Hoops Rumors Polls

Poll: Where Will Kevin Love Begin 2014/15?

June 5th, 2014 at 8:25pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Wolves made headlines today by revealing that team president Flip Saunders will take the reigns as head coach and enter into a role similar to the one possessed by the likes of Doc Rivers and Stan Van Gundy. The news wasn’t overly shocking since Saunders had long been rumored as a potential successor to the now retired Rick Adelman, but the move might ignite Kevin Love trade discussions since the team was reportedly going to hold off talks to deal the big man until they hired a coach. A recent report identified the Celtics, Bulls, Warriors, Suns, Lakers and Rockets as the teams poised to make a run at the All-Star. Let’s round up the merits of Love’s suitors:

Celtics: While Love would reportedly be willing to consider signing a long-term deal with Boston, the Wolves aren’t enamored with what GM Danny Ainge can bring to the table. No matter how appealing of a destination the C’s might be for Love, Minnesota holds final say whether or not he’ll actually wind up there.
Bulls: The assets Chicago can offer are reportedly more appealing than those of Boston, but it’s up in the air whether Love would consider re-signing long-term for the Bulls, and Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com hears Chicago won’t give up a combination of Jimmy Butler, draft picks and/or Taj Gibson, Carlos Boozer, and Nikola Mirotic unless they know Love will remain a member of the Bulls.
Warriors: Golden State’s biggest trade chips are likely Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson, but David Lee would need to be part of almost any trade scenario featuring Love in order for such a deal to work financially. It’s tough to see the Warriors parting ways with Thompson, but that might be the only way they could land Love.
Suns: Phoenix has a multitude of first-round draft picks, including three in this year’s draft, and Love might be the missing piece their roster needs to propel them into becoming serious contenders. Still, it’s tough to see the Suns trading for him without commitment he’d stay long-term.
Lakers: Love is a Southern California native and played his college ball at UCLA. A move out west makes sense, but the Lakers might not be able to put together an impressive enough package to steal him from Minnesota. If Love is dedicated to finding his way to LA, he might have to wait until he’s free agent eligible in the summer of 2014/15.
Rockets: Acquiring Love would almost certainly mean Houston would have to part with Chandler Parsons, and it’s still difficult to come up with a trade that benefits both sides while working financially. Still, Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been a creative trade artist in the past, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see Houston make a play.

Other teams have been linked to Love as well, including the Kings and Wizards, and any team would certainly have some level of interest in acquiring the Second Team All-NBA forward. There’s a chance he’ll remain in Minnesota past the summer, but it seems the odds of such a scenario are decreasing daily. Where do you think Love will be playing to open 2014/15? Vote in the poll below, and leave a comment sharing your thoughts!

Poll: Who Wins The NBA Finals?

June 3rd, 2014 at 11:38am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s only fitting that one of the most thrilling NBA Finals in history is followed with a rematch the next June. The Heat and Spurs will once more play for the championship, and more than just legacy will be at stake.

No one who can elect free agency this summer would be more sought after than LeBron James, but even as he sits atop the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, a third straight title for the Heat would apparently make it even less likely he leaves Miami. It seems a long shot that James would sign elsewhere even if the Heat come up short over the next two weeks, but most reports regarding his free agency haven’t come from the four-time MVP himself. He’s kept steadfastly quiet, breeding uncertainty, so his Heat teammates might be playing as much to preserve their shot at future championships as they are for a championship this year.

The Spurs have most of their key players under team control for 2014/15, unlike the Heat, who have only Norris Cole on a guaranteed contract for next season. Tim Duncan possesses a player option, although he’s hinted that he intends to pick it up and continue playing for San Antonio rather than retire. Still, he’s 38, Manu Ginobili is 36, and Tony Parker is 32. Miami’s stars are beginning to age but not to the degree that San Antonio’s have. If the Heat take care of the Spurs quickly, signaling regression from last season’s seven-gamer, perhaps this will be the summer that Gregg Popovich, R.C. Buford and company start building around Kawhi Leonard, who’s up for a rookie sale extension this summer.

In any case, the series will be eminently compelling, and the subplots that threaten to echo in the months ahead make it even more so. Let us know how you think the Finals will turn out, and leave a comment with your prediction for what happens to each team in the offseason.

Poll: Who Will The Cavs Select First Overall?

