Lakers Rumors: Lopez, Clarkson, Draft Workouts
Brook Lopez‘s ability to space the floor would make him a good match with the Bucks, according to Frank Urbina of HoopsHype. Lopez’s 3-point shooting would open up the floor for Giannis Antetokounmpo. However, the Bucks are already over the projected salary-cap limit and would thus only be able to offer the unrestricted free agent their non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Other potential landing spots for Lopez if he doesn’t re-sign with the Lakers include the Trail Blazers, who could lose restricted free agent Jusuf Nurkic, and the Nets, his former team.
We have more on the Lakers:
- Jordan Clarkson‘s struggles in the playoffs make it clear that the Lakers got the best of their trade deadline deal with the Cavaliers, Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report opines. Clarkson was benched in Game 3 after making only 23.1% percent of his shots attempts in the first two games and he shot just 30.9% in prior playoff games, Pincus notes. Clarkson also hasn’t been a playmaker, doling out just one assist over the last eight games, Pincus continues. The Lakers also gave up forward Larry Nance Jr. while getting back Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye and a first-round pick. The draft pick, plus Thomas’ expiring contract, sets up the Lakers for a potentially momentous summer, Pincus adds.
- The Lakers will work out mainly second-round prospects on Saturday, according to a team release. Brian Bowen II, Jacob Evans (Cincinnati), Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky), Tra Holder (Arizona State), Nick King (Middle Tennessee) and Theo Pinson (North Carolina) will pay a visit. Evans is the top-rated prospect in the group, currently ranked No. 29 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
- What are the team’s biggest offseason questions? Hoops Rumors’ Luke Adams takes a closer look.
Mo Bamba Working Out For Suns, Mavs
10:50pm: Bamba will work out Saturday for the Suns, who hold the top pick, according to the team’s website.
5:11pm: The Mavericks will work out Texas center Mohamed Bamba on Monday, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated tweets.
Bamba has been linked to Dallas in some mock drafts — if he falls to No. 5. He’s zoomed up the draft board and is currently ranked No. 3 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. Bamba’s offensive game is a work in progress but he’s expected to be a defensive force at the next level, in part because of his imposing 7’9″ wingspan.
In his lone college season, Bamba averaged 12.9 PPG, 10.5 RPG and 3.7 BPG for the Longhorns.
Bamba has already worked out for the Bulls, who own the No. 7 selection, and is scheduled to work out for the Hawks on Thursday.
Duke big man Wendell Carter will work out for the Mavericks on Wednesday, Fischer adds. Carter has workouts lined up with six lottery teams.
Sixers Will Work Out Mikal Bridges Tuesday
Projected lottery pick Mikal Bridges will work out for the Sixers on Tuesday, Michael Scotto of The Athletic tweets.
Bridges has already worked out for the Bulls, who have the No. 7 selection; the Knicks, who hold the No. 9 pick; and the Hornets, who are situated at No. 11. Philadelphia is right in-between New York and Charlotte at No. 10.
It was previously reported that Bridges would work out for the Sixers but this provides a firm date. It’s also an indication that the Sixers are conducting business as usual despite the resignation of GM Bryan Colangelo on Thursday over a Twitter scandal.
The small forward out of Villanova is currently ranked No. 14 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Bridges was a big reason why the Wildcats won their second national championship in three seasons, averaging 17.7 PPG as a junior. He also contributed 5.3 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and 1.1 BPG with a very efficient shooting line of .514/.435/.851.
Draft Notes: Okogie, Bagley, Bulls, Hawks
Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie is drawing plenty of interest from teams with middle or late first-round picks, according to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times. Okogie has already worked out for the Grizzlies, Nets, Celtics, Hawks, Lakers, Nuggets, Bulls and Spurs. He’s got a second workout scheduled with the Spurs, along with visits to the Warriors and Trail Blazers, Zagoria adds (Twitter links). The 6’4” shooting guard is currently ranked No. 26 overall by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
In other draft-related news with the big day less than two weeks away:
- Duke big man Marvin Bagley III believes Deandre Ayton is being disrespectful by stating that he knows he’ll be the top pick, Bob Baum of the Associated Press reports. Bagley feels the Suns, who own the top pick, should bestow him that status. “I definitely believe I’m the No. 1 pick and if the Suns take me I’ll definitely show them why,” Bagley said after working out for Phoenix on Friday.
