Chicago Bulls Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Rumors: Cavs, Draft, Bulls, ‘Melo, Bucks

May 27th, 2014 at 1:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chad Ford of ESPN.com heard conflicting reports about Cleveland’s plans for the No. 1 overall pick on the night of the lottery, and the confusion appears to persist. One source tells Ford for his latest Insider-only piece that Cleveland has already let Andrew Wiggins know that he’s in the lead to become the top pick, while another says the Cavs have narrowed their choices to Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid. The Bucks, meanwhile, don’t have Wiggins in their top two, Ford believes, but there’s plenty of time for that to change, as well. Here’s more from the Central Division:

Ford clarifies that Tellem and the Cavs are confident not just that they’ll be able to arrange a meeting between Embiid and the team, but that they’ll work out a deal that will allow Cleveland to put Embiid through a physical exam (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

People close to the Bulls maintain doubt that owner Jerry Reinsdorf would allow the team to couple an amnesty of Carlos Boozer, which would still require Reinsdorf to pay him, with a max contract for Carmelo Anthony, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That jibes with an earlier report that the Bulls will look to trade Boozer before amnestying him.
The Cavs and agent Arn Tellem are in discussions, but both sides believe they’ll come to an agreement that will allow the team a look at Embiid, as Ford writes in the same piece. Presumably, that means Cleveland is likely to get a chance to have its doctors check out Embiid’s troublesome back, but Ford doesn’t specify just what Tellem would allow, so perhaps that’s still a matter of negotiation.
Even if they don’t get a chance to check him out medically, there’s a chance the Cavs will have access to that sort of information from other teams, as Kyler also writes in his piece. Kyler hears that clubs will often share such intel to prevent agents from wielding too much control.
That’s probably one reason why the Bucks are confident they’ll enter draft night with all the knowledge they’ll need, as Kyler writes, noting that sources tell him the Bucks expect to meet with and work out each of the top prospects.

Draft Rumors: Hood, Stokes, Fair, Hairston

May 26th, 2014 at 10:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The draft takes place one month from tonight, and teams are beginning to ramp up their schedule of workouts with prospects. Busy draft hopefuls include Rodney Hood, who’ll audition for eight lottery teams, and Jarnell Stokes, who’s working out for 11 teams drafting in the back half of the first round, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors has learned (Twitter links). One of those teams is the Magic, as we passed along Sunday, and Hood will also work out for the Sixers and Bulls, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The Wolves are on Hood’s schedule, too, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Stokes will show off for the Heat and Sixers, Goodman also tweets. Here’s more on an evolving draft landscape:

Stokes will also audition for the Hawks and Bulls in addition to Miami and Philadelphia, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
The Bucks will audition Washington’s C.J. Wilcox, Iowa’s Devyn Marble, Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson, Virginia’s Joe Harris, and Missouri’s Jabari Brown on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal-Times.
C.J. Fair will work out for the Bulls on Wednesday, the Bucks on Thursday, and the Hornets on Friday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.
P.J. Hairston, DeAndre Kane and Markel Brown are also among those auditioning for Minnesota, Wolfson reports in the same tweet in which he passed along the Hood news. Nick Johnson will join that group, and the Wolves are eyeing Melvin Ejim and Chane Behanan for workouts, too, Wolfson adds (on Twitter).
Behanan will audition for the Sixers and Wolves, as well, Goodman reports via Twitter, seconding his earlier dispatch about Behanan’s workout with the Mavs. Russ Smith, Behanan’s former Louisville teammate, is slated to work out for the Heat, Thunder and Suns, Goodman tweets.
Johnson will also work out for the Magic, Goodman notes (via Twitter). He’ll join Smart and Hood in Orlando, as previously reported.
The Lakers are set to work out Marcus Smart and Noah Vonleh, while Vonleh will also audition for the Celtics and Kings, according to Goodman (Twitter links).
Goodman adds the Raptors to the teams working out Kyle Anderson (Twitter link).
The ESPN.com scribe also reports additional workouts for DeAndre Daniels, who’s set to get a look-see from the Hornets and Hawks (Twitter link).
The Bulls, Suns and Grizzlies are on the workout agenda of Scottie Wilbekin, Goodman reports (on Twitter). The Suns, along with the Bucks and Lakers, are also among the trio of teams auditioning Joe Harris, Goodman tweets.
Johnny O’Bryant III will work out for the Hawks, Raptors, Suns and Spurs, according to Goodman (Twitter link).

