Pacific Notes: Lakers, Divac, Draft, Warriors
The Lakers will look at D’Angelo Russell for the No. 2 overall pick, but preliminary indications are that they’ll take either Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns, depending on which one of those two is left after the Timberwolves pick, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times hears. Trading the pick is also an option, GM Mitch Kupchak says, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News tweets. In any case, the choices at No. 2 are a bit better than the Lakers would have had if the lottery had gone according to form and the team had ended up with the fourth pick. Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:
- Kings president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac said his team should be open to trading its draft pick, but in comments that Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays, he distanced himself from the mechanics of any such move. “I’m leaving that to my basketball people,” Divac said. It’s an odd statement from the team’s top basketball executive. In any case, Chad Ford of ESPN.com identified the Kings, who pick sixth, among the teams most likely to trade their top-10 pick, along with the Magic, Pistons, Heat and Hornets, as Ford wrote in a chat with readers.
- The Kings and the Pacers are the teams with the most interest in Willie Cauley-Stein, Ford adds in the same piece.
- Andrew Bogut is a fan of the way Steve Kerr handles his assistant coaches, as the big man tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group a year after assistant coaches were squarely in the spotlight for Golden State. The departures of assistants Brian Scalabrine and Darren Erman from the Warriors bench last year were symbolic of the tumult near the end of Mark Jackson‘s time as Warriors coach. “In their own way, they all have free reign,” Bogut said of Kerr’s staff. “You see them talk to the media, which is something that wasn’t happening with us the last couple of years. There’s no agendas where a coach thinks, ‘Oh, he’s doing extra workouts with this guy, he’s trying to take my job, or vice-versa, or he’s trying to get himself a head-coaching job.’ We don’t have any of that. We have guys that say something when they need to say something and to be professional throughout.”
Southeast Notes: Grant, Hornets, Heat
Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant tells Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) that he’ll be working out for the Hornets on June 8th. That audition will mark just the second team workout for Grant, who previously worked out for the Pacers.
Grant and his agent are hearing (link) that he could go as high as No. 8 with teams estimating his range to be somewhere between No. 8 and No. 20. He added that based on those rumblings, it sounds unlikely that he’ll be available for teams selecting beyond No. 22. Stay tuned for Grant’s entire conversation with Hoops Rumors as a part of our Draft Prospect Q&A series which also features conversations with Cameron Payne, Richaun Holmes, and more.
Here’s today’s look at the Southeast Division..
- Historically, the No. 10 pick — owned by the Heat this year — has produced plenty of high-caliber, rotation-worthy players, as Couper Moorhead of Heat.com writes. Some of the most notable players to come off the board at No. 10 include Paul Pierce, Eddie Jones, Jason Terry, and Joe Johnson. In recent years, Brook Lopez, Andrew Bynum, Paul George, and Brandon Jennings have heard their names called at No. 10.
- Heat president Pat Riley has indicated that he’ll be looking for perimeter defending and three-point shooting in the draft, Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald writes. In a perfect world, Riley has said he would like a player similar to Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, who was the 11th pick of the 2011 draft.
- The Magic weren’t thrilled to land at No. 5, but GM Rob Hennigan and CEO Alex Martins put a positive spin on it, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “We feel good about it,” Hennigan said. “We stayed where we expected to stay. Luckily, we didn’t move back, so we’ll take the hand that was dealt to us and certainly make the most of the pick we have.”
- Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel is less bullish about the talent available at No. 5 and he feels that the Magic should dangle the pick in a trade.
- More from Schmitz, who looked back at Kyle O’Quinn‘s season. Fellow Sentinel scribe Josh Robbins reported last month that the Magic will make O’Quinn the qualifying offer necessary for them to be able to match offers for him in free agency this summer.
Southeast Notes: Pierce, Hornets, Dragic, Heat
It’s time for the Wizards‘ Paul Pierce to retire, argues A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The former Celtics star has enjoyed a legendary career, Blakely writes, and there is little to be gained by trying to extend it. Pierce, 37, posted statistical lows in just about every category this season. He has a player option worth more than $5.5MM for next year.
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Kentucky’s Devin Booker would be just the kind of shooter the Hornets need, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Charlotte was the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA at just 31.8% this season. Booker hit 41% of his treys at Kentucky and considers himself “definitely” the best shooter from distance in the draft. The Hornets are currently slotted with the ninth pick heading into Tuesday’s lottery.
