Texas Rumors: Nowitzki, Rockets, Spurs
Dirk Nowitzki has said he wants the Mavs to keep in mind that he’s still a productive player when they negotiate a new contract for him this summer, but he doesn’t foresee a stumbling block, as he tells Brian Gutierrez of ESPNDallas.com. The 2014 All-Star, who turns 36 on Thursday, hits unrestricted free agency July 1st.
“We all know that [owner Mark] Cuban took care of me for a long time. He was loyal to me,” Nowitzki said. “This deal is not going to be about squeezing out the last dollar. This is about being respected as a player that I still am, and that’s about it. There’s nothing more that we’re trying to squeeze out. We’ll just have to wait and see what the years and the final number are. I’m sure it’ll be very respectable for both sides.”
There’s more on the soon-to-be free agent who’s probably more likely to return to his current team than other player on the market amid the latest from the Texas Triangle:
- Signing a deal that reduces Nowitzki’s nearly $23.9MM cap hold before the end of the July Moratorium will be crucial for the Mavs, and Nowitzki looks ready to cooperate in that regard, too, as Gutierrez notes in the same piece. Nowitzki also dismisses the idea that he couldn’t play with Carmelo Anthony and urges Mavs to consider signing ‘Melo, who reportedly has Dallas on his list of preferred destinations.
- Anthony is also on the mind of Dwight Howard, who says he’d love to play with him or LeBron James but isn’t planning to recruit the stars to the Rockets, as he tells USA Today’s Sam Amick.
- Gregg Popovich, who retains Spurs front office power in tandem with GM R.C. Buford, doesn’t plan on following up the championship with a splashy summer of moves, as Raul Dominguez of The Associated Press chronicles. “I haven’t sat down with R.C. and talked about what we want to do, but one would think it’s logical to not make major changes with the group,” Popovich said. “Usually we don’t make major changes anyway, so, I wouldn’t anticipate any.”
Southwest Notes: Leonard, Spurs, Rockets
The Southwest Division has now boasted the NBA’s championship team for two out of the last four seasons. Here’s a rundown of the division:
- Both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili believe that most of the Spurs will be back next season. Ginobili and coach Gregg Popovich have already indicated their plans to come back for at least one more year, so the biggest question mark surrounding San Antonio’s core remains Tim Duncan‘s looming decision to pick up his player option or retire.
- Kawhi Leonard tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today he’s confident that he and the Spurs will have an extension in place before the October deadline, which would avoid his becoming a restricted free agent for the 2015/16 season. “I’m just playing,” Leonard said. “The Spurs are a great organization. I’m leaving that to my agent, and I’m sure they’ll come out with a great understanding and a deal. I’m not focused on that at all.”
- The Rockets are preparing to conduct another aggressive strategy this summer in chasing potential free agents like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh. Daryl Morey tells Sam Amick of USA Today that their success in landing Dwight Howard last summer has given them a leg up on pulling off more moves. “Dwight choosing here sort of represents the sea change in Houston, sort of proving that we’re a Tier One destination for free agents,” Morey said. “And obviously, we’re going out there again and saying let’s get one of these top guys again…I’d say the reasons he chose Houston are going to stay going forward.”
Draft Notes: Clippers, Vonleh, Hornets, Hairston
The Clippers are interested in trading up from pick No. 28, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s piece centers on a profile of former University of Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who can’t work out because he’s still recovering from a torn ACL. Dinwiddie’s nonetheless had meetings with the Bucks, Wizards, Bulls and Celtics, and he’s scheduled interviews and physicals with the Clippers, Heat, Hawks and Thunder, according to Shelburne. The ESPN scribe also says that he’ll interview and take a physical for the Jazz, advancing an earlier report that he was set to interview with the team. Here’s more on the draft:
- Julius Randle is set to work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Utah’s radio announcer David Locke.
- Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton are expected to work out for the Lakers on Friday for the second time, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports Spears advises his readers to “keep an eye” on Payton (via Twitter) in light of the second workout.
- Nik Stauskas is expected in for his first workout with the Lakers, who have struggled to get Stauskas in, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
- Rodney Hood had to sit out most of his Hornets workout today due to illness, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- Gary Harris and Zach LaVine will work out for the Hornets tomorrow, tweets Bonnell, who adds Charlotte’s other new workout appointees in a separate tweet: Rion Brown; Ronald Roberts Jr.; and Markel Brown, who missed an earlier workout due to travel issues.
