Pacific Rumors: Cousins, Lakers, Booker
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive gave agent Dan Fegan permission to try to engineer trade proposals that would send DeMarcus Cousins to the Lakers once Fegan made it clear that Cousins, his client, wanted out, but Kings front office chief Vlade Divac is instead trying to see if the Kings can carry on with both Cousins and coach George Karl, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick. “I’ll be honest with you, how I think right now, I think [Cousins and Karl] got the message yesterday,” Divac said on KHTK 1140 Friday (audio link), as Amick relays. “So here I am, and if you’re on board, [you’re] more than welcome. If you’re not, I’ve got to go. I can’t wait. We do have everything except time. We have to go forward and try to make it a healthy environment and try to have a good team for next year. Look, we’re going to have ups and downs in the next couple months. And you’re going to hate me, you’re going to love me, but believe me I’m going to do the best I can to make this thing work. With me, with DeMarcus, with George, or without me, without DeMarcus, without George, I don’t know. But we’ll make it work.”
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers made the right move by selecting D’Angelo Russell over Jahlil Okafor, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com opines. Russell’s ability to score and distribute made more sense than a pairing of Okafor with last year’s lottery pick, Julius Randle, which would have clogged up the middle with two low-post isolation players, Howard-Cooper continues. There are also questions about Okafor’s conditioning, which isn’t an issue with Russell, Howard-Cooper adds.
- Suns coach Jeff Hornacek has added Jason Fraser to his staff as a player development coach focusing on the team’s big men, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic reports. The Suns have also added Earl Watson and Nate Bjorkgren as player development coaches since the end of the season, Coro adds.
- The Suns were pleasantly surprised that Devin Booker dropped to their pick at No. 13 overall, Coro writes in a Q&A with Hornacek. Phoenix expected the Hornets to draft him at No. 9 and tried to trade up but Charlotte instead chose Frank Kaminsky and Booker fell into its lap. “We really thought Devin Booker was going to go nine at Charlotte. That was the big talk,” Hornacek said. “You’re always looking to get up to get a guy you want. Nothing like that happened and, as it went on, we said, ‘We might get him anyway.’ So it worked out well.”
Pacific Notes: Speights, Davis, Looney
The Warriors are leaning toward exercising their 2015/16 team option for big man Marreese Speights, Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com relays. “He was good for us, so I think we’re inclined to,” GM Bob Myers said. “We’ve just got to meet tomorrow to discuss those options . . . I would think we’re leaning that way. But we haven’t committed to it. We haven’t talked to his agent and decided it 100 percent.” Speights is set to earn $3,815,000 for next season, and Golden State has until Wednesday to make a decision regarding the 27-year-old’s contract.
Here’s the latest out of the Pacific Division:
- There is mutual interest between the team and forward Ed Davis for him to return to the Lakers next season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The 26-year-old declined his player option for next season, and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Davis appeared in 79 contests for Los Angeles during the 2014/15 campaign, averaging 8.3 points and 7.6 rebounds.
- Warriors first-round draft pick Kevon Looney is extremely versatile, and that’s what appealed to the team about the UCLA forward, Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group writes. “Drafting a player like Kevon who has a lot of different skill sets really speaks to the way we play, the way we want to play,” Myers said. “He could be out there playing five, the four, or three. That’s the way we think the NBA is trending, being able to employ multiple skill sets. Coaches love guys that can be placed in many different positions, and Kevon’s a great example of that.”
- The Suns intend to keep Jon Leuer, who they acquired from the Grizzlies on Thursday in exchange for the rights to Andrew Harrison, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter link). Leuer’s salary of $1,035,000 for 2015/16 becomes guaranteed if he remains on Phoenix’s roster past Tuesday, Coro notes.
LaMarcus Aldridge Growing Fond Of Lakers
3:14pm: San Antonio is optimistic that it can sign Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard at salaries that allow for the signing of Aldridge, too, sources tell Stein.
FRIDAY, 11:11am: The Spurs and Lakers are both front-runners for Aldridge, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who writes within his draft winners and losers column.