May 24th, 2014 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavaliers have won the NBA Draft lottery and secured the first overall pick for the third time in four seasons. The team finished with a record of 33-49 and jumped over eight other teams to secure the top selection. Cleveland possessed only a 1.7 percent chance of landing the first pick and only a 6.1 percent chance of landing in the top three, but still took home the prize.

Winning the draft lottery is hardly a guarantee of future success, as no team with the No. 1 overall pick has won the NBA title since 1998, per Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight. But if the pick is used wisely, it certainly won’t be a detriment to the Cavs rebuilding efforts.

The team has met with mixed results the last two times it has selected a player with the first overall pick. In 2011 the team chose Kyrie Irving. Irving has had his share of locker room issues. The team isn’t sure if they will be able to sign Irving to an extension when he is eligible this summer, and they risk losing him after next season. But his on court numbers have been excellent. This season, in 71 games, Irving averaged 20.8 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 6.1 APG. Last season’s number one overall selection, Anthony Bennett hasn’t fared as well thus far. In his rookie year, Bennett averaged 4.2 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 0.3 APG.

Who the team selects this year will have a major impact on the future of the franchise. Here are the top possibilities:

Joel Embiid (C): With Spencer Hawes set to become an unrestricted free agent, the only other centers on the roster are currently Anderson Varejao and Tyler Zeller. Embiid averaged 11.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 2.6 BPG in 23.1 minutes per game during his freshman year. The seven-footer out of Kansas would normally be a lock for the top selection, but worries about the lingering effects of a stress fracture in his back have raised concerns. These are understandable when considering the short shelf life and injury woes that have struck big men in recent years. If healthy though, Embiid has the potential to be a star at a position lacking top shelf talent. You can check out our full prospect profile for Embiid here.
Andrew Wiggins (SF/SG): The Cavs have Dion Waiters already at shooting guard, so taking Wiggins would push Waiters to the bench, allow the team to move him in a trade, or Wiggins could slot in at small forward where there should be an opening with Luol Deng unlikely to re-sign with the team. In his freshman season at Kansas, Wiggins averaged 17.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.2 SPG in 32.6 minutes per contest. He is a gifted athlete and has a wealth of potential, but Wiggins has also shown a tendency to disappear in games. That’s not a desirable trait from the first overall pick, but Wiggins’ upside might be higher than any in the draft. You can read our full profile of Wiggins here.
Jabari Parker (SF/PF): Perhaps the most polished and NBA-ready player in the entire draft. Parker led the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.1 PPG and 8.7 RPG while shooting 47.3% from the floor. Parker’s NBA position has been questioned, which is his biggest negative. He has the offensive game to be a small forward, but defensively he may not be quick enough to guard NBA threes, and is too small to be a full time power forward. He also might not have as much upside as the other players on this list, but he also carries the lowest risk. Parker’s full prospect profile can be viewed here.
Dante Exum (PG): Exum is a long shot to go as the top pick, but I mention him because he has the potential to rise up draft boards quickly as more teams get a look at him in pre-draft workouts. His potential may just be intriguing enough for Cleveland to take a risk. If the Cavs were looking to trade Irving, then Exum would certainly be discussed. Exum could also slot in as a shooting guard, which could aid the team in moving Waiters, or Exum could begin his career as a backup for both guard positions as he learns the game. Our full profile on Exum can be seen here.

Poll: Steve Kerr’s 2014/15 Expectations?

May 22nd, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Ryan Raroque

It will presumably be baptism by fire for rookie head coach Steve Kerr next season, as he looks to lead a team coming off of 51 wins and an ultra-competitive seven-game series against the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Although Kerr’s strong relationship with Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob and team GM Bob Myers has been highly publicized, it’s interesting to note that not many of the players have publicly commented much on Kerr’s hiring, reportedly out of support for Mark Jackson. Thus, in addition to the challenge of winning the players over, Kerr understands that the team’s expectations will be high.

“I know I have big shoes to fill…Mark was very successful there and has done a great job with the players. They all appreciated him…But I look at that as a positive because I’m inheriting a good team. I’d rather inherit a good team with expectations than a bad team with a low bar. It’s not even close. So I’m aware there are going to be expectations. That comes with the territory. I would challenge anybody to find a job in the NBA that isn’t rife with challenges. They’re all just a little different,” Kerr recently told Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area.

When Jackson was hired by Golden State in 2011, he boldly predicted that the team would make the playoffs in his first year. Soon after the 2011/12 season began, he predicted that then-rookie Klay Thompson would win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award. Kerr refrained from making his own bold predictions, choosing instead to focus on continuing the franchise’s improvement over the last two seasons.

