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Latest On Kevin Love

June 19th, 2014 at 9:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

9:24pm: A Warriors source disputes the idea that Thompson has been made available in trade talks for Love, tweets Kawakami.

7:49pm: Denver’s latest offer includes Faried, Chandler, and the 11th pick in exchange for Love and Martin, sources tell ESPN’s Chris Broussard (via Twitter).

6:23pm: Unless Minnesota’s best deal hinges on next week’s draft, Saunders can afford to let the situation play itself out, opines Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).

5:30pm: There are still several teams in pursuit of Love who don’t believe that Saunders is in deal-making mode just yet, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

5:17pm: Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune is willing to bet that in addition to Lee and Thompson, Saunders would want a third piece – possibly Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green – as compensation for taking on the remaining two years of Lee’s contract.

5:08pm: The Warriors aren’t very eager include a future first-round pick in a deal for Love, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.

3:44pm: The latest proposal from Minnesota to Golden State involves Lee, Thompson and a future first-rounder in return for Love and Martin, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, but no deal is close, Wojnarowski tweets. A source tells Holmes that Thompson was always available in a deal for Love (Twitter link)

2:44pm: Saunders made it clear today that he won’t trade the No. 13 pick, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group hears that the presence of Klay Thompson in talks came via a counterproposal from the Wolves, with the Warriors having yet to respond to that offer.

2:15pm: The Wolves wouldn’t take back just Lee and Thompson in the proposal that Broussard mentioned, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, who suspects that the Warriors leaked the proposal.

2:09pm: The Wolves and Warriors are talking about a deal that would send Love, Kevin Martin, J.J. Barea and the 13th pick to Golden State for Thompson and David Lee, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

THURSDAY, 1:30pm: The Warriors have seemingly had a change of heart and are making Thompson available to the Wolves in a potential Love trade, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Celtics are meanwhile recalibrating their offer to meet Minnesota’s demands as the Wolves seek draft picks as well as a “player of substance” in return for the star power forward, Bulpett reports.

WEDNESDAY, 9:55pm: The Nuggets are offering a package for Love that includes Faried, Wilson Chandler and another player that they would acquire — possibly Orlando’s Arron Afflalo — according to Bulpett’s latest update (via Twitter).

12:24pm: The Warriors, Bulls and Nuggets are the top three contenders for Love, tweets Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. Presumably, they’re in order from most likely to least likely.

12:19pm: A source in Minnesota told Chad Ford of ESPN.com on Monday that the Celtics were the favorites for Love, as Ford writes in his chat with readers, advancing his report from earlier this week that Boston’s offer was likely to be the strongest that Minnesota would receive. That runs directly counter to Bulpett’s story and the earlier dispatch from Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com that say that the Wolves are uninterested in what Boston has to offer. Ford also seconds last month’s report that the Warriors are not willing to include Klay Thompson in their offer.

11:55am: The Nuggets and Warriors have made better offers for Kevin Love than the Celtics have, a source tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald, casting Denver as the latest team to enter the race for the Wolves power forward. It’s unclear just what sort of package that Denver is talking about, but the Nuggets have the No. 11 pick in this year’s draft and several mid-price veterans, as well as the up-and-coming Kenneth Faried, who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. The Wolves are meanwhile optimistic that they can strike a “more than acceptable deal” with the Warriors, regardless of whether Klay Thompson is involved.

Boston is willing to discuss several scenarios involving players and draft picks, but Minnesota isn’t enamored with any of the team’s offers, Bulpett hears, echoing an earlier report that the Wolves find the C’s an unappealing trade partner. The Celtics are reportedly dangling their picks at Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, future first-rounders, and young players already under contract. The Wolves, who pick 13th, would be unmoved by the opportunity to pick sixth, feeling like they can get a player of equal value later in the first round, according to Bulpett, who suggests the involvement of a third team is Boston’s best hope of landing Love. The idea would be to find veterans to send to Minnesota, Bulpett writes, seeming to confirm speculation that Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would prefer experienced players in a deal for his star.

