Draft Rumors: Harris, Young, Robinson, Smart
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.
Donald Sterling OKs Wife To Sell Clippers
12:49pm: The NBA issued a response to the news via press release, suggesting that the league is unmoved by the proposal to have Shelly Sterling conduct the sale of the team.
“We continue to follow the process set forth in the NBA Constitution regarding termination of the current ownership interests in the Los Angeles Clippers and are proceeding toward a hearing on this matter on June 3,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in the statement.
11:11am: Shelly Sterling has agreed to sell the team only if she gets to keep a minority stake, as USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer, Jeff Zillgitt and Sam Amick report. Since the league insists she would have to relinquish her ownership in entirety as part of any sale, as Shelburne noted, this appears to be a stumbling block.
10:36am: Several in ownership circles expect the Clippers to sell for more than $1 billion, and one source tells Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com that there’s a decent chance the selling price ends up closer to $2 billion than $1 billion, echoing a report from Grantland’s Bill Simmons (Twitter links).
9:49am: Donald Sterling has agreed to let wife Shelly Sterling negotiate the sale of the Clippers, a source tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The NBA hasn’t approved the arrangement yet, Shelburne adds (on Twitter). The league won’t consider the Sterlings’ proposal unless they divest themselves of 100% of their ownership of the club, according to Shelburne. TMZ first reported that Donald Sterling was putting the future of the Clippers in his wife’s hands.
The news is a startling turn, given the widespread assumption that Donald Sterling would put up a strong legal fight to retain the team as the NBA looked to strip it from him. The TMZ report suggests that Shelly Sterling still intends to sue if the league attempts to conduct the sale itself rather than allow her to run it, but it nonetheless is the first indication that the Sterlings are resigned to losing the team.
Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling for life late last month after determining that he made several racially charged comments on an audio recording. The Board of Governors is set to vote June 3rd to terminate his ownership, and the league maintains that would apply to Shelly Sterling as well. The Sterlings own the Clippers jointly as part of a family trust.
Shelly Sterling and her attorney have vehemently fought the assertion that the NBA’s punishment of her husband should apply to her. She claimed that she was a part of the league’s efforts to find an interim CEO for the team, though a report suggested her hope has been to control a 50% stake in the team and act as a hands-off owner. Dick Parsons, whom the league named interim CEO of the franchise two weeks ago, dismissed the notion that Shelly Sterling had any existing role with the team or that she would have one in the future.
Magic Johnson and the Guggenheim Partners are willing to jointly pay in excess of $1 billion to purchase the Clippers, and a slew of other prospective buyers have lined up. Still, it’s unclear if Johnson, one of the subjects of Donald Sterling’s racist remarks, would want to negotiate with Shelly Sterling, or if Sterling would want to do so with him. Donald Sterling reportedly fears that the league has been trying to engineer the sale of the team to Johnson. Sources told Claire Atkinson of the New York Post that billionaire Antony Ressler is preparing to try to buy the team, and Atkinson hears Ressler is a longtime friend of Donald Sterling. It’s possible, given the close proximity of the timing of Atkinson’s report and the news of Donald Sterling’s willingness to let go of the team, that the Sterlings have Ressler atop their list of preferred buyers, but that’s just my speculation.
Bobby Brown Signs Three-Year Chinese Deal
NBA prospect Bobby Brown has signed a three-year deal to remain with the Dongguan Leopards of China, but the contract includes NBA escape clauses, and he’ll play for the Blazers summer league team this year, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter links). The Chinese website Sohu.com originally reported the sides were close to an agreement. The Clippers appeared to show interest in Brown at multiple points this year, but though he seemed destined to return to the league this past season after a 74-point outburst for the Leopards in December, he didn’t wind up with an NBA deal.
Brown was the Chinese Basketball Association’s second leading scorer this past season with 30.7 points per game, and he also dished out 5.7 assists and grabbed 4.0 rebounds in 39.1 minutes per contest. He’s played in Italy and Germany, too, since last appearing in an NBA game in 2009/10. Still, he remained on the radar of NBA teams, playing in summer league for the Raptors in 2010 and 2012 and drawing interest from the Knicks this past summer. The 29-year-old played regular season games for four NBA teams in two seasons after going undrafted out of Cal State Fullerton in 2007.
It’s not clear how much the buyout attached to his new Chinese deal would run if he were to find NBA work. His summer league arrangement with Portland seems to indicate it’s less than $600K, which would allow an NBA team to pay the buyout without the money counting against the cap, but that’s just my speculation.
Knicks Maintain Hope Of Landing Brian Shaw
Brian Shaw would be Knicks president Phil Jackson‘s first choice to coach the team if he could somehow find a way to shake him loose from the Nuggets job, and Jackson hasn’t given up hope of managing to do so, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Shaw nonetheless reiterated his commitment to Denver on Tuesday, and a report from earlier this week indicated that the Knicks worry they won’t be able to meet the Nuggets’ demands for compensation if they were to let Shaw out of his contract, which runs two more years.
