Timberwolves Pursue Butler Deal, Dangle Pick
The Timberwolves are willing to move the No. 5 overall pick as the centerpiece of a trade package to acquire Bulls shooting guard Jimmy Butler, league sources told ESPN.com’s Chad Ford and Marc Stein. The Timberwolves are eager to reunite Chicago’s top scorer with new coach and former Bulls head man Tom Thibodeau and have told the Bulls they’re strongly interested in making such a deal if Butler is available, the story continues.
While Bulls are not believed to be shopping Butler, they are willing to listen to offers, Ford and Stein claim. The Bulls would demand a major package in return, which would likely translate to at least one front-line player in addition to a top lottery pick, sources told the ESPN duo. Rookie of the Year Karl-Anthony Towns would seemingly be untouchable but the Timberwolves have some other young talent to dangle, including Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Zach LaVine and Gorgui Dieng.
A multi-team trade scenario is also in play, according to the story. Butler has four years remaining on his five-year, $90MM contract.
The Celtics, who have three first-rounders including the No. 3 pick, are also angling to acquire Butler, according to Ford and Stein. The Bulls are high on Providence point guard Kris Dunn, a projected Top 5 selection, the story adds.
The Bulls would save $2.6MM on a trade kicker if they deal Butler this month, according to a tweet from Basketball Insiders’ Eric Pincus.
Hield, Chriss Work Out In California
- The Celtics worked out two projected lottery picks on Monday, Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield and Washington power forward Marquese Chriss, ESPN.com’s Jeff Goodman tweets. The workouts were held in California, Goodman adds. Ford slots Hield at No. 7 and Chriss at No. 6 on his Big Board, while Hield is rated No. 7 and Chriss is ranked No. 11 by Givony. The Celtics have three first-rounders, including the No. 3 pick.
Dragan Bender To Work Out For Celtics On June 21
- Dragan Bender‘s previously-reported workouts with the Timberwolves, Suns, and Celtics will take place on June 16th, 18th, and 21st, respectively, tweets international basketball reporter David Pick.
Celtics Aggressively Shopping No. 3 Pick
Barring an unexpected turn of events, Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram will almost certainly be the first two prospects to come off the board in next Thursday’s draft, likely in that order. However, there’s some uncertainty about which player will be the third selection — and it sounds like there may also be some uncertainty about which team will make that pick.
According to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, the Celtics are “really shopping” the third overall pick in the 2016 draft. Blakely suggests that the club is “trying to be as aggressive as possible in trying to move that pick.” Boston’s goal is to get an impact player who can contribute and help the team win immediately.
It’s not clear exactly which players the Celtics will be targeting as they dangle that No. 3 overall pick. Jahlil Okafor of the Sixers and Kevin Love of the Cavaliers have been frequently mentioned as possible targets, though that has been primarily speculation based on prior interest — there has been no confirmation that Boston will have its sights set on those players this summer.
Within his report, Blakely mentions Bulls star Jimmy Butler as one player the Celtics have their eye on, but it remains to be seen whether or not Chicago will be willing to discuss potential trades involving Butler, who is under contract for three more seasons, with a fourth-year player option in 2019/20.
If the Celtics do make a trade involving the third overall pick, it could also involve multiple other picks and/or players, depending on the return, says Blakely. Boston is armed with eight selections in this year’s draft, so even trading half of those picks in a mega-deal for an impact player would still leave the C’s with four selections to make this year.
According to Blakely, the Celtics are taking a long look at former California wing Jaylen Brown in the event that they do keep the No. 3 pick.
Trading For Love Is A Complicated Matter
- The Celtics must decide if a Kevin Love trade is worth pursuing and how they would fit the Cavaliers’ power forward into their offensive scheme, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald opines. Love thrives when the offense revolves around him, as it did when he played for the Timberwolves, but the Celtics — like the Cavs — have a score-first point guard in Isaiah Thomas, Bulpett continues. Love’s defensive shortcomings are also a major consideration since he’s due approximately $68MM over the next three years, plus the Celtics’ wealth of draft picks probably wouldn’t interest a title contender like Cleveland, Bulpett adds.
Latest Draft News
- Former Louisville small forward Damion Lee has participated in workouts for the Clippers, Celtics, Suns, Spurs, Wizards, Jazz and Raptors, plus, he has upcoming visits scheduled with the Mavericks and Thunder, Kennedy tweets.
Chinese Center Zhou Qi Has NBA Out For 2017
Chinese big man Zhou Qi has agreed to a deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers that will allow him to buy out his contract with his Chinese team and make the jump to the NBA in 2017, agent Alex Saratsis tells Jonathan Givony of The Vertical. Zhou’s buyout will be worth $650K, the maximum amount allowed by the Chinese Basketball Association.
