- The Clippers will work out Dayton’s Dyshawn Pierre, according to Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link). Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link) adds former Kansas forward Cheick Diallo to the list of prospects that will work out with the Clips.
- Longtime basketball coach Kevin Eastman has decided to call it a career, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link). Eastman, who was an assistant on Doc Rivers‘ staff in Boston before joining him with the Clippers, was named L.A.’s vice president of basketball operations in 2014. In his newsletter, he explained his decision to retire from coaching and outlined what he’ll do next.
The Clippers plan to shift assistant coach Lawrence Frank from the bench to a high-ranking post in the front office, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (on Twitter). The move would be part of a shuffle that would have Frank assist head coach and president of basketball operations Doc Rivers in personnel and move Brendan O’Connor to the bench, Stein tweets.
It is unclear what specific role or job function Frank would have. O’Connor would seemingly fill Frank’s void, Stein notes in a full story. He joined the Clippers as an assistant in September 2014 after reaching a buyout arrangement with Brooklyn, where he was previously an assistant. The Nets reassigned Frank in December 2013 into a role in which he filed daily reports for the club, in spite of a contract that had called for him to make more than $1MM a year for six seasons as an assistant coach under Jason Kidd.
Rivers and Frank have a previous relationship, too. Frank served as an assistant under Rivers for the 2010/11 season on the Celtics bench and Rivers had reportedly sought Frank as an assistant coach in the summer of 2013, too. Frank’s greatest success in coaching came in his first stint with the Nets, when he guided the team to the playoffs four straight years as head coach. He also served as a head for the Pistons, and is 279-335 in parts of nine seasons as an NBA head man.
- Former Louisville small forward Damion Lee has participated in workouts for the Clippers, Celtics, Suns, Spurs, Wizards, Jazz and Raptors, plus, he has upcoming visits scheduled with the Mavericks and Thunder, Kennedy tweets.
Chinese big man Zhou Qi has agreed to a deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers that will allow him to buy out his contract with his Chinese team and make the jump to the NBA in 2017, agent Alex Saratsis tells Jonathan Givony of The Vertical. Zhou’s buyout will be worth $650K, the maximum amount allowed by the Chinese Basketball Association.
Zhou is currently eligible to be drafted in 2016, but there has been some uncertainty surrounding his stock, since it wasn’t clear how much longer he would remain in China — his contract with the Flying Tigers was for another five years, per Givony. Zhou traveled to the U.S. to work out for NBA teams in recent weeks, including the Celtics, Suns, Grizzlies, and Clippers. Now, those teams and other NBA clubs have a better idea of when they’ll be able to bring the Chinese big man stateside should they draft him this year.
Zhou, who played alongside Andray Blatche, Andrew Goudelock and Bryce Cotton in Xinjiang, averaged 15.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and a CBA-leading 3.2 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game for the Flying Tigers this season. He had two points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over 12 minutes of play at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit, a premiere showcase that pits international talent against top U.S. high schoolers, and is expected to compete in this summer’s Olympics for the Chinese national team.
At DraftExpress.com, Givony ranks Zhou 28th in his list of top 100 prospects for 2016, which suggests that the seven-footer would make a good draft-and-stash candidate in the second round or late in the first round in this year’s draft. For the time being, he also has the option of withdrawing from the draft and aiming to improve his stock for 2017, when he’d be able to come to the NBA immediately. The deadline for international prospects to withdraw from this year’s draft is Monday, June 13th.
Paul Pierce said back in April after the Clippers were eliminated from the postseason that he was 50-50 about returning for another season, and it doesn’t appear that stance has changed. He has yet to decide whether or not he’ll play in 2016/17. However, as he tells Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, when it comes to who’s making that decision on his future, it’s not quite a 50-50 split.
“We always say it’s 51-49. I get 51 percent of the vote and the rest of [the family] gets 49,” Pierce said. “[My wife’s] input carried a lot of weight. We’ll figure out some things. I know I don’t want to be sitting at home, whatever I do, regardless. If I come back, it will be one more [season] and that will be it. No doubt.”
