Eastern Notes: Bulls, Bobcats, Pistons
Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times thinks Lance Stephenson or Thabo Sefolosha would be good backup targets for the Bulls if Chicago makes a failed attempt at signing Carmelo Anthony in free agency.
More from the east:
- The Bobcats could have two first-round draft choices this summer. They own the Trail Blazers pick at number 24, and if the Pistons pick falls outside of the top eight it goes to Charlotte as well. Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer looks at who the team might select with their picks.
- The Pistons are looking at players who can shoot three-pointers in the draft, notes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. Two players on their radar are Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas, according to Ellis.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com examines the possibility of Mark Jackson coaching the Knicks.
- Despite all the focus on the upcoming NBA Draft, Celtics GM Danny Ainge still thinks the team’s biggest focus will be on improving the existing players on their roster, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald.
- Time will tell if Stan Van Gundy and Pistons owner Tom Gores can co-exist, writes Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News. The article examines the personality differences between the two men and how it may affect their relationship.
- The biggest impediment in the Cavaliers coaching search might be owner Dan Gilbert‘s reputation, writes Mitch Lawrence of The New York Daily News. Gilbert is known as a non-stop screamer and the very definition of a hands-on owner, and that was one of the primary reasons that Kevin Ollie denied interest in the position, notes Lawrence.
And-Ones: Coaches, Wolves, Cavs
A league executive tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer that Dante Exum, who considers himself a point guard, will be taken high as a potential point guard despite his uncommon size and skill set for the position. The executive believes Exum will wind up a shooting guard, but says that Michael Carter-Williams‘ standout rookie performance as a 6’6″ point guard makes Exum more enticing for teams at the top of the draft. Here’s more from around the league:
- Flip Saunders has conducted the Wolves coaching search with stealth, and Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune reveals that Saunders interviewed rumored candidate Lionel Hollins three weeks ago.
- Zgoda describes Hollins as “in the running” for the Cavs job. Hollins was named in earlier reports as a potential candidate.
- Zgoda reports that Saunders also had informal discussions with Tom Izzo, Fred Hoiberg, and Stan Van Gundy, but the talks stalled in each case.
- Izzo was first offered the five-year, $35MM offer to run the Pistons that Van Gundy eventually accepted, opting to stay in the college ranks, writes Zgoda.
- Saunders isn’t interested in George Karl, who would prefer to coach the Cavs or, if Randy Wittman were fired, the Wizards over the Wolves, according to Zgoda.
- Zgoda mentions Nate McMillan, Scott Skiles, and Sam Mitchell as intriguing possibilities for the Wolves head coaching vacancy in a separate piece. There hasn’t been any reported interest from the team toward McMillan or Skiles, and Minnesota is reportedly not interested in Mitchell.
- During the combine, the Wolves met with enough power forwards and prospects projected in the top tier of the draft to make Zgoda wonder if a Kevin Love trade is a possibility (via Twitter). The Wolves have very little chance of moving above 13th in the first round, and obviously have no pressing need at power forward so long as Love is on the team.
- LaQuinton Ross is scheduled to work out for the Cavs on Monday, reports Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal.
- Tomas Satoranksy will join the Wizards summer league team for the second consecutive year, reports J. Michael of CSNWashington.com (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The shooting guard was selected as a “draft and stash” player in the second round of the 2012 draft, and could find his way onto the team next season if Washington loses perimeter talent to free agency, Michael writes.
Coaching Notes: Ollie, Kerr
Within the next couple days, Kevin Ollie plans to reject the advances of the only NBA team that has reached out to him this offseason, a league source familiar with Ollie’s thinking tells Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News. The team’s identity is unknown, but the source tells Medina is isn’t the Lakers or Knicks. The source says Ollie, who is also renegotiating his contract with UConn, never “got to first base” with an NBA team. Here are more coaching notes on a night without any playoff action:
- A league source told Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer the Cavs were not the team that had contacted Ollie, which would leave the Wolves and Jazz as the only other teams with head coaching vacancies that might have reached out.