Jazz, Cavs Plan Interviews With Gentry, Griffin

May 26th, 2014 at 5:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 5:20pm: The Cavaliers have scheduled an interview with Adrian Griffin for Tuesday, reports Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal (hat tip to Sam Amick of USA Today). GM David Griffin will also be meeting with Vinny Del Negro, Lionel Hollins, Gentry, and Tyronn Lue later this week, the article notes.

SUNDAY, 9:40am: Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that Gentry had interviewed with the Cavaliers and the Jazz earlier this month for their vacant head coaching positions.

THURSDAY, 7:41am: The Cavs have asked the Clippers for permission to interview Gentry, the Plain Dealer reports (Twitter link). I’d be surprised if it wasn’t granted, since it appears as though L.A. gave Utah the green light.

WEDNESDAY, 4:37pm: The Jazz are expected to interview Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry for their head coaching vacancy, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs have made contact with Gentry, too, but they haven’t arranged for an interview, according to Spears. Utah has completed an interview with Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin after receiving permission from Chicago to speak with him last week, Spears adds.

Gentry hadn’t been among the candidates formally linked to Utah, which is planning an extensive search and more than 20 interviews. Lionel Hollins, John Stockton, Jim Boylen, Ettore Messina, Brad Jones and Quin Snyder are other names in the mix. The Jazz are reportedly unlikely to hire someone with NBA head coaching experience, which perhaps makes Gentry a darkhorse, given that he spent parts of 12 seasons as an NBA head coach with the Heat, Pistons, Clippers and Suns.

The Cavs appear to have Gentry high on their list, and he worked with Cavs GM David Griffin in Phoenix, as Spears points out. The Warriors and Kings have interest in Gentry as an assistant coach, according to Spears, who notes that Gentry remains under contract with the Clippers.

Lawrence On Thibs, Irving, Love, Knicks

May 24th, 2014 at 2:54pm CST by Zachary Links

The Grizzlies are on a shoestring budget and don’t have the room necessary to bring coach Tom Thibodeau over from the Bulls, writes Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. “Do they realize how much that will cost?’” said one Chicago official, when word surfaced that the Grizzlies will look at Thibs if Memphis winds up allowing Dave Joerger to take the Timberwolves’ head coaching position. An Eastern Conference president, factoring in Stan Van Gundy’s $7MM/year deal in Detroit, estimated that it would cost Memphis $8MM per year to have Thibodeau serve as their coach and president. Here’s more from today’s column…

The Cavs are making noises that they aren’t going to offer Kyrie Irving “max money’’ this summer via a long-term extension. They don’t want to deal the 2014 All-Star Game MVP, but it could come to that, especially if the guard and his family continue to tell people that he wants out. Irving hasn’t been a leader in his first three seasons and he’s also gained the unwelcomed reputation as a locker-room problem. “He was just handed too much, too soon,’’ said one source. “You’ve got to make these young guys earn it, and that’s where this team did a bad job with him.’’
The Cavs are not looking for a coach with a strong veteran presence who wants to do things only his way. That probably rules out Jeff Van Gundy, George Karl, and Lionel Hollins, although Lawrence is a fan of all three. New GM David Griffin is looking for a college or NBA coach who agrees to accept input and instructions from himself and hands-on owner Dan Gilbert.
The Cavs know they can’t get Kevin Love from the Wolves in a deal for the No. 1 pick. If they keep it, they’re expected to take Kansas big man Joel Embiid, unless the stress fracture in his back injury from last season has the chance to become a long-term issue. Meanwhile, agent Arn Tellem might not make his client’s medical records available to teams with which he doesn’t want Embiid to play.
The Nuggets aren’t going to allow coach Brian Shaw to come to the Knicks if they fail to land Derek Fisher, even if the Knicks offer compensation. “We didn’t hire Brian for a one-year position with our team,’’ Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said. “We see Brian being with us for years to come.’’ If Fisher turns Jackson down, Kurt Rambis is the next in line.
Just because Bucks GM John Hammond and Pelicans exec Dell Demps came to New York for the lottery doesn’t mean that they’re going to be around for the long haul. Lawrence gets the sense that both are on the hot seat.