Zhou is currently eligible to be drafted in 2016, but there has been some uncertainty surrounding his stock, since it wasn’t clear how much longer he would remain in China — his contract with the Flying Tigers was for another five years, per Givony. Zhou traveled to the U.S. to work out for NBA teams in recent weeks, including the Celtics, Suns, Grizzlies, and Clippers. Now, those teams and other NBA clubs have a better idea of when they’ll be able to bring the Chinese big man stateside should they draft him this year.
Zhou, who played alongside Andray Blatche, Andrew Goudelock and Bryce Cotton in Xinjiang, averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and a CBA-leading 3.2 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game for the Flying Tigers this season. He had two points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over 12 minutes of play at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit, a premiere showcase that pits international talent against top U.S. high schoolers, and is expected to compete in this summer’s Olympics for the Chinese national team.
At DraftExpress.com, Givony ranks Zhou 28th in his list of top 100 prospects for 2016, which suggests that the seven-footer would make a good draft-and-stash candidate in the second round or late in the first round in this year’s draft. For the time being, he also has the option of withdrawing from the draft and aiming to improve his stock for 2017, when he’d be able to come to the NBA immediately. The deadline for international prospects to withdraw from this year’s draft is Monday, June 13th.
Free Agent Rumors: Durant, Conley, Whiteside
Within his latest piece for Basketball Insiders, Steve Kyler examines a few of this year’s top free-agents-to-be, taking stock of their situations and passing along the latest notes and rumors he’s heard on each player. Here’s a round-up of some of the key info from Kyler’s piece:
- Even though Kevin Durant is considered most likely to return to the Thunder, he’s expected to take meetings, and Kyler hears that the Warriors and Spurs are “planning big pitches.” The belief around the NBA is that Durant will return to OKC on a deal that allows him to opt out in a year so that his free agency will line up with Russell Westbrook‘s and Serge Ibaka‘s in 2017.
- Sources close to Mike Conley‘s camp have suggested recently that Conley is “more open to new situations” than the Grizzlies would like. According to Kyler, those sources believe that the point guard wants to see signs that Memphis is serious about fortifying its roster with other pieces before committing to the team for the long term. Kyler identifies the “dark horse” in the Conley sweepstakes as the Spurs, who are believed to be willing to make some changes to their core if it means landing another high-level player.
- Hassan Whiteside is expected to land a maximum-salary contract, with the Lakers and Celtics among the teams believed to be interested. The Heat remain the favorites for the big man, but if they “try to play games,” Whiteside will shop around for other offers, according to Kyler.
- The Raptors and Knicks are among the clubs with interest in Nicolas Batum, but Batum will likely be in line for a max contract or something close to it, and the Hornets are viewed as the team most likely to accommodate such a deal.
- DeMar DeRozan is viewed as a near-lock to return to the Raptors on a max deal.
- Assuming they don’t land Durant, the Warriors sound prepared to keep their current roster intact, even if that means matching a “crazy offer sheet” for Harrison Barnes, writes Kyler.
- The odds of RFA-to-be Jordan Clarkson ending up with any team besides the Lakers are slim, but it’s possible his camp will seek out an offer sheet from another club if necessary, in order to get more favorable terms.
Latest Workout News
- Kentucky combo guard Jamal Murray said he intends to work out for just four teams: the Celtics, Suns, Timberwolves and Pelicans, Jay King of MassLive tweets. The teams on Murray’s list hold picks No. 3 to No. 6 in June’s draft, King notes.
Celtics Work Out Murray, Sabonis, Others
It’s a busy day for Celtics pre-draft workouts, as the team is working out a six-player group and taking a closer look at two more prospects in individual workouts. Those solo workouts belong to Kentucky’s Jamal Murray and Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis, per Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (Twitter link), and it sounds like it was a good showing for Murray — he hit a record 79 of 100 three-pointers during his session, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. In our community mock draft, Hoops Rumors readers have Murray coming off the board seventh overall and Sabonis being picked 13th..
As for Boston’s larger workout group, in addition to Farad Cobb and Cheick Diallo, whose participation had previously been reported, the Celtics are also working out Terry Allen (Richmond), Zach Auguste (Notre Dame), Adam Pechacek (Czech Republic), and Adam Smith (Georgia Tech), according to Forsberg.
- Greek big man Georgios Papagiannis, who worked out for Phoenix on Tuesday, has upcoming workouts with the Celtics, Bulls, and Pistons, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. The 7’2″ center currently ranks 50th on Jonathan Givony’s big board at DraftExpress.com.