Draft History: Dell Demps
The 2015 NBA draft is just under a month away, and for teams that aren’t still participating in the NBA playoffs, the focus is on using that event to build toward a better future. Now that the NBA Draft lottery is complete, the speculation can truly begin as to which player each franchise will pin its hopes on for the future. Of course, having one of the top selections in any draft doesn’t guarantee that a team will snag a future All-Star. Team executives and scouts still have the difficult task of making the correct call with their picks.
With this in mind we at Hoops Rumors will be taking a look back at the draft history of the primary basketball executive for each NBA team. Their names, reputations, and possibly employment will be on the line as a result of the decisions to come on June 25th, and we’ll be examining what they’ve done in previous years in charge of a club’s front office. Note that many of them have played other sorts of roles within a team’s executive structure, but this won’t take that into account. We’ll continue onward with a look back at the calls made by Pelicans GM Dell Demps.
Pelicans (July 2010-Present)
2011 Draft
- No first-rounder. Pick No. 19 overall (Tobias Harris) owned by the Bucks).
- Traded the No. 45 overall pick (Josh Harrellson) to the Knicks for cash.
Players passed over or available at draft slot: Harris (No. 19), Kenneth Faried (No. 22), Nikola Mirotic (No. 23), Reggie Jackson (No. 24), Jimmy Butler (No. 30), Chandler Parsons (No. 38), and Isaiah Thomas (No. 60).
2012 Draft
- No. 1 Overall — Anthony Davis: 199 games, 19.7 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 2.5 BPG. .525/.111/.789.
- No. 10 Overall — Austin Rivers: 206 games, 7.0 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.1 APG. .397/.326/.624.
- No. 46 Overall — Darius Miller: 102 games, 3.1 PPG, 1.3 RPG, and 0.9 APG. .420/.351/.841.
Players passed over or available at draft slot: Bradley Beal (No. 3), Damian Lillard (No. 6), Andre Drummond (No. 9), Draymond Green (No. 35), and Khris Middleton (No. 39).
2013 Draft
- *No. 6 Overall — Nerlens Noel. Noel was later dealt along with a 2014 first round pick to the Sixers in exchange for Jrue Holiday and the rights to the No. 42 overall pick (Pierre Jackson).
- No second-rounder. Pick No. 35 overall (Glen Rice Jr.) owned by Wizards.
Players passed over or available at draft slot: Noel (No. 6), Michael Carter-Williams (No. 11), Kelly Olynyk (No. 13), Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15), Mason Plumlee (No. 22), and Rudy Gobert (No. 27).
2014 Draft
- No first-rounder. No. 10 overall pick (Elfrid Payton) owned by the Magic.
- No second-rounder. No. 40 overall pick (Glenn Robinson III) owned by the Timberwolves.
Players passed over or available at draft slot: Payton (No. 10), Zach LaVine (No. 13), K.J. McDaniels (No. 32), and Jordan Clarkson (No. 46).
And-Ones: Wolves, Lakers, Pacers, Celtics
Several players and agents suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that any given Eastern Conference team would be more attractive than a comparable one from the Western Conference given the disparity between the conferences. One agent told Kennedy that players “absolutely” want to be the East and that he hopes his draft clients are taken by Eastern teams, though an executive cautioned that the presence of LeBron James might dissuade free agents from jumping out of the West. James is set to represent the East for the fifth straight time in the NBA Finals, and while we wait more than a week for tip-off, here’s more from around the NBA:
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears D’Angelo Russell is in the mix for the Timberwolves at No. 1, says Karl-Anthony Towns, but not necessarily Jahlil Okafor, would be a lock for the Lakers at No. 2, and also writes in his chat with readers that the Pacers and Celtics would love to move up. Ford has heard chatter among GMs that the Thunder have promised Cameron Payne they’ll take him at No. 14, but he isn’t sure just how much truth there is to that, as the ESPN scribe writes in the same piece. Sources have suggested to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that Payne has a promise from some team. Our Eddie Scarito has Payne going to the Thunder in the Hoops Rumors Mock Draft.
- UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn had an especially impressive workout this past weekend, Ford observes in an Insider-only piece, and Vaughn also opened eyes in his workout Tuesday for the Heat, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Ford adds in his piece that scouts have told him that French center Alpha Kaba is willing to stay in the draft rather than withdraw by the June 15th deadline if he receives a promise from a team.