12:38am: People within the Trail Blazers organization increasingly believe Aldridge is set to bolt, while the Lakers have become confident that they have a shot, Stein reports in a full story. The Blazers plan to be “very aggressive” in efforts to convince Damian Lillard to sign a five-year max extension, according to Stein, who writes in the same story, though it would appear that they won’t have to try too hard, since the point guard wants to sign that extension after he becomes eligible to do so in July, as Shams Charania of RealGM reported in April.
THURSDAY, 12:16am: The Lakers have eclipsed the Mavericks on unrestricted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge‘s list of preferred destinations should he leave Portland, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). While the Spurs are now at the top of his list, Los Angeles is gaining traction as a potential landing spot, Stein adds. This is a change from a report made last week by Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, who noted that Los Angeles was a distant third on Aldridge’s wish list.
Dallas was previously regarded as the biggest threat to lure the talented forward away from the Blazers, and Aldridge had reportedly soured on San Antonio as a destination, according to a separate report from Bucher. The All-Star power forward can be fickle, as The Oregonian’s Jason Quick wrote several weeks ago, and that’s evidenced not only by his apparent change of heart regarding a long-term commitment to the Blazers but also his apparent reshuffling of preferred teams. League sources had informed Bucher that the idea of returning to his native Texas is what appeals to him, not any specific team.
The Lakers currently have $35,075,659 in guaranteed salary committed for 2015/16, which would leave plenty of room for the team to float a maximum salary offer Aldridge’s way. Though, with Los Angeles’ reported pursuit of the Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins, its cap figure could change drastically as a result. But landing the talented Cousins from Sacramento would likely strengthen the Lakers’ appeal in Aldridge’s eyes, though that is merely my speculation. One potential sticking point with such a frontcourt pairing would be Cousins’ stated preference to play more at power forward, which likely wouldn’t be the case if partnered alongside Aldridge. But a chance to contend could assuage Cousins in this regard, and it would certainly be a tremendous coup for Los Angeles to land both players this offseason.
Texas Notes: Singh, Rondo, Milutinov
Mavs GM Donnie Nelson said No. 52 overall pick Satnam Singh will play with the D-League’s Texas Legends this coming season, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com, presumably meaning that Dallas will stash the Indian center with its D-League affiliate rather than sign him to the NBA roster. Singh may still pay dividends for the Mavs next season, since his agents, Happy Walters and Dan Fegan, also represent apparent free agent target DeAndre Jordan, notes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. While we wait to see if that connection works for the Mavs, here’s more:
- It’s doubtful that soon-to-be former Mavs point guard Rajon Rondo ends up with the Lakers now that they’ve drafted D’Angelo Russell, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, though it’s unclear if that indicates a lack of interest from the team, from Rondo, or both. In any case, the Lakers once seemed the inevitable destination for the veteran.
- The Rockets are reportedly aiming to pursue Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge in free agency, but GM Daryl Morey suggested that it’s a long shot they’ll open the cap room necessary to make a marquee free agent signing like that, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle relays. “I think there’s possible opportunities we have to explore that are bigger, but I think they’re unlikely,” Morey said. “It’s probably likely we’ll stay over the cap and use our mid-level [exception].”
- Morey “wanted my first-born” for the No. 18 pick, Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders said jokingly of talks with the Rockets, tweets Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press. Houston used the 18th pick on Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker.
- No. 26 pick Nikola Milutinov is likely to remain overseas this season rather than sign with the Spurs, notes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The center spent this past season with KK Partizan in his native Serbia.
- Mavs assistant coach Monte Mathis is leaving to take an assistant’s job with the Magic, the Mavs confirmed, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com tweets.
Latest On Dwyane Wade, Heat
Heat president of basketball operations Pat Riley made it plain in his postdraft press conference that he’d prefer that Dwyane Wade stayed with the team, as Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post recounts. Still, he hinted that Wade will indeed opt out, making a pair of references to July 1st as a starting point for talks.
“The one thing that I’ve learned about free agency is that when a player has an opportunity to be a free agent, you give him the space and the time to think about that,” Riley said. “We love Dwyane. Dwyane is a pillar. He has been part of the root structure and the foundation of this franchise for the last 12 years. … We know that on July 1, we’ll be the first ones that he’ll talk to and we’ll go from there.”
