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Draft Notes: Jazz, Kings, Warren, Nurkic, LaVine

June 16th, 2014 at 5:13pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest draft news from around the league..

In addition to Indiana big man Noah Vonleh, today’s Jazz work out included George Mason guard Bryon Allen, Oklahoma State guard Markel Brown, Syracuse forward C.J. Fair, UCLA forward David Wear, and Marquette forward Jamil Wilson, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro, assistant GM Mike Bratz, and advisor Chris Mullin are meeting with prospects Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas right now in Chicago, tweets Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.
N.C. State forward T.J. Warren was slated to work out for the Nuggets today but he’s a late scratch, according to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post (on Twitter). Taking his place will be Trevor Wages of Colorado School of Mines (link).
The Nuggets are bringing in Jusuf Nurkic for medical exams and perhaps a workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Nurkic is currently slated to go No. 12 to the Magic in DraftExpress’ mock.
UCLA’s Zach LaVine will work out for the Timberwolves, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN. Minnesota likes him at two guard and they’ll think about him at No. 13 along with Stauskas and Adreian Payne.
The Raptors will audition Payne tomorrow, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.
Meanwhile, Clemson’s K.J. McDaniels wasn’t able to work out for the Timberwolves, tweets Wolfson. The small forward got stuck in South Carolina due to bad weather.
The Celtics will have more workouts on Thursday, highlighted by UCLA guard Jordan Adams, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

Bulls Willing To Trade Joakim Noah

June 16th, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Chuck Myron

Derrick Rose is the only “untouchable” player as the Bulls actively seek improvements to their starting lineup, several sources tell Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. That would mean First-Team All-NBA center Joakim Noah and others are available, though Cowley doesn’t specify whether the Bulls are dangling anyone in particular in ongoing talks. Carmelo Anthony remains Chicago’s No. 1 target, but the team is making a hard push to trade for Kevin Love, too, Cowley writes, suggesting the team will also make a serious run at LeBron James should he hit free agency this summer.

Noah, 29, is coming off a career year, and he’s set to make $12.7MM next season on a contract that runs through 2015/16, so his value is probably at an all-time high. Still, he’d seemingly be the last player other than Rose whom the Bulls would be willing to give up, with Taj Gibson not far behind. Noah has tried to recruit Anthony to Chicago, but the center doesn’t want to sacrifice Gibson to obtain the Knicks star forward, according to Cowley. Bulls executives have also been reluctant to part with Gibson, but it seems the hesitancy of Chicago’s brass is loosening if it would mean landing an All-Star caliber player in return, as Cowley observes.

It’s “not by choice” that the Bulls are making Rose the only player off-limits, Cowley writes, and that appears to indicate that other teams have signaled to Chicago that they’re wary of the point guard’s health. Rose has been unavailable for all but one game in the last three postseasons because of injury, and he’s missed most of the past two regular seasons.

The Bulls are open to just about any scenario, but it’s doubtful the team would part ways with Tom Thibodeau, Cowley hears. Chicago could extract valuable draft choices for the former Coach of the Year, who remains under contract, but in spite of rumors, it’s almost always seemed a long shot that he wouldn’t return to coach the Bulls next season.

And-Ones: NBPA, Anthony, Bower

June 15th, 2014 at 12:42pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kevin Johnson sent out a memo to the players regarding the search for the next head of the National Basketball Players Association, reports Sam Amick of USA Today. In the memo, Johnson informed the players that six candidates were interviewed on May 16th, with more scheduled for late June, and six more in mid-July. The names of the candidates were not made public yet.

Western Notes: Tucker, Draft, Spurs

June 15th, 2014 at 11:38am CST by Eddie Scarito

P.J. Tucker is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, but is expected to be back with the Suns, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Speaking about the free agent process, Tucker said, “It’s always kind of crazy. You don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t think teams know all the time when another team is going to jump out there. I’m excited to go through it. I don’t know what their (the Suns’) direction is. I know I had great years and that they like me, but they might look another direction. It’s a business. Always has been, always will be. Maybe they draft a player who they think can do what I do at my position. Maybe they move on, maybe they don’t. I don’t know. I’m excited to see, though.“

And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves

June 13th, 2014 at 10:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.

Here’s more from around the association:

The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.

