And-Ones: Draft, Spurs, Hornets, Hollins, Wolves
Jarnell Stokes‘ representatives are excited about his performance against Adreian Payne in a workout for the Raptors today, with auditions for the Spurs and Clippers still to come, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reports (Twitter links). Zach also hears that Rodney Hood has rescheduled workouts with the Wolves and Kings this week after withdrawing from earlier auditions for the teams (Twitter link). Justin Jackson showed off twice for the Hornets last week, with the Hawks, Heat and Suns on his upcoming workout agenda, Zach also tweets. Here’s more from around the league:
- A Western Conference executive who spoke with Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News suggests that teams will be wary of the poor performance that soon-to-be free agent Boris Diaw turned in for Charlotte preceding his tenure with the Spurs. Monroe also hears doubt from an exec about Patty Mills‘ ability to succeed outside of San Antonio.
- The Hornets are interviewing Blazers director of college scouting Chad Buchanan for their assistant GM post, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The assistant GM will serve under GM Rich Cho, who gained full control of the front office when president of basketball operations Rod Higgins resigned last week.
- The Rockets are aggressively seeking Lionel Hollins to serve as an assistant coach even though they know it will be difficult to land him as he seeks head coaching jobs, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Hollins has interviewed to become the head man for the Cavs and Lakers.
- The Timberwolves named Sam Mitchell an assistant coach today, the team announced (on Twitter). Mitchell interviewed for the head coaching job and was reportedly a favorite of owner Glen Taylor.
Cavs Show Interest In Mark Jackson?
JUNE 17TH: Jackson, speaking on 95.7 The Game in California, denied reports of Cleveland’s interest, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News group notes (Twitter link).
“Those are nothing but rumors and speculation,” Jackson said.
JUNE 12TH: The Cavs have spoken directly with Jackson about the job, but no formal interview is in the works, and it’s unclear just how serious the Cavs are about the former Warriors head man, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
JUNE 11TH: The Cavs have made “back-channel inquiries” about ex-Warriors coach Mark Jackson, relays Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal, echoing a report from Joe Kotoch of probasketballdraft.com. This is the second new name to emerge as a potential candidate for the Cavs’ open coaching job in less than 24 hours, as we heard this morning that Cleveland was interested in Pacers’ assistant Nate McMillan.
There were contradicting reports on whether or not Jackson would be a serious candidate for Cleveland’s head coaching position, but this latest info seems to suggest that the Cavs hold at least some level of interest in the current ESPN analyst. Still, Finnan hears from a source that a job offer from Cleveland might not be enough to lure Jackson away from the booth.
Jackson went 121-109 during his three-year tenure in Golden State, which ended on a sour note when he was fired after his team suffered a first-round playoff defeat at the hands of the Clippers. Amid rumors of dysfunction and friction with ownership, Jackson was still able to maintain the support of his players, some of whom disagreed with the team’s decision to fire him.
The Cavs’ coaching search has been wide reaching, spanning from several big names in the college ranks, to would-be first-time head coaches, to established veterans like Jackson. A report earlier this week indicated that Cleveland has reached out to around 11 different candidates about the job. The Cavs and Lakers are the only teams remaining without a head coach.
Sixers Aggressively Pursuing Andrew Wiggins
The Sixers are doing whatever they can to draft Andrew Wiggins, sources tell Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Chad Ford of ESPN.com seconds that notion in his latest Insider-only mock draft, echoing his own report that the Kansas forward is Philly’s top target. The Sixers have inquired with the Cavs about moving up to No. 1, as Ford noted in his earlier piece, though his latest dispatch indicates that the most likely scenario involves Wiggins falling to Philadelphia at No. 3.
If a trade would be necessary for the Sixers to land Wiggins, a deal in which Philly would send the No. 3 pick and Thaddeus Young “isn’t totally out of the question,” Ford hears. Still, that’s contingent on the Cavs believing that Joel Embiid would get past the Bucks, who pick second overall, as Ford writes. Embiid’s workout and interview last week for Cleveland were major successes, according to Ford, who hears Embiid’s physical for the Cavs went well, too.
Dante Exum appears to be in the mix for the Sixers at No. 3 should they fail to move up and Wiggins is off the board by the time they pick. The Philadelphia brass believes Exum is a strong fit next to Michael Carter-Williams in the backcourt, Ford writes, though he reported earlier that the team has thought about trading Carter-Williams to accommodate the Australian prospect.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Heat, LeBron
The Hornets like Jeremi Grant‘s size, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The 6’8″ forward doesn’t yet have the shooting and ball handling he’ll need to play small forward at the next level but he has tremendous potential. The former Syracuse standout could be a consideration for Charlotte at No. 24. Here’s a whole lot of LeBron talk to round out this look at the Southeast..
- The Heat have lots of work to do but the Big Three should stay put, opines Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Miami needs to retool their bench after their lack of depth was exposed in the Finals, but no other club will give LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh a better chance at winning a title.
- James’ decision on whether to stay with the Heat or leave will come down to three driving factors, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. James will want to know what kind of production he can expect out of Wade, whether the Heat can add someone to reduce his workload, and whether they can improve their overall depth.
- James can go anywhere, but the Heat are still the only team that makes sense, opines Eric Koreen of the National Post. The Cavs, even with Kyrie Irving and the No. 1 pick, are still an unknown. James could also go to the Rockets to form a new big three in Houston, but that’s not a safe wager given the tough competition in the Western Conference.
Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Fisher, Cavs, Chalmers
The Heat won their fourth straight Eastern Conference championship this year, but like the last team to pull that off, the 1986/87 Celtics, they fell short of an NBA title. Miami certainly hopes it doesn’t repeat the fate that befell Boston, which failed to win another Eastern Conference title for 21 years after that. Here’s the latest from the East:
- Carmelo Anthony would prefer to stay in New York, but he knows his best chance to win would be to leave, a source tells Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. ‘Melo is reportedly leaning toward signing with a team other than the Knicks this summer.
- Derek Fisher‘s contract to coach the Knicks runs for four years instead of five, as had been initially reported, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Another report indicated the deal contains at least one team option, so perhaps it’s guaranteed for four seasons with a team option for the fifth, though that’s just my speculation.
- It’s logical to suspect that David Blatt would prefer a head coaching job to an assistant’s post, but it seems he won’t wait around on the Cavs opening if they dally, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports explains. The Warriors and some close to the former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach believe that he’ll accept a job on Steve Kerr‘s Golden State staff if Cleveland doesn’t move quickly to hire him after its face-to-face interview with him this week, Wojnarowski hears.
- The Cavs continue to pursue high-profile college coaches behind the scenes, Wojnarowski also writes in the same piece.
- The Heat benched the slumping Mario Chalmers in Game 5, but the soon-to-be free agent hasn’t soured on Miami, as he tells fellow Yahoo! Sports scribe Marc J. Spears. “I hope we stay together,” Chalmers said. “I think we have a good thing going.”
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).
Cavs To Interview Mark Price
JUNE 16TH: Cleveland is strongly considering a second interview for Price this week, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link).
JUNE 9TH: The Cavs are set to interview Hornets assistant Mark Price for a chance at their vacant head coaching position tomorrow, tweets Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. Price, a former Cavs All-Star, was quoted a couple of weeks ago as having interest in the role, but at the time, the team reportedly wasn’t sold on the idea of bringing him aboard.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise since Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue are both reportedly going to receive second interviews with the team. We’ve also heard Vinny Del Negro and Lionel Hollins are expected to meet with Cleveland team officials for a second time later this week.
Price, a fan favorite in Cleveland, lacks NBA head coaching experience, but he’s been an assistant since the 2007/08 season. Besides Charlotte, he’s seen stints in Denver, Atlanta, Golden State, and Orlando. The former point guard spent nine of his 12 seasons as a member of the Cavs, and his No. 25 jersey was retired by the team shortly after his retirement.
And-Ones: Knicks, Blatt, Vonleh, Wiggins
The latest from around the league as the Spurs hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy..
- Heat guard Ray Allen told reporters he will see where his “true heart lies” in a couple of days in terms of playing or retiring, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo.
- Phil Jackson will look to re-tool the Knicks‘ roster this summer, but new coach Derek Fisher told ESPN 98.7 that he believes the team can improve by 8-10 wins as currently constructed, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “In my opinion, I believe that success and failure are not as far apart as people think. It’s pretty close. And when you think about [the Knicks] winning 37 games a year ago, there are a number of things that you can isolate with the same exact roster that can provide 8-10 more wins without a change of any kind,” Fisher said last week.
- Last week we learned that David Blatt will interview with the Cavs and today, we learned the date. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports hears that the former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach will meet with Cleveland on Wednesday.
- Indiana big man Noah Vonleh will work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune. Utah owns the No. 5 pick and DraftExpress has them pegged to draft the soon-to-be 19-year-old.
- Executives see the Magic as the team most likely to shake up the draft, tweets Chris Mannix of NBC Sports. The question now is whether they like Marcus Smart, Dante Exum, Vonleh, or someone else in the draft.
- The Sixers are slated to work out Andrew Wiggins on Tuesday in Philadelphia, a source told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Philly, of course, owns the No. 3 pick.
- No surprise here, but Bosnian big man Jusuf Nurkic will keep his name in the draft, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Nurkic is projected to go somewhere between 12 and 21 in Ford’s view.
- The Celtics are eyeing guard prospects such as Xavier Thames, Semaj Christon, and Russ Smith, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Last week, Austin Ainge told Washburn that the C’s are looking into trading back into the second round and Boston might do that with one of those three in mind.
- Aaron Gordon is a lock for the lottery thanks to his athleticism and defense, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The 6’9″ forward out of Arizona is more athletic than Julius Randle and Noah Vonleh and is also a better defender.
Pacers, Raps, Jazz, Cavs Monitor Damjan Rudez
SUNDAY, 9:30am: The Cavs are working on a deal to sign Rudez, writes David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
WEDNESDAY, 3:44pm: The Pacers, Raptors, Jazz and Cavs are among several NBA teams considering Spanish league power forward Damjan Rudez as a free agent addition this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Rudez has been working out with the Cavs this week, and while many teams audition free agents this year with only summer league in mind, it appears there’s a higher level of interest in Rudez.
The 27-year-old Rudez averaged 10.7 points in 24.7 minutes per game for CAI Zaragoza in Spain this year, but what has NBA types intrigued is the 47.3% three-point shooting stroke he displayed this year, as Wojnarowski details. He’s 6’8″, somewhat undersized for a power forward, but his outside shooting stretches the floor.
Wojnarowski identifies him as a low-cost option for NBA clubs, though the widespread interest suggests he’d be in line for more than the minimum salary. He’s under contract in Spain for next season, and while he has an NBA escape clause in his deal, it’s unclear just how much it would take to buy him out.
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.