Pierce, who turns 39 in November, remains under contract with the Clippers for the next two seasons, though his 2017/18 salary is mostly non-guaranteed. While it sounds like the veteran forward might like to play one final year, he admitted that all the work that goes into preparing for a new season has worn on him as he nears age 40.
“Really, it’s all about how I feel mentally, getting up and I’m thinking about the grind,” Pierce said. “People don’t understand, I think a lot of guys retire because of what it takes to [get on the court] each season. You can take the grind once you are in it, but getting ready for the grind is the hard part.”
Pierce, who said he spoke to former teammate Kevin Garnett on Tuesday about his decision, figures to make the call in the coming weeks on whether or not to retire. That would give the Clippers a chance to enter the new league year in July knowing whether or not Pierce will be part of their plans for 2016/17.
In his first year in Los Angeles, Pierce struggled, establishing new career lows in points per game (6.1), field goal percentage (.363), PER (8.2), and many other categories.
If the Cavaliers are going to make a major change this offseason, it’ll be Kevin Love on the trading block, reports Chris Mannix of The Vertical. “If they go out like this, I’m betting on a Kevin Love auction,” one league executive tells Mannix. Love had just five points in 21 minutes during Sunday night’s blowout loss to the Warriors.
Here’s more from around the league:
- The Knicks are rumored to have interest in Evan Turner and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders hears that the interest in mutual (Twitter link). Turner will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Bulls forward Jimmy Butler has a strong desire to play in the Olympics despite hearing about all the players who will sit out, Vincent Goodwill of Comcast Sportsnet tweets.
- Nick Minnerath has worked out for the Clippers, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets. Minnerath, who formerly played for the Canton Charge of the D-League, will also attend free agent mini-camps with the Pistons and Mavs later this month.
- The Clippers are telling player agents that they’re trying to move up in the first round of the draft, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s not clear whether or not Los Angeles, currently slated to pick 25th and 33rd, is eyeing a particular prospect.
Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian has turned down offers from the Rockets and Wizards and will remain in Toronto, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Kalamian just completed his first season with the Raptors after six years in Oklahoma City. A 20-year veteran, he has also been on the bench with the Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Kings.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere made an impression at the Relativity Sports Pro Day this afternoon at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Labissière now has workouts and meetings scheduled with nearly every team that owns a top 10 draft pick.
- This marks Jeff Van Gundy’s 10th year as a broadcaster for the NBA Finals, and it seems unlikely he will ever return to coaching, writes Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. Van Gundy was considered as a candidate for the Rockets‘ job that eventually went to Mike D’Antoni, but he and the team never formally discussed the position. After a decade away from coaching, Van Gundy admits a return would be difficult. “You don’t have the same feel for guys that you didn’t coach against or coach yourself. It’s not the same,” he said. “You can watch the games on TV, you can study in that way, but if you’re not competing against people, it’s hard to know as much as you do when you’re coaching.”
- Isaiah Cousins will work out for the Clippers on Monday and the Lakers on Wednesday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Zagoria hears the Oklahoma point guard’s “stock is rising.”
- Iona guard A.J. English has workouts set for this week with the Bulls, Magic and Raptors, Zagoria tweets.
- Former NBA player Ekpe Udoh is free to leave his Fenerbahce team in Turkey, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The 29-year-old Udoh’s last NBA experience came in 2014/15 with the Clippers. “We will keep the roster intact. Only Udoh is waiting for the NBA,” said Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim. “He was afraid because of the attack which happened in Antep. There are 51% chances for him to stay. We will add two more players to that roster and we will keep all others.”
Ante Zizic will go straight to the NBA upon being drafted as opposed to becoming a draft-and-stash prospect and playing overseas, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). The 6’11” center is the 21st best prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Perry Ellis (Kansas) has worked out for the Bucks, Suns and Spurs in addition to participating in a Chicago pro day, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders passes along (Twitter links). Ellis will also work out for the Hawks, Kennedy adds.
- A.J. English (Iona) will work out for the Bulls, Magic and Raptors this week, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports (Twitter link).
- DeAndre’ Bembry (St. Joe’s) worked out for the Warriors and the Clippers today, Zagoria tweets.