Draft History: Donnie Nelson
The 2015 NBA draft is a less than a week away, and the speculation as to which player each franchise will pin its hopes on for the future is nearly over. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.
With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors have been taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ve been examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll continue onward with a look back at the calls made by Mavericks executive Donnie Nelson.
Mavericks (March 2005-Present)
2005 Draft
- No first-rounder. Pick No. 27 (Linas Kleiza) owned by Nuggets.
- No second-rounder. Pick No. 57 (Marcin Gortat) owned by Magic.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: David Lee (No. 30), Monta Ellis (No. 40), Lou Williams (No. 45), and Gortat (No. 57).
2006 Draft
- No. 28 Overall — Maurice Ager: 82 games, 2.1 PPG, 0.6 RPG, and 0.2 APG. .339/.250/.566.
*Traded No. 58 overall pick (J.R. Pinnock) to Lakers in exchange for a 2007 second-rounder.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Steve Novak (No. 32) and Paul Millsap (No. 47).
2007 Draft
- No first-rounder. Pick No. 30 (Petteri Koponen) owned by Trail Blazers.
- No. 34 Overall — Nick Fazekas: 26 games, 4.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 0.4 APG. .561/.000/.682.
- No. 44 Overall — Reyshawn Terry*: No regular season NBA appearances.
- No. 50 Overall — Renaldas Seibutis: No regular season NBA appearances.
*Acquired from Magic in exchange for the No. 60 overall pick (Milovan Rakovic).
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Carl Landry (No. 31), Glen Davis (No. 35), Josh McRoberts (No. 37), Marc Gasol (No. 48), and Ramon Sessions (No. 56).
2008 Draft
- No first round pick. Pick No. 21 (Ryan Anderson) owned by Nets.
- No. 51 Overall — Shan Foster: No regular season NBA appearances.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Anderson (No. 21), Serge Ibaka (No. 24), Nicolas Batum (No. 25), DeAndre Jordan (No. 35), Omer Asik (No. 36), and Goran Dragic (No. 45).
2009 Draft
- No. 25 Overall — Rodrigue Beaubois*: 182 games, 7.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 2.1 APG. .439/.325/.810.
- No. 45 Overall — Nick Calathes**: 129 games, 4.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 2.7 APG. .441/.288/.581.
- No. 56 Overall — Ahmad Nivens: No regular season NBA appearances.
*Acquired from Thunder along with a 2010 second-rounder (Solomon Alabi) in exchange for the No. 24 overall pick (Byron Mullens).
**Acquired from the Timberwolves in exchange for a 2010 second round pick.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Taj Gibson (No. 26) and DeMarre Carroll (No. 27).
2010 Draft
- No. 25 Overall — Dominique Jones*: 80 games, 3.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG, and 1.8 APG. .366/.095/.729.
- No second-rounder. Pick No. 57 (Ryan Reid) owned by Thunder.
*Acquired from the Grizzlies in exchange for cash.
**Traded the No. 50 overall pick (Alabi) to the Raptors in exchange for cash and a 2013 second-rounder.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Hassan Whiteside (No. 33) and Lance Stephenson (No. 40).
2011 Draft
- Traded the No. 26 overall pick (Jordan Hamilton) and No. 57 overall pick (Tanguy Ngombo) to the Blazers in exchange for Rudy Fernandez and Petteri Koponen. The rights to Hamilton were then dealt by Portland to the Nuggets.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Jimmy Butler (No. 30), Chandler Parsons (No. 38), and Isaiah Thomas (No. 60).
2012 Draft
- No. 24 Overall — Jared Cunningham*: 40 games, 1.9 PPG, 0.5 RPG, and 0.5 APG. .353/.304/.710.
- No. 33 Overall — Bernard James*: 92 games, 2.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG, and 0.7 BPG. .497/.000/.680.
- No. 34 Overall — Jae Crowder*: 238 games, 5.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.0 APG. .414/.316/.735.
*Acquired from the Cavaliers in exchange for the No. 17 overall pick (Tyler Zeller) and Kelenna Azubuike.
**Dealt the No. 55 overall pick (Darius Johnson-Odom) to the Lakers in exchange for cash.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Zeller (No. 17), Evan Fournier (No. 20), Draymond Green (No. 35), and Khris Middleton (No. 39).
2013 Draft
- No. 18 Overall — Shane Larkin*: 124 games, 4.9 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 2.4 APG. .420/.305/.748.
*Traded the No. 13 overall pick (Kelly Olynyk) to the Celtics for the No. 16 overall pick (Lucas Nogueira) and two future second-rounders. Nelson then dealt Jared Cunningham, the rights to Nogueira, and the No. 44 overall pick (Mike Muscala) to the Hawks for the rights to Larkin and cash.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: Olynyk (No. 13), Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15), Mason Plumlee (No. 22), Tim Hardaway Jr. (No. 24), and Rudy Gobert (No. 27).
