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Southwest Rumors: Hanlan, Grizzlies, Cook

June 8th, 2015 at 6:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have worked out Boston College’s Olivier Hanlan, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 6’4” combo guard worked out for the Lakers on Monday and also worked out this month for the Timberwolves, Suns and Celtics. He is ranked No. 41 on ESPN Insider Chad Ford’s list of Top 100 prospects while DraftExpress’ Jonathan Givony currently pegs him at No. 53. Houston holds the No. 18 overall pick (from the Pelicans) in the first round and No. 32 (from the Knicks) early in the second, so Hanlan needed to make quite an impression for the Rockets to consider drafting him.

In other news around the Southwest Division:

Hanlan will also participate in the Grizzlies’ fourth pre-draft workout on Tuesday, according to Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. He’ll be joined by Utah point guard Delon Wright, Syracuse power forward Rakeem Christmas, LSU forward Jarell Martin, Florida guard Michael Frazier and BYU guard Tyler Haws. The Grizzlies own the No. 25 overall pick in the first round and Wright (No 26 on Ford’s board, No. 28 on Givony’s board) and Martin (31, 27) are the highest-rated prospects. Wright has already worked out for the Trail Blazers, Pacers, Bulls, Wizards, Lakers and Suns while Haws has recently auditioned for the Jazz, Mavericks, Suns and Lakers, according to Brandon Judd of the Deseret News. Haws is also scheduled to work out for the Warriors and Nets, Judd adds.
Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv adds the Mavs to the list of teams working out Duke point guard Quinn Cook (Twitter link). Cook revealed several workout appointments and much more in a recent interview with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors.

2015/16 Roster Counts: Chicago Bulls

June 6th, 2015 at 5:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During the offseason it’s OK for teams to carry as many as 20 players, but clubs must trim their rosters down to a maximum of 15 by opening night. In the meantime, some teams will hang around that 15-man line, while others will max out their roster counts. Some clubs may actually have more than 15 contracts that are at least partially guaranteed on the books. That means they’ll end up paying players who won’t be on the regular season roster, unless they can find trade partners.

With plenty more movement still to come, here’s the latest look at the Bulls’ roster size, the contract guarantee status of each player, and how each player came to be on Chicago’s roster.

(Last Updated 2-18-16, 4:00pm)

Fully Guaranteed (15)

Cameron Bairstow (F) — 6’9″/24 years old. Drafted with No. 49 overall pick in 2014.
Aaron Brooks (G) — 6’0″/30 years old. Free agent signing.
Jimmy Butler (G/F) — 6’7″/25 years old. Drafted with No. 30 overall pick in 2011.
Mike Dunleavy (F) — 6’9″/34 years old. Free agent signing.
Cristiano Felicio (F/C) — 6’9″/23 years old. Free agent signing.
Pau Gasol (F) — 7’0″/34 years old. Free agent signing.
Taj Gibson (F) — 6’9″/29 years old. Drafted with No. 26 overall pick in 2009.
Justin Holiday (G) — 6’6″/26 years old. Acquired via trade from Hawks.
Doug McDermott (F) — 6’8″/23 years old. Draft rights acquired from Nuggets.
E’Twaun Moore (G) — 6’4″/26 years old. Free agent signing.
Nikola Mirotic (F) — 6’10″/24 years old. Draft rights acquired from Timberwolves.
Joakim Noah (C) — 6’11″/30 years old. Drafted with No. 9 overall pick in 2007.
Bobby Portis (F) — 6’11/20 years old. Drafted with No. 22 overall pick in 2015.
Derrick Rose (G) — 6’3″/26 years old. Drafted with No. 1 overall pick in 2008.
Tony Snell (F) — 6’7″/23 years old. Drafted with No. 20 overall pick in 2013.

