Michael Carter-Williams Leads All-Rookie Team
Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams headlines the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, which also features Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, Mason Plumlee and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Second Team is composed of Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Cody Zeller and Steven Adams. Carter-Williams was a unanimous first-team selection among the media members who voted for the award. Had Kevin Calabro of ESPN Radio not left Oladipo off his ballot entirely, the Magic guard would have been a unanimous first-teamer, too.
Still, the first team is made up of the only five players who received first-place votes for Rookie of the Year. Ben McLemore was the player with the most All-Rookie votes not to make either the first or the second team, and 29 players received at least one vote for one of the teams. That includes 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who drew a single second-team vote.
Only three of the top 10 picks from the 2013 draft appear on either All-Rookie Team. Still, all 10 players selected to the team were first-round picks, with Hardaway, the 24th overall selection, the last to come off the board on draft night a year ago.
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Kyler’s Latest: Lee, Magic, Cavs, Bucks, Sixers
The Magic aren’t quite as high on David Lee as a report earlier this week made it appear, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who suggests trading for him is one of a number of options the team is considering. Kyler concentrates most of the rest of his NBA AM piece on the draft, and we’ll round up some of the highlights here:
- The Cavs regard Jabari Parker as a notch below Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, Kyler hears.
- Parker and Dante Exum are the top two prospects in the eyes of the Bucks, according to Kyler. That conflicts with Wednesday’s report from Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who identified Embiid, Wiggins and Exum as the first three on Milwaukee’s list.
- The Sixers are “lukewarm” on Embiid, sources tell Kyler, who notes that Philadelphia is high on Wiggins and Exum. Noah Vonleh and Aaron Gordon are players who intrigue the team, too, Kyler writes, though the Sixers would probably have to trade up from No. 10 or down from No. 3 if they were to draft either of those two.
- Wiggins, Parker and Exum seem like the Magic‘s top three targets, as Kyler indicates.
- The Jazz appear to be among the most flexible teams, willing to trade up, down or out of the draft altogether, according to Kyler.
Knicks Maintain Hope Of Landing Brian Shaw
Brian Shaw would be Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s first choice to coach the team if he could somehow find a way to shake him loose from the Nuggets job, and Jackson hasn’t given up hope of managing to do so, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Shaw nonetheless reiterated his commitment to Denver on Tuesday, and a report from earlier this week indicated that the Knicks worry they won’t be able to meet the Nuggets’ demands for compensation if they were to let Shaw out of his contract, which runs two more years.
Jackson would prefer Shaw to Derek Fisher, but the executive would be even more motivated to find a way to land Shaw if he can’t lure Fisher, Berman suggests. Fisher won’t speak with the Knicks until he’s done playing for the Thunder this season, and Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks says the 39-year-old hasn’t ruled out continuing to play next season, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote this weekend. That jibes with Wednesday’s report that there’s a legitimate possibility that Fisher will re-sign with the Thunder as a player and serve as a de facto assistant coach as he sits on the bench. Fisher is also a Lakers coaching candidate, and Berman, who’s pointed to concern about a bidding war between the Knicks and Lakers over the longtime Kobe Bryant teammate, raises the notion that the Lakers would give Fisher a front office role rather than the coaching job.
Berman also mentions previously reported candidate Tyronn Lue as a fallback option for the Knicks, noting that Lue is friends with Carmelo Anthony, who intends to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer. Mark Jackson, Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis, Jim Cleamons, Nate McMillan, Fred Hoiberg and Luke Walton are other candidates rumored to be on the Knicks radar in the aftermath of Golden State’s hiring of Steve Kerr.
The Knicks are light on draft picks and can’t give up more than $3.2MM in cash in trades between now and June 30th, and the NBA doesn’t allow teams to give up players as compensation for hiring coaches under contract with other teams. Jackson has planned to trade cash for a draft pick, so that would further reduce the Knicks’ flexibility in prying Shaw from the Nuggets, unless they intend to wait to do so until July, when teams will have a fresh pot of $3.3MM in cash to use in trades.
Lakers Interview Mike Dunleavy
THURSDAY, 7:52am: Dunleavy tells ESPN LA 710 radio that he did indeed interview with Kupchak, but he says the sitdown didn’t take place Wednesday, notes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 12:01pm: Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak interviewed Mike Dunleavy for the team’s coaching vacancy this morning, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Dunleavy expressed interest in the job a few weeks ago after appearing on the team’s initial list of candidates, but he’s also met with Knicks president Phil Jackson about New York’s opening.
