Central Notes: Prigioni, Bucks Arena, Draft
The Cavaliers made an aggressive play at trading for Pablo Prigioni at the deadline, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Instead, the Knicks sent him to the Rockets instead, leaving Cleveland’s backup point guard duties to Matthew Dellavedova. That worked out just fine for the Cavs on Sunday, when Dellavedova, set for restricted free agency this summer, started in place of the injured Kyrie Irving and hit the game-winning free throws. There’s more on the Cavs, who’ll look to take the lead in the Finals on Tuesday, amid the latest from the Central Division:
- The deal that state, county and city leaders struck last week for a new Bucks arena must still meet Wisconsin Legislature and Milwaukee Common Council approval, so construction remains far from assured, as Tom Daykin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out. Still, the Bucks have promised to pay for operating and maintenance costs by selling naming rights, as Daykin examines. The NBA is pressuring the sides to ensure a new building, lest the league exercise its right to buy the team and move it to another city.
- UNLV power forward Christian Wood will be among those working out for the Cavs today, league sources tell Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (Twitter link).
- Scotto also hears that Syracuse big man Rakeem Christmas will show off for the Pistons today (Twitter link). North Carolina shooting guard J.P. Tokoto, Virginia power forward Darion Atkins, Georgetown small forward Greg Whittington, and point guards Marcus Thornton from William & Mary and Pierria Henry of Charlotte will be in Detroit’s workout, too, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter links).
Cavs Notes: Varejao, James, Irving
A potential comeback during the NBA Finals by Anderson Varejao is extremely unlikely, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com said late last month that Varejao could be activated during the Finals if the Cavaliers were in a dire situation. The 32-year-old center, who played in 26 regular-season games this season, has been sidelined since late December after tearing his left Achilles’ tendon.
In other news regarding the Cavs:
- LeBron James looks glum about the Cavs’ predicament of trying to win the NBA championship without Kyrie Irving, who underwent knee surgery on Saturday, Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News reports. The Warriors seem destined to win the NBA Finals against the depleted Cavs and Cleveland’s somber mood reflects that, Kawakami continues. “I said it’s going to be one of the most challenging seasons of my career from the beginning, and this just adds on to it,” James said to the media covering the Finals. “You know, we’re undermanned right now. But we’ve got guys in the locker room that are ready for the challenge, and we look forward to the challenge [Sunday] night.”
- J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and Tristan Thompson will have to ratchet up their production to overcome the loss of Irving, Jarrett Bell of USA Today opines. The Cavaliers’ role players must provide scoring options for James to have any hope of defeating the Warriors, Bell continues. James’ 38 shot attempts in Game 1 were a product of his teammates too often standing around and watching their franchise player rather than looking for open spaces, Bell adds.
- The raw data suggests the Cavs can be competitive without Irving or injured Kevin Love, Joe Vardon of Northeast Ohio Media Group points out. Cleveland outscored its opponent by 149 points in 545 minutes when James played without Irving and Love, including the postseason, Vardon adds. It did not matter much whether James was used as the primary ball-handler, on the wing or down low in those situations, according to Vardon.
Central Notes: Middleton, Pistons, Cavaliers
The Bucks‘ Khris Middleton can expect a huge jump in salary when he hits restricted free agency next month, according to Gene Sapakoff of The Post and Courier. The versatile 24-year-old, who made $915K last season, could command an annual salary in the range of $13M to $15M, Sapakoff writes. After seeing limited playing time as a rookie in 2012/13, Middleton blossomed into a valuable player the past two seasons, ranking among the top 10 this year in ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus ratings. “I didn’t play too many games my first year,” Middleton said. “I was a little nervous. Well, I wouldn’t say nervous but I just wasn’t comfortable I guess. Now I feel like I know what I’m doing out there and I know my style and the game comes to be a lot easier.” Milwaukee is hoping to keep Middleton as part of a young foundation that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, Michael Carter-Williams and Jabari Parker.
There’s more news from the Central Division:
- The Pistons aren’t counting on signing Golden State’s Draymond Green in free agency this summer, tweets Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Although Detroit would love to add Green to its roster, the front office believes the Warriors will match any offer the restricted free agent receives.
- Tristan Thompson has eased the Cavaliers’ pain after losing Kevin Love to injury in the first round of the playoffs, according to Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News. Love, who can opt out of his contract and become a free agent July 1, tore his shoulder while chasing a loose ball in an April 26 game against Boston. Thompson stepped into the starting lineup and has averaged a double-double in his place. “It’s my job to be a little nasty, bring the energy, protect the paint and protect our guys,” he said. Thompson will be a restricted free agent this summer.
- The Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving had successful surgery this morning on his fractured left kneecap, the team announced. He is not expected to resume basketball activity for three to four months.
