Draft Notes: Bucks, Parker, Embiid, Hornets
The Bucks aren’t having any trouble getting a look at the top prospects. Milwaukee is reportedly set for a pair of workouts with Andrew Wiggins, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that Jabari Parker will work out again for the club this week after having done so last week (Twitter link). Joel Embiid was already apparently slated to audition for the club, and GM John Hammond also met with the Kansas big man last week, Ford tweets. The Bucks appear to be the only team with which Wiggins, Parker, Embiid and Dante Exum have all agreed to visit and work out, Ford notes (Twitter link). Here’s more on the draft, now just 10 days away.
- Jerami Grant, De’Mon Brooks, Josh Davis, Jarell Eddie and Mike Moser are among the draft prospects showing off for the Hornets today, the team announced via press release.
- The Heat are auditioning Walter Tavares today, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
- Keith Appling, Dave Dudzinski, Markel Starks, Tyler Stone and Jermaine Marshall are showing off for the Celtics today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes via Twitter. Marshall will also audition for the Cavs, Sportando reports (via Twitter).
- Roscoe Smith has the Raptors and Mavs on his agenda, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv hears (Twitter link).
- Richard Harris of NBADraft.net adds the Bulls to the list of teams for which Johnny O’Bryant III has worked out. O’Bryant also has auditions slated with the Rockets, Heat, Hornets, Bucks, Grizzlies, Raptors and Pistons, Harris reports.
- Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic adds the Sixers, Mavs, Rockets and Heat to the list of teams that are getting a look at Jordan Bachynski (Twitter link).
- Jahii Carson, Kendrick Perry, Earnest Ross and Alec Brown are all performing for the Rockets, Scotto tweets.
- The Lakers are one of more than a dozen teams for which Ronald Roberts Jr. is working out, a source tells Zagoria (Twitter link).
- The Warriors are auditioning Eric Moreland, Roberto Nelson and Travis Bader, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter links).
Western Notes: Tucker, Draft, Spurs
P.J. Tucker is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but is expected to be back with the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Speaking about the free agent process, Tucker said, “It’s always kind of crazy. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think teams know all the time when another team is going to jump out there. I’m excited to go through it. I don’t know what their (the Suns’) direction is. I know I had great years and that they like me, but they might look another direction. It’s a business. Always has been, always will be. Maybe they draft a player who they think can do what I do at my position. Maybe they move on, maybe they don’t. I don’t know. I’m excited to see, though.“
More from the wild west:
- The NBA is a copycat league, and the success of the Spurs will spark many imitators, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey analyzes how the franchise does business and opines on how difficult it will be for other teams to follow suit.
- The Timberwolves were “pleasantly surprised” by Adreian Payne‘s performance during his pre-draft workout with the team, and are considering taking him with the 13th pick, reports Enea Trapani of Sportando.
- With three first-round picks, the Suns are poised to be big players on draft night. Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the team’s needs. Joseph opines the team should look to add a small forward and a backup point guard with their selections.
- In a separate article Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Warriors, who currently don’t have any picks that night. Their two biggest priorities are at center and point guard.
- Joseph also looks at the draft needs of the Clippers in a different piece. According to Joseph, the team has needs at center, point guard, and small forward.
Western Notes: Clippers, Jones, Adams
The Clippers won’t allow the ownership and legal situation involving Donald Sterling impact their offseason moves, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Reynolds points out the situation is different from the one in New Orleans a few years ago when the league ran the team. Of the situation, commissioner Adam Silver said, “It’s not a level of concern for us. Doc Rivers is the head of basketball operations of the Clippers. We’ve installed Dick Parsons as the interim CEO. He’s on the same page as Doc. They’re working together. Dick Parsons has the absolute authority from the league office to operate the Clippers in the best interest of the organization.“
More from out west:
- Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman grades Perry Jones III’s second season with the Thunder. In 62 games, Jones averaged 3.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, and 0.4 APG in 12.3 minutes a night.
- The Grizzlies have invited Ojars Silins to work out for them on June 22nd, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The Latvian forward is still undecided if he will keep his name in the draft, or withdraw prior to the June 16th deadline, reports Carchia.
- Celtics lead assistant coach Ron Adams will interview with the Warriors next week about a position on Steve Kerr‘s staff, reports Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe.
Cavs Interview David Blatt
FRIDAY, 12:18pm: The Cavs and Warriors are the only teams left in the race for Blatt, a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com. That means the Timberwolves and Hawks are no longer in the mix.
THURSDAY, 1:22pm: Blatt will interview with the Cavs next week, a source tells the Plain Dealer (Twitter link). Blatt said he interviewed earlier by phone, so presumably next week’s interview will be the first face-to-face meeting. That probably doesn’t quite put him on equal footing with Lue and Gentry, both of whom are set for their second sit-downs with the Cavs.
12:35pm: Blatt says he hasn’t received an offer from the Cavs, Sinai tweets.
12:28pm: Blatt indeed announced that he’s leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv, and said that he’ll intensify talks with NBA teams, as Sinai relays via Twitter.
