Hoops Rumors Chat Transcript: 7/20/2021
Hoops Rumors’ live chat took place this afternoon at noon CT.
Click here for a transcript of today’s chat.
Pelicans Likely To Trade At Least One Of Bledsoe, Adams
There’s an expectation that the Pelicans will move at least one of Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams in a trade this offseason, sources tell Will Guillory of The Athletic.
Neither Bledsoe nor Adams has positive trade value, as they’re both coming off underwhelming seasons in New Orleans and are under contract for two more years (though Bledsoe’s 2022/23 salary is only partially guaranteed). The two veterans will earn $18MM and $17MM, respectively, during the ’21/22 season.
That means the Pelicans would have to attach a sweetener to Bledsoe and Adams to move them, and it’s unclear how much they’d be willing to give up, according to Guillory. However, the team would like to move at least one of those salaries in order to gain flexibility to add more depth to the roster, Guillory notes. Clearing some salary would also make it easier for New Orleans to pursue an impact free agent such as Kyle Lowry, who is reportedly on the club’s radar.
[RELATED: 2021 NBA Offseason Preview: New Orleans Pelicans]
As Sam Vecenie of The Athletic observes within the same story, Adams may have more trade value than Bledsoe, since the veteran center’s play didn’t drop off significantly — he just wasn’t a great fit alongside Zion Williamson in the Pelicans’ frontcourt. Bledsoe, on the other hand, saw his PPG (12.2), APG (3.8), and FG% (.421) dip to their lowest marks in years and didn’t make his usual impact on the defensive end.
If the Pelicans want to aggressively clear salary from their books without surrendering too many assets, they could consider trading Adams and waiving-and-stretching Bledsoe, Vecenie suggests. Bledsoe has two years left on his deal but only about $22MM in guaranteed salary, which could be spread across five seasons.
New Orleans does have the draft assets necessary to trade both Bledsoe and Adams if that’s the team’s preferred route. The Pelicans control all their own first-round picks, plus four extra first-rounders and three first-round pick swaps from the Lakers and Bucks.
Northwest Notes: Lillard, Blazers, Hernangomez, Nuggets
While it doesn’t look at this point like the Trail Blazers will seriously explore Damian Lillard trades this offseason, that doesn’t mean they’re not getting calls about their All-NBA point guard. Front office sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer that the Heat, Kings, Knicks, Rockets, and Sixers have been the most aggressive suitors for Lillard as of late.
With no Lillard trade request imminent, the Blazers are more likely to pursue upgrades around the star guard, though O’Connor notes that the team’s trade assets are somewhat limited. Portland doesn’t have any draft picks this year and rival teams aren’t particularly high on young players like Anfernee Simons and Nassir Little, according to O’Connor. The club’s best bet for a deal that reshapes the roster and increases its ceiling might involve CJ McCollum and Ben Simmons, O’Connor adds.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Former WNBA guard Edniesha Curry has joined Chauncey Billups‘ new Trail Blazers coaching staff, tweets Jason Quick of The Athletic. Curry had been an assistant for the men’s basketball team at the University of Maine since 2018.
- When Juan Hernangomez dislocated his left shoulder earlier this month, it appeared to end his chances of playing for Spain at the Tokyo Olympics. However, Spain’s final 12-man roster for the games includes the Timberwolves forward, a signal that Hernangomez’s injury isn’t as serious as initially believed. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press has the story.
- The Nuggets brought in Miles McBride, Joshua Primo, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Alan Griffin, Damien Jefferson, and Zaccheus Darko-Kelly for a pre-draft workout on Monday, then hosted David Duke, Jalen Crutcher, Aaron Henry, Colbey Ross, Terry Taylor, and Ethan Thompson for a group workout on Tuesday, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter links).
Cade Cunningham Meets With Pistons
Cade Cunningham, the strong frontrunner to be the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, is in Detroit and has met with the Pistons, tweets James Edwards III of The Athletic.
