Pacific Notes: Thompson, Gasol
Klay Thompson‘s father told Charley Walters of St. Paul Pioneer Press that the Warriors shooting guard would not object to being traded to the Wolves in a Kevin Love deal. “Klay’s attitude about it is very professional,” said Thompson’s father, Mychal. “He says if he’s traded, he’ll make the most of it and enjoy playing with Ricky [Rubio], and if he isn’t, he’s fine. Either way, he’s a pro and knows how to handle it.” Here’s a rundown of the latest in the Pacific Division:
- Steph Curry joined Andre Iguodala in voicing his preference to keep Thompson in Golden State when asked about the Kevin Love trade discussions between the Warriors and Wolves. “As great as Kevin Love is, it would be very hard to see your teammates and your brothers leave at this time,” Curry told reporters including Diamong Leung of Bay Area News Group. “So we’ll see what happens, but it’d definitely be a tough situation.” Of course, Curry’s public support for Mark Jackson didn’t stop the team from cutting ties with their former coach, and Curry acknowledged a decision on Love was not his to make.
- The Lakers remain open to re-signing Pau Gasol, and believe the former All-Star’s presence could aid the team in acquiring Carmelo Anthony this summer, a source tells Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (video link) suggests the Mavs, Heat, and Lakers would all give the Knicks stiff competition if Gasol were willing to accept a discounted deal like the one Phil Jackson will reportedly offer the big man, and thinks there’s “no chance” Gasol signs in New York if Carmelo Anthony isn’t still there.
Draft Grades: Pacific Division
With the 2014 NBA Draft officially in the books, it’s time to take a look back and see how each team used the draft to make improvements and fill needs. I already took a look at the Atlantic and Central Divisions. Now I’ll check out the Pacific Division:
Golden State Warriors
Team Needs: Center, Point Guard, Depth
Draft Picks:
- No picks.
The Warriors sent their selection this year to the Nuggets as part of the trade that netted them Andre Iguodala. Denver used the pick to select Rodney Hood, who is a good player with upside, but I think the Warriors are happy with their end of the trade.
Overall Draft Grade: B- —Instead of banking on the potential of a mid first-rounder, the team used the pick to nab a definite starter. Not having any second round selections though lowers the grade, especially in a draft this deep.
Los Angeles Clippers
Team Needs: Center, Small Forward, Point Guard, Shooting Guard
Draft Picks:
- No. 28 C.J. Wilcox (Shooting Guard)
Wilcox is a solid, if unspectacular pick. He’s athletic, can shoot from deep, and should contribute as a role-player this season. It’s a bit of a puzzling pick though. Didn’t they draft a similar player last year in Reggie Bullock? Still on the board when they selected Wilcox were Kyle Anderson, K.J. McDaniels, Cleanthony Early, Jerami Grant, and Glenn Robinson III. All players who have more upside than Wilcox, and could have contributed more this coming season.
Overall Draft Grade: D+ —A safe, but underwhelming selection, which left players with more upside on the board.
Los Angeles Lakers
Team Needs: Talent, Depth, Small Forward, Point Guard
Draft Picks:
- No. 7 Julius Randle (Power Forward)
- No. 46 Jordan Clarkson (Shooting Guard)*
*Purchased pick from Wizards.
The Lakers were linked to Randle in most mock drafts, and while they failed to trade the pick for Kevin Love or to move up in the draft for a chance at Dante Exum, they still managed to nab one of the most NBA ready players in the entire draft in Randle. He’s not going to be a plus defender, but he should be a beast with the ball in the low post, and I also expect him to develop a decent mid-range game over time. Randle also makes for a ready made replacement if Pau Gasol doesn’t return. If he’s starting on day one, Randle is my favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors.
Clarkson is a combo guard with above average athleticism and a streaky jump shot. Depending on what the Lakers do about re-signing Nick Young, Clarkson could see some steady minutes next season. That might not be a great thing for the Lakers chances of making the playoffs though.
Overall Draft Grade: A- —They grab one of the few sure bets in the lottery, though his upside isn’t as high as some of the other players still available at No. 7. Randle should be a day one starter, and will pray the team signs some outside shooters so he will have room to operate down low.
