Kings Have Strong Interest In JaVale McGee
With star center DeMarcus Cousins potentially heading out of Sacramento via a trade, the Kings have expressed strong interest in free agent big man JaVale McGee, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). McGee previously played for Kings head coach George Karl in Denver, so there is obviously some familiarity between the two sides. There have also been reports of mutual interest between McGee and the Celtics, so the Kings may have some competition for the seven-footer’s services. The Mavs also apparently had serious interest in McGee this spring but later dropped out, and he was also linked to the Rockets, Raptors and Heat.
I would speculate that the Kings could have interest in inking McGee even if Cousins remains with the team. Cousins has indicated his desire to be used at power forward more often, and Sacramento was indeed interested in acquiring a rim-protecting big man at the trade deadline this year. McGee, when he’s healthy and motivated, can certainly be an asset on the defensive end, though he has been plagued by maturity issues throughout his career. It’s unclear just how much the veteran would be seeking on a new contract, and for what length. A sticking point in his negotiations with the Celtics back in March was McGee’s insistence on a player option for 2015/16, though he later backed off of that request, but no deal was ever struck. He could be worth taking a flier on for Sacramento on a short-term, non-guaranteed minimum salary arrangement. It wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see McGee settle for the minimum, since Philadelphia’s obligated to pay $12MM to McGee next season after waiving him shortly after the trade deadline without agreeing to any sort of buyout arrangement.
The 27-year-old put up career lows this past campaign in several categories, including his 11.1 minutes per game across 23 appearances split between Denver and Philadelphia as he struggled to regain his health after missing all but five games during the 2013/14 season with a stress fracture in his left leg. His career numbers through 382 contests are 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks. McGee’s career shooting numbers are .540/.200/.587.
Western Notes: Barton, Buycks, Blazers
The Nuggets have tendered Will Barton a qualifying offer worth $1,181,348, making the guard a restricted free agent this offseason, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). The move was expected since both sides have previously expressed a desire for the player to return to Denver next season. The 24-year-old saw sparse playing time with the Blazers over his first two and a half seasons in the league, but the deadline trade that sent him to Denver this February provided him with more opportunities to get on the court. He averaged 11.0 points in 24.4 minutes per game over 28 appearances for the Nuggets.
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- The Warriors are exploring options regarding trading up from the No. 30 overall pick in the draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. Which player the team could be targeting with such a move is unknown, Howard-Cooper adds.
- The chances that the Lakers will select Duke big man Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick have increased since last week, Chad Ford of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter). Ford pegged the odds at 70% last Friday, and now has them at 80% that Los Angeles nabs Okafor on Thursday night.
- The Lakers have informed free agent guard Dwight Buycks that they are interested in re-signing him for next season, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. Buycks, who inked a single 10-day deal with the team this past season, was reportedly set to be signed for the remainder of the 2014/15 campaign before a hand injury knocked him out for the remainder of the team’s contests.
- The Blazers will work out UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn on Wednesday, reports Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times.
- Woelfel adds the Warriors to the list of teams that have worked out UNLV big man Christian Wood.
- Working out for Portland today were Darion Atkins (Virginia), Javonte Green (Radford), Charles Jackson (Tennessee Tech), Jordan Railey (Washington State), Satnam Singh (India), and Gary Bell Jr. (Gonzaga), the Blazers announced.
- Virginia swingman Justin Anderson is scheduled to work out for the Grizzlies on Wednesday, Chris Vernon of ESPN 92.9 FM relays (Twitter links). Vernon also dispels the notion that Memphis made a draft promise to LSU big man Jarell Martin, and says that Martin shut down scheduling any further workouts for other reasons.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Southeast Notes: Ferry, Elie, Heat
Former Hawks GM Danny Ferry is relieved at this weekend’s release of the findings of a team-commissioned investigation that found no wrongdoing on his part, though he indicates that the team held onto the results for months, despite his request that they make them public, as he tells Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Indeed, the team knew the results of the investigation in September, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com, a couple of days before Ferry took his leave of absense, and the public release was one of the terms of his buyout, according to Shelburne.
