Cavs Rumors: Deng, Draft, Warren
Let’s dive in and round up of all the latest notes and rumors coming out of Cleveland this Saturday:
- Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer expects a “major push” from the Cavs to upgrade at small forward this summer, and he doesn’t believe that the team will re-sign Luol Deng. Pluto wouldn’t be surprised if Cleveland swings a draft-day trade that lands them a new forward.
- Pluto also notes that the Cavs are concerned with Deng’s back, legs, and general health. Deng is considered by many around the league to be an “old” 29-year-old, having played many grueling minutes throughout his career.
- The Plain Dealer scribe reports that the Cavs are prioritizing scouting small forwards who could be available where Cleveland will likely be picking. T.J. Warren is one such prospect the Cavs have paid special attention to.
- Earlier today, we heard that the Cavs had yet to reach a decision on whether or not they’d bring back acting GM David Griffin next season.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Lawrence On D’Antoni, Gasol, Calipari, Sterling
Mike D’Antoni walked away from the Lakers due in part because the team is likely to attempt to re-sign Pau Gasol this summer, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. A source tells Lawrence that D’Antoni knew that Gasol and Kobe Bryant didn’t want to play for him, so he made the decision to resign from the team on Wednesday. Let’s have a look at some more interesting notes from Lawrence’s piece:
- Kurt Rambis and Byron Scott are two of the most viable candidates for the Lakers’ coaching job, hears Lawrence. We reported on Thursday that both Rambis and Scott are set to interview with the team.
- Despite rumored interest, Lawrence says there’s no chance John Calipari will become the next head coach for the Lakers. The team reportedly has “zero interest” in hiring Calipari.
- Stan Van Gundy was contacted about taking over the head coaching role for the Pistons, but talks didn’t get far because he wanted some level of control over the team’s personnel decisions, writes Lawrence.
- Lawrence hears that once Adam Silver meets with Donald Sterling, Silver is expected to tell Sterling that the league will battle him in court to see that the franchise is sold, no matter the resistance Sterling puts up.
- Knicks assistant GM Allan Houston and director of player personnel Mark Warkentien aren’t worried about their jobs, since the duo has contracts with owner Jim Dolan and not the Knicks specifically, says Lawrence. As a result, the pair will be able to retain their positions, even if Phil Jackson doesn’t want them around.
- The Cavs and Bucks still haven’t decided whether or not they’ll keep their general managers beyond this season, reveals Lawrence. Both Central Division teams failed to meet preseason expectations and finished well below .500.
- It’s likely Mark Jackson will be fired by the Warriors, suggests Lawrence, who adds the coach might have a hard time landing another job with an NBA team because of the perceived dysfunction in Golden State’s organization during his tenure.
- The Thunder could potentially see a first-round playoff exit tonight, but Lawrence says Scott Brooks‘ position is safe in Oklahoma City.
Central Rumors: Cavs, Noah, ‘Melo
Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer doesn’t have a read on whether the Cavs quiet offseason to date is a good sign for coach Mike Brown. It’s possible that Brown’s job is safe after not getting a quick hook, but Boyer says another possibility is that owner Dan Gilbert is lengthening the decision-making process after making quick moves after last season. Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Boyer adds that she thinks the Cavs would take a look at Carlos Boozer this summer if the Bulls were to amnesty him, although she doesn’t think a Boozer reunion in Cleveland would be popular with Cavs fans.
- Joakim Noah‘s rumored recruitment of Carmelo Anthony didn’t end after All-Star Weekend, sources tell Joe Cowley of The Chiago Sun-Times. Noah has kept a dialogue with the Knicks superstar throughout the season, and encouraged other Bulls players to push for adding Anthony this summer.
- Noah wants Anthony as a Bulls teammate, but he doesn’t want Chicago to sacrifice Taj Gibson in such an acquisition, Cowley adds.
L.A. Notes: Magic, Rivers, Farmar, D’Antoni
Magic Johnson earlier this week denied interest in buying the Clippers, but he’s apparently changed his mind, judging by his remarks Wednesday, as Ben Bergman of 89.3 KPCC reports (hat tip to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).
“I will be owning an NBA team sometime,” Johnson said. “Is the Clippers the right situation? Of course. It’s one of the premiere franchises.”
The teams of Johnson’s past and perhaps his future have been most prominent in news across the league this week, and there’s more this afternoon on both the Lakers and the Clippers:
- Doc Rivers hasn’t made it entirely clear whether he intends to return to the Clippers, but he says he has no interest in making the jump across Staples Center to coach the Lakers, observes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
- Jordan Farmar was a fan of Mike D’Antoni, but the soon-to-be free agent point guard doesn’t find the Lakers any less attractive now that the coach has resigned, as Farmar tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “I want to be a Laker,” Farmar said. “I like playing for Mike. Whether it’s Phil Jackson, Mike D’Antoni or whoever else coaches this team, that won’t deter me from wanting to be a Laker.”