Word of Cunningham’s meeting with the team comes as no surprise — as soon as the Pistons won the draft lottery last month, word broke that they’d be the only team the Oklahoma State guard visited. The only way I could see that plan changing is if another team trades for the No. 1 pick a few days before the draft and wants to bring in the 19-year-old.
General manager Troy Weaver has shown a willingness to listen to offers for that first overall pick, with the Rockets among the teams showing the most interest, but the likeliest scenario is that Detroit keeps the selection and drafts Cunningham.
As a freshman in 2020/21, Cunningham averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in 27 contests (35.4 MPG) for the Cowboys, registering a shooting line of .438/.400/.846. A solid shooter, passer, and play-maker, Cunningham has great size (6’8″) for a point guard and has the ability to guard multiple positions on defense.
If the Pistons draft Cunningham, they’ll add him to a promising core that also includes Jerami Grant, Saddiq Bey, Isaiah Stewart, and last year’s lottery pick Killian Hayes.
Draft Notes: Early Entrants, Bleijenbergh, Sengun, Hurt, Reaves
Senegalese center Ibou Badji and German big man Ariel Hukporti have withdrawn from the 2021 NBA draft, according to a pair of reports from Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links).
Both players were considered potential second-round picks, ranking 59th and 63rd respectively on ESPN’s big board of 2021 prospects. However, Givony notes that Hukporti – like a number of international players who withdrew before today’s deadline – wasn’t interested in being a draft-and-stash prospect. It’s unclear if Badji felt the same way, but both players will be looking to boost their stock ahead of the 2022 draft.
Another potential second-round pick, Senegalese big man Amar Sylla, will be keeping his name in the draft, Givony tweets. The 19-year-old, who ranks 81st on ESPN’s board, is a strong draft-and-stash candidate, Givony adds.
Here’s more on the 2021 draft:
- Belgian wing Vrenz Bleijenbergh, another one of the international prospects keeping his name in the draft, indicated (via Twitter) that he completed a workout with the Mavericks and has a meeting with the Raptors up next.
- Turkish League MVP Alperen Sengun, who visited the Kings over the weekend, had a workout this morning with the Spurs and is on his way to meet with the Magic, reports Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). Sengun could be a lottery pick next Thursday.
- Duke forward Matthew Hurt worked out for the Sixers today and has the Clippers, Nets, and Magic on tap later this week, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), who adds that Hurt also recently impressed in workouts with the Rockets and Bucks.
- Oklahoma guard Austin Reaves is keeping busy during the pre-draft process — Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that Reaves is working out for a total of 18 NBA teams, including the Hawks, Knicks, Sixers, Nets, and Hornets.
Roko Prkacin Withdraws From 2021 NBA Draft
In a somewhat surprising move, Croatian power forward Roko Prkacin has removed his name from the 2021 NBA draft pool, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link).
Prkacin was viewed as a possible first-round pick in this year’s draft, ranking 36th on ESPN’s big board and 29th on The Ringer’s. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer praised Prkacin’s ball-handling ability and scoring potential, noting that he’s capable of hitting outside shots or scoring in the post. The young forward has also shown promise on the defensive side of the ball.
Prkacin averaged 13.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in 24 contests (27.7 MPG) for KK Cibona in the Adriatic League this past season, knocking down 49.2% of his shots from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc.
Prkacin is still just 18 years old, so he has the potential to continue improving and could end up even higher on 2022 draft boards.
While Prkacin is pulling his name out of this year’s draft class, Lithuanian guard Rokas Jokubaitis will remain in the draft, tweets Givony. Jokubaitis is the No. 44 prospect on ESPN’s board and No. 50 on The Ringer’s. He remains under contract in Europe, but could be bought out of his deal in order to come stateside immediately if he’s drafted.
Eight Current NBA Players On Nigeria’s 12-Man Olympic Roster
After making some noise in the exhibition schedule by upsetting Team USA, Nigeria will be looking to become the first African men’s basketball team to win an Olympic medal. And they’ll be doing so with a roster that features eight current NBA players, along with one former NBA player.
