Central Rumors: LeBron, Kyrie, Bucks
The Pacers are the Central Division’s remaining horse in the race but for the rest of the gang, the offseason is underway. Here’s the latest..
- The NBA is moving quickly toward approval of Herb Kohl’s sale of the Bucks to Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens, and there’s a chance the league will announce the transfer later this week, a source tells Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- LeBron James gave his thoughts on Mike Brown‘s dismissal before the tip-off of Game 4 against the Nets. “It’s a tough business and Mike Brown got the short end of a tough business,” the Heat star said, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). The Cavs made the long-expected decision to oust Brown earlier today.
- Meanwhile, Cavs guard Kyrie Irving is “in complete support” of Brown’s dismissal and David Griffin‘s promotion to permanent GM, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. There have been rumblings that Irving has been unhappy in Cleveland and the Cavs have him under team control through the summer of 2016, so it’s important for them to keep him satisfied in the long term.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Central Notes: Bulls, Antetokounmpo, Bucks
The Pacers took a 2-1 series lead over the Wizards last night, and are one step closer to representing the Central Division in the Eastern Conference Finals. That accomplishment seemed like an inevitability during the season, but Indiana has had to desperately claw their way this far after a late season swoon and continued struggles in the postseason. Here’s more out of the Central:
- Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times looks at the Bulls’ options to back up star center Joakim Noah next season. Aside from the possible return of free agent Nazr Mohammed, Cowley speculates that Jason Collins or Greg Oden could be a good fit. Cowley doesn’t see any potential matches at center where Chicago will be selecting in the draft.
- The Bucks plan to put second-year players Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nate Wolters on their summer league roster, along with their incoming draft picks, vice president of player personnel Dave Babcock tells Charles F. Gardner of The Journal Sentinel.
- Babcock doesn’t expect the Bucks to work out as many players this year due to the position of their draft picks. “It’s going to limit us to maybe five or six guys [in the first round], and then we have 31, 36 and 48,” he tells Gardner. “So a lot of those players in between are saying, ‘We’re not coming in there, because we don’t think we’ll be at 31.’ You know how that goes.”
Draft Rumors: Blazers, Bucks, International
The Blazers won’t hold pre-draft workouts, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. Portland doesn’t own any 2014 draft picks, and will opt to travel to observe workouts instead. Here are more of tonight’s draft rumors:
- The Bucks have begun working out deep draft prospects, vice president of player personnel Dave Babcock tells Jim Hoehn of The Associated Press. “With four draft picks, and we’ve [already] got some young guys that are going to play for us that are already on our team…we’ll have to see how that goes,” said Babcock.
- Hoehn adds that the Bucks have worked out Ben Brust, Jake Thomas, Tyler Braun, and Mike Moser, all of whom are projected as second rounders at best.
- Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders profiles some of the top international prospects from the 2014 draft class.
Eastern Notes: Bucks, Hawks, Brand, Mack
The Bucks‘ Brandon Knight doesn’t have a preference to who the team chooses if it lands the first overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Knight said, “That’s for our team to decide. I just want a guy, whoever he is, to come in and work hard and understand the type of year we had last year. He [the draft pick] wasn’t a part of it, but understand we can’t repeat that type of season and that none of the guys here will be in a mood where that will be repeated. Our mind-set is going to be totally different. We’re going to approach the game differently. We’re going to remember how this year went for us and use it as motivation.”
More from the east:
- Elton Brand will take a couple of months before deciding if he will return for a 16th NBA season, writes Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Brand will be an unrestricted free agent after playing out his one-year $4MM contract with the Hawks. In 73 games this season, Brand averaged 5.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.0 APG in 19.4 minutes per game.
- Vivlamore also notes that Shelvin Mack, who is a restricted free agent, would like to return to the Hawks. Mack said, “I would like to be back. I’ll continue to work and improve my game and let my agent and everyone else deal with that. Of course (I want to return). I feel like it’s a great situation for me.” In 73 games this season, he averaged 7.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 3.7 APG in 20.4 minutes per contest.