- The Heat and Goran Dragic should be able to come to an agreement shortly after free agency begins, writes Surya Fernandez of Fox Sports Florida. Dragic has made numerous statements about how much he likes the city and the team, and the Heat have been open about their desire to keep Dragic, whom they acquired from Phoenix in a three-team deal at the trade deadline. “So far I had a great experience here with the Heat,” Dragic said. “Great coaching staff and teammates.”
- Arizona’s Stanley Johnson would be a nice draft pickup for the Heat, contends Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Lieser writes that Johnson could provide immediate wing depth and would be an able replacement if Luol Deng leaves the team this summer or in 2016. However, Miami won’t know if it even has a first-round pick until the lottery. If the Heat pick falls to 11th or worse, it will be conveyed to Philadelphia.
- The Magic interviewed Kentucky’s Trey Lyles at the NBA Draft Combine, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Also interviewed was Bobby Portis of Arkansas, Robbins adds (Twitter link).
Southeast Notes: Pierce, Heat, Hornets
With the sting of his last second shot being waived off because time had expired and his team being eliminated from the postseason still fresh, the Wizards‘ Paul Pierce now has to make a decision regarding his player option for 2015/15 worth $5,543,725, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “I haven’t really thought about it,” Pierce said. “I don’t even know if I am going to play basketball anymore. These seasons get harder and harder every year, every day. Summers get even harder when you start getting back in shape. I’m 37 years old. I’m top two or three oldest in the league.” Pierce indicated he would take some time and discuss the matter with his family before making his call on next season, Youngmisuk adds. “I have been playing this game [for] like 32 years. Since I was a little kid. Probably going to be the hardest thing to do is put the game down. But I know that time is coming one day. I am not sure if it is this year or next year. I will sit down with my family and figure things out,” Pierce said.
Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:
- Wizards coach Randy Wittman indicated that he’d be very surprised if Pierce didn’t opt in and return to the team next season, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com relays (Twitter link).
- Heat president Pat Riley interviewed Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre at the draft combine, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets.
- While at the draft combine Hornets executives met with Kentucky’s Devin Booker and Willie Cauley-Stein, as well as Duke forward Justise Winslow, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports in a series of tweets.
- Riley also sat down with Booker for an interview, who said that the Heat executive told him that Dwyane Wade was in the final stage of his career and that the young guard would be able to learn from him, Lieser tweets. Also meeting with the team while in Chicago were Arkansas forward Bobby Portis and Kentucky forward Trey Lyles, Lieser adds (Twitter links).
Draft Rumors: Porzingis, Wood, Dawson
At least one GM is among the multiple executives who believe Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis has a shot to be drafted as highly as No. 2, reports Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. The head of basketball ops for another team said that he’s a “lock” for the top five and that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go within the top three, adding that he’d draft him in front of Jahlil Okafor, the Duke center who occupied the top spot in projections for most of the season. The 19-year-old is No. 5 in Chad Ford’s ESPN.com rankings and No. 8 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Here’s more as draft rumors kick into high gear:
- Christian Wood, a power forward out of UNLV, is hoping to follow in Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s footsteps as a ball-handler with unusual height and length, Howard-Cooper writes in the same piece. The Bucks intend to interview Wood, Virginia small forward Justin Anderson and others today, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
- Both the DraftExpress team and Ford go in depth on the measurements from the combine, with Ford, in his Insider-only piece, noting that most top prospects sized up well and that this year’s draft class is among the longest groups in memory in terms of both height and wingspan.
- Michigan State power forward Branden Dawson has interviewed with the Wizards, Clippers and Pelicans at the draft combine, as he told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Ellis, in the same report, adds Stanley Johnson, Frank Kaminsky and Rashad Vaughn to the list of prospects with whom the Pistons have spoken.
- Terry Rozier met with the Pistons, too, as well as the Mavs, Suns, Knicks and Spurs, reports Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
- The Sixers, Lakers, Cavs and Bucks have interviewed Cameron Payne, Kyler also tweets. Payne spoke with our Zach Links recently about his draft prospects.
- Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds the Hornets and Warriors to the list of teams speaking with Rakeem Christmas (Twitter link).
Draft Notes: Lyles, Anderson, Wood
The 2015 NBA Draft combine is underway in Chicago and Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) offers up a primer for all of the scheduled events. The return of five-on-five play to the event has scouts and GMs excited, but that anticipation is tempered by the fact that only one player ranked in the top 30 — Terry Rozier, will be participating in the scrimmages, Ford notes.