- The Rockets worked out Shabazz Napier, Xavier Thames, Patric Young, Nick Russell, and Kadeem Coleby, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- Sim Bhullar, Earnest Ross, Ian Chiles, Cameron Clark, Philipp Neumann, and Jordan Bachynski will work out for the Wizards tomorrow, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Earlier updates:
- Noah Vonleh will work out for the Sixers on Thursday, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Elfrid Payton, Josh Huestis, James Bell and Jordan Clarkson are the previously unreported prospects performing for the Hornets today, as Chris Littmann of The Sporting News tweets.
- P.J. Hairston will audition for the Hawks, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who also reports that Hairston will show off for the Grizzlies, Lakers and Bulls (Twitter links).
- Kyle Anderson will work out for the Suns, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, as well as the Grizzlies, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter links). A previous report indicated that the Suns were set to audition Anderson a week ago, so this appears to be his second workout with Phoenix.
- Anderson will also perform for the Bulls, as will Clint Capela and DeAndre Daniels, Zagoria tweets.
- Jordan Adams, Devyn Marble, Sean Kilpatrick, C.J. Wilcox and Jarnell Stokes are working out for the Raptors today, the team announced. A report from last month indicated that Stokes had already worked out for Toronto, but given that the dispatch came in the middle of the draft combine, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually an interview between Stokes and the club, rather than a workout.
- The Wizards are auditioning Semaj Christon, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, Alec Brown and Khem Birch today, according to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).
And-Ones: Draft, Spurs, Hornets, Hollins, Wolves
Jarnell Stokes‘ representatives are excited about his performance against Adreian Payne in a workout for the Raptors today, with auditions for the Spurs and Clippers still to come, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reports (Twitter links). Zach also hears that Rodney Hood has rescheduled workouts with the Wolves and Kings this week after withdrawing from earlier auditions for the teams (Twitter link). Justin Jackson showed off twice for the Hornets last week, with the Hawks, Heat and Suns on his upcoming workout agenda, Zach also tweets. Here’s more from around the league:
- A Western Conference executive who spoke with Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News suggests that teams will be wary of the poor performance that soon-to-be free agent Boris Diaw turned in for Charlotte preceding his tenure with the Spurs. Monroe also hears doubt from an exec about Patty Mills‘ ability to succeed outside of San Antonio.
- The Hornets are interviewing Blazers director of college scouting Chad Buchanan for their assistant GM post, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The assistant GM will serve under GM Rich Cho, who gained full control of the front office when president of basketball operations Rod Higgins resigned last week.
- The Rockets are aggressively seeking Lionel Hollins to serve as an assistant coach even though they know it will be difficult to land him as he seeks head coaching jobs, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Hollins has interviewed to become the head man for the Cavs and Lakers.
- The Timberwolves named Sam Mitchell an assistant coach today, the team announced (on Twitter). Mitchell interviewed for the head coaching job and was reportedly a favorite of owner Glen Taylor.
Southeast Notes: Hornets, Heat, LeBron
The Hornets like Jeremi Grant‘s size, writes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. The 6’8″ forward doesn’t yet have the shooting and ball handling he’ll need to play small forward at the next level but he has tremendous potential. The former Syracuse standout could be a consideration for Charlotte at No. 24. Here’s a whole lot of LeBron talk to round out this look at the Southeast..
- The Heat have lots of work to do but the Big Three should stay put, opines Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Miami needs to retool their bench after their lack of depth was exposed in the Finals, but no other club will give LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh a better chance at winning a title.
- James’ decision on whether to stay with the Heat or leave will come down to three driving factors, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. James will want to know what kind of production he can expect out of Wade, whether the Heat can add someone to reduce his workload, and whether they can improve their overall depth.
- James can go anywhere, but the Heat are still the only team that makes sense, opines Eric Koreen of the National Post. The Cavs, even with Kyrie Irving and the No. 1 pick, are still an unknown. James could also go to the Rockets to form a new big three in Houston, but that’s not a safe wager given the tough competition in the Western Conference.
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).
Eastern Notes: Smart, Sixers, Anthony, Wiggins
Magic executives love Marcus Smart‘s intangibles, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. They value his leadership, toughness and competitiveness so much that they might select him fourth overall, opines Robbins. The only negative to drafting Smart is that teams aren’t sure of his position yet. According to the article, one NBA talent evaluator said of Smart, “That’s the thing that I think there’s a little bit of concern about. But I think he’s probably more of a point guard than a shooting guard. Of course there are things that he’s going to have to learn as a point guard to become better and an efficient point guard in our league. I wouldn’t say he’s a ‘true point guard,’ but he’s got point guard skills.”
More from the east:
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media examines Sixers GM Sam Hinkie‘s options for trading up in the draft from the third pick to select Andrew Wiggins. Moore opines that it would probably take a package involving Nerlens Noel and that third pick to do so.
