Frank Vogel’s Job On Line In Playoffs?
THURSDAY, 10:35am: Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard took a poke at Stein’s report, saying on Twitter that Bird’s “sources say” Vogel’s job is safe.
WEDNESDAY, 11:01am: Sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com that Pacers coach Frank Vogel is “coaching for his job” in the playoffs, even with a year left on his contract. A first-round series victory against the Hawks wouldn’t necessarily be enough for Vogel to ensure his return for next season, Stein hears.
Dissension has marked Vogel’s locker room during the team’s second half slide. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports wrote overnight of a fight in practice last week between Lance Stephenson and Evan Turner, and Stephenson has drawn the ire of other teammates lately, as Stein documents. The soon-to-be free agent and George Hill had to be separated on the bench during a loss late last month, while Stein hears that Roy Hibbert‘s recent remarks about selfish play were essentially directed at Stephenson. Still, Stephenson is a favorite of president of basketball operations Larry Bird, and Bird and Stephenson have indicated they have mutual interest in a new contract.
There appeared to be a slight chance that Bird would replace Vogel before the playoffs and take over the coaching duties himself, though Bird expressed full confidence in Vogel during the last week of the regular season. Bird was somewhat critical of Vogel’s style in March, but he added that he was beginning to warm to the coach’s more positive approach. Stein passes along reporting from ESPN’s Chris Broussard, who hears from sources who point to the absence of former assistant coach Brian Shaw, now the Nuggets head coach, who often played the “bad cop” in the Pacers locker room, pushing players when Vogel wouldn’t.
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Nikola Jokic To Enter Draft
Serbian center Nikola Jokic was leaning toward entering the draft before this month’s Nike Hoop Summit, and after a strong performance, he’s decided to declare, agent Misko Raznatovic tells Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Givony lists the 19-year-old as the 45th-best prospect for this year, though Chad Ford of ESPN.com has him unranked.
The 6’11” Jokic primarily came off the bench this year for KK Mega Vizura in his home country, averaging 11.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game. It was a significant step forward for a player who’d been largely unknown entering the season. He showed a diverse skill set in Hoop Summit World Team practice, as Matt Kamalsky of DraftExpress observed, though he’s a limited athlete. Jokic only saw three shots in the Hoop Summit game, but he pulled down seven rebounds in less than 16 minutes of playing time.
Jokic won’t be automatically eligible for the draft until 2017, so he could easily withdraw before the June 16th deadline to do so. Still, it seems like he has a strong chance to be drafted this year.
Atlantic Notes: Green, Lowry, Knicks, ‘Melo
The lone Atlantic Division representatives in the playoffs are duking it out in what’s become a compelling series, with the Raptors saving themselves from an 0-2 hole in Tuesday’s night’s victory against the Nets. While we wait for Friday’s Game 3, here’s the latest from around the Atlantic:
- No one on the Celtics is guaranteed to return next season, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, who takes stock of each player’s chances of coming back. Jeff Green is “eminently available” for a trade, according to Murphy.
- Kyle Lowry will surely have plenty of offers to leave the Raptors in free agency this summer, but he’s enjoying Toronto’s revival this season, telling reporters, including Fred Kerber of the New York Post, “I love my team and I’ll tell anybody that.” (Twitter link).
- Phil Jackson is surprised that so many have expressed interest in the Knicks head coaching job even though he wants to institute the triangle, as he said today to reporters, including Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).
- Jackson appears comfortable with the idea of watching Carmelo Anthony leave this summer, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv believes, judging by the Zen Master’s willingness to make Anthony follow through on his idea of playing for less than the max.
- Connecticut point guard and Massachusetts native Shabazz Napier spoke about his dreams of playing for the Celtics, but it’s unlikely that the Celtics will be in position to draft him in June, observes Brian Robb of Boston.com.
Pau Gasol Calls For Major Changes To Lakers
Pau Gasol wrote on his personal blog that there would have to be significant changes to the Lakers if they’re to re-sign him this summer, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News translates from Gasol’s native Spanish. He said that Kobe Bryant is the only person who could make him stay, and reiterated his desire to be on a winning team.
Gasol once more expressed that he doesn’t feel coach Mike D’Antoni‘s style is a match for his, and the 33-year-old said he’s unsure if the team’s decision about whether to keep the coach for next season will influence his own choice on whether to come back. Gasol insisted that he won’t simply go to the highest bidder, and he said that he’s looking for a long-term deal.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak heaped praise on the 7-footer last week, even making the specious claim that there will be no better free agents available this summer. Still, it appears likely that Gasol will have to take a significant cut in pay from the nearly $19.3MM he made this past season. The Bulls, Cavs, Bobcats are likely to pursue Gasol, and the Grizzlies will probably get involved, too, once Zach Randolph‘s potential free agency is resolved.
