Draft Notes: Heat, Celtics, Magic
With the draft roughly one month away, let’s keep track of today’s latest news here..
- Jordan Adams will work out for the Heat on Thursday, a source told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The shooting guard out of UCLA is currently slated to go to the Heat at No. 26 in DraftExpress’ mock.
- The Celtics will host Kyle Anderson and DeAndre Daniels for a workout on June 3rd, a source tells Goodman (Twitter link). Anderson will also workout for the Hawks on Thursday (link).
- The Magic will workout Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart tomorrow, tweets Goodman. Orlando will also meet with Duke’s Rodney Hood (link). Earlier this month, I talked with the shooting guard about his NBA goals and where he sees himself going in the draft.
- The Heat will host a draft workout on Tuesday that will include P.J. Hairston, Cleathony Early, and Daniels, a source tells Goodman (link).
Draft Rumors: Harris, Young, Robinson, Smart
NBA executives are gathered in Southern California for a series of workouts involving draft hopefuls, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com passes along some intel in an Insider-only piece. Gary Harris has used hot shooting to impress and he’s a likely top-10 pick, Ford believes. He’ll work out for the Celtics and Bulls. among other teams, according to Ford. James Young is drawing interest from a slew of teams, including the Hornets, Sixers, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves and Suns, while many clubs are high on Glenn Robinson III after he performed well in a workout for the Bulls this past Monday, Ford writes. Here’s more on the draft:
- Marcus Smart has workouts scheduled with the Magic and Celtics, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter links).
- Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times adds the Nuggets to the list of teams that interviewed Aaron Gordon at last week’s draft combine in Chicago.
- The Clippers, Pacers, Pistons and Wizards are among the clubs interested in Virginia swingman Joe Harris, Woelfel writes in the same piece, reiterating that the Bucks are eyeing him, too. Harris spoke to Zach Links of Hoops Rumors recently for our Prospect Profile series.
- Chane Behanan will work out for the Mavs next month, Goodman also tweets.
Michael Carter-Williams Leads All-Rookie Team
Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams headlines the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team, which also features Victor Oladipo, Trey Burke, Mason Plumlee and Tim Hardaway Jr. The Second Team is composed of Kelly Olynyk, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gorgui Dieng, Cody Zeller and Steven Adams. Carter-Williams was a unanimous first-team selection among the media members who voted for the award. Had Kevin Calabro of ESPN Radio not left Oladipo off his ballot entirely, the Magic guard would have been a unanimous first-teamer, too.
Still, the first team is made up of the only five players who received first-place votes for Rookie of the Year. Ben McLemore was the player with the most All-Rookie votes not to make either the first or the second team, and 29 players received at least one vote for one of the teams. That includes 2013 No. 1 overall pick Anthony Bennett, who drew a single second-team vote.
Only three of the top 10 picks from the 2013 draft appear on either All-Rookie Team. Still, all 10 players selected to the team were first-round picks, with Hardaway, the 24th overall selection, the last to come off the board on draft night a year ago.
Kyler’s Latest: Lee, Magic, Cavs, Bucks, Sixers
The Magic aren’t quite as high on David Lee as a report earlier this week made it appear, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, who suggests trading for him is one of a number of options the team is considering. Kyler concentrates most of the rest of his NBA AM piece on the draft, and we’ll round up some of the highlights here:
- The Cavs regard Jabari Parker as a notch below Joel Embiid and Andrew Wiggins, Kyler hears.
- Parker and Dante Exum are the top two prospects in the eyes of the Bucks, according to Kyler. That conflicts with Wednesday’s report from Chad Ford of ESPN.com, who identified Embiid, Wiggins and Exum as the first three on Milwaukee’s list.
- The Sixers are “lukewarm” on Embiid, sources tell Kyler, who notes that Philadelphia is high on Wiggins and Exum. Noah Vonleh and Aaron Gordon are players who intrigue the team, too, Kyler writes, though the Sixers would probably have to trade up from No. 10 or down from No. 3 if they were to draft either of those two.
- Wiggins, Parker and Exum seem like the Magic‘s top three targets, as Kyler indicates.
- The Jazz appear to be among the most flexible teams, willing to trade up, down or out of the draft altogether, according to Kyler.
Chad Ford On NBA Draft
With the draft order now set, the speculation can truly begin as to what each team will do in June’s NBA Draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com held his weekly chat and here are some of the highlights:
- Though the Cavaliers currently have Jabari Parker at the top of their draft board, Ford believes they will end up selecting Andrew Wiggins with the first overall pick.
- The only way the Cavs trade the top pick is for a young, star-caliber player like Kevin Love, opines Ford.
