And-Ones: Messina, Embiid, Gordon
Fort Wayne Mad Ants president Jeff Potter is under the impression that his club will indeed have affiliations, with 13 NBA teams this coming season, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Mad Ants will feature no more than four players on assignment from the NBA at any a time, with the spots alloted to NBA clubs on a first-come, first-served basis, Potter adds. Here’s more from around the league:
- Spurs GM R.C. Buford denied an earlier report that claimed Ettore Messina was joining San Antonio’s coaching staff as an assistant, telling Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express-News that there has been no contact made with Messina, let alone a hire. “Is someone leaving our staff that I don’t know about?” Buford said. “We have not had one conversation with anyone about a coaching position for next season.”
- Joel Embiid is in Cleveland to undergo a physical with Cavs doctors in the hopes of alleviating concerns about his back, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider only) says that it will take more than medical clearance for Embiid to land at No. 1 in the draft. Ford writes that owner Dan Gilbert’s anxiousness to win immediately has influenced Cleveland’s draft choices in recent years. While scouts tell Ford that Embiid has the most potential of any 2014 prospect, they don’t expect him to be a steady contributor in his rookie season.
- Dirk Nowitzki tells Dwain Price of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he is likely to meet with Mavs owner Mark Cuban hastily regarding his impending free agency (Twitter link).
- The Celtics will work out Isaiah Austin and Sam Dower tomorrow, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
- The Wolves have been trying unsuccessfully to arrange a workout with Aaron Gordon, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. The Wolves are struggling to convince top tier prospects to work out in general. Wolfson notes that the Wolves think more highly of Noah Vonleh and Julius Randle than they do Gordon (all Twitter links).
- John Calipari acknowledged that he had been approached by multiple NBA teams before signing an extension to stay with Kentucky in an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio (transcription via Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News). “It was significantly more money for me to leave than to stay,” Calipari said. “It kind of tells you where my mind is.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Pacific Notes: Sterlings, Scott, Gay
Shelly Sterling will ask a judge to make an expedited decision regarding Donald Sterling’s mental capacity so that she can move forward with the Clippers sale, now that her husband is no longer willing to comply with the sale, per a report from Tami Abdollah of The Associated Press. If Shelly is not successful in court, the NBA will reschedule a hearing to take a vote to terminate Donald Sterling’s ownership, tweets David Aldridge of NBA.com. The league canceled the original hearing when Shelly Sterling arranged for a voluntary Clippers sale by the Sterling family trust. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- One of Donald Sterling’s lawyers tells James Rainey of The Los Angeles Times that they will try to prolong the court decision regarding his client’s mental health.
- On ABC’s broadcast for Game 3 of the Finals, commissioner Adam Silver stated that the league will wait for the Sterlings’ court case to resolve before taking their next step. “This is now a dispute between the Sterlings,” Silver said. “We’re on the sidelines.”
- On the heels of his second interview with the Lakers, Byron Scott tells Sam Amick of USA Today that he still views himself as the front-runner for the job. Scott again banked on his relationship with Kobe Bryant as an advantage for his candidacy. “Again, I think I’ve got a hand up on (the job) because of our relationship,” said Scott. “We get along extremely well. Kobe knows all about me and what I’m about. He knows that I’m an old-school coach who’s very demanding on the defensive end and knows that defense and rebounding wins championships, so I think from that point of view we see eye to eye.”
- The Lakers didn’t give Scott any clarity on the nature of their coaching search during his second interview, a source tells Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
- Rudy Gay met with the Kings as planned today to hear Sacramento’s pitch for him to pick up his $19.3MM player option, reports Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
Byron Scott Has Second Interview With Lakers
Byron Scott interviewed with the Lakers for a second time today, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Scott is the only candidate to receive a second interview to this point. Scott had expressed enthusiasm and optimism about his chances to land the job following his first discussions with Los Angeles.
Scott’s progression in the interview process isn’t necessarily a sign that he’s significantly closer to landing the job. After the Lakers planned to “make a splash” with a big name hire soon after Mike D’Antoni‘s resignation, they have shown a commitment to taking a patient approach in the hiring process. The Lakers are in no rush to select their next coach, and a report from yesterday suggests they could wait until after they pursue marquee free agents in the offseason to move forward with a hire.
Scott is a well known, popular coaching veteran as evidenced by our reader poll that ranked him as the second best coaching prospect for Los Angeles. Scott guided the Nets to two Finals appearances early in his coaching career and took New Orleans into the playoffs in consecutive seasons later in his career, but still sports a 416-521 overall coaching record thanks to losing seasons every other year. Scott’s Cavs teams never produced more than 24 wins in his most recent three-year stint as an NBA coach.
