And-Ones: NBPA, Anthony, Bower
Kevin Johnson sent out a memo to the players regarding the search for the next head of the National Basketball Players Association, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. In the memo, Johnson informed the players that six candidates were interviewed on May 16th, with more scheduled for late June, and six more in mid-July. The names of the candidates were not made public yet.
More from around the league:
- Al Iannazzone of Newsday weighs in on the meeting between Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks front office, as well as the possibility of ‘Melo leaving New York.
- In an interview with Michael Rand of The Star Tribune, former NBA player and current analyst Dennis Scott opined that the Wolves need to trade Kevin Love. Scott said, “You have to move him. You have to be like Utah when they traded Deron Williams. The owners and general managers at the end of the day still have the final say-so. You cannot hold a franchise hostage like that. Flip needs to have a man-to-man conversation with Love real soon.”
- Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press relays some facts about the new Pistons GM Jeff Bower.
- Russian center Artem Klimenko has decided to stay in NBA Draft, reports Shams Charania of RealGM (Twitter link). Klimenko has a workout scheduled for Monday with the Thunder, and is seen as a possible draft-and-stash selection, notes Charania.
Western Notes: Tucker, Draft, Spurs
P.J. Tucker is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but is expected to be back with the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Speaking about the free agent process, Tucker said, “It’s always kind of crazy. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think teams know all the time when another team is going to jump out there. I’m excited to go through it. I don’t know what their (the Suns’) direction is. I know I had great years and that they like me, but they might look another direction. It’s a business. Always has been, always will be. Maybe they draft a player who they think can do what I do at my position. Maybe they move on, maybe they don’t. I don’t know. I’m excited to see, though.“
More from the wild west:
- The NBA is a copycat league, and the success of the Spurs will spark many imitators, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey analyzes how the franchise does business and opines on how difficult it will be for other teams to follow suit.
- The Timberwolves were “pleasantly surprised” by Adreian Payne‘s performance during his pre-draft workout with the team, and are considering taking him with the 13th pick, reports Enea Trapani of Sportando.
- With three first-round picks, the Suns are poised to be big players on draft night. Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the team’s needs. Joseph opines the team should look to add a small forward and a backup point guard with their selections.
- In a separate article Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Warriors, who currently don’t have any picks that night. Their two biggest priorities are at center and point guard.
- Joseph also looks at the draft needs of the Clippers in a different piece. According to Joseph, the team has needs at center, point guard, and small forward.
Draft Notes: Hornets, Celtics, Saric
With the Hornets looking to add some scoring out of the small forward position, two of their prime targets might be Doug McDermott and T.J. Warren, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell compares and contrasts the two players and how they might fit in on the Hornets roster.
More draft rumblings:
- Greek forward Michalis Kamperidis will keep his name in the NBA draft, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (hat tip to Giorgos Dimitropoulos). Kamperidis averaged 8.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG for Filathlitikos last season.
- Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald looks at the Celtics options with the sixth and 17th picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.
- Croatian NBA prospect Dario Saric doesn’t have any team workouts scheduled ahead of the draft, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
- Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) looks at the NBA prospects of Thanasis Antetokounmpo, brother of the Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the next bane of arena and television announcers across the league.
Eastern Notes: Smart, Sixers, Anthony, Wiggins
Magic executives love Marcus Smart‘s intangibles, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. They value his leadership, toughness and competitiveness so much that they might select him fourth overall, opines Robbins. The only negative to drafting Smart is that teams aren’t sure of his position yet. According to the article, one NBA talent evaluator said of Smart, “That’s the thing that I think there’s a little bit of concern about. But I think he’s probably more of a point guard than a shooting guard. Of course there are things that he’s going to have to learn as a point guard to become better and an efficient point guard in our league. I wouldn’t say he’s a ‘true point guard,’ but he’s got point guard skills.”
More from the east:
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media examines Sixers GM Sam Hinkie‘s options for trading up in the draft from the third pick to select Andrew Wiggins. Moore opines that it would probably take a package involving Nerlens Noel and that third pick to do so.
- Wiggins has three workouts scheduled for this week leading up to the draft, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (hat tip to ESPN’s Chad Ford). The workouts will be with the Sixers, Cavaliers, and the Bucks.
- The Knicks still like their odds of keeping Carmelo Anthony following their meeting in Los Angeles with Anthony and his agent, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Despite the reports Anthony was “leaning’’ toward leaving New York because of interest from the Bulls and Rockets, Knicks officials did not seem alarmed, according to the article.
And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves
The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.
Here’s more from around the association:
- The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
- The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
- Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
- In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
- The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
- In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.
Draft Notes: Nuggets, McGary, Kings, Knicks
Adi Joseph of USA Today breaks down the Nuggets‘ biggest draft needs. According to the article, the team has enough depth to afford to take a best-available approach, and may consider attempting to move up in order to get the elite-tier star their roster so desperately needs. Joseph also thinks the team needs to add help in the backcourt, and mentions Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, Elfrid Payton, and Kyle Anderson as fits with the team’s system.
More on the upcoming 2014 NBA draft:
- In a separate article, Joseph breaks down the Knicks draft needs. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but if they can acquire one, their biggest needs according to Joseph are youth, a backup center, and a point guard.
- The Knicks, Blazers, Kings and Pelicans are among the teams trying to acquire picks in this year’s NBA draft, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Kennedy also notes that some executives suspect that Mitch McGary has a promise from a team selecting in the 20s (Twitter link). Several teams are having a difficult time getting McGary in for a workout, according to Kennedy.