Bulls Rumors: Thibodeau, Boozer, Marion

May 24th, 2014 at 9:53am CST by Cray Allred

A source tells Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report that Tom Thibodeau would only be interested in leaving the Bulls to coach the Knicks, which would be his “dream job,” as Bucher details in a video. Here’s more from Chicago:

In an interview with Jarred W. Payton of The Game 87.7 FM, Taj Gibson refuted a report that the Bulls have informed him of plans to move away from Carlos Boozer next season. “I’ve not been told that I’m starting next season,” Gibson said. Gibson said that he’s unaware of any discussions about amnestying Boozer.
However, Gibson spoke with Jay Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times as if he had been told to prepare for a starting role. ‘‘I mean, this will be exciting,’’ Gibson said. “This is what I’ve always thought about. When I started [six games] for Boozer when he was hurt during the [regular] season, I just know how excited I was, how good it felt to come to the arena.” It seems that Gibson was likely informed of his role as first reported, but is trying to avoid being used to verify the fate of a teammate, although that’s just speculation on my part.
In the same article, Cowley speculates that the Bulls could target Shawn Marion to bolster their shooting, should they fail to land a bigger target this offseason.
Cowley thinks Adreian Payne would be an ideal fit for the Bulls to select at No. 16 or 19 in this year’s draft.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Boozer, Del Negro

May 23rd, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Cray Allred

Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes that the Celtics may be better off enduring another year of rebuilding instead of turning in their best assets for a blockbuster acquisition like Kevin Love. Here’s the rest of the night’s notes from Boston and the rest of the Eastern Conference:

NBA GMs see Rajon Rondo among the league’s best when he has his A game, but they’re concerned about his personality and consistency, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, who examines the leaguewide perception of the players on the Celtics roster. One GM is wary of trading for Jeff Green, believing agent David Falk will convince him to opt out if he has a productive season, and the Celtics and other teams noticed the dedication Brandon Bass showed in an otherwise lost season for Boston, Bulpett hears.
The Bulls coaching staff told Taj Gibson to prepare to become a starter next season, sources indicated to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, who suggests it’s further evidence that Carlos Boozer has played his last game for the team.
The Cavs will soon schedule head coaching interviews with Alvin Gentry, Adrian Griffin, Vinny Del Negro, and other candidates, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. Gentry and Griffin were known to be strong candidates, but this is the first report verifying Del Negro’s candidacy.
New Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens are taking the reigns in Milwaukee following the draft lottery, telling Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel they will soon start meeting with front office and coaching personnel, whose future with the team is still up in the air. “I think right now we just want to spend time with everybody,” Lasry said. “Then we’ll have more of an understanding.” Head coach Larry Drew and GM John Hammond both have multiple years left on their contracts, but haven’t been assured of staying with the team.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Harris, Young, Robinson, Smart

May 23rd, 2014 at 2:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA executives are gathered in Southern California for a series of workouts involving draft hopefuls, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com passes along some intel in an Insider-only piece. Gary Harris has used hot shooting to impress and he’s a likely top-10 pick, Ford believes. He’ll work out for the Celtics and Bulls. among other teams, according to Ford. James Young is drawing interest from a slew of teams, including the Hornets, Sixers, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves and Suns, while many clubs are high on Glenn Robinson III after he performed well in a workout for the Bulls this past Monday, Ford writes. Here’s more on the draft:

Marcus Smart has workouts scheduled with the Magic and Celtics, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times adds the Nuggets to the list of teams that interviewed Aaron Gordon at last week’s draft combine in Chicago.
The Clippers, Pacers, Pistons and Wizards are among the clubs interested in Virginia swingman Joe Harris, Woelfel writes in the same piece, reiterating that the Bucks are eyeing him, too. Harris spoke to Zach Links of Hoops Rumors recently for our Prospect Profile series.
Chane Behanan will work out for the Mavs next month, Goodman also tweets.

Amico’s Latest: Cavs, Deng, Waiters, Thompson

May 23rd, 2014 at 8:38am CST by Chuck Myron

There might be more storylines surrounding the Cavs than any other team in the NBA. A third No. 1 overall pick in four years, a coaching search, tons of cap flexibility and the lingering specter of a LeBron James return figure to fill up our Cavs rumors page all summer long. We passed along some news about the Cleveland’s plans for the top draft pick from Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio last night, and he has plenty more on the team in his latest dispatch. We’ll run down the highlights here:

The Cavs will likely explore sign-and-trade possibilities for Luol Deng, Amico writes. Deng has given indications that he doesn’t want to re-sign with Cleveland, and the Cavs can still execute a sign-and-trade even if they renounce his Bird rights to clear cap space.
Teams around the league have interest in Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson, Amico writes. It’s nonetheless unclear how willing the team is to trade either of them.
The Cavs don’t appear to be ruling out a trade of Anderson Varejao, Amico suggests.
GM David Griffin has reportedly been planning a strong push to retain Spencer Hawes, but Amico hears the team is having second thoughts about the center.
The coaching search remains “in the very early stages,” Amico writes, but Tom Izzo isn’t a possibility, in spite of Cleveland’s reported pursuit, and John Calipari is highly unlikely to end up in the job, according to the Fox Sports Ohio scribe.
Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin remains a legitimate candidate for the Cavs head coaching position, but Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry, whom the Cavs want to interview, would have to dazzle owner Dan Gilbert to be hired, sources tell Amico.

Latest On Grizzlies, Wolves, Dave Joerger

May 22nd, 2014 at 10:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

10:41pm: Mitchell has indeed interviewed for the T’Wolves head coaching job, notes Wojnarowski, though Joerger is still on track to sit down with Taylor this weekend in what could be a precursor to his hiring.

6:08pm: Sam Mitchell will be in the mix to join Joerger’s coaching staff if the latter becomes Minnesota’s next head coach, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN, who also points out that Joerger and Mitchell are both represented by Warren Legarie (Twitter links).

5:30pm: Joerger’s meeting with Taylor could ultimately clear the way for him to become Minnesota’s next head coach, and the Grizzlies are likely to ask for a second-round pick in exchange for letting Joerger out of his contract, reports Wojnarowski.

3:22pm: Joerger met with Saunders today and will see Taylor this weekend, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

3:09pm: The Grizzlies have made no formal contact with any potential replacement for Joerger, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal in a subscription-only piece. Tillery seconds Vernon’s report about the team’s interest in Karl, Van Gundy and Gentry, and writes that while the team hasn’t completely ruled out a reunion with Hollins, it’s still unlikely. A report this week indicated that the team would pursue Tom Thibodeau, but that’s off-base, according to Tillery.

2:50pm: Taylor likes Mitchell, but the Wolves owner won’t stand in the way if Saunders decides to hire Joerger, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who hears that a formal announcement about Minnesota’s coaching vacancy isn’t likely to come today.

2:16pm: The Wolves are prepared to wait and see if the Grizzlies fire Joerger rather than give up too much in compensation while he’s still under contract with Memphis, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (on Twitter).

