Central Notes: Jackson, Pacers, Bulls
The Pistons have tendered a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683 to Reggie Jackson, making him a restricted free agent this summer, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Detroit will now have the opportunity to match any offer sheet that Jackson signs, though it is not a given that it will do so. Ken Berger of CBSSports.com had previously relayed that if Emmanuel Mudiay were to be available at the No. 8 overall pick, the Pistons would consider allowing Jackson to depart this offseason. Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) concurs that Detroit would snag Mudiay if he were available, though the franchise doesn’t believe he is ready to run an NBA team just yet.
Here’s more from the NBA’s Central Division:
- The Pacers will focus on accumulating talent in the draft, and not on any particular position, Indiana GM Kevin Pritchard said, notes Mark Montieth of NBA.com. “More than ever, it’s not like you’re going after a quarterback or point guard,” Pritchard said. “You’re seeing the teams that really succeed put five guys who can really make plays out there. You try to get the best player you can, because in a small market, it’s your only chance to get special. We’re not New York or L.A., so to get special you have to do it in the draft.“
- Pritchard also said that the Pacers are focused on “four or five” players with the No. 11 overall pick, but are prepared to call audibles if a player “drops” during the draft, Montieth adds. The team isn’t opposed to dealing the pick either, the NBA.com scribe adds. “We’re not afraid to trade the pick; we talk about that all the time,” Pritchard said. “We’ve heard a lot about 11. There’s interest in 11. Moving down is tough because then the draft selects for you instead of you selecting the draft.“
- The Bulls, who are badly in need of backcourt depth, will have numerous options in the draft to add a rotation piece, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. Playmakers who could potentially be available at the No. 22 overall pick include Delon Wright, Jerian Grant, and Tyus Jones, Johnson adds.
Atlantic Notes: Smith, Embiid, Thomas
Knicks president Phil Jackson would love to have big man Jason Smith back for the 2015/16 season, Marc Berman of The New York Post writes. Jackson is aware that it may not be possible to re-sign the unrestricted free agent if he is offered a deal by another team for more than the veteran’s minimum, Berman adds. New York may be willing to go above the minimum to retain the 29-year-old, but that is dependent on how the team’s pursuit of bigger ticket free agents goes, the Post scribe notes. The Zen Master has acknowledged that he may not be able to land a big man via the NBA Draft, and with the Knicks’ roster currently devoid of big men, as well as Smith relaying that he would indeed like to return to New York, the two sides could be a fit, Berman relays.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Raptors brought in Kentucky center Dakari Johnson for a workout on Tuesday, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun relays. Johnson is projected to be a second round pick in this year’s draft, and though Toronto doesn’t currently own any second-rounders, the team is considering trying to purchase one, Wolstat adds. “You always got to come into the opportunity and just make the best of it, no matter the circumstances, you’ve got to come in and work your hardest,” Johnson said. “That’s the type of person I am, I love to compete. I initially didn’t have this workout scheduled, but they added it on for me and I decided to come in and just compete. I just love to compete.”
- Sixers CEO Scott O’Neil has indicated that additional doctors will evaluate the latest setback in the healing of center Joel Embiid‘s right foot, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “We’re still waiting,” O’Neil said. “We have another three doctors to come see him. The nice thing about jobs like these – you can literally get the best experts in the world. All you have to do is call and they love to see us.” Philly has legitimate concerns that Embiid could miss the entire 2015/16 campaign.
- The Nets are pessimistic that they will be able to move up from the No. 29 overall pick in this year’s draft, Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com tweets.
- The New York Liberty of the WNBA have suspended consideration of Isiah Thomas‘ application to become part owner of the team, Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg News relays (Twitter link). Thomas will remain in his duties as team president, but the ownership review process is expected to take an extended period, Berman notes in a separate piece. Both Jackson and GM Steve Mills had expressed concerns to owner James Dolan when he informed them he was hiring the former Knicks executive.
