Draft Decisions: B. Ellis, Castaneda, Disu, Reed, More
USC guard Boogie Ellis is withdrawing from the 2022 NBA draft and returning to the Trojans next season, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. After spending two seasons with Memphis, Ellis transferred to USC for his junior season and improved his numbers across the board, averaging 12.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists on .417/.376/.798 shooting.
With the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline set for Wednesday night, several other early entrants have decided their plans for 2022/23. Here are some more draft decisions:
- Akron guard Xavier Castaneda will also withdraw from the draft, a source tells Rothstein (Twitter link). Castaneda spent his first three seasons with South Florida prior to transferring to Akron, and like Ellis, he saw his statistics improve in his new program, averaging 13.6 points, 3.6, rebounds and 2.3 assists on .407/.373/.823 shooting in ’21/22. He’ll use his extra year of eligibility to return to the Zips next season.
- Forward Dylan Disu is withdrawing from the draft and returning to Texas for his senior season, Rothstein tweets. Disu was highly productive as a sophomore for Vanderbilt in ’20/21, averaging 15 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks on .492/.369/.736 shooting, but underwent season-ending knee surgery prior to transferring to Texas. He never regained his rhythm for the Longhorns, averaging just 3.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 10.9 minutes.
- Eric Reed Jr., who spend his first two seasons with Southeast Missouri State, is withdrawing from the draft and transferring to Mississippi State, reports Jeff Goodman of Stadium (via Twitter). Reed averaged 16.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1 steal with a .419/.357/.815 shooting slash line last season.
- Guard DeMarr Langford Jr. plans to withdraw from the draft and return to Boston College, per Goodman (Twitter link). Langford averaged 11.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.1 steals on .456/.269/.670 shooting for the Eagles as a sophomore this past season.
- Daylen Kountz is withdrawing from the draft in order to use his extra year of college eligibility, he told Goodman (Twitter link). The 6’4″ guard averaged 21.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists on an impressive shooting line of .512/.421/.823 for Northern Colorado in ’21/22. He’ll return to the Bears next season.
- USC forward Isaiah Mobley will remain in the draft, his father told Rothstein (Twitter link). Mobley averaged 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a junior for the Trojans last season. The news was anticipated, as he was expected to keep his name in the draft. He’s the only player ranked on ESPN’s big board among the players listed here, but at No. 98, he’s unlikely to be drafted. Still, there’s a chance he could catch on as an undrafted free agent, perhaps on a two-way deal. Mobley is the older brother of Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, the No. 3 pick of the 2021 draft.
Southwest Notes: Melton, Grizzlies, Silas, Wood
Should Tyus Jones find a lucrative deal in free agency this summer, the Grizzlies may have a ready-made replacement on the roster in De’Anthony Melton, writes Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Melton was a solid contributor for Memphis this season, averaging 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals on .404/.374/.750 shooting in 73 regular season games (22.7 minutes). He’s also an impressive, versatile defender capable of playing both guard positions.
Melton’s postseason stats dropped off considerably, as he averaged 5.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steal on .323/.250/.750 shooting in 10 games (17 minutes). Still, he’s only 23 years old and certainly looks capable of continued improvement.
“Ball-handling, getting that one-two go-to getting my shot off,” Melton said when naming offseason improvements. “I think I realized how effective my jump-shooting is this year. I just got to learn how to get to it more and get to it more efficiently.”
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Grizzlies had a wildly successful season despite falling to the Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals, finishing with a 56-26 regular season record — the second-best mark in the NBA — after many predicted they’d be in the play-in tournament prior to the season. They also have the flexibility to make major moves this summer if they so choose, with a great young roster, cap space, all of their own future first-round picks, and the Nos. 22, 29, and 47 picks in the upcoming draft. Yet all that flexibility might lead to a quiet offseason, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who reports that the team has informed agents it intends to either select a draft-and-stash prospect or a two-way player with the 47th pick due to a lack of roster spots.
- In an interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Rockets coach Stephen Silas said one of his primary focuses for next season will be improving the team’s defense, which ranked 29th in the league in 2021/22. “I want to be a better defensive team. We just have to be, and for young guys, that’s hard. Hard for them to grasp the defensive end and be able to anticipate what’s coming. To see a set develop and know where they’re supposed to be, when they’re supposed to be there and be there on time. I want to improve on the defensive end,” Silas said.
