And-Ones: Love, Sterling, Nets
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Boston won’t start any serious trade discussions until the lottery is over. “Nothing has been discussed until we see the pick,” Grousbeck said. “When we see what pick it is, the phones will start ringing and we’ll start answering the phones.” Here’s more from around the league:
- The Wolves “gently probed” trade options for Kevin Love last season, league executives tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- In the same piece, Windhorst outlines three strategies the Wolves can implement to either retain Love or retain leverage with trade partners.
- The Rockets think they will have a shot at Love with a package built around Omer Asik and Chandler Parsons, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
- The Warriors don’t want to give up Klay Thompson in a trade package to land Love, a team source tells Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group.
- The NBA has released a summary of the charges against Donald Sterling announced earlier today (H/T Jeff Caplan of NBA.com).
- Donald Sterling’s attorney has demanded that the NBA give his client three months to respond to the charges, reports Michael McCann of SI.com. The league will reject the request and move forward with the deadline of May 27th for Sterling’s response.
- Shelly Sterling’s lawyer weighed in as well, decrying the move to strip her stake in the team along with her husband’s as unlawful, according to a transcription of the statement by Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
- Tim Bontemps of The New York Post looks at five questions facing the Nets this offseason.
- In a separate piece, Bontemps recaps Alan Anderson‘s season with the Nets, writing that he envisions Anderson remaining with Brooklyn regardless of whether he picks up his $1.1MM player option for next season.
Wolves Mull Love Trade, Eye Mitchell For Coach
3:05pm: The Rockets are also planning an aggressive pursuit of Love, according to Wojnarowski (on Twitter). Kevin McHale has a strong bond with the UCLA product.
10:35am: Love has made it clear to the Wolves that he intends to become an unrestricted free agent after next season and has no interest in a contract extension this summer to stay in Minnesota, write Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. The article also notes that Love has stated his willingness to accept a deal to the Bulls and Warriors. Sources have told ESPN.com that the Warriors have emerged as a top contender for Love should Minnesota relent and decide to trade him. Golden State doesn’t have a stash of draft picks to offer the Wolves like Phoenix or Boston could offer, but the Warriors could assemble a trade package featuring forwards Harrison Barnes and David Lee, according to the article.
8:56am: It appears that the Timberwolves will seriously consider trading Kevin Love, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. “For the first time, [Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders] sounds like looking at deals for [Love] is an option,” a rival executive told Wojnarowski. Love has an early termination option in his contract that he can exercise next summer. This is putting pressure on the Wolves front office to improve the team enough to convince Love to stay, or trade him for assets instead of risking losing him for nothing. This also comes on the heels of the reports that Minnesota was looking at power forwards in the upcoming draft.
The article also notes that the Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, and Suns are all strong candidates to partner with in a trade for Love if the Wolves decide to move him. Boston and Los Angeles plan to make high-lottery picks in the 2014 NBA Draft available in offers for Love, sources told Wojnarowski.
No team is likely to trade for Love without an assurance that he’ll commit to a five-year, $100 million maximum contract extension, notes Wojnarowski. Despite a belief that Love prefers Los Angeles or New York as potential destinations, he’s open to deals in other markets where he can be part of an immediate contender, the article says.
Wojnarowski is also reporting that Sam Mitchell has emerged as a serious candidate for the franchise’s head coaching job. Mitchell reportedly left a good impression with Saunders in a recent meeting. Mitchell has a strong history with Minnesota, where he had two stops as a player, and Mitchell played for Saunders during his second stint.
The Wolves have also contacted several top college coaches, including Florida’s Billy Donovan, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, and Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg, Wojnarowski notes, but those coaches weren’t inclined to seriously consider the position. The general belief that the Wolves will have to trade Love has made coaches leery of the franchise’s future, according to the article.
Hawks Pursue Omer Asik As Rockets Shop Lin
The Hawks are among the teams pursuing Rockets center Omer Asik as Houston attempts to trade Asik and Jeremy Lin to clear cap room for Carmelo Anthony, according to Sam Smith of Bulls.com, who works the news into his weekly mailbag column. Still, Rockets GM Daryl Morey recently said he doesn’t expect to trade Asik or Lin in pursuit of a marquee player, and he’s downplayed the notion of trading his backup center ever since his self-imposed December deadline for swapping Asik passed.
