Pacific Rumors: Warriors, Nash, Kings
Public comments following Darren Erman‘s firing from both Mark Jackson and Warriors brass paint the situation as unrelated to basketball or performance, per Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group. GM Bob Myers offered a statement of support to Jackson following the news. “We believe that Mark is fully capable, and we’re confident in his ability to keep going in the right direction, keep propelling us like he has all year, and we believe that he’s going to continue to be successful like he has been,” Myers said. “We believe in his ability the rest of the way.” Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Jackson told Leung he’s confident his team can overcome the latest shakeup of the Warriors coaching staff, which comes on the heels of the demotion of former assistant Brian Scalabrine. “This is not the norm,” Jackson said. “That’s OK because really in both decisions, the right decisions were made. You move forward. To me, I think it’s a great time for us as a team and an organization. To still be standing, this isn’t new.”
- Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group thinks that some of the turmoil facing the Warriors coaching staff is part of a conscious effort by owner Joe Lacob to put pressure on Jackson to see how he and the team handle it.
- Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni believes Steve Nash will play again this season despite his recurring injuries and soreness, and hopes the point guard won’t be forced into early retirement. He commented to reporters, including Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times, on the possibility of Nash being waived under the stretch provision, and not being picked up by another team. “I think it’s way too early to surmise that,” said D’Antoni. “If it happens, it happens and he’s had an unbelievable career, a Hall of Famer for sure.”
- After a blowout loss to the Warriors last night, Kings coach Michael Malone is still optimistic about what he’s building in Sacramento, he tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “We knew full well that it wasn’t going to be easy when we took over the job here in Golden State [where Malone was an assistant], and when I took the job in Sacramento,” said Malone. “You just have to lay a foundation and kind of pound that rock every day, and that’s what we’ve tried to do.”
Eastern Notes: Knicks, Ariza, LeBron
Grant Hill says he understands what Kyrie Irving is going through, telling Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that the criticism and speculation surrounding the Cavs former No. 1 pick is par for the course. “In the NBA, that’s the epitome of it, but also what makes it difficult. The sport we are in, you constantly have to meet and surpass expectations, because you are constantly being evaluated by people. If you don’t succeed, you get traded, you get fired, you get criticized. That is what we sign up for,” said Hill. “After 19 years, you realize that’s part of the job, you are going to be evaluated and you are going to be criticized — it is not all glamour.” More from the East:
- President Phil Jackson is looking to add one or more additions to the Knicks front office, and he’s targeting a young salary cap expert to assist him and GM Steve Mills, a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The only candidate for such a position within Jackson’s inner circle would be Steve Kerr, who only appears interested in a return to coaching.
- Stein says it’s possible that Kerr could wind up coaching and bringing along a front office executive of his own, with one potential name being David Griffin, the Cavs interim GM at the moment.
- J. Michael of CSNWashington.com thinks the latest defensive performance by Trevor Ariza against Carmelo Anthony is a reminder that the Wizards should do what it takes to retain the small forward when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. Ariza is shooting a career best from three this season, and has helped Washington reach the playoffs after a long drought.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel thinks the Heat should pay whatever it takes in tax penalties to keep LeBron James. Since James’ salary is limited by the CBA to a value much below his practical worth for Miami, Winderman says exceeding the tax to provide him with a quality supporting cast is one way they can make up the virtual salary gap to him.
- Cody Taylor at Basketball Insiders looks at what it will take for the Magic to turnaround their franchise as they continue the rebuilding process.
- Ed Rendell of The Philadelphia Daily News thinks that the Sixers rebuilding strategy is brilliant, and sees it paying off with a competitive team next season.
Draft Rumors: Payton, Baker, Walker
Oscar Robertson doesn’t agree with the league’s desire to increase the age limit for draft entry, telling Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press that “one-and-done” players aren’t hurting the college game. “These colleges are greedy, man. They want to keep a kid … in school if they start to win,” Robertson said. “They want to keep them in school because it helps them — it helps the coach, it helps the winning percentage.” Here’s a roundup of more draft rumors:
- Wichita State’s Ron Baker will return to school for his junior year, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Baker explored his draft potential before making the decision, and multiple NBA executives tell Goodman he would have been a second round pick had he chosen to declare for this year’s draft.
