Community Shootaround: LeBron James’ Future
The Cavaliers are one game away from being swept by the Warriors, and Chris Mannix of The Vertical makes the case that Cleveland won’t have a legit chance to knock off Golden State anytime soon. In fact, Mannix suggests that if they hadn’t won last year’s Finals, the Cavs would likely be headed for a Buffalo Bills-esque run — good enough to come out of their conference, but not to win the championship.
With that in mind, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer explores the idea that LeBron’s second stint in Cleveland may not be permanent. James came back to the Cavs with a goal of bringing a title to Cleveland, and did so last year, meaning there likely wouldn’t be as much animosity if elected to take his talents elsewhere for a second time.
According to O’Connor, there are rumblings around the NBA about the possibility of LeBron heading out west when he becomes eligible to opt out of his contract in 2018. Multiple league sources that spoke to O’Connor suggests that Los Angeles is a potential destination for the reigning Finals MVP, with both the Lakers or Clippers as viable possibilities.
O’Connor lays out both of those hypothetical scenarios, writing that LeBron could theoretically team with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Paul George for the Lakers, or with his “Banana Boat” friends – Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony – for the Clippers.
At this point, both of those outcomes seem like long shots. Either L.A. team would have to complete a series of challenging roster moves to put together the groups O’Connor mentions, and there’s certainly no guarantee that LeBron will leave Cleveland anyway when he has the opportunity to reach free agency next summer. Heading west also wouldn’t necessarily improve his chances of toppling the Warriors, since he’d be in their division rather than in another conference.
Still, with the Cavs on the verge of defeat in this year’s Finals, it’s an interesting subject of speculation. What do you think? Will LeBron finish his career with the Cavaliers, or do you expect to see him eventually change teams again? If he heads elsewhere, are the Lakers and Clippers the most likely landing spots?
Weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts!
Jordan Loyd To Work Out For Clippers
- D-League guard Jordan Loyd is drawing some NBA interest, according to international reporter David Pick, who tweets that Loyd will attend a Nets free agent mini-camp, then will audition for the Clippers and play in Summer League with the Pacers. The 23-year-old averaged 15.1 PPG in 49 games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in 2016/17.
Draft Notes: Lakers, Ball, Artis, Briscoe, D. White
Despite multiple reports suggesting that the Lakers aren’t sold on the idea of using the No. 2 overall pick on Lonzo Ball, NBA executives are skeptical. As Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com writes, several execs told him that they don’t buy those reports, and one suggested that the Lakers may be trying to convince teams they like Josh Jackson in the hopes that someone will trade up to No. 2 for Jackson and allow the Lakers to move down while still landing Ball or De’Aaron Fox.
I’m also skeptical that the Lakers would pass on Ball, though I think the explanation could be simpler than that. While Magic Johnson has said publicly that Ball’s outspoken father LaVar Ball won’t affect the team’s decision at all, it’s possible that the club has some private concerns. In that scenario, it could make sense to leak word of those concerns in the hopes that LaVar, not wanting to alienate the Lakers, will dial back on his public comments a little.
While we wait to see how Ball’s meeting with the Lakers goes this week, let’s round up a few more draft-related items…
- Pittsburgh wing Jamel Artis has workouts on tap with the Spurs, Clippers, and Mavericks this week, league sources inform Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Ian Begley of ESPN.com adds the Knicks to the list of clubs Artis will audition for in the coming days, writing that Artis and UVA’s London Perrantes are scheduled to work out for New York on Friday.
- Kentucky’s Isaiah Briscoe has a busy pre-draft workout schedule, according to Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link), who says sessions with the Trail Blazers, Pistons, Bulls, and Lakers are still on tap for Briscoe. Camerato also adds the Raptors and Rockets to the list of teams Briscoe has already auditioned for.
- Camerato also provides workout details for a couple more prospects who visited Philadelphia today, reporting that Derrick White (Colorado) will audition for the Pelicans, Jazz, and Hornets, while Melo Trimble (Maryland) will work out for the Rockets, Trail Blazers, Pelicans, and Knicks (Twitter links).
- The Kings will work out Duke’s Harry Giles on Tuesday, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com tweets. The 6’11” center, whose lone college season was marred by knee injuries, is ranked No. 12 overall by ESPN’s Chad Ford, though he’s just No. 33 on DraftExpress’ board. Sacramento holds the No. 5, No. 10 and No. 34 picks in the draft.