Phoenix Suns
Team Needs: Star Player, Small Forward, Point Guard
Draft Picks:
- No. 14 T.J. Warren (Small Forward/Power Forward)
- No. 18 Tyler Ennis (Point Guard)
- No. 27 Bogdan Bogdanovic (Shooting Guard)
- No. 50 Alec Brown (Power Forward)
The Suns have been searching for NBA ready players that are upper-tier. They still hope to land a big name via free agency or trade, and also need to concern themselves with re-signing Eric Bledsoe. But having failed to package their multiple picks for a known asset, the team did very well on Thursday night.
Warren is an extremely talented scorer who can fill up a stat sheet. He’s a bit of a tweener which is always a concern, but he’s a polished player who will contribute off the bench next season and could grow into an effective starter. His lack of athleticism will hold him back, especially in the Western Conference.
Ennis was an excellent value pick, and a player who was openly coveted by the Raptors–which means there is still a possibility he gets dealt before the season begins. If the team keeps him, I believe Ennis has a wealth of potential and projects as a starter down the line. He’ll fit in nicely as a backup to Bledsoe and Goran Dragic next season.
Bogdanovic is a stash pick who could turn out to be a valuable sixth man candidate in a few years. He’s a flashy scorer who can handle the ball very well. He’s another player who could turn out to be a steal in a few years. Brown has D-League or overseas contract written all over him. Don’t see him being a factor in Phoenix.
Overall Draft Grade: B+ —The team picks up two immediate rotation players and another possibility in Bogdanovic. Not the haul the team was anticipating, nor as athletic a group of picks as they would have hoped for–but a very solid night.
Sacramento Kings
Team Needs: Power Forward, Shooters, Point Guard
Draft Picks:
- No. 8 Nik Stauskas (Shooting Guard)
A bit of a puzzling pick. Not because of Stauskas, who was arguably the best shooter in the entire draft, but because of last year’s selection, Ben McLemore. The team needs help at power forward and point guard, and Noah Vonleh, Elfrid Payton, and Doug McDermott were all available at that spot.
It’s possible the team intends to trade McLemore, as there were rumblings of the Celtics possibly being interested. If not, either he or Stauskas will end up as the sixth man. Whatever his role, Stauskas is a talented pick who is a better all around player than many give him credit for. His ability to defend NBA level shooting guards is a question, but his ability to drain jumpers is not.
Overall Draft Grade: B — The team nabs a solid player who can fill up the stat sheet, but left other needs unfilled.
Wolves Eyeing Steve Blake
The name of soon-to-be free agent Steve Blake has come up in trade talks between the Warriors and Wolves as a sign-and-trade possibility, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. His inclusion in a deal involving Klay Thompson and David Lee for Kevin Love is one of many scenarios the teams are considering, according to Wolfson, who earlier identified Blake as one of several free agents to watch regarding Minnesota this summer (Twitter link).
The Knicks are also apparently interested in the Joel Bell client, who spent a year playing for then-coach Phil Jackson when they were with the Lakers. Blake appears to hold the notion of playing for the Lakers again in high regard and he quickly warmed to Golden State, so it seems Minnesota wouldn’t be at the top of his list of preferred destinations. He’d have to approve any sign-and-trade deal.
Trade discussion involving Love has seemingly slowed considerably, if not completely stopped, as Minnesota reportedly waits for teams that miss out on free agent Carmelo Anthony to turn their focus to Love. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Golden State and Minnesota come to some kind of agreement whether or not Love is involved, given the frequent reports of their back-and-forth in the past month, so a deal involving Blake, providing he consents, is quite conceivable.
Warriors Willing To Trade For Jeremy Lin
The Warriors have told the Rockets that they’re on board with trading for Jeremy Lin, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com wrote Wednesday that there was a decent chance that Golden State would be willing to accept the point guard via trade as Houston attempts to clear his salary, as long as Chandler Parsons was also part of the deal. Thompson’s report makes no mention of Parsons, however.
Golden State could use a trade exception worth more than $9.8MM left over from last year’s three-way deal with the Jazz and Nuggets to acquire Lin, as Thompson points out. The Warriors tried in vain to find a capable backup point guard to replace Jarrett Jack this past season, and Lin was once a member of the W’s, who waived him before his sudden rise to fame with the Knicks. Still, it’s unclear just what Houston would have to do to entice Golden State to take back Lin and his nearly $15MM salary for next season, one that dwarfs his nonetheless sizable $8,374,646 cap hit.