- In a separate article for The Athletic, Iko examines Christian Wood‘s fit on the Rockets‘ roster going forward. Sources tell Iko that rival teams remain interested in Wood’s services despite his sometimes childish behavior, which makes sense considering the 26-year-old averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds on .501/.390/.623 shooting in ’21/22. He’ll be on an expiring $14.3MM contract next season.
Herro To Miss Game 6; Smart, R. Williams Active
6:36pm: Smart and Williams will both be active for Boston, reports Tim Bontemps of ESPN (via Twitter).
6:06pm: Heat guard Tyler Herro is expected to be sidelined for Friday’s Game 6 against Boston, league sources told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Herro suffered a left groin strain in Game 3 and will now miss Games 4, 5 and 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals with the injury. He was a limited participant in the team’s shootaround this morning, but “experienced discomfort while sliding defensively,” Haynes reports.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra confirmed that Herro will be out, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
“He’s definitely made progress, but he’s not quite ready to step into this kind of intensity of a game,” Spoelstra said.
It makes sense to be cautious with a muscle strain, as they can be notoriously tricky to deal with and easily re-injured, like what happened with teammate Kyle Lowry‘s hamstring strain in the previous series. Lowry hasn’t looked like himself since he originally sustained the injury more than a month ago.
After averaging 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists on .447/.399/.868 shooting in 66 regular season games (32.6 minutes), Herro saw his numbers drop off in the postseason, averaging 13.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists on .413/.232/.926 shooting in 14 games. Still, his absence will certainly be felt by the Heat, as they’ve struggled mightily to score without the Sixth Man of the Year winner, posting just 82 points in Game 4 and 80 in Game 5, both losses.
On Boston’s side, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka told reporters, including Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link), that both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams are game-time decisions for the potential close-out contest. Boston currently leads Miami 3-2.
Smart and Williams had previously been listed as questionable, and it seems we won’t know their status until later this evening. Game 6 tips off at 7:30pm CT on ESPN.
Pacific Notes: Zubac, Curry, Lakers Draft, Coaching Search
As we noted in our Clippers offseason preview earlier today, L.A. holds a $7,518,518 team option on center Ivica Zubac, who is also extension-eligible this offseason. He said this week that he enjoys playing for the team and hopes to stick around.
“I want to stay and I think they want to keep me,” Zubac told Antonis Stroggylakis of Eurohoops.net. “I think I should be there and they’re going to pick (the option) up. I like Los Angeles a lot and I like the Clippers. It’s like a family to me. Hopefully, everything is going to work out.”
Zubac notched several career-high marks in 2021/22, including games played (76, all starts), minutes per game (24.4), points (10.3), rebounds (8.5) and blocks (1.0). He said he hopes his role continues to expand going forward.
“It’s great,” Zubac said about the trust he receives from Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. “I hope that keeps on going. Every year I get more and more minutes so, hopefully, by the next year I’ll get even more. The coach trusts me, the teammates trust me and I’m really enjoying my time there.”
Here’s more from the Pacific:
- Warriors star Stephen Curry, who was recently named the Western Conference Finals MVP, could have pushed Golden State to trade its high draft picks and prospects to improve the roster the past couple seasons, but he said the team’s patience was rewarded as it heads to the Finals for the sixth time in eight years. “That’s not how I operate,” Curry told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “There were conversations and different paths to take, and we all had conversations about going different ways. But at the end of the day, I have a lot of trust in (president/GM) Bob (Myers), a lot of confidence in what we’re about. There was no panic. Obviously, it helps that we had won a couple championships. It affords patience. But there was no panic in terms of getting me, Klay (Thompson) and Draymond (Green) another run at it, figuring out how we could get pieces around us to make it work. It’s just patience at the end of the day.”
- The Lakers don’t currently own a draft pick, but that isn’t stopping them from working out six prospects on Saturday, tweets Jovan Buha of The Athletic. The six players are Villanova’s Collin Gillespie, UConn’s Tyrese Martin, USC’s Drew Peterson, Alabama’s Keon Ellis, Syracuse’s Cole Swider, and Texas A&M’s Quenton Jackson. Ellis, Gillespie and Martin are all in the 60s on ESPN’s big board, while Jackson is No. 95; both Peterson and Swider are unranked. There’s a good chance at least a few prospects in the group will go undrafted.