Northwest Notes: Afflalo, Wolves, Thunder
The Thunder are reaching out to teams with the hope of unloading a contract to solidify their ability to re-sign Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler, both of whom are restricted free agents this summer, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. OKC has reportedly dealt Jeremy Lamb and his $3,034,356 salary for 2015/16 to the Hornets, so it’s unclear if further moves are in the works. The deal includes Matt Barnes and his $3.543MM salary for next season coming to Oklahoma City, though only $1MM of that amount is guaranteed unless he remains on the roster past July 1st, at which point the team would be on the hook for the entire amount. The Thunder aren’t expected to keep Barnes, though it wasn’t specified if a third team was involved, or if he would simply be released.
Here’s more from the Northwest Division:
- The Blazers shouldn’t prioritize re-signing unrestricted free agent Arron Afflalo this offseason, opines Joe Freeman of The Oregonian. Freeman notes that Afflalo and Portland were never a good match, with the swingman struggling to find his place and never looking completely comfortable in the Blazers’ system. Couple that with the late-season emergence of C.J. McCollum, and Portland re-signing Afflalo becomes less of a need, regardless of what transpires with fellow unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews, Freeman concludes.
- When asked what the Timberwolves would be targeting in the second round of the draft and in free agency this summer, coach/executive Flip Saunders said backcourt [depth], shooting and ball-handling, Jon Krawczynski of the Associated Press tweets. Saunders not mentioning a big man seemingly reinforces the opinion that the team will select Karl-Anthony Towns with the No. 1 overall pick, Krawczynski adds.
- The Timberwolves are expected to extend their lease on the Target Center with the city of Minneapolis through 2035, Charley Walters of The Pioneer Press relays (Twitter link).
Hornets Acquire Nicolas Batum
8:09pm: The trade is official, the Blazers announced. “Nic Batum was a key contributor to all of our recent success,” said Blazers executive Neil Olshey. “He will truly be missed as a person and a player. We wish Nic all the best for the future.”
6:08 pm: The Blazers and Hornets are finalizing a deal that would send Nicolas Batum to Charlotte in exchange for Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). The Yahoo! scribe had reported earlier today that the Hornets were seeking to acquire a wing player in advance of the NBA Draft, but Wojnarowski had relayed that the team was aggressively shopping big man Cody Zeller.
Batum, 26, certainly can be considered an upgrade for Charlotte, despite him coming off a subpar 2014/15 campaign. He appeared in 71 contests for the Blazers, averaging 9.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.8 assists. His career numbers are 11.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 4.8 APG, with a slash line of .446/.363/.834. Batum is set to earn $12,235,750 for the 2015/16 season, and that amount is fully guaranteed.
It’s a bit of a surprise that the Hornets would deal away Vonleh, the team’s lottery selection of a year ago. The 19-year-old only appeared in 25 contests for the Hornets after getting off to late start due to a preseason sports hernia injury. The immediate conclusion would be that Vonleh was acquired by the Blazers to protect themselves in the event that unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge departs this offseason, but the deal was made with Aldridge’s knowledge, and was done independently of his free agent decision, Wojnarowski tweets. Vonleh averaged 3.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per contest this past season, and is set to earn $2,637,720 in 2015/16.
Henderson, 27, recently picked up his $6MM player option for next season, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He appeared in 80 games for Charlotte during the 2014/15 campaign, and averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 28.9 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers last season were .437/.331/.848.
Ed Davis Opts Out With Lakers
Lakers forward Ed Davis has declined his player option for the 2015/16 campaign and will become an unrestricted free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The move comes as no surprise since it had previously been reported that Davis intended to decline his option worth $1,100,602 and test free agency. Davis has said that he would prefer to return to Los Angeles next season.
The Lakers have also expressed a willingness to bring back Davis, and would be open inking him to a multiyear arrangement as long as the cap hit was a reasonable amount. With Los Angeles likely to turn down its 2015/16 team option for Jordan Hill worth $9MM, the Lakers will need depth in its frontcourt, and Davis could certainly fit the bill. The Lakers have approximately $35MM in guaranteed salary already on the books for next season, so they wouldn’t have much trouble re-signing Davis or Hill under the projected $67.1MM cap. Though the team is certainly hoping to use its available cap space on a big ticket free agent this summer.