Pelicans Look To Deal Anderson, Rivers?
7:12pm: New Orleans isn’t shopping Anderson to any teams, a source tells John Reid of The Times Picayune (Twitter link).
5:57pm: The Pelicans are shopping Ryan Anderson and Austin Rivers, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). That contradicts an earlier report from Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com as far as Anderson goes. Goodman says the Clippers have asked the Pelicans about Ryan Anderson, but the Pelicans aren’t making him available for trades.
Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group has heard chatter about Anderson as a possible Warriors target (Twitter link), but it appears he’s off limits. There is some sentiment with the Clippers organization to pursue Rivers, but coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers has said that he wouldn’t feel comfortable coaching his son, as Goodman writes in his piece.
New Orleans needs to clear salary approximately equal to what Rivers makes to accommodate their agreement to trade for Omer Asik.
Western Rumors: Love, Rockets, Nuggets
Here’s the latest from the Western Conference as the draft gets underway:
- The Wolves spent the afternoon in meetings, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter), and he wouldn’t be surprised to see some major news come out tonight regarding Kevin Love and the Warriors.
- Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) believes that the odds are still against a Love trade materializing tonight. However, sources tell him that the two sides continue to talk despite the hangup over whether Klay Thompson is in play.
- Echoing an earlier report from USA Today’s Sam Amick, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears from a rival executive that the Rockets already have a Jeremy Lin deal lined up and ready to execute if they need the cap space to sign Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James. It’s likely that the Rockets flip the first-rounder they’re acquiring from the Pelicans in the Omer Asik trade, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- David Pick of Eurobasket.com has consistently heard that the Nuggets will take Jusuf Nurkic at No. 11 (Twitter link).
- The Thunder will either draft a wing player or trade the 29th overall pick for one, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Mavs almost certainly won’t trade for a first-round pick in tonight’s draft, Donnie Nelson says, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com notes (Twitter link).
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Rumors: Warriors, Asik, Parker, Kings
In an interview with SiriusXM, Warriors star Andre Iguodala said that he doesn’t believe teammate Klay Thompson should be traded as part of a deal for Minnesota’s Kevin Love, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. “That’s not going to happen,” Iguodala said. “I want to clear that up right now. We should not trade Klay Thompson. I tell Klay this every day. I text Klay and say, ‘Don’t worry. I’m your man. I’m going to make sure you get paid. I’m going to get you the max (contract). You’ll be taken care of. Don’t stress.’” Here’s more out of the West..
- More dominoes will fall from the deal that sent Omer Asik to the Pelicans, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. New Orleans may move Austin Rivers to create cap space. One possibility, Windhorst suggests, would be trading him to the Clippers, where Austin’s father holds a trade exception.
- The Rockets talked about sending Asik to the Pelicans for Ryan Anderson, but could not get much traction, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
- The Jazz remain interested in Jabari Parker, but sources say there’s still a “big concern” about his right foot, which he broke in high school, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. However, Parker is still in the lead over Andrew Wiggins on their wish list if they can pull off a deal for the No. 1 pick (link).
- The Kings appear poised to keep the No. 8 pick, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- Sponsors continue to be skittish about the Clippers as the team’s ownership situation remains unresolved, as Andrea Chang and Tiffany Hsu of the Los Angeles Times detail.
- The Timberwolves received initial criticism for last year’s draft-day trade of Trey Burke to Utah for Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, but one year later, team president Flip Saunders is happy with the returns, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
And-Ones: Knicks, Kings, Heat
It’s been a busy day around the league, and things could get even crazier tomorrow. Here’s a roundup of the night’s notes:
- If Zach Randolph isn’t signed prior to the draft and the Grizzlies select a power forward, it could be an indication that Memphis is preparing to move on from Randolph, writes Ronald Tillery of Commercial Appeal.
- A rival executive tells Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) that he could envision the Knicks breaking into the first round by flipping newly acquired Shane Larkin, as we speculated earlier tonight.
- Beck tweets that the Knicks hope Jose Calderon‘s presence will help them lure Marc Gasol to New York when the dynamic center hits free agency before the 2015/16 season.
- The Kevin Love talks between the Wolves and Warriors were “never off” and remain ongoing, tweets Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- The Kings primary concern is adding perimeter shooting, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think it’s a very important factor for the draft,” GM Pete D’Alessandro told Jones. “I think it’s something we have to take seriously and take a strong look at, for sure.”