Ferry admitted to Shelburne that he made a mistake when he read racially charged comments about Luol Deng from a scouting report that an outside service had prepared, and while he considered ending his leave at points during the season, he ultimately decided that doing so would have been too much of a distraction. He also told Vivlamore that even as Hawks higher-ups acknowledged the situation was unfair, they pressured him to quit in the immediate wake of the crisis. “They didn’t see a way I could survive this,” Ferry said. “That was hard to take. Fortunately, Wayne Embry, the Rev. Toussaint Hill, Lance Blanks and others were telling me, ‘You can’t quit. If you quit now, you’re admitting you are a racist and you are not a racist.’ Those are people who have experienced racism. My father also was a good voice for me through all of this. I am glad I followed their advice and I am so grateful for the support from them and many others.”
Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- The Magic, who own the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, are considering trading down for a lower first-rounder and a veteran to add to their young core, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “I would say we’ve talked to at least a half-dozen teams about it,” Orlando GM Rob Hennigan told Robbins. “So it’s something we’re definitely considering and weighing sincerely: potentially moving back.” You can view Hennigan’s complete draft history as an executive here.
- The tense contract relations the Heat organization is currently experiencing with star Dwyane Wade will influence the team’s approach to the NBA Draft, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post writes.
- Mario Elie is a strong frontrunner to be hired as an assistant on coach Scott Skiles‘ staff with the Magic, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Elie has previously been an assistant for the Mavs, Kings, and Nets.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Draft History: Danny Ainge
The 2015 NBA draft is just two days away, and the speculation as to which player each franchise will pin its hopes on for the future is nearly over. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.
With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors have been taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ve been examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll continue onward with a look back at the calls made by Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge.
Celtics (May 2003-Present)
2003 Draft
- No. 13 Overall — Marcus Banks*: 348 games, 5.9 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 2.1 APG. .432/.327/.768.
- N0. 27 Overall — Kendrick Perkins*: 744 games, 5.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.2 BPG. .530/.000/.597.
- No. 56 Overall — Brandon Hunter: 67 games, 3.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.3 APG. .476/.000/.488.
*Acquired from Grizzlies in exchange for the No. 16 overall pick (Troy Bell) and the No. 20 overall pick (Dahntay Jones).
Notable players available: David West (No. 18), Steve Blake (No. 38), Mo Williams (No. 47), and Kyle Korver (No. 51).
2004 Draft
- No. 15 Overall — Al Jefferson: 766 games, 17.0 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.6 APG. .499/.129/.710.
- No. 24 Overall — Delonte West: 432 games, 9.7 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.6 APG. .448/.372/.826.
- No. 25 Overall — Tony Allen: 663 games, 8.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.4 APG. .479/.271/.723.
- No. 40 Overall — Justin Reed: 136 games, 3.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.5 APG. .404/.000/.752.
Notable players available: J.R. Smith (No. 18), Jameer Nelson (No. 20), Kevin Martin (No. 26), Anderson Varejao (No. 30), and Trevor Ariza (No. 43).
2005 Draft
- No. 18 Overall — Gerald Green: 428 games, 10.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.0 APG. .425/.368/.818.
- No. 50 Overall — Ryan Gomes: 487 games, 10.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.5 APG. .445./.349/.799.
- No. 53 Overall — Orien Greene: 131 games, 2.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.2 APG. .387/.212/.642.
Notable players available: David Lee (No. 30), Monta Ellis (No. 40), Louis Williams (No. 45), and Marcin Gortat (No. 57).
2006 Draft
- No. 21 Overall — Rajon Rondo*: 573 games, 10.8 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 8.3 APG. .470/.263/.609.
- No. 49 Overall — Leon Powe**: 239 games, 6.2 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 0.3 APG. .515/.000/.682.
*Acquired from the Suns along with Brian Grant in exchange for a 2007 first round pick (Rudy Fernandez).
**Acquired from Nuggets in exchange for a 2007 second-rounder (Aaron Gray).
***Traded the No. 7 overall pick (Randy Foye), Dan Dickau, and Raef LaFrentz in exchange for Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair, and a 2008 second round pick (Trent Plaisted).
Notable players available: Rudy Gay (No. 8), J.J. Redick (No. 11), Kyle Lowry (No. 24), and Paul Millsap (No. 47).
2007 Draft
- No. 32 Overall — Gabe Pruitt: 62 games, 2.0 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.8 APG. .321/.283/.783.
- No. 35 Overall — Glen Davis*: 514 games, 8.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.9 APG. .447/.182/.700.
*Acquired from the Thunder along with Ray Allen in exchange for the No. 5 overall pick (Jeff Green), Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West, and Plaisted.