Here’s more regarding the 2015 NBA Draft:
- Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal caught up with ESPN’s Chad Ford to talk about the Kentucky Wildcats’ seven NBA Draft hopefuls. Ford spoke highly of Trey Lyles, but says that he needs to prove himself in workouts between now and the draft.
- Former Virgina swingman Justin Anderson met with the Celtics today, and the player has a workout scheduled with the team on June 1st, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets.
- The Wolves interviewed UNLV big man Christian Wood, and are also expected to sit down with Texas center Myles Turner, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweets.
- Arizona forward Stanley Johnson interviewed with the Hornets today, and Johnson touted himself as “the best two-way player in the draft,” Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer notes (Twitter link).
- Former Syracuse forward Rakeem Christmas met with the Bucks, Magic, and Suns today, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Twitter links). Christmas is also scheduled to workout for the Sixers, but he will not interview with the team at the combine, Pompey notes.
- Projected second-rounder J.P. Tokoto interviewed with the Cavaliers, Clippers, and Pistons on Wednesday, Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relays (via Twitter). The guard met with the Hawks, Nets, and Mavs today, Gardner adds.
Eastern Rumors: Lopez, Hawks, Stephenson
The Bucks could be in the mix for Nets center Brook Lopez if he opts out of his contract this summer, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. Lopez’s strong relationship with former Nets coach and current Bucks coach Jason Kidd could factor in his decision if he enters the market, Woelfel adds. Lopez, who holds a player option of approximately $16.74MM on his contract, is likely to opt out but he’s expected to get a max offer from Brooklyn. Milwaukee finished the season with journeyman Zaza Pachulia as its starting center after buying out Larry Sanders in February.
In other news around the Eastern Conference:
- The Hawks will swap first-round picks with the Nets, allowing Atlanta to move up to the No. 15 overall spot next month, Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. The Hawks, who informed the league of their decision on Monday, had the option of swapping first-rounders with Brooklyn as part of the 2012 Joe Johnson trade. The Hawks declined that option last season. Brooklyn moves down to No. 29 as a result of the swap.
- Lance Stephenson will stay in the Charlotte area over the summer and work with the Hornets coaches to improve his jump shot, Sam Perley of Hornets.com writes. Stephenson wants to prove to the club that he was worth the three-year deal it gave him last summer, Perley continues. Stephenson shot 37.6% from the field and 17.1% on 3-point attempts in his first season with Charlotte. He is due $9MM next season with a team option of just over $9,4MM the following season. “I’m staying here during the offseason and going to have time to spend with the coaches and figure out how I can be successful here,” Stephenson said to Perley. “I’m going to have to come in and figure out how I’m going to be a better shooter. This summer is going to be huge for me [in terms of] getting back into my groove and helping this group.”
Southeast Notes: Pierce, Dedmon, Williams
The Wizards are enjoying great dividends from their investment in Paul Pierce, according to J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Pierce, who hit a game-winning shot against the Hawks Saturday, came to Washington last summer after free agent Trevor Ariza left for Houston. Michael notes that the Wizards were able to sign Pierce for a little more than $5MM a year over two seasons, which was about half the money and half the commitment that Ariza wanted.
There’s more this morning from the Southeast Division:
- The Magic moved Dewayne Dedmon into their starting lineup March 4; now he hopes to stay there, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Dedmon quickly became a favorite of interim coach James Borrego with his shot blocking and high-intensity style of play. He is signed through next year, although the nearly $950K he is due to make is fully non-guaranteed if he is waived by August 1st.
- Consistency was the main thing Marvin Williams brought to the Hornets after signing as a free agent last summer, notes Matt Rochinski of hornets.com. Charlotte lured the North Carolina alum from the Jazz with a two-year deal worth $7MM each season. Through the first four months of the season, Williams averaged 6.7 points and 4.5 rebounds. From March 1 onward, he raised those numbers to 8.8 points and 6.7 boards. “I feel like I finished a lot stronger than I started,” he said. “Obviously with change, sometimes it takes a little while to get acclimated, but that’s an experience I had before in my career so it wasn’t terrible for me.”
