Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Evening
9:03pm: We'll post any remaining evening updates from Chicago here:
- Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy tweets that international prospect Mouhammadou Jaiteh will forego Eurocamp and will work out for NBA teams instead, possibly as early as a group workout with Minnesota.
- The Oregonian's Jason Quick reports that the Trail Blazers met with James Southerland yesterday.
2:47pm: More afternoon combine updates from Chicago:
- Ben McLemore has already interviewed with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans, according to SI.com's Chris Mannix (via Twitter). McLemore expects to meet with the Bobcats, Magic, and Pistons tonight, according to various reports (all Twitter links).
- Victor Oladipo will also meet with the Pistons tonight, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter) adds Otto Porter to the list of prospects interviewed by the Timberwolves, but says the T-Wolves won't get a chance to meet with Oladipo, who was on the team's wish list.
- Jamaal Franklin tells Jason Quick of the Oregonian that when he met with the Trail Blazers yesterday, the whole meeting consisted of a psychological test (Twitter link).
- Andre Roberson met with the Magic yesterday, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter).
- Shams Charania of RealGM.com has a list of the 12 prospects the Bulls plan to work out on Monday (Twitter link).
- Jeff Withey is "extremely excited" to be meeting with the Sixers, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
1:35pm: We covered the Thursday morning updates from Chicago's predraft camp earlier today, but with so many tidbits surfacing throughout the day, we're starting an afternoon post to round up the latest notes:
- ESPN.com's Chad Ford hears that two international prospects have received first-round guarantees: Dennis Schroeder and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Twitter link).
- Michael Carter-Williams has met with several teams, including the Trail Blazers, Bobcats, Pistons, Timberwolves, and Thunder, according to various reports (all links go to Twitter). Carter-Williams is hearing he could be drafted anywhere between third and 15th overall, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- We heard this morning that the Celtics had spoken to Cody Zeller and Glen Rice Jr. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe adds a few more names to the list of Boston interviewees (via Twitter): Mason Plumlee, Rudy Gobert, and Victor Oladipo.
- C.J. McCollum won't meet with the Trail Blazers this week, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (Twitter link). However, he will meet with the Pistons tomorrow, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (via Twitter), and has already interviewed with the Magic, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). SI.com's Chris Mannix (Twitter link) adds the Thunder, Nuggets, and Cavaliers to the list of teams who have spoekn to McCollum, who has 15 total interviews scheduled.
- Robbins notes in a separate tweet that the Magic also met with Myck Kabongo.
- Isaiah Canaan will meet with the Wizards on Friday, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
- Canaan, Andre Roberson, and Grant Jerrett all met with the Pistons last night, tweets Langlois.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (via Twitter) that the Bucks met with Shane Larkin yesterday and will work him out later this month.
- Erik Murphy has interviews lined up with the Grizzlies, Clippers, and possibly the Pacers, tweets Robbins.
- Seth Curry will meet today with the Lakers, Rockets, and Knicks, tweets Bonnell.
Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Morning
11:56am: More A.M. updates out of Chicago:
- Nerlens Noel told reporters that he hasn't completed any interviews so far, but that he's "pretty sure" he has one scheduled with the Magic. He's not quite so sure about the Cavaliers (Twitter links).
- Steven Adams and Kelly Olynyk are among the prospects that have met with the Wizards so far and think they'd fit in well in Washington (Twitter links). Mason Plumlee is also on the Wizards' list, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
- Olynyk has met with the Bobcats as well, says Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
- Gorgui Dieng will work out for the Bucks, who will also interview Rudy Gobert and Plumlee, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter links).
- A couple notes from SI.com's Chriss Mannix (via Twitter): Cody Zeller has spoken to the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Rockets, and Celtics, while Mike Muscala only has interviews lined up with the Spurs and Hawks, but will do "nine or 10" workouts later. One of those workouts will be with the Blazers, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
- Shabazz Muhammad and Deshaun Thomas interviewed with the Timberwolves last night, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
11:09am: With a number of reporters in attendance at the NBA's predraft camp in Chicago, we're expecting plenty of noteworthy tidbits to trickle in throughout the day. Here's a round-