- The Bulls not only worked out Okogie on Friday but also Aaron Holiday (UCLA), Chimezie Metu (USC), Kameron Chatman (Detroit), Giddy Potts (Middle Tennessee) and Scottie Lindsey (Northwestern), according to a team release. Holiday was the headliner, as he’s rated No. 17 by Givony.
- The Hawks were among the teams at Michael Porter Jr.‘s workout in Chicago on Friday, Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Atlanta owns the No. 3 overall pick.
Iman Shumpert Opts In With Kings For Next Season
Kings guard Iman Shumpert has opted in for the final year of his contract, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.
Shumpert will make just over $11MM next season. He had until June 14 to make a decision on his player option.
Shumpert’s decision to take the guaranteed money comes as no surprise after his injury-plagued 2017/18 season. He only appeared in 14 games, all with the Cavaliers, before he was dealt at the trade deadline to Sacramento. He was part of a multi-player, three-team deal that also involved the Jazz.
Shumpert was sidelined by knee and foot injuries and the Kings weren’t in any rush to have him play this past season, as they were evaluating younger players during the second half of the campaign.
Shumpert appeared in 76 regular-season games with Cleveland, including 31 starts, in 2016/17. He averaged 7.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG and 1.4 APG that season. He also appeared in 58 playoff games with the Cavaliers over a three-year span. Shumpert turns 28 later this month.
The decision won’t have a major effect on the Kings’ offseason plans as they remain well under the cap.
Central Notes: Beilein, James, Finals, Dunn
Michigan coach John Beilein was not offered the Pistons head coaching job before he withdrew his candidacy on Wednesday, Brendan Quinn of The Athletic reports. Beilein was one of the finalists along with ex-Raptors coach Dwane Casey and Spurs assistant Ime Udoka. Beilein was uncomfortable with the attention that he received when his name surfaced publicly and grew tired of the dragged-out process. But he admitted he would have strongly considered taking the NBA job if it had been offered. “I just said, let’s just move forward. I’ll make their decision easier,” Beilein told Quinn. “I felt like, well, if they’re not certain — and I understand that, it’s OK — but if they’re not certain, then I’m not going to be certain.”
In other developments involving Central Division teams:
- Pressure from family members might be the only way that LeBron James stays with the Cavaliers after the NBA Finals, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times. James has more of an inkling what he’ll do this summer than he’s revealed publicly, Stein continues. Joining forces with close friend Chris Paul is a strong possibility, Stein adds, whether he goes to the Rockets or they sign with another team with enough salary-cap space to pull it off.
- The Cavaliers are frustrated to be down 3-0 in theFinals against a more vulnerable Warriors team than they faced last year, according to Jason Lloyd of The Athletic. One unnamed player even told Lloyd the series would be completely opposite if Kyrie Irving had not been traded to the Celtics. “We’d be up 3-0 if Kyrie was still here,” the player said. “I have no doubt.”
- It’s possible the Bulls will draft a point guard, in part because they’re unhappy with Kris Dunn‘s work habits, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Multiple sources told Cowley that the coaching staff and front office believe Dunn has been “shortcutting’’ his way through May and the first week of June. This is a surprise, Cowley adds, because Dunn was considered a workout warrior with the Timberwolves and showed the same traits last summer after he was traded to Chicago.
Nikola Vucevic Interested In Long-Term Deal With Magic
Magic center Nikola Vucevic is happy in Orlando and can see a long-term future with the franchise, as he told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype. Vucevic has one year and $12.75MM remaining on his contract, then becomes an unrestricted free agent next summer. Vucevic would like to see progress from the team next season but has faith that it’s headed in the right direction.
“I believe we aren’t too far away and we can compete very soon,” he said. “When you win in this league, that’s the best feeling. So that’s what is most important to me. I do believe we can get there, though.”
There’s more nuggets from Kennedy’s interview with Vucevic:
- The 7-footer is focused on expanding his 3-point game in a league that increasingly demands that big men stretch the floor. Vucevic didn’t venture out much to the 3-point line until last season, when he averaged 3.6 attempts per game and connected on 31.4% of them. “This is something that I’ve wanted to add to my game to help our team get better, so I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for me this summer. I’ll continue to focus on that. I’ll also be playing with my national team, and I’ll continue to work on that while I’m with them.”
- Vucevic had dinner with new coach Steve Clifford and was very impressed by the ex-Hornets head man. “You can tell he knows the game really well. He’s really creative. He’s going to do a really good job of putting our guys in positions to be successful and making us better. Everything we talked about throughout our conversation was very positive.”
