And-Ones: Nets, Rondo, Draft
There is no truth to the report that the Nets are among the teams interested in trading for Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica, tweets NetsDaily’s Robert Windrem, who cites league sources. The Wolves acquired the rights to Bjelica on draft night in 2010 after the Wizards made him the 35th overall pick. He has a contract with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker that runs out after next season, but an opt-out clause would allow him to join the NBA this summer. Earlier today, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities listed (in a tweet) the Mavericks, Spurs, Heat, Nets and Bulls as teams that would be interested in Bjelica, if he were made available.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe labels the Kings as a darkhorse team to land Rajon Rondo in free agency this summer, citing Sacramento’s need for a premiere point guard in a pivotal year for the franchise. Rondo spurned Sacramento the last time he was a free agent, as Washburn points out. However, Washburn adds, Rondo is close friends with Kings forward Rudy Gay, and that could make it a more desirable location this time around.
- Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders confirmed on SI.com’s Chris Mannix’s radio show that Kevin Garnett will be part of the draft process and will meet with in person and/or talk on the phone with players, Wolfson relays in a tweet.
- Former Arizona swingman Stanley Johnson believes that the Thunder are enamored with his versatility and added the team has scouted him since high school, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. “I think they think I’m the best two-way player in the draft,” Johnson said. “And that’s appealing to them, as it is to most people. They really like me.”
- Former Murray State point guard Cameron Payne will work out for the Knicks and Lakers, who both own top five picks in the draft, tweets Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, who cites a source.
- Darion Atkins, Wayne Blackshear, Marcus Burton, Michael Frazier, Terry Rozier and Matt Stainbrook all worked out for the Hornets, according to the team’s official website.
Warriors Notes: Curry, Speights, Barbosa
With his ankle issues behind him, Stephen Curry‘s four-year, $44MM extension that he signed with the Warriors in the fall of 2012 is looking more and more team-friendly, writes Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com in a lengthy profile. The league’s Most Valuable Player missed only 10 games in the three years since and is making just a little more than $10.629MM on the backloaded deal. Improved coordination and balance with his hips has helped Curry stay on the court, Haberstroh explains after speaking with Keke Lyles, the Warriors’ director of athletic performance. Curry has added strength the past two years as well, which has helped him stay injury-free, Haberstroh adds. For example, Curry, who is listed at 190 pounds, can now deadlift 400 pounds, according to Lyles.
Here’s more out of Golden State:
- Without Kyrie Irving for the remainder of the finals, the Cavaliers are expected to increase the role of Matthew Dellavedova, who can become a restricted free agent this summer if Cleveland tenders him a qualifying offer worth $1,147,276, and the Warriors are not underestimating the backup point guard, Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group writes. “We’re preparing for him to come out and all guns are blazing,” said Warriors center Andrew Bogut. “We need to make sure we’re ready for him because if we think this is going to be easy with Kyrie out, we’ve got another thing coming.”
- The Warriors’ second unit, comprised of Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights, Festus Ezeli and Leandro Barbosa, has allowed the team to use rotations of 10 and 11 players during the season and it gives them a big advantage over the injury-riddled Cavs in the finals, Jeff Faraudo of the Bay Area News Group writes. Barbosa and Speights, who have both played well off the bench, will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Barbosa has averaged seven points per game this season, while Speights has averaged 10.4 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Dwyane Wade Hints At Opting Out
Dwyane Wade, appearing on ABC’s pre-game show for Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight, hinted that his contract status won’t be decided by the end of this month, which is when he must decide whether to opt out of his $16.1MM salary for 2015/16 and become a free agent on July 1, Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel writes. Wade, 33, has been with the Heat since they drafted him No. 5 overall in 2003.
“Listen, it’s summertime,” Wade said. “With summertime and free agency there’s gonna be a lot of talk. Right now I’m glad the Finals are going on. We’ll worry about that in July. This is our biggest showcase.”
Wade likely is seeking at least a three-year deal, even though he has not said that, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post writes. Wade is open to leaving the Heat this summer if the sides cannot agree, Lieser adds.
Wade averaged 21.5 points per game with 4.8 assists per game last season. He shot 47% from the field and was selected for his 11th straight All-Star Game. He has led the Heat to three championships.
Malone Gets Second Interview With Nuggets
Michael Malone has landed a second interview with the Nuggets for their head coaching vacancy, tweets ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, who cites sources. Stein also tweets that he expects Mike D’Antoni to secure a second interview with the team, and that interim coach Melvin Hunt remains firmly in the mix to keep the job on a full-time basis. It is not clear when Malone’s second interview with the Nuggets will take place.