Southwest Rumors: Messina, Nowitzki, Jock Tax
The Spurs will take another shot at slowing down LeBron James tonight in Game 3. James has scored 32 or more points in four of the last six Heat/Spurs Finals games dating back to last year. Here’s a look at the Southwest Division:
- Ettore Messina is close to being hired as an assistant coach with the Spurs, a development first reported by Daniele Labanti of Corriere di Bologna (via Twitter) and confirmed by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Messina was once considered a candidate for the Jazz head coaching vacancy, and still had the potential to become an assistant in Utah after Quin Snyder won the head job.
- The Rockets are reportedly targeting Dirk Nowitzki in free agency this summer, but the All-Star laughed off the idea that he’d wind up in Houston, observes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
- The Tennessee legislature has repealed the “jock tax” on visiting players who play in Memphis, and commissioner Adam Silver prevailed upon Grizzlies owner Robert Pera to support the end of the tax even though the revenue went directly to the team. TNT’s David Aldridge has that and other details about the end of the law, which won’t come off the books for another two years. It will nonetheless no longer apply to players on 10-day contracts, Aldridge adds.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Gordon, Kings, Napier, Stauskas
Aaron Gordon reveals some of the experiences he had while working out for the Kings, Lakers, and Jazz to Tzvi Twersky of SLAM Magazine. Gordon mentions shooting alongside Chris Mullin and playing defense against Doug McDermott among other details. Here’s a rundown of tonight’s other draft notes:
- Cleanthony Earl and Glenn Robinson III will work out for the Kings next week, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (subscription only).
- Xavier Thames will work out for the Kings and Pacers, tweets Sean Cunningham of News10 Sacramento.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com adds the Thunder, Grizzlies, and Celtics to the list of teams that have auditioned Shabazz Napier (Insider only).
- Nik Stauskas has rescheduled his scrubbed workout with the Lakers, the ESPN scribe adds.
- The Wolves will be working out K.J. McDaniels, Rodney Hood, and P.J. Hairston this weekend, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Wolfson adds that more players could be lined up for workouts in Minnesota in addition to those three.
- Stephen Holt will work out for the Warriors, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group.
Eastern Rumors: Seraphin, Knicks
Kevin Seraphin tells Brandon Parker of The Washington Post he would “for sure” like to re-sign with the Wizards, but wants an opportunity to play more. “I love this game so if I don’t play I’m frustrated,” Seraphin said. The power forward took a step back in his fourth season, with his minutes and production nearly cut in half across the board. Seraphin will either become a restricted or unrestricted free agent, depending on whether Washington extends his $3.9MM qualifying offer. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Phil Jackson explained to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com why he is committed to finding a Knicks coach with which he is familiar. “I’d like to have a prior relationship with a coach so that we know that we’ve gone through some kind of issues together,” said Jackson. “We’ve had conflicts, we’ve had disagreements and we know how to work things out. Those, I think, are part and parcel I think to having a relationship with people that can work together that can still disagree and come to terms.”
- Jackson revealed that there are college coaches that intrigue him for the job, and confirmed that he sees a benefit in hiring a younger coach for the position. Jackson said he is looking for a coach to last for the long-term, not just as a one or two year stop gap.
- We learned earlier today that the Cavs plan to offer Kyrie Irving a max extension this summer.
Cavs Will Offer Max Extension To Kyrie Irving
The Cavaliers will offer the full 5-year maximum extension to star point guard Kyrie Irving, reports Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Sources tell Pluto that, contrary to rumblings of Cleveland’s hesitancy to extend the offer, there has never been any doubt in the Cavs front office about trying to lock up Irving. The Cavs will extend their offer as soon as the negotiation window allows on July 1, when players and teams are first permitted to begin talking.
The Plain Dealer scribe says that the Cavs hope to have a coach in place to discuss the future with Irving at that time, hoping the 20.7 PPG career scorer will commit to the team for the long haul. The Cavs plan to continue to build toward a plan for the future centered on Irving unless he demands out of Cleveland or declines signing the extension.
Irving has had a tumultuous first three years in the NBA after being selected No. 1 overall by Cleveland in the 2011 draft. While he has exhibited the offensive talent that made him worth that selection, the team has failed to make the playoffs or even finish with a .500 winning percentage. Last year’s disappointing 33-win Cavs team was actually the best of the Irving era, and the fallout from a disastrous Andrew Bynum signing, a historically bad rookie year for 2013’s No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett, and continued losing resulted in the mid-season firing of former GM Chris Grant and ex-coach Mike Brown’s dismissal after the season.
