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And-Ones: Embiid, Draft, Trade Exceptions

June 27th, 2014 at 11:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nuggets absorbed Arron Afflalo into Andre Iguodala‘s $9,868,632 trade exception in Thursday’s trade with the Magic, reducing its value to $2,368,632. Still, the deal lets them make a new exception worth $1,422,720, equivalent to Evan Fournier‘s salary, and offloading Anthony Randolph in Thursday’s pick swap with the Bulls allows the Nuggets to create another new trade exception worth $1.75MM.

Draft Grades: Central Division

June 27th, 2014 at 11:02pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the 2014 NBA Draft officially in the books, it’s time to take a look back and see how each team used the draft to make improvements and fill needs. I’ve already ran down the picks for the Atlantic and Pacific Divisions. We’ll continue on with a look at the Central Division:

Chicago Bulls

Team Needs: Scoring, Power Forward, Point Guard

Draft Picks:

No. 11 Doug McDermott (Small Forward)*
No. 49 Cameron Bairstow (Power Forward/Center)

*Pick obtained via trade with Nuggets for the No. 16 & 19 picks, plus a 2015 second rounder.

The Bulls gave up two first rounders to move up and select “McBuckets.” They had need of a scorer — badly, and McDermott certainly fits that bill. Scouts were divided about his potential, as he’s seen as a bit of a tweener, and might not possess enough quickness to be an effective defender, one thing that coach Tom Thibodeau places a high priority on.

The trade also makes their pursuit of Carmelo Anthony a bit more difficult, as the trade added approximately $1MM onto their cap above what they would have spent if they had kept their two picks as they were, thanks to Anthony Randolph‘s inclusion. If the Bulls can get ‘Melo, McDermott also becomes redundant, and would be relegated to the sixth man role, which is one he ultimately might be better suited for long-term anyway.

Bairstow is a tough player with little athleticism. He seems destined to play overseas or in the D-League. I don’t see him ever cracking the Bulls rotation.

Overall Draft Grade: B+ —The Bulls get their desired player, and one who fits their biggest need. I’m not so sure they wouldn’t have been better served keeping picks 16 and 19 and adding more depth. They could have had their choice of Adreian Payne, James Young, Tyler Ennis, Rodney Hood, and Gary Harris. Two of them seem like a better value to me than McDermott.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Needs: Talent, Shooting, Perimeter Defense

Draft Picks:

No. 1 Andrew Wiggins (Small Forward/Shooting Guard)
No. 33 Joe Harris (Small Forward)
No 45. Dwight Powell (Power Forward)*

*Obtained via trade with the Hornets.

Despite all the rumblings about them trading down, the Cavs stuck it out and landed the player they wanted all along. Joel Embiid‘s injury might have been a blessing in disguise as it removed much of the temptation to draft him and the injury risk he carries.

Wiggins isn’t as sure a thing as the team would prefer. He has a world of upside and has the physical ability to become a top-10 player in the league. He can play and defend multiple positions and is a decent ballhandler and good passer. Wiggins needs to be more assertive and willing to be the “alpha” on the court. If he doesn’t change his mindset and become more of an attack oriented player, he’ll have a difficult time sharing the floor with Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, both of whom are ball stoppers. I do like the pick and he should fit in nicely with what Cleveland is building.

Harris is a decent outside shooter and a strong defender. With Cleveland’s roster he has the chance to see some backup minutes this season, though I see some serious minutes being logged by him in the D-League along the way. Powell is a reach, and a player I don’t see making the roster anytime soon.

Overall Draft Grade: A — It’s hard to fault this pick. Wiggins has the most upside in the draft and is a freakish athlete. He’ll be judged alongside Jabari Parker for his entire career, which is par for the course. I see Wiggins taking a little longer to peak, but when he does he should be a more dynamic player than Parker.

Detroit Pistons

Team Needs: Shooting Guard, Backup Center, Stretch Four, Point Guard

Draft Picks:

No. 38 Spencer Dinwiddie (Shooting Guard)

The Pistons were unlucky, losing their first round pick to Charlotte thanks to the Pistons falling out of the top eight on lottery night. That one spot lost them the chance to nab a surefire rotation player. Ending up with Dinwiddie in the second round isn’t the worst possible outcome for the franchise.