- Forward Aaron Gordon‘s steady improvement was a product of hard work, rather than simply his athleticism, according to Vucevic. “He works as hard as any guy on our team – if not harder. He’s always showing up early and staying late. … Some people may think he’s just a freak athlete, but they don’t realize how much work he has put in to improve the way he has year after year, especially this past season.”
Southeast Notes: Chalmers, Magic, Foster, Hawks
Free agents and former Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers have been working out together in Miami, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports. They were Miami’s starting backcourt during its championship runs in 2012 and 2013. Wade finished last season with the Heat, while Chalmers played for the Grizzlies. They have been working out at DBC Fitness, a Miami gym run by David Alexander, one of LeBron James‘ trainers, Winderman notes.
In other news around the Southeast Division:
- New Magic coach Steve Clifford is bringing in two of his former Hornets assistants in Pat Delany and Steve Hetzel, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Both worked under Clifford the past four seasons. New Knicks coach David Fizdale was interested in bringing on Delany to his staff, Stein adds.
- Greg Foster will join the staff of new Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets. Foster had been an assistant with the Bucks since 2014.
- Georgia forward Yante Maten is among the draft prospects the Hawks will work out on Tuesday, according to a team release. Elijah Stewart (USC), Isaiah Wilkins (Virginia), Melvin Frazier (Tulane), Elijah Brown (Oregon) and Trevon Bluiett (Xavier) are also scheduled to visit.
Pistons Want More Talks With Casey, Beilein, Udoka
9:35pm: Spurs assistant Ime Udoka also remains on the short list and the Pistons are making plans to advance the three candidates to meet with owner Tom Gores, according to Wojnarowski.
6:04pm: The Pistons would like to have additional conversations with former Raptors coach Dwane Casey and current Michigan coach John Beilein regarding their head coaching job, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Both coaches have already met with Detroit’s front office, Wojnarowski adds.
This suggests that the duo may be emerging as the top candidates for the position, despite their very different resumes. Casey was named NBA Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association after guiding the Raptors to the Eastern Conference’s best record, then was abruptly fired after Toronto was swept by the Cavaliers during the conference semifinals.
Casey, who had coached the Raptors since 2011, was the winningest coach in team history, leading the club to a 373-307 (.549) regular season record. He had one year left on his contract with Toronto, worth $6MM.
Beilein has been a long-time college coach and led the Wolverines to the NCAA title game before they fell to heavily favored Villanova. Beilein has compiled a 248-143 record in 11 years at Michigan, including two trips to the Final Four.
Newly hired special advisor Ed Stefanski said that hiring a new head coach was a priority over hiring another front office executive. Stan Van Gundy held the positions of head coach and president of basketball operations before he was fired last month. GM Jeff Bower was let go last week.
Former Bucks coach Jason Kidd, Spurs assistants Becky Hammon and Ime Udoka, Heat assistant Juwan Howard, and TNT broadcaster Kenny Smith have also been connected to the position.
Community Shootaround: NBA Finals
The Warriors barely survived Game 1, but as the 2018 NBA Finals head to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4, the results thus far have been predictable. Heavily favored Golden State held home court and carries a 2-0 lead to the Midwest.
LeBron James‘ monstrous 51-point game in the opener nearly allowed the Cavaliers to steal one at Oracle Arena. A controversial reversal of a block/charge call, along with J.R. Smith‘s brain lock after rebounding a free throw in the closing seconds of regulation, gave the Warriors a reprieve and they dominated the overtime session. Stephen Curry‘s 3-point barrage assured the Warriors wouldn’t have to sweat out the closing minutes of Game 2.
However, the Cavs have been tough at the Q this postseason, winning their last eight games at their cozy and noisy home arena. Also, as Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com notes, the Warriors are not as deep or as disciplined as they have been in past playoff runs.
What they do have, of course, is more superstar power. And they could back their defensive stalwart, Andre Iguodala, as soon as Game 3. Iguodala has missed the last six games with a knee injury.
Certainly, everyone outside of Golden State fans would like to see the Cavaliers make a stand and provide some suspense to the series. If the Warriors win on Wednesday, a sweep or a five-game series, as was the case last season, would seem inevitable.
That leads us to our question of the day: Can the Cavaliers climb back in the series or have the Warriors already established their dominance?
Please take to the comments section and voice your opinion.