banned owner changed his mind and doesn’t want to sell the team after deciding last week to let his wife do so (Twitter link). Blecher tells James Rainey of the Los Angeles Times that if Donald Sterling were to agree to sell the club, he’d want the NBA to drop its allegations against him and perhaps make additional concessions.
Some bidders are concerned in the wake of Donald Sterling’s renewed fight that he’s just trying to gauge the market price of the team for use in a lawsuit against the NBA, Shelburne hears. Still, Blecher informed Shelburne that Donald Sterling hasn’t decided whether he wants to sue the league (Twitter links).
Three groups have already submitted initial bids to Shelly Sterling, as Rainey details. A consortium that includes Los Angeles investors Antony Ressler, Bruce Karsh and Grant Hill has bid $1.2 billion. People within the league see the group as viable, and Ressler is reportedly a longtime friend of Donald Sterling. Another bid comes from Todd Boehly and Mark Walter of the Guggenheim Partners and includes Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and luminaries David Geffen and Oprah Winfrey. Magic Johnson would presumably be aligned with that group, though Rainey makes no mention of the one-time Lakers star. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mounted a bid of his own, and it’s worth $1.8 billion, according to Mike Ozanian of Forbes.com.
A couple of other groups received extensions on a Wednesday deadline, so more bids are expected today, and negotiations will persist this weekend toward Shelly Sterling’s goal of having a deal in place or reasonably close by Monday, Shelburne reports (Twitter links). The NBA’s Board of Governors will hold a hearing on the Sterling matter Tuesday, and the meeting is set to end with a vote on whether to strip ownership from both of the Sterlings. It remains to be seen whether the league will approve any sale that Shelly Sterling presents to them or just how Donald Sterling’s interference will affect the proceedings.
Vinny Del Negro Interviews For Wolves Job
2:04pm: Money is just one of many stumbling blocks, Zgoda notes (via Twitter).
1:58pm: Del Negro indeed interviewed for the gig, but the team appears to have moved on from him, Krawczynski clarifies (on Twitter). There are no plans for him to speak with Taylor, according to Wolfson (Twitter link).
1:50pm: Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears the reports of Del Negro’s candidacy have “no legs” (Twitter links). Meanwhile Zgoda suggests that Del Negro is demanding more money than the Wolves would like to pay.
1:28pm: Del Negro has yet to speak with Taylor, Wolfson tweets, adding that Del Negro was indeed the “mystery candidate” he’d referred to earlier.
1:16pm: Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune casts doubt on Del Negro’s status as a “serious” candidate, though he does confirm that Del Negro interviewed for the job (Twitter link).
12:42pm: Vinny Del Negro has become a “serious candidate” for the Wolves coaching job, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. He interviewed with the Wolves last week, when it seemed the club was nearing a deal with Dave Joerger, Stein adds (Twitter link). Del Negro is set to speak with Cavs GM David Griffin about Cleveland’s opening, too. Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders met with Del Negro, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).
Joerger’s reconciliation with the Grizzlies, who extended his deal, seemed to throw a wrench into Minnesota’s plans, but it appears as though Del Negro was a strong contender even as the Wolves flirted with the Memphis coach. Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities suggested that there was a “mystery candidate” for the job, so it seems like Del Negro was that under-the-radar contender.
Saunders is fond of Del Negro, Wojnarowski tweets, but it remains to be seen if Wolves owner Glen Taylor shares those sentiments. Wojnarowski references Taylor’s affinity for Sam Mitchell, but Wolfson recently suggested the strength of Mitchell’s candidacy has been overstated. Stein, in a full piece on the story, writes that Mitchell isn’t exactly a slam dunk to get the job.
The Wolves see Del Negro as less of a coach who would convince Kevin Love to stay and more as one who could get the best out of Ricky Rubio, given his experience with Derrick Rose and Chris Paul, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Del Negro is 210-184 in parts of five seasons as an NBA head coach with the Bulls and Clippers, but his X’s and O’s came under widespread criticism during his time on the bench.
The Wolves have also interviewed Scott Skiles and Lionel Hollins, and while the possibility that Saunders will coach the team remains, he’s still focused on finding someone else to do the job, Stein writes.
Draft Updates: Saric, Celtics, Lakers, Raptors
It’s unclear whether early entrant Dario Saric wants to play in the NBA next season or remain in Europe, but if either the Celtics or Lakers draft him, he plans to come stateside, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Most projections have him going a little lower than Boston’s No. 6 pick or L.A.’s No. 7 pick, but perhaps the knowledge of his immediate willingness to play will prompt one of those teams to bite. Here’s the latest from a busy draft workout scene:
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is open to trading up in the draft and praised Toronto native Tyler Ennis, whom the team had in for a workout today, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The free agency of Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez won’t play into Ujiri’s decision about drafting a point guard, the GM added.
- The Raptors released their workout list for today on their website, and they’re auditioning Jake Odum, Jordan Dykstra, Norvel Pelle, Jordan Bachynski and Chadrack Lufile in addition to names that have already been reported.
- Casey Prather is the new name among those working out for the Heat today, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
- Goodman adds DeAndre Kane and David Wear to the list of players auditioning for the Suns (Twitter link).
- Billy Baron has shown off for the Bulls and Hawks and will do so for the Jazz, Bucks and Knicks next week, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
- Kendall Williams is among the players working out for Hawks today, Goodman tweets.
- Victor Rudd and Jakarr Sampson are the new names on the list of players working out for the Bucks today that the team announced on its website.