11:23am: The Grizzlies haven’t spoken with Hollins about a return to Memphis, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets.

11:07am: Spears clarifies that Hollins and Mitchell remain in the mix for the Minnesota job, but it appears the Wolves don’t necessarily have interviews scheduled for them, as they reportedly do with Joerger (Twitter link).

10:59am: The Wolves are likely to interview Mitchell and Lionel Hollins in addition to Joerger, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

10:47am: The Wolves have made “significant progress” toward hiring Joerger, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

THURSDAY, 8:36am: It is believed the Timberwolves will offer their head coaching job to Joerger, according to Tillery, even though The Commercial Appeal scribe notes Taylor’s reported preference for Mitchell (subscription-only link).

WEDNESDAY, 3:32pm: The Grizzlies would consider George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy and Alvin Gentry if they part ways with Joerger, reports Chris Vernon of 92.9 FM ESPN in Memphis, who seconds an earlier report that the team will not pursue Eric Musselman (Twitter links).

3:21pm: The Wolves are set to interview Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger for their coaching vacancy Thursday, but Minnesota owner Glen Taylor prefers Sam Mitchell to Joerger, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who writes in a subscription-only piece. Joerger, a Minnesota native, is close with Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders, who wants to hire a young coach, Tillery says.

The Grizzlies will allow Joerger to continue as their coach if he fails to land the Wolves job provided he can repair his relationships with the Memphis players, Tillery adds. Grizzlies brass views Joerger as a “Jason Levien guy,” as Tillery puts it, referring to the ousted Memphis CEO. Levien denied Minnesota’s request to interview Joerger last week, but Grizzlies owner Robert Pera gave the Wolves the OK to meet with the coach after firing Levien on Monday.

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace remarked to Tillery that the matter of Joerger’s interview with Minnesota is a “very unique situation” that’s in a “preliminary stage.” Still, a source suggests to Tillery that where the coach ends up will ultimately hinge on how much Memphis demands from the Wolves in compensation for letting Joerger out of his contract, which still has two seasons left on it. Earlier reports indicated that the compensation wouldn’t be a stumbling block and that the Grizzlies are prepared to facilitate a deal, but it sounds like Memphis won’t let the Wolves off too easy if they decide on Joerger instead of Mitchell.

And-Ones: LeBron, Love, Garnett, Donovan

May 22nd, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that didn’t think the Cavs had any shot at re-signing LeBron James going into Tuesday’s draft lottery, but Cleveland’s third lottery victory in four years casts the idea in a new light, Lloyd figures. The Cavs have long believed that acquiring Kevin Love would be central to the team’s pursuit of the four-time MVP, and they thought all season that the Wolves would eventually trade their power forward. Still, Lloyd has heard from no one who believes that Love would stay in Cleveland long-term if the team can’t land James, so trading for Love before knowing what James wants to do would be a supreme gamble. There’s more on the Love sweepstakes amid the latest from around the NBA:

The Warriors are confident they can wind up with Love, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. Love is reportedly high on Golden State, and the team has been resourceful in acquiring players in spite of a lack of cap flexibility, Simmons notes.
Next season’s $12MM salary and a productive stretch run lead Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to believe that Kevin Garnett will return next season for the Nets, even though he hasn’t dismissed talk of retirement.
Billy Donovan admitted contact with a couple of NBA teams, but he said he’s content as the coach at the University of Florida and “all but guaranteed” he’ll remain there for next season, observes Mark Long of The Associated Press (Twitter links; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Wolves reportedly sought him for their vacancy earlier this spring.
The Warriors were one of five teams that reached out to Steve Kerr about their coaching vacancies, as Kerr said on ESPN Radio’s The Dan Le Batard show, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. The Knicks and Jazz were his other known suitors.
Draft hopeful Andre Dawkins will work out for the Bulls, Suns, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons and Mavericks, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Dawkins is No. 92 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him among his top prospects.