“My view is not ‘we have to win 52 games next year’ or we have to get to the second round…My view is ‘What are we going to do the next decade?’ ‘What are we going to do the next five years?’ My goal is to continue this upward trend the organization is on.”

Though Kerr wouldn’t admit a specific goal for next season, it’s still an interesting topic worth discussing. With that in mind, what will signify that upward trend in his first season as a rookie head coach in Golden State?

Poll: Did Mark Jackson Deserve To Be Fired?

May 6th, 2014 at 9:01pm CST by Charlie Adams

Mark Jackson had long been rumored to be on his way out of Golden State, so it was no shock when the team announced his dismissal this afternoon. A report implied he didn’t have any supporters in the front office, and the dysfunctional state of the Warriors’ organization this season is rumored to have even potentially hurt his stock going forward. Multiple disputes with assistant coaches over the past few months helped to damage Jackson’s image, even though it was later discovered that he wasn’t exactly responsible for either issue.

Ideological differences with the front office seemed to be the most important factor in Jackson’s discharge. It’s hard to blame him for a lack of success, since the team went 121-109 during his tenure, and reports indicated he had the support of players in the Warriors’ locker room. The club did suffer an early exit in the playoffs, but pinning all the blame on Jackson is unrealistic since the W’s were facing a tough Clippers squad with Andrew Bogut sidelined. In fact, Joe Lacob and Bob Myers sat down with Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News and revealed they simply didn’t feel Jackson was the best fit for their organization going forward.

Did Mark Jackson deserve to get the ax in Golden State? The Warriors won more games this year than they had since 1991/92, and it will surely be tough to completely sell the locker room on the dismissal of a well-liked coach. At the same time, it’s hard for a team succeed when management has different fundamental views than the coach does, and a change in leadership will help distance the club from the “dysfunctional” image they acquired over the course of the season. It’s certainly a difficult question, but Hoops Rumors wants to know what the readers think. Vote below and tell us whether or not Golden State made the right call giving Jackson the boot.

Poll: Which Game 7 Loser Will Advance In 2015?

May 6th, 2014 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

A thrilling weekend of Game 7’s has given way to exit interviews and thoughts about the future for the five teams that lost deciding games in the first round of the playoffs. Some of those teams, like the Hawks and Mavs, can take encouragement that a seven-game series means they’re farther along than they probably thought they were. Others, like the Warriors and Grizzlies, probably didn’t envision sitting at home for the second round when they laid out their plans for the season.

Regardless of where the Hawks, Raptors, Mavs, Grizzlies and Warriors began the season, they’re all in similar positions now. Each team has reason to believe it can be better next year.

Atlanta is on target to have a healthy Al Horford for next season, with close to $15MM in potential cap space this summer. Toronto appears to be a team on the rise, with young talents like DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas and seemingly the inside track to re-sign Kyle Lowry. Dirk Nowitzki remains an elite talent for Dallas, which can clear enough cap room to once more pursue another major star, or at least recruit free agents who can upgrade the team’s defense. The Grizzlies might have advanced beyond the first round if Marc Gasol had been healthy all season and they’d earned a higher seed, and the Memphis front office showed a knack for acquiring useful rotation players on the cheap this year. Golden State is another team on the come, and the series against the Clippers might have been drastically different if Andrew Bogut hadn’t been injured.

All five teams enter the offseason poised to make improvements that can take them beyond the first round next season. Let us know which club you think has the greatest chance to achieve that goal in 2014/15, and feel free to elaborate on your choice in the comments.

Poll: Best Lakers Coaching Candidate?

May 2nd, 2014 at 7:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The resignation of Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni this week has opened up a floodgate of rumors as to who the team will target as their next coach. D’Antoni, who was hired by the Lakers to replace Mike Brown on November 12, 2012, had a 67-87 record in his two seasons with the team. The primary reason for his resignation was the Lakers refusal to provide assurances they would exercise his team option for the 2015/2016 season. D’Antoni had concerns about having a “lame duck” status next season.

The Lakers are going after marquee names and want to “make a splash” with their next coaching hire, with Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie and Kentucky’s John Calipari at the forefront, reported Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. The team still plans to reach out to Calipari even though he denied interest in the vacancy on Thursday. The Lakers intend to hold back and focus on the draft and free agency while they gauge the coaching market, Stein and Shelburne write.