Teams With The Most 2014 Draft Picks
The Sixers were not afraid to employ rookies this season, and they’re in line for another influx of NBA neophytes in 2014/15. Philadelphia will have a pair of first-round picks this year, barring a lucky bounce of a lottery ping-pong ball for the Pelicans, and five second-rounders, giving the Sixers a league-high seven draft choices in 2014.
Whenever a team is holding that many picks, there’s a strong chance it’ll trade one or more of them. The Sixers are in the midst of a rebuilding project, but even so, it’d be difficult for them to find room for seven rookies on next season’s opening-night roster. Likewise, Suns GM Ryan McDonough has spoken on multiple occasions about packaging his team’s slew of first-round picks in a trade. Most teams aren’t in Phoenix’s enviable position and are increasingly reluctant to part with first-round picks, so second-rounders are becoming valuable trade fodder, too.
The final draft order won’t be determined until the May 20th lottery, but you can check out the projected first-round landscape here, and teams are ranked below by the volume of 2014 picks they possess, showing which teams might be looking to deal. There’s a chance the lottery will take a few picks away from some teams and give them to others, so we’ve noted those potential scenarios here. The number of first round picks is in parentheses to the left of the slash, with the number of second-rounders to the right.
Seven picks
- Sixers (2/5) — There a 4% chance they won’t receive the Pelicans’ first-round pick, which would leave them with six picks.
Four picks
- Suns (3/1) — There’s a 2% chance they’ll receive the Timberwolves’ first-round pick, which would give them five picks.
- Timberwolves (1/3) — There’s a 2% chance they’ll have to send their first-round pick to the Suns, which would leave them with three picks.
- Bucks (1/3)
Three picks
- Bulls (2/1)
- Jazz (2/1)
- Nuggets (1/2)
- Raptors (1/2)
- Spurs (1/2)
Two picks
- Celtics (2/0)
- Magic (2/0)
- Thunder (2/0)
- Bobcats (1/1) — There’s an 18% chance they’ll receive the Pistons’ first-round pick, which would give them three picks.
- Cavs (1/1)
- Hawks (1/1)
- Heat (1/1)
- Pistons (1/1) — There’s an 18% chance they’ll have to give their first-round pick to the Bobcats, which would leave them with one pick.
- Rockets (1/1)
- Mavericks (0/2)
One pick
- Clippers (1/0)
- Grizzlies (1/0)
- Kings (1/0)
- Lakers (1/0)
- Pacers (0/1)
- Wizards (0/1)
Zero picks
- Pelicans — There’s a 4% chance they’ll get to keep their first-round pick from going to the Sixers, which would give them one pick.
- Nets
- Warriors
- Knicks
- Trail Blazers
Knicks Rumors: Jackson, ‘Melo, Kerr
Knicks owner James Dolan isn’t allowing team president Phil Jackson to make peripheral changes to the organization, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, but it’d be a stretch to call it the end of Jackson’s honeymoon with the Knicks, Isola cautions. The personnel that Jackson targeted for removal were likely members of the team’s front office, medical or media relations staff, Isola posits, though that’s unclear. Jackson addressed the report in a press conference today, saying that Dolan has “been very true to his word” about giving Jackson complete control over basketball decisions, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com documents. We’ll round up more from Jackson’s talk here:
- Carmelo Anthony has spoken about a willingness to take a discount if he chooses to re-sign with the Knicks, and Jackson hopes he’s “true to his word” about that, notes Peter Botte of the New York Daily News. Jackson said he views the decision of Miami’s trio of stars to take less money as a precedent and believes it’s difficult to assemble a title-winning roster unless players make financial sacrifices.
- If Anthony doesn’t re-sign, the Knicks are prepared to move forward, Jackson said, according to Botte.
- Jackson said he plans to talk to Steve Kerr about the coaching job in the next week or two, observes Marc Berman of the New York Post, That conflicts with the report that they’re deep into discussions about the job.
- There are other candidates in the mix for the job, Jackson said, but he wouldn’t name them, and he gave the impression that Kerr is indeed the front-runner, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Jackson’s fiancee, Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss, tried to encourage him to coach the team himself, but he reiterated today that he will not return to the bench. In any case, Jackson isn’t looking for a retread, Berman adds, but it does appear he wants his coach to run the triangle, writes Dave D’Alessandro of the Star-Ledger.
- Jackson indicated that a new coach might be in place within the next month, but he said he just wants to make sure someone’s in the job before summer league action starts in July, Berman notes. The Zen Master said that while he’ll allow his new coach to pick a staff, he’ll exercise veto power if need be.
- Hiring someone new for the front office is “not a priority,” Jackson said, as Zagoria tweets.
Latest On Wolves Coaching Candidates
WEDNESDAY, 12:41pm: Saunders reiterated his “never say never” approach to the idea of coaching the team, but said he doesn’t envision that scenario playing out as he spoke on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike” this morning (transcription via Marc Stein of ESPN.com). He did say his experience as a coach will allow the team to take its time with the search, since he’ll be able to oversee offseason training and development schedules for the players while the position remains open.