- A person with knowledge of restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas‘s situation tells Sam Amick of USA Today that the point guard’s market value is between $4MM and $6MM per year.
- Dwyane Wade has yet to make his decision regarding the early termination clause in his contract, but sources tell Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that he, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh had a positive meeting regarding their offseason (Twitter link).
Latest On Kevin Love
7:35pm: The talks between Minnesota and Golden State are not dead, Chad Ford of ESPN.com said as a guest on ESPN 710 LA (transcription via Basketball Insiders). A trade built around Love, Lee, and Thompson could still be worked out prior to free agency, since the Warriors would likely see themselves as credible suitors for LeBron James with a Stephen Curry/Love foundation.
3:57pm: The formal structure of a deal was never in place between the Cavs and Wolves, but Cleveland had been “fiercely determined” to trade for Love, Wojnarowski writes. Wojnarowski suggests that the No. 1 pick was a part of the talks, even if there was no offer, per se. Cleveland’s pursuit ended when agent Jeff Schwartz warned that Love wouldn’t re-sign, according to Wojnarowski. Love’s wish list is narrow, and Saunders has put trade discussions involving him “in neutral,” Wojnarowski hears.
2:33pm: Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that the negotiations between Cleveland and Minnesota have been exploratory and “not yet serious enough to kill” (Twitter link).
2:00pm: The Cavs have yet to offer the top pick for Love, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears. Still, Krawczynski suggests there’s a decent chance that Love indeed made it clear he wouldn’t remain in Cleveland if traded there, discouraging the Cavs from making such an offer (Twitter links).
1:06pm: One day out from the draft, and Kevin Love trade discussions appear to be slow-going, at best. The Cavs made a push to deal the No. 1 pick for Love, but he would refuse to re-sign with Cleveland, and that’s halted those talks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). At least one member of the Warriors braintrust wouldn’t be on board with a one-for-one trade of Love for Klay Thompson if it were a possibility, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. The prevailing logic within the Warriors front office is that an upgrade at power forward over David Lee that would break up the backcourt of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry isn’t worth it, the Bay Area News Group scribe adds.
Minnesota meanwhile has an eye toward waiting to see the offers from teams who miss out on Carmelo Anthony this summer, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would prefer to try to convince Love to stay rather than take a trade offer that’s less than ideal, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Saunders is optimistic that his team will improve this coming season, but even “strong improvement” wouldn’t be enough to convince Love to stay, Bulpett hears.
The Wolves are wary of Boston’s reported proposal of Kelly Olynyk, picks Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, and a future first-round pick since it would require the Wolves to take back additional, likely player-friendly, contracts to make the salaries match, Bulpett writes. The Celtics are willing to discuss including the first-round picks the Nets owe them, according to Bulpett.
Broussard’s Latest: LeBron, Griffin, Harden
The Clippers aren’t among the top choices for LeBron James, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who nonetheless wouldn’t rule them out completely. Broussard doubts that James would head there until Donald Sterling is formally ousted as owner of the club, and there’s also concern about how well James would fit on the court with friend Chris Paul, though Broussard doesn’t specify if that’s a concern of James’. Still, Heat president Pat Riley believes acquiring Blake Griffin via sign-and-trade would be the best outcome if James decides to leave Miami, Broussard reports. The ESPN scribe identifies the Heat, Cavs, Rockets, Knicks and Nets as having better chances than the Clippers do of landing James, given the four-time MVP’s preferences, and he has a few bombshells in his report, as we detail.
- If the Rockets clear enough cap room to sign one of LeBron and Carmelo Anthony, their next step would be to dangle James Harden to acquire the other via sign-and-trade. The Knicks and the Heat would be receptive to trading for Harden in that scenario, Broussard adds.
- Chris Bosh appears sold on Miami, but it’s questionable whether he’d want to stay if James leaves, Broussard writes.
- Riley is planning a run at Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, according to Broussard. I’d assume it would involve pursuing him via free agency in the event that Oklahoma City amnesties him, rather than pursuing him via trade, though that’s just my speculation.
- Broussard hears there’s a decent chance that the Warriors would be willing to acquire Jeremy Lin if he’s part of a package with Chandler Parsons.
- The Nets would prefer trading Deron Williams rather than Joe Johnson in an effort to clear room for James, Broussard says.