2014 Draft
- No first-rounder. Pick No. 21 overall (Mitch McGary) owned by the Thunder.
*Nelson dealt the No. 34 overall pick (Cleanthony Early), the No. 51 overall pick (Thanasis Antetokounmpo), Larkin, Wayne Ellington, Samuel Dalembert, and Jose Calderon to the Knicks in exchange for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton.
Notable players available at draft slot or passed over: McGary (No. 21), Rodney Hood (No. 23), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32), and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).
And-Ones: NBPA, Hackett, Stoudemire
The way teams discuss their own pending restricted free agents is under fire from the National Basketball Players Association, which has officially taken the position that the traditional “we’ll match any offer” comments so often made by NBA executives are a circumvention of the salary cap in their intent to discourage potential rival bidders, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. The league had issued a memo back in November warning teams that, while the NBA itself doesn’t agree with the NBPA’s stance on the matter, league officials see enough potential merit in the union’s stance to advise those who continue with match-any-offer comments that they could be opening themselves up to legal action, Stein notes.
The ESPN scribe’s sources informed him that this impetus stems from Klutch Sports agents Rich Paul and Mark Termini, who urged the NBPA to challenge the way that teams have historically dropped none-too-subtle hints about their plans to match offers in an attempt to depress the market for restricted free agents. This movement stems from the willingness of new NBPA head Michele Roberts to aggressively speak up for the players, Stein adds. It’s not too surprising to see Paul and Termini at the center of this, given that they represent Eric Bledsoe, whose restricted free agency dragged on for months last year after the Suns pledged to match any offer. The duo also represent Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph and Norris Cole, all of whom could become restricted free agents this offseason.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire said that he’d love to return to the Mavericks next season, but is also potentially interested in returning to play for the Suns or Knicks, Jared Zwerling of BleacherReport tweets.
- Euroleague guard Daniel Hackett intends to void his contract with Emporio Armani Milano in order to pursue an NBA contract, David Pick of Eurobasket.com relays (Twitter link). The 27-year-old out of USC went undrafted back in 2009.
- The Blazers held workouts on Friday for Gary Bell Jr. (Gonzaga), Seth Gearhart (Rice), Jelani Hewitt (Georgia Southern), Dakari Johnson (Kentucky), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), and Thomas van der Mars (Netherlands), the team announced.
Southwest Notes: Green, Villanueva, Hunt
Jeff Green, who picked up his player option with the Grizzlies, will represent a cap hold of $9.45MM rather than $9.2MM for 2015/16 because he triggered a $250K bonus this season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter links). The incentive clause kicked in when Memphis picked up its 55th win, and he was in line for an additional $200K if the Grizzlies, who finished 55-27, had won 56 games, Pincus explains. The cap hit applies for next season because the league now considers it likely that Memphis will again win 55 games, though he won’t get the money if they don’t again hit that threshold. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division.
- Charlie Villanueva would like to re-sign with the Mavericks, and while the team would welcome that, Dallas isn’t willing to pay more than the minimum, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com.
- The Mavs are close to a deal with former Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt that would make him the top assistant in Dallas to head coach Rick Carlisle, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Pelicans have also been interested in Hunt as an assistant, Stein reported earlier.
- Shooting guards Norman Powell of UCLA, Josh Richardson of Tennessee and Tyler Harvey of Eastern Washington are working out for the Mavs today, reports Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).
- The Grizzlies will work out Southeast Missouri State forward Nino Johnson on Monday, sources tell Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
Mavs Notes: Rondo, Jefferson, Ellis
The Warriors won the 2014/15 title, but the Mavs appear poised to make an aggressive push to have more success in the 2015 offseason than any other team. They’re reportedly going after LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan, the No. 3 and No. 8 players in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, though Dallas hasn’t been too successful in luring marquee free agents since winning the title in 2011. As we wait to see if that changes this summer, here’s more on the Mavs:
- Dallas would prefer to operate as an over-the-cap team this summer to preserve use of the full $5.464MM mid-level exception, one of the reasons why the Mavs cased Rajon Rondo‘s mutual parting with the team during the playoffs in the context of a back injury, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details. Of course, Dallas still wants to go after apparent targets like Aldridge and Jordan, so sign-and-trades would be necessary to accomplish that while over the cap, MacMahon explains, suggesting the Mavs would prefer to officially end Rondo’s tenure on the team by sending him out via sign-and-trade.
- The Mavs would like to re-sign Richard Jefferson as long as he’s willing to come back at the minimum salary, MacMahon writes in a separate piece.