Eastern Notes: Hawks, Wade, Woods
With the sale of the Hawks nearly completed, the situation regarding embattled GM Danny Ferry is still waiting a definitive resolution, Jeff Schultz of The Atlanta Journal Constitution writes. Schultz predicts the most likely outcome is that Ferry simply resigns and Atlanta gives coach Mike Budenholzer a new contract and more autonomy, and places assistant GM Wes Wilcox in charge of the basketball operations department, at least for the 2015/16 campaign.
Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- The Cavaliers announced that point guard Kyrie Irving suffered a fractured left kneecap during the first game of the NBA Finals, and he will require surgery to repair the damage that will keep him out of action for a minimum of three to four months.
- In his weekly mailbag, a reader asked Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel if he felt that the Heat‘s personnel mistakes have fueled Dwyane Wade‘s concern moving forward. Winderman believes that Wade has lost a good amount of trust in the front office and if the team was winning now, salary might not be such a sticking point for him. The question is whether the Heat are “all in” for 2015/16 and, at present, Winderman isn’t sure that’s the case.
- The Magic have expressed interest in Butler big man Kameron Woods, who is not projected to be picked in the upcoming NBA Draft, David Woods of The Indianapolis Star writes. The team interviewed Woods last week, and could be looking to sign the forward as a free agent after the draft, the Indy Star scribe adds.
- The Pistons are holding workouts today for Bobby Portis (Arkansas), Kevon Looney (UCLA), Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), D.J. Newbill (Penn State), Will Cummings (Temple), and Juwan Howard Jr. (Detroit), Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Cavs Notes: Love, Kerr, Gilbert
After watching Game 1 of the Finals on Thursday night, Kevin Love reiterated his desire to return to the Cavs. When asked by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com if he wanted to be back in Cleveland next season, Love said, “Yes. I want to win.” Speculation has swirled all year long about what Love might do, but the big man isn’t concerned about that. “It’s just the way the world works now. People talk so much and might tell themselves a lie so much they start to believe it. From there, the narrative starts to change. I haven’t changed my narrative. I’m going to keep supporting these guys, and we’ll be talking to Cleveland after the season,” said Love.
Here’s more out of Cleveland:
- While Warriors coach Steve Kerr offered nothing but praise for the fans and culture of Cleveland, he admitted that he understands why free agents might be deterred from signing with the Cavs because of the the weather and less glamorous feel of the city, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group transcribes.
- Tristan Thompson credits LeBron James and his work ethic for helping turn around the Cavs’ culture, and sparked Thompson to work harder to improve himself as a player, Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun writes. “He was the first one in the gym, had a full, dripping sweat and we were just walking in, getting ready to start,” Thompson said. “I think that first encounter really changed the whole culture of the franchise. When your best player, arguably one of the best players to ever play this game, is in the gym at 9 a.m., on Labor Day, that says a lot. It says how serious he is about being great and bringing us back to the promised land, which is being in the Finals.“
- Team owner Dan Gilbert has now rebuilt the Cavaliers as a franchise twice, with both instances sparked by the arrival of James, Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News writes in his profile of Gilbert. “It’s not vindication, it just feels good, and now we gotta take advantage and finish the job,” Gilbert said. “I just feel so good that we all got a second bite of the apple, LeBron, us, the city, the franchise. Everybody.”
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Hoiberg, Calipari, Pistons
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.“
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Smith, Draft
The Raptors have a busy summer ahead of them with six players set to hit free agency, and with the team also badly needing to upgrade its defense and rebounding, Holly MacKenzie of NBA.com writes in her offseason preview of the franchise. Toronto could also stand to add a veteran two-way forward like Paul Pierce, whose impact on the Wizards’ locker room didn’t go unnoticed by Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, MacKenzie adds. You can view Hoops Rumors’ offseason outlook for the Raptors here.
Here’s more from the NBA’s Atlantic Division:
- Celtics coach Brad Stevens wants to see the team add versatility and shooting this offseason, in addition to rim protection, as he told reporters, including Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
- J.R. Smith believes that the Knicks gave up on him this season, and said that he felt like a “throw in” who was included in the deal that brought him to the Cavs only for salary matching purposes, Rod Boone of Newsday relays (via Twitter). Smith certainly appeared revitalized as a player after the trade, playing in 46 games and averaging 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 31.8 minutes per contest for Cleveland.
- The Raptors have workouts scheduled with Jerian Grant (Notre Dame), Chavaughn Lewis (Marist), Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), and Justin Anderson (Virginia), the team announced. Also displaying their wares in a workout for the Raptors today were Maurice Walker (Minnesota) and Dallin Bachynski (Utah), the team relayed (on Twitter).