Dunleavy touted his relationship with Kobe Bryant when he spoke of his desire to coach the Lakers for a second time, referencing his recruitment of Bryant as a Clippers executive several years ago. Dunleavy, now 60 years old, succeeded Pat Riley as Lakers coach in the early 1990s, and since then he’s served as a head coach for the Bucks, Blazers and Clippers and was GM in Milwaukee in addition to his stint as Clippers GM. He was the NBA’s Coach of the Year with Portland in 1999, but he’s just 613-716 in parts of 17 seasons as a head coach in the league, the last of which came in 2009/10.
He isn’t the leading candidate for the Knicks job, but he and Jackson have had casual meetings regularly in recent years. Their latest encounter was more than just a friendly encounter and amounted to an interview. The notion of a tug-of-war between Jackson and the Lakers over a coaching candidate would spark fireworks, given Jackson’s deep-rooted connections to the Lakers franchise, but Dunleavy isn’t necessarily the favorite for the Lakers job, either. George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, Kevin Ollie and John Calipari are all candidates the Lakers have reportedly planned to interview.
Central Notes: LeBron, Cavs, Hammond, Pistons
The Cavs appear to face an uphill battle if they’re to sign LeBron James this summer, but they still intend to try, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who points to the team’s interest in Heat assistant David Fizdale as evidence. Still, Fizdale tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that he’s had no contact with Cleveland and that his only ties to the team were through Mike Brown, whom the team fired last week (Twitter link). Here’s more on Cleveland’s coaching search and the team’s rivals from the Central Division:
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is enamored with Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, though Billups, who’s yet to retire from playing, prefers a future as an NBA GM as opposed to a coach, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. Vinny Del Negro, Alvin Gentry, Lionel Hollins and Mark Jackson are more likely candidates for Cleveland’s head coaching vacancy, Boyer believes.
- Adrian Griffin seemed like the early favorite for the Cavs coaching job, but it’s unclear whether he’s a high on Cleveland’s list, as Boyer writes in the same piece.
- Bucks GM John Hammond will remain with the team at least through the draft, Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens said Tuesday, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. Edens gave no assurances that the GM will last longer than that in spite of Hammond’s contract, which runs for two more seasons, Gardner notes.
- The Pistons and Hornets had discussions about a deal during the season that would have allowed Detroit to keep its first-round pick regardless of where it ended up in the order, but they never got serious, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Charlotte wound up with Detroit’s first-rounder for next month when the Pistons fell to ninth in Tuesday’s lottery.
- Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III, Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson are among the players the Pistons will consider with the 38th overall pick, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (on Twitter).
- We rounded up more on the Cavs earlier today.
Grizzlies Eye Eric Musselman?
2:42pm: Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears Musselman isn’t a legitimate candidate (Twitter link).
1:24pm: Former Warriors and Kings head coach Eric Musselman is emerging as a candidate for the Grizzlies should the team let go of Dave Joerger, who’s set to interview Thursday with the Timberwolves. Musselman is “indeed being mentioned” as a possible candidate for Memphis, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, ostensibly referring to conversations taking place in and around the Grizzlies organization. Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal, in a subscription-only piece, first noted the close bond between Musselman and David Mincberg, the attorney-turned-scouting director for the Grizzlies who’s asserting more power within the team’s basketball operations department of late. Mincberg and Joerger are on the outs, as Calkins has noted.
Musselman left his job as an assistant coach at Arizona State University this spring, and he pursued college head coaching jobs at Cal and South Florida. He was a D-League head coach in 2010/11 and 2011/12, but he hasn’t been with an NBA club since his stint as Kings head coach in 2006/07. He’s 108-138 in three full seasons as an NBA bench boss.
Joerger said in radio interviews Tuesday that he was staying in Memphis, Calkins notes. That sets an odd backdrop to what appears to be a burgeoning coaching change 24 hours later. A report in the immediate aftermath of the departures of CEO Jason Levien and assistant GM Stu Lash indicated the Grizzlies were considering a run at Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
Cavs Rumors: Draft, Love, Coaches
The Cavs have Joel Embiid atop their wish list as long as they can determine his back is healthy, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Agent Arn Tellem is still deciding whether to let Cleveland’s doctors examine his client, a source tells fellow ESPN.com scribe Andy Katz, as Goodman notes in his piece. Still, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reported Tuesday night that the Cavs liked Jabari Parker best before hearing that Andrew Wiggins was the team’s most likely choice. There’s little clarity on whom the Cavs want to draft, or even if they intend to keep their pick, as we detail amid the latest on the lottery winners:
- The Cavs have legitimate interest in trading for Kevin Love, just as they did last season, but the Timberwolves don’t think that Cleveland is willing to include the top pick, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- Cleveland is nonetheless likely to gauge what they can get for the No. 1 overall pick, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com notes amid the latest on LeBron James, and GM David Griffin is already getting inquiries about the pick from other teams, as Griffin told ESPN Cleveland. The GM expressed a willingness to trade the top draft choice, but he’s far more likely to retain it, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Deveney casts Mark Jackson, George Karl and Lionel Hollins as the leading contenders for the Cavs coaching job, though the team will also look at Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue among other previously reported candidates, as Deveney writes in the same piece. The Cavs are strongly considering college coaches as they conduct their search, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but the idea that they’ll hire Kentucky’s John Calipari is “almost pure imagination,” Deveney writes.
