Iguodala Drawing Interest From At Least Seven Teams
Andre Iguodala wasn’t able to take home the NBA’s 2016/17 Sixth Man of the Year award on Monday night, but he’s on the verge of landing a nice consolation prize in the form of a lucrative new contract. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN.com, at least seven teams from around the league are expected to make an effort to pry Iguodala away from the Warriors.
The Timberwolves, Spurs, Clippers, Sixers, Magic, Nets, and Jazz are among the clubs with interest in Iguodala, per Haynes. Previous reports have suggested that the Bulls, Suns, and Hawks also may have interest in the veteran swingman, though Chicago has since entered a rebuilding phase, and Phoenix and Atlanta may opt to go in another direction.
According to Haynes, the Timberwolves and Sixers both have interest in Iguodala as a veteran leader for their young squads, while the Jazz view Iguodala as a contingency plan should they lose Gordon Hayward in free agency. The Spurs have internally discussed the possibility of trying to add both Iguodala and Chris Paul, according to Haynes, who confirms that San Antonio has explored trading Danny Green and LaMarcus Aldridge.
As Haynes explains, Iguodala has become one of the hottest free agents on the market this summer because teams view it as a priority to get him out of Golden State. Building a super-team to compete with the Warriors isn’t realistic for most franchises, so chipping away at the Warriors’ core by signing away one of the team’s key contributors is a more logical way to close the gap between Golden State and the rest of the league.
While earlier estimates for Iguodala’s new contract indicated the Warriors might be able to bring him back for an annual salary in the range of his current $11.1MM+ figure, a report from Shams Charania of The Vertical last week suggested that number could be much higher if the 33-year-old heads elsewhere. According to Charania, there’s a belief among teams around the NBA that Iguodala could approach $20MM per year on a new deal.
Outside of the Warriors’ stars, Shaun Livingston and Iguodala represent the team’s most important veteran free agents. Haynes says that Livingston should be popular in July as well, reporting that the veteran point guard may command a salary in the range of $10-12MM per year.
New Front Office Should Learn From Franchise's Past Mistakes
While he may be years away from reaching his true potential, the Magic are pleased with their Jonathan Isaac pickup in Thursday’s draft, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel writes.
Robbins adds that president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond should look to add quality players that will be able to compete with Isaac for minutes, something current and past Magic players like Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris and Elfrid Payton could have benefited from over the course of the last few seasons.
- The Magic would be wise to mind the tone of their fan base and field a decent roster as soon as possible, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel writes. While a new front office may be just embarking on a five-year tenure with the organization, fans of the franchise have already endured five years of losing seasons.
Poor Drafting Has Hurt Franchise
- Poor drafting over the past five years has turned the Magic into a consistently bad franchise, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. There’s no one on the roster who projects as an All-Star, Robbins claims, even though Orlando picked second in 2013, fourth and 12th in 2014 and fifth in 2015. Former GM Rob Hennigan had planned to build through the draft, but the front office didn’t have the eye for talent to make it work.
- Euroleague star Darius Miller will have an upcoming workout with the Magic, tweets international writer David Pick. Miller formerly played for Brose Bamburg in Germany, and Barcelona is making a strong bid to sign the 27-year-old forward. Miller was drafted by New Orleans with the 46th pick in 2012 and stayed with the team until he was waived in 2014.
Southeast Notes: Howard, Billups, Frazier, Wade
Dwight Howard, recently traded to the Hornets from the Hawks, discussed his excitement to be in Charlotte, relays Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Howard spoke glowingly about his new owner, Michael Jordan:
“I’d just done a 2 ½-hour workout. After I was done talking to him, I wanted to jump back into the gym. That’s how he motivated me. You’re talking about the greatest basketball player to ever play. For him to call you on the phone and say, ‘I believe in you!’ ”
Howard also discussed his reunion with head coach Steve Clifford, his disappointment of lasting just one season with him hometown team, and how he will make a difference in the Charlotte community.
Here’s more from the Southeast division:
- Hawks GM Travis Schlenk says that three or four teams were interested in trading for Dwight Howard, but the Hornets made the best offer, tweets Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal- Constitution.
- While the Cavaliers await a decision from Chauncey Billups, another team covets the former NBA Finals MVP’s wisdom in the front office: the Hawks, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Billups recently interviewed for a front-office position with Atlanta.
- Hornets GM Rich Cho says the team will be looking for a backup point guard and more overall depth in free agency, tweets Jordan Greer of The Sporting News.
- The Magic‘s new president of basketball operations, Jeff Weltman, explains why the team traded two picks in a deep draft, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Weltman explained: “We felt that at a certain point that the draft flattened out, and once we got past that point, we had three more picks, and we didn’t want to bring four rookies in. So what we did is we tried to identify kids that we thought could possibly be there later that we liked as much [as a] higher [pick]. And could we defer those assets [and] move them along to maybe turn them into future pieces and still come up with something that we liked?”