- Sean Deveney of Heavy.com queried rival front office executives to get their opinions on the Lakers‘ head coaching search, with some mixed opinions on which candidates might be favored by certain segments of the team.
Warriors’ Otto Porter Jr. Out For Game 5
6:42pm: The Warriors have officially ruled out Porter, Slater tweets.
1:31pm: Warriors forward Otto Porter Jr., who had previously been listed as questionable for Thursday’s Game 5 against the Mavericks but was unable to practice on Wednesday (Twitter link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic), is expected to be inactive tonight, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).
Porter hurt his left foot in the second quarter of Sunday’s Game 3 after an awkward landing on an attempted layup. He tried to remain in the game, but eventually had to be taken out. X-rays on the foot were negative, but obviously he’s been unable to return to action since.
A foot injury sidelined Porter for the last game of the Western Conference Semifinals on May 13, but that ailment affected his right foot, not his left, so this is a new injury rather than an aggravation of that one.
Porter has been a key member of Golden State’s rotation during the team’s playoff run this spring, averaging 5.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.2 APG on .467/.323/.714 shooting in 13 appearances (20.7 MPG). Those averages are diminished slightly due to the two games he left early due to his foot issues.
It’s possible the Warriors are just being cautious with Porter since they hold a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals heading into Game 5, but the fact that he’s been unable to practice or play recently isn’t a great sign. He’s an important two-way role player for Golden State, so if the injury lingers, his potential absence could be a significant concern if the team advances to the Finals.
Zion Williamson No Longer Has Restrictions From Foot Injury
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who missed the entire 2021/22 season while rehabbing a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot, has been cleared to play with no restrictions, the team announced in a press release.
Recent imaging of Williamson’s foot revealed “continued improvement,” the team said. The update is notable because the 21-year-old experienced multiple setbacks early in the season while attempting to return to action.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 draft, Williamson has been beset by injuries in his first three seasons, having appeared in just 85 of a possible 226 games. However, he’s been undeniably effective when active, holding career averages of 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on .604/.333/.683 shooting in 31.7 minutes per contest.
As a former first-round pick entering his fourth season, Williamson is eligible for a five-year, $186MM rookie scale extension this summer, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Williamson expressed enthusiasm about the possibility of signing the extension at his end-of-season press conference last month.
It will be fascinating to see how New Orleans approaches the discussions with Williamson, as executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin admitted that the negotiations could prove to be “challenging.” The five-year, $186MM figure represents the maximum contract Williamson is eligible for, but it’s very possible the team could push for injury-related protection, with perhaps some of the money tied to games played, similar to the rookie extension Joel Embiid signed back in 2017.
Timberwolves Exec Rumors: Demps, Arthur, Lloyd, Simon
After recently signing a five-year, $40MM contract that includes a kicker for ownership equity to become the Timberwolves‘ new president of basketball operations, Tim Connelly appears to be looking to add some co-workers. Sources tell Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link) that Dell Demps and Darrell Arthur might join Connelly in Minnesota.
A former NBA player, Demps was the general manager of the Pelicans from 2010-19. He hired Connelly to be his assistant GM in New Orleans in 2010 before Connelly departed to run Denver’s front office in 2013. Demps is currently an assistant coach for the Jazz, having joined Utah in 2020.
Arthur is also a former player, having appeared in 503 games from 2008-18 with Memphis and Denver. His entire five-year tenure in Denver overlapped with Connelly’s stint, so clearly the two are familiar with each other. The 34-year-old recently joined the Nuggets‘ front office.
Following up on Singer’s news, Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) hears that a couple other executives have been floated as possibilities to join Connelly’s front office: Magic vice president of basketball operations Matt Lloyd, and Heat VP of basketball operations/assistant GM Adam Simon.
Lloyd was with Chicago for 13 seasons prior to joining Orlando 10 years ago. He was just promoted to VP last October. Simon has reportedly been in the mix for top executive positions in the past, but has always stuck with Miami, having spent 27 seasons with the Heat.
Cavaliers Rumors: Sexton, LeVert, Trade Targets, More
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com recently spoke to Michael Scotto about a number of Cavaliers-related topics for the latest edition of the HoopsHype podcast.