- The vast majority of the scouts who’ve spoken with Sam Smith of Bulls.com say the top pick will be either Embiid or Parker. Smith runs down Cleveland’s trade options with the No. 1 overall choice.
Francisco Garcia To Opt Out?
1:50pm: Garcia says he’s yet to make a final decision about his player option for next season, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (Twitter link).
9:37am: Francisco Garcia is planning to opt out of his contract with the Rockets and seek a new, multiyear deal, sources tell Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The move would be no surprise, since Garcia, who played a significant role off the bench much of the season for Houston, was set to make the minimum salary on his player option next season. Still, Haynes hears from two more sources that Garcia will prioritize long-term security over a raise as he canvasses the market for a new deal.
The swingman averaged 5.7 points in 19.7 minutes per game over 55 regular season appearances for the Rockets, but his minutes dried up in the playoffs. He saw 18 minutes in Game 1 against the Blazers, four minutes in Game 2, and sat for the rest of the series as D-League refugee Troy Daniels seized much of his playing time.
The Rockets have full Bird rights on the Aaron Goodwin client, so they appear to have the inside track. Garcia is probably in line for more than the minimum, but securing a deal that lasts three or more seasons would require him to either find a team with cap space or a club willing to commit at least part of its mid-level exception to him if he were to leave the Rockets. There’s also a decent chance Houston will renounce its Bird Rights to Garcia to clear cap space in the pursuit of Carmelo Anthony or another marquee free agent. Garcia figures to sign later in July, once the more attractive free agents come off the board, but even if he settles for another two-year deal for the minimum, as he did last offseason, that would at least give him a bit more security than opting in for one more season would have.
Grizzlies OK Wolves To Interview Dave Joerger
1:45pm: The Grizzlies will probably seek compensation if the Wolves decide to hire Joerger, but it wouldn’t be a first-round draft pick, Zgoda tweets, and Memphis isn’t looking to stand in the way, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
12:59pm: The Timberwolves spoke with Izzo last night, but there’s no chance now that he’ll take the Minnesota job, according to Dan Barreiro of KFAN (Twitter link; hat tip to Zgoda).
12:53pm: The Wolves made their request for permission to speak with Joerger prior to this week’s front office chaos in Memphis, though it’s unclear if the Grizzlies gave Minnesota the green light before the turmoil began, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links). Joerger is set to interview with the Wolves on Thursday, Amick adds.
12:19pm: Joerger is scheduled to interview with the Wolves within the next 24 hours, Wojnarowski tweets.
11:23am: It appears Joerger is at odds with Grizzlies scouting director David Mincberg, as they share mutual “hate,” tweets Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal.
10:27am: Joerger appears to be the favorite at this point, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link), and his affection for the state of Minnesota runs deep, Stein tweets.
9:59am: The Grizzlies have granted the Wolves permission to interview coach Dave Joerger for their coaching vacancy, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Joerger is eager to leave Memphis and Grizzlies ownership wants him out, too, but neither side wants to vacate his multiyear contract, according to Zgoda. Joerger has two years left on a three-year deal with Memphis that’s worth approximately $6MM. Joerger apparently received assurances from the attorney for Grizzlies owner Robert Pera that he would remain as coach of the team in the wake of the front office turmoil in Memphis, but it seems there’s mutual interest in a parting of ways. Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders has a longstanding relationship with Joerger, who grew up in Minnesota, and the interview will probably take place later this week, Zgoda hears.
Joerger just finished his first season as Grizzlies coach, overcoming concerns about his readiness for the job early in the season and an injury to Marc Gasol to complete a late run at 50 wins. Memphis pushed the Thunder to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs, but the success masked turmoil within the organization that’s come to light this week.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com first suggested earlier this week that Joerger would become a coaching candidate for the Wolves if the Grizzlies let him go. The club had reportedly been waiting on Tuesday’s draft lottery for clarity, and with the No. 13 picked locked in, it seems Saunders and company are ready to move forward. The same weekend report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that noted openness toward trading Kevin Love identified Sam Mitchell as a coaching candidate. Saunders interviewed Lionel Hollins several weeks ago, and though a report two weeks ago indicated that the team was waiting on an answer from Michigan State coach Tom Izzo before proceeding, the team isn’t holding back from looking at others.