Draft Notes: Bucks, Parker, Embiid, Hornets
The Bucks aren’t having any trouble getting a look at the top prospects. Milwaukee is reportedly set for a pair of workouts with Andrew Wiggins, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that Jabari Parker will work out again for the club this week after having done so last week (Twitter link). Joel Embiid was already apparently slated to audition for the club, and GM John Hammond also met with the Kansas big man last week, Ford tweets. The Bucks appear to be the only team with which Wiggins, Parker, Embiid and Dante Exum have all agreed to visit and work out, Ford notes (Twitter link). Here’s more on the draft, now just 10 days away.
- Jerami Grant, De’Mon Brooks, Josh Davis, Jarell Eddie and Mike Moser are among the draft prospects showing off for the Hornets today, the team announced via press release.
- The Heat are auditioning Walter Tavares today, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
- Keith Appling, Dave Dudzinski, Markel Starks, Tyler Stone and Jermaine Marshall are showing off for the Celtics today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes via Twitter. Marshall will also audition for the Cavs, Sportando reports (via Twitter).
- Roscoe Smith has the Raptors and Mavs on his agenda, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv hears (Twitter link).
- Richard Harris of NBADraft.net adds the Bulls to the list of teams for which Johnny O’Bryant III has worked out. O’Bryant also has auditions slated with the Rockets, Heat, Hornets, Bucks, Grizzlies, Raptors and Pistons, Harris reports.
- Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic adds the Sixers, Mavs, Rockets and Heat to the list of teams that are getting a look at Jordan Bachynski (Twitter link).
- Jahii Carson, Kendrick Perry, Earnest Ross and Alec Brown are all performing for the Rockets, Scotto tweets.
- The Lakers are one of more than a dozen teams for which Ronald Roberts Jr. is working out, a source tells Zagoria (Twitter link).
- The Warriors are auditioning Eric Moreland, Roberto Nelson and Travis Bader, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter links).
Bulls Willing To Trade Joakim Noah
Derrick Rose is the only “untouchable” player as the Bulls actively seek improvements to their starting lineup, several sources tell Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. That would mean First-Team All-NBA center Joakim Noah and others are available, though Cowley doesn’t specify whether the Bulls are dangling anyone in particular in ongoing talks. Carmelo Anthony remains Chicago’s No. 1 target, but the team is making a hard push to trade for Kevin Love, too, Cowley writes, suggesting the team will also make a serious run at LeBron James should he hit free agency this summer.
Noah, 29, is coming off a career year, and he’s set to make $12.7MM next season on a contract that runs through 2015/16, so his value is probably at an all-time high. Still, he’d seemingly be the last player other than Rose whom the Bulls would be willing to give up, with Taj Gibson not far behind. Noah has tried to recruit Anthony to Chicago, but the center doesn’t want to sacrifice Gibson to obtain the Knicks star forward, according to Cowley. Bulls executives have also been reluctant to part with Gibson, but it seems the hesitancy of Chicago’s brass is loosening if it would mean landing an All-Star caliber player in return, as Cowley observes.
It’s “not by choice” that the Bulls are making Rose the only player off-limits, Cowley writes, and that appears to indicate that other teams have signaled to Chicago that they’re wary of the point guard’s health. Rose has been unavailable for all but one game in the last three postseasons because of injury, and he’s missed most of the past two regular seasons.
The Bulls are open to just about any scenario, but it’s doubtful the team would part ways with Tom Thibodeau, Cowley hears. Chicago could extract valuable draft choices for the former Coach of the Year, who remains under contract, but in spite of rumors, it’s almost always seemed a long shot that he wouldn’t return to coach the Bulls next season.
Eastern Notes: Smart, Sixers, Anthony, Wiggins
Magic executives love Marcus Smart‘s intangibles, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. They value his leadership, toughness and competitiveness so much that they might select him fourth overall, opines Robbins. The only negative to drafting Smart is that teams aren’t sure of his position yet. According to the article, one NBA talent evaluator said of Smart, “That’s the thing that I think there’s a little bit of concern about. But I think he’s probably more of a point guard than a shooting guard. Of course there are things that he’s going to have to learn as a point guard to become better and an efficient point guard in our league. I wouldn’t say he’s a ‘true point guard,’ but he’s got point guard skills.”
More from the east:
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media examines Sixers GM Sam Hinkie‘s options for trading up in the draft from the third pick to select Andrew Wiggins. Moore opines that it would probably take a package involving Nerlens Noel and that third pick to do so.
- Wiggins has three workouts scheduled for this week leading up to the draft, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (hat tip to ESPN’s Chad Ford). The workouts will be with the Sixers, Cavaliers, and the Bucks.