- Dirk Nowitzki said Tuesday that he’d love for the Mavs to keep Tyson Chandler and Monta Ellis and sign Aldridge, but having all three on next year’s team is most likely unfeasible, MacMahon tweets. Nowitzki also said that his gut feeling is that Ellis will opt out, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (Twitter link). Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News passes along more of Nowitzki’s comments.
And-Ones: Borrego, Draft, Crawford
Walter Pitchford, a center from Nebraska, and Gardner-Webb combo forward Jerome Hill are the two U.S. players who withdrew from the draft in advance of Monday’s deadline to do so, the league announced. The deadline to withdraw while still maintaining college eligibility was more than two months ago, so neither is able to return to NCAA ball. Neither had much chance to be drafted this year, so the outcome of their respective decisions Monday, at least as far as next season is concerned, is likely the same, with either the D-League or overseas play probably in the future for them. Still, both will have the chance to go through the draft process again next year, when they’ll be automatically draft-eligible.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Also withdrawing from the draft were Spanish small forward Alberto Abalde and Oriol Pauli, Ukrainian centers Vladislav Korenyuk and Sergiy Zagreba, Lebanese point guard Wael Arakji, Greek shooting guard Eleftherios Bochoridis, Georgian forward Beka Burjanadze, Senegalese center Moussa Diagne, Croatian shooting guard Ognjen Dobric, Spanish shooting guard Marc Garcia, Spanish forward Juan Alberto Hernangomez, Slovenian point guard Aleksej Nikolic and Kazakhstani power forward Alexandr Zhigulin, the league announced in the same press release. Several other overseas prospects also withdrew, according to Monday reports that the league confirmed.
- Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw has been cleared to resume workouts after his heart issue scare, Reid Forgrave of FOXSports.com relays (Twitter link). Upshaw has already worked out for the Mavericks, and will show his wares for the Rockets on Wednesday, Forgrave adds.
- Clippers guard Jamal Crawford has hired Wasserman Media Group to represent him, Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). Crawford was previously with Andy Miller of ASM Sports.
- Former Magic interim coach James Borrego is finalizing a deal with the Spurs to join coach Gregg Popovich‘s staff as an assistant, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (via Twitter).
- The Hornets held workouts today for Treveon Graham (VCU), Alan Williams (Santa Barbara), Trevor Lacey (NC State), Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), Shannon Scott (Ohio State), and Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), the team announced (Twitter links).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Aldridge, Porzingis, Gordon
The Lakers worked out Latvian forward Kristaps Porzingis on Monday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays. Porzingis takes issue with scouts labeling him a finesse player or discounting him as another potential European bust, the Yahoo! scribe adds. “I don’t like being labeled soft,” Porzingis told Wojnarowski. “I’m very hungry. I love the game. I’ve got to prove to coaches and GMs that I’m not soft just because I’m from Europe. They need to see that I’m not just some skinny white guy, that I’m going to be there fighting. They’ll need to see that I’m a worker who’s going to play hard, and play tough. There are guys who have had incredible NBA careers – like Dirk Nowitzki and the Gasols [Pau and Marc] – and there are guys who haven’t. They’ll say, this guy is a bust. He’ll be Nikoloz Tskitishvili, this Georgian guy. Andrea Bargnani, Darko Milicic … That’s why I am talking, because I want the fear to go away with me. I want people to get to know me. I don’t want to be the mystery man from Europe.”
Here’s more from the Western Conference:
- Despite the reports relaying that Eric Gordon is likely to exercise his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans for next season, the 26-year-old guard has scoured the NBA market for a potential long-term deal outside of New Orleans, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. According to league sources, Gordon has been seeking four or five year contract possibilities with other teams, Charania notes.
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The Lakers are a “distant third” in the running to lure LaMarcus Aldridge away from Portland, behind the Mavs, who are the favorites, and the Spurs, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher says in a video report. Bucher cites Aldridge’s strong relationship with former Blazers interim head coach Kaleb Canales, now a Mavs assistant, as reason to think Dallas holds appeal for the power forward, though Bucher speculates that Aldridge will ultimately chooses to re-sign with the Blazers.
- The Jazz held pre-draft workouts today for J.J. Avila (Colorado State), Michael Frazier (Florida), Damarcus Harrison (Clemson), Youssou Ndoye (St. Bonaventure), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), and Travis Trice (Michigan State), the team announced (on Twitter).
- The Clippers will bring in Damontre Harris (South Carolina) and Michale Kyser (Louisiana Tech) as part of a group workout on Wednesday, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops tweets.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Lockout, Gentry, Pointer
- Warriors GM Bob Myers admits that if there hadn’t been such a lengthy break before the start of the NBA Finals, the team might not have allowed Alvin Gentry to have the second interview with the Pelicans that led New Orleans to hire him as head coach, as Myers tells TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip for NBA.com.