The Nuggets initially interviewed Malone, primarily known as a defensive coach, on Tuesday. Malone was fired as coach of the Kings in December. Malone’s regular season coaching record with the Kings was 39-67.
Hunt reportedly emerged as the front-runner to land the job on a more permanent basis in late May. Denver interviewed D’Antoni, who is known for running up-tempo offenses, on Tuesday as well. The Nuggets received permission to interview Wizards assistant Don Newman, who has been an NBA assistant coach for 16 NBA seasons, on Thursday. It also appears Denver is in line to interview Clippers assistant coach Mike Woodson. The Nuggets have the league’s only remaining coaching vacancy.
And-Ones: Deng, Pistons, Jazz
The Heat hopes Luol Deng, who’s undecided about his more than $10.15MM player option, sticks around for at least one more season after he gave the team exactly what was needed — solid shooting and rebounding — Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post writes. Deng said, according to Lieser, that it was a challenging season because it was his first with the team and there was a lot of turnover. Deng, 30, averaged 14 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and shot 46.9% from the field, which, as Lieser points out, are all similar to his career averages. Lieser adds that keeping Deng for one year is mutually beneficial to the player and team, considering his age and the expected rise of the salary cap next season.
“Lu’s a very unique player — you can’t put him in a specific box,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “He’s a great off-the-ball, active, energy-type guy, and when you have more playmakers out there, the better he looks and the better he makes those guys look. When we put all that together, you’ll see a more comfortable, confident, aggressive Luol Deng.”
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- The Pistons, who own the eighth pick in the draft, have about six “primary” players they are eyeing to take with the selection, according to president of basketball operations and head coach Stan Van Gundy, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. Forwards must dominate that group, Mayo adds, because the team has Andre Drummond at center and depth at both guard positions. Van Gundy likes perimeter floor stretchers offensively who can defend the pick-and-roll, writes Mayo, who lists these players as potential options: Justise Winslow, Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky, Kelly Oubre and Kristaps Porzingis. “I think there’s a lot of guys that are good players and have a lot to offer,” Van Gundy said. “But I think every team may view those guys a little bit differently in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, besides the fit for their team and how they want to play. That’s why I think right now for us that there’s got to be a fairly large group of people that we keep an open mind about.”
- Nedim Buza, Lucas Dias Silva, Alan Williams, Sam Thompson and TaShawn Thomas will work out with the Jazz, the team tweeted from its official account.
Northwest Notes: Thunder, Jazz, Draft
Monty Williams would be a solid fit as Thunder coach Billy Donovan‘s lead assistant because Williams brings a wealth of experience and can relate to players well, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman opines. Williams, 43, was fired as coach of the Pelicans after five seasons. He also has served as an assistant coach for the Blazers for five years. The downside of bringing Williams in, however, is that because he has so much experience, he likely will tend to have his name attached to future head coaching vacancies and that would be problematic for stability purposes, Mayberry adds. Mike Brown and Mo Cheeks are also possibly in the mix, Mayberry writes. The Raptors have been reportedly interested in bringing Williams in as an assistant.
There is more news out of the Northwest:
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey is adamant that the team won’t spend money just to spend money and is comfortable going into next season under the salary cap, Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News writes. The Jazz had a strong finish to the season so it’s conceivable that they do not tinker with the roster much, but they do have financial flexibility to do so.The Jazz ranked 25th in league salaries this year, Sorensen notes. “Do we feel obligated that we have to? Absolutely not,’’ Lindsey said. “We could exist underneath the salary cap going into next season.’’ The Jazz won’t go after any big name free agents, but there’s a decent chance they target an up-and-coming player like the Bucks’ Khris Middleton, a restricted free agent who made less than $1MM last year, Sorensen writes.
- R.J. Hunter will work out for the Thunder on Monday and the Jazz on Wednesday, tweets Jake Fischer of LibertyBallers.com. The Georgia State guard is the 21st-ranked prospect on Chad Ford’s ESPN.com list, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 26th.
- Minnesota guard Andre Hollins tweeted that he worked out with the Timberwolves on Friday (hat tip to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press).