- The Knicks still like their odds of keeping Carmelo Anthony following their meeting in Los Angeles with Anthony and his agent, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Despite the reports Anthony was “leaning’’ toward leaving New York because of interest from the Bulls and Rockets, Knicks officials did not seem alarmed, according to the article.
And-Ones: Divac, NBPA, Silver
Vlade Divac is interested in eventually becoming an NBA GM, reports Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Divac says he’s already spoken with the Kings about a job in their front office but that the team hasn’t made him an offer yet. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- The players union interviewed six candidates for their vacant executive director position on May 16th, with six more interviews scheduled in late June, and around six more in mid-July, reveals Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter).
- Adam Silver sat down with Rachel Nichols of CNN to recap the Donald Sterling fiasco and discuss how to handle the debacle going forward (video link).
- Peter Keating of ESPN.com argues that tanking doesn’t work and provides metrics to back up his claim (Insider link). Keating also presents different ideas to punish teams that intentionally lose to improve their draft position.
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media looks at a variety of options Sixers GM Sam Hinkie could consider if he decides trading up to the No. 1 spot in the draft is necessary to secure Andrew Wiggins.
- Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald thinks that Carmelo Anthony would be a much better fit for the Bulls than Kevin Love would be, even if Love is arguably the better player.
- Adi Joseph of USA Today takes a look at draft needs for the Thunder and Blazers.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Bucks, Boozer, Price, Pacers
The Bucks are drawing “strong” interest from a variety of local investors, writes Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee ownership would reportedly like to add as many as 10 investors, says Walker, who identifies several parties that might be interested in purchasing a minority stake in the club. Here’s more from around the Central:
- It’s no secret the Bulls would like to add Carmelo Anthony to their already potent roster this summer, and in order to increase financial flexibility, KC Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reveals (on Twitter) that the Bulls would prefer not to bring aboard two rookie scale contracts in the draft. Chicago would also prefer to unload Carlos Boozer‘s expensive contract in a sign-and-trade, tweets Johnson.
- Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer says that Mark Price could still be considered a candidate for the Cavs coaching job, albeit not as one of the top-three names at the moment. Cleveland is seeking a coach who excels working with point guards, a focus that opened the door for Price, adds Pluto.
- Adi Joseph of USA Today takes a look at the draft needs facing the Pacers and Bulls. Both clubs need help offensively and would be well-advised to select a player who can score in bunches, opines Joseph.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Carmelo Anthony Leaning Toward Leaving Knicks
Carmelo Anthony is leaning toward signing with a new team as a free agent this summer, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski’s sources tell him that the Bulls and Rockets are the front-runners to land the All-Star forward. Anthony has been expected to exercise his early termination option on the final year of his deal and become a free agent, but has previously stated an openness to remaining with the Knicks despite their disastrous season.
Last night, Anthony met with Knicks president Phil Jackson, GM Steve Mills, and new coach Derek Fisher to hear their plan to build a contender around him, as first reported by Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The meeting wasn’t persuasive to Anthony, per Wojnarowski’s sources. Jackson has asked ‘Melo to consider sacrifice and patience in helping the team build toward the 2015 free agent class, when the severe cap inflexibility currently hampering New York will subside. It appears that Anthony finds the prospect of joining a contender for an immediate shot at a title more appealing than waiting at least another year to see if the same opportunity will materialize with the Knicks.
Wojnarowski’s sources suggest that Anthony has been turned off by Jackson’s public comments about his future with the team, and there is some doubt around Anthony’s camp and the league that Jackson genuinely wants the All-Star to stay in New York. Anthony is only willing to accept a reduced salary if it is directly tired to a significant, immediate acquisition of talent, writes Wojnarowski.
The Yahoo! scribe reports that the Chicago and Houston front offices are working diligently to arrange for a signing of Anthony, which would require significant maneuvers for both teams. If the Bulls are willing to amnesty Carlos Boozer, their path to clearing the necessary cap space is easier, since the other biggest piece for the Bulls to unload would be Taj Gibson, a valuable, starting-caliber power forward. The Rockets would likely need the Knicks or another team to find it agreeable to take on the expiring contracts of Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin to make room for Anthony.
And-Ones: Lakers, Thibodeau, Duncan, Embiid
The Lakers never asked the Bulls for permission to interview Tom Thibodeau, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who reported last month that they would. The L.A. brass is “all but sure” the Bulls would have asked for this month’s No. 7 overall pick, which the Lakers would be unwilling to give up, according to McMenamin. The ESPN scribe also believes that L.A.’s concerns about paying Thibodeau a lavish salary to coach a mediocre roster next season played a role, and suggests the Lakers are wary of the way their fans might react if Thibodeau rejected the team’s pursuit. Here’s more from around the league:
- The deadline for Tim Duncan to decide on his $10MM player option for next season is June 24th, but the Spurs are operating under the assumption that Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich will return, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Most option clauses give players until June 30th to decide, though Duncan’s date can be pushed back if he and the team decide to do so, Stein notes, adding that Popovich’s contract runs through next season.