Here’s the 12-man squad that will represent Nigeria at the Tokyo games, per the Nigeria Basketball Federation (Twitter link):
- Precious Achiuwa (Heat)
- Caleb Agada
- Obi Emegano
- Chimezie Metu (Kings)
- Ike Nwamu
- Jordan Nwora (Bucks)
- Jahlil Okafor (Pistons)
- Josh Okogie (Timberwolves)
- KZ Okpala (Heat)
- Miye Oni (Jazz)
- Ekpe Udoh
- Gabe Vincent (Heat)
Achiuwa, Nwora, Okafor, Okogie, and Okpala are all on guaranteed contracts for next season with their respective teams. Metu and Oni are on non-guaranteed deals, while Vincent will be eligible for restricted free agency after finishing the season on a two-way pact. Udoh, a former sixth overall pick who just finalized a two-year deal with Italian club Virtus Bologna, has appeared in a total of 400 NBA games (regular season and postseason)
While the Nigerian squad isn’t exactly loaded with star power, it’s worth highlighting since it’s rare for any country besides Team USA to send so many current NBA players to the Olympics.
Australia’s team will have seven players who finished the season on NBA rosters, while Spain’s roster features 10 players with at least some NBA experience. But the U.S. team is the only other one in Tokyo that will feature at least eight current NBAers.
Deadline Day For Early Entrant Draft Decisions
Today is Monday, July 19, which means it’s deadline day for the early entrants who declared for the 2021 NBA draft. Those players have until 5:00 pm ET today to decide whether they’ll remain in this year’s draft pool or remove their names and become draft-eligible in a future year.
The NCAA always sets its own early entrant withdrawal deadline that comes before the NBA’s deadline, and that one occurred earlier this month, on July 7. Most college players who are going to pull out of the draft did so by that deadline
A college player could theoretically wait until today to withdraw from the draft. However, in that scenario he’d lose his NCAA eligibility and would likely end up playing professionally in an international league for the next year before becoming draft-eligible.
Most of the players who will withdraw between July 7 and today’s deadline are international prospects who don’t have to worry about the NCAA’s rules. According to recent reports, these are some of the players who have removed their names from the draft pool after initially declaring as early entrants:
- Carlos Alocen, G, Spain (Twitter link via ESPN’s Jonathan Givony)
- Aleksander Balcerowski, C, Spain (Twitter link via agent Misko Raznatovic)
- Kenny Baptiste, F, France (Twitter link via Givony)
- Hugo Besson, G, France (Twitter link via Givony)
- Malcolm Cazalon, G, Serbia (Twitter link via Raznatovic)
- Tom Digbeu, G/F, Lithuania (Twitter link via Givony)
- Ousmane Diop, F, Italy (Twitter link via Givony)
- Yoan Makoundou, F, France (Twitter link via Givony)
- Zsombor Maronka, F/C, Spain (Twitter link via Givony)
- Karlo Matkovic, F/C, Serbia (Twitter link via Raznatovic)
- Mario Nakic, F, Belgium (Twitter link via Raznatovic)
- Barra Njie, G, Sweden (Twitter link via JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors)
- Pavel Savkov, G/F, Spain (Twitter link via Givony)
- Boris Tisma, F, Spain (Twitter link via Raznatovic)
Once today’s deadline passes, the NBA will put out an official list of the early entrants who are eligible to be drafted in 2021. That list typically shows up within about 24 hours of the withdrawal deadline, though it’s possible it could take a little longer this year since the list of eligible players will be longer (since NCAA seniors are also on it). In the meantime, our extremely unofficial early entrant list can be found right here.
One international early entrant who won’t be withdrawing, according to Givony (Twitter link), is Juhann Begarin, who will turn 19 next month. The French shooting guard is coming off a strong season playing for Paris Basketball, and agent Bouna Ndiaye tells Givony that his client will keep his name in the draft.