Wizards, Randy Wittman Near Deal
THURSDAY, 9:23am: The third year in Wittman’s rumored deal would be a team option, reports Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
TUESDAY, 11:13pm: Wittman is set to receive between $3MM and $3.5MM a year, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link).
2:48pm: The Wizards are close to agreeing on a three-year deal for coach Randy Wittman, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Owner Ted Leonsis said earlier today that Wittman, who coached this season on an expiring contract, deserved to return, tweets Dianna Marie Russini of NBC News4 in Washington (hat tip to Michael Lee of The Washington Post). The news is no surprise, since Washington just completed its best postseason performance in 32 years, but there were rumors entering the playoffs that a first-round exit would spell the end of Wittman’s tenure in the nation’s capital.
Leonsis hesitated to resolve Wittman’s situation in the immediate wake of the team’s playoff run, preferring to let the “raw emotion” of the season pass. That was in contrast to the Blazers, who locked up Terry Stotts for three more years just one day after San Antonio eliminated Portland from the playoffs. A three-year deal for Wittman would give him a contract that runs longer than that of GM Ernie Grunfeld, who’s set to enter the final season of his deal in 2014/15, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Leonsis and Grunfeld talk extension this summer.
Wittman, 54, just finished his second full season as Wizards coach, having taken over for Flip Saunders at midseason in 2011/12. Washington is just 91-122 under Wittman’s direction, and he’s a woeful 191-329 overall in parts of eight seasons as an NBA head coach. Still, he engineered a 15-game improvement in the standings this past season, overseeing the club as it won its first second-round playoff game since 1982.
Wolves Coaching Rumors: Skiles, Hollins, Karl
It’s been more than a month since Rick Adelman retired from coaching the Wolves, and while a week ago it seemed they had his replacement lined up, Dave Joerger pulled a 180 and returned to the Grizzlies, leaving Minnesota still on the lookout. Darren Wolfson and Nate Sandell of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities break down the chances of several of the candidates who’ve been identified so far. We’ll pass along a few highlights from the piece here:
- Scott Skiles spoke with Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, but Skiles’ agent hasn’t talked to the team yet, Wolfson and Sandell write. That offers an explanation for conflicting reports about an interview for the former Suns, Bulls and Bucks coach.
- Lionel Hollins is unlikely to fill the job, according to Wolfson and Sandell, who cast his recent interview with the team as merely an informal discussion between him and Saunders.
- The Wolves want a coach who’ll be around for a while, Wolfson and Sandell say, suggesting that’s one reason why the team hasn’t made contact with 63-year-old George Karl.
- There’s likely a “mystery candidate” who’s yet to be reported in connection to the Wolves, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities believes (Twitter link),
Darren Collison To Opt Out, Become Free Agent
Clippers point guard Darren Collison has decided to turn down the nearly $1.986MM player option on his contract and hit free agency this summer, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The move has been widely expected after a season in which Collison turned around his career, proving his worth as an ace reserve after failing as a starter the past two seasons.
The client of BDA Sports Management has a strong preference for the Clippers, though he won’t rule out signing with another team, according to Haynes. The Donald Sterling saga clouds the future of the Clippers franchise, and agents have suggested that players will avoid signing with the team this summer. However, the fiasco surrounding the banned owner’s racist comments strengthened the bond between the players in the locker room, and it’s what has Collison leaning toward returning, Haynes hears.
The 26-year-old averaged 11.4 points in a career-low 25.9 minutes per game this past season. Most of his appearances were as a bench player, but he still made 35 starts as the team compensated for injuries to Chris Paul and J.J. Redick. His 3.7 assists per game were well below his career average of 4.9, but much of that had to do with the presence of Paul, the NBA’s leader in assists per game this season. Collison shot 37.6% from behind the arc this past season, his best mark since he was a rookie in 2009/10.
The Clippers were in serious talks about a trade that would have sent him to the Knicks at the deadline, but L.A. pulled out of discussions before they bore fruit. Clippers coach and front office chief Doc Rivers spoke highly of Collison during the season, suggesting he was reluctant to give up such a reliable member of his bench.
He’ll be able to command a raise on the open market, and the capped-out Clippers only have his Non-Bird rights. The most they’ll be able to pay him without dipping into other exceptions would be 120% of his salary from this past season, which probably won’t be enough to keep him. The team has more than $66MM in commitments for next season, though that doesn’t include nearly $4MM in non-guaranteed salary on Jamal Crawford‘s salary that the Clippers will almost certainly pick up. The rise in the projected tax line to $77MM will probably allow the team to use the full $5.305MM non-taxpayer’s mid-level to re-sign Collison or chase another free agent.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Lakers, Young, Suns
The NBA received a letter from one of Donald Sterling’s personal lawyers last week informing the league of his intention to allow his wife to conduct a sale of the Clippers, as Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reports in the latest version of her story from overnight. That runs counter to the assertion from another of Sterling’s lawyers Tuesday that his client “disavows” any agreement with his wife on the sale of the team. There’s more on the Clippers amid the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Shelly Sterling appears to be racing to close on a deal with a bidder for the Clippers in advance of Tuesday’s hearing to oust her and her husband, but the NBA would have to vet any new owner, a process that won’t be done by next week, TNT’s David Aldridge tweets. Still, the league has already vetted potential buyers Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer and Lakers minority owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, Aldridge notes, so perhaps those three have an edge (Twitter link).
- A source close to Nick Young tells Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders that the swingman wants to return to the Lakers but will likely opt out of his contract for next season, seconding earlier reports.
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Suns to the list of teams working out Jarnell Stokes (Twitter link).