10-Day Contracts (0)

None

TOTAL ROSTER COUNT (15)

Draft Notes: Mudiay, T’Wolves, Rozier

June 5th, 2015 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

The T’Wolves have convinced Emmanuel Mudiay that he is in consideration for the No. 1 overall pick, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. Mudiay has workouts scheduled with the Lakers (Saturday), the Timberwolves (June 20th or possibly sooner), and Marc Berman of the New York Post adds the Knicks (Monday) to the list. Recently, SMU coach Larry Brown said that Mudiay will audition for the Sixers as well, rounding out the top four. Here’s a look at the latest draft news..

Louisville guard Terry Rozier has an upcoming workout scheduled with the Hornets, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter). Rozier, 21, is currently ranked No. 50 by DraftExpress and No. 27 by Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
UNLV’s Rashad Vaughn will work out for the Suns today and has auditions scheduled with the Bulls and Wizards, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (on Twitter).
The Suns will bring in UNLV’s Christian Wood as a part of a group workout today, league sources tell Scotto (on Twitter).
Want to familiarize yourself with some of the most interesting prospects in this year’s class? Check out the entries in the Hoops Rumors NBA Draft Prospect Q&A Series! Over the last month, Hoops Rumors has spoken with Jerian Grant, Cameron Payne, Richaun Holmes, and many more notable names.

Tom Thibodeau On Bulls, Future

June 5th, 2015 at 12:04pm CST by Zachary Links

On Friday morning, former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau joined ESPN Radio’s Mike & Mike (audio link) to discuss the NBA Finals as well as his exit from Chicago. Thibs was largely diplomatic, but he did take a small dig at the team in what might be a slam of the Luol Deng trade.

“When you lose a guy like a Derrick Rose and maybe you trade someone, and now all of a sudden you have to ask yourself, ‘How are we going to win with this group?’ Maybe that alters things,” Thibodeau said (transcription via K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune). “I learned how you have to do that with this team. Whatever the next opportunity is, I’ll take those lessons and try to use them.”

Here’s a look at a few of the other highlights from Thibodeau’s chat with Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic..

On reported issues between him and management:

Obviously, there were some issues. I don’t want to get into all that. As I said, I’m very proud of what the team did. When I look back, it’s five years, I think anytime when you have a pro franchise, there’s going to be some carping that goes on along the way. When I look back, I’d rather focus in on the positives. It was a great experience for me. I loved our players. I loved my staff.

On his reaction to scathing comments by Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf:

I don’t worry about stuff like that..For me, I put everything that I have into each day. So I have no regrets. I’m going to let the record speak for itself.

On whether his rift with management affected the team’s on-court performance:

I would like to think it didn’t have any [effect]. If you allow yourself to be distracted, you’re going to be distracted by other things as well. As players and coaches, you’re going to hear things all the time whether it’s trades or being fired or whatever it might be. I think the important thing is to lock into what you have to do each day, put everything you have into it and then you let the results speak for themselves.

On whether he’ll change his coaching style going forward:

You go back through the season and evaluate everything that was done. I don’t think you ever want to stay the same. You’re always looking at how you can do things better. There are some things you may not change but you always want to add, evolve. I think the big thing is to study and prepare and try to do it better the next time. There’s a lot of things that I learned from the experience. I learned from all my experiences.

Draft Notes: Bucks, Mudiay, Jones, Powell

June 4th, 2015 at 9:16pm CST by Charlie Adams

There’s talk among NBA front offices that the Bucks have their sights set on a pair of shooting guards as potential targets for the 17th pick in the upcoming draft, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times, who identifies Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona) and Rashad Vaughn (UNLV) as the two players Milwaukee will be targeting. As Woelfel points out, both members of the pair are represented by Jeff Schwartz, who works at the same agency that serves Michael Carter-Williams, Tyler Ennis, Khris Middleton and Jason Kidd. We’ve got more on the Bucks and the upcoming draft below:

Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Cameron Payne (Murray State), Justin Anderson (Virginia), Kevon Looney (UCLA), Jerian Grant (Notre Dame) and R.J. Hunter (Georgia State) will work out for the Bucks, Woelfel notes in the piece linked above. He also mentions that Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky have declined to work out for Milwaukee. Prevailing word around the league is that neither player will drop out of the lottery, according to Woelfel.
Emmanuel Mudiay is scheduled to work out for the Timberwolves in addition to the Lakers, Sixers, and Knicks, as SMU coach Larry Brown tells Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Brown had already told Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that the highly touted point guard would be putting his skills on display for the latter three of the group mentioned before. Of course, those four teams hold the top four picks in the draft.
Duke freshman Tyus Jones won’t be showing off for any more teams in the near future, as Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN hears that the national-champion point guard’s back acted up during a workout with the Rockets (Twitter link). Still, Wolfson and Woelfel both note the Mavs have interest Jones with the 21st pick.
The Knicks have almost “no idea” what to do with the fourth selection in the upcoming draft, a person close to the organization tells Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders for a mock draft piece. New York is willing to trade back, according to Hamilton, since there are teams who would potentially be interested in getting the fourth pick to nab Willie Cauley-Stein.
UCLA senior shooting guard Norman Powell is touting his ability to play the point and his four years of college experience as he makes the pre-draft workout rounds, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details. He’s already auditioned for the Bulls, Rockets, Spurs and Sixers, Medina notes.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Q&A With Harvard Guard Wesley Saunders

June 4th, 2015 at 7:07pm CST by Zachary Links

Throughout the spring and summer, Hoops Rumors will be talking with some of the most intriguing prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft. Today, the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series continues with Harvard point guard Wesley Saunders.

Many notable figures in U.S. history have cut their teeth at Harvard, but there haven’t been a ton of high-level professional athletes to come out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Point guard Wesley Saunders, however, could be an exception. After leading the Crimson to three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances and two memorable upsets, Saunders is now looking to continue his career at the highest level. Saunders, who is racking up serious frequent flyer miles as he auditions for teams all across the country, spoke with Hoops Rumors at the airport before heading to Atlanta to work out for the Hawks.

Zach Links: What workouts do you have scheduled?

Wesley Saunders: When all is said and done I’ll have worked out for the 76ers, Hawks, Mavericks, Clippers, Bulls, Magic, Bucks, and Knicks.

ZL: Do you think it’ll be tough bouncing around from city to city so quickly and giving 100% for each of these?

WS: I don’t necessarily think it’s too much pressure, really. In the Ivy League we used to play games back-to-back on the weekends, so I have a bit of an advantage over some of the other guys from different conferences because I’m used to it. I’m used to going out there one night and giving my all on the court and doing it all over again the next night.

ZL: How did the 76ers workout go?

WS: It went well. It was my first one so I was a little bit nervous. I didn’t know what to expect going in but I think that those guys have a really great workout plan laid out. It was fast-paced, quick, and efficient. I did a lot of shooting drills, some 1-on-1, some 3-on-3. This is fun for me, we’ve been working out and getting ready for these workouts so I’m well prepared.

ZL: Where are you working out of? Are you working out with other players?

WS: I’ve been in the Los Angeles area, mostly at USC and Westchester High School. I’ve mostly been doing it solo but I’ve also worked out a bit with Dwayne Polee since we’re in the same agency.

ZL: If you had to compare yourself to an NBA player, who would it be?

WS: I’d say Wesley Matthews. I think that coming out of college we have some similar skill sets. We’re around 6’5″ and 220 pounds. A lot of people say we’re not super athletic, but we’re certainly athletic enough. [Matthews] was by no means a lights-out shooter like he is now. He developed that later on and I think I can develop in the same way that he did. He created a great career for himself and he’s one of the best shooting guards in the league right now.

ZL: What do you think makes you stand out over other point guards in this class?

WS: I think it’s my versatility. I have the ability to make plays for myself or for others and I have a high basketball IQ. I’m good at playing out of the pick-and-roll and that’s like 80 or 90% of the game in the NBA right now. I can defend against 1s, 2s, or 3s on defense and I just think that I have that jack-of-all-trades quality. I can fit into a lot of different roles.

