Central Rumors: Bulls, Barnes, Bucks, Cavs
The Bulls, who hold the 29th pick, met with small forward Harrison Barnes on Thursday at the draft combine in Chicago, leading K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune to allude to the possibility that the team is thinking of trading up in the draft. That doesn't mean the team is interested in such a deal, of course — the Bulls could simply be trying to get a feel for as many players as they can — but as Johnson notes, Barnes would come in handy as a replacement for Luol Deng if he misses time next season because of his wrist injury. There's been plenty of other draft news from the rest of the Central as well.
- The Bulls are focusing on the backcourt as they look toward the draft, according to several players who've worked out for the team, as Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Bucks, Grizzlies, Gay, Wizards, Suns
The Bucks may be in need of a big man following their trade of Andrew Bogut to the Warriors, but Milwaukee is also taking a hard look at the guards in this year's draft, writes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel. While the club is expected to target size with their No. 12 pick, they could go after a guard with size at No. 42 in support of Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis. Marquette's Darius Johnson-Odom and Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor were among those auditioned yesterday. Here's a look at tonight's links..
Amico On Gee, Cavs, Ilyasova, Humphries
So far this season, rumors surrounding restricted free agent Alonzo Gee have invariably involved the Suns, who are eyeing the Cavs guard and reportedly considering making him a four-year, $16MM offer. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, however, Phoenix isn't the only team preparing to pursue Gee. The Wizards, Celtics, and Rockets will also have the 25-year-old "high on their wish list," says Amico, adding that the Cavs like Gee and hope to keep him. Here are a few more rumblings from around the league courtesy of Amico….
Nets A Frontrunner For Ersan Ilyasova?
Shortly after the Bucks' season ended, GM John Hammond said "it's not going to be easy" to re-sign Ersan Ilyasova, who had a breakout 2011/12 campaign and finished second in voting for Most Improved Player of the Year. It appears that the Nets are one team the Bucks will need to outbid for Ilyasova's services, as Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times hears from NBA officials that Brooklyn is considered the frontrunner for the power forward.
Draft Links: Cavs, Bobcats, Bucks, Raptors
Earlier this week, Anthony Davis refused to acknowledge that he would definitely be the first overall pick in this year's draft, calling that just a "rumor" for now. But after the Hornets won the draft lottery and the right to pick first overall in June, Davis sounded like he was fully expecting to be the first pick, as Andy Katz of ESPN.com writes.
"I won a national championship in New Orleans," said Davis, referring to the site of Kentucky's NCAA title in April. "So why not win another one in New Orleans?"
Davis at #1 may be a lock, but there are plenty of questions surrounding the rest of the draft order. Here are a few draft-related items for Thursday afternoon….
Odds & Ends: O’Quinn, Gibbs, McRoberts
- HoopsWorld conducted interviews with draft prospects Kyle O'Quinn and Ashton Gibbs at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas. O'Quinn says that he'd like to immediately model his game after Kenneth Faried and Serge Ibaka and eventually develop into a LaMarcus Aldridge type of player. Gibbs talked about what he's currently trying to improve and how not being invited to the NBA Draft combine will motivate him to work harder and prove himself.
- Andy Kamenetzky of ESPN LA explains the C+ he gave Josh McRoberts for his 2011/12 report card.
- Jerome Solomon of UltimateRockets elaborates on the tough task that Rockets GM Daryl Morey has for this upcoming offseason, including the need to address Kyle Lowry's unhappiness with head coach Kevin McHale and the impending free agency of Goran Dragic.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel reviews the draft record of Bucks GM John Hammond. Although Joe Alexander was not a successful pick, Hammond was able to come away with Brandon Jennings, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Larry Sanders to name a few.
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer provides an explanation of the Bobcats' position heading into Wednesday's draft lottery. Because Charlotte finished with the league's worst record, they have the best chance at the number one pick and will not fall lower than the fourth pick.
- Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News writes that Rodney Stuckey and Greg Monroe's development could hold the keys in eventually elevating the Pistons into contender status.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer writes that the Cavaliers must try to follow the Spurs and Thunder's blueprint of success.
Odds & Ends: Lowry, Raptors, Heat, Jennings
John Havlicek's famous steal in the 1965 Eastern Division finals might be the most storied of many Game 7 moments between the Celtics and Sixers, who look to add another chapter in tonight's Game 7. Still, many Boston fans have another theft on their minds as they file into the Garden this evening, since it's the 25th anniversary of Larry Bird's game-saving steal against the Pistons in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals. Here's the rest of what's going on around the Association today:
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun believes Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo and Daryl Morey, his Rockets counterpart, are likely to discuss a trade for point guard Kyle Lowry. Earlier today, we passed along a report from Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle about Lowry's dissatisfaction in Houston.
- Feigen disagrees with Kyle Lowry's conclusion that he can't flourish under Rockets coach Kevin McHale, pointing to Lowry's early-season play as evidence.
- Mario Chalmers and Shane Battier, who both signed multiyear deals when the lockout ended in December, are two of the role players who paid dividends for the Heat in this week's elimination of the Pacers, writes Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.
- Brandon Jennings isn't worried about whether the Bucks will offer him an extension this summer, as Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel reports. "I will let (agent) Bill Duffy handle that," Jennings said. "That's what he does. I will leave it up to Bill Duffy and (Bucks general manager) John Hammond. It's really not my department." Earlier this month Duffy said he was surprised by Hammond's comment than a Jennings extension "is not something we have to do."
- Howard Beck of The New York Times looks at what James Harden brings to the Thunder as the decision of whether to extend his rookie contract looms for GM Sam Presti this summer.
Beno Udrih Exercises 2012/13 Player Option
Beno Udrih has picked up his player option for the 2012/13 season and will return to the Bucks, reports Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee GM John Hammond confirmed the decision.
The Bucks acquired Udrih from Sacramento prior to the lockout last year, but his first season with the Bucks wasn't a strong one. The point guard's scoring rate (11.6 points per 36 minutes) and shooting percentages (.440/.288/.709) were among the worst of his career, making it a lock that he'd pick up his option rather than hit the open market.
Garder suggests the option is worth $7.8MM, while other contract databases have it in the neighborhood of $7.37MM. Either way, it's a significant amount to have to commit to a backup point guard. Still, as I noted when I previewed the Bucks' offseason last week, the team could have a moderate amount of cap space to sign a free agent or two even with Udrih on the books.
Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times first reported that Udrih would exercise his option.
Coaching Rumors: Sloan, Bobcats, Shaw, Skiles
It was a busy day for coaching rumors and speculation on Tuesday, as our morning round of updates was trumped by afternoon news that Jerry Sloan is interested in both current head coach vacancies. Last night, when we asked about Sloan's future, over 70% of poll respondents predicted the former Jazz coach would either land the Magic job or stay retired. Here's the latest on Sloan and a few other coaches, past, present, and perhaps future:
- Sloan told Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune that he has been in contact with Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and could meet with him as early as this week.
- Lang Greene of HoopsWorld says that if Sloan can truly stomach the massive rebuild facing the Bobcats, the team should give him a long, hard look.
- Pacers assistant Brian Shaw is drawing interest from both the Bobcats and Magic, but he tells Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star that he's still focused on the playoffs for now. "I'm just waiting until I'm done," Shaw said. "I don't want to be a distraction. Right now, the last thing I would want to do is take away from what we're trying to accomplish here."
- Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times is surprised that Scott Skiles is coming back as coach of the Bucks. According to Woelfel, people close to Skiles "insist he would crawl to Orlando" if it meant landing the Magic job.
Odds & Ends: Knicks, Bucks, Heat, Nicholson
Here's the latest news and headlines from around the NBA…
- There are five ways the Knicks' Big 3 can improve in their second season together, writes Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
- Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Bradley Center will be now known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center in a step toward getting the Bucks a new arena in the near future.
- The Heat's success is predicated on strong play by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade but also relies on a different role player stepping up each night, suggests Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets that the Thunder and the Celtics are the two most likely teams to draft St. Bonaventure's Andrew Nicholson.
- Teams from smaller markets are at a serious disadvantage when it comes to winning an NBA championship, writes Richard Florida of The Atlantic.
- HoopsWorld's Joel Brigham gives his take on the top five comebacks in NBA playoff history.
- Commissioner David Stern filled the NBA's Competition Committee with his own people so that changes can be made to existing rules, writes Matt Moore of CBSSports.com.
- Kurt Helin of NBC's ProBasketballTalk blog says Mo Williams expects to pick up his player option of $8.5MM for the 2012/2013 season.
- Mike D'Antoni isn't up to much these days after resigning as the Knicks head coach in March, writes SI.com's Jack McCallum.