- A source close to Ollie tells Boyer that the coach is indeed “strongly leaning” toward remaining at UConn.
- Steve Kerr’s agent told Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group that two teams other than the Knicks and Warriors pursued Kerr as a head coach, but he didn’t engage in talks with either. The Jazz were one such interested team, but any other interested teams have not been revealed.
League Primed For Pre-Draft Trading Surge
League executives and scouts tell Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that there could be an unusually high number of pre-draft trades this year. Howard-Cooper’s sources say that some of the lottery teams have grown impatient with continued struggles, and would rather acquire proven talent than wait on the development of more young players. These “aggressive sellers” have enough interest from teams looking to add assets that a spike in pre-draft trading is a distinct possibility.
One potential seller is the Celtics, currently projected to pick at No. 5. GM Danny Ainge has regularly commented on the weaknesses of the 2014 class. Ainge has said that he doesn’t want to endure another losing season, and is willing to trade the team’s first round pick. He has also acknowledged that Boston needs to improve sooner rather than later to convince his star point guard, Rajon Rondo, to remain with the team beyond his current contract. Cleveland, projected at No. 9 currently, has used four top-4 selections in just three drafts following the departure of LeBron James. GM David Griffin is looking to move from “asset accumulation mode” to “target acquisition mode,” which could signal a willingness to deal away draft picks.
It should be noted that this past trade season was expected to include heightened activity, but after some early-season deals, the deadline came and went without any true blockbuster moves. No first round picks changed hands in-season, either. Many have pointed to the tightening cap and tax restrictions from the CBA as a reason many teams have been unwilling to part with draft picks for high-priced veterans. However, uncertainty about teams’ final lottery position for a hyped 2014 draft class could also have been a factor in cooling the market for draft picks. After the lottery settles the final draft order, teams will have a much clearer idea of which players will be available for any potential pick, which could make the prospect of moving up in the draft more appealing.
Cavs Notes: Jackson, Irving, Waiters, Thompson
Mark Jackson doesn’t appear to be a candidate for the Cavs’ coaching position, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer. The article notes that although players seemed to love playing for Jackson in Golden State, he has a reputation of being difficult to deal with. Here’s the latest out of Cleveland:
- In the same piece, Schmitt Boyer adds that she believes the Cavs are in for a major overhaul and that no players on the roster are untouchable, even Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters
- Tristan Thompson is frustrated by the Cavs coaching turnover, reveals Schmitt Boyer in a separate article. Whoever the team hires will become Thompson’s third coach in three seasons with the team. “It’s the business of basketball,” said Thompson. “Whenever you lose someone or someone leaves the family it’s tough, but like I tell young guys: It’s the business of basketball.”
- Coaching instability aside, Thompson was glad to see David Griffin officially named GM, notes Schmitt Boyer in the same piece. “Everyone’s excited about that,” said Thompson. “We’re happy that he got the job. He’s been there since we’ve been drafted, just glad that he was able to stay on board.”
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
And-Ones: Aldridge, Assistants, Cavs
Clippers players told reporters, including Dan Woike of The Orange County Register, that they’re unsure what they would do if Donald Sterling isn’t removed from ownership by next season. Still, they expressed hope that the issue will be resolved sooner rather than later. “It appears that this will be a long process. Things will be in flux for a while,” J.J. Redick said. “I can’t imagine a scenario where we start the season next year and he’s the owner and all is kosher.” Here’s more from around the league:
- The players union won’t demand a timetable on Sterling’s ouster as long as the league is acting “in good faith” on its promise to remove the Clippers owner, acting union executive director Ron Klempner told reporters, including Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link).
- Extending LaMarcus Aldridge is the Blazers’ first priority moving forward, as Portland GM Neil Olshey tells Erik Gundersen of The Columbian (Twitter link).
- Bobcats assistant coach Bob Beyer is a strong candidate to become Stan Van Gundy‘s top assistant on the Pistons bench, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
- Andy Greer and Nick Nurse are possibilities to become Steve Kerr‘s assistant coaches with the Warriors, per another Wojnarowski tweet. Greer and Nurse are currently on staff as assistants with the Bulls and Raptors, respectively.