Guard Collin Sexton, whose season ended prematurely after suffering a torn meniscus in his left knee just 11 games into the season, will be an interesting player to watch this summer. Sexton will be a restricted free agent once Cleveland tenders him a $7,228,449 qualifying offer. As a restricted free agent, the Cavs will have the ability to match any offer sheet for the 23-year-old, and since he’s coming off an injury and not many teams will have cap space to spend on free agents, a reunion seems likely.
When the Cavs were discussing a rookie scale extension with Sexton’s representatives last summer, the two sides floated a contract similar to the one Bogdan Bogdanovic received from Atlanta, which was four years and $72MM (with a player option in the final season), sources tell Fedor. However, he hears that the Cavs value Sexton in the $15-18MM per year range, while Sexton is seeking something closer to $18-22MM annually.
Although Sexton has undoubtedly been productive on the offense end, averaging 24.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 4.4 APG on .475/.371/.815 shooting in 2020/21, Fedor notes that there were questions about Sexton’s fit entering ’21/22, and his injury and the team’s success without him didn’t help his case. Given that he’s a 6’1″ shooting guard and a subpar defender, some teams view the former No. 8 pick as more of a sixth man than a starter, which could hurt his leverage in contract negotiations.
Scotto wonders if the Knicks or Wizards might be interested in Sexton, noting that both teams are looking for guards, but neither team has cap space. As Fedor previously reported, he hears that Cleveland has been curious if the Pistons might pursue Sexton, but sources tell Fedor that the Cavaliers don’t believe any team will end up offering him $20MM+ per season.
Here’s more from Scotto and Fedor:
- Both the Cavs and Caris LeVert have expressed interest in reaching an extension this summer, and league executives tell Scotto that a shorter deal in the $19-21MM range might make sense for both sides. However, as Fedor observes, LeVert will be on an expiring $18.8MM contract in ’22/23, so if the Cavs don’t like the types of numbers Levert’s agents are throwing out, they could just wait it out and perhaps use him as trade bait next season.
- Kevin Love improved his trade stock after a bounce-back, healthy season, and both Scotto and Fedor believe that his $28.9MM contract could be used as a trade chip if the team opts to pursue higher-paid veterans.
- Noting Cleveland needs two-way wing scorers and a solid backup point guard for Darius Garland, Fedor hears the Cavs are interested in a number of veterans as potential trade targets: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Bojan Bogdanovic, Gordon Hayward, Tobias Harris, Harrison Barnes, Gary Trent Jr., Jerami Grant, Aaron Gordon, Andrew Wiggins, and Mike Conley.
- Although there’s mutual interest in a reunion with Ricky Rubio, Fedor says money could become an obstacle to a deal being completed. Rubio is likely to miss at least a portion of next season after suffering a second torn ACL in his left knee in December, and using the mid-level exception to sign him would reduce the club’s flexibility while still leaving a hole on the roster until he returns.
- Sources tell Fedor that if a deal with Rubio doesn’t come to fruition, the Cavs would be very open to using their full mid-level to sign Grizzlies backup point guard Tyus Jones, assuming Memphis lets him walk in free agency and he’s unable to get more money elsewhere. Other guards Cleveland might look into in free agency are Delon Wright, Goran Dragic, and Raul Neto. If the Cavs pivot to a wing/forward, Kyle Anderson, Jeremy Lamb, and T.J. Warren are possibilities, according to Fedor.
- For potential draft candidates with the No. 14 pick, Fedor hears the Cavs are fans of Malaki Branham, Johnny Davis, Bennedict Mathurin, Tari Eason, TyTy Washington, and Jeremy Sochan. Those players range from Nos. 9-18 on ESPN’s big board, so some might not be available at 14.
Heat Notes: Oladipo, Robinson, Haslem, Celtics Series
Heat guard Victor Oladipo is slowly starting to regain his offensive form ahead of unrestricted free agency this summer after missing most of the season while recovering from a second surgery to repair his right quadriceps tendon last May. The 30-year-old said he plans to fine-tune his game with a healthy offseason.
“I really haven’t had a summer healthy to really work on my game,” he said, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. “This summer I’m looking forward to fine-tuning all the stuff I’m great at, which includes [three-pointers, pull-ups, drives to the basket] and more. Transition, half-court, all the stuff that was second nature to me.”