Davis was solid for the Lakers this past season, appearing in 79 games, 24 as a starter. He averaged 8.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 23.3 minutes per contest. His career stats are 7.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 1.0 BPG, and owning a shooting line of .556/.000/.566.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 6/24/15
Some of the greatest joys of being a sports fan, besides your favorite team winning the championship, are the debates that arise between fellow sports nuts along the way. It’s with this in mind that we have begun providing a forum for basketball fanatics to voice their opinions, debate trending topics, and simply hang out with like-minded hoops aficionados. We’ve begun been posting a new topic for readers to discuss each weeknight, which we hope that this will become a regular part of your sports day. If you missed our previous discussions you can view them here, or simply head over to the sidebar and select “Hoops Rumors Community Shootarounds.”
Of course, there will be differing opinions from time to time. While we absolutely encourage lively discussion and debate, we do expect everyone to treat each other with respect. So, please refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults or attacks, as well as the other taboo types of discourse laid out in our site’s commenting policy. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Hoops Rumors. Just put in your name, email address, and comment and submit it; there is no need to become a registered user.
Now that the preamble has been taken care of, on to the topic of the day: What should the Kings do regarding DeMarcus Cousins?
There are reports swirling that new Kings head man George Karl would prefer it if his job description didn’t include coaching the talented big man next season. This is a bit of a puzzler, seeing as team owner Vivek Ranadive and vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac have adamantly opposed any idea of dealing away Cousins. If there indeed was a disconnect between Karl and Cousins, one would think that would have come up during the interview process. Nevertheless, there remains the distinct possibility that Boogie may be terrorizing the paint in another uniform during the 2015/16 campaign.
What do you think the team should do regarding Cousins? Firing Karl and replacing him with a coach who embraces Cousins is likely not an option since Karl recently inked a multiyear pact. There has been talk that the Lakers could be in play with the No. 2 overall pick, though it would likely take more than that to land such a talented player. What realistic return should Sacramento expect for Cousins? What does the fact that we’re discussing this potentiality say about the Kings organization as a whole? Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts, opinions, and trade ideas. We look forward to what you have to say.
Note: There won’t be a Shootaround posted on Thursday night. But I will be hosting a live chat during the NBA Draft that will begin at 6pm (Central). Come join us as we discuss, debate, and critique all of the selections as they occur.
Rockets Exercise Option On Papanikolaou
The Rockets have exercised their team option for Kostas Papanikolaou, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The forward is set to earn $4,797,664 during the 2015/16 campaign, and though his deal is a non-guaranteed one, it would become fully guaranteed if he remains on Houston’s roster past October 4th.
On Sunday, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle noted that the team was on the fence regarding Papanikolaou’s option. Houston was reportedly considering rolling the dice and declining its option on the forward, and would then try and re-sign him as a free agent this summer. The Rockets already have $54,629,767 in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2015/16 season, and the addition of Papanikoloau’s salary would increase that amount to $59,427,431.
Papanikolaou was a regular part of the Rockets’ rotation during the first half of the 2014/15 season, but the acquisition of Josh Smith cut into the 24-year-old’s minutes the rest of the way. He averaged 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game before Smith joined the team and 2.3 PPG, 1.5 RPG and just 12.1 MPG in 21 appearances afterward.
Hornets Shop Cody Zeller, Seek Wing Players
The Hornets are aggressively shopping big man Cody Zeller, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Charlotte is seeking wing players in return for the second year center in an effort to improve the team’s offense in advance of the NBA Draft, Wojnarowski adds. If the team is successful in dealing away Zeller, Charlotte will give strong consideration to drafting slick-shooting Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky with the No. 9 overall pick, the Yahoo! Scribe relays.