- Mark Jackson won’t be a serious candidate for the Cavs head coaching job, Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com hears.
- James Posey could be an assistant coaching candidate for the Cavs, Pluto writes. Posey has been an assistant with Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, and GM David Griffin holds him in high regard.
- Pluto adds that Griffin would love to find a shooter in the draft, and mentions Doug McDermott, Nik Stauskas, and Rodney Hood as intriguing prospects where the Cavs will be drafting.
- In a series of tweets, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News casts doubt on an earlier report that Phil Jackson had “low balled” Kerr. Isola insinuates that if the Knicks played “hardball” with Jackson’s only coaching target, it would have been a result of ownership’s influence, not Jackson’s.
- In another tweet, Isola relays an accusation from a person involved in the Kerr talks that Knicks owner James Dolan “sabotaged” the negotiations.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com weighed in with a tweet of his own, agreeing with Isola that a tough negotiation strategy would have come from Knicks ownership, not Jackson.
Eastern Notes: Fizdale, Pistons, Gortat
Heat assistant coach David Fizdale is on the Cavs radar, tweets Chris Broussard of ESPN.com. Broussard doesn’t specify that Cleveland’s interest regards its head coaching vacancy, but Fizdale recently drew interest as a Warriors head coaching candidate before Golden State hired Steve Kerr. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Stan Van Gundy has prioritized hiring a GM and some assistant coaches for the Pistons in the near future, he told reporters including Vincent Ellis of Detroit Free PRess. “The biggest thing right now for us is probably our GM search, getting through that,” said Van Gundy. “And at the same time we’ll make some other hirings pretty quickly to get more people on board.”
- Van Gundy also said that he is considering some of his former players as assistant coaches with the Pistons.
- Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel thinks that Van Gundy will have to become more patient in his approach to succeed in his front office role with the Pistons. Schmitz also worries that Van Gundy’s health will suffer if he doesn’t delegate his coaching and executive duties well.
- Marcin Gortat said that he doesn’t want to play anywhere with a “blind” point guard as he approaches free agency, tweets Ben Standig of CSNWashington.com. The Wizards center praised John Wall‘s willingness to share the ball.
Draft Notes: Smart, Adams, Vonleh, Gordon
Marcus Smart doesn’t regret returning to college for his sophomore season, writes Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Smart said, “The reason I came back is my freshman year was the first time I played point guard. I wanted to embrace that role and become a better point guard, learn the position before I take my talents to the NBA where guys have been playing that role their whole life.“
More on the draft:
- Two big winners of the Draft combine so far are Noah Vonleh and Aaron Gordon, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Teams need to remember Doug McDermott‘s statistics when observing him at the combine, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. McDermott doesn’t have the type of measurements or athletic ability that jumps out scouts in combine settings, notes Brigham.
- Marc D’Amico of NBA.com breaks down some of the best individual draft combine numbers of the day.
- The Bulls are looking for shooters in this year’s NBA Draft, reports K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Two names being mentioned in connection with the team are McDermott and Rodney Hood, per the article.
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo interviewed with the Nets, Pacers, Pelicans, Wizards, Bobcats, Cavaliers, and Knicks while at the combine, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Patric Young interviewed with the Knicks, Pelicans, and Grizzlies, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. On speaking with Phil Jackson, Young said, “He didn’t say much the first 20 minutes. He was just being calm and being himself. He would eat some chips while everyone else was asking questions. Then he popped in a question every now and then and made some comments. But it was good. It was great. They seemed to really like me and be really intrigued by me as a person.”
- UCLA guards Zach LaVine and Jordan Adams did enough athletically at the combine to improve their draft stocks, writes Michael O’Brien of The Chicago Sun-Times.
- The key to the Lakers offseason will be the draft lottery, writes Bill Oram of the Orange County Register. GM Mitch Kupchak said the team wouldn’t base their lottery selection by positional need, but rather the best overall player, notes Oram. Kupchak also said, “When you only have four or five guys on your roster, you really need seven to eight players, so we need to bring in players at every position really.”