Notable players available: Joakim Noah (No. 9), Thaddeus Young (No. 12), Arron Afflalo (No. 27), Carl Landry (No. 31), Josh McRoberts (No. 37), and Marc Gasol (No. 48).
2008 Draft
- No. 30 Overall — J.R. Giddens: 38 games, 1.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.3 APG. .476/.000/.565.
- No. 60 Overall — Semih Erden: 69 games, 3.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.4 BPG. .546/.000/.594.
Notable players available: DeAndre Jordan (No. 35), Omer Asik (No. 36), and Goran Dragic (No. 45).
2009 Draft
- No. 58 Overall — Lester Hudson: 57 games, 4.7 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 1.2 APG. .375/.277/.806.
*First round pick, No. 28 overall, owned by Wolves and used to select Wayne Ellington.
Notable players available: Patrick Beverley (No. 42), Danny Green (No. 46), and Patty Mills (No. 55).
2010 Draft
- No. 19 Overall — Avery Bradley: 282 games, 10.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.5 APG. .434/.360/.781.
- No. 52 Overall — Luke Harangody: 70 games, 3.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.5 APG. .376/.241/.737.
Notable players available: Hassan Whiteside (No. 33) and Lance Stephenson (No. 40).
2011 Draft
- No. 27 Overall — JaJuan Johnson*: 36 games, 3.2 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 0.4 BPG. .446/.000/.667.
- No. 55 Overall — E’Twaun Moore: 248 games, 5.4 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.6 APG. .411/.349/.766.
*Acquired from the Nets along with a 2014 second round pick in exchange for the No. 25 overall pick (MarShon Brooks).
Notable players available: Jimmy Butler (No. 30), Chandler Parsons (No. 35), and Isaiah Thomas (No. 60).
2012 Draft
- No. 21 Overall — Jared Sullinger: 177 games, 11.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.6 APG. .440/.275/.762.
- No. 22 Overall — Fab Melo: 6 games, 1.2 PPG, 0.5 RPG, 0.3 BPG. .500/.000/.250.
- No. 51 Overall — Kris Joseph: 10 games, 0.9 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.1 APG. .143/.000/.625.
Notable players available: Draymond Green (No. 35) and Khris Middleton (No. 39).
2013 Draft
- No. 13 Overall — Kelly Olynyk*: 134 games, 9.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.6 APG. .471/.349/.744.
- Second round pick owned by the Trail Blazers, used to select Marko Todorovic.
*Acquired from Mavericks in exchange for the No. 16 overall pick (Lucas Nogueira) and 2 future second-rounders.
Notable players available: Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15) and Rudy Gobert (No. 27).
2014 Draft
- No. 6 Overall — Marcus Smart: 67 games, 7.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 3.1 APG. .367/.335/.646.
- No. 17 Overall — James Young: 31 games, 3.4 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.4 APG. .353/.258/.552.
- Second round pick owned by Knicks, used to select Cleanthony Early.
Notable players available: Elfrid Payton (No. 10), Zach LaVine (No. 13), Rodney Hood (No. 23), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32), and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).
Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Alexander
The NBPA is looking into the Sixers for any possible breach of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. During a meeting on Monday, the union informed agents that it will actively investigate Philadelphia’s salary distributions, use of the cap floor, and contract format loopholes, Charania notes. For the NBPA, the Sixers’ approach over the past several seasons may not be a technical violation of collective bargaining as much as it is one of the spirit of negotiating under the CBA, adds the RealGM scribe.
Over the past two seasons, Philly has compiled a 37-127 record, staying below the 90% salary floor for majority of the campaigns before making late season signings or trades to comply with the CBA rules, Charania writes. The Sixers frequently offering players four-year, non-guaranteed contracts has rubbed agents and the NBPA the wrong way, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers tweets.
Here’s the latest out of the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics are confident they can find value with picks No. 16 and No. 28 in the draft, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “There are a lot of good players that are drafted later than the top few in the draft every year,” Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said. “You have to have some good fortune. You have to do a good job scouting. But most importantly you have to develop players, and you have to continually do that.”
- Raptors GM Masai Ujiri indicated that the team would consider purchasing a second-rounder in this year’s NBA Draft, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun tweets. “[You] can never have enough young talent,” Ujiri said.
- The Knicks are also looking to buy a second-rounder in the draft, according to team president Phil Jackson, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com notes (on Twitter).