- A source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Joel Embiid checked out fine when he took a physical this week for the Cavs, contradicting an earlier report from Tony Rizzo of ESPN Cleveland, who hears that the exam raised serious concerns (Twitter links).
- It appears as though the Bucks will work out Andrew Wiggins twice, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that he’s auditioning for the team today in California and again next week in Milwaukee (Twitter link).
- A handful of top European teams have interest in soon-to-be free agent Nando De Colo, and it seems like they’re willing to give the Raptors guard a raise on the $1.463MM he made in the NBA this season, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net.
- The Timberwolves have hired Sidney Lowe as an assistant coach, the team formally announced (Twitter link), confirming an earlier report. He spent last season as an assistant with the Jazz.
And-Ones: Salary Cap, Draft, Harris, LaVine
GMs widely expect next season’s salary cap to wind up even higher than the most recent projection of $63.2MM, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link).
Here’s more from around the league:
- It was reported earlier that Spanish league shooting guard Marcus Eriksson is pulling out of this year’s draft. Prior to that announcement Eriksson had a workout scheduled with the Bucks, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
- NBA.com released their full prospect profile on former Michigan State guard Gary Harris. Harris is a projected lottery pick in this year’s draft.
- Zach LaVine is projected to be taken anywhere from late in the lottery to the middle of the first round. NBA.com published their prospect profile for LaVine.
- Mark Snyder of The Detroit Free Press adds the Wolves and the Bulls to the list of teams working out Jordan Morgan, and also reveals that Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, Sean Kilpatrick and Jordan McRae auditioned Wednesday for the Wolves, too.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Draft Rumors: Randle, Magic, Eriksson, Capela
Julius Randle and his family deny that there’s anything wrong with his right foot, in spite of a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that the potential top-five pick will likely require surgery. Randle issued his denial in a pair of tweets, while his mother and godfather spoke with Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal and Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, respectively. The procedure would force Randle to miss six to eight weeks but allow him to start training camp on time, according to Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski’s original report indicated that the surgery wouldn’t affect his draft stock, but later said via Twitter that it was “an issue,” echoing what an NBA executive told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, who suggests the injury could indeed affect his stock. NBA teams are worried that putting off surgery will lead to major problems in the future, Wojnarowski tweets. There’s more on Randle amid our latest on the draft:
- The Celtics, who pick sixth, say Randle has “full clearance” as far as they’re concerned, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
- Tucker’s report adds the Magic to the teams auditioning Randle.
- Spanish league shooting guard Marcus Eriksson is pulling out of this year’s draft, agent Andy Miller tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Eriksson is No. 80 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress prospect rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him ranked. There have been no reports of Eriksson setting up interviews or workouts with teams.
- Clint Capela is the leading name in a Raptors workout today that also includes LaQuinton Ross, Jamil Wilson and Markel Brown, the team announced (on Twitter).
- Brown has worked out for the Thunder, a source tells Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. Slater also passes along an earlier report from Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Kyle Anderson worked out for the team, and another report from Jeremy Rauch of Fox 19 in Cincinnati that adds the Thunder, Heat and Bulls to the list of teams auditioning Semaj Christon (Twitter links).
- Zach LaVine is among the prospects who’ll show off for the Celtics on Friday, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. The Celtics are auditioning Luke Hancock and Geron Johnson on top of previously reported names today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reveals via Twitter.
Central Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Embiid, Mirotic
The Cavs appear to be making some progress in their head coaching search, even if David Blatt is unlikely to announce he’s taken the job in his press conference today and the team’s contact with Mark Jackson seems preliminary. That’s far from the only storyline in a busy Central Division, as we detail:
- The Bulls are having trouble finding a trade partner as they attempt to package picks Nos. 16 and 19 to move up in the draft, a source tells Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago and Denver reportedly had serious talks about a pick swap, but perhaps those discussions are no longer active.
- A poll shows little public support for taxpayer funding of a new arena for the Bucks, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry have said public money will be necessary in spite of a combined $200MM that Edens, Lasry and former owner Herb Kohl have pledged toward the project.
- Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times hears the Cavs don’t want to trade the No. 1 overall pick and have zeroed in on Joel Embiid, but it’s unclear if that information came before or after Embiid’s workout and physical with the team Wednesday (Twitter link).
- Nikola Mirotic appears closer to playing for the Bulls next season than he is to remaining with Real Madrid, writes César Nanclares of TuBasket.com (translation via HoopsHype). Still, he has a nearly $3.4MM buyout clause in his deal that only applies to this summer, as Nanclares points out.
- I examined the Bucks in the latest installment of the Hoops Rumors Offseason Outlook series earlier today.