Western Notes: Warriors, Lakers, McCollum
Alvin Gentry‘s hiring as the coach of the Pelicans will leave a major void on Steve Kerr‘s coaching staff and Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group offers Luke Walton, Brian Shaw and Mike D’Antoni as possible replacements for the Warriors. Walton is currently the No. 3 assistant, but he has a strong feel for offense, is somebody Kerr has hand-picked for coaching success in the future and is the front-runner for the position, according to Kawakami. Shaw, a former Nuggets coach, visited the Warriors’ practice on Saturday and stayed for a while afterward, Kawakami reports. Kawakami describes D’Antoni as “a long shot” for the position. Kerr will focus on bringing someone in who is offensively-minded, Kawakami writes, because that was primarily Gentry’s role with the team.
Here’s more on the Western Conference:
- All signs point to C.J. McCollum, who had his $3.2MM option picked up by the Blazers in October, getting more playing time next season because of his strong playoff run, Jabari Young of CSNNW.com writes. McCollum said he wants to get stronger, increase reaction to pick and rolls, and improve his mid-range shooting during the offseason, Young adds. “I’m going to work on everything like I always do,” said McCollum. “… “I got to step it up. It’s going to be a new year, I’m going to be in the league for two years now, so a better understanding of the game and how I can make my impact.”
- The Lakers should target an overseas prospect to stash with the 27th pick of the draft, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (insider piece) writes, because GM Mitch Kupchak said it’s unlikely the team carries three rookies on next season’s roster and although the option is risky, an overseas project offers long-term payoff. Candidates include Macedonian point guard Cedi Osman and French center Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Doolittle adds. The Lakers also own the second and 34th picks. At No. 34, Kupchak can target a high-risk, high-reward player with little financial consequence, Doolittle writes. Washington’s Robert Upshaw would be an ideal fit for those reasons, Doolittle adds.
Draft Notes: Anderson, Brown, Randle
Virginia’s Justin Anderson worked out with the Lakers on Thursday and afterward said he expects to be selected in the middle or toward the end of the first round based on conversations with his agent and interviews during draft workouts and the NBA pre-draft combine, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. Anderson, who is ranked 23rd by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and is pegged at No. 28 by Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), believes he can thrive in the league with his strength, defense and ability to knock down shots, Medina adds. Johnson has also worked out with the Bulls and Spurs and plans to work out with the Celtics, Medina notes.
“I’m just going to be a complete and smart defender as well as a knockdown shooter,” Anderson said. “I’ll use my physicality and strength and be as complete as I can be. Whatever system I land, I know I can adjust.”
Here’s more news on the draft:
- Stanford’s Anthony Brown also worked out with the Lakers, and his shooting ability could be of use to the to the Lakers, who own the second, 27th and 34th picks, Medina writes in a separate story. Brown shot 44.1% from 3-point range in two seasons at Stanford, Medina notes. The Lakers received poor shooting seasons from several players, including Nick Young, who shot a career-low 37% from the field, as Medina points out. “I’m a great shooter,” Brown said. “That’s the number one thing I hang my hat on, shooting the basketball. I’m also going to defend you. I’m a three-deep player.”
- Stanford guard Chasson Randle‘s next workout will be with the Sixers, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets. Randle has already worked out for the Thunder and Celtics, Washburn adds.
- Jarvis Threatt has workouts with the Wizards, Suns and Rockets next week, Adam Johnson of D-League Digest tweets.
- BYU’s Tyler Haws wants to hear his name called on draft night, but if he doesn’t, he will have opportunities to play overseas, Jeff Call of the Deseret News writes. “He’s got a couple of offers already overseas,” said BYU coach Dave Rose, who added he expects Haws to be drafted.
Southwest Notes: Grizzlies, Beverley, Smith
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said he will make a push to add a player who is between 6’7″ and 6’9″ who can shoot 3-pointers in the draft, Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal writes. The Grizzlies own the 25th pick. The Grizzlies’ workout on Friday featured Tennessee’s Josh Richardson, Arkansas’ Ky Madden, Florida State’s Aaron Thomas, Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton, Florida’s Chris Walker and Arizona’s Brandon Ashley, Tillery reports. Citing the team’s recent draft history, Tillery writes that the Grizzlies believe it’s very conceivable to find a player that is talented and ready to fill a need at that pick. Connaughton appeared to be the most intriguing player in the Grizzlies’ workout, Tillery adds, citing the 6’5″ guard’s 44-inch vertical leap, shooting ability and basketball savvy. GM Chris Wallace said that the pick has to end up being an asset.
“You’d love to have need and talent coincide,” Wallace said. “What you’re trying to do is get a player who is going to be with you for a while and help the team or someone that gains some interest around the league, and helps you make a transaction. Those are reasonable scenarios for picks in the 20s.”