- Jackson says point guard and small forward are two positions that the Knicks have “kind of covered,” but he wouldn’t rule out selecting one during Thursday’s draft, Al Iannazzone of Newdsay relays. “We’re taking a really good player, we know that,” said the Zen Master. “We don’t know who’s going to fall in our direction and yet we have needs on this team. The positions we’re kind of covered is lead guard and small forward. But that doesn’t matter. We can still take the best player that comes along at that position at No. 4 if we have an extraordinary pick.“
- Villanova swingman Darrun Hilliard worked out for the Sixers a second time on Monday, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter link).
- Kansas big man Cliff Alexander cancelled his workout with the Nets on Monday due to an injury, but he did meet with team executives, Josh Newman of SNY.tv tweets.
Central Notes: Jackson, Bucks, Draft
If Emmanuel Mudiay were to fall to the Pistons, who hold the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, the team would consider selecting him and letting Reggie Jackson depart as a free agent, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes. “They’re not 100 percent sold on Reggie,” a league source told Berger. Detroit also likes Duke’s Justise Winslow and Croatian swingman Mario Hezonja at that spot, Berger’s sources also informed him. Jackson can become a restricted free agent this offseason if the Pistons tender him a qualifying offer worth $4,433,683.
Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Central Division:
- Rumors persist that the Bucks would give up Michael Carter-Williams in a package that nets a top-10 pick, writes Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times, who suggests the Bucks could dangle John Henson, too, but strong indications are the Bucks are resistant to trading either, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (Twitter link). Milwaukee considers both core players, Mannix adds.
- The Pistons held pre-draft workouts today for Gabe Olaseni (Iowa), Tekele Cotton (Wichita State), Aaron Harrison (Kentucky), Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington), Mateusz Ponitka (Poland), and Arturas Gudaitis (Lithuania), Keith Langlois of NBA.com relays (Twitter links). Gudaitis was the headliner at the workout, Langlois notes, and he could be an option for Detroit with the No. 38 overall pick.
- With the Bucks still unclear on what kind of player Jabari Parker can be in the NBA, the franchise could benefit by adding more frontcourt depth through the draft, Genaro C. Armas of The Associated Press writes. Milwaukee has narrowed its draft wish list to four or five players, Armas notes. The team’s top needs are a big man who can rebound and defend, as well as an outside shooter, according to the AP scribe. “You know you hope you can maybe get a rotation player,” Bucks GM John Hammond said. “Sometimes in that range you can get a little luckier, maybe get a starter in a bit. Hopefully it’s a keeper piece and a player that can be a contributor.“
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Mavs Likely To Shop Monta Ellis If He Opts In
The Mavericks are likely to try and trade Monta Ellis if he exercises his player option for next season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reports (Twitter link). The veteran guard has an option worth $8,720,000 for the 2015/16 campaign, and Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reported earlier this month that the deadline for Ellis to make a decision was June 24th. The shooting guard is expected to opt out in search of a more lucrative contract. Dallas, without any player options taken into account, has roughly $28MM on the books for next season.
An Ellis opt-out would present the Mavs with a difficult decision. He led the team in scoring but slumped in the second half and shot just 16.9% from three-point range in regular season games after the All-Star break. However, he did make 11 of 30 three-point attempts during the playoffs. Ellis has probably played his way into making eight-figure salaries again after two years of pulling in an average of a little more than $8MM with the Mavs, Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron wrote in his offseason outlook for the team.
The benefit of Ellis opting out and becoming an unrestricted free agent is that it would free up additional cap space for the team to pursue free agent LaMarcus Aldridge and retain Tyson Chandler. That potential series of moves would give Dirk Nowitzki a role off the bench, which is something he is willing to consider. Though, if he did opt in and the team were to trade him for a player whose contract packs a lower cap hit, or one who is on a non-guaranteed deal, this could aid Dallas in its free agent dealings this summer.
The 29-year-old appeared in 80 games for the Mavs last season, averaging 18.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 33.7 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .445/.285/.752.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 6/22/15
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: Which projected first-rounder in this year’s NBA draft is the likeliest to become a bust/disappointment?