Jackson would prefer Shaw to Derek Fisher, but the executive would be even more motivated to find a way to land Shaw if he can’t lure Fisher, Berman suggests. Fisher won’t speak with the Knicks until he’s done playing for the Thunder this season, and Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks says the 39-year-old hasn’t ruled out continuing to play next season, as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote this weekend. That jibes with Wednesday’s report that there’s a legitimate possibility that Fisher will re-sign with the Thunder as a player and serve as a de facto assistant coach as he sits on the bench. Fisher is also a Lakers coaching candidate, and Berman, who’s pointed to concern about a bidding war between the Knicks and Lakers over the longtime Kobe Bryant teammate, raises the notion that the Lakers would give Fisher a front office role rather than the coaching job.
Berman also mentions previously reported candidate Tyronn Lue as a fallback option for the Knicks, noting that Lue is friends with Carmelo Anthony, who intends to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this summer. Mark Jackson, Mike Dunleavy, Kurt Rambis, Jim Cleamons, Nate McMillan, Fred Hoiberg and Luke Walton are other candidates rumored to be on the Knicks radar in the aftermath of Golden State’s hiring of Steve Kerr.
The Knicks are light on draft picks and can’t give up more than $3.2MM in cash in trades between now and June 30th, and the NBA doesn’t allow teams to give up players as compensation for hiring coaches under contract with other teams. Jackson has planned to trade cash for a draft pick, so that would further reduce the Knicks’ flexibility in prying Shaw from the Nuggets, unless they intend to wait to do so until July, when teams will have a fresh pot of $3.3MM in cash to use in trades.
And-Ones: Hunter, Draft, Hairston
Ousted players union executive director Billy Hunter has dropped his appeal of a civil ruling in a suit Hunter had brought against former union president Derek Fisher and Jamie Wior, Fisher’s business manager. Hunter must pay more than $200K to cover the legal fees for Fisher and Wior. A case in which Hunter alleges the union owes him $10.5MM remains active. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has the details in three separate tweets.
More from around the league:
- There has been some speculation that Fisher is the favorite to land the Knicks head coaching position if he retires after this season. Another possibility being mentioned for Fisher is him being both a player and assistant coach for the Thunder next season, reports Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link). The collective bargaining agreement bars players from actively serving as a player and coach at the same time, but Fisher could perform the duties of an assistant coach while remaining on the active roster as a player.
- P.J. Hairston is drawing interest from the Lakers, Clippers, and Jazz, writes Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Hairston signed with the Texas Legends of the NBA D-League back on January 14th and averaged 21.8 PPG and 3.5 RPG.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com released his latest mock draft.
- A number of lottery teams have expressed a willingness to trade their picks, reports Mannix (Twitter link).
- Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com released his initial mock draft of the year.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Cavs Rumors: Draft, Love, Coaches
The Cavs have Joel Embiid atop their wish list as long as they can determine his back is healthy, sources tell Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Agent Arn Tellem is still deciding whether to let Cleveland’s doctors examine his client, a source tells fellow ESPN.com scribe Andy Katz, as Goodman notes in his piece. Still, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reported Tuesday night that the Cavs liked Jabari Parker best before hearing that Andrew Wiggins was the team’s most likely choice. There’s little clarity on whom the Cavs want to draft, or even if they intend to keep their pick, as we detail amid the latest on the lottery winners:
- The Cavs have legitimate interest in trading for Kevin Love, just as they did last season, but the Timberwolves don’t think that Cleveland is willing to include the top pick, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
- Cleveland is nonetheless likely to gauge what they can get for the No. 1 overall pick, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com notes amid the latest on LeBron James, and GM David Griffin is already getting inquiries about the pick from other teams, as Griffin told ESPN Cleveland. The GM expressed a willingness to trade the top draft choice, but he’s far more likely to retain it, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Deveney casts Mark Jackson, George Karl and Lionel Hollins as the leading contenders for the Cavs coaching job, though the team will also look at Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue among other previously reported candidates, as Deveney writes in the same piece. The Cavs are strongly considering college coaches as they conduct their search, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, but the idea that they’ll hire Kentucky’s John Calipari is “almost pure imagination,” Deveney writes.
- The vast majority of the scouts who’ve spoken with Sam Smith of Bulls.com say the top pick will be either Embiid or Parker. Smith runs down Cleveland’s trade options with the No. 1 overall choice.
And-Ones: Love, Celts, Cavs, Blatche, Clips, Grizz
Some thought tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery results could have major Kevin Love implications, though salary cap guru Larry Coon of ESPN doesn’t believe the Timberwolves star can be moved before the draft. According to Coon, such a deal would require cap room that teams will not have before July (Twitter links here).
The Celtics, who pick sixth, are a “sleeper” team in the Love sweepstakes, but owner Wyc Grousbeck says he isn’t hurrying the rebuilding effort, as he tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. “That KG deal might be once in a lifetime, but I think over the next four or five years, we will get back to being contenders, if not three years,” he said. “I think we can get back there. I think this summer, one way or another, we’ll take positive steps, whether we just draft two players and continue to build, or whether we make a blockbuster deal.”
