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Draft Notes: Vonleh, Stauskas, McDermott, Harris

May 30th, 2014 at 11:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Indiana big man Noah Vonleh looked impressive in a workout this week, and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds the Magic to the list of teams auditioning the potential top-five pick (Twitter link). There’s news on a few other projected lottery selections among the latest on the draft:

  • Nik Stauskas will work out for the Lakers and Celtics, Goodman reports, adding that the same two teams are on Doug McDermott‘s agenda (Twitter links).
  • Gary Harris will show off for the Suns and Lakers, a source tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
  • Adreian Payne is set to audition for the Celtics, Suns and Jazz, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
  • The Hawks worked out Nick Johnson on Thursday, notes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  • Jahii Carson, Justin Cobbs, Cory Jefferson, Artem Klimenko and Akil Mitchell are all performing for the Bucks today, the team announced (on Twitter).
  • The Suns will audition Lamar Patterson today, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Phoenix is also getting a look at De’Mon Brooks, according to agent Keith Kreiter (Twitter link).
  • The Sixers worked out Patterson, Semaj Christon, Devon Saddler, Casey Prather and Langston Galloway, reports Tyler R. Tynes of the Philadelphia Daily News. The Pacers had a look at Galloway, Jabari Brown, Markel Starks and C.J. Wilcox, as Tynes also writes.
  • The Celtics and Bulls will audition Kadeem Batts, Sportando’s David Pick tweets.
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And-Ones: Nash, T’Wolves, Knicks, Hornets

May 29th, 2014 at 10:48pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Steve Nash tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles that he doesn’t need to have any input on the Lakers’ head coaching search. “I’m completely happy to have a conversation…but I’m also fine having nothing to do with it.”

The former MVP also talked about how he got the sense that Mike D’Antoni wasn’t going to return for 2014/15. “(2013/14) wasn’t an enjoyable year for him. I think he could foresee that next year wasn’t going to be any more enjoyable from his standpoint, so I’m happy for him that he was able to walk away…towards the end of the season (I) could sense that he felt that he really didn’t want to do it next year…So, if that’s his wish, you want the best for him.”

Nash does, however, think that his former coach could possibly find another opportunity to coach again elsewhere soon. “I don’t know for sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if he ended up with another job in the short term.”

Here are a few more miscellaneous links to pass along tonight:

  • Timberwolves GM Milt Newton says that the team isn’t in any rush to find a head coach, but conceded that they do have more of a timetable on possible trade talks about Kevin Love, reports Marcus R. Fuller of the Pioneer Press. Newton says he hasn’t spoken with Love since the season ended, but added that “maybe” there was more recent contact between Love and team president of basketball operations Flip Saunders.
  • The Knicks plan to purchase a mid-to-late second round pick from the upcoming draft, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post.
  • The Hornets are willing to part with their draft picks if the right deal comes along, reports Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer, who also writes that the team’s biggest needs are perimeter shooting and finding a backup big man for Al Jefferson.
  • Charlotte plans to add Steve Hetzel as an assistant coach on Steve Clifford’s staff, according to an earlier tweet by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Hetzel has been serving as head coach of the Canton Charge of the NBDL.
  • Larry Bird will have to think hard about matching any offer that Pacers swingman Lance Stephenson gets in upcoming free agency, senses Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
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Eastern Notes: Sixers, Draft, Kirilenko

May 28th, 2014 at 8:08pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers need to land at least one star player with their multitude of draft picks, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Coach Brett Brown also agreed with the article’s assessment, saying, “I think it’s important. I think it’s really important. Stars want to play with stars. And it’s too early to say anything about Michael [Carter-Williams] or what you can project Nerlens [Noel] out to be. Just because somebody’s chosen high in the draft doesn’t mean they’re going to be a star either.”

More from the east:

  • Sixers GM Sam Hinkie attended a prospect workout in Long Island, New York today for Noah Vonleh and Tyler Ennis, tweets Tom Moore of Calkins Media.
  • Evan Turner has an uncertain future, writes Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com. Turner is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and him being a “non-factor” in the playoffs for the Pacers won’t help his contract situation, opines Kaskey-Blomain.
  • Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looks back at the season Andrei Kirilenko had with the Nets. In 45 games, Kirilenko averaged 5.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 19.0 minutes per night.
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Pacers Doubt Wisdom Of Re-Signing Stephenson

May 28th, 2014 at 3:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

There are many within the Pacers organization who don’t believe the team should give Lance Stephenson a lucrative long-term contract this summer when he hits unrestricted free agency, sources tell Mike Wells and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The concern stems from a perception that he’s acted selfishly. Many within the franchise believe that he changed his approach on the court at midseason in an attempt to enhance his value as a free agent, which he thinks took a hit when he failed to be selected for the All-Star Game, Wells and Windhorst hear.