- An NBA executive told Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Louisiana-Lafayette’s Elfrid Payton could go as high as the late teens in the draft should he declare. The junior hasn’t yet decided whether to forgo his last year of college to enter the draft.
- Florida freshman Chris Walker says he will make a decision regarding this year’s draft after the Final Four, telling reporters including Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv he’s focused on the tournament for now. “I haven’t really been thinking about it,” Walker said. “I’m just thinking about winning this UConn game and staying in the moment and hopefully winning that and advance to the championship game. And then after the season, me and coach [Billy Donovan] will sit down and talk about everything and all the options.” Walker has been considered by many to be a premier 2015 draft prospect, so it would be interesting to see where he would stack up if he declared for this summer’s draft.
- In a subscription-only piece, ESPN Insiders Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton look at the draft stocks for Shabazz Napier, Frank Kaminsky, and Patric Young, who are all playing for Final Four teams this weekend.
- Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports discussed the draft prospects of Kentucky’s freshmen in a video from yesterday.
- We profiled Doug McDermott earlier today.
Bucks Sign Chris Wright To 10-Day Contract
11:32am: The Bucks PR account officially announced the signing, which is indeed for a 10-day contract (Twitter link).
11:24am: The Bucks will sign Chris Wright, a league source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.com (Twitter link). Wright was considered a candidate to return to the Bucks following the team’s decision not to re-sign D.J. Stephens, whose 10-day contract just expired.
It hasn’t been reported what kind of contract is involved. Milwaukee could sign Wright for the remainder of the season or beyond, but it seems more likely this would be another 10-day deal. Milwaukee has the flexibility to give him another short-term audition, since they declined to ink him to a second 10-day agreement when his first expired two weeks ago.
Wright has spent most of this season with the Maine Red Claws in the D-League. The small forward played 24 games for the Warriors in the 2011/12 season, but didn’t see any NBA action last year. He has career averages of 3.2 points in 8.4 minutes played per game on 51.9% shooting.
Central Notes: Irving, Sanders, Siva
Larry Sanders apologized to Bucks fans for his recently announced drug suspension, but was defensive about his use of marijuana, telling Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he disagrees with its status as a banned substance. “It’s a banned substance in my league. But I believe in marijuana and the medical side of it.” said Sanders. “The stigma is that it’s illegal. I hate that. Once this becomes legal, this all will go away. But I understand for my work it’s a banned substance. I will deal with the consequences and I apologize again to my fans for that.” Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Sanders added that he’s excited to work this summer, and believes he can put this year’s troubles behind him next season, when the first year of his four-year, $44MM extension kicks in. “I’ll be better from this. I’ve learned a lot already from this year. I’m going to continue to learn. I hate that this is a negative impact on my fans and my family or the organization,” Sanders said.
- In a series of tweets, Cavs star Kyrie Irving made it known that he’s upset with with the ongoing rumors about his desire to leave Cleveland (H/T Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer). Irving says that he’s tired of the negative attention, and denied that any speculation about his thought process attributed to his camp has any merit.
- The Pistons have given increased playing time to rookie Peyton Siva, who tells Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press he’s better adjusted to the speed of the game than he was early in the season. “I feel a lot more comfortable out there. I feel more confident in my skills and within myself to go out there and play,” said Siva. “I’m definitely looking forward to playing more and transitioning from what I’ve been showing in practice to the game. I just want to go out there and prove my worth. Continue to play hard and try to help my team win.”
Prospect Profile: Doug McDermott
Doug McDermott strongly considered entering last year’s draft, but opted to stay in school for one more year. As we detailed in our profile of Marcus Smart, a year can make quite a difference in a player’s draft value. While Smart’s stock has slipped from last year, when he declined to stay at Oklahoma State despite being projected near the very top of the draft, McDermott has seen his stock skyrocket after returning to Creighton for his senior year.
Last year, McDermott was seen as a late first-rounder or second-rounder at best, but he’s projected at No. 10 overall in the latest DraftExpress mock draft, and ranked No. 13 in ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s Top 100 prospects list. Ironically, McDermott didn’t even consider a lottery selection to be a possibility when making his decision to return for his senior year. McDermott sought Creighton alum Kyle Korver‘s advice, telling Jeff Goodman of CBS Sports at the time, “[The 2014 draft] looks stronger at the top 15 to 18 picks, but after that it’s about the same. But that’s probably not going to be my range this year or next year, anyway. That helped me [decide].”