ZL: What do you want to work on?

WS: I definitely want to work on my shooting consistency from three-point range. I shot about 42% from outside this year, but that’s the college three. The NBA three is a whole different animal. I also want to improve my lateral quickness and my explosiveness so that I can really stay in front of those quick 1s.

ZL: In the last three years your Harvard teams have wound up on the national stage in the NCAA tournament. What was your anxiety level like going into each tourney?

WS: I was the most nervous for the first one against New Mexico. I think that was because we had never been there before, so everything was kind of brand new. We were playing against a really good team and people said they were a possible FInal Four team. They were a really popular tournament pick. We were an underdog. Nobody really knew about us. We just got into a rhythm and we were able to pull out the win.

The next year against Cincinnati was a little bit different. Going into it we were really confident. We felt like with the type of team they were, we could definitely have some success against them. We went in, we executed our game plan and came out with a victory.

This year against North Carolina, that was another one where we had a lot of nerves. That’s obviously a program with a storied history and so many great players have come through there. Obviously we were all familiar with Roy Williams and all the great players they had; at the same time, we’ve been there before. We’ve been the underdogs, so we knew we could get it done. Unfortunately, we couldn’t pull it out, but we gave them a good battle.

ZL: I imagine that the academic pressures of playing at Harvard can be pretty overwhelming for some guys.

WS: Honestly, it really wasn’t for me because I went to a great high school and that prepared me for the academic load at Harvard. It all just came down to time management.

ZL: Was that a concern for you before you committed to Harvard?

WS: I don’t think I had any hesitations about Harvard from that standpoint. The real hesitation for me was from a basketball standpoint: Was Harvard good enough athletically for me to really achieve my dream in the NBA? But, after talking to Coach [Tommy] Amaker and getting a feel for his vision of the program and where I would fit in, I felt comfortable that if I worked hard and believed in his system that I would be able to achieve my dream.

ZL: What led you to choose Tandem Sports and Entertainment to represent you?

WS: I just felt like I really fell in line with the players that they have already in their agency. They have some really high character guys and I really felt like they do things the right way.

Everybody in the agency is honest and trustworthy and they’re people that really want to help me with my career going forward. I think they’re very professional and, at the same time, they really have a vested interest in my success. They’re helping me to have not only a great basketball career, but a great life just moving forward, so I definitely felt comfortable with them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Hoiberg, Calipari, Pistons

June 4th, 2015 at 11:15am CST by Eddie Scarito

During his introductory press conference, new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg gushed about the talent on Chicago’s roster, Sam Smith of NBA.com relays. “I love this roster,” said Hoiberg. “I absolutely love this roster. I love the versatility of the players. The different lineups that we’re going to be able to play; can play small, can play big, You’ve got lineups that I really think can get out and play with pace. You’ve got a great group of veteran players that know how to play. I think Tom Thibodeau is an excellent, excellent basketball coach and I think he instilled a lot of unbelievable qualities in this team that hopefully I can build on.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Kentucky’s John Calipari was one of the names linked to the Cavs‘ coaching search prior to David Blatt being hired. But despite Cleveland making it to the NBA Finals this season, Calipari says he doesn’t regret his decision to remain with the Wildcats, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “No. No, nope. Because what happened, and the reason I did what I did, was based on having guys come back who wanted to be coached. I didn’t feel comfortable not being at Kentucky,” Calipari responded when asked if he had any second thoughts about passing on the chance to coach LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Calipari also said that despite all the offers he has had to return to the NBA as a head coach, the only job opening that made him seriously consider leaving Kentucky was the Cavaliers‘ post last summer, Fedor adds.
Despite the presence of center Andre Drummond, the Pistons won’t hesitate to grab Willie Cauley-Stein or Myles Turner in the draft if the front-office believes either big man is the best player available at the No. 8 spot, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “They like to play two bigs,” Cauley-Stein said of the Pistons, who often played Greg Monroe and Drummond together. “That’s a big lineup. Both super-athletic, both do similar stuff, so it’s kind of like how me and Karl-Anthony Towns played this year. I get the same kind of sense out of it.“