Here is what else is going on around the Association tonight, as the Heat and Pacers battle it out in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Finals:
- ESPN’s Chad Ford considers Andrew Wiggins the favorite to land in Cleveland after the Cavaliers won Tuesday night’s lottery (via Twitter). Ford tweeted before the results were in that the Cavs preferred Jabari Parker, however he indicated afterwards (also on Twitter) that he was a corrected by a trusted source in Cleveland.
- The admirable play of Andray Blatche down the stretch and into the postseason for the Nets could set him up for a decent pay day, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. Blatche has said he will opt out of his one-year player option for next season, though Brooklyn controls his Early Bird Rights according to Bontemps.
- Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News provides the transcript of today’s post-television interview session with new Warriors coach Steve Kerr, which is a bit juicier than what we relayed earlier on. Per Kawakami, Kerr covets a big man that can shoot. Meanwhile, Golden State GM Bob Myers also indicated the team will pursue shooting this summer, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
- Speaking before the lottery proceedings, commissioner Adam Silver detailed the process that comes with a forced sale of the Clippers. However, Silver did indicate that he will continue to urge owner Donald Sterling to sell the team on his own, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- Though he hasn’t been assured that his role is permanent by Grizzlies owner Robert Pera, GM Chris Wallace said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that he believes Memphis can win the NBA title next season, writes Zack McMillin of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “We’re a very formidable team. We just have to find a way to make that next step. Is it easy? No, but it’s attainable and we’re not going to rest until we hang that championship banner and have this parage this town deserves,” Wallace said.
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.
NBA To Hold Sterling Hearing June 3rd
The NBA announced that it has “initiated a charge today seeking to terminate the ownership of Donald Sterling” in the Clippers (full statement courtesy of Eric Pincus of the L.A. Times on Sulia). The league’s Board of Governors will convene on June 3rd for a hearing on Sterling and if 3/4 of the vote goes against him, he will be ousted.
The NBA Constitution provides Sterling with the opportunity to respond to the charge by May 27, as well as the right to appear and make a presentation at the special meeting of the Board of Governors, according to the statement. The hearing will be presided over by Wolves owner Glen Taylor, who is the NBA Board of Governors Chairman.
“Mr. Sterling’s actions and positions significantly undermine the NBA’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion; damage the NBA’s relationship with its fans; harm NBA owners, players and Clippers team personnel; and impair the NBA’s relationship with marketing and merchandising partners, as well as with government and community leaders,” the statement reads. “Mr. Sterling engaged in other misconduct as well, including issuing a false and misleading press statement about this matter. All of these acts provide grounds for termination under several provisions of the NBA Constitution and related agreements.”
And-Ones: Aldridge, Assistants, Cavs
Clippers players told reporters, including Dan Woike of The Orange County Register, that they’re unsure what they would do if Donald Sterling isn’t removed from ownership by next season. Still, they expressed hope that the issue will be resolved sooner rather than later. “It appears that this will be a long process. Things will be in flux for a while,” J.J. Redick said. “I can’t imagine a scenario where we start the season next year and he’s the owner and all is kosher.” Here’s more from around the league:
- The players union won’t demand a timetable on Sterling’s ouster as long as the league is acting “in good faith” on its promise to remove the Clippers owner, acting union executive director Ron Klempner told reporters, including Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter link).
- Extending LaMarcus Aldridge is the Blazers’ first priority moving forward, as Portland GM Neil Olshey tells Erik Gundersen of The Columbian (Twitter link).
- Bobcats assistant coach Bob Beyer is a strong candidate to become Stan Van Gundy‘s top assistant on the Pistons bench, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).
- Andy Greer and Nick Nurse are possibilities to become Steve Kerr‘s assistant coaches with the Warriors, per another Wojnarowski tweet. Greer and Nurse are currently on staff as assistants with the Bulls and Raptors, respectively.
- Mark Jackson won’t be a serious candidate for the Cavs head coaching job, Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com hears.
- James Posey could be an assistant coaching candidate for the Cavs, Pluto writes. Posey has been an assistant with Cleveland’s D-League affiliate, and GM David Griffin holds him in high regard.
- Pluto adds that Griffin would love to find a shooter in the draft, and mentions Doug McDermott, Nik Stauskas, and Rodney Hood as intriguing prospects where the Cavs will be drafting.
- In a series of tweets, Frank Isola of The New York Daily News casts doubt on an earlier report that Phil Jackson had “low balled” Kerr. Isola insinuates that if the Knicks played “hardball” with Jackson’s only coaching target, it would have been a result of ownership’s influence, not Jackson’s.
- In another tweet, Isola relays an accusation from a person involved in the Kerr talks that Knicks owner James Dolan “sabotaged” the negotiations.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com weighed in with a tweet of his own, agreeing with Isola that a tough negotiation strategy would have come from Knicks ownership, not Jackson.