And-Ones: Watson, Love, Seattle, Isiah, Draft
Earl Watson would like to coach the Jazz next season, and he’s picked up the endorsement of restricted free agent Gordon Hayward, as both Watson and Hayward tell Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Watson, who played with the Blazers this year, hasn’t ruled out playing again next season, but if he becomes Jazz coach, he’ll target Hubie Brown as an assistant, he says. Here’s more from around the league with an altered title picture now that Serge Ibaka is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs.
- Kevin Love will have some say in who coaches him next season on the Wolves, owner Glen Taylor confirmed to Charley Walters of the Star Tribune. President of basketball operations Flip Saunders has spoken with eight candidates, but he hasn’t endorsed any of them to Taylor, Walters adds.
- Taylor also said the Wolves lost “a couple million” dollars this year, Walters notes in the same piece.
- Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who partnered with Chris Hansen on an ill-fated bid to buy the Kings and move them to Seattle, is open to purchasing any NBA team, but wouldn’t necessarily bring them to the Emerald City, as he tells Shira Ovide of The Wall Street Journal. He says he wouldn’t move the Clippers out of Los Angeles if he bought them.
- Isiah Thomas and the Pistons are in preliminary talks about a deal for him to purchase a minority share of the team, reports Vincent Goodwill of The Detroit News.
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey and Cavs GM David Griffin have said they’re open to trading their respective first-round picks for players who can help immediately, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio.
- Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson has political aspirations that would make him reticent to accept the post of executive director of the players union, but the job increasingly appears to be his if he wants it, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
- Hawks and Cavs officials will meet with draft prospect Alessandro Gentile of the Italian league, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia reports. The swingman is No. 66 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and 100th with Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Draft Combine Updates: Friday
We gathered a slew of reports connecting draft prospects with teams yesterday on the first full day of the Chicago draft combine, and we’ll do the same today with this post. The latest updates will be on top as we follow the action throughout.
- Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders adds the Pistons, Kings and Suns to the list of teams interviewing Noah Vonleh (Twitter link).
- The Pistons met with Rodney Hood, Ellis tweets, and the Thunder also met with him, Holmes notes (on Twitter).
- Thanasis Antetokounmpo sat down with the Nets, Knicks, Pacers, Cavs, Wizards and Pelicans, according to Woelfel (Twitter link).
2:00pm updates:
- The Pistons have met with Smart and Zach LaVine, according to Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press and Keith Langlois of Pistons.com, respectively (Twitter links).
- Smart is also among the players interviewing with the Celtics tonight, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, and the C’s spoke with Aaron Gordon, too, fellow Globe scribe Baxter Holmes notes (Twitter links).
- Gordon also met with the Magic, who are set to meet with James Michael McAdoo, as well, according to Robbins (Twitter links).
- Tyler Ennis is meeting with the Bucks today after interviewing with the Bulls on Thursday, as Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times and Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com report (Twitter links).
- Jarnell Stokes already worked out for the Raptors, according to Wolstat (on Twitter).
12:02pm updates:
- Dante Exum‘s interview with the Magic went well, he said, adding that the team would like to bring him to Central Florida for a workout, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins, in a full piece, added Marcus Smart to the list of top prospects who’ve interviewed with the Magic.
- Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge expressed a fondness for Smart today in an interview with ESPN’s Andy Katz on the network’s coverage of the combine, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (on Twitter).
- Gary Harris told Katz he met with the Raptors, Nuggets, Grizzlies and Pistons, as Zagoria once more passes along via Twitter.
- The Raptors will interview Jordan Adams today, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, who says the team also spoke with James Young (Twitter links).
- Zagoria adds the Sixers, Spurs, Clippers, Mavs, Nuggets, Warriors and Bulls to the list of teams that Kyle Anderson either met or is slated to meet (Twitter link).
- Markel Brown said he’ll talk with the Celtics today, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (Twitter link).