Love is under team control for one more season, but he can opt out an hit free agency next summer, and several reports have made it clear he doesn’t envision re-signing with Minnesota. The Bulls, Suns, Lakers, Rockets, Kings, Knicks, Lakers, Wizards and Cavs are other clubs that have been linked to Love in recent weeks, and surely just about every team in the league would want him if he became available to them. One report cast Sacramento as the favorite, though that’s in dispute. Bulpett seems to give the Nuggets a more realistic shot of trading for Love than others, but it there are surely doubts that Denver, never a destination spot for free agents, will be able to retain him in free agency. Perhaps the Nuggets are willing to acquire him without an assurance he’d stay, just as the Kings reportedly are, though that’s just my speculation.

Draft Notes: Embiid, Exum, McDermott, Stauskas

June 19th, 2014 at 12:07pm CST by Chuck Myron

Joel Embiid has suffered a right foot injury, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, and there’s fear that it’s broken, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs discovered the injury during his physical exam with the team, it’s prompted Cleveland to want to work out Dante Exum, Wojnarowski says (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem tells fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford that Embiid probably won’t be doing any more workouts before the draft (Twitter link). He was to have auditioned for the Bucks later this week, Goodman notes on Twitter, though the Bucks haven’t heard from Embiid’s camp about whether the workout is canceled or not, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter). Tellem told Andy Katz of ESPN.com that he’ll know more about the injury on Friday, as Goodman notes in his piece, so while the top of the draft hinges on tomorrow’s news on Embiid’s foot, here’s more on the wider field of prospects:

Representatives from the Kings, Nuggets, Wolves and Warriors observed Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas work out Wednesday in Chicago, Ford tweets.
C.J. Fair will audition Monday for the Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
The Magic are bringing Kendrick Perry in for a second workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Perry will also audition Saturday for the Wolves, along with Roscoe Smith, Joe Jackson and Taylor Braun, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
Isaiah Austin, Aaron Craft, T.J. Bray, Eric Moreland and Daniel Miller are the previously unreported prospects who are showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced via press release. Austin is fresh off an audition on Wednesday for the Clippers, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
Jabari Brown, Markel Brown, Devin Oliver, Khyle Marshall and Xavier Munford are among those working out for the Celtics today, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Oliver reportedly auditioned for the Celtics last week, too.
The Kings will audition Michael Dixon on Monday, Scotto tweets.

Northwest Notes: Love, Lucas, Smart, Nuggets

June 18th, 2014 at 3:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

No one is sure what the Timberwolves want in exchange for Kevin Love, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com, dismissing the notion that the team prefers veterans over draft picks. The Wolves have been “cagey” about their desires, Mannix writes. As the Nuggets emerge as a leading suitor for Love, here’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz are signaling that they won’t waive John Lucas III‘s non-guaranteed contract for next season, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (Twitter link). Still, the Jazz can cut Lucas anytime before opening night without paying him any of the $1.6MM he’s set to make in 2014/15, and that salary won’t become fully guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date in January.
Jazz vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin said today that he’s spoken four times with Marcus Smart‘s agent to try to get him to work out for Utah, with no success, notes Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). DeAndre Daniels, Jordan McRae, Casey Prather, Langston Hall, Kendall Williams, Mike Burwell and Tristan Spurlock are the previously unreported prospects who did audition for the Jazz today, the team announced (on Twitter).
K.J. McDaniels and Davon Usher will work out for the Nuggets on Thursday, the team announced via press release.

Grizzlies Send Cash To Nuggets For 2015 Pick

June 18th, 2014 at 1:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have exercised an option to keep their 2015 second-round pick and instead send an undisclosed amount of cash to the Nuggets as part of the terms of a trade that took place in 2008, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (subscription required). The original deal was a three-team swap involving Memphis, New Orleans and Washington. The Memphis pick went to New Orleans, which sent it to the Clippers in the Chris Paul trade before the Clippers shipped it to the Nuggets in the JaVale McGee trade.

Memphis had sent every second-rounder through 2017 out via trade, so it makes sense that the Grizzlies would decide to keep the one they were allowed to essentially buy back. It’s “widely believed” the Grizzlies will trade for a second-rounder in this year’s draft, Tillery writes.