- The Hawks have a de-facto team option on Pero Antic, whose $1.25MM non-guaranteed salary for next season becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before July 15th. Team intends to keep him past that date, according to Vivlamore (Twitter link). Antic appeared in 50 games and averaged 7.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.2 APG in 18.5 minutes played.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Woelfel On Pistons, Colangelo, Zarren, Izzo
Gary Woelfel of the The Journal Times has updates on the Pistons front office and coaching searches as well as the future of the Bucks. We’ll hit the highlights here:
- Former Raptors and Suns GM Bryan Colangelo and current Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren are the front-runners for the top Pistons front office job, Woelfel hears. There’s talk that Detroit is targeting an experienced GM to serve as a mentor for the front office career of Chauncey Billups, Woelfel says, speculating that Bucks GM John Hammond, a former aide to Joe Dumars in the Pistons front office, could be a candidate.
- Tom Izzo appeared to leave some wiggle room when he said last week that he didn’t want to coach in the NBA next season, and some around the league tell Woelfel that the Pistons could re-emerge as a suitor for the Michigan State bench boss. The Timberwolves aren’t counting themselves out of the running for Izzo either, as we passed along earlier, and Woelfel seconds that sentiment.
- League approval of the sale of the Bucks to Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry could come as soon as a little more than a week from now, according to Woelfel. The wait has nonetheless left many within the Bucks in limbo, as several coaches and executives have said they haven’t been notified whether they’ll have their jobs next season, Woelfel writes.
- The cost of a new Bucks arena in Milwaukee will be anywhere from $420MM to $500MM, a source tells Woelfel. Edens, Lasry and Kohl have committed a combined $200MM toward the arena’s construction.
Mavs Rumors: Offseason, Sanders, Randolph
The Mavs were heavy underdogs heading into the playoffs, but they found a way to go seven games with the top-seeded Spurs before eventually falling in the series finale. Dallas’ offense was among the most potent in the league this season, but in an interview on KESN-FM 103.3’s “Afternoon Show with Cowlishaw and Mosely,” coach Rick Carlisle admitted he’d like to improve his squad’s defense and add some speed this summer (transcription from the Dallas Morning News). Here’s more on the Mavs’ offseason:
- In the same interview, Carlisle revealed that he, Dallas GM Donnie Nelson, and owner Mark Cuban are all in agreement that team continuity from year to year is important to success: “We want to keep this team together as much as we can so that we can kind of turn the page and continue with bringing back as many guys as we can.”
- During an analysis of the Mavs’ offseason, Marc Stein of ESPN.com pegs Larry Sanders as a potential trade target for the team. Stein points to Monta Ellis‘ resurgence in Dallas and wonders if playing for Carlisle could have the same effect on Sanders after a season to forget in Milwaukee.
- Two upcoming free agents that the Mavs should consider pursuing are Zach Randolph and Al-Farouq Aminu, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. The skilled rebounding and defensive toughness that the either big man would bring are worth overpaying for, opines Sefko.
- Dallas intends on pursuing Carmelo Anthony this summer, as we passed along earlier today.
Eastern Notes: Pistons, Cavs, Bradley
Two openings in the Pistons organization that aren’t getting much press coverage are the GM and coaching positions for their new D-League team in Grand Rapids, writes Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press. The Pistons are turning to Grand Rapids after a long-time relationship with the Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. Pistons assistant GM George David said of the new arrangement, “One of the things we’re most excited about is the proximity. We did a tremendous amount of research with some of the other D-League teams and saw the intrinsic value for the teams that had a driving-distance proximity to their D-League team. It does make a big difference.”
More from the east:
- With the Cavaliers being unlikely to re-sign Luol Deng this summer, the team’s focus will turn to finding a small forward in the NBA Draft, writes Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer. Pluto breaks down a number of the small forwards available in the draft and how they might fit alongside Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters.
- Gerry Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link) notes that the owners approval of sale of the Bucks has begun to drag on.
- Avery Bradley‘s future with the Celtics is up in the air, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Bradley is an unrestricted free-agent and his injury woes make it unlikely the team will offer him anything close to the four-year, $24MM extension that was on the table prior to this season, opines Murphy. In 60 games this year, Bradley averaged 14.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 30.9 minutes a night.
Eastern Notes: Thibodeau, Young, Cavs, Bucks
In a subscription-only piece, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune looks at the Bulls roster heading into the offseason, addressing 10 of the 15 players that finished the year under contract in Chicago. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- David Haugh of The Chicago Tribune thinks that the Bulls are highly unlikely to grant an opportunity for Tom Thibodeau to speak with the Lakers, who are rumored to have interest in the coach. However, Haugh believes the lack of a public statement to dispel the notion from either Thibodeau or management belies a pettiness between the two sides.