- The Bulls and Pelicans have interest in former 16th overall pick Royce White, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, though it’s not clear if they’re yet considering him for any sort of deal that would go beyond summer league.
Pelicans Interview Jeff Van Gundy
THURSDAY, 9:34am: League sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders that they expect Van Gundy would require an arrangement similar to the one that brother Stan Van Gundy has with the Pistons in which he coaches and runs the front office, as Kyler writes in his NBA AM piece. That’d be a tough sell in New Orleans, where GM Dell Demps and executive VP of basketball operations Mickey Loomis both have degrees of front office power.
WEDNESDAY, 6:40pm: The Pelicans interviewed Jeff Van Gundy on Tuesday regarding the team’s vacant head coaching position, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports. The two sides had previously spoken over the phone, but this was their first face-to-face meeting, Wojnarowski’s sources relayed. For now, New Orleans’ officials and Van Gundy are just beginning the process of getting to know each other, the Yahoo! scribe notes.
New Orleans GM Dell Demps had previously met with another candidate, Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry, in the Bay Area prior to the start of the Western Conference finals, Wojnarowski writes. It remains possible that Demps will schedule another meeting with Gentry in the near future, Wojnarowski adds. The Warriors will only grant permission for Gentry to interview between playoff series.
The former head coach and current broadcaster admitted that he was intrigued by the idea of coaching young superstar Anthony Davis, John Reid of the Times Picayune writes. ”There is no one who ever coached that wouldn’t want to coach a great player with great character,” Van Gundy said during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. “And so I’ve been able to do that in my life. I’ve already coached a player with a great character and you know how important that is if you want to win big in a situation. I had Patrick Ewing, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady in Houston, Charles Oakley and all these guys. Anybody who that says, nah … I wouldn’t want to coach [Davis] who is a top-five player and a great person, I wouldn’t believe that if someone said that.”
Van Gundy reached the playoffs nine times as coach in New York and Houston, including a trip to the NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference finals, and he made three trips to the conference semifinals. He won 50-plus games twice in four seasons with the Rockets. His career coaching record is 430-318.
Pelicans Interview Scott Skiles
The Pelicans’ search for their next head coach continues, and the latest person to interview with the team is Scott Skiles, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports. It comes as a bit of a surprise that Skiles sat down with New Orleans, since it had been previously reported that he was the front-runner to replace interim coach James Borrego in Orlando. Pelicans GM Dell Demps, who played for Skiles when he coached in Greece, is an admirer of his, Stein notes.
The 51-year-old Skiles is reportedly the preferred choice of the Magic’s ownership, which has been enamored with him since his stint as a player for the franchise back in the 1990s, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The former point guard also fits the criteria that Magic GM Rob Hennigan has set for the team’s next head coach, which includes having a successful résumé as a coach, and having a strong background on emphasizing defense and accountability. Skiles owns a career regular season coaching record of 443-433, and has a career playoff record of 18-24. He has been a head coach for the Suns, Bulls, and most recently, the Bucks.
New Orleans has also reportedly interviewed Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry, as well as former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy, in its search to replace former head coach Monty Williams. The meeting with Van Gundy had been described as very preliminary, with both sides just beginning to get a feel for the other. The Pelicans are reportedly intending to schedule a second meeting with Gentry once the Warriors’ playoff series against the Rockets has been completed. Current Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has also been mentioned as a possibility for the vacancy, though the Pelicans are reportedly reluctant to give up draft pick compensation in return for Thibs, and the Bulls have been rumored to be waiting for all the available coaching positions to be filled before parting ways with him.
Latest On Tom Thibodeau
MONDAY, 4:02pm: People around the league who look up to Thibodeau increasingly express worry that the Bulls indeed plan to wait for the three NBA vacancies to fill up and then simply fire Thibs, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
SATURDAY, 2:58pm: The Bulls are determined to hold on to Thibodeau until the remaining coaching vacancies have been filled, meaning that if they then fire him, it would likely leave him out of coaching for the 2015/16 season, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.