The move leaves the Nuggets without a second-rounder next season, since theirs is ticketed for Minnesota. They’ve also traded their 2016 and 2018 second-round picks, but they have two second-round choices this year, at Nos. 41 and 56.

Ford’s Latest: Love, Celtics, Kings, Nuggets, Bulls

June 17th, 2014 at 9:39am CST by Chuck Myron

We just passed along the latest on the willingness of the Sixers to trade up to draft Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid‘s meeting with the Cavs, but there are a few more highlights of note from the latest update to the Insider-only mock draft from Chad Ford of ESPN.com. They involve the draft as well as more wide-ranging NBA topics, so let’s dive in:

The Celtics are dangling the sixth and 17th picks, future first-rounders and young players in their attempt to trade for Kevin Love, according to Ford. A source suggests to Ford that Boston’s package for the power forward is likely to be the strongest the Wolves will find, though Minnesota reportedly isn’t high on what Boston has to offer. There’s also been speculation that Wolves executive/coach Flip Saunders prefers experience over youth in any trade involving Love.
The Kings are actively attempting to trade the No. 8 pick, Ford writes, adding that multiple sources tell him that Sacramento is more likely to trade the pick than to hold on to it. That’s something of a switch from Ford’s earlier report that the Kings were merely listening to offers for the selection. The Hawks have reportedly been involved in talks for the eighth pick.
The Nuggets and Bulls are still discussing the 11th pick, according to Ford, whose earlier report indicated that Chicago’s picks at No. 16 and No. 19 were also a part of the conversation. The Bulls would draft either Gary Harris or Nik Stauskas at No. 11, and they’re leaning toward Stauskas, Ford writes. If the Bulls can’t move up, they have a slight preference for Shabazz Napier over Tyler Ennis, Ford hears.

Draft Notes: Jazz, Kings, Warren, Nurkic, LaVine

June 16th, 2014 at 5:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest draft news from around the league..

In addition to Indiana big man Noah Vonleh, today’s Jazz work out included George Mason guard Bryon Allen, Oklahoma State guard Markel Brown, Syracuse forward C.J. Fair, UCLA forward David Wear, and Marquette forward Jamil Wilson, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro, assistant GM Mike Bratz, and advisor Chris Mullin are meeting with prospects Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas right now in Chicago, tweets Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
N.C. State forward T.J. Warren was slated to work out for the Nuggets today but he’s a late scratch, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post (on Twitter). Taking his place will be Trevor Wages of Colorado School of Mines (link).
The Nuggets are bringing in Jusuf Nurkic for medical exams and perhaps a workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Nurkic is currently slated to go No. 12 to the Magic in DraftExpress’ mock.
UCLA’s Zach LaVine will work out for the Timberwolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Minnesota likes him at two guard and they’ll think about him at No. 13 along with Stauskas and Adreian Payne.
The Raptors will audition Payne tomorrow, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
Meanwhile, Clemson’s K.J. McDaniels wasn’t able to work out for the Timberwolves, tweets Wolfson. The small forward got stuck in South Carolina due to bad weather.
The Celtics will have more workouts on Thursday, highlighted by UCLA guard Jordan Adams, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

Draft Notes: Embiid, Silins, Pelicans

June 14th, 2014 at 7:12pm CST by Cray Allred

Brad Stevens tells Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com that the Celtics haven’t yet established a draft board. “I have not sat down with our front office all in one room and talked about a draft board,” Stevens said. “We’ll sit down now, after probably next week’s workouts, and talk more as we continue to get closer to the draft. But clearly with two picks in the top 20, we’ve got a lot of evaluating to do.” Here a rundown of today’s draft notes:

T.J. Warren, Scottie Wilbekin, Roscoe Smith, Davion Berry, and Isaiah Armwood will work out for the Nuggets, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter links).
A league source confirmed to John Reid of The Times-Picayune that the Pelicans are in discussions with several teams looking to trade their first round pick (Twitter link). The Pelicans are reportedly taking an aggressive approach to trading into the first round.
Magic executives are high enough on Marcus Smart‘s intangibles to consider selecting him with the fourth pick in the draft, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Robbins adds that had Smart declared for last year’s draft, Orlando might have selected him at No. 2.
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald urges his readers to monitor whether Joel Embiid schedules work outs for the Bucks or Sixers between now and the draft. If Embiid shuts out those teams, Finnan believes it would indicate a promise from the Cavs to take him at No. 1. Such a development would be significant, considering Embiid is already scheduled to work out for Milwaukee.
Adi Joseph of USA Today takes a look at the draft needs for the Hornets and Mavs.