- The top three players on the Bucks draft board are Joel Embiid, Wiggins, and Dante Exum, per Ford.
- The Magic are looking at taking a point guard with the number four overall pick, reports Ford. The team’s top two choices would be Exum and Marcus Smart. Ford also believes that with the 12th pick, the team will focus on acquiring outside shooting.
- Ford believes the Jazz are likely to select Noah Vonleh with the fifth selection, unless they attempt to trade up to snag Exum.
- Being slotted sixth makes the Celtics more likely to try and trade their pick for established talent, notes Ford. If they keep the pick, he believes that Aaron Gordon would be the choice of GM Danny Ainge.
- The Lakers are in a similar position to the Celtics in regard to trading their pick, opines Ford. If they keep the pick, he sees either Julius Randle, Smart, or Dario Saric being their favorites.
- Ford’s sleeper picks for the draft are Mitch McGary, Jarnell Stokes, and Elfrid Payton.
Magic To Pursue David Lee?
The Magic are a team “to watch out for” with the Warriors becoming more open to trading David Lee, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. New Warriors coach Steve Kerr has expressed a desire for a stretch power forward, and GM Bob Myers is also eyeing additional shooting, signaling a willingness to shed Lee, largely a traditional power forward.
Thompson suggests the Magic’s failure to land a top-three pick in the draft lottery will make the team more willing to take on Lee to solidify a frontcourt that lacks a marquee power forward. That rests largely on the supposition that the Magic don’t end up with a big man like Julius Randle or Noah Vonleh with the No. 4 overall pick next month, of course. Thompson casts doubt on Golden State’s ability to land Kevin Love, even in the wake of a report identifying the Warriors as a prime contender him, but Thompson asserts that Arron Afflalo, who like Love went to UCLA, would help attract the Timberwolves star.
It’s nonetheless unclear whether the Warriors are indeed interested in Afflalo or anyone in particular as they ponder a trade for Lee, who’s due more than $30.5MM over the next two seasons. The Magic are one of the few teams with the cap flexibility and the organizational patience to absorb that sort of contract attached to a player who’s not a superstar, so they make sense as a destination for Lee if Orlando has assets that intrigue the Warriors enough to motivate them into a move. The only real pressure on the Warriors to make a drastic change this summer would be self-created, as I wrote last week when I looked ahead at Golden State’s offseason.
Lottery Fodder: Jazz, Kings, Hornets, Magic
With the order set for June’s NBA Draft, it’s only natural that we see an influx of mock drafts in the coming days. But Tuesday’s lottery tells us only the assets that most teams will start their draft process with, as plenty can happen between now and draft night on June 26th. After all, eight teams possess multiple first round picks with the Suns leading the way with three. The Sixers, meanwhile, have two picks in round one and five in round two, giving them plenty of ammo to pursue moves.
There’s a lot of draft fodder to come over the next five weeks, but let’s take a look at what is being said by the league’s decision-makers fresh off of Tuesday night’s lottery results:
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey, who owns picks five, 23 and 35, said that Utah may try to package those assets in a deal to move up, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune writes that it’s hard not to look at Tuesday night as a letdown, adding that the Utah front office extolled the depth of this year’s draft class.
- Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee spoke to Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro, whose team landed the eighth selection in the draft. D’Alessandro indicated that the Kings would be open to dealing the pick if a “game-changing” talent doesn’t fall to them. They could also trade up, Jones says, or looks to acquire a second round pick in what is a deep draft. (Twitter links)
- Citing the franchise’s history of executing draft-related trades, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer predicts the Hornets will attempt to turn picks nine, 24 and 45, along with $17MM in cap space, into something bigger. Now that they have a centerpiece in Al Jefferson and assets to deal, Bonnell speculates the team could kick the tires on Kevin Love or restricted free agents Greg Monroe and Gordon Hayward.
- The Magic will pick in the dreaded fourth position come June, presumably unable to land Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker or Joel Embiid unless something drastic changes by draft night. While there was plenty of disappointment in Orlando, Magic GM Rob Hennigan remained upbeat, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “Certainly we would have liked to have seen the highest number possible for us. I think all the teams would. But we like where we’re sitting. We feel like we can get a good player, and we feel like we’ve got our work cut out for us here the next couple of weeks to figure out exactly who that is.”
Magic To Partner With Erie BayHawks
MAY 19TH: The deal is now official, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
MAY 9TH: An official announcement of the new arrangement will be made the week of May 19th, reports Gino Pilato of D-League Digest.