McDermott played power forward in college, and is listed at 6’8″ and 225 lbs. A dynamic scorer, the 22-year-old averaged 21.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game with a slash line of .550/.458/.831 in his four years at Creighton. He upped his scoring average this year, but was actually a slightly more efficient scorer in his junior year. It’s possible that Creighton’s move from the Missouri Valley Conference to the Big East had a hand in raising his profile, validating his status as one of the nation’s premier scorers. McDermott is already an extremely decorated athlete, holding Creighton’s all-time scoring record with more than 1,000 points more than the next most prolific scoring Bluejay, ranking third in career rebounds at the school, and becoming one of just a dozen players to earn First-Team All American honors three times in the history of the award.
McDermott is probably a bit undersized to establish himself as exclusively a power forward in the NBA, and isn’t quick enough to guard many of the league’s small forwards. The dreaded “tweener” label isn’t always a death knell, especially in a league utilizing more and more small-ball and unconventional lineups. However, some young frontcourt players with positional ambiguity have indeed struggled, for example Anthony Bennett (6’8″, 259 lbs.; designated a small forward) and Derrick Williams (6’8″, 240 lbs.; designated a power forward).
McDermott’s greatest strengths have been shooting and rebounding, two skillsets that tend to translate well from college to pro hoops. However, some scouts have questions about his size and lack of athleticism. Whether McDermott can survive defensively in the NBA is a concern. McDermott’s athletic limitations don’t preclude him from finding ways to effectively spot-up or even create his shot consistently, but it’s a tougher task to overcome the same limitations on defense.
There are plenty of elite shooters and scorers in the NBA who thrive despite being liabilities on the defensive end, although it is easier to hide or even utilize a physically overmatched wing in a team defense scheme than it is to accommodate for a limited frontcourt defender. David Lee of the Warriors is close to McDermott’s size, and his poor defense makes his value as a starter arguably a net loss despite his knack for scoring and rebounding, depending on how you value certain advanced metrics. Still, McDermott would be a huge success as a late lottery pick if his career paralleled that of Lee.
Whichever team selects McDermott will see whether he can continue to find ways to make his game work, taking a chance in the hopes that he will be able to produce somewhere north of 15 points per game in a best-case scenario. McDermott, a coach’s son, will no doubt work to make that team’s gamble worthwhile. Even in the case that he doesn’t pan out as a top-shelf NBA talent, there are greater risks than drafting an established shooter.
And-Ones: Ujiri, Coaches, Gibson
Raptors GM Masai Ujiri tells Bruce Arthur of The National Post that Toronto was very close to a drastic roster overhaul following the Rudy Gay trade earlier this year, but that the decision to give Kyle Lowry and his teammates a chance to perform has paid off. “[We came] very, very close [to a different path],” Ujiri said. “I think it was clear for us that after the Rudy Gay trade we were going to see how this whole thing was going to play out … but one thing that really encouraged me was that Kyle, I think Kyle really grew up. We had some honest discussions, and some honest challenges.” Here’s a rundown of the rest of the league’s notes:
- In a video spot, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders discusses which NBA coaches are on the hot seat, and which available coaches are the hottest candidates for next season.
- Daniel Gibson drew interest from NBA teams prior to the deadline, but the former Cavs guard remains unsigned and is focusing on returning to the league next season instead, as he tells Rodney “Mehka” King of Baller Mind Frame.
- Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders takes a look at what it will take to move the Celtics rebuild along and deliver a winning team. Boston will look to work some magic in the draft and trade market, while making long-term decisions about Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green.
Western Rumors: Jackson, Redick, Franklin
If the Clippers beat the Suns tonight, they will clinch the Pacific Division title. Here’s more from out west:
- Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes that Warriors coach Mark Jackson has a uniquely loyal roster in Golden State, and that Warriors brass ought to be very convinced his weaknesses are insurmountable before choosing to part ways with the third-year coach. Stein believes that the most important factor for an NBA coach’s success, other than a talented roster, is player buy-in. Star point guard Steph Curry is adamant that he supports Jackson, and Stein warns that there’s no guarantee a new coach with a winning pedigree could earn the same level of commitment from the Warriors locker room.