And-Ones: Lakers, Thibodeau, Duncan, Embiid

June 13th, 2014 at 4:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers never asked the Bulls for permission to interview Tom Thibodeau, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who reported last month that they would. The L.A. brass is “all but sure” the Bulls would have asked for this month’s No. 7 overall pick, which the Lakers would be unwilling to give up, according to McMenamin. The ESPN scribe also believes that L.A.’s concerns about paying Thibodeau a lavish salary to coach a mediocre roster next season played a role, and suggests the Lakers are wary of the way their fans might react if Thibodeau rejected the team’s pursuit. Here’s more from around the league:

The deadline for Tim Duncan to decide on his $10MM player option for next season is June 24th, but the Spurs are operating under the assumption that Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich will return, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Most option clauses give players until June 30th to decide, though Duncan’s date can be pushed back if he and the team decide to do so, Stein notes, adding that Popovich’s contract runs through next season.
A source tells Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that Joel Embiid checked out fine when he took a physical this week for the Cavs, contradicting an earlier report from Tony Rizzo of ESPN Cleveland, who hears that the exam raised serious concerns (Twitter links).
It appears as though the Bucks will work out Andrew Wiggins twice, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that he’s auditioning for the team today in California and again next week in Milwaukee (Twitter link).
A handful of top European teams have interest in soon-to-be free agent Nando De Colo, and it seems like they’re willing to give the Raptors guard a raise on the $1.463MM he made in the NBA this season, reports Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net.
The Timberwolves have hired Sidney Lowe as an assistant coach, the team formally announced (Twitter link), confirming an earlier report. He spent last season as an assistant with the Jazz.

Draft Rumors: Bucks, Parker Exum, Randle

June 13th, 2014 at 1:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

There’s no truth to the that idea Bucks GM John Hammond would be reluctant to draft Dante Exum because he’s concerned about losing his job, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. It’s not clear whether Milwaukee, which picks second overall, is sold on taking the Australian guard, but the team won’t hesitate to do so if the front office determines he’s worthy, Deveney’s source adds. Here’s more chatter surrounding the draft:

Jabari Parker will work out for the Cavs a week from today, the Plain Dealer reports (on Twitter). The tweet also makes note of Andrew Wiggins‘ audition for the team next week, echoing an earlier report that he was set to work out for the club close to draft time.

Earlier updates:

Julius Randle said today that no NBA teams expressed a desire at last month’s draft combine for him to have surgery on his right foot even though they knew that he’d broken the foot as a high school senior, observes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter). Still, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com insists multiple clubs are worried about the foot becoming an issue in the future, believing that the foot didn’t heal correctly (Twitter link). However, the Jazz aren’t among the teams with worries, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Randle is nonetheless taking a cautious approach, telling reporters, including Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com, that he worked out solo for the Celtics instead of against competition to lessen the chance of injury. Gary Harris, Jordan Clarkson and Elfrid Payton are the previously unreported names taking part in today’s group audition for the Celtics, Forsberg tweets.
Baylor big man Isaiah Austin was red-flagged with several medical issues at last month’s draft combine, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports in an Insider-only piece. Austin’s lack of sight in one eye is well-documented, but it appears as though that isn’t his only malady.
Doug McDermott is the marquee name set to perform Saturday for the Hornets, who’ll also audition T.J. Warren, Travis Wear, Jermaine Marshall, Roberto Nelson and Brandon Young, the team announced in a press release.
Zach LaVine is set to work out Saturday for the Nuggets, Blakely tweets.
Shabazz Napier highlighted a Wolves audition today that also included LaQuinton Ross, Eric Moreland, Ronald Roberts Jr., Tim Frazier and Rion Brown, the team announced (via Twitter). Adreian Payne will show off for Minnesota on Saturday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.

Cavs Interview David Blatt

June 13th, 2014 at 12:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

FRIDAY, 12:18pm: The Cavs and Warriors are the only teams left in the race for Blatt, a source tells Marc Stein of ESPN.com. That means the Timberwolves and Hawks are no longer in the mix.

THURSDAY, 1:22pm: Blatt will interview with the Cavs next week, a source tells the Plain Dealer (Twitter link). Blatt said he interviewed earlier by phone, so presumably next week’s interview will be the first face-to-face meeting. That probably doesn’t quite put him on equal footing with Lue and Gentry, both of whom are set for their second sit-downs with the Cavs.