Quite a few mock drafts peg the Hornets to target a wing who can stretch the floor with his shooting, so it’s not a shock to learn that Charlotte is actively looking to upgrade at that spot. If GM Rich Cho were able to address that need prior to Thursday night’s big event, it would allow the organization greater freedom to maximize the pick by taking the best player available, rather than trying to plug a specific hole in its roster.
Zeller underwent surgery back in April to repair damage to his right shoulder, and is expected to be able to resume basketball activities in July. The 22-year-old appeared in 62 contests for Charlotte this season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. His career numbers are 6.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.3 APG, with a slash line of .443/.500/.750.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 6/23/15
Some of the greatest joys of being a sports fan, besides your favorite team winning the championship, are the debates that arise between fellow sports nuts along the way. It’s with this in mind that we have begun providing a forum for basketball fanatics to voice their opinions, debate trending topics, and simply hang out with like-minded hoops aficionados. We’ve begun been posting a new topic for readers to discuss each weeknight, which we hope that this will become a regular part of your sports day. If you missed our previous discussions you can view them here, or simply head over to the sidebar and select “Hoops Rumors Community Shootarounds.”
Of course, there will be differing opinions from time to time. While we absolutely encourage lively discussion and debate, we do expect everyone to treat each other with respect. So, please refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults or attacks, as well as the other taboo types of discourse laid out in our site’s commenting policy. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Hoops Rumors. Just put in your name, email address, and comment and submit it; there is no need to become a registered user.
Now that the preamble has been taken care of, on to the topic of the day: In three years’ time, which player selected in this year’s NBA Draft will be considered the biggest steal?
Yesterday we took the glass is half empty approach when we discussed who would likely be the biggest bust/disappointment in this year’s draft. But each year there are players who are selected who exceed expectations, and in many cases, outperform those chosen ahead of them. It can sometimes take a few seasons before a player finds his footing in the league and his talent shines through. One of the more recent examples of this occuring is the Warriors’ Draymond Green, who just completed his third campaign in the league. Green lasted until the No. 35 overall pick, and now is in line for a max deal this summer as a free agent. It would be a safe assumption that there are 29 teams out there who are kicking themselves for passing over the talented two-way player from Michigan State.
Who do you feel will be the player we look at after the 2017/18 season as being the biggest steal of the draft? It could be a player who hears his name called during the draft lottery, or one who has to wait until the selections are dying down late in the second round. Sound off below with your thoughts and opinions. We look forward to what you have to say.
And-Ones: Russell, Looney, Porzingis
Ohio State playmaker D’Angelo Russell has made a strong case for the Lakers to select him with the No. 2 overall pick, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. The young guard isn’t intimidated by playing alongside Kobe Bryant, and would embrace the chance if Los Angeles defies projections and selects Russell instead of Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, Wojnarowski adds. “If I went to the Lakers, I wouldn’t want anyone to hand me anything,” Russell told the Yahoo! scribe. “I wouldn’t expect Kobe to take me under his wing. I think he will want to see a resemblance of that hunger and fire that he came into the league with as a young kid. No one needs to be the nicest guy in the world, or pretend to be that. He will see through that, pick all that apart. I’ve got to be me.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- UCLA forward Kevon Looney has a workout scheduled with the Spurs prior to the NBA Draft, Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post tweets.
- Indian big man Satnam Singh has worked out for a total of seven teams, including the Spurs, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com relays (on Twitter).
- Kristps Porzingis‘ workout scheduled for Tuesday with the Knicks had to be cancelled because the young Latvian was suffering from a muscle cramp, Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal tweets.
- The league’s share of each team’s playoff gate receipts will shrink from 50% to 25% under action the Board of Governors recently approved, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. That means less money will go into revenue-sharing, a negative for small-market teams that miss the playoffs, as Lowe examines.
- The Knicks worked out Frank Kaminsky last week, and the former Wisconsin big man wouldn’t have scheduled the meeting if he didn’t believe that New York was seriously considering selecting him with the No. 4 overall pick, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Of course, the Knicks, who are considering trading down in the draft, could be looking at Kaminsky as a target later in the lottery as well, Deveney adds.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.