- JaKarr Sampson will work out for the Kings on Saturday, the team announced via Twitter. Sampson will be taking Rodney Hood‘s place in the workout.
- Nick Johnson, Brandon Jefferson, Jerrelle Benimon, and Isaiah Sykes worked out for the Nuggets today, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey also notes that Sykes was unable to complete the workout due to a hamstring injury.
Western Notes: Clippers, Jones, Adams
The Clippers won’t allow the ownership and legal situation involving Donald Sterling impact their offseason moves, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Reynolds points out the situation is different from the one in New Orleans a few years ago when the league ran the team. Of the situation, commissioner Adam Silver said, “It’s not a level of concern for us. Doc Rivers is the head of basketball operations of the Clippers. We’ve installed Dick Parsons as the interim CEO. He’s on the same page as Doc. They’re working together. Dick Parsons has the absolute authority from the league office to operate the Clippers in the best interest of the organization.“
More from out west:
- Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman grades Perry Jones III’s second season with the Thunder. In 62 games, Jones averaged 3.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 0.4 APG in 12.3 minutes a night.
- The Grizzlies have invited Ojars Silins to work out for them on June 22nd, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The Latvian forward is still undecided if he will keep his name in the draft, or withdraw prior to the June 16th deadline, reports Carchia.
- Celtics lead assistant coach Ron Adams will interview with the Warriors next week about a position on Steve Kerr‘s staff, reports Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Smart, Singleton
Adi Joseph of USA Today breaks down the Pistons‘ draft needs. Joesph opines that the team needs to focus on obtaining a backup center, mentioning Mitch McGary as a good fit. He also believes the team needs outside shooting help, with DeAndre Daniels and Jordan Adams listed as possibilities. Lastly, Joseph thinks the team needs a stretch four that can help spread defenses, and lists Adreian Payne as the ideal fit, though it is unlikely Payne will be available when the Pistons are on the clock with the 38th pick.
Here’s more news from the east:
- Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe writes that Marcus Smart wouldn’t mind being drafted by the Celtics, despite the presence of Rajon Rondo as a starter. Smart said, “Rondo is one of the greatest point guards to ever play this game. If I’m fortunate enough and Boston picks me, and that means I have to sit on the bench and play behind Rondo, that’s an honor, to learn from one of the greatest point guards of that position, especially me playing the point guard position.”
- Smart really impressed the Celtics in today’s workout, reports Brian Robb of Boston.com. Smart has embraced the competition in these joint pre-draft workouts, which is a departure from a number of lottery prospects who have stuck to individual workouts, notes Robb. Smart said, “I told my agent, you see all these guys dodging. My biggest attribute, to me, I’m a competitor. I show my best skills when the game’s on the line, when somebody’s guarding me, and there’s competition. Whoever you put in front of me, I’m not going to back down. I’ve never backed down from a challenge. That’s not me. That’s not what my makeup is. In a sense, it’s kind of showing the teams that it doesn’t matter [who I face]. I’m supposed to be ranked one of the top guards here, but I’m still playing against guys that’s lower [ranked] than me that might have a chance – if they do this, if they do that – to move up in the rankings. But that doesn’t scare me because of who I am.”
- The Wizards declined to pick up Chris Singleton’s fourth-year option prior to this past season making him an unrestricted free agent this summer. Brandon Parker of The Washington Post looks at some important statistics from Singleton’s 2013/14 campaign.
And-Ones: Salary Cap, Draft, Harris, LaVine
GMs widely expect next season’s salary cap to wind up even higher than the most recent projection of $63.2MM, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the league:
- It was reported earlier that Spanish league shooting guard Marcus Eriksson is pulling out of this year’s draft. Prior to that announcement Eriksson had a workout scheduled with the Bucks, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
- NBA.com released their full prospect profile on former Michigan State guard Gary Harris. Harris is a projected lottery pick in this year’s draft.
- Zach LaVine is projected to be taken anywhere from late in the lottery to the middle of the first round. NBA.com published their prospect profile for LaVine.
- Mark Snyder of The Detroit Free Press adds the Wolves and the Bulls to the list of teams working out Jordan Morgan, and also reveals that Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, Sean Kilpatrick and Jordan McRae auditioned Wednesday for the Wolves, too.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Kerr, Fernandez, Draft
Money wasn’t the issue for Steve Kerr when he chose the Warriors over the Knicks, as Howard Beck of Bleacher Report hears that New York would have met whatever salary demand he made, as Beck said on the Knickerblogger Podcast. Robert Silverman of KnickerBlogger.net provides the transcription.
More from out west:
- A source close to Rudy Fernandez told The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry that there wasn’t anything to a February report that the Thunder were interested in the four-year NBA veteran, as Mayberry writes amid a chat with readers.
- The Grizzlies announced they will be holding workouts this Monday for Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Jahii Carson, Bryce Cotton, Cleanthony Early, Geron Johnson, and Glenn Robinson III.
- The Jazz have workouts scheduled on Friday with Kyle Anderson, Devin Oliver, Melvin Johnson III, Tyler Stone, Jeronne Maymon, and Davon Usher, the team announced via Twitter.
- Darvin Ham is being considered by the Jazz for an assistant coaching position on Quin Snyder‘s staff, reports Jody Genessy of The Deseret News.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.