Central Notes: Hoiberg, Pacers, Martin
With the Bulls‘ current lack of financial flexibility, changing coaches was the best way for the franchise to shake things up after a disappointing playoff run, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com writes in his breakdown of what Fred Hoiberg brings to the team on both the offensive and defensive ends of the hardwood. Doolittle also opines that it would serve the team well if Hoiberg were to retain assistant coaches Ed Pinckney and Adrian Griffin, both of whom could maintain the roster’s defensive focus while Hoiberg revamps the offense.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre will work out for the Pacers today, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops tweets. You can view our full prospect profile for Oubre here.
- Also scheduled to work out for the Pacers today are Anthony Brown (Stanford), Cady Lalanne (UMass), Luis Montero (Westchester Community College), Jon Octeus (Purdue), and Gabe Olaseni (Iowa), the team announced.
- Cartier Martin‘s teammates on the Pistons encouraged him to swallow his pride and exercise his player option worth nearly $1.271MM for next season, Terry Foster of The Detroit News writes. The forward was unhappy with his playing time this past season, having only appeared in 23 contests for Detroit.
- The solid play of Tristan Thompson and the Cavs‘ success in the playoffs this season has changed the narrative regarding Kevin Love‘s player option for 2015/16, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes. Instead of wondering if Love would return, talk now centers around whether the team needs or wants him to return next season, Berger notes.
Latest on Kevin Love
It wasn’t quite a definitive announcement of his plans, but Cavs forward Kevin Love sounds like someone who is intent on returning to Cleveland next season, as Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal writes. When asked if he’d be back with Cleveland, Love said, “No, I truly haven’t even thought about it, but as I mentioned, I expect to be suiting up by Game 1 of next year.” When asked if that game would be with the Cavs, he responded in the affirmative. Love has read the speculation about where he might bolt to next season, but he says that he hasn’t let that affect him.
“That’s something that I guess comes with the territory,” he said. “Anybody that has pending free agency coming up in the summer, I feel like that’s going to happen. I try to not pay attention to it. I mentioned earlier in the season I learned how to just, kind of took out my Twitter, forgot looking at any kind of social media kind of stuff. Maybe Instagram here and there, but that was really it. That’s kind of been put on the back burner for me.”
Love has a player option for next season worth more than $16.744MM. In January, he told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group that he planned to opt in and remain a Cavalier.
But the decision to stay in Cleveland may not be entirely up to Love, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. If the Cavaliers want Tristan Thompson to be their power forward of the future and decide to reward him with a maximum contract, they may free up money by moving Love somewhere. One option could be a sign-and-trade deal that sends him to New York and brings back the Knicks’ No. 4 draft pick as part of the package, Berman speculates. Thompson and LeBron James share the same agent in Rich Paul, and James recently said that Thompson “should probably be a Cavalier for his whole career.”
Love also said Sunday that he and Boston’s Kelly Olynyk are back on good terms, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Love suffered the shoulder injury that knocked him out of the playoffs as he and Olynyk were chasing a loose ball during a first-round game. The Celtics had been mentioned as a possible destination for Love if he decides to pursue free agency, but there were rumors that the Olynyk incident may have removed Boston from Love’s list. That apparently is no longer a concern.
Arthur Hill contributed to this post.
Eastern Notes: Cavs, Sefolosha, Sessions
LeBron James admitted that Kyrie Irving was a factor in his decision to return to Cleveland, Chris Fedor of the Northeast Ohio Media Group writes.
“Part of the reason I decided to come back from the beginning was how special [Irving] was. I noticed that,” James said. “To see him grow and see him learn what it means to truly be a professional every day since I’ve been here is a been a huge reward and it’s great to see it. To see his mind process so many different things over the course of these months and be able to translate that not only on the court but off it as well, has been a treat to watch.”
The point guard didn’t fully appreciate how great James was on the court until the four-time MVP joined the team in July.
“I was just speechless,” Irving admitted. “I became a fan to be honest with you. It’s a different feeling when you’re on a team with someone you’ve watched for so long.”
James and Irving averaged 47.0 points per game as a a tandem, which was more than any other pair of NBA teammates. The Cavs will take on the Warriors in the NBA finals and they hope to bring Cleveland its first professional sports championship since 1964.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Thabo Sefolosha believes his April arrest damaged his reputation, Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com writes. “We are talking about the stress that it has brought to the entire family, you know, my mom and dad in Switzerland, my brothers and sisters, my wife. Also, the damage to my reputation. I’ve had people texting me about what they saw in the newspaper and things like this. Every aspect of my life was affected by something like this, and I think putting light on the aftermath of something like this, I think that’s also something that’s important,” Sefolosha said. The forward is under contract with Atlanta through the 2016/17 season.
- Ramon Sessions, who filled in admirably for John Wall when the All-Star was injured, was a great mid-season acquisition by the Wizards, Brandon Parker of The Washington Post opines. The University of Nevada product figures to lead Washington’s second unit next season and he will make slightly over $2.17MM.