Dinwiddie was projected as a mid first round pick, but an ACL injury that cost him the second half of last season caused his slide. Dinwiddie isn’t exceptionally athletic, but he’s a versatile player with a decent basketball IQ. If he can fully recover from his injury, he has the opportunity to be a contributor for a few years. It will most likely take him until the 2015/16 season to be at full-speed, so don’t expect much this year from him.

Overall Draft Grade: C+ —Under the circumstances, nabbing a first round caliber talent in the second round can be considered a small victory. That loss of the top-10 pick really hurts this year.

Indiana Pacers

Team Needs: Shooting Guard, Small Forward, Scoring, Stretch Four

Draft Picks:

No picks.

The Pacers first rounder went to the Suns as part of the Luis Scola trade. So judging Indiana’s draft is a matter of measuring his contributions against the potential of what was available at No. 27. Looking at the list, if the Pacers had kept the pick they would be looking at a draft and stash selection. So Scola’s production is more valuable in this instance, though he’ll rate like the team drafted a reserve player.

Overall Draft Grade: C+ —Scola is more valuable than what they would have picked up at No. 27, but he’s not a star player. A valuable one, but not a long term franchise player.

Milwaukee Bucks

Team Needs: Talent, Point Guard, Shooting

Draft Picks:

No. 2 Jabari Parker (Small Forward)
No. 31 Damien Inglis (Power Forward)
No. 36 Johnny O’Bryant (Power Forward)

I really like the Bucks’ draft. They stayed put and got exactly the player they wanted all along. Parker is probably going to end up as a stretch four, or in a role similar to ‘Melo’s when the Knicks go with one of their smaller lineups. Parker is ready to contribute immediately and though he needs some serious time in the gym, he’ll be a productive player and probable star for many seasons. If the “Greek Freak” continues to develop and Larry Sanders can stay on the court, the future in Milwaukee could be bright.

Inglis has a broken foot that will keep him out of the summer league, but he’s expected to be ready by the time training camp begins. Inglis is well-regarded by scouts, and has been compared to Boris Diaw as far as ability is concerned. His major flaw is that he’s not a good outside shooter. He’s shown flashes of being able to hit three pointers, but his mid range game is almost non-existent. Worth a flier because of his physical upside, but will see more D-League time than NBA time this season.

O’Bryant is a possible sleeper at No. 36. He’s not a big rebounder or defender, but he is a very good low post scorer. He’ll never be a starter, but has the makings of a solid rotation contributor.

Overall Draft Grade: A- —They did the smart and obvious thing on draft night and nabbed themselves a future star. The Bucks also took two potential rotation players, though Inglis might have been a reach considering K.J. McDaniels, Cleanthony Early, Jerami Grant, and Glenn Robinson III were still available. The Bucks did better than OK on Thursday, a small victory for fans of the franchise.

Eastern Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Magic

June 27th, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls trade that sent the No. 16 and 19 picks to the Nuggets for the chance to draft Doug McDermott actually hurt the teams chances of landing Carmelo Anthony, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.The article notes that by adding Anthony Randolph‘s $1.825MM salary to McDermott’s $1.898MM cap hold as the 11th pick and the roster charge of over $500,000, Chicago actually now has about $1 million less to offer Carmelo in free agency than they would have had if they kept both picks.

‘Melo To Meet With Lakers, Rockets, Mavs, Bulls

June 27th, 2014 at 12:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:43pm: Anthony will also sit down with the Lakers to hear their free agent pitch as he envisions making a decision in the second week of July, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Knicks would be willing to offer a max deal to Anthony if necessary to retain him in spite of Jackson’s repeated requests that he take a discount, Spears also hears.

WEDNESDAY, 4:33pm: Anthony hasn’t identified a favorite yet, Broussard writes in a full piece. The meetings haven’t been formally arranged, since teams can’t yet reach out to Anthony, but those are the clubs Anthony has decided to visit, Broussard clarifies. The Knicks remain “very much alive” in the ‘Melo sweepstakes, Broussard adds, reiterating his earlier report that Kobe Bryant intends to reach out to Anthony, too.

4:18pm: Carmelo Anthony will sit down with representatives from the Rockets, Mavs and Bulls when free agency begins on July 1st, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The Leon Rose client has already met on multiple occasions with Knicks president Phil Jackson and his staff.

That list of teams doesn’t include the Lakers, who appeared this week to be in a group with Houston, Dallas and Chicago at the forefront of the race for the high-scoring forward. Still, there’s nearly a week to go before the start of free agency, so the Lakers may still wind up meeting with him.