- The Wizards believe that Tim Frazier can contribute right away, reports Chase Hughnes of CSN Mid-Atlantic, in an interesting piece full of great quotes from Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and head coach Scott Brooks.
- Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel writes that Dwyane Wade, who has come up often as a Heat target this offseason, is not necessarily leaving Chicago so soon despite the Bulls’ obvious entrance into rebuilding mode after dealing Jimmy Butler on draft day.
Magic Trade 25th Pick To Sixers
The Sixers acquired the rights to Orlando’s pick at No. 25 and used it to select Anzejs Pasecniks, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. Orlando will receive a 2020 first-rounder that originally belonged to the Thunder and the less favorable pick of the Nets’ and Knicks’ 2020 second-rounders, according to David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link).
Pasecniks is a 7’2″ center out of Latvia who is a former teammate of Knicks star Kristaps Porzingis. He weighs just 226 pounds and will need to add bulk to be effective in the NBA, so he may have to spend at least one more season overseas.
Orlando came into tonight with four picks, but wound up with just Jonathan Isaac at No. 6, plus whomever it takes at No. 33. The 35th selection was traded to the Grizzlies in a separate deal.
The 2020 first-round pick headed to Orlando in the deal is top-20 protected in 2020, ’21, and ’22. If it doesn’t convey in one of those three years, Orlando would instead received the Thunder’s 2022 and 2023 second-round picks.
Grizzlies Acquire 35th Pick From Magic
Memphis has reached a deal with Orlando to acquire the 35th pick in the draft, tweets Adrian Wojnarowki of The Vertical. In return, the Magic will receive Brooklyn’s second-rounder in 2019, according to Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link).
It would have been the third pick of the night for Orlando, which already took Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac at No. 6 and owns Toronto’s selection at No. 25.
The Grizzlies came into tonight with no picks. Their first-rounder was sent to Cleveland in a 2013 deal and then went to Denver, Portland and Sacramento, which wound up with Harry Giles at No. 20. The Nuggets own Memphis’ second-rounder at No. 49.
Draft Notes: Jackson, Ball, Ntilikina, Smith
Kansas forward Josh Jackson wanted to work out for the Celtics after they traded for the No. 3 pick, but couldn’t work out the scheduling, tweets Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. The Celtics are reportedly deciding between Jackson and Duke forward Jayson Tatum if they decide to keep the pick, and Tatum held a workout in Boston on Monday.
Jackson added that he has spoken to Celtics rookie Jaylen Brown and believes they would form a good combination (Twitter link). The former Jayhawk also disputed a rumor that he refused to work out for the team unless he was promised Boston wouldn’t trade its pick (Twitter link).
There’s more as the top prospects met with the media today in New York:
- Lonzo Ball confirmed to reporters his only pre-draft meeting was with the Lakers, tweets Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. Ball also believes L.A. traded D’Angelo Russell to open up a spot for him and he can see that “the Lakers have a plan.” He adds that the Lakers haven’t promised to take him, relays Adam Zagoria of Fanrag Sports (Twitter link), saying, “We’ll just find out tomorrow night.” Ball also explained why he turned down a session with the Celtics when they had the top pick, tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. “If it’s either play for the hometown or go No. 1, I’d rather play for the hometown,” Ball said.
- Frank Ntilikina met with the Knicks front office today, including team president Phil Jackson, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The French point guard, who is reportedly in strong consideration with New York’s No. 8 pick, said the team wanted to meet him in person.
- Dennis Smith Jr. also met with Jackson and the Knicks front office, Begley relays (Twitter link). The North Carolina State point guard believes he can be effective in the triangle offense.
- Indiana’s OG Anunoby said doctors have assured him that he can resume basketball activities by October or early November, according to Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated (Twitter link). Anunoby had surgery on his right knee after a season-ending injury in January.
- Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen was a Timberwolves fan growing up, and Minnesota was among the four teams he worked out for, Fischer tweets. The others were the Mavericks, Celtics and Magic, and he had a meeting with the Knicks.
- Gonzaga’s Zach Collins had private workouts with the Magic, Wolves, Kings, Mavericks and Suns, and a group session with the Lakers, Fischer relays (Twitter link).
- Duke’s Luke Kennard held individual workouts for the Lakers, Pistons, Knicks and Mavericks (Twitter link).
- The Nets and Bulls were among the teams to work out international big man Isaiah Hartenstein leading up to the draft, tweets David Pick.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Hawks, Workouts
The Celtics and Sixers have been active this offseason and are poised to make significant moves both in this Thursday’s NBA Draft and free agency. However, those teams’ upgrades highlight the Wizards‘ potential lack of movement this offseason, Candace Buckner of The Washington Post writes.
Philadelphia acquired Boston’s first overall pick in exchange for its third overall pick and is poised to land Washington’s Markelle Fultz at No. 1. Meanwhile, the Celtics picked up another future first-rounder and are monitoring the free agent and trade market, with names like Jimmy Butler, Paul George, and even Kristaps Porzingis at the forefront. The Sixers also still have last year’s first overall pick, Ben Simmons, who missed 2016/17 due to injury, ready to go.
