Draft Notes: Cavs, Grizzlies, Randle
The Cavaliers will visit with Joel Embiid in the coming weeks and perform a full physical on the potential first overall selection, reports Andy Katz of ESPN.com. The article notes that Embiid won’t visit another team until the Cavs are given a chance to determine if they will select him with the top pick. Embiid’s representatives and the Cavs are working toward finding an appropriate date, time and place to conduct the interview and physical, notes Katz. Cleveland could still deal the No. 1 pick, which is the primary reason why Embiid’s representatives want to see where the team stands before scheduling further visits or interviews, per the article.
More from around the league:
- The Grizzlies announced via a press release that they will hold their first pre-draft workouts on Friday. The players scheduled to participate are Clint Capela, Josh Huestis, Joe Jackson, Eric Moreland, Adin Vrabac, and Scottie Wilbekin. The Grizzlies hold the 22nd overall pick in June’s draft.
- NBA.com released their prospect profile for Kentucky forward Julius Randle. Randle is projected as a probable top five selection in this year’s draft.
- After participating in a group workout, 7’1″ Russian prospect Artem Klimenko had medical testing and a private workout with the Sixers, tweets Igor Rubin of RU-Basket Management.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com looks at the effect that returning for his senior season had on Doug McDermott‘s draft stock.
Draft Rumors: Exum, Warren, Young
The allure of Dante Exum is prompting the Sixers to think about trading Michael Carter-Williams, and it appears as though Exum will indeed be available when Philadelphia picks third overall next month. Exum isn’t in the mix for the Cavs at No. 1 overall, and while the Bucks are high on him, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece, the uncertain future of GM John Hammond and his staff makes it less likely the point guard ends up in Milwaukee. Here’s more draft-related news:
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Hawks and Suns to the list of teams that have workouts scheduled with T.J. Warren (Twitter link).
- Patric Young is performing for the Suns today and will work out for the Spurs on Friday, Goodman tweets.
- Dwight Powell is auditioning for the Thunder today and will do so for the Suns and Wolves later this week, Goodman reports (on Twitter).
- The Hawks worked out Jahii Carson, as the Arizona State sophomore revealed on Twitter (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). He’s auditioning for the Suns today, notes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. He’ll join Isaiah Austin, whom the Suns are also working out today, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
- Khem Birch worked out for the Sixers on Monday and will do so for the Heat next week, according to Goodman (Twitter link).
- Ronald Roberts Jr. will show off for the Raptors, Sixers and Pistons this week, reports Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News.
- Javon McCrea is working out with the Bulls today and the Sixers and Raptors next week, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv has learned (Twitter link).
Coaching Rumors: Cavs, Joerger, Fisher
The Cavs would improve their chances of retaining Luol Deng if they hired Bulls assistant Adrian Griffin as head coach, sources tell Adrian Wojnarwoski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Griffin, a candidate for the job, worked with Deng in Chicago, and although Deng’s departure has essentially been a foregone conclusion, it will be interesting to see if Cleveland re-calibrates their free agency goals after unexpectedly landing the first overall pick. Here’s more of the night’s coaching notes:
- Dave Joerger acknowledged in a radio interview with Eli Savoie of Sports 56 that he was offered the Wolves coaching job before smoothing things out with Grizzlies owner Robert Pera. Joerger added that his contract extension was not a condition for staying with Memphis (Twitter links; H/T Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities).
- Joerger said that three teams called the Grizzlies to request permission to speak with him, but only the Wolves were granted the opportunity, according to a report from The Associated Press (H/T The Star Tribune).
- The Lakers are curious to see if Derek Fisher is a good fit for their head coaching vacancy, but will wait until his season with the Thunder is over, reports Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. This jibes with earlier reports that have marked Fisher as a candidate for both the Lakers and Knicks coaching jobs.
- While continuing to downplay his talks with NBA teams, Billy Donovan explained to Edgar Thompson of The Orlando Sentinel that he won’t rule out leaving his coaching job at Florida for the pros. “I’ve seen a lot of coaches over the years come out and say, ‘No, no, no, no, I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going anywhere,’ and then all of a sudden they go somewhere and it’s like, ‘Well, this guy is a complete liar,'” said Donovan. “I don’t want to get into that situation. There (have) been some teams that have called, but that’s really it.”
Lakers To Interview Lionel Hollins
TUESDAY, 5:35pm: Hollins’ interview with L.A. is scheduled for this Thursday, and he will also interview with the Cavs sometime next week, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News.
SUNDAY, 12:38pm: Lionel Hollins has emerged as a candidate for the Lakers vacant head coaching position, and team management plans to interview Hollins later this week, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The team has already interviewed Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott for the opening left by the resignation of former coach Mike D’Antoni. This will make Hollins the first candidate to sit down with the team who doesn’t have a history with the organization, notes Wojnarowski.
Hollins has coached in parts of seven seasons, all with the Grizzlies, and has a career coaching record of 214-201 in 415 total games. In his final season with Memphis in 2013, Hollins won 56 games and lost in the Western Conference finals to the Spurs. Hollins’ career postseason record is 18-17.
One thing that sets Hollins apart from many of the other candidates being mentioned for the Lakers position is that Hollins is primarily a defensive-minded coach, which is in stark contrast to the “showtime” basketball the Lakers have been known for throughout the years. The team might be banking on Hollins’ serious-minded leadership style appealing to Kobe Bryant, writes Wojnarowski.