12:07pm: The Timberwolves are still contenders for Blatt, but he’s mostly focused on the Cavs and Warriors, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
11:32am: The Hawks are also vying for Blatt as an assistant coach, Sinai reports.
11:20am: Blatt will say that he’s headed to the NBA today, but he won’t say where, Pick hears, advancing Sinai’s report from earlier (Twitter link).
11:14am: The announcement that Blatt is set to make today doesn’t have to do with the Cavs, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). That doesn’t necessarily rule him out as a head coaching candidate for Cleveland, as Sinai tweets that it’s unclear if Blatt will identify a specific job that he’s taking or merely state his intention to go to the NBA, but it seems to cast doubt on the idea he’ll end up with the Cavs.
11:02am: The Cavaliers have interviewed Israeli league coach David Blatt for their head coaching vacancy, as Blatt tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Blatt said he interviewed by phone and will speak with GM David Griffin again soon, according to Pick. The news comes in advance of a press conference today in which Blatt will announce that he’s leaving Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv for the NBA, as Allon Sinai of The Jerusalem Post tweets. It’s unclear whether Blatt is headed stateside for the Cavs job or for assistant coaching positions with the Warriors and Timberwolves, gigs for which he’s also rumored to be a candidate.
The Cavs had reportedly been in contact with Blatt as of last week, but it appeared then that the conversation hadn’t yet amount to an interview. Blatt says he’s received “real offers” from the NBA, Sinai reports (on Twitter), though it seems as though he may be in line for a consulting job, either on top of or instead of a coaching position, according to Pick (Twitter link). Pick dismisses the notion of Blatt heading to Minnesota (Twitter link), in spite of an earlier report that suggested he would be Flip Saunders‘ first choice as a head-coach-in-waiting who could take over the head coaching duties from Saunders in a year or two.
Blatt told Pick today that an earlier report suggesting that he’d only come to the NBA for a head coaching job was inaccurate (Twitter link), and the Warriors are “quietly confident” that they’ll end up with him, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Still, if he were to become an NBA head coach, it would represent a groundbreaking jump from European basketball. He’s one of several seemingly in the mix for the Cavs head coaching job. Mark Price, Alvin Gentry, Adrian Griffin, Tyronn Lue, Vinny Del Negro and Lionel Hollins have all reportedly garnered interviews. The Cavs have asked Lue and Gentry back for second interviews, while Nate McMillan and Mark Jackson have also apparently emerged as candidates, too.
Western Notes: Kerr, Fernandez, Draft
Money wasn’t the issue for Steve Kerr when he chose the Warriors over the Knicks, as Howard Beck of Bleacher Report hears that New York would have met whatever salary demand he made, as Beck said on the Knickerblogger Podcast. Robert Silverman of KnickerBlogger.net provides the transcription.
More from out west:
- A source close to Rudy Fernandez told The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry that there wasn’t anything to a February report that the Thunder were interested in the four-year NBA veteran, as Mayberry writes amid a chat with readers.
- The Grizzlies announced they will be holding workouts this Monday for Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Jahii Carson, Bryce Cotton, Cleanthony Early, Geron Johnson, and Glenn Robinson III.
- The Jazz have workouts scheduled on Friday with Kyle Anderson, Devin Oliver, Melvin Johnson III, Tyler Stone, Jeronne Maymon, and Davon Usher, the team announced via Twitter.
- Darvin Ham is being considered by the Jazz for an assistant coaching position on Quin Snyder‘s staff, reports Jody Genessy of The Deseret News.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Cobbs, Rockets, Gordon, Jazz
We rounded up the draft news this morning and this afternoon, but there’s plenty of new info still coming out. Here’s the latest:
- Justin Cobbs had a workout with Warriors today, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News.
- The Rockets brought in Iona guard Tre Bowman for a workout, reveals Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter).
- Aaron Gordon will work out for the Celtics, tweets Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. Boston is reportedly “locked in” to big man with the No. 6 pick.
- Patric Young, Jordan Adams, T.J. Bray, Alec Brown, and Jabari Brown will work out for the Jazz, the team announced (on Twitter).
- The Hornets’ workouts tomorrow will include Jordan Bachynski, Justin Jackson, Alex Kirk, Daniel Miller, Dwight Powell, and D.J. Shelton, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).
- Jordan Clarkson made a strong impression during his workout for the Suns, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).
Draft Notes: Celtics, Lakers, Kings, Randle
We rounded up the latest on draft workouts around the league this morning, but updates continue to pour in, so we’ll pass along draft-related news from this afternoon here:
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com, in a chat with readers, identifies the Celtics, Lakers and Kings as the three teams most likely to trade their top-10 picks.
- Julius Randle will have an individual workout with the Celtics, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
- Nik Stauskas is set to work out for the Suns, in addition to previously reported workouts with the Hornets, Celtics, and Lakers, reports Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who hears that those will be the only auditions Stauskas will do (Twitter links).
- Gary Harris, T.J. Warren, K.J. McDaniels are among those showing off for the Sixers today, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Jazz will interview Spencer Dinwiddie next week, a source tells Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Dinwiddie is recovering from a torn ACL and can’t work out, as Jones points out (Twitter links).