And-Ones: Okafor, Towns, Carmelo, Coaches

June 2nd, 2015 at 4:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Timberwolves coach/executive Flip Saunders likes Jahlil Okafor better than Karl-Anthony Towns, but most of the rest of the team’s staff prefers Towns, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears for his latest Insider-only mock draft. Ford believes those those pro-Towns staffers will ultimately win Saunders over and lists Towns atop his mock, also passing along word from sources that the Magic are zeroing in on Kristaps Porzingis at No. 5. There’s plenty more on the draft and other NBA issues amid the latest from around the league:

Zach Links of Hoops Rumors adds the Hawks, Clippers, Bulls, Magic, Bucks and Knicks to the list of teams working out Harvard point guard Wesley Saunders (Twitter link).
The Mavericks were willing to bring Chris Smith, the brother of J.R. Smith, onto their summer league team as part of their effort to woo Carmelo Anthony, a former teammate of the brothers, this past summer, a source told Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling. Anthony instead re-signed with the Knicks and Chris didn’t end up with the summer Mavs, but Chris is aiming for a return to the league after a period in which he was hospitalized with anxiety attacks. Those episodes stemmed in part from his exasperation with the notion that the Knicks signed him only because his brother was on the team, and the criticism he endured because of it, as Zwerling explains.
College coaches who jumped directly into NBA head coaching jobs haven’t had much success in the NBA of late, aside from Brad Stevens, but NBA GMs are open to them, and with Billy Donovan and Fred Hoiberg on winning teams, there’s ground for a new trend, as Dana O’Neil of ESPN.com examines. Still, that depends on how well Donovan’s Thunder and Hoiberg’s Bulls fare, O’Neil cautions.
Longtime NBA front office executive Joel Litvin is stepping down from his post as the NBA’s president of league operations and will assume a role as a consultant, effective September 1st, as the league announced and as a source originally told Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). Litvin, whose wide-ranging duties included work on the collective bargaining agreement, was an innovative force in his 27 years with the NBA, Lowe tweets.

Bulls Notes: Hoiberg, Forman, Paxson

June 2nd, 2015 at 3:03pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bulls GM Gar Forman seemed play a little coy in today’s introductory press conference for new coach Fred Hoiberg, saying that the Bulls didn’t know that they would so quickly hire Hoiberg after firing Tom Thibodeau, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes (on Twitter). That’s in spite of a flurry of reports that came out in the wake of Thibodeau’s ouster that made it clear that Hoiberg was far and away the team’s top choice. Hoiberg nonetheless said he wrestled with the decision as lately as two days ago, Johnson also relays (Twitter link). The coach’s health, a concern less than two months removed from open heart surgery, nonetheless doesn’t appear to have been a stumbling block, as Hoiberg said that if the Bulls job posed any health risk to him, he wouldn’t have taken it, according to Johnson (on Twitter). There’s more of what Hoiberg had to say amid the latest from Chicago:

Hoiberg said that he’s not concerned about the poor working history between Bulls management and their coaches, Johnson tweets. “I’m extremely confident we’re going to have a high level of communication with Fred,” Forman said, as Johnson also relays (via Twitter).
The new coach cited familiarity with the Chicago organization as reason for making the jump now instead of when he elicited NBA interest in the past, and he gushed about the roster the Bulls already have in place, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com passes along (Twitter links).
Steve Rosenbloom of the Chicago Tribune presaged the pleasant atmosphere of the press conference but believes Hoiberg’s ability to keep a warm and placid demeanor will face a stiff challenge with Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson around. Still, it’s Hoiberg’s affability and gratefulness for the job that probably made him so attractive to a management team that wants a pliable employee, Rosenbloom opines.
Forman and Paxson face pressure now that they’ve made their hire, given Forman’s strong push to nab Hoiberg and the growing list of coaches who’ve worked under the longer-tenured Paxson, Friedell argues. There’s no sense in the organization and around the league that either Forman or Paxson should worry about their job security, Friedell cautions, but Forman, in particular, would likely face scrutiny if Hoiberg falters, the ESPN scribe posits.