Draft Rumors: Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Ennis
Several around the league believe Joel Embiid will only work out for the Cavs and Bucks as confidence grows that he won’t slip to the Sixers at No. 3, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins will likely audition only for the teams with the top three picks, a source tells Holmes, though that’s much less noteworthy than the Embiid news, which signals that concerns about the health of his back are abating. Still, it appears as though Nuggets GM Tim Connelly would prefer Parker to Embiid and Wiggins if he somehow managed to have a choice, observes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (on Twitter). Here’s more from a busy afternoon of draft-related news:
- Toronto native Tyler Ennis will work out for the Raptors on Thursday, the team announced.
- Glenn Robinson III is auditioning for the Hawks today and the Hornets later this week, and he expects to do so for the Spurs, Bulls and Bucks sometime soon, as he tells MLive’s Brendan F. Quinn (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution).
- Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds T.J. Warren, Cleanthony Early and K.J. McDaniels to the players working out on June 3rd for the Celtics (Twitter link).
- The Bulls will play host to workouts for Jordan McRae, Devyn Marble and C.J. Fair on Wednesday, Goodman tweets, adding their names to Rodney Hood‘s, which Goodman reported Monday.
- Marble pulled out of his workout with the Bucks today, but the two sides will reschedule, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (on Twitter).
- The Suns are auditioning Keith Appling, Alec Brown, Deonte Burton, Artem Klimenko, Jakarr Sampson and Jamil Wilson today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Appling will also show off this week for the Pistons, Raptors and Wolves, agent Michael Silverman tells Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News.
- The Knicks will work out Ian Chiles, a source tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
- Xavier Thames auditioned for the Heat today, and he’s set to do so with the Bucks, Bulls, Celtics, Hornets, Knicks, Jazz, Mavericks and Pacers, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Central Rumors: Cavs, Draft, Bulls, ‘Melo, Bucks
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.
Eastern Notes: ‘Melo, Calipari, Sixers, Erden
Reports downplaying the Lakers’ interest in Carmelo Anthony have been around for months, but apparently Phil Jackson‘s arrival in New York created another reason why Anthony is unlikely to end up in purple-and-gold. Lakers co-owner Jeanie Buss, who’s engaged to Jackson, doesn’t like the idea of poaching Anthony from her fiance’s team, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. As a bicoastal romance threatens to play a role in NBA free agency, here’s more from Jackson’s half of the NBA:
- The Cavs went so far as to reach out to rumored coaching candidate John Calipari, but he’s still a long shot to coach the team, notes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
- Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Furkan Aldemir has agreed to a new three-year deal for the equivalent of more than $5.3MM with Galatasaray in Turkey, Sportando’s Orazio Cauchi reports. It’s unclear what sort of NBA escape clauses, if any, are part of the arrangement.
- Another Turkish team, Anadolu Efes, has opted out of its contract with former NBA center Semih Erden, tweets Ismail Senol of NTV Spor (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Erden, now a free agent, last played in the NBA with the Cavs in 2011/12.
Jazz, Cavs Plan Interviews With Gentry, Griffin
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.
Lakers To Interview Alvin Gentry
Clippers assistant Alvin Gentry spoke to Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak by phone Friday, and he’ll sit down with Kupchak and co-owner Jim Buss on Wednesday to interview for the head coaching job, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. A weekend report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com indicated that Gentry had already interviewed with the Cavs and Jazz, and Gentry will take another meeting with the Cavs this coming Friday, Turner adds. Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com first identified Gentry as having been on the initial list that the Lakers compiled in the wake of Mike D’Antoni‘s resignation.
Mike Dunleavy and Byron Scott have already interviewed for the Lakers job, while an interview with Lionel Hollins is also on the team’s agenda this week. Scott is the only one of the four who isn’t also being sought by other teams. Dunleavy met with Knicks president Phil Jackson about the coaching job in New York, while Hollins has spoken with the Wolves and appears to have an interview with the Cavs on tap, too. He was set to speak with the Warriors before they landed Steve Kerr, and it seemed there was an outside chance he would wind up in his old job with the Grizzlies before they patched up their differences with Dave Joerger.
All four Lakers interviewees are experienced NBA head coaches. Gentry is 335-370 in parts of a dozen seasons in the league, the last of which was 2012/13, when the Suns cut ties with him after 41 games. He’s only coached a team to the playoffs on two occasions, including 2010, when the Lakers eliminated his Suns in the Western Conference Finals. Still, the Lakers are high on his ability to orchestrate an offense, Turner hears.
And-Ones: Joerger, Hollins, Clippers, Lakers
After a strange week, it appears that the Grizzlies coaching situation is now settled. Dave Joerger and owner Robert Pera met today to hash things out and the coach couldn’t be happier with how things turned out. “What’s between Robert and I now is like WOW.” Joerger told Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal (on Twitter). “This is how it’s supposed to be. There’s interaction and you talk about anything.” As Joerger and Pera enjoy their budding bromance, let’s take a look around the Association..
- Most people who know Grizzlies owner Robert Pera says that he has good intentions and wants to build a winner, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illusrated. Unfortunately, however, Pera isn’t overly familiar with how the NBA works.
- In addition to the Lakers’ vacancy, Lionel Hollins is also being considered for the Cavs‘ opening, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. The former Memphis coach has long been considered a top candidate for the Cavs job. Hollins will chat with the Lakers late next week and probably meet with Cleveland next weekend.
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) learned that there are six serious bidders thus far for the Clippers. Shelburne adds that Shelly Sterling won’t use an investment bank to handle the sale.
- Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com looks back on Kent Bazemore‘s season with the Lakers. There wasn’t much expected from the guard when he came over in the Steve Blake deal with the Warriorrs, but he proved to be a valuable asset off the bench.
- Chris Reichert of Ridiculous Upside explains why Clint Capela has first round sleeper potential in the draft. Last season, the power forward logged nine double-doubles and shot an astounding 66% percent from the floor.