- The Lakers, Wizards and Sixers are the upcoming teams on the predraft workout docket for St. John’s small forward Sir’Dominic Pointer, reveals Josh Newman of SNY.tv.
- St. Bonaventure center Youssou Ndoye, if drafted, is willing to sign overseas and become a draft-and-stash prospect if an NBA team so desires, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Ndoye faces long odds to hear his name called on draft night, as neither Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress nor Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him. He worked out for the Clippers on Monday and is set to do so for the Jazz today after showing off for the Knicks last week, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Charania adds the Sixers, Mavericks, Heat, Spurs and Wizards to the list of teams working him out, which includes previously reported auditions with the Nets and Grizzlies.
- Shooting guard Bobby Ray Parks Jr., who took the unconventional route of playing collegiately in the Philippines rather than the U.S., will work out for the Mavericks, Hawks and Celtics in addition to previously reported workouts with the Nets and Jazz, as Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune details.
And-Ones: Payne, Bulls, Pistons
Cameron Payne’s private workout with the Thunder on Saturday likely dispels the rumor that the team has promised to draft him if he is still available, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. Back in May, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford noted that he heard chatter among GMs that the Thunder promised Payne they’ll take him at No. 14. The Murray State point guard wouldn’t have needed to participate in the workout had the Thunder already promised to select him, according to Mayberry. Payne told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors that his goal was to be drafted as high as seventh overall.
Here’s more from around the league:
- Despite recent trade rumors, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune believes both Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah, whose contract is up after next season, will be back with the Bulls next season. Johnson, in an answer a question in a mailbag feature, does not think Pau Gasol will play 78 games again next season and the Bulls therefore would need the frontcourt depth as a result.
- The Pistons‘ acquisition of Ersan Ilyasova signals that the team, under president of basketball operations and head coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Jeff Bower, isn’t afraid to pull the trigger, Vincent Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. The Pistons have made four trades since October, as Ellis points out.
Draft Notes: Lakers, Mudiay, Nuggets
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News that the team, which owns the second overall pick in the draft, is not going to pick a player based on whether or not he meshes well with Kobe Bryant. “We’re not going to pick a player because he can play with Kobe, likes Kobe or dislikes Kobe,” Kupchak said. “We’re going to pick the player that can have the longest and best career.” Bryant has signaled that next season will be his last as an NBA player. The Lakers hope their No. 2 pick can lead the franchise following Bryant’s eventual retirement, Medina writes. “Kobe is going to impart a work ethic in training camp that will be beneficial to any player we bring,” Kupchak said. The Lakers are expected to take either Jahill Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns.
Here’s more draft-related news:
- Emmanuel Mudiay will work out for the Sixers, who own the third overall pick, on Tuesday, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets.
- Gilvydas Biruta (Rhode Island), Trey Lyles (Kentucky), D.J. Newbill (Penn State), Cameron Payne (Murray State) and Serbia guard Nikola Radicevic will all work out on Monday for the Nuggets, who own the seventh and 57th overall picks, the team announced in a press release.
- Former UNLV guard Rashad Vaughn had a private workout for the Hawks and will work out for the Timberwolves Monday, followed by showcases for the Mavs, Spurs and Celtics, Zagoria also tweets.
Southwest Notes: Gordon, James, Grizzlies
Eric Gordon, who will reportedly pick up his player option worth more than $15.514MM to stay with the Pelicans, is likely making a savvy financial decision, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes, because there’s a strong chance the guard fetches a more lucrative deal in the summer of 2016, when the salary cap rises. The projected salary cap of $67.1MM for next season is expected to jump to $89MM in 2016/17 before soaring to $108MM in 2017/18, as Reid points outs. There’s a distinct possibility Gordon thrives under new coach Alvin Gentry‘s up-tempo offense, Reid adds, and that would give a boost to his numbers and stock.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Free agent Bernard James has teams interested in signing him, but the center would like to return to the Mavs, the team that re-signed him in March for the remainder of the season after two 10-day pacts, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. James signed with the Shanghai Sharks of China in November after the Mavs waived him just before the season started. “You know, I’ve been talking to my agent a lot, and there’s a few teams interested,” James said. “But, hopefully, I’d like to be back here with the Mavericks. We’ll see what happens in the draft, what’s their needs and whoever [Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle] find for next year. Whatever players they sign, hopefully there’s a spot for me and there’s a niche I can carve out. We’ll see what happens, man, but I’m expecting it not to be quite as crazy as the last two summers.”
- Cliff Alexander, Aaron Harrison, Jamal Jones, Kenneth Smith, Corey Walden and Christian Wood will all work out for the Grizzlies on Monday, the team announced in a press release.