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird indicated on multiple occasions early in the season that the team planned to re-sign the guard, who’ll command a significant raise from the $1MM he made this season. Bird has been mostly silent in the second half of the season as the Pacers flatlined and Stephenson’s game changed. His assist ratio dropped from 25.2 to 20.2, per NBA.com, as Wells and Windhorst point out. Teammates grew weary of his act, and the result was the opposite of what Stephenson apparently intended. His value reportedly slipped from that of a player capable of commanding eight-figure annual salaries to one likely to end up in the $7-8MM range. He tumbled from seventh in the Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings to out of the top 10.

Indiana has more than $60MM in commitments for next season, and while the rise in the projected luxury tax line to $77MM gives the team breathing room, a new deal for Stephenson, even at $7MM a year, would put a serious crimp in the Pacers’ flexibility. Ownership has taken a hard line against paying the luxury tax, so Indiana wouldn’t have much room for significant upgrades if Stephenson returns at market value next season.

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Western Notes: Wolves, Nuggets, Thomas, Scola

May 27th, 2014 at 10:03pm CST by Cray Allred

The Kings haven’t yet made a trade offer to the Wolves for Kevin Love, reports Charley Walters of St. Paul Pioneer Press. Walters writes that Minnesota is still operating as if Love will be on the roster next season. Here’s a roundup for the Western Conference, including more notes from Walters’ piece:

  • Fred Hoiberg is not a candidate for the Wolves coaching job, but president of basketball operations Flip Saunders could still be in the running to become the next coach in Minnesota, according to Walters.
  • The Wolves are receiving calls on the availability of Ricky Rubio and Nikola Pekovic, in addition to Love, Walters reports.
  • Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities would be “mildly surprised” if Sam Mitchell won the Wolves head coaching job, and says that Minnesota remains focused on candidates with head coaching experience (Twitter links).
  • Nuggets GM Tim Connelly tells Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post that he has ownership’s blessing to make a major move to upgrade Denver’s roster. “We’ve got a lot of things at our disposal,” Connelly said. “We have the 11th pick, obviously, we have our picks going forward, we have a pretty big trade exception (worth $9.8MM), and I think we have a bunch of players who are well thought of outside our locker room, and they’re on contracts that — if we deem them movable guys — it’s not hard to move them.”
  • Connelly tells Jhabvala that he doesn’t expect to find a player who can immediately contribute with the team’s No. 11 draft pick, if the Nuggets keep it. “The 11th pick on a team that should be in the playoffs generally doesn’t have a huge impact from day one. Very few rookies had any impact this year on playoff teams,” Connelly said. “As our roster is presently constituted, who knows how we’re going to look after the draft. I think it’s unfair to put too much emphasis on the 11th pick.”
  • Rockets GM Daryl Morey tells Zach Lowe of Grantland that coach Kevin McHale is so high on Luis Scola that he still asks if Houston can reacquire the forward. Since the Rockets amnestied Scola, they cannot reacquire him until his contract, which is partially guaranteed through next year, is up.
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Draft Rumors: Embiid, Parker, Wiggins, Ennis

May 27th, 2014 at 5:14pm CST by Chuck Myron

Several around the league believe Joel Embiid will only work out for the Cavs and Bucks as confidence grows that he won’t slip to the Sixers at No. 3, according to Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins will likely audition only for the teams with the top three picks, a source tells Holmes, though that’s much less noteworthy than the Embiid news, which signals that concerns about the health of his back are abating. Still, it appears as though Nuggets GM Tim Connelly would prefer Parker to Embiid and Wiggins if he somehow managed to have a choice, observes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post (on Twitter). Here’s more from a busy afternoon of draft-related news:

  • Toronto native Tyler Ennis will work out for the Raptors on Thursday, the team announced.
  • Glenn Robinson III is auditioning for the Hawks today and the Hornets later this week, and he expects to do so for the Spurs, Bulls and Bucks sometime soon, as he tells MLive’s Brendan F. Quinn (hat tip to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution).
  • Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com adds T.J. Warren, Cleanthony Early and K.J. McDaniels to the players working out on June 3rd for the Celtics (Twitter link).
  • The Bulls will play host to workouts for Jordan McRae, Devyn Marble and C.J. Fair on Wednesday, Goodman tweets, adding their names to Rodney Hood‘s, which Goodman reported Monday.
  • Marble pulled out of his workout with the Bucks today, but the two sides will reschedule, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (on Twitter).
  • The Suns are auditioning Keith Appling, Alec Brown, Deonte Burton, Artem Klimenko, Jakarr Sampson and Jamil Wilson today, tweets Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic. Appling will also show off this week for the Pistons, Raptors and Wolves, agent Michael Silverman tells Matt Charboneau of The Detroit News.
  • The Knicks will work out Ian Chiles, a source tells Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.
  • Xavier Thames auditioned for the Heat today, and he’s set to do so with the Bucks, Bulls, Celtics, Hornets, Knicks, Jazz, Mavericks and Pacers, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
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Draft Rumors: Harris, Young, Robinson, Smart