Bulls Officially Hire Fred Hoiberg

June 2nd, 2015 at 2:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bulls have formally hired Fred Hoiberg as coach, the team announced via press release. Chicago’s preference for the Iowa State head man was a poorly kept secret and his hiring has been widely expected in the wake of the team’s dismissal of Tom Thibodeau last week. Hoiberg is receiving a five-year, $25MM contract, figures that Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported Saturday and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports confirmed Monday.

Feb 14, 2015; Ames, IA, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach Fred Hoiberg paces the court against the West Virginia Mountaineers at James H. Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones beat the Mountaineers 79-59. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

Courtesy USA Today Sports Images

“In Fred, we feel that we’ve got a guy who has a terrific package of skills: a winning coach, a natural leader and a great communicator,” Bulls GM Gar Forman said in the team’s statement. “He is a guy that has played in the league, has been an executive in the league and has had unparalleled success coaching at Iowa State—winning multiple Big 12 Championships, consistently having nationally ranked teams and NCAA Tournament teams. There is no question that we think he’s the right fit and that he will maximize the potential of this team.”

Hoiberg’s teams at Iowa State have ranked in the top 30 in estimated offensive efficiency among Division I schools each of the past three seasons, according to Sports-Reference. That’s a sharp contrast to Thibodeau, who’s strength is on the defensive end. The new Bulls coach guided Iowa State for the past five years after he spent four seasons in the Timberwolves front office following a 10-year NBA playing career that included a four-year tenure in Chicago.

Only 42 years old, Hoiberg underwent open heart surgery in April, helping fuel some doubt about whether he would jump to the NBA this year. Still, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard last month framed the idea of Hoiberg becoming an NBA coach as a matter of when and not if. The Bulls spoke to Hoiberg about his interest in joining their team during the season, even as Thibodeau was still coaching, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reported.

“I am very excited and thankful for the opportunity to coach the Chicago Bulls. Everyone back in Ames [Iowa] knows what Iowa State means to me and my family. I am closing a special chapter in my life and beginning a new one here in Chicago,” Hoiberg said in the team’s statement. “Being a head coach in the NBA has always been a goal of mine and to be able to do it at this time with the Bulls was the right fit for me. Having played in the league for 10 years, and then worked in a front office of an NBA team for four years, I am ready to begin this next phase of my career and help this team win an NBA championship.”

Alvin Gentry, whom the Pelicans hired this past weekend, was expected, prior to Thibodeau’s dismissal, to be a front-runner for the Bulls vacancy, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, and Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin was in the mix for the head job, too, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported. Nonetheless, the job was Hoiberg’s to lose, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune wrote when the Bulls fired Thibodeau, and sources told Randy Peterson of The Des Moines Register that Hoiberg would accept if offered. Forman appears to have been the driving force from Chicago’s end, having been “obsessive” about the pursuit, as Wojnarowski wrote.

Johnson wrote over the weekend that Hoiberg was expected to accept the Bulls coaching job prior to the start of the NBA Finals on Thursday. The notion that Hoiberg would be Chicago’s next coach seemed undeniable, even as he declined to mention the Bulls by name as he spoke to reporters before boarding a plane to Chicago late Monday, and even as the Bulls sent out a press release Monday night promising a “major announcement” today.

The Bulls job will be Hoiberg’s first NBA head coaching position after he went 115-59 in his five seasons at Iowa State, qualifying for four NCAA Tournaments and making one Sweet 16 appearance. He joins Billy Donovan, who went from Florida to the Thunder, as the second college coach this offseason to jump into his first NBA head coaching job.