The Heat exec also said that he and Wade haven’t had any “real discussions,” adding that such talks couldn’t take place until July 1st, Lieser notes via Twitter. Riley expressed that he would be comfortable if the 33-year-old turned down his $16.125MM option for next season, if he indeed does so, adding that he’s “not a pessimist” about the prospect of re-signing him, according to Lieser. A lack of pessimism doesn’t necessarily mean optimism, observes Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald. Wade reportedly feels as though the Heat have damaged the trust in their relationship, but Riley said Wade hasn’t told him he feels disrespected, Lieser conveys.
Wade is reportedly open to leaving the Heat and would welcome $20MM salaries on a new three-year deal, while the Heat would prefer that he opt in this summer and sign for $10MM salaries beginning in 2016/17, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported. The Lakers, who have the cap room necessary to pay Wade what he’s looking for, reportedly have mutual interest, though it’s unclear if the Lakers are willing to go quite as high with an offer as Wade would like. The Heat would pay repeat-offender tax penalties if they finish the coming season above the projected $81.6MM tax threshold, a likelihood if they re-sign all of their own free agents and don’t make salary-clearing moves.
Heat Shop Mario Chalmers, Chris Andersen?
THURSDAY, 11:20pm: Heat president Pat Riley says that there is no truth to the reports that the team is shopping Andersen and Chalmers, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets.
8:34pm: Wade and the Heat do not have a meeting scheduled, a source told Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, contradicting the previous report. Any meeting with Wade would like come after the start of free agency on July 1 when the Heat could discuss contract parameters with him, the same source informed Winderman.
2:58pm: Wade is angry at the Heat as they draw a hard financial line, and he doesn’t feel like the team regards him as a priority, a friend of his tells Jackson. Associates say the Heat have damaged Wade’s trust in the organization, Jackson also hears.
MONDAY, 12:49pm: The Heat are shopping Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen in an attempt to clear salary that they could use on a new contract for Dwyane Wade, report Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. They’ll meet with Wade within the next week as the June 29th deadline for him to formally decide on his $16.125MM player option looms, Shelburne and Windhorst write. Wade, in addition to apparent mutual interest in the Lakers, is interested in the Clippers, too, and LeBron James has expressed interest in Wade joining the Cavs, but both are extreme long shots to land the shooting guard given their cap constraints, as the ESPN scribes explain.
Anderson is set to make $5MM next season and Chalmers $4.3MM as each enters the final year of his respective contract. Clearing their salaries would help the team afford to keep its starting lineup intact without going over the projected $81.6MM tax line, note Shelburne and Windhorst. Doing so would set up the Heat to pay the stiffer repeat-offender tax penalties at the end of next season if they remain over the tax line come the final day of the regular season. Miami isn’t a taxpayer this season, but repeater penalties come into play when a team pays the tax three out of four seasons.
The Heat and Wade had been discussing a new contract for $10MM for as many as three seasons beyond his current deal, sources told the ESPN scribes. A friend of Wade’s told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald recently that the Heat would like Wade to opt in and sign a deal next summer for $10MM each year for two more seasons. Wade instead prefers to opt out and would welcome $20MM salaries on a new three-year deal, as Jackson also reported.
Wade’s preference remains to stay in Miami, according to Shelburne and Windhorst. That was the case last month when Jackson broke the story that Wade is nonetheless open to leaving the only NBA franchise he’s ever played for. Many league execs believe Wade and the Heat will ultimately resolve their differences, Shelburne and Windhorst write. The Lakers have the cap space to give Wade $20MM a year, but the Heat have Bird rights that would allow them to do so, too. Miami is reportedly planning an offer of less than the max to Goran Dragic, one that would further help the team avoid the tax, or at least pay less of it. Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers and Cavs GM David Griffin have expressed they’re prioritizing new deals with their own marquee free agents, and thus wouldn’t have the cap space necessary to sign Wade for the sort of salary he’d apparently like.
Belief Increasing That Lakers Will Draft Russell
6:42pm: There’s a 90% chance the Lakers draft Russell, a source told Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
6:07pm: The increasing belief is that the Lakers will take D’Angelo Russell, and not Jahlil Okafor, with the No. 2 pick, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Chad Ford of ESPN.com has Russell going to the Lakers in his latest mock draft amid the growing belief within the Lakers organization that they’ll land either LaMarcus Aldridge or Kevin Love in free agency.
Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding reported earlier today that the front office had been coming to a growing consensus on the Ohio State guard, though Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com heard the team had yet to decide, and Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times reported that they were leaning toward Okafor, as we passed along. Either way, we’ll find out soon, with the Lakers scheduled to pick within the hour.
Lakers spokesman John Black says that he knows whom the team will draft, indicating that a decision has been made, tweets Bill Oram of the Orange County Register.
Draft Rumors: Lakers, Okafor, Russell
The Lakers are leaning towards taking Jahlil Okafor with the No. 2 overall pick, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter). However, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears that the Lakers are undecided with both Okafor and D’Angelo Russell in play. Of course, the only word that counts will come from commissioner Adam Silver later tonight. Here’s the latest draft news..
- Frank Kaminsky is moving up draft boards in the final hours, league sources tell David Aldridge of NBA.com (on Twitter). He could very well go higher than No. 9, which is where the Hornets would like him.
- Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was known to be very high on Willie Cauley-Stein but Sam Amick of USA Today Sports (on Twitter) isn’t hearing much of that today.
- Several league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter) that they expect Cauley-Stein to slip. The big man didn’t shine in workouts or interviews and his ankle is a concern.
- The Jazz are targeting Stanley Johnson and Justise Winslow at No. 12 and they’re willing to trade up if they feel it’s necessary, according to Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone (via Twitter links). If those trade-up scenarios don’t pan out, Utah could instead move down. If they do move down, Checketts lists the Celtics (No. 16), Bucks (17) and, Rockets (No. 18) as possible partners.
- Marcin Gortat during a press conference in Poland said the Pistons asked him about prospect Mateusz Ponitka, according to Sportando (on Twitter). Ponitka worked out for Detroit earlier this week. The shooting guard looks to be a second round (or, undrafted) prospect.
- The Bucks like UNLV forward Christian Wood, but feel that he’ll be chosen later in the first round, Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times tweets. Milwaukee owns the No. 17 pick in the first round and the No 46 pick in the second.
- David Pick of Eurobasket.net (on Twitter) hears that projected second-round pick Shawn Dawson hopes to slide under the radar and go undrafted. Dawson is currently ranked as the No. 66 prospect in the draft by DraftExpress.
Lakers Talk Deal For Cousins With Kings
THURSDAY, 3:15pm: The Lakers are unwilling to part with Julius Randle in the Cousins trade talks, Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The scribe adds that Randle has dropped 20 pounds and improved his outside shot.
WEDNESDAY, 10:18pm: The Kings and Lakers have exchanged frameworks for potential deals for Cousins, and talks are expected to intensify on Thursday, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports relays. The Kings have also started to engage with teams and explore possible trade scenarios beyond the Lakers, Wojnarowski’s sources have informed him. Sacramento is reportedly seeking the No. 2 overall pick, Randle, Jordan Clarkson, and other draft assets in return for Cousins, Wojnarowski adds. The Kings would also want to unload forward Carl Landry‘s contract in any deal, according to the Yahoo! scribe’s sources. Los Angeles is currently unwilling to part with Randle, and are reluctant to do so with Clarkson as well, according to Wojnarowski.
3:06pm: Cousins “would not be unhappy” if the Lakers acquired him, a league source tells Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, and he’d be thrilled if the Kings traded him to a large market or a playoff team, as Medina heard a source familiar with Cousins’ thinking.
WEDNESDAY, 2:23pm: The Lakers are offering the No. 2 pick as the teams continue to talk, reports Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times. L.A. would probably have to include Randle, too, according to Bresnahan, but it’s not clear if he is indeed in any proposal so far.
TUESDAY, 9:17am: The Magic aren’t involved, a league source tells Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Randle and the No. 2 pick are “in play” for a trade that brings Cousins to the Lakers, a source tells Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his mock draft. Still, Sacramento would rather take back veterans, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported overnight.
4:46pm: Kings owner Vivek Ranadive has also made it clear publicly that he doesn’t want to trade Cousins, and that’s been the case privately as well, according to Jones, as well as Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter links).
MONDAY, 3:54pm: The Lakers, Kings and Magic have had exploratory talks about a proposal that wound send DeMarcus Cousins to the Lakers, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. However, the Kings and Sacramento vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac continue to insist that Cousins is off limits, Stein notes. Still, the Lakers have “actively pursuing” trade possibilities over the past few weeks to find a way to get the talented 24-year-old to L.A., as Stein details.