Rumors have persisted nevertheless, particularly given a March report that identified Houston as one of two non-New York landing spots atop his list of preferred free agent destinations. The Rockets have roughly $57MM in commitments beneath the projected $63.2MM cap for next season. Shedding the cap hits for Asik and Lin would give the team an additional $16.7MM in flexibility, putting them in range of the nearly $22.5MM maximum salary for which Anthony is eligible. It would still be difficult, if not impossible, to find teams willing to absorb both Asik and Lin without giving up salary in return, particularly given their balloon payments of $15MM each for this season, as I explained in November.
The cap figure for Asik, like Lin, will be slightly less than $8.4MM, significantly less than what they actually make next season. Still, I’m not certain Asik would be the proper fit on a team that liberally launched three-pointers this season and found success with that strategy in the playoffs against the Pacers, particularly if the Hawks envision moving Al Horford to power forward, as Smith suggests. That would be similar to the sort of situation in which Asik found himself this year next to Dwight Howard on a Houston team that prioritizes floor spacing.
Asik is nonetheless a highly skilled interior defender whose contract would expire after next season, giving Atlanta the chance to go after the juicy 2015 free agent class. It’s unclear what the Hawks would be willing to surrender in return, but I’d imagine the Rockets would prefer that it center on draft compensation, given their apparent desire to clear salary for this summer.
Draft Combine Updates: Thursday
The Chicago draft combine is underway, and teams can meet with up to 18 players. With 30 teams, that means there could be as many as 540 interviews this week. We’ll try to keep track of as many as possible here, and we’ll update this post throughout the day as news filters in. Here’s the latest:
- Ennis will meet with the Bobcats and at least four other teams in addition to the organizations listed below, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports.
- Vonleh interviewed with the Wolves, Bucks, Lakers, and Blazers, tweets Robbins, who adds that the big man is scheduled to meet with the Sixers.
Earlier updates:
- LaVine shot very well, and Seth Davis of SI.com hears that he may have helped his stock more than any other prospect today (Twitter link; H/T Wolstat).
- In Exum’s extended quotes transcribed by Sean Deveney of The Sporting News regarding the point guard’s willingness to pressure certain teams not to draft him, Exum said he doesn’t see any of his potential destinations as a bad fit, and is willing to play behind an established point guard.
- LaQuinton Ross will work out for the Cavs on Monday, tweets Jason Lloyd of Akron Beacon Journal.
- The Raptors plan to meet with K.J. McDaniels, McDermott, Payton, Anderson, McDaniels, and possibly Hood, reports Wolstat (via Twitter).
- Hood will meet with the Bulls on Friday, tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
- Randle interviewed with the Cavs and will do so with the Bucks, too, as the Plain Dealer and Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel note (Twitter links).
- Patric Young spoke with the Pelicans and has a sit-down with the Grizzlies scheduled, according to Robbins (Twitter links).
- Blakely adds Hood and Noah Vonleh to the Celtics interview list, while Randle and T.J. Warren are talking to Boston, too, according to Holmes (All Twitter links).
- Vonleh says he also has an interview scheduled with the Magic, Robbins notes, adding that Orlando wanted to interview Stauskas, but his meeting schedule is too full (Twitter links). The Magic sat down with Randle on Wednesday, Robbins adds (on Twitter).
- Aaron Gordon met with the Sixers on Wednesday, Pompey tweets.
- Exum will also interview with the Kings, according to Howard-Cooper (on Twitter).
- Julius Randle is meeting with the Sixers today, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter).
- Doug McDermott said he met Wednesday with the Bulls, Hawks and Timberwolves, Robbins observes, and McDermott added that he’s looking forward to a meeting with the Cavs, as Robbins and the Plain Dealer observe (Twitter links).
- Rodney Hood is set to interview with the Wolves tonight, Zgoda tweets. Hood interviewed with the Bobcats on Wednesday, as Bonnell details (Twitter links).
- Kyle Anderson met with the Celtics and he’ll also see the Wolves tonight, Washburn and Zgoda note (Twitter links).
- The Pistons met with Glenn Robinson III on Wednesday, as he tells Langlois (Twitter link).
- Add the Celtics and the Bucks to Exum’s interview agenda, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe and Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel report (Twitter links). Exum thinks he’ll sit down with the Cavs, too, the Plain Dealer notes (on Twitter).
- The Wolves will interview Lavine on Friday after having spoken with James Young on Wednesday, Zgoda tweets.
- The Bobcats have expressed interest in P.J. Hairston, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- Dante Exum‘s wingspan measured out at nearly 6’10”, and he’ll draw consideration for the No. 1 overall pick from some teams, ESPN’s Chad Ford said on the network’s combine coverage today, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv notes (Twitter link). He denied that he’s angling for the Lakers in the draft, but he wouldn’t rule out pressuring some teams not to take him, tweets Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Exum met with the Sixers, Pistons and Suns on Wednesday, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The Celtics, Lakers, Magic and Jazz will also speak with him, report Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel and Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune (All four Twitter links).
- Marcus Smart has interviewed with the Rockets, Raptors, Lakers, Suns and Nuggets, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The Cavs, Jazz and Bucks are also on his agenda, as the Plain Dealer, Falk and Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times report (All Twitter links). The Timberwolves won’t interview Smart in Chicago, but Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities hears the team is hoping to get him to come to Minnesota for a workout (Twitter link).
- Ontario native Tyler Ennis is excited about the idea of playing for the Raptors and has interviewed with them, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. He’s also met with the Bobcats, Kings, Suns, Thunder and Nuggets, according to Kennedy (on Twitter).
- Nik Stauskas has met with or will meet with the Kings, Pistons and Raptors, according to Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com and Doug Smith of the Toronto Star (All Twitter links).
- The Nuggets, Spurs, Warriors and Nets have met with Shabazz Napier, Kennedy tweets.
- The Hawks, Spurs, Thunder, Raptors, Magic, Cavs and Timberwolves met Elfrid Payton, Kennedy reports (Twitter link).
- Zach LaVine interviewed with the Celtics, among others, Wednesday, he tells Blakely (Twitter link).
- Russ Smith sat down with the Suns, Celtics and Blazers, according to Kennedy (via Twitter).
Rockets, Others Interested In Zoran Dragic
The Rockets are the leaders among many NBA teams interested in Spanish league shooting guard Zoran Dragic, reports Lefteris Moutis of Eurohoops.net. Unicaja Malaga is likely to pick up its team option on Dragic this summer, but the contract includes a $500K NBA buyout. That figure is within the NBA’s Excluded International Player Payment Amount of $600K for next season, so the buyout probably won’t be a stumbling block. An NBA deal is more likely to hinge on playing time for the brother of Suns guard Goran Dragic, as Zoran Dragic is seeking a significant role right away, Moutis writes.
Dragic played for Houston’s summer league team in 2012, around the time his brother left the Rockets to sign with the Suns. It’s unlikely he’ll play in an NBA summer league again this year, Moutis writes. He’s set to undergo hernia surgery after the Spanish league playoffs, and that will knock him out for a month. Once healthy, he’ll join the Slovenian national team as it prepares for this summer’s World Cup of basketball, as Moutis documents.
An enhanced role in Unicaja Malaga’s offense allowed Dragic’s numbers to jump this season, as he put up 10.6 points on 8.1 shots per game after posting just 4.9 PPG on 3.9 shots a contest in 2012/13. He also improved his three-point stroke, going from woeful 22.5% accuracy last year to 32.7% this season, but that still makes him a below-average shooter who’d seemingly have trouble fitting in with Houston, which places a premium on the trey. He went undrafted in 2011 and turns 25 in June, so it’s worth wondering just how much potential he possesses. Perhaps teams are considering him with an eye toward his brother, who can become a free agent next summer.
And-Ones: Sterling, Cavs, Brown, Rockets
Donald Sterling’s sit down with Anderson Cooper airs on CNN tomorrow night, but Charles Barkley won’t be among those watching. “We got to work tomorrow night so we don’t have to watch that junk,” the Hall of Famer told his Inside The NBA cohorts as they came back from commercial, as noted by Nina Mandell of USA Today. Here’s tonight’s look around the league..
- LeBron James and other NBA players are concerned about Shelly Sterling taking control of the Clippers, but a statement released this evening by NBA spokesman Mike Bass could put those worries to bed. “Under the NBA Constitution, if a controlling owner’s interest is terminated by a 3/4 vote, all other team owners’ interests are automatically terminated as well. It doesn’t matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team,” the statement read (Howard Beck of Bleacher Report on Twitter).
- Shelly Sterling’s attorney released a statement of his own to reporters, including Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).
- Sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert will support whatever decision the team’s next GM makes regarding Mike Brown. So, it appears the coach’s fate is in the hands of David Griffin, who’s expected to have the interim tag removed from his GM title soon. People around the league are split on whether Griffin would retain Brown, according to Amico.
- Kostas Papanikolaou, whose NBA rights are owned by the Rockets, says he’s in no rush to make the leap over. “Nothing changed in my thoughts about the NBA. If I get a good chance, I will go. However, I am new in this team [FC Barcelona Regal], they have treated me with respect and I only think about Barcelona. A team that helps me evolve my game and be better. So, I don’t know what will happen, if I will end up in the NBA this summer or the next one,” the Euroleague standout told Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Western Notes: Kerr, Trail Blazers, Rockets
The Warriors are growing increasingly pessimistic about their chances of convincing Steve Kerr to turn down the Knicks in favor of Golden State’s coaching job, report Ian Begley and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The Warriors fear Kerr is “too deep” into talks with the Knicks at this point, according to the article. Begley and Stein also note that their sources also stressed that Stan Van Gundy is actually the closest thing to a top target at this early stage of Golden State’s search. This feeling is based on the premise that an experienced coach can ensure that the Warriors maintain upward momentum in the competitive Western Conference, per the article.
More from out west:
- The Trail Blazers should have utilized the NBA D-League to better develop their young players, writes Chris Reichert of SB Nation. Instead of getting players like C.J. McCollum, Meyers Leonard, Victor Claver, and Will Barton some experience and playing time, the team let them sit on the end of the bench, notes Reichert, who believes this is hurting the team’s playoff chances.
- The Rockets have fired assistant coach Dean Cooper, citing problems with the team’s defense, reports Fran Blineberry of NBA.com (Twitter link). The Rockets ranked 23rd in the league this season in points allowed, giving up an average of 103.1 per contest.
- The writers at The Commercial Appeal (subscription required) look at the Grizzlies core and the offseason ahead from a GM’s perspective.
Western Notes: Hollins, Mavs, Rockets
After all of the excitement in the first round, the Blazers return to their home floor with hopes of making their series with the Spurs competitive. Portland has been significantly outmatched in a second round that has been somewhat of a letdown to this point. Here’s more from out West:
- A source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that the Warriors will interview Lionel Hollins for their head coaching vacancy at next week’s pre-draft camp in Chicago (Twitter link). Many names have surfaced in connection with the job, but Hollins is the first reported candidate to reach the interview stage.
- Michael Finley tells EJ Holland of The Dallas Morning News he thinks that Dirk Nowitzki will continue to play great basketball for the Mavs over the next few years, and sees the future Hall of Fame forward as a draw for free agents Dallas will be pursuing this summer. “We have money to spend. Hopefully, some of those key free agents will want to come to Dallas,” said Finley, who works in the Dallas front office. “If we can get some of those key guys to come in, that would be great, but I’m happy with the team that finished this year.”
- Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders looks ahead to the summer for the Rockets, noting what he thinks Houston needs to change in order to reach the next level.
Southwest Notes: Morey, Daniels, Mavs
In a series of Twitter responses, Rockets GM Daryl Morey tweeted that he has no hesitation in negotiating trades with in-conference rivals. Here’s more from the Southewest Division, including additional insight into Morey’s strategy:
- Morey said he intends to keep Troy Daniels next year.
- The GM insisted that Chandler Parsons will be back with the team, although without revealing whether that would come via a choice to pick up Parsons’ team option for next season.
- The Houston executive believers there are “for sure” superstars available in this year’s draft class.
- Morey cites cap flexibility, the mid level exception, and draft picks as elements at his disposal in building a better team moving forward.
- Finally, Morey added that he wants to make moves that will give Houston a top-10 defense next season.
- Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News thinks the Mavs need to add another star this offsesason, preferably a frontcourt player.
Rockets Rumors: Morey, Garcia, Parsons, Jones
The Rockets plan “to bring in a terrific free agent” and will be a “lot better” next season, owner Leslie Alexander told Mark Berman of FOX 26. Finding the space for another star won’t be easy for Houston – they already have nearly $57MM in commitments for 2014/15. More on the Rockets..
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey and head coach Kevin McHale will meet with Alexander on Wednesday in Florida to discuss plans for next season, a source tells Mark Berman of FOX 26 (via Twitter).
- Rockets forward Francisco Garcia has a player option for next season and says he hasn’t thought about his plans much yet, though he is happy in Houston, writes Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. “I haven’t thought about it yet,” he said. “I want to relax a little bit. I like it here. It is a good home for me.” Garcia, 32, is the Rockets’ oldest player and is well-respected among his teammates
- Chandler Parsons has been one of the league’s most underpaid players over the last three seasons but he says he wants to stay put, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The forward isn’t sure if he’d be better off as a restricted free agent or to have the Rockets pick up their option on his contract.
- Forward Terrence Jones went from playing in the D-League to being central to the Rockets’ rotation in 2013/14, Creech writes.