The Lakers are also considering holding off on a decision in case a high-profile free agent indicates he wants to join the team, sources told Stein and Shelburne. In that instance, the free agent would be able to influence the team’s choice of coaches.

There are plenty of other names that have been mentioned to be possible targets for the team. Here’s a quick rundown of the main candidates that the Lakers might take a look at:

Kevin Ollie: Ollie is open to hearing from the Lakers, but is very committed to UConn, a person familiar with Ollie’s thinking said, writes Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News. Ollie is a hot name amongst NBA teams right now, and beyond his ability as a coach, he reportedly has a strong relationship with Kevin Durant, and that could be a boon in attempting to lure Durant to Los Angeles when he becomes a free agent in 2016. In two seasons at UConn, Ollie’s record is 52-18, including winning the NCAA Championship this past season.
George Karl: Karl has been out of coaching since the 2012/13 season. He was let go by the Nuggets after winning Coach of the Year honors that year. He would certainly qualify as a big name coach and would most likely meet with the approval of Kobe Bryant. Karl’s lifetime record is 1131-756.
Jeff Van Gundy: Van Gundy hasn’t coached since the 2006/07 season when he led the Rockets to a 52-30 record. His career numbers are 430-318. It isn’t known if Van Gundy is interested in the job as he has made it known that he is happy as a broadcaster.
John Calipari: Calipari has already stated via his own Twitter account that he wasn’t interested in the position and would be staying at Kenucky. “Before it starts, I’m totally committed to helping this group of young men reach their dreams,” Calipari wrote. “I wouldn’t and couldn’t leave this group!” But Nina Mandell of USA Today Sports noted earlier that Calipari accepted the Kentucky job after proclaiming his plans to stay put at Memphis. Calipari previously coached the Nets for 2+ seasons and had an overall record of 72-112.
Byron Scott: Scott, in an interview with Time Warner Cable Sports Net, confirmed a report that he’s interested in the job (video link). He’s also a favorite of the Buss family, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding noted. In 13 seasons as a head coach, Scott has a record of 416-521. He last coached the Cavaliers during the 2012/13 season, leading the team to a 24-58 record before being fired.
Kurt Rambis: Rambis wouldn’t necessarily be the “big splash” that the team was reportedly looking to make, but his ties to the organization and desire to become a head coach again make him someone that will get some consideration. Rambis coached the Lakers during the 1998/99 season, and had a record of 24-13. He also coached the Timberwolves from 2009/10 to 2010/11. His lifetime record as a coach is 56-145.
Steve Kerr: Ben Higgins of San Diego’s Channel 10 News (Twitter link) reported that Kerr said he would be interested in speaking to the team about the now vacant position. Kerr has repeatedly been liked to the Knicks since Phil Jackson was hired. Multiple reports suggested that Kerr would prefer to work for a team on the West Coast, but more recently Lute Olson, Kerr’s college coach, said that he didn’t believe that was the case. Marc Berman of the New York Post noted that the Lakers don’t view Kerr as a candidate for their coaching vacancy, believing he’s too far along in his negotiations with New York.
Derek Fisher: Stein and Shelburne have noted that the Lakers are also considering Fisher, for whom the job reportedly holds “tremendous appeal.” Fisher has made it known that he is interested in pursuing position as an NBA front-office executive after he retires, but Fisher has previously stated that he had no interest in coaching, so it’s unknown if he would have a change of heart.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Poll: Which Underdog Will Win In Round One?

April 23rd, 2014 at 9:30pm CST by Alex Lee

With the Mavericks blowing out the Spurs in San Antonio tonight, it looks like the defending champion Heat are the only one of the eight higher seeds that will hold home court advantage in the first two games of the NBA playoffs. And believe it or not, it’s really no surprise.

After all, the top seed in the East, the Pacers, went ice-cold down the stretch and face a Hawks team that is no stranger to postseason play. Meanwhile, the Thunder, owners of the NBA’s second-best record and the two-seed in the West, face a white-hot Grizzlies team that has been playing at an elite level since Marc Gasol‘s mid-January return. And those are just two of the riveting first round matchups.

We still have a long way to go in round one, but with a logjam of great teams out West and a whole lot of uncertainty in the East, this postseason is shaping up to be an unpredictable one. The question is, can teams like Atlanta and Memphis shock the world in round one? Or will they simply put a scare into a superior opponent before bowing out? And if not them, which lower-seeded team is most likely to pull off the upset?

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Poll: Can Knicks Find Taker For J.R. Smith?