The Mavs would appear to have the easiest shot at Anthony given their cap flexibility, and it appears that would be true even with the acquisition of Tyson Chandler, as rumored. The Rockets and Bulls would have to perform some salary cap gymnastics, but Houston appears confident it can dump the salaries of Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, and the Bulls have the option of amnestying Carlos Boozer. Such maneuvers might not be enough to clear money to make a competitive bid for Anthony on their own, but they’d erase the most significant salary hurdles for those teams.

Bulls Acquire Doug McDermott From Nuggets

June 26th, 2014 at 9:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:28pm: The trade is official, the Bulls announced via press release. It’s McDermott and Randolph to Chicago, while Jusuf Nurkic (the 16th pick) and Gary Harris (the 19th pick) head to Denver along with the least favorable of the Bulls’ pair of second rounders in 2015 (Chicago has both its own second-round pick and Portland’s second-rounder that year).

8:58pm: Anthony Randolph is also set to go to Chicago in the swap, tweets Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post.

8:15pm: The Bulls are also sending a future second-round pick to Denver, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

7:48pm: The Nuggets will trade Doug McDermott to the Bulls after taking him 11th overall, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). The Nuggets get picks Nos. 16 and 19 in exchange, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.

Draft Notes: Clippers, Exum, Heat, Stokes

June 26th, 2014 at 10:00am CST by Zachary Links

The consensus around the league is that Clippers president Doc Rivers is trying to shop the team’s first round pick at No. 28, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers doesn’t want to add a rookie to his roster and would rather have the cap space than pay the guaranteed salary that goes to a first-round draft pick. Officials say that Rivers has offered trade scenarios centering around their pick, plus a wing player — either Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, or Jared Dudley — and reserve guard Willie Green. One deal that was proposed had Dudley and another Clippers player and the No. 28 pick going to the Hornets for guard Gerald Henderson, but it has gone nowhere so far. The latest draft news from around the league..

Dante Exum declined to fly to Cleveland for a workout today with the Cavs, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
In addition to the Clippers, the Suns (No. 27) and Thunder (No. 29) still have picks available via trade, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. The Nets have tried hard but they look unlikely to get into the first round at this point.
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) hears that Elfrid Payton may have passed Marcus Smart as the first point guard selected. Presumably, Amico is regarding Australian guard Exum as a shooting guard rather than a PG.
The Heat like Tennessee forward Jarnell Stokes and he’s an option at No. 26, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Miami worked him out multiple times and came away impressed. Hoops Rumors spoke with Stokes earlier this offseason about his NBA goals and what he can bring to a team.
UConn guard Shabazz Napier is also an option for the Heat, but he’s not likely to be on the board when they pick (link). Napier is rising up draft boards and could go in the teens.
The Bulls really like Jordan Adams, Kennedy tweets, and he’s an option at No. 16 and No. 19 if they keep those picks.

Draft Notes: Cavs, Parker, Wiggins, Embiid

June 25th, 2014 at 11:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wants the team to draft Andrew Wiggins first overall, but the front office prefers Jabari Parker, report Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. That’s somewhat surprising, considering that Parker is seemingly the better of the two for Gilbert’s desire to win now. It’s unclear if Gilbert will let GM David Griffin and company take Parker, but after letting his executives make the call on Anthony Bennett at No. 1 last year, Gilbert will at least have a “stronger voice” this time around, Ford tweets. Here’s more on the eve of the draft:

Andrew Wiggins wants to play for the Sixers, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Sixers would take Wiggins at No. 1 if they were to move up, but the Bucks, Magic, Jazz, and Celtics would all select Jabari Parker if they wound up at the top of the draft, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Multiple teams are trying to buy copies of Joel Embiid‘s medical records, a source tells Jake Fischer of The Boston Globe. Other sources tell Fischer that the buying of draftees’ medical records is common practice. (Twitter links)
James Young says his workout with the Sixers went well, and gets the sense that he could be selected by Philadelphia with the No. 10 pick, tweets Pompey.
Julius Randle passed on a second workout with the Celtics, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
Marcus Smart did perform a second workout with the Celtics, and also worked out for the Magic a second time, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders,
Zach LaVine tells Andrew Perna of RealGM he has worked out for every team holding picks six through 17 (Twitter link). The Sixers, Magic, and Bulls are teams in that range that had not been linked to a workout with LaVine previously.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo worked out for the Knicks, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Knicks acquired two second round picks earlier today.
Bogdan Bogdanovic has come stateside to work out for the Spurs and Clippers, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets that the Serbian wing is gaining steam as a potential pick late in the first round.
Alec Brown has worked out for the Bulls, Cavs, Mavs, Clippers, Knicks, Sixers, and Raptors, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Tim Bontemps of The New York Post thinks it’s likely that the Nets can pick up a second round pick, and opines that they could even make their way into the late first round, where multiple teams would like to trade out of.