- D’Antoni reportedly would like another NBA coaching job, but the general sentiment leaguewide is that his success with the Suns was an aberration, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. A GM who spoke to Deveney called D’Antoni a “one-trick pony.”
- There seems to be a decent chance that the Clippers will sell for more than $1 billion, but It will take more than money to buy the team, as James Rainey and Nathan Fenno of the Los Angeles Times examine.
- Cavs guard Jarrett Jack believes every player in the league should boycott practices and games next season if Donald Sterling still owns the Clippers by then, as Jack said today on 95.7 The Game, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
And-Ones: McGary, Daniels, Rockets, Raptors
There were a lot of no-brainer decisions when it came to early entry players in the 2014 Draft, but it was questionable for others. Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) looks at who made the right call and who didn’t. Michigan’s Mitch McGary, Syracuse’s Tyler Ennis, and UCLA’s Kyle Anderson get the thumbs up. JaKarr Sampson of St. John’s, Alex Kirk of New Mexico, and New Mexico State’s Sim Bhullar are among the players who Goodman thinks should have stayed in school. More from around the Association..
- Rockets owner Leslie Alexander has an idea for ridding the NBA of Clippers owner Donald Sterling: letting all of his players become free agents. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has the goods.
- The Hawks, Bulls, Cavs, Bucks and Magic all had interest in Troy Daniels this February before the Rockets inked the sudden playoff hero shortly after the trade deadline, according to Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling. Daniels was close to taking an offer from Australia for $70K last fall, Zwerling tweets. His agent advised him to instead dominate in the D-League to get an NBA offer and his gameplan worked.
- Toney Douglas tells Zwerling for the same piece that the Heat had interest in him ever since he came out of college. Miami acquired Douglas via trade in January.
- It’s in Kyle Lowry‘s best interests to re-sign with the Raptors, writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. Lowry has never been happier, never played better, and never meant more to any of his teams at any time. The veteran guard hasn’t said much about his future, but Simmons thinks it would be best for him to stay put in Toronto.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Atlantic Notes: Jackson, ‘Melo, Bayless
Phil Jackson recently spoke to members of the media about Tim Duncan‘s legacy with Spurs, noting Duncan has stuck around in San Antonio long enough for the club to build a roster Jackson described as a “great force.” Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders thinks the Zen Master’s comments are clearly a message to Carmelo Anthony, who can choose to walk away in free agency in this offseason. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Amar’e Stoudemire has a $23MM player option for 2014/15 that he’ll almost surely opt in for. Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer examines a reader-suggested trade scenario where the Knicks send Stoudemire to the Cavs, noting that acting Cleveland GM David Griffin has ties to the big man from their time together in Phoenix. She concludes it’s very unlikely because of his injury history and bloated contract.
- Harvey Araton of the New York Times takes a look at the blockbuster deal that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets. Although the price was high for the veteran duo, Brooklyn was enticed by the clutch shooting abilities of Pierce and the fiery passion Garnett has for the game, observes Araton.
- Celtics guard Jerryd Bayless is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com concludes Bayless’ performance this season might not have been strong enough to guarantee that Boston wants to bring him back.
Eastern Notes: Nene, Cavs, Heat, Pistons
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer looks at Cavs interim GM David Griffin‘s track record from when he worked with Steve Kerr in the Suns front office, noting his success and his preference for building exciting, high-scoring teams. Pluto would expect Griffin to target offensive firepower if he became a permanent GM by reuniting with Kerr on the Knicks, or by losing the interim tag in Cleveland. Such an offensive bent runs counter to coach Mike Brown‘s determination to win through defense. Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders thinks that both Brown and Griffin are likely to be brought back since they haven’t been fired yet, but notes that a decision hasn’t been made (Twitter link).
- There was some ambiguity as to whether Phil Jackson will want to retain Herb Williams when he hires the next Knicks coach, but Kyler expects Williams will be gone (Twitter link).
- Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press expects the Pistons GM search to be a lengthy process. Detroit’s front office considers the draft and free agency “artificial” deadlines, and will be thorough and patient while evaluating candidates, many of whose schedules are loaded from working for teams still in the playoffs.
- Nene is in danger of facing a one-game suspension for his altercation with Jimmy Butler in last night’s Wizards loss to the Bulls, per Mike Wise of The Washington Post.
- Stu Jackson of NBATV used to make disciplinary decisions for the league, and he says that the thrown punch from Nene merits a suspension according to the rules (Twitter links).