THURSDAY, 2:39pm: The Magic’s interest in Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has been overstated, a source tells K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter links). Thibodeau, whose seemingly rocky relationship with Bulls management appears poised to result in a split this summer, has long been linked to Orlando’s vacancy. However, recent reports that the Magic would be willing to pay him $7-9MM a year and that the Orlando job is Thibodeau’s for the taking are off-base, Johnson hears, as is the notion that the team is prepared to give the Bulls compensation for the right to hire him. The Bulls are widely expected to demand assets in return for letting Thibodeau out of his contract, which runs two more seasons, and a recent report indicated that the Magic would likely be willing to give up one or two second-round picks for the right to hire Thibs.
Still, the Magic may indeed still wind up talking to Thibodeau at some point, Johnson adds. As of Wednesday, no team had yet contacted the Bulls to request to interview Thibodeau, a league source told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The Bulls haven’t spoken with Fred Hoiberg, reportedly the team’s top choice to replace Thibodeau if Chicago indeed parts ways with its coach, the source also said to Berger. Alvin Gentry, another apparent front-runner for the would-be Bulls opening, reportedly has strong interest in the Pelicans job, which he interviewed for Monday. The Bulls want to set up a clear plan of succession before starting talks about what sort of compensation they’d want from other teams in exchange for letting them hire Thibodeau, Berger wrote last week.
Thibodeau isn’t about to quit and simply give up the nearly $9MM left on his contract, as Johnson recently observed, and if the Bulls are determined to make Thibodeau go away, they likely have a distinct financial motivation to work out a deal with another team. Most NBA coaching contracts, including those the Bulls have given out in the past, have a set-off clause that would absolve the team of whatever it owes the coach if he takes another job at an equal or greater salary during the term of the pact, Berger explains. So, if Thibodeau can find another team willing to pay him at least $4-5MM a year, the Bulls probably won’t owe him any money, according to Berger. The Nuggets are “not an option” for Thibodeau, Berger also wrote, apparently leaving Orlando and New Orleans as the only teams with existing vacancies left to bid.
Latest On Goran Dragic
Goran Dragic is a fan of coach Erik Spoelstra as well as team president Pat Riley, and the Heat’s status as the front-runner to keep him remains unchanged, as Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald hears. Jackson lists the Lakers, Knicks, Pelicans, Kings and Bucks as other teams that are expected to have interest in signing the guard.
Dragic has previously confirmed that he’ll turn down his $7.5MM player option. The Heat possess the guard’s Bird rights, meaning they can offer him a fifth year, which is reportedly something Dragic values highly. The 29-year-old has previously said the Heat meet all the criteria he’s looking for in a team from a basketball standpoint and he’s named Miami as his favorite U.S. city. Dragic wants the Heat to play much faster next season, but he’s been assured that’s a key part of Miami’s plan, a source tells Jackson.
Still, Dragic has reportedly viewed the Lakers as a “perfect fit,” so perhaps Los Angeles is Miami’s biggest threat to sign the winner of the NBA’s 2013/14 Most Improved Player award. The Knicks and Lakers, along with the Heat, were among Dragic’s preferred destinations prior to the deadline trade that sent him from Phoenix to Miami.
Southwest Notes: Van Gundy, Hoiberg, Morey
The lure of Anthony Davis may be enough to get Jeff Van Gundy back into coaching, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein confirmed Friday that Van Gundy has interest in coaching the Pelicans. He is being considered among the top candidates, along with Alvin Gentry and possibly Tom Thibodeau. Van Gundy, a popular TV analyst with ESPN and ABC, last coached with the Rockets in 2006/07, but Stein writes that the chance to mentor a young superstar like Davis could be enough to bring him back him back to the sidelines.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Bringing Van Gundy on board would be the Pelicans‘ best personnel move to date, contends Jimmy Smith of NOLA.com. Smith notes that Van Gundy’s experience coaching big men like Patrick Ewing and Yao Ming would be valuable in molding Davis into an elite center. Smith also argues that Van Gundy is a big enough name to create excitement throughout the franchise and command the respect of players, along with being a progressive thinker who can adapt to the modern NBA.
- Although he has been rumored to be a coaching candidate in New Orleans, the Pelicans have not made contact with Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg, writes John Reid of NOLA.com. An ISU spokesman confirmed that the school has not received a request from New Orleans or any other NBA team. The 42-year-old Hoiberg has a 115-56 record at Iowa State and runs an up-tempo offense that should transfer well into the NBA, according to Reid. Hoiberg also has NBA ties — 10 years as a player and four years in the Timberwolves’ front office, where he spent one season as vice president of basketball operations and three as assistant general manager.