MONDAY, 2:58pm: Saunders poured cold water on the idea of Hoiberg’s candidacy for the job, telling Chad Hartman of WCCO-AM that, “He’s [Fred] not at a point where he’s ready to move to the NBA. That’s not happening,” as Wolfson notes via Twitter. Saunders also wouldn’t hire Frank Vogel were the Pacers coach to become available, Wolfson tweets.
1:21pm: Stein suggests that Donovan, Hoiberg and Izzo would all listen to entreaties from the Wolves, but the ESPN.com scribe acknowledges that it would be an uphill battle to convince any of them to take the job. There are mixed signals on whether Saunders wants to coach, and whether Taylor would allow him to, according to Stein, altering the narrative from previous reports about the idea. Stein also points to the lengthy search that Saunders is planning as reason that Van Gundy and brother Jeff Van Gundy may emerge as serious candidates.
1:03pm: A source close to Donovan tells Wolfson that while the Florida coach would consider the NBA, he doubts he’d go to Minnesota (Twitter link).
11:14am: University of Florida coach Billy Donovan is drawing interest from the Wolves as they search for a new head coach, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, while Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports adds former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins to the list of candidates. Sam Amick of USA Today suggests George Karl is also a candidate, though last season’s NBA Coach of the Year reportedly wouldn’t have interest.
President of basketball operations Flip Saunders suggested today that the team will conduct an extensive search that might not be complete in time for the June 26th draft, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). He mentioned experience and clout as criteria he’s looking for in a new sideline boss, observes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press (on Twitter). Saunders said “never say never” about the notion that he’d become the next coach of the team, or that the Wolves might trade for a coach, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Saunders reportedly would like to coach the team, but owner Glen Taylor doesn’t want anyone to have the top front office and coaching responsibilities at the same time. Fred Hoiberg, Tom Izzo and Stan Van Gundy have also drawn mention as potential Wolves targets, though all three appear to be longshots. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio identified Suns assistant coach Jerry Sichting as a “name to really watch” in regard to the Wolves opening.
Donovan accepted the Magic’s head coaching job in 2007, but quickly backed out. He said in late 2012 that he wouldn’t rule out an eventual jump to the NBA. Hollins appeared to be a candidate for the Pistons coaching job after they fired Maurice Cheeks at midseason, and he had interest in that job. The team still hasn’t named a permanent head coach, with interim coach John Loyer having served as the team’s bench boss for the remainder of the season. It’s unclear if Hollins remains a candidate in Detroit.
Behanan, Dimsa, Diagne, Vives To Enter Draft
A flurry of second-round prospects are headed into this year’s draft field. A source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that former Louisville power forward Chane Behanan has hired an agent and will declare for the draft this week. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress hears Lithuanian shooting guard Tomas Dimsa, Senegalese big man Moussa Diagne and Spanish guard Guillem Vives are entering the draft, too (All Twitter links). Dimsa’s agent, Sarunas Broga, confirms the news on his client to Givony. None of the four fall within Givony’s top 100 prospects, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Behanan at No. 100 and Dimsa at No. 111,
Behanan, a junior, was set to transfer to Colorado State for his senior season after Louisville dismissed him from the team in December, but it appears he won’t suit up for the Rams. He’d be ineligible to return to play in the NCAA after declaring for the draft and signing with an agent. He averaged 7.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game over 12 appearances for the Cardinals this past season.
Dimsa plays for Zalgiris in his home country, averaging just 3.8 points in 16.1 minutes per game this season. Diagne is with Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in Spain, where he’s notched 3.3 PPG in 14.7 MPG, though he has come away with 4.8 rebounds per contest. Vives, who’s with Joventut Badalona in Spain, sees more playing time, averaging 28.2 MPG and 8.1 PPG. He also dishes out 4.2 assists per game against 2.3 turnovers.
Goran Dragic Wins Most Improved Player Award
Suns guard Goran Dragic has won the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, the league announced. He took the honor by a wide margin over Lance Stephenson of the Pacers, who finished second. Pelicans big man Anthony Davis came in third.
Dragic’s breakthrough season was a key for the Suns, who won 48 games in spite of Eric Bledsoe‘s lengthy absence with a torn meniscus. Dragic averaged 20.3 points, 6.6 more than his previous career high, set just last season. He also recorded a career mark with 40.8% shooting from behind the arc this year. He outperformed his $7.5MM salary, and he’ll make that much again next season before having the chance to opt in for one more season at that salary or hit free agency next summer.
Two other Suns garnered first-place votes for the award, as Gerald Green finished fourth while Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee was the lone voter putting Markieff Morris first on his ballot. DeAndre Jordan, Kyle Lowry, Blake Griffin, DeMar DeRozan, D.J. Augustin and Kevin Durant were the others who received first-place votes.