Pelicans To Pursue Kyle Lowry In Free Agency?
There’s rising buzz around the NBA that the Pelicans intend to enter the hunt for free agent point guard Kyle Lowry this offseason, league sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).
The Raptors are expected to make an effort to re-sign Lowry this summer, but figure to face competition from a number of teams, including some that tried to acquire the six-time All-Star at this year’s trade deadline, such as the Heat and Sixers.
The Pelicans don’t project to have the cap room necessary to make a serious bid for Lowry, but could pursue a sign-and-trade deal for the 35-year-old. New Orleans also could create some flexibility by letting one or both of their restricted free agents – Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart – walk, or by trading Eric Bledsoe and/or Steven Adams to reduce team salary.
The idea of the Pelicans going after Lowry may seem odd at first glance, since the veteran guard isn’t exactly on the same timeline as forwards Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, who are 21 and 23, respectively. But New Orleans’ young stars could benefit from the leadership and guidance of a vet like Lowry. The longtime Raptor’s ability to either run the offense or to play off the ball and space the floor (he made 39.6% of his three-pointers this past season) would make him a nice fit to play alongside Williamson and Ingram.
Whether Lowry would reciprocate the Pelicans’ interest remains to be seen. Adding a player of his caliber would certainly raise the team’s floor, but New Orleans didn’t even qualify for a play-in spot in 2020/21, and Lowry presumably wants to play for a club that can realistically compete for a championship in the short term.
If the Pelicans are unable to land Lowry, it will be interesting to see if they make it a priority to acquire another veteran point guard. One fallback option could be Thunder guard Kemba Walker, who would likely be available for a relatively modest trade package — that’s just my speculation though.
Warriors Notes: Thompson, Wiseman, Atkinson, Brown, Draft
Recovering Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson isn’t participating in full contact workouts yet, but he’s “starting to really get movement on the court,” head coach Steve Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Thompson continues to rehab from an Achilles tear he suffered in November 2020.
“He’s still a ways away from actually playing basketball in a 5-on-5 setting,” Kerr said. “But there’s a big step with the Achilles when you can actually start running again. It’s a huge psychological boost. The rest of the body gets going, you start feeling the soreness and aches and pains that actually feel good when you’ve been out for a while. He’s at that point.”
Kerr addressed a few other topics of note during his conversation with Slater. Here are some of the highlights:
- Coming off knee surgery that ended his rookie season, James Wiseman is “right on schedule for everything,” according to Kerr, who says the expectation is still that the young center will be ready for training camp.
- Discussing the addition of Kenny Atkinson as an assistant coach, Kerr said he was worried about “groupthink” with the current staff and believes Atkinson will bring a new perspective to the group. “Very clever. Very analytically driven,” Kerr said of Atkinson. “We’ve had a lot of basketball conversations over the years and I’ve always been impressed with the way he sees and feels the game. In a way, it’s different from me.”
- Mike Brown has been Kerr’s associate head coach for the last several years, making him the lead assistant on the staff. Atkinson has a claim to that role too, but neither coach is concerned about the title, according to Kerr. “I talked to Kenny about titles. He didn’t care. I talked to Mike, said I was interviewing Kenny and hadn’t talked title. Mike said, ‘I don’t care either,'” Kerr told Slater. “To me, they’re just both assistant coach. Both guys are comfortable in their own skin.”
- Kerr said he isn’t as involved this year in scouting and evaluating draft prospects because of the Olympics and his commitment to Team USA, but he’s excited about what the Warriors will be able to do with the seventh and 14th overall picks. “Based on what I’ve watched on tape, I’ve seen a few guys who can play right now,” Kerr said. “You can go that route or go the younger route, get a prospect. Maybe you get one of each. Get one guy who is ready now and one guy who may pop in a few years. Who knows. But I think we’re in a really good position asset-wise to look at everything.”