Earlier updates:

While the Cavs had some concerns when evaluating Joel Embiid‘s back, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer says there were no “red flags,” and that Cleveland was blown away by his workout. The belief that Embiid’s physical went well is mounting, after a report to the contrary initially surfaced.
Ojars Silins has decided to keep his name in the NBA draft pool, reports Jānis Freimanis of Sportacentrs.com (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Silins will take the Grizzlies up on their workout invitation, and will also work out for the Spurs and Pistons over the next couple weeks.
The Pelicans are aggressively trying to trade into the first round in hopes of selecting a young small forward or center, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News is hearing rumors that a team has promised to take Elfrid Payton in the teens of the first round (H/T Basketball Insiders).
T.J. Warren‘s stock is rising into the mid-first-round, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Kennedy tweets that league executives are “fascinated” by Walter Tavares. The 7’3″ center is projected as an early second round pick by both Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and ESPN Insider Chad Ford.
Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com speculates that the conflicting reports out of Cleveland regarding Embiid’s health could be a smoke screen aimed at convincing the Sixers they need to trade up to the No. 1 spot in order to get Andrew Wiggins.

And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves

June 13th, 2014 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Here’s more from around the association:

The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.

Draft Notes: Nuggets, McGary, Kings, Knicks

June 13th, 2014 at 9:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Adi Joseph of USA Today breaks down the Nuggets‘ biggest draft needs. According to the article, the team has enough depth to afford to take a best-available approach, and may consider attempting to move up in order to get the elite-tier star their roster so desperately needs. Joseph also thinks the team needs to add help in the backcourt, and mentions Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, Elfrid Payton, and Kyle Anderson as fits with the team’s system.

Draft Rumors: Bucks, Parker Exum, Randle

June 13th, 2014 at 1:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s no truth to the that idea Bucks GM John Hammond would be reluctant to draft Dante Exum because he’s concerned about losing his job, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. It’s not clear whether Milwaukee, which picks second overall, is sold on taking the Australian guard, but the team won’t hesitate to do so if the front office determines he’s worthy, Deveney’s source adds. Here’s more chatter surrounding the draft:

Jabari Parker will work out for the Cavs a week from today, the Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The tweet also makes note of Andrew Wiggins‘ audition for the team next week, echoing an earlier report that he was set to work out for the club close to draft time.

Earlier updates:

Julius Randle said today that no NBA teams expressed a desire at last month’s draft combine for him to have surgery on his right foot even though they knew that he’d broken the foot as a high school senior, observes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter). Still, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com insists multiple clubs are worried about the foot becoming an issue in the future, believing that the foot didn’t heal correctly (Twitter link). However, the Jazz aren’t among the teams with worries, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Randle is nonetheless taking a cautious approach, telling reporters, including Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, that he worked out solo for the Celtics instead of against competition to lessen the chance of injury. Gary Harris, Jordan Clarkson and Elfrid Payton are the previously unreported names taking part in today’s group audition for the Celtics, Forsberg tweets.
Baylor big man Isaiah Austin was red-flagged with several medical issues at last month’s draft combine, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports in an Insider-only piece. Austin’s lack of sight in one eye is well-documented, but it appears as though that isn’t his only malady.
Doug McDermott is the marquee name set to perform Saturday for the Hornets, who’ll also audition T.J. Warren, Travis Wear, Jermaine Marshall, Roberto Nelson and Brandon Young, the team announced in a press release.
Zach LaVine is set to work out Saturday for the Nuggets, Blakely tweets.
Shabazz Napier highlighted a Wolves audition today that also included LaQuinton Ross, Eric Moreland, Ronald Roberts Jr., Tim Frazier and Rion Brown, the team announced (via Twitter). Adreian Payne will show off for Minnesota on Saturday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.