- The Grizzlies have recalled Jamaal Franklin from their D-League affiliate per a team release. The rookie has been sent back and forth between the NBA and D-League a handful of times this season, averaging 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per contest in his 19 games with Memphis.
- J.J. Redick is planning on returning for one of the Clippers next three home games, sources tell Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link). Redick has been out with a bulging disc long enough to raise the question of whether he could miss the rest of the season.
- Rockets coach Kevin McHale told reporters including Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that Houston’s staff will miss Kelvin Sampson. “He’s had success wherever he’s been. We’ll all miss him. He’s been a great addition,” said McHale. Sampson was hired by the University of Houston and will leave the Rockets after tonight’s game. Sampson himself had no comment on his departure.
Southeast Rumors: Zeller, Oladipo, Harris
While the Heat are the only team in the Southeast Division more than three games above .500, the division is full of relative successes in a down year for the Eastern Conference. If the Hawks can hang on to the eighth seed, the division should send four teams to the postseason, and even the last-place Magic have improved upon their record from last year. More from the relatively strong division:
- After shooting just 38% and struggling to stay on the floor without fouling in his first 55 games with the Bobcats, Cody Zeller has had more success in recent games. The fourth pick from the 2013 draft tells Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer that he is adjusting to the speed of the game. “You’ve got to be really into the details. There was stuff I could get away with in college on athleticism or being stronger than the other guy. Here everybody is just that athletic and just that strong,” said Zeller.
- Victor Oladipo tells John Denton of Magic.com that while he often wonders what might have been had the Cavs selected him first-overall in last year’s draft, he’s happy he landed with the Magic. “First off, I was happy for (Anthony Bennett) because that’s a great accomplishment for someone to say that they were picked No. 1,’’ Oladipo said. “At the same time, I was just wondering where I was going. Then, I ended up going here, so I didn’t have to wait too long. It was a pretty amazing feeling.”
- In a separate Denton feature, Oladipo cautions incoming draftees that the NBA is tougher than they might think. “I don’t want to say that it was a rude awakening for me, but it definitely gave me a different perspective on the league. You have to be on your A-game in this league because you’re going against the best,” said Oladipo, who only gives his rookie season with the Magic a “D” grade.
- After a frustratingly slow start to the season due to injury, Magic forward Tobias Harris is adjusting to his role off the bench, telling Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel he’s happy with his improved consistency. “That was my goal going into the year: just to be consistent game-in and game-out and just to get better every game,” Harris said. “I think that’s probably one of the biggest improvements I’ve made.”
Eastern Rumors: Pistons, Raptors, Sixers
Shaun Powell of SportsOnEarth.com says that it’s a given Pistons GM Joe Dumars will be let go after the season, but Powell thinks it will take a lot of luck and skill in the draft, free agency, and coaching hunt for Detroit to turn around years of Dumars’ poor decision-making. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:
- Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko has hired Bill Duffy of the BDA Sports agency to represent him, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link). Jerebko is weighing whether to pick up his $4.5MM player option for next season.
- With Kyle Lowry dealing with a sore left knee, the Raptors‘ deadline trade for Nando De Colo is looking far more meaningful, given the team’s dearth of experienced point guards behind Lowry and Greivis Vasquez, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star.
- Michael Carter-Williams has turned a lot of heads this season, and Sixers coach Brett Brown told reporters including Tom Moore of Calkins Media that his first-year point guard has played well enough to earn the Rookie of the Year Award. “You can talk about he’s playing on a bad team and getting lots of minutes — and that is all true,” Brown said. “But I see him getting better because he’s understanding the NBA better. He’s starting to get greedy and understand the opportunity and responsibility he has to help grow this program. I think he deserves those awards.”
- Brown also told reporters, including Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, that he’s now “ambivalent” about whether Sixers rookie Nerlens Noel plays this year (Twitter link).
- Pacers power forward Luis Scola will play for Argentina in the FIBA World Cup this summer, he tells El Universal (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.