Stein mentions the Magic’s Nikola Vucevic as someone who could theoretically step in for Cousins at center in Sacramento, but it’s unclear if Vucevic has been a part of the talks. Stein lists Julius Randle and the No. 2 pick as trade assets for the Lakers, but it’s similarly uncertain whether the Lakers have spoken about giving them up. The Nuggets have drawn increasing mention as a team likely to go after Cousins since Denver’s hiring of ex-Kings coach Michael Malone this month, according to Stein. Still, they don’t have the sort of trade chips that would allow them to compete with the Celtics, whom Stein reported last month were also likely suitors, the ESPN scribe writes. Realistically, a host of teams would seemingly have interest in trading for Cousins, who’d become the top trade candidate on the market if the Kings relent and give him up.
Divac has said time and again that he values Cousins and isn’t looking to trade him, at one point calling him “untradeable.” The notion that he might be on the block was ignited earlier this season amid Sacramento’s pair of midseason coaching changes. Cousins, who connected with Malone, released a statement expressing support for then-candidate George Karl, whom the team has since hired. The Kings also hired Divac late in the season to a role that put him in charge of basketball operations and displaced GM Pete D’Alessandro, who’s now with the Nuggets. Cousins has asked not to be traded, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee notes (Twitter link).
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Karl Wants Kings To Trade DeMarcus Cousins
THURSDAY, 3:12pm: The Kings’ internal dismay with Karl is coming far more from top exec Vlade Divac than Ranadive, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Meanwhile, all signs currently point to them holding on to the No. 6 pick (link).
1:06pm: Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is frustrated with the Cousins/Karl rift because when he was hired, the coach said he would not be involved in personnel, sources tell Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (on Twitter).
TUESDAY, 2:34pm: Divac, sounding irritated, repeated again that he won’t trade Cousins and denied that Karl is making any push for such a deal, as Divac said to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).
7:30am: George Karl has an intense desire for the Kings to trade DeMarcus Cousins, and he and some members of the team’s front office have expressed to executives and coaches from other teams that they hope to have owner Vivek Ranadive’s blessing to trade the All-Star soon, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Ranadive and vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac have nonetheless been adamant about not trading Cousins, and Karl has been trying to recruit Divac and other Kings players to make a push to convince Ranadive to change his mind, according to Wojnarowski.
Cousins is aware of Karl’s push to trade him, and people around the Kings and Cousins increasingly believe that the relationship between the coach and the team’s star is beyond repair. Cousins tweeted emojis depicting a snake in the grass after Wojnarowski’s story emerged late Monday night.
Karl’s insistence that he can’t get along with Cousins has irritated Ranadive, Wojnarowski writes. Ranadive reiterated his long-held stance that he won’t trade Cousins in an interview Monday with USA Today’s Sam Amick.
“We have zero interest in moving Cousins, so I don’t know where that’s coming from,” Ranadive said in reference to the rumor that the Lakers are pursuing Cousins. “But if you like, you should talk to Vlade, because I know Vlade feels exactly the same way. And I’m deferring to Vlade on everything. We have no interest in moving him. From my perspective, it’s really simple: we feel that he’s a one-of-a-kind player, and we have a group of players right now and we’re going to build on it.”
Kings higher-ups believe it’ll be tough to find value for Cousins and believe they have a better chance to find the right trade for Rudy Gay, according to Wojnarowski. Sacramento is pursuing trades for Gay and the rest of its roster, Wojnarowski hears. The Lakers are reportedly pushing for Cousins and have had exploratory talks with the Kings, but Sacramento would rather take back veterans than the No. 2 overall pick, the Yahoo! scribe writes.
Cousins has privately feared that Karl wanted him out, and Karl’s remark in April that he’s never had one player who would be untradeable didn’t exactly assuage those concerns, tweets Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Cousins, who is a Relativity Sports client, and his representatives have been told he won’t be traded, and Cousins likes Sacramento, Jones also tweets. Amick hears a somewhat different story, that Cousins’s camp is clearly in favor of the center becoming a Laker. Cousins has asked not to be traded, according to Jones, so it would seem there are conflicting messages surrounding the talented 24-year-old big man.