- With their draft status uncertain, the Heat are turning their attention toward the annual Chicago pre-draft camp, which gets under way Tuesday, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Miami faces a 9% chance of losing its first-round pick, but that won’t be determined until the May 19th lottery. In the meantime, team president Pat Riley, GM Andy Elisburg and the scouting staff are going to get an up-close look at the top prospects, not just for the first round, but also for Miami’s second-round pick, which falls at number 40.
Draft History: Rich Cho
The 2015 NBA draft is less than two months away, and for teams that aren’t still participating in the NBA playoffs, the focus is on using that event to build toward a better future. The exact draft order won’t be known until the May 19th lottery, when the simple bounce of a ping-pong ball can alter the fate of a franchise. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.
With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors will be taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ll be examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll begin with a look back at the calls made by Hornets GM Rich Cho…
Trail Blazers (July 2010-May 2011)
- No draft picks
Hornets (June 2011-Present)
2011 Draft
- No. 7 Overall — Bismack Biyombo *: 284 games, 4.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.6 BPG. .497/.000/.530.
- No. 9 Overall — Kemba Walker: 283 games, 16.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.4 APG. .395/.318/.814.
- No. 39 Overall — Jeremy Tyler **: 104 games, 3.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.2 APG. .450/.000/.557.
Notable players passed over: Klay Thompson (No. 11), Kawhi Leonard (No. 15). Nikola Vucevic (No. 16), Kenneth Faried (No. 22), Reggie Jackson (No. 24), Jimmy Butler (No. 30), Chandler Parsons (No. 38), and Isaiah Thomas (No. 60).
* The rights to Tobias Harris (No. 19) were traded on draft night as part of a three team deal between the Hornets, Bucks and the Kings. Charlotte received the rights to No. 7 overall pick Bismack Biyombo and Corey Maggette in return.
** Tyler was traded to the Warriors for cash.
2012 Draft
- No. 2 Overall — Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: 195 games, 9.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.3 APG. .464/.167/.689.
- No. 31 Overall — Jeff Taylor: 132 games, 6.1 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.8 APG. .409/.319/.665.
Notable players passed over: Bradley Beal (No. 3), Damian Lillard (No. 6), Andre Drummond (No. 9), and Draymond Green (No. 35).
2013 Draft
- No. 4 Overall — Cody Zeller: 144 games, 6.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.3 APG. .443/.500/.750.
Notable players passed over: Nerlens Noel (No. 6), Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15), and Rudy Gobert (No. 27).
2014 Draft
- No. 9 Overall — Noah Vonleh: 25 games, 3.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 0.4 BPG. .395/.385/.692.
- No. 26 Overall — P.J. Hairston *: 45 games, 5.6 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.5 APG. .323/.301/.861.
Notable players passed over: Elfrid Payton (No. 10), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32), and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).
*Traded the No. 24 overall pick (Shabazz Napier) to the Heat for the No. 26 (Hairston) and No. 55 (Semaj Christon) picks. The rights to Christon were then dealt to the Thunder.
Note: Until last year, it wasn’t entirely clear how Charlotte delineated the structure of power and responsibility between Cho and former president of basketball operations Rod Higgins.
Southeast Notes: D-League, Payton, Wizards
D-League president Malcolm Turner foresees two new D-League teams for 2016/17, a signal that he expects the circuit to remain at 18 teams next season, observes Adam Johnson of D-League Digest, though that may be a conservative estimate. The Hawks are once more determined to strike up a one-to-one affiliation, according to Johnson, and the Raptors are in advanced talks about an affiliate of their own, too. The league appears ready to plant teams in the southeastern United States, where there are none now, Johnson writes, and at least one more Southeast Division team has its eyes on securing a one-to-one affiliate soon, as we pass along:
- The Hornets today formally announced their intention to own and operate a one-to-one affiliate by 2016/17, as Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer first reported. Conversely, the Wizards haven’t made much progress toward a one-to-one affiliate, a source tells Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link). The Heat and Magic already have one-to-one affiliates in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Erie, Pennsylvania, respectively.
- Rookie Elfrid Payton showed a surprising level of toughness as he exceeded expectations for the Magic this season, excelling as a passer and rebounder, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel observes. He struggled with his shooting, though that was no shock, as Robbins details about the point guard whose rights the Magic traded for on draft night last June.
- Drew Gooden was out of the league at midseason last year, and at the same time Otto Porter languished outside the rotation for the Wizards. Now, they’re key parts of a Wizards team that’s 5-0 in the playoffs, as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post examines.