- Ira Winderman of Sun Sentinel looks at the likelihood that the Heat will pay a steep repeater tax bill in the coming years if they manage to keep LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.
- Winderman lays out a variety of scenarios in which Heat players could help the roster stay intact and under the salary cap, by opting out of their deals to accept longer contracts with lower annual salaries.
- We looked at Wade’s tricky contract situation in our latest Free Agent Stock Watch feature.
Karl, Fratello Interested In Cavs Front Office Job
3:40pm: Amico cautions that just because the Cavs don’t have designs on reaching out to Karl now doesn’t mean they won’t later, Amico clarifies (on Twitter).
3:18pm: The Cavs have no plans to talk to Karl about any position right now, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
11:27am: George Karl would love to be considered for the top job in Cleveland’s front office, and Mike Fratello would have interest, too, according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. The job they appear to have in mind would be team president, though owner Dan Gilbert hasn’t indicated whether he wants to create that job to oversee the GM position, which David Griffin currently occupies on an interim basis.
A report in February indicated that the Cavs had interest in Karl, though it wasn’t entirely clear whether they thought of him as a coach or an executive. Karl, last year’s Coach of the Year with the Nuggets, apparently isn’t looking to return to the bench for a rebuilding team, and the Cavs, in the lottery for the fourth straight year, probably fit that description. Still, it appears Karl is eager to get back in the game.
“Being a leader, running a team and organizing a group with the common goal of winning a championship would be the ultimate challenge in my career,” Karl wrote in an email to Boyer.
Karl, like Fratello, is a former Cavs coach, and Fratello still lives in Cleveland, as Boyer points out. He was last on an NBA bench in the 2006/07 season with Memphis, and neither Fratello nor Karl has ever run an NBA front office.
Griffin’s future with the team is unclear, though he made comments this week indicating that he’d prefer to remain with the Cavs rather than jump to the Pistons or Knicks, teams to which he’s been linked. He seemed to give the impression that his job is safe, though he said he didn’t know when he and Gilbert would talk about it.
Cavs Notes: Griffin, Brown, Irving, Waiters
Reports have linked Cavs interim GM David Griffin to the front offices of the Knicks, and, more recently, the Pistons, but he indicated a strong preference to remain in Cleveland as he spoke today with reporters, including Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer.
“You’re either all the way in, or you’re all the way out,” Griffin said. “There’s no in-between. This is where I want to be.”
Here’s more on Griffin and the Cavs:
- Griffin said he doesn’t know when he’ll hear about his future with the team from owner Dan Gilbert, and while he said he’s confident that he and Gilbert are moving in the same direction, Griffin also said he needs to improve, Valade notes in the same piece. Still, the acting GM gave the impression that his job is safe, as Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio observes (Twitter link).
- Coach Mike Brown is on shakier ground, according to Amico, and ownership is looking for honest assessments of Brown from the team’s players and, once in place, its front office staff, Amico writes.
- Griffin would like to shift the team’s focus from “asset accumulation mode” to “target acquisition mode,” he says, and he plans to target size, toughness, basketball IQ and shooting, as Valade chronicles. Still, he’s high on his backcourt pairing of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. “I’ve seen flashes of them being very, very good together,” Griffin said. “… They’re two ball-dominant, drive-and-kick players. They require spacing and shooters. It’s too easy to look at them and blame one of them. It’s a collective thing.”
Central Rumors: Griffin, Cavs, Bucks, Pistons
While nothing is etched in stone, Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) hears that the “feel inside” the organization is that David Griffin will be the Cavs‘ GM next season. There has been question about whether Griffin would be retained or if he might jump ship to take the now vacant Pistons’ GM job. More out of the Central..
- Once the front office is in place, the source tells Amico (link) that the Cavs will seek “honest opinions” from players and management on whether they truly believe in coach Mike Brown.
- The NBA has the right to buy back the Bucks from incoming owners Wesley Edens and Mark Lasry if a deal to a bring a new arena to the city is not in place by November 2017, sources briefed on the situation tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The team, purchased for $550MM, can be bought back by the league for $575MM in construction isn’t underway by the deadline. One source added that the league would likely only take that step if it didn’t see “significant progress” by then.
- Former Pistons executive Scott Perry could be ready for his shot as General Manager, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. Perry had two stints with the Pistons, first as a college scout (2000-02) and then director of player personnel (2002-07) before leaving then returning as Vice President from 2008-12. Perry, along with Thunder assistant GM Troy Weaver, Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk, Celtics assistant GM Michael Zarren and Griffin, are the hot names Detroit will likely interview.
- Questions swirl as the Cavaliers enter the offseason, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. It remains to be seen who will stay and who will go, and that includes from Griffin, coach Mike Brown, free agents Luol Deng and Spencer Hawes, and even star Kyrie Irving.