Pacific Notes: Iguodala, Gay, Bell, Rivers, Pre-Draft Workouts
While Andre Iguodala is no longer the All-Star caliber athlete capable of memorable dunks, he is a vital cog on both sides of the ball for the championship winning Warriors, Connor Letourneau of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.
Iguodala, 33, has not averaged double-digits in points since joining Golden State in 2013 but his play in the 2015 NBA Finals, the first five games of last year’s series, and the first game of this year’s showdown displayed his value. As Letourneau mentions, had the Cavaliers not completed an improbable comeback last year, Iguodala may have been the NBA Finals Most Valuable Award recipient.
After knee and back troubles in recent years, Iguodala is now a key part of the Golden State bench. Following his seven points, three rebounds and two steals in 24 minutes on Thursday, the Warriors will look for similar contributions the rest of the series.“It’s only going to get harder from here,” Iguodala said. “We just have to stay locked in.”
Here are additional notes from the Pacific division:
- The Lakers are set to hold a pre-draft workout for several collegiate players this Monday, according to the team. The list of players scheduled for the workout includes Richmond forward T.J. Cline, Oklahoma State point guard Jawun Evans, Villanova guard Josh Hart, California’s Roger Moute a Bidias, Iowa State point guard Monte Morris, and Syracuse forward Tyler Roberson.
- Former Clippers teammates Glen Davis and Austin Rivers engaged in a mini-feud this week, starting with Rivers’ comments on FS1’s Undisputed that Davis was out of shape, constantly late, and struggled to remember players during his brief L.A. tenure (via NBC Sports). Davis subsequently shot back with an expletive-laden Instagram post, claiming that Rivers walked around with a cocky disposition and that he owes his career to his father.
- Coming off Achilles surgery, forward Rudy Gay was seen at Roc Nation Pro Day earlier this week and reportedly looked in good shape, per Jonathan Givony of Draft Express (via Twitter). Gay, 30, played in 30 regular season games with the Kings before suffering the injury and is expected to exercise his opt-out and hit free agency this offseason.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee writes that Oregon’s Jordan Bell is an intruiging target for the Kings in the NBA Draft. Known for his toughness and defensive prowess, Bell could add a strong dimension to a Kings team in transition following the trade deadline trade sending DeMarcus Cousins to the Pelicans.
- Doug Haller of The Arizona Republic writes that SMU forward Semi Ojeleye is a good target for the Suns in the second round draft. A built body and athleticism give Ojelye a good shot to mold into a productive NBA player despite limited college experience.
Chris Paul Would Seriously Consider Spurs If He Leaves L.A.
Two teams that have battled for top seeds in the West in recent years may battle for one of this summer’s top free agents next month. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Chris Paul intends to seriously consider signing with the Spurs in the event that he leaves the Clippers in free agency.
As much as Paul enjoys Los Angeles, he’s “intrigued” by the idea of teaming up with Kawhi Leonard and playing for Gregg Popovich, and potentially making the deep playoff run that hasn’t materialized with the Clippers, Stein reports. According to the ESPN report, the Spurs are “increasingly considered a lock” to meet with CP3 face to face once free agency officially gets underway on July 1, despite the fact that the team currently doesn’t have the cap room necessary to sign him.
Meanwhile, the Clippers have already begun to consider roster and organizational changes aimed at convincing Paul to re-sign, sources tell Stein. Stein adds that L.A.’s recent push to lure Jerry West from the Warriors is one example of the type of move the team hopes will convince Paul to return, though Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) hears that West is staying with Golden State and met with the Clips as a courtesy.
We had already heard about the mutual interest between Paul and the Spurs, and Stein had reported earlier that the Clippers viewed San Antonio as a serious threat, so today’s report isn’t exactly a bombshell. The interest between Paul and the Spurs certainly appears real, but the Clips are still viewed as the favorite to re-sign the veteran point guard, who could use San Antonio’s interest as leverage in an effort to get the full max.