- James Michael McAdoo, Jake Odum, Ronald Roberts Jr. and Scottie Wilbekin are scheduled to work out Thursday for the Pacers, the team announced (on Twitter).
- Jordan Clarkson, David Stockton, Cameron Clark, Davante Gardner, Richard Solomon and Tyler Stone are auditioning for the Suns today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic.
- Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press adds Jordan Bachynski and Dwight Powell to the list of players working out for the Pistons. Okaro White is also showing off for the Pistons, as well as the Warriors, as Natalie Pierre of the Tallahassee Democrat details (hat tip to Ellis).
Draft Notes: Gordon, Kings, Napier, Stauskas
Aaron Gordon reveals some of the experiences he had while working out for the Kings, Lakers, and Jazz to Tzvi Twersky of SLAM Magazine. Gordon mentions shooting alongside Chris Mullin and playing defense against Doug McDermott among other details. Here’s a rundown of tonight’s other draft notes:
- Cleanthony Earl and Glenn Robinson III will work out for the Kings next week, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (subscription only).
- Xavier Thames will work out for the Kings and Pacers, tweets Sean Cunningham of News10 Sacramento.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com adds the Thunder, Grizzlies, and Celtics to the list of teams that have auditioned Shabazz Napier (Insider only).
- Nik Stauskas has rescheduled his scrubbed workout with the Lakers, the ESPN scribe adds.
- The Wolves will be working out K.J. McDaniels, Rodney Hood, and P.J. Hairston this weekend, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. Wolfson adds that more players could be lined up for workouts in Minnesota in addition to those three.
- Stephen Holt will work out for the Warriors, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group.
Draft Notes: Wiggins, Exum, Anderson
Andrew Wiggins has auditions for the Sixers and Bucks on his agenda in the next couple of weeks, but the Cavs will work him out closer to the draft, preferring to hire a coach before taking a look at key prospects, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Ford and others have plenty more as draft prospects criss-cross North America to put themselves on display for teams, as we detail below:
- Ford adds the Sixers to the list of teams working out Dante Exum, but it looks like he won’t be headed to any team that doesn’t possess a top-four pick, Ford adds (Twitter links). The Cavs are the only top-four team without a workout on Exum’s docket.
- Kyle Anderson will work out for the Jazz, according to Anderson’s Twitter account (hat tip to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune).
- Roscoe Smith is auditioning for the Rockets and Warriors, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Travel issues prevented Jordan Adams, Markel Brown and Joe Harris from attending today’s workout with the Hornets as planned, prompting the team to add former University of North Carolina shooting guard Leslie McDonald as a substitute. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer has the details via Twitter.
- The Hornets will also take a look at Cory Jefferson this week, as Boston Globe correspondent Jake Fischer reports, adding that the power forward from Baylor will perform for the Wolves and Wizards, too (Twitter link).
- The Wizards, Pacers and Heat are on Keith Appling‘s workout schedule, Fischer also tweets. Fischer adds the Cavs and Wizards to the teams working out Bryce Cotton (Twitter link).
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Sam Dower and Markel Starks will join Jefferson and Appling in working out for the Wizards today, the team announced. Jamil Wilson will also take part, confirming an earlier report indicating that he was expected to work out for Washington.
- Chaz Williams will show off for the Jazz, Warriors, Bucks and Cavs over the next eight days, sources tell Josh Newman of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Calipari, Izzo, Miller, Wizards
John Calipari wasn’t the only star college coach the Cavs reached out to, reveals Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal, who hears Kevin Ollie, Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Mike Krzyzewski all were contacted by Cleveland. Lloyd’s source adds that the Cavs offered Tom Izzo a coaching position that also would have given him total control of the franchise’s basketball operations, much like the role that the team proposed to Coach Cal. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Cavs have contacted around 11 candidates in an attempt to fill their coaching vacancy, writes Lloyd in the same piece.
- The decision on whether or not to bring back Andre Miller will probably be an easy one for the Wizards, opines J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Washington holds a $4.6MM option on his deal for 2014/15 or could buy him out for $2MM.
- Former Marquette University forward Jamil Wilson, who had to cancel workouts with the Bucks and Pistons due to a sprained ankle, is expected to audition for the Wizards on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal Sentinel.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looked back at the performance of Nets‘ midseason acquisition Marcus Thornton. Thornton turned into a key rotation player for Brooklyn down the stretch of the season and will earn ~$8.58MM in his walk year.
- The Thunder are the NBA’s smartest spenders as they have gotten more success out of less money than anyone else in the league, writes Glenn Davis of USA Today. OKC owns a 271-123 record over the last five seasons combined all while having payrolls that ranked in the bottom half of the league on average.
- Sean Meagher of The Oregonian wonders if the Trail Blazers should hold on to Wesley Matthews, a free agent after the 2014/15 season. Matthews is coming off of the best season of his career as a pro and is entering the final year of his five-year, $33MM deal.
- Former UNC standout Sean May will attend mini-camps with the Spurs and Warriors this month, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
- The Clippers will bring in Jordan Clarkson, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, and Sean Kilpatrick for workouts, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
- The Celtics could eye offense in this month’s draft, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com explains.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.