- A league source floated a far-fetched possibility to Haugh: that Thibodeau and Carmelo Anthony, both represented by Creative Arts Agency, could angle to join forces with the Lakers, rather than with the Bulls.
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media thinks that Thaddeus Young could demand a trade this offseason, if the Sixers draft a power forward in the lottery and ask the veteran to come off the bench for another losing season. Though Young survived Philadelphia’s efforts to deal away most of its veterans for draft assets this past trade deadlines, speculation about Young’s future with the team has remained.
- The Cavs are waiting to see which candidates become available before making the final call on interim GM David Griffin and coach Mike Brown, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- Members of the Bucks coaching staff and front office still remain uncertain about their employment status in wake of the team’s new ownership, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Lawrence On D’Antoni, Gasol, Calipari, Sterling
Mike D’Antoni walked away from the Lakers due in part because the team is likely to attempt to re-sign Pau Gasol this summer, reports Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. A source tells Lawrence that D’Antoni knew that Gasol and Kobe Bryant didn’t want to play for him, so he made the decision to resign from the team on Wednesday. Let’s have a look at some more interesting notes from Lawrence’s piece:
- Kurt Rambis and Byron Scott are two of the most viable candidates for the Lakers’ coaching job, hears Lawrence. We reported on Thursday that both Rambis and Scott are set to interview with the team.
- Despite rumored interest, Lawrence says there’s no chance John Calipari will become the next head coach for the Lakers. The team reportedly has “zero interest” in hiring Calipari.
- Stan Van Gundy was contacted about taking over the head coaching role for the Pistons, but talks didn’t get far because he wanted some level of control over the team’s personnel decisions, writes Lawrence.
- Lawrence hears that once Adam Silver meets with Donald Sterling, Silver is expected to tell Sterling that the league will battle him in court to see that the franchise is sold, no matter the resistance Sterling puts up.
- Knicks assistant GM Allan Houston and director of player personnel Mark Warkentien aren’t worried about their jobs, since the duo has contracts with owner Jim Dolan and not the Knicks specifically, says Lawrence. As a result, the pair will be able to retain their positions, even if Phil Jackson doesn’t want them around.
- The Cavs and Bucks still haven’t decided whether or not they’ll keep their general managers beyond this season, reveals Lawrence. Both Central Division teams failed to meet preseason expectations and finished well below .500.
- It’s likely Mark Jackson will be fired by the Warriors, suggests Lawrence, who adds the coach might have a hard time landing another job with an NBA team because of the perceived dysfunction in Golden State’s organization during his tenure.
- The Thunder could potentially see a first-round playoff exit tonight, but Lawrence says Scott Brooks‘ position is safe in Oklahoma City.
And-Ones: O’Neal, Sterling, Jackson
Jonathan Abrams of Grantland examines the resurgence of Jermaine O’Neal with the Warriors. O’Neal feels like his years with the Celtics were lost seasons, per the article. O’Neal said, “Those two years [in Boston] were very difficult for me, because not only did I feel like I was wearing down physically, I was wearing down mentally. That was the first time in my life I felt myself starting to break away a little bit.”
More from around the league:
- With Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s recent lifetime ban being announced, the legal battle will now begin. In an article by Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, legal and business experts from USC analyze the situation involving the possibility of the league forcing Sterling to sell the team.
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group examines some of the issues that have arisen between the Warriors front office and coach Mark Jackson.
- Nine NBA teams — the Spurs, Clippers, Bucks, Heat, Lakers, Hawks, Bobcats, Suns, and Rockets — sent personnel to Spain recently to scout point guard Guillem Vives and center Walter Tavares, reports David Sardinero of Kia en Zona (translation by Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype). Both will be in this year’s draft.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) has released his most recent Big Board rankings for the upcoming NBA Draft.
- The Bobcats announced (Twitter link) that Josh McRoberts’ surgery to remove bone spurs from his left big toe was successful. Roberts won’t be able to do any basketball related activity for a minimum of four weeks.
- Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel examines if Magic owner Rich DeVos might be the next one Adam Silver will target for inappropriate comments. DeVos is alleged to have made anti-gay comments in the past.