After averaging 12.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists on .479/.417/.737 shooting in eight regular season games (21.6 minutes), Oladipo is averaging 11.5 points, 3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals on .387/.313/.787 shooting through 12 postseason contests (24.8 minutes). He’s provided impressive defense to the Heat in the playoffs, but acknowledges he’s still trying to find his rhythm on the other end of the court.
“Definitely [offensively], especially because I didn’t have had an opportunity to find my rhythm,” Oladipo said last week. “I can still be effective, find ways to affect the game. Even offensively, it’s more of a mind-set thing. I haven’t played a lot. I don’t have as much reps as everyone else but I can still play at a high level.”
As Jackson notes, the Heat hold Oladipo’s Bird Rights this summer, giving them the ability to go over the salary cap to re-sign him.
Here are a few more notes on Miami:
- Duncan Robinson‘s five-year, $90MM contract with the Heat is only guaranteed for $80MM, and the $10MM discrepancy is tied to both the team’s and his own postseason performance, according to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. If the Heat win a championship in any of his five seasons, including this one, the final $10MM in the fifth season of his contract will be guaranteed if the following criteria are met: Robinson plays at least 70 regular season games while averaging at least 25 minutes per night, and he appears in 75 percent of his team’s postseason games while averaging at least 25 minutes per contest. As Winderman observes, Robinson has met both of the regular season criteria, but is falling short in the playoffs. He’s appeared in 11 of 15 postseason games (73.33%) while averaging just 11.5 minutes.
- Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports takes an inside look at what Udonis Haslem does behind the scenes to help the Heat win games, with the veteran emphasizing preparation as a key to success. “If they’re not prepared, I’m taking my notes on what we need to work on. For me, this is full-time job, bro. No days off. Even when it’s summer time, I’ll just take a week off and then I’m right back in the lab, in the weight room, in the gym, conditioning. My body has to stay right. That’s the most important thing for me is that my body has allowed me to be able to keep up with these guys,” Haslem said.
- Joe Vardon of The Athletic shares 25 thoughts heading into Wednesday’s Game 5 against the Celtics, noting that health has played a major factor in the series to this point, and the Heat need a more aggressive version of Jimmy Butler and more contributions from Gabe Vincent and Max Strus if they hope to advance. In case you missed it, Miami will be without Tyler Herro again for Game 5, as he continues to deal with a strained left groin.
Herro Out For Game 5; Smart, R. Williams Active
Heat guard Tyler Herro (left groin strain) will miss Wednesday’s Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Boston, tweets Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro was itching to return to action after missing Game 4’s 102-82 blowout loss, but the team’s training staff thought it would be irresponsible to let him play, so he was held out (Twitter link via Jackson). The groin injury isn’t considered to be a long-term concern, but obviously the Heat are being cautious with their Sixth Man of the Year winner after seeing Kyle Lowry re-injure his hamstring against Philadelphia.
The Celtics will have their full starting lineup intact for the first time this series, as both Marcus Smart (sprained right ankle) and Robert Williams (knee soreness) will be active tonight, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link). Smart missed Game 4 with the injury, while Williams missed Game 3.
Boston head coach Ime Udoka said the Defensive Player of the Year isn’t 100 percent healthy, but his mobility is “good enough” to play through the pain.
“He (Smart) has enough movement where he’s not restricted in certain areas like a few days ago,” Udoka said.
As for Williams, Udoka said he won’t have any type of minutes restriction, but added that the team is hopeful to reduce his minutes if possible (Twitter links via Weiss).
All three players had previously been listed as questionable for Wednesday’s crucial Game 5. The series is currently tied at two games apiece.
Miami holds home-court advantage and would host a potential Game 7 if it gets that far, but Boston has looked like the slightly better team through four games, posting a +7.7 net rating. In our poll earlier today, a bit more than 72 percent of our readers predicted the Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals.
With Herro sidelined, Victor Oladipo, who has emerged as a regular part of the Heat’s rotation since midway through the first-round series vs. Atlanta, figures to once again play significant minutes. Oladipo contributed 23 points, four rebounds and six assists in Game 4, but unfortunately for Miami, he outscored the entire starting lineup (23 to 18). The Heat will need a much more balanced effort to take Game 5 and the lead in the series.