Earlier updates

Dan Gilbert tweeted out his insistence that he and the Cavs front office are not split (hat tip to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel).
An opposing GM told Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that the Cavs are entertaining “everything,” because they are in the driver’s seat (Twitter link).
It’s still unknown if Dante Exum will work out for the Cavs at their request, but Andy Katz of ESPN.com reports that the guard is unlikely to cooperate without an assurance that there is a deal in place for Cleveland to move down and select him.
The Hornets have shown sporadic interest in dealing away their No. 24 pick, but those talks have cooled recently, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The Celtics face tough odds of moving up in the draft because “lots” of other teams with better players to offer are trying to do the same, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
One such team could be the Kings, who sources tell Ken Berger of CSBSports.com are trying to move up from No. 8 to have a chance at landing Joel Embiid.
Rival GMs believe that Nuggets GM Tim Connelly is in “deal-making mode” with Denver’s No. 11 pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets have been reportedly shopping the pick for some time now.
Noah Vonleh is expected to be selected first of the power forward grouping including Vonleh, Aaron Gordon, and Julius Randle, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Gordon is not expected to drop any lower than the eighth selection, per Spears’ source.
Nets GM Billy King told Rod Boone of Newsday that the asking price to acquire a first round draft pick is likely too high for Brooklyn, and that a second round pick seems more possible (Twitter link).
Jusuf Nurkic has a buyout to leave his international club and join the NBA this season, tweets Wojnarowski. There was some confusion as to Nurkic’s willingness and ability to join an NBA team immediately before this revelation, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Joel Embiid is in “strong consideration” for the Sixers at No. 3, and it’s highly unlikely he slides past the Lakers at No. 7, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The Sixers have obtained Embiid’s medical information, as Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com reports.
The NBA buyout in the extension that Walter Tavares signed with his Spanish team is $600K, agent Andy Miller tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, and that’s precisely the amount NBA teams can pay without it counting against the cap. There were representatives from 11 NBA teams at a private workout Tavares held on Tuesday, and Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and executives from the Knicks and Nets were among them, Zagoria reports. Zagoria also adds the Spurs to the list of teams that have brought the 22-year-old center in for an audition.
Fellow European prospect Vasilije Micic prefers to stay overseas regardless of whether he’s drafted on Thursday, as he told Rigas Dardalis of Eurohoops.net.
The Hawks were the last of a dozen teams to work out Zach LaVine, observes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).
Andre Dawkins auditioned for the Kings, as Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report notes within his broader look at the draft. Dawkins tells Zwerling that the Cavs, Pistons and Wizards have expressed interest in him.
Jordan Adams wasn’t able to get to Memphis in time as the Grizzlies scrambled to put together a last-minute audition, so Michael Dixon is taking his place in the four-man workout group, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.

Dario Saric To Stay Out Of NBA For 2 More Years

June 25th, 2014 at 11:52am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 11:52am: Saric said today that he’s definitely opting out of his deal in 2016 and coming to the NBA at that point, Sportando tweets.

10:05pm: The NBA buyout on Saric’s new contract is $800K, reports Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net, who confirms that the third year is an option. That amount is larger than the amount NBA teams are allowed to pay without the money counting against the cap. The deal also nets him the equivalent of only roughly $2.72MM over the course of the three seasons, much less than the $8.27MM figure cited when he and the team were rumored to have a deal in March.

TUESDAY: 9:39am: Saric has officially signed his deal in Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

MONDAY, 9:42am: The Nuggets are hesitant to draft him, Ford writes in his full story, as are the Sixers and Magic, who hold picks Nos. 10 and 12, respectively. Conversely, the Hawks, Celtics, Suns and Bulls, who all hold picks in the 15-19 range, are comfortable with drafting him and waiting for him, according to Ford. The ESPN scribe also says the deal includes a player option for the third season of the deal, so it’s not entirely clear if there would be a buyout involved if an NBA team wanted to bring him over for the 2016/17 season.