- Wiggins has three workouts scheduled for this week leading up to the draft, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (hat tip to ESPN’s Chad Ford). The workouts will be with the Sixers, Cavaliers, and the Bucks.
- The Knicks still like their odds of keeping Carmelo Anthony following their meeting in Los Angeles with Anthony and his agent, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Despite the reports Anthony was “leaning’’ toward leaving New York because of interest from the Bulls and Rockets, Knicks officials did not seem alarmed, according to the article.
Carmelo Anthony Leaning Toward Leaving Knicks
Carmelo Anthony is leaning toward signing with a new team as a free agent this summer, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski’s sources tell him that the Bulls and Rockets are the front-runners to land the All-Star forward. Anthony has been expected to exercise his early termination option on the final year of his deal and become a free agent, but has previously stated an openness to remaining with the Knicks despite their disastrous season.
Last night, Anthony met with Knicks president Phil Jackson, GM Steve Mills, and new coach Derek Fisher to hear their plan to build a contender around him, as first reported by Al Iannazzone of Newsday. The meeting wasn’t persuasive to Anthony, per Wojnarowski’s sources. Jackson has asked ‘Melo to consider sacrifice and patience in helping the team build toward the 2015 free agent class, when the severe cap inflexibility currently hampering New York will subside. It appears that Anthony finds the prospect of joining a contender for an immediate shot at a title more appealing than waiting at least another year to see if the same opportunity will materialize with the Knicks.
Wojnarowski’s sources suggest that Anthony has been turned off by Jackson’s public comments about his future with the team, and there is some doubt around Anthony’s camp and the league that Jackson genuinely wants the All-Star to stay in New York. Anthony is only willing to accept a reduced salary if it is directly tired to a significant, immediate acquisition of talent, writes Wojnarowski.
The Yahoo! scribe reports that the Chicago and Houston front offices are working diligently to arrange for a signing of Anthony, which would require significant maneuvers for both teams. If the Bulls are willing to amnesty Carlos Boozer, their path to clearing the necessary cap space is easier, since the other biggest piece for the Bulls to unload would be Taj Gibson, a valuable, starting-caliber power forward. The Rockets would likely need the Knicks or another team to find it agreeable to take on the expiring contracts of Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin to make room for Anthony.
Southwest Notes: Duncan, Randolph, Draft
The Spurs hope to wrap up a fifth NBA Championship tomorrow night in San Antonio. It will be interesting to see how a dominant Finals might sway the plans of Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich for next season. The thought of going out on top could be appealing, but maybe not as much as chasing a sixth ring. Here’s a rundown of the Southwest Division:
- Duncan’s player option for the 2014/15 season has been increased from $10,000,000 to $10,361,446 in order to meet the CBA’s requirement that a player option not pay less in salary than the year preceding it, multiple sources tell Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
- Zach Randolph also owns a contract that was approved despite violating the same restriction, but Deeks writes that no change has been made to Randolph’s deal at this point. As we mentioned in our Free Agent Stock Watch piece on Randolph, his steeper decrease in salary (from $18.2MM to $16.9MM) for next year’s player option could be a significant factor in his decision-making process heading into the offseason.
- Deeks speculates that the league may have opted not to adjust Randolph’s deal because it was signed under the 2005 CBA which is no longer active, whereas Duncan’s deal was signed under the current CBA.
- Adi Joseph of USA Today covers the draft needs of the Grizzlies, Spurs, and Rockets.
Latest On Kevin Love
It seems all but inevitable that Kevin Love will be traded prior to the start of the 2014/15 season. The big man spoke on ESPN’s SportsNation today and revealed his primary concern is playing for a winning team. When he was asked if he wanted out of Minnesota, Love stopped short of saying yes but replied:
“My agent is handling everything at this point … I’m hoping that everything works out for all parties involved.”
Here’s more on Love:
- In the same segment, Love spoke to the appeal of playing under Phil Jackson with the Knicks: “I think any time you have Phil Jackson involved in any organization, you’re going to definitely look at it and it’s definitely intriguing. The Knicks are definitely a place where anybody would like to go.”
- In a separate interview with Fox Sports, Love referred to the Wolves as “they” and didn’t sound enamored with the organization, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.
- Love shot down the notion that he wouldn’t be interested in a trade to the Cavs during a Q&A session with Jason McIntyre of the Big Lead. “I don’t think the Cleveland [trade rumors] are outlandish at all,” said Love. “They have a great young foundation.“
- The Rockets are losing faith that they have a shot at trading for Love, and the general belief within the organization is that other clubs can put together much better packages than anything Houston can offer, notes Sam Amick of USA Today (on Twitter).