The NBA draft is a source of optimism around the league, with each team hoping to select the next superstar with its pick. There have been countless players who have entered the league with a world of talent, as well as the hype to go along with it. Unfortunately, quite a few of these players never live up to their press clippings. Players like Darko Milicic, Hasheem Thabeet, Joe Alexander, Kwame Brown, and Adam Morrison immediately spring to mind. This year’s Draft will be no different. There will be players who will surprise us with how well they transition to the pros, and who make the front office personnel who made the call to take them look like geniuses. But there will also be a number of draftees who can’t cut it in the NBA, and will make us look back in puzzlement at how all the scouting reports could have been so wrong.
So whom do you think will be the biggest disappointment taken in the first round? It could be someone selected in the draft lottery just as easily as a player taken toward the end of the first round. Take to the comments section below to share your predictions. We look forward to what you have to say.
Sixers Pursuing Dario Saric For Next Season?
JUNE 22ND, 8:18am: Saric won’t play for the Sixers in 2015/16, agent Jeff Schwartz tells Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
JUNE 10TH, 11:16pm: The Sixers are in talks with Turkey’s Anadolu Efes to bring 2014 draftee Dario Saric to the NBA next season, David Pick of Eurobasket.com reports (Twitter links). Saric is signed to a deal with the Turkish team that contains no NBA buyout clause for 2015/16, but Philadelphia reportedly wants the talented forward to join the team immediately, Pick adds. The 21-year-old’s contract does include a buyout clause for the 2016/17 campaign.
Philadelphia would only be able to pay a buyout of $625K, per league rules, and Efes will almost assuredly request a higher amount, notes Derek Bodner of USA Today (Twitter link). The sense amongst several agents who have worked with Anadolu Efes in the past is that the team will ask for at least $2MM to part ways with Saric, Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers relays in a series of tweets. The forward could kick in some of his salary for 2015/16, with the legal ceiling being a total combined buyout amount of approximately $2,067,720, Fischer notes. If Efes demanded over $2MM for a buyout, Saric would sacrifice $1,442,720 of his possible $1,898,300 for his rookie season, the LibertyBallers scribe adds.
A number of sources also told Fischer (via Twitter) that the league doesn’t regulate negotiations between NBA teams and foreign clubs, so the Sixers could technically pay any amount regardless of the rules. This is not to suggest that Philadelphia would actually do so, but the possibility does exist.
Saric was non-committal last month when he was asked about the possibility of him playing in the NBA next season. “Next season? I don’t know and I can’t speak about that because I don’t know yet the situation, how things are going to work out,” Saric said. “I can say that I’m happy here at Efes and I’m also happy that people from Philadelphia came here and want me there. That’s all I can tell you right now. I don’t have any information or any feeling regarding what could happen. I’m just focused on the rest of the season. If I stay here or if I go to the NBA, I will be happy [either way]. I don’t know what could happen this summer or next summer. Now it’s not the time to talk about that.”
Western Notes: Warriors, Mudiay, Hunt
Now that the Warriors have secured the NBA title, the team enters the offseason with the goal of keeping its young core intact while still improving itself, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. “When you have the success that we had, you like to keep it together as much as possible,” Golden State GM Bob Myers said. “It doesn’t mean you don’t open your eyes to see what else is out there, but if it’s a close call, you always want to retain the talent that got you a championship. I think if we’re going to lean in a direction, it’s the continuity, which is something we’ve tried to build here, and certainly at least it worked for this year.” One of the Warriors’ priorities this summer is to re-sign restricted free agent Draymond Green, who is in line for a hefty increase from his 2014/15 salary of $915,243.
Here’s what else is happening around the Western Conference:
- The Kings have been unsuccessful thus far in getting point guard Emmanuel Mudiay to work out for the team, Sean Cunningham of News 10 Sacramento tweets. Mudiay’s representatives believe that he’ll be off the board prior to Sacramento selecting with the No. 6 overall pick, Cunningham adds.
- Arizona defensive whiz Rondae Hollis-Jefferson‘s scheduled workout with the Jazz on Friday was cancelled due to travel issues, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News relays (Twitter link). It’s unclear if the showcase will be rescheduled prior to the draft. Hollis-Jefferson is already expected to work out for the Kings on Monday.
- Mavs coach Rick Carslile has confirmed reports that former Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt will be joining his staff as an assistant, Marc Stein of ESPN.com relays (Twitter links). Hunt will replace assistant Monte Mathis, who has been offered the job as head coach of Mavs’ D-League affiliate if he does not obtain another position outside of the organization, Stein adds.