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey and Warriors GM Bob Myers have taken non-traditional approaches to building the Western Conference finalists, writes Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle. Myers, the NBA’s Executive of the Year, and Morey have both put together deep rosters that fit well with the way the game is played today.
Southwest Notes: Gentry, Gasol, Mavs
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr confirmed Thursday that lead assistant Alvin Gentry has interviewed for the Pelicans head coaching job, as Kerr told reporters, including Antonio Gonzalez of The Associated Press. Kerr said he’s OK with Gentry taking time to interview on off days, Gonzalez notes, and a source close to Gentry told John Reid of The Times-Picayune that it appears as though Gentry will again interview with New Orleans after Golden State’s season is over. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger feels as though Marc Gasol has essentially already made up his mind about what he’ll do in free agency, but he’ll head to Spain sometime soon to pitch the All-NBA First Team center on re-signing with the Grizzlies, notes Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal in a subscription-only piece. The Grizzlies don’t seem too nervous, but Gasol isn’t giving any promises, and his departure would be a devastating blow to the franchise, Calkins argues.
- Count GM Chris Wallace among those in the Grizzlies organization with confidence in Gasol’s return. “I firmly believe we will re-sign Marc Gasol this summer,” Wallace said on WHBQ-AM radio, according to host Peter Edmiston (Twitter link).
- Unless the Mavericks can lure Gasol or DeAndre Jordan to Dallas this summer, they should prioritize re-signing Tyson Chandler, as Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News believes.
- A panel of ESPN.com writers, in an Insider-only piece, agree that the Pelicans coaching job is more attractive than a would-be opening for the Bulls and that New Orleans should look to re-sign Omer Asik this summer.
James, Curry, Harden Lead All-NBA Teams
LeBron James and Stephen Curry finished atop the voting for the All-NBA Teams, with James Harden, Anthony Davis and Marc Gasol joining them on the first team, the league announced via press release. Russell Westbrook, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Paul, Pau Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins comprise the second team. Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Tim Duncan, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving make up the third team.
Curry, the league’s MVP, and James each received 645 points through a system in which five points are awarded a first team vote, three points go for a second team vote and one point is given for a third team vote. The duo garnered 129 first team votes each, making them unanimous first team selections. They were followed closely by Harden, with 125 first team votes and 637 points, and Davis, who had 119 first team votes and 625 points. Marc Gasol, who’s heading into free agency, wasn’t as widely seen as a first-teamer by the media members who cast their ballots, rounding out the squad with 65 first-team votes and 453.
Every member of the second team received at least one first team vote, and Thompson and Irving were the only members of the third team not to get a first team vote. Al Horford also received a first team vote even though he didn’t make any of the teams. The NBA will soon display the votes of each media member on its website, but the league has already distributed the information via press release, so click here to check it out in PDF form.
Leonard, Green, Allen Lead All-Defensive Teams
Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Tony Allen, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul comprise this year’s All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced via press release. Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Bogut, John Wall and Tim Duncan are on the second team. Bogut’s selection is perhaps most important, since he triggers a bonus worth 15% of his nearly $12.973MM salary for this season, giving him approximately $1.946MM in extra pay. It also means his cap hit for next season jumps to $13.8MM instead of $12MM, since the bonus will fall in the category of a likely bonus. Still, the extra $1.8MM wouldn’t count against the tax next season unless Bogut again plays in 65 games and makes an All-Defensive team.
Leonard was the leading vote-getter from the media members who cast the ballots, which is no surprise, since he also won the Defensive Player of the Year award. The latest honor is further ammunition for a max contract this summer from the Spurs, though it appears he and San Antonio were already set to quickly agree to terms on one come July. Green and Jordan are also soon-to-be free agents on the first team, while Butler and Duncan are heading to free agency from the second team.
Davis, who’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, topped the voting among second-teamers. The balloting went by a points system in which two points were awarded for a first team vote and one point for a second. Rudy Gobert, who received five first team votes, garnered the most points among those who missed the cut for both teams. LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Avery Bradley, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Klay Thompson, Marc Gasol and Mike Conley were others who garnered multiple first team votes but didn’t make it on either team. Click here to see how each media member voted.