Despite the ugly season, Irving is reportedly pleased with the decision to make GM David Griffin the permanent executive after Griffin’s strong run as interim GM during the season. Irving has publicly refuted persistent rumors that he wanted out of Cleveland, but he has stopped short of guaranteeing he will re-sign for the years ahead. Griffin is a believer in the backcourt pairing of Irving and Dion Waiters, and the team experienced a relative turnaround once Griffin took the reigns to foster a positive culture around the two ball-dominant guards.
Western Rumors: Love, Saunders, Thompson
Quin Snyder was just introduced as the new head coach for the Jazz, expressing his excitement to develop the young Utah roster and forge a defensive identity, reports Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter). Here’s more from out west, including another coaching press conference in Minnesota:
- At his first press conference as coach for the Wolves, Flip Saunders said that part of the reason he was the best fit in Minnesota was his ability to be flexible considering the potential roster overhaul that could take place in the event of a Kevin Love trade. “What we did not want to do is bring in a coach who was going to be pigeonholed on a certain style of play with the players we have,” Saunders told reporters including Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune, “and then all of a sudden maybe that changes. [The decision] was made based on what’s best for us as a team, whether we make trades or we don’t.”
- Saunders added that he isn’t interested in taking a competitive step back, an indication that any trade made would have the aim of short-term improvement, not a rebuilding effort.
- Chip Scoggins of The Star Tribune thinks that Saunders made the right decision in taking the Wolves coaching job, but doesn’t think the organization with a track record of instability is any better off.
- Klay Thompson told Russian blogger Mete Aktas that he would like to remain with the Warriors for the long haul, but knows that rumors surrounding him are inevitable (Translation via Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group). “Your job is never secure in this league unless your name is LeBron James or Steph Curry,” said Thompson. “I hope [staying with Golden State] happens, but it is a fact that you never know what will happen in the NBA.”
- Thompson added that he was shocked by Mark Jackson‘s firing when it happened, but is comfortable moving forward with new coach Steve Kerr.
Arron Afflalo Open To Being Traded
Arron Afflalo wouldn’t mind being traded to a playoff contender, writes Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Afflalo is a rare veteran talent on the Magic’s young roster, and Schmitz notes that at 29, his prime years might be going to waste on a developing Orlando team that figures to remain at the bottom of the standings this season. Afflalo has two years left on an affordable contract that pays him $7.5MM annualy, but the last year is a player option, meaning one of the league’s best shooting guards could become a free agent after the 2014/15 season.
The Magic could draft a point guard with the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft, a move that would slide Victor Oladipo‘s development back over to his natural position–shooting guard, where Afflalo resides. Veteran point guard Jameer Nelson‘s partially guaranteed contract and Afflalo’s value of a deal would make moving either very doable. As we covered in our offseason outlook, the Magic also have plenty of cap room to bring back salary in a trade or sign another veteran guard to slot behind Oladipo in the rotation.
The Magic are displaying organizational patience in building their team, reportedly only looking for second-tier free agents at this stage of their development. While Afflalo has been highly coveted, Orlando insisted on receiving multiple first round draft picks or young players when talks took place before this season’s trade deadline. Most playoff contenders don’t have a surplus of those kind of assets to part with, although Orlando could find their way into a three- or four-team deal for a superstar headed elsewhere, a possibility Schmitz notes.
Alvin Gentry Gets Another Interview With Cavs
Alvin Gentry will interview again with the Cavs, sources tell Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. The Clippers assistant will meet with Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert (Twitter links). Gentry recently lost out on the Jazz head coaching job, where he was one of four finalists including the eventual hire Quin Snyder. Gentry first interviewed with Cleveland in mid-May.
Gentry might be distancing himself from some of the other candidates including Adrian Griffin, Vinny Del Negro, Lionel Hollins, and Tyronn Lue, among a wider pool of potential names. None of his rumored competitors have been ruled out, but it is possible that reaching this stage to get an in-person sit down with Gilbert could mean Gentry moved beyond a round of cuts, although that’s just my speculation. Gentry has been linked with the Cleveland opening dating back well into last month, and the veteran coach worked with Cavs GM David Griffin when both were with the Suns.
Gentry is also still in the running for the Lakers coaching vacancy, and they recently decided to move in the direction of finding an experienced head coach. That would also bode well for Gentry, who has a 355-370 career record as an NBA head coach.