“If you’re a Philly fan, you’ve got to be thrilled. These are the kinds of moves you want to see, and if you’re a Boston fan, you have to feel great as well,” one longtime Eastern Conference scout said to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity. “How that affects [Washington]? It’s like you’re a bystander.”
Here are additional notes around the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks enter Thursday’s draft with the 19th overall pick and while the team may look to move up, general manager Travis Schlenk says it’s not a priority, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.
- Assistant coach Neven Spahija has been granted Mike Budenholzer’s blessing to leave the Hawks and sign as head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv through 2020, according to David Pick (via Twitter).
- The Wizards are set to host their final pre-draft workout and J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic tweets that the attendees will include international prospect Alpha Kaba, Cincinnati’s Troy Caupain, VCU’s JeQuan Lewis., Hartford’s Jalen Ross, Tennessee State’s Tahjere McCall, and East Tennessee State’s Hanner Mosquera-Perea.
- Walt Disney and the Magic have agreed to a three-year agreement to have the Disney logo appear on jerseys starting in 2017/18, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel writes. The Magic become the eight team to secure a sponsorship deal with players wearing logos on jerseys. Check out the full list here.
- Kansas State’s Wesley Iwundu is scheduled to have a second workout with the Magic, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). The Magic have the 25th, 33rd, and 35th picks in the draft.
Cavs Rumors: Griffin, LeBron, Butler, Love, Irving
In the wake of David Griffin‘s departure from the Cavaliers, rumors have been swirling about the circumstances that led the two sides to part ways, the deals Griffin was pursuing while he was still employed, and what the Cavs may do now that he’s gone.
We have a ton of Cavs rumors to pass along, so we’ll break them down into sections, focusing on Griffin, the front office, and trade-related reports…
David Griffin:
- Griffin had become pessimistic about his future in Cleveland during the last few months of the 2016/17 season, and had kept an eye on other job openings around the NBA, according to Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. The ESPN duo suggests Griffin expressed interest in the Magic and Bucks jobs through back-channels, but wasn’t given permission to speak to those teams by owner Dan Gilbert.
- According to Windhorst and McMenamin, Gilbert occasionally inserted himself into trade talks during Griffin’s tenure as GM, calling another team’s owner directly and derailing Griffin’s plans.
- Gilbert and Griffin had a long meeting last Friday, which didn’t go well, per Windhorst and McMenamin. Griffin wanted a significant pay raise and a promotion, while Gilbert wanted better communication and more aggression from his GM.
- LeBron James was “disappointed” by Griffin’s departure, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (Twitter link). LeBron suggested as much on his own Twitter account, telling Griffin that he appreciated his work for the franchise even if “no one” else did.
- Griffin was among the NBA’s lowest-paid general managers, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Previous reports indicated that Griffin was making less than $2MM per year.
Front office:
- League sources tell ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter link) that former Bucks assistant GM Justin Zanik would be a strong candidate to work in the Cavaliers‘ front office if Chauncey Billups is hired. Zanik left Milwaukee this week after the team passed him over for a GM promotion.
- LeBron is keeping an open mind about the Cavaliers‘ front office shakeup, according to David Aldridge, who tweets that James is “very serious about structure” and wants to see who the team brings in.
Trade rumors:
- On Monday, Griffin called several teams about possible trades and told the Bulls he might be able to land a top-five pick if they were willing to trade Jimmy Butler, per Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. According to the ESPN duo, the Cavaliers were making an effort to work out a three-team trade involving Kevin Love and the Suns‘ No. 4 overall pick.
- Even after Griffin’s departure, talks involving Love remain ongoing and the Cavaliers continue to gauge the status of Jimmy Butler, says Sam Amico of AmicoHoops.net (Twitter links).
- Some Cavaliers players, including LeBron and Kyrie Irving, have reached out to Butler directly to gauge his interest in coming to the Cavs, and those players were encouraged by what they heard, Cleveland sources tell Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. One source tells Cowley that Butler may even push the Bulls front office to get a deal done, though as Cowley notes, that would be a major departure for Butler, who has talked about wanting to remain in Chicago.
- Multiple teams have spoken to the Cavaliers about Irving, according to Amico, who adds (via Twitter) that Griffin was unwilling to move the star point guard. Cowley notes in his report that Irving has told some of his Team USA teammates that he might be open to a trade if it starts to look like LeBron will leave in 2018, and the Bulls are one team he’d be interested in. I’m extremely skeptical about the idea of an Irving trade — I think things would have to really go downhill in Cleveland following Griffin’s dismissal for that to be a realistic option.
Magic Have Shown Serious Interest In Jayson Tatum
- The Magic have shown “serious interest” in Jayson Tatum, but Ford thinks he’ll be off the board at No. 6, and has Orlando picking Jonathan Isaac instead.
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