Here’s more from out of the Southwest:
- Like he has expressed previously, Patrick Beverley, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is hopeful he will be with the Rockets next year, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. “Hopefully it’s here,” Beverley said, per Berman. “I’m very loyal. This is the only team that took a chance on me. I understand it’s a business.” Reports in April indicated the Rockets would like to re-sign Beverley, who earned $915,243 this season.
- Josh Smith is another free agent who has previously conveyed his desire to return to the Rockets next season, but the veteran understands how unpredictable the free agency climate can be, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “Coming into free agency, you never know what is going to happen,” Smith said. “You just hope for the best and stay positive. Just reflect right now and don’t worry about the future.” It was reported last month there there’s mutual interest between Smith and GM Daryl Morey in a new deal.
Prospect Profile: Frank Kaminsky
In an era when many of basketball’s top prospects are “one-and-done,” Frank Kaminsky stands out. He was only a three-star recruit coming out of Benet Academy in Illinois and despite playing a limited role in his first two years with Wisconsin, he metamorphosed into one of the nation’s top players. Through his first two seasons as a Badger, he averaged less than nine minutes per game. Kaminsky has often said he was a bit immature in his early years in college, and often operated without a clear vision, as Ben Hamilton of SI.com outlined in a piece earlier this year. Once he figured it out, the guy known as Frank the Tank emerged as one of college basketball’s most unlikely stars. With more playing time, the 7-footer’s game improved and later evolved.
Kaminsky took a big step forward in his junior season. He averaged 13.9 points per game and grabbed 6.3 rebounds per game. He also led the Badgers to the NCAA Final Four to cap his breakout. Kaminsky entertained the idea of entering last season’s draft, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) relays, but the big man admits that he wasn’t quite ready for the NBA at that point. “I knew I needed to get better. I wanted to go back to school, finish my degree and do more research by watching NBA basketball so I could see what I needed to get better at,” Kaminsky said. “It was like a free year to study for your final exam.“
It turned out to be a great decision to wait another year. He entered his senior season as the 2015 preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and preseason AP All-American. He somehow managed to surpass expectations with an unworldly campaign. In other words, Kaminsky did everything for Wisconsin this past season — and then was rewarded for it. He led the Badgers in points per game (18.8), rebounds per game (8.2), assists (103), blocks (57), field goal percentage (55%), 3-point field goal percentage (.416), free throws (156) and free throw attempts (200). He was the only NCAA Division I player to average at least 17 points, eight rebounds, two assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He propelled Wisconsin to its first national championship game since 1941. For his efforts, he was named National Player of the Year by The Associated Press and captured a handful of other honors.
There’s a strong possibility that the next reward for Kaminsky is at least a top-15 selection in the draft. One NBA GM told The Journal Times’ Gery Woelfel that Kaminsky could go as high as sixth in the draft. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranks Kaminsky No. 10, but he is the No. 14 overall player according to Ford (Insider subscription required).
Kaminsky has superb size with a frame that has filled out well over time and would improve more with added weight. Kaminsky will never be confused with an explosive athlete, but he is a very coordinated big man who runs the floor well. What makes Kaminsky a unique prospect, according to Givony in his profile of the player, is his versatility and offensive efficiency. Simply put, he’s a matchup problem for many because of his size and how good he is at shooting. While he played mostly center in college, Kaminsky sees himself as a stretch four in the NBA, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders writes. “[I’m] turning myself into a four,” Kaminsky told Pincus. “In college, I played the five for so long. I know I can play the four. I just have to pick up the nuances. The NBA values big guys that can stretch the floor.”
Kaminsky added that he is confident he can transition successfully to power forward. “I played against four in college, because that’s who was guarding me. I know what I’m able to do,” he said. “The college game is obviously different than the NBA game. It also makes it easier that the shot clock is 11 seconds shorter. There’s not as much running around.”
Kaminsky has interviewed with the Pistons and met with the Bucks last week. He met with the Magic and Knicks, respectively, the week prior. A “sure thing” is impossible to find in any draft, and Kaminsky is no different. While he’s a very polished and mature player, because of his age (22) there is some belief he has already maximized his potential. Kaminsky, however, has said that he is looking forward to continuing to grow as a player with any team that selects him. There are no shortage of teams that seem like good fits for him, either. Miami, which owns the 10th pick, is looking for immediate help and Kaminsky’s maturity would present an intriguing addition. If he’s still on the board at No. 12, it would be logical for the Jazz to scoop him up because of their need for someone who can stretch the floor. The best fit, however, is likely the Suns, who will pick 13th. The Suns do not have a quality big man and their options are limited beyond Alex Len.