9:21am: Dario Saric has an agreement in principle with Anadolu Efes Pilson of Turkey on a three-year deal that would keep him out of the NBA for at least the next two seasons, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Ford echoes his report from March indicating the same, though later dispatches put the brakes on that idea. Agent Misko Raznatovic also denied that initial report was true, but it appears as though he and Saric have indeed decided to keep the talented forward out of the NBA for now.

There’s a strong chance that the Nuggets will take Saric anyway with the No. 11 pick, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, who notes that Efes will pay a $1.2MM buyout to pry Saric from KK Cibona, his current team. Saric will likely end up in the NBA in 2016, but the NBA club that selects him in this year’s draft would have to pay a buyout to extract him from his deal with Efes, Carchia tweets. The terms of that buyout for 2016 are unclear.

The notion of whether Saric would declare for this year’s draft was the subject of much back-and-forth, fueled in part by his father and a former agent. Still, Saric entered the draft, and he remained in past Monday’s deadline to withdraw. The 6’10” 20-year-old is the eighth-ranked prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings, while Ford has him at No. 9.

Mannix’s Latest: Bradley, Cavs, Magic

June 24th, 2014 at 8:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Avery Bradley arguably had the most impressive NBA season of his career to date, averaging 14.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and 39.5% from three-point range. With this in mind, rival executives tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that the 23-year-old guard could land a contract this summer that pays in the range of $7MM-$9MM annually, which could influence the Celtics to consider drafting some insurance for their backcourt this upcoming Thursday.

Below, you can find more interesting tidbits that Mannix passes along in his latest mock draft:

League sources say that the Cavaliers are weighing three options: Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Dante Exum. Mannix notes that Exum is a wild card; if Cleveland ultimately walked away with Exum on draft night, I think it’d be plausible to imagine that they’d trade down to select him.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan will not be inclined to draft someone who isn’t ready to play right away, which suggests that Joel Embiid may be out of the question with their No. 4 pick.
Two rival executives say that the Kings have been actively shopping their No. 8 pick.
The Bulls continue to shop their two first round picks – No. 16 and 19, respectively – hoping to land either future first rounders or the chance to move up in this year’s draft. Trading those picks for future selections would aid in Chicago’s attempt to clear cap space to make a run at Carmelo Anthony in free agency this summer.
The Rockets have fielded offers for their No. 25 pick. With their sights set on keeping enough salary cap space clear for a run at Carmelo or LeBron James, Mannix thinks that drafting and keeping an international player overseas next season would make sense if Houston decided to retain their selection.

Draft Rumors: Cavs, Wolves, Afflalo, Jazz, Sixers

June 24th, 2014 at 12:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs had been favoring Jabari Parker, but his poor performance in a workout for the team coupled with a stirring audition from Andrew Wiggins has left Cleveland torn with just two days to go before the draft, according to Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. The time left before Thursday night’s draft figures to be full of back-and-forth, with uncertainty seemingly surrounding all 60 picks. Here’s the latest:

The Wolves are willing to give up J.J. Barea, Corey Brewer, Alexey Shved and the No. 13 pick in an effort to either land a higher draft pick or a veteran, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The Bulls have their eyes on the 13th pick, according to Kyler.
The Hornets, who have a longstanding interest in Arron Afflalo, are on board with surrendering the No. 9 pick and a player for the Magic shooting guard, Kyler writes in the same piece.
The Jazz are targeting Wiggins as they attempt to move up rather than Parker, and they’re actively shopping pick No. 23, according to Kyler.
The Sixers‘ reason for seeking a third top-10 pick is so they would still be able to emerge with two top-10 picks from the draft if they package the third and 10th selections to move up, sources tell Kyler.
The Kings have three deals in the works involving the No. 8 pick, according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com.
The Bucks are not actively shopping John Henson, in spite of heavy interest from other teams, but they are open to the idea of trading him for a lottery pick, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Milwaukee is listening to offers for the No. 2 overall pick, though Bucks GM John Hammond said today that “it would take something very special,” to prompt him to give it up, tweets Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It’s “highly unlikely” that the Blazers, who are without a pick in either round on Thursday, end up trading for one, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears (Twitter link).