April 22nd, 2014 at 10:54pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Back in mid-January, we heard that there was reportedly no market for J.R. Smith. The 28-year-old guard was reportedly being shopped around the league at the time as the Knicks had grown increasingly frustrated with his on-and-off the court transgressions. Smith’s first five games of the new year proved to be forgettable while he dealt with criticism, as he averaged just 5.1 PPG on 31% shooting and received a DNP-CD during a 102-92 win against the Heat at Madison Square Garden. His season appeared to reach a low point that night, as Smith told the press during the postgame that he was unsure of his future with the Knicks.

Fortunately, Smith was able to move past those incidents and finish the rest of the season on a strong note, and his scoring averages increased every month from then on. He averaged 12.9 PPG while shooting .431 from the field and .391 from three in January, 14.6/.417/.397 in February, 15.5 PPG/.451/.402 in March, and 23.4/.496/.463 in April. More importantly, Smith delivered standout performances as the Knicks went 16-7 over the final 23 games, falling just two wins short of earning the eighth seed.

Though Smith’s behavioral issues this season might be cause for concern, his former coach George Karl said back in January that the 6’6 guard has a “skill that championships need” and implied that a team with a stronger locker room would make a big difference. Karl specifically mentioned San Antonio as an ideal situation:

“I would be looking at a culture where there would be more peer pressure…I know San Antonio has always liked (J.R.) and I know they’ve thought about bringing him in…San Antonio doesn’t make a lot of mistakes.”

The nine-year veteran is on the books for about $5.98MM next season and has a player option worth nearly $6.4MM for 2015/16. Last month, a report from Frank Isola of the New York Daily News suggested that the team will look to trade him this summer. There’s certainly the possibility that Smith will be on the opening night roster this November, but considering his play over the final months of the season, will the Knicks be able to successfully trade J.R. Smith this summer?

Poll: Which Contenders Could Panic?

April 19th, 2014 at 7:32pm CST by Cray Allred

There are a handful of teams that have built towards a window of title contention that they hope to see pay off this postseason. When expectations are high, failure can motivate ownership and management to make drastic moves to a team’s roster or coaching staff. Teams have gone from planning for the Finals to pressing the panic button before, and it’s possible again this year.

While big changes could be coming to a lot of this year’s playoff teams, some of that depends more on the players’ free agency decisions than any philosophical shifts from the team. For instance, the Heat could lose LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh in free agency, but that wouldn’t be because of a lack of commitment from Miami’s front office to their big three. We’ll focus on some of the teams that would have to incite a truly drastic change from the front office, specifically those that have been more active in both the market and rumor mill:

Pacers. Indiana barely held onto the one seed in the East, going 15-13 down the stretch. The moves that resulted in the loss of Danny Granger and the addition of Evan Turner, Andrew Bynum, and Lavoy Allen have not paid off thus far. Lance Stephenson has cooled off after his breakout start to the season, and will become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Frank Vogel has seemed like one of the more untouchable coaches in the last couple years, but a total collapse could put even his job in jeopardy.
Warriors. Coach Mark Jackson might have the most riding on this postseason of any NBA professional. Loud rumblings and staff turnover have clouded Jackson’s status with a team that expected to become a contender by adding Andre Iguodala last summer. Harrison Barnes has been extremely inconsistent, and his name surfaced in trade deadline rumors. David Lee‘s contract is considered essentially untradeable, but if the Warriors wanted to radically shake things up, Klay Thompson‘s rookie deal would be a highly valued trade asset.
Clippers. Los Angeles has bolstered its roster under the direction of Doc Rivers, adding rotation pieces like Granger, J.J. Redick, Glen Davis, and Jared Dudley to the core of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. Any blockbuster moves would likely center around the frontcourt if the front office became convinced that the Griffin/Jordan pairing can’t hold up against the league’s best interior players.
Nets. First-year coach Jason Kidd and the Hall-of-Fame-heavy roster struggled mightily early in the year before turning things around and earning the sixth seed in the East. The Nets have very limited flexibility after ballooning their salary sheet and relinquishing trade assets in a slew of splashy moves since owner Mikhail Prokhorov bought the team. Brook Lopez has frequently been the subject of trade rumors, and the team took off when Lopez was sidelined with his latest injury. There isn’t much speculation in Brooklyn at the moment, but we know Prokhorov isn’t afraid to swing for the fences.

What do you think? Which of these teams is most likely to disappoint in the playoffs, and then react with radical front office moves?

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