Draft Notes: Fox, Ball, Mitchell, Workouts
In a draft expected to be dominated by point guards, John Wall thinks De’Aaron Fox will be the best of the bunch, relays Chase Hughes of CSNMidAtlantic. Wall insists his opinion stems from watching Fox play and isn’t because they went to the same school. “A lot of people say it’s bias because he’s from Kentucky, but I think De’Aaron Fox might end up being the best point guard out of that class,” Wall said. “He reminds me of myself a lot, just a lefty.” Wall was the first player picked in 2010 and has been a four-time All-Star. Fox is widely projected to be taken early in the lottery, but after point guards Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball.
There’s more news as the draft looms three weeks away:
- Fox is the latest rookie to get a shoe deal before being drafted, tweets Nick DePaula of The Vertical. Fox, who was highly sought after by shoe companies, agreed to a multi-year deal with Nike.
- Ball may need an exceptional workout with the Lakers to be the No. 2 pick, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who notes that L.A.’s interest is growing in Fox and Kansas forward Josh Jackson. Ball’s camp, which once said he would only meet with the Lakers, is now willing to hold meetings, but probably not workouts, with the Sixers and Kings.
- Donovan Mitchell is a non-traditional point guard who may be a steal for somebody in the middle of the draft, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. The Louisville product is celebrated for his defense, but doesn’t possess great passing skills.
- Oregon guard Dylan Ennis has been among the most active prospects in pre-draft workouts, tweets Oliver Maroney of Dime Magazine. Ennis has already worked out for the Thunder, Raptors and Celtics, and has sessions with the Clippers, Kings and Spurs set for next week. He is listed by DraftExpress as a long shot to be selected.
- Pitt’s Jamel Artis will work out for the Magic on Thursday, tweets Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders.
- Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan was the top name at Tuesday’s Raptors workout, tweets Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. Swanigan was joined by Virginia’s Austin Nichols, Dayton’s Scoochie Smith, Houston’s Damyean Dotson, North Carolina’s Nate Britt and Southeast Missouri’s Antonius Cleveland.
- The Knicks welcomed six players on Tuesday, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. At the workout were Kentucky’s Isaiah Briscoe, South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell, Duke’s Amile Jefferson, Colorado’s Derrick White, Florida’s Canyon Barry and Columbia’s Luke Petrasek.
Clippers Interested In Luring Jerry West From Warriors
3:37pm: West is “very intrigued” by the idea of working with the Clippers, a source tells Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).
12:00pm: While West’s level of interest in joining the Clippers remains unclear, he has already held talks with Rivers and team owner Steve Ballmer, Stein reports (via Twitter).
7:56am: When the Lakers overhauled their front office earlier this year, they reportedly didn’t show any real interest in bringing Jerry West back into the fold. However, that’s not the case for the other team in Los Angeles. According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, the Clippers are interested in luring West away from the Warriors.
League sources tell Stein that the Clippers would want to hire West as a consultant, which is essentially the role he currently holds in Golden State. Doc Rivers is the Clippers’ president of basketball operations, with Lawrence Frank also holding a key role in the team’s front office, so if West were to join the group, it would be as a complementary voice, rather than to supplant L.A.’s current execs.
While West was said to have some interest in getting involved with the Lakers earlier this year, it’s not clear if his level of interest in the Clippers would be as high. According to Stein, teams have made similar runs at West in the past, with little success. Additionally, Warriors owner Joe Lacob has confirmed that his club wants to extend West’s contract, so Golden State won’t let him get away without a fight.
Still, if the 79-year-old West is seeking a greater challenge at this point in his career, joining the Clippers’ front office would certainly qualify. The Warriors – 12-0 in the postseason and the favorites in the Finals – already have a stacked roster and fully expect their stars to re-sign this summer, while the Clippers appear to be at a crossroads, with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and J.J. Redick facing free agency.
Clippers Remain ‘Overwhelming Favorite’ To Re-Sign Chris Paul
There is reportedly “mutual interest” between the Spurs and Chris Paul, and the Clippers are said to view San Antonio as a legit threat in the CP3 sweepstakes. However, that doesn’t mean the Spurs are the frontrunners to land the All-Star point guard. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, the Clippers remain the “overwhelming favorite” to re-sign Paul.
Appearing on CBS Sports Radio with Gary Parrish on Sunday, Wojnarowski said he has a hard time imagining Paul leaving Los Angeles. Not only can the Clippers offer more years and dollars than any other team, but CP3 also still has significant marketing opportunities in the L.A. area, Wojnarowski observes. By comparison, the Spurs appear to be more of a long shot to sign Paul.
