Odds & Ends: Bynum, Ginobili, Heat, Joerger
It's already been a busy day of news and rumors, and things don't figure to slow down anytime soon. With the draft fast approaching and free agency to follow shortly thereafter, the NBA's roster-movement season is in full swing. As we try not to let anything slip through the cracks, let's round up a few Tuesday odds and ends from around the Association:
- Free-agent-to-be Andrew Bynum has completed rehab on his knee and is set to resume basketball workouts next week, writes Dan Gelston of the Associated Press. Agent David Lee indicated there's "not a concern in the world" that Bynum will be ready for training camp, and said he expects to meet with a couple teams when free agency opens next week.
- While it appeared during the playoffs that Manu Ginobili would consider retiring this offseason, the longtime Spur wrote in Argentinian newspaper La Nacion that he can't imagine not continuing his playing career. Mike Monroe and Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News have the details.
- Asked about the opt-out clauses the Heat's Big Three have in their contracts for 2014, Dwyane Wade echoed LeBron James' comments, indicating that it wasn't something he'd seriously considered or discussed yet (link via Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald).
- Dave Joerger's contract as head coach of the Grizzlies will have at least three guaranteed years, and could end up being for four years, tweets Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
- If Channing Frye were unable to play for the Suns again next season after missing last year due to a heart condition, the team would receive salary-cap relief, but Frye tells Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic that he's "extremely hopeful and optimistic" about his future and plans to return to action in 2013/14.
- In his latest mailbag for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Ira Winderman addresses the possibility of Ray Allen opting out and the Heat signing Greg Oden.
- Pelicans GM Dell Demps has met with draft prospects Ben McLemore, Anthony Bennett, and Victor Oladipo, Demps confirmed today to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
- Glen Rice Jr., who is working out for the Bucks for a second time, and Allen Crabbe headline Milwaukee's list of workout participants today (Twitter links via the team's official PR account).
- Agent Marc Cornstein spoke to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News about Metta World Peace's decision to opt in for 2013/14.
Latest On Paul Pierce
Although the Cavaliers and Bucks are among the teams that have expressed interest in Paul Pierce, the longtime Celtic is unlikely to be sent to either of those clubs if he's traded this week, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Stein reports that the C's have shown an inclination to work with Pierce in an effort to send him to a favorable destination if they make a deal by week's end.
Boston continues to seek a first-rounder for Pierce, so if the team receives an offer from a contending team willing to give up a first-round pick, the 35-year-old could be moved within the next few days. However, if such a deal doesn't materialize, the Celtics are prepared to guarantee Pierce's full $15MM+ salary, since the club believes he'll still have trade value throughout the offseason and up until the 2014 trade deadline. Pierce's contract is currently partially guaranteed for $5MM, but will become fully guaranteed if he's not waived on or before Sunday.
Although the Celtics' decision to let Doc Rivers out of his contract to join the Clippers, in exchange for a first-round pick, may have signaled the start of a rebuilding period, it's still possible that Boston could start the 2013/14 season with Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the roster. According to Stein, the Celtics believe retaining Pierce may help convince KG to stick around without Rivers, rather than retiring or asking for a trade.
It's also possible that Pierce could be dealt this week to a team that intends to buy him out for the cap savings, says Stein. In that scenario, Pierce could end up reuniting with Rivers by signing with the Clippers in July.
Odds & Ends: Rivers, Granger, Ellis, Muhammad
Doc Rivers is sold on the "new" Clippers, but still isn't sold on owner Donald Sterling. That could be part of the delay in the two sides hammering out the final details of his contract. A source close to Rivers told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald he was getting pulled hard in different directions last week as the Celtics and Clippers were negotiating a deal.
On one hand, Doc had coaching types telling him he had to jump at the opportunity to coach Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. However, others told him he would be crazy to step into the asylum that has been the Clippers over the years. Regardless, the contract seems like nothing but a formality at this point and we should see Rivers introduced as the new head man in L.A. this week. Here's more from around the Association..
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that the Cavs are engaged in trade talks with a number of teams and sources say the Thunder, Timberwolves, and Blazers have been the most proactive in trying to get the No. 1 pick. Meanwhile, Ford still believes that Cleveland will go with Nerlens Noel if they keep the top selection.
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter) asked an NBA executive for some names that are hot-and-heavy in trade talks. The names he got back were the Pacers' Danny Granger, the Bucks' Monta Ellis (sign and trade), the Rockets' Thomas Robinson, and the Wizards' Jan Vesely.
- Brian Shaw's deal with the Nuggets will be either three years or four years, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The Nuggets hired the Indiana assistant earlier this evening.
- A source tells Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link) that UCLA product Shabazz Muhammad worked out for the Pistons today. The source said that the audition went well for the guard/forward.
- The Wolves are still offering Derrick Williams around the league to see what they can get for him, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The T-Wolves reportedly believe that Williams and the No. 9 pick can vault them into the top three.
- Recently appointed Kings assistant GM Mike Bratz said he's more of a see and "feel" guy in evaluating talent, but does use stats and analytics, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Former Celtics standout Antoine Walker told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter) that he is "serious" about becoming an NBA coach.
Draft Notes: Nets, Hawks, Franklin, Oladipo
Earlier today, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Nuggets have made their first-round pick (27th overall) available via trade, in the hopes of acquiring a future first-rounder or moving down to the second round. But it sounds like Denver isn't the only team potentially interested in such a deal. Wojnarowski tweets that the more he talks to teams drafting in the late-20s, the less enthusiasm he hears from them about keeping their picks. Here are more draft news, notes, and rumors, with just over 72 hours remaining until things get underway:
- Nets GM Billy King echoes Wojnarowski's point, telling Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link) that plenty of GMs are looking to trade out of the draft, but they may not have many willing trade partners.
- The Hawks are interested in using their 17th and 18th overall picks in an attempt to move up in the draft, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to Spears, Atlanta has had trade conversations with at least one team picking in the top five. Spears adds that the Hawks, who will have a final workout tomorrow featuring Jamaal Franklin, are intrigued by Shabazz Muhammad.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) asked NBA GMs and scouts to rate the top 50 prospects in the 2013 draft using a 1-10 scale. Ford then took those scores, averaged them, and prorated them on a 100-point scale. Somewhat surprisingly, the top-rated player was not Nerlens Noel but instead Indiana's Victor Oladipo.
- Franklin met and worked out with the Bucks today, according to the team's official PR Twitter account. Franklin wasn't part of the team's group workout for possible second-rounders (Twitter link).
- Michael Carter-Williams worked out for the Sixers over the weekend, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- TNT's David Aldridge has unveiled his mock draft at NBA.com, with a surprise name at the top.
- The Pacers announced that their workout schedule for prospects on Tuesday. Reggie Bullock (North Carolina), A.J. Davis (James Madison), and Greg Echenique (Creighton) are among the players participating.
Zach Links contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Kobe, LeBron, Rivers, Roy, Mavs
We covered many of the pertinent points from Sam Amico's latest NBA report at FOX Sports Ohio earlier today in a post that rounded up today's Cavs rumors. But Amico's piece also features a few more notable tidbits, including word of the Blazers exploring moving up in the draft, the Bucks preparing to make a splash, and league executives beginning to believe Dwight Howard will sign with the Rockets. In addition to Amico's notes, we're hearing plenty of news and rumors from around the league, with the draft just three days away, so let's dive in….
- Although Kobe Bryant has talked in the past about possibly retiring when his current contract ends in 2014, he recently said on Brazilian television that he could see himself playing for "another three or four years." Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times has the details and a link to the video clip.
- A year from now, we could be looking forward to a sequel to The Decision, as LeBron James decides whether to exercise the 2014 opt-out in his contract with the Heat. For now though, LeBron tells CNN's Rachel Nichols that he hasn't thought about potential free agency, and will address it when the time comes (link via Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel).
- A source tells TNT's David Aldridge that Doc Rivers will have more say in the Clippers' basketball decisions than he did for the Celtics.
- While he stopped short of officially declaring his NBA career over, Brandon Roy acknowledged to ESPN.com's Kevin Pelton that it's no secret his basketball days are "numbered" (Twitter links).
- With Chris Paul seemingly on track to re-sign with the Clippers, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes that the Mavericks will have to move on to their Plan B at point guard, and identifies a few possible targets.
Mavs, Raptors, Others Interested In Gal Mekel
After leading Maccabi Haifa to an upset win for the Israeli championship, Gal Mekel may be ticketed for an NBA roster this coming year. According to ESPN.com's Marc Stein, the list of NBA teams eyeing the Israeli point guard continues to grow, with the Raptors and Mavericks among the latest teams to show interest.
On the heels of what Stein's sources call an "eye-opening" workout with the Bucks, Mekel will audition for the Mavs today, according to Stein. It's not clear whether the 25-year-old has workouts lined up with the Raptors or any other team, but Stein says the Hawks, Pacers, and Grizzlies have also registered some level of interest. The Jazz, who invited Mekel to training camp last fall, continue to monitor his progress as well.
According to Stein, Mekel has begun to convince NBA talent evaluators that he could immediately produce as a rotation player, especially after Pablo Prigioni successfully made the leap to the Association last season after a career overseas. Mekel, a former Wichita State guard, averaged 13.3 PPG and 5.4 APG in Israel in 2012/13, earning league MVP honors for the second time in the last four years.
Odds & Ends: Spurs, Heat, Cavs, Eliyahu, White
For as compelling as the Finals were, it's a shame that we almost certainly won't see the Heat and Spurs clash again next season without at least a few changes to their rosters. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News tackles a half dozen key questions for the Spurs amid uncertainty for soon-to-be free agents Manu Ginobili, Tiago Splitter and Gary Neal. In a separate piece, McDonald examines the prospects each Spurs player has of sticking around. I examined the offseason ahead for the Heat earlier today, and Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel follows with a look at what it will cost to keep each player on the Miami roster. The only constant in the NBA is change, and here's the latest on the league's comings and goings:
- As expected, the Cavaliers met with both Nerlens Noel and Alex Len this week, as Bob Finnan of The News-Herald confirms amongst his league roundup. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal, who argues that Otto Porter should get the nod at No. 1, notes that Porter, Ben McLemore and Victor Oladipo all worked out for the Cavs in the past few days.
- The "overwhelming belief" is that the Cavs won't trade the top pick, Lloyd writes.
- Lior Eliyahu, a former second-round pick whose NBA rights are owned by the Timberwolves, has parted ways with the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports with an assist from colleague David Pick.
- NBA contracts aren't necessarily guaranteed in case of mental disability, but Royce White's deal with the Rockets is, as Mark Deeks of ShamSports (Twitter link) points out. That means the Rockets wouldn't save any money if they waived him because of his psychological disorders.
- The Bucks are looking for a shooting guard, and they'll bring in Jamaal Franklin for a workout Monday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
Bucks Exercise Team Option On Gustavo Ayon
The Bucks have officially exercised their 2013/14 team option on Gustavo Ayon, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. The option is worth $1.5MM and could keep Ayon under contract for one more season before he hits free agency.
Although the Bucks have picked up the option, Ayon's contract remains non-guaranteed, as Mark Deeks details at ShamSports.com. The '13/14 season on Ayon's deal won't become fully guaranteed unless he remains on the roster beyond July 25th, according to Deeks. So this transaction essentially just postpones the team's decision on Ayon by a few weeks.
Ayon, 28, came to Milwaukee as part of the six-player deadline deal that was headlined by the Bucks' acquisition of J.J. Redick. It was the second time the Mexican big man had been moved during the 2012/13 season — he was sent to Orlando last July in exchange for the signed-and-traded Ryan Anderson.
Although Ayon has been relatively productive during his two NBA seasons, he hasn't seen a ton of playing time, averaging 16.7 minutes in 109 career contests. During those games, he has recorded 4.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, a 15.1 PER, and a .542 FG%.
Odds & Ends: Wizards, Splitter, Bosh, Nets, Bucks
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the trade that sent Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza from New Orleans to the Wizards in exchange for Rashard Lewis and last year's No. 46 pick (Darius Miller). Lewis celebrated by picking up a championship with the Heat, who acquired him after the Pelicans bought him out. The date was notable for the Wizards, too, since it meant the expiration of a trade exception worth $1,853,491 that the team generated as part of the deal. Washington has until February to use its other trade exception, from the Jordan Crawford swap, as noted in our continuously updated database. Here's more from around the league:
- Many NBA executives believe restricted Spurs free agent Tiago Splitter will draw offers in the $8-10MM range this summer, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe, who debates the merits of a Chris Bosh trade for the Heat as part of his piece on the aftermath of the Finals.
- The agent for former Mavericks guard Dominique Jones has had discussions with the Nets, and Jones is set to take part in a three-day free agent mini-camp the Bucks are holding, reports Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. If he doesn't return to the NBA next season, Jones would prefer to play overseas rather than hit the D-League again.
- Demetris Nichols hasn't played in the NBA since 2008/09, but he was a First Team All-D-League selection this year, and that's prompted the Spurs and Bucks to schedule workouts with the 28-year-old small forward, as Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com tweets.
- The Timberwolves reportedly believe Derrick Williams and the No. 9 pick could allow them to land a top-three selection next week. However, Wolves exec Flip Saunders told Dan Barreiro of KFAN radio that he doesn't think such a package, plus the No. 26 pick, could pry the No. 2 pick from the Magic, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes via Twitter.
- Chandler Parsons says he talks to Dwight Howard every day as he attempts to recruit the Lakers center to the Rockets. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has the details.
- Former MSG Sports president Scott O'Neil is close to joining the Sixers in an executive role, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
- Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com has the Sixers taking Steven Adams at No. 11 in his latest mock draft.
Draft Workout Updates: Friday
With just six days left until the 2013 draft, NBA teams continue to bring in prospects to work them out and gather as much information as they can. Here are the latest updates on workouts taking place today, over the weekend, and early next week:
- Allen Crabbe will work out Tuesday with the Bucks and Wednesday for the Nets, reports Scott Howard Cooper of NBA.com. Crabbe, widely projected as a late first-rounder at best, made it a priority to visit the Bucks, who have the No. 15 pick (Twitter links).
- Mason Plumlee wasn't on the list the Pistons released of players with whom the team has met, but he was scheduled to work out for Detroit on Friday, according to MLive's David Mayo.
- We heard about Vander Blue's workout with the Bucks today (below), and Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel notes that Blue has also auditioned for the Mavs, Spurs, Hawks, Sixers, Pistons and Magic, with another workout on tap for Monday with the Grizzlies.
Earlier updates:
- Anthony Bennett will visit the Bobcats on Saturday, though his injured rotator cuff will prevent him from working out, tweets Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
- Pelicans GM Dell Demps traveled Friday to get a close look at Victor Oladipo, sources confirmed to John Reid of The Times Picayune.
- Keith Langlois of Pistons.com passed along a list of players who met with the Pistons this past week: Trey Burke, Michael Carter-Williams, C.J. McCollum, Cody Zeller, Derrick Nix, Dexter Strickland, Augusto Cesar Lima, Jared Berggren, Kenny Boynton and Karron Johnson (All Twitter links).
- The Kings updated the workout schedule on their website, which shows Shabazz Muhammad, Doug Anderson, A.J. Davis, John Dickson, Mfon Udofia and Kwame Vaughn coming in Saturday. McCollum will be in for a workout on Monday, Cowbell Kingdom's James Ham tweets.
- Today's workout for the Timberwolves is expected to be the last one for the team, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, adding that Mason Plumlee, Kelly Olynyk, Colton Iverson, and Christian Watford were in attendance.
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution passes along a couple tweets from Gorgui Dieng, surmising that the big man appears to be in Atlanta for a workout with the Hawks.
- The Suns' workout today is headlined by Glen Rice Jr., according to Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, who has the full list of participants in a pair of tweets.
- Vander Blue, Grant Jerrett, Brock Motum, Dejan Musli, Nemanja Nedovic, and Andrew Smith are working out for the Bucks today, according to the team's PR Twitter feed.
- Tim Hardaway Jr. and Erick Green will be among the prospects working out for the Nets on Monday, the team announced in a press release.
- Hardaway Jr. was also among the prospects who worked out for the Clippers today, along with Tony Snell, Ricky Ledo, and Reggie Bullock (link via Eric Patten of Clippers.com).
- The Pacers announced today that they'll work out a a handful of prospects tomorrow: Matt Dellavedova, Angel Sharpless, Jamaal Franklin, Zeke Marshall, and Jeff Withey.