APRIL 15TH: The Erie BayHawks will serve as the Magic’s D-League affiliate in a one-to-one relationship next season, sources tell Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The Knicks announced this spring that they’re ending their hybrid partnership with the BayHawks after the season and starting a D-League expansion team that will serve as their affiliate. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported in February that the Magic had been in talks with an existing D-League team about forming a one-to-one relationship, and Zillgitt reveals it was indeed the BayHawks.
The Magic are one of six teams sharing the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season, and they haven’t made a D-League assignment in 2013/14, even though their roster is full of young, developing players. GM Rob Hennigan and company apparently want to make better use of the D-League, despite the approximately 1,000-mile distance between Orlando and Erie, Pennsylvania that will make it tough for the club to liberally shuttle players back and forth as many teams with closer affiliates do. Still, it’s only about half the distance separating the Heat from their one-to-one affiliate in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
There were 14 NBA teams this season with a one-to-one D-League affiliation. The Pistons will also join that list next season, while the Blazers are ending their relationship with the Idaho Stampede and will share an affiliate in 2014/15. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another team strike a direct partnership with the Stampede before next season. The number of teams with one-to-one affiliates has grown in the past few years, and the D-League hopes someday to have a club lined up with each NBA team.
The hybrid partnership means the Magic will run the basketball operations for the BayHawks, while Erie’s owners will take care of the business end of the club. There are seven NBA franchises that have similar arrangements with a D-League team this season, while other NBA clubs own their affiliates outright.
Draft Rumors: Harris, Smart, Jazz, Magic
With the Chicago predraft combine wrapping up, Jeremy Bauman of Sheridan Hoops looks at a number of prospects that increased their draft stock with their performances. These players include Zach LaVine, Kyle Anderson, Elfrid Payton, James Young, and Jordan Clarkson. More on the draft front:
- The athletic testing results from the combine are in and Draft Express runs them down.
- Gary Harris was invited to the Draft Lottery broadcast by the NBA as part of a 10-player group deemed the top-10 prospects, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The inviation, which Harris declined, could signify a boost in his draft stock. Some projections, including Jonathan Givony’s at DraftExpress, have had Harris well outside of the top 10.
- In a combine wrap-up, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes that Marcus Smart stood out as an exceptional physical specimen and hard worker among the point guards in attendance.
- Dante Exum fared well during interviews at the combine, a team official who met with the Aussie tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. “He seems like a really good kid,” the official said. “He’s confident, but not cocky. Now we have to see if he can play.” With far less exposure than the other prospects at the top of the draft, Exum hopes to impress teams during his individual workouts.
- If Joel Embiid doesn’t clear medically prior to the draft, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that the big man could drop out of the top five. Embiid sat out of combine activities as he recovers from a back injury suffered late in his season at Kansas.
- Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey told Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune that he “has to listen to everything” when asked about whether he was willing to trade Utah’s draft picks (Twitter link).
- The Magic aren’t trying to trade away their extra first round pick, according to Kyler (on Twitter).
- Tommy Dee of Sheridan Hoops looks at some of the older draft prospects, laying out why each could follow in Damian Lillard‘s footsteps in making an impact exceeding many of the younger, more well-known players from the same talent pool.
- Joe Kotoch of Sheridan Hoops released his second mock draft of the year.
- Earlier, we passed along word that we could be in for a busy pre-draft trade season.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Ross, Adams, Gordon, McAdoo
Celtcis GM Danny Ainge tells Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald that he isn’t sure that the team could find a premier scorer in this year’s draft. “There are a lot of good players in this draft, guys that can be starters and guys that can play major roles on really good teams,” Ainge said. “But I’m not sure that there are those 20-to-25-point-a-game guys.” Here’s more from the draft:
- Adi Joseph of USA Today notes some of the more remarkable measurements taken at the combine. Joseph thinks LaQuinton Ross‘s draft stock will take a hit due to his poor conditioning being evident in drills and tests
- UCLA guard Jordan Adams interviewed with the Magic at the combine today, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).
- NBA scouts are high enough on Aaron Gordon for Paul Coro of azcentral.com to consider the forward a “surefire” lottery pick.
- Numerous NBA sources lead Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com to believe that James McAdoo could slide out of the draft completely. McAdoo is currently projected as a late second-rounder.
- Noah Vonleh has been generating positive buzz during the combine, but Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that he hasn’t gotten the sense that Julius Randle is in danger of being surpassed by the fellow big on teams’ draft boards.
- Mark Deeks of Hoop365.com looks at the factors leading a player like the 7’5″ Sim Bhullar to leave school early and declare for the draft, despite not being projected to be selected.
- While some of the scouting benefits of the pre-draft combine are diminished when elite prospects skip the event, Jodie Valade of The Plain Dealer says that the gathering still holds value as a networking event for front office executives looking to discuss trades and make hires.
Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.