“I’ve spent a lot of time around the Spurs this spring,” Wojnarowski said. “They would have to just tear up that entire payroll. It’s almost unlike anything the Spurs would’ve done or would do to even have a chance at him. I mean, they’d have to really gut the roster. And to do that for a 30-plus-year-old point guard, who has a couple great years left, there’s no question — I think there’s more pressure on the Clippers to have to re-sign him than for the Spurs to turn their whole franchise over to make a run at him.”
As Wojnarowski alludes to, the Spurs don’t currently have the cap room to make a run at Paul, so if they were to seriously pursue him, they’d have to move some salary, which would likely mean surrendering key pieces.
Even if San Antonio had the space to make a max offer to CP3, the team’s proposal would still fall $50MM+ short of what the Clippers could put on the table — L.A. can go up to five years (instead of four) with 8% raises (instead of 5%) for Paul. Based on a $101MM cap projection, Paul could land up to about $205MM over five years with the Clips.
Spurs Notes: Free Agents, Simmons, Paul, Lee
The Spurs’ decision on whether to pursue Chris Paul will play a role in which free agents return next season, writes Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News. The organization would have to clear a massive amount of cap space to offer Paul a max deal, which would probably mean renouncing Patty Mills and not matching an offer sheet for restricted free agent Jonathon Simmons. In addition, Dewayne Dedmon and David Lee both have player options and might also be renounced if they opt out. If the Spurs are able to sign Paul, they will have to fill out the roster using their mid-level exception and veterans minimum deals.
There’s more news out of San Antonio:
- If the Spurs want to keep Simmons, they will get some help from an “arcane” rule, McDonald notes in the same story. The Gilbert Arenas provision limits first-year offers to Simmons to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which will be roughly $8.4MM next season. Of course, offer sheets can be heavily backloaded over the final two years, similar to what the Nets did with Tyler Johnson last summer. If the Spurs are operating over the cap, they won’t have the ability to spread the hit evenly over four seasons, so they could be looking at a substantial salary commitment in 2019/20 and 2020/21 for a player who turns 28 in September.
- To make a realistic run at Paul, the Spurs would have to find a taker for LaMarcus Aldridge, Danny Green or Tony Parker, writes Nick Moyle of The San Antonio Express-News. That means trading them without taking back salary, which will almost certainly require giving up draft picks. Aldridge would probably be the most difficult of the three to move, as he is signed for $21.461MM for next season, along with a $22.347MM player option for 2018/19. Green will make $10MM next year, with a $10MM player option the following season. Parker is entering the final year of his contract at $15.453MM.
- Lee won’t need surgery for a strained patellar tendon in his left knee, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. The injury, which Lee suffered in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, is expected to heal in about six weeks.
Stern Wanted To Rework Chris-Paul-To-Lakers Deal
Former NBA Commissioner David Stern addressed the NBA’s most famous non-trade during a recent appearance on the Nunyo & Company podcast [hat tip to Dan Feldman of NBC Sports].
The Lakers, Rockets and Hornets [now known as the Pelicans] worked out a three-team trade in 2011 that would have sent Chris Paul to Los Angeles. Stern, acting as owner of the New Orleans franchise after George Shinn sold it to the league, vetoed the deal on the basis that the Hornets weren’t getting enough in return for an All-Star point guard who was just entering his prime.
The full trade would have sent Paul to L.A., Pau Gasol to Houston and Lamar Odom, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and a first-round pick to New Orleans. Stern blocked the deal, but says he intended to rework it.
“In fact, in the course of the weekend, we thought we could re-do the deal,” Stern explained. “We really thought that Houston would be ready to part with [Kyle] Lowry, and we had a trade lined up for Odom that would have gotten us a good first-round draft pick – not we, but my basketball folks. But [Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak at the time panicked and moved Odom to Dallas. So the piece wasn’t even there for us to play with at the time. So that was it — just about what was good for the then-New Orleans Hornets.”
Later that year, New Orleans dealt Paul to the Clippers in exchange for Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and a 2012 first-round pick that became Austin Rivers. The Lakers lost a potential star to pair with Kobe Bryant for the final part of his career and haven’t been a title contender since.