May 23rd, 2014 at 2:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

NBA executives are gathered in Southern California for a series of workouts involving draft hopefuls, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com passes along some intel in an Insider-only piece. Gary Harris has used hot shooting to impress and he’s a likely top-10 pick, Ford believes. He’ll work out for the Celtics and Bulls. among other teams, according to Ford. James Young is drawing interest from a slew of teams, including the Hornets, Sixers, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves and Suns, while many clubs are high on Glenn Robinson III after he performed well in a workout for the Bulls this past Monday, Ford writes. Here’s more on the draft:

  • Marcus Smart has workouts scheduled with the Magic and Celtics, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
  • Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times adds the Nuggets to the list of teams that interviewed Aaron Gordon at last week’s draft combine in Chicago.
  • The Clippers, Pacers, Pistons and Wizards are among the clubs interested in Virginia swingman Joe Harris, Woelfel writes in the same piece, reiterating that the Bucks are eyeing him, too. Harris spoke to Zach Links of Hoops Rumors recently for our Prospect Profile series.
  • Chane Behanan will work out for the Mavs next month, Goodman also tweets.
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Pacers Interested In Lester Hudson

May 23rd, 2014 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chinese league MVP Lester Hudson has caught the eye of the Pacers, who are among the NBA teams scheduled to bring him in for workouts, reports Shams Charania of RealGM. Indiana’s playoff roster is set, so the Pacers are ostensibly looking at him with next season in mind. The workouts will take place over the next month as part of minicamps, according to Charania, and while minicamps usually lead only to summer league arrangements, it seems Hudson has a decent shot at earning an NBA roster spot for the fall. The Grizzlies, Knicks and Clippers were interested in Hudson this past February, as Charania reported.

Hudson, a 6’3″ point guard, averaged 26.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 36.9 minutes per game for Xinjiang Guangshi of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2013/14. This was the third straight season that Hudson spent at least part of his time playing in China, and he last appeared in the NBA in 2011/12, when he averaged 12.7 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 2.7 APG in 24.2 MPG over a 13-game stint with the Cavs.

The Jazz had Hudson in the preseason this past autumn after the Knicks worked him out last summer. Hudson, a second-round draft pick of the Celtics in 2009, turns 30 this summer.

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And-Ones: LeBron, Love, Garnett, Donovan

May 22nd, 2014 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

People around the league told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that didn’t think the Cavs had any shot at re-signing LeBron James going into Tuesday’s draft lottery, but Cleveland’s third lottery victory in four years casts the idea in a new light, Lloyd figures. The Cavs have long believed that acquiring Kevin Love would be central to the team’s pursuit of the four-time MVP, and they thought all season that the Wolves would eventually trade their power forward. Still, Lloyd has heard from no one who believes that Love would stay in Cleveland long-term if the team can’t land James, so trading for Love before knowing what James wants to do would be a supreme gamble. There’s more on the Love sweepstakes amid the latest from around the NBA:

  • The Warriors are confident they can wind up with Love, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. Love is reportedly high on Golden State, and the team has been resourceful in acquiring players in spite of a lack of cap flexibility, Simmons notes.
  • Next season’s $12MM salary and a productive stretch run lead Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to believe that Kevin Garnett will return next season for the Nets, even though he hasn’t dismissed talk of retirement.
  • Billy Donovan admitted contact with a couple of NBA teams, but he said he’s content as the coach at the University of Florida and “all but guaranteed” he’ll remain there for next season, observes Mark Long of The Associated Press (Twitter links; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Wolves reportedly sought him for their vacancy earlier this spring.
  • The Warriors were one of five teams that reached out to Steve Kerr about their coaching vacancies, as Kerr said on ESPN Radio’s The Dan Le Batard show, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. The Knicks and Jazz were his other known suitors.
  • Draft hopeful Andre Dawkins will work out for the Bulls, Suns, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons and Mavericks, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Dawkins is No. 92 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him among his top prospects.
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Draft Notes: Smart, Adams, Vonleh, Gordon

May 16th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

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.”
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