12:35pm: Blatt says he hasn’t received an offer from the Cavs, Sinai tweets.

12:28pm: Blatt indeed announced that he’s leaving Maccabi Tel Aviv, and said that he’ll intensify talks with NBA teams, as Sinai relays via Twitter.

12:07pm: The Timberwolves are still contenders for Blatt, but he’s mostly focused on the Cavs and Warriors, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).

11:32am: The Hawks are also vying for Blatt as an assistant coach, Sinai reports.

11:20am: Blatt will say that he’s headed to the NBA today, but he won’t say where, Pick hears, advancing Sinai’s report from earlier (Twitter link).

11:14am: The announcement that Blatt is set to make today doesn’t have to do with the Cavs, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link). That doesn’t necessarily rule him out as a head coaching candidate for Cleveland, as Sinai tweets that it’s unclear if Blatt will identify a specific job that he’s taking or merely state his intention to go to the NBA, but it seems to cast doubt on the idea he’ll end up with the Cavs.

11:02am: The Cavaliers have interviewed Israeli league coach David Blatt for their head coaching vacancy, as Blatt tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Blatt said he interviewed by phone and will speak with GM David Griffin again soon, according to Pick. The news comes in advance of a press conference today in which Blatt will announce that he’s leaving Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv for the NBA, as Allon Sinai of The Jerusalem Post tweets. It’s unclear whether Blatt is headed stateside for the Cavs job or for assistant coaching positions with the Warriors and Timberwolves, gigs for which he’s also rumored to be a candidate.

The Cavs had reportedly been in contact with Blatt as of last week, but it appeared then that the conversation hadn’t yet amount to an interview. Blatt says he’s received “real offers” from the NBA, Sinai reports (on Twitter), though it seems as though he may be in line for a consulting job, either on top of or instead of a coaching position, according to Pick (Twitter link). Pick dismisses the notion of Blatt heading to Minnesota (Twitter link), in spite of an earlier report that suggested he would be Flip Saunders‘ first choice as a head-coach-in-waiting who could take over the head coaching duties from Saunders in a year or two.

Blatt told Pick today that an earlier report suggesting that he’d only come to the NBA for a head coaching job was inaccurate (Twitter link), and the Warriors are “quietly confident” that they’ll end up with him, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Still, if he were to become an NBA head coach, it would represent a groundbreaking jump from European basketball. He’s one of several seemingly in the mix for the Cavs head coaching job. Mark Price, Alvin Gentry, Adrian Griffin, Tyronn Lue, Vinny Del Negro and Lionel Hollins have all reportedly garnered interviews. The Cavs have asked Lue and Gentry back for second interviews, while Nate McMillan and Mark Jackson have also apparently emerged as candidates, too.

And-Ones: Salary Cap, Draft, Harris, LaVine

June 12th, 2014 at 10:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

GMs widely expect next season’s salary cap to wind up even higher than the most recent projection of $63.2MM, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link).

Here’s more from around the league:

It was reported earlier that Spanish league shooting guard Marcus Eriksson is pulling out of this year’s draft. Prior to that announcement Eriksson had a workout scheduled with the Bucks, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times (Twitter link).
NBA.com released their full prospect profile on former Michigan State guard Gary Harris. Harris is a projected lottery pick in this year’s draft.
Zach LaVine is projected to be taken anywhere from late in the lottery to the middle of the first round. NBA.com published their prospect profile for LaVine.
Mark Snyder of The Detroit Free Press adds the Wolves and the Bulls to the list of teams working out Jordan Morgan, and also reveals that Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, Sean Kilpatrick and Jordan McRae auditioned Wednesday for the Wolves, too.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Spurs, Lowe, Togashi

June 12th, 2014 at 6:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Spurs core of stars nearing retirement the team will need to look ahead to the future, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. That future will begin with Kawhi Leonard, as well as having a wealth of cap room in 2015, when only Tiago Splitter is under contract, notes Beck. The franchise also has Livio Jean-Charles, a 6’9″ forward from French Guiana, who was drafted 28th in 2013, and Davis Bertans, a 6’10″ forward from Latvia, a 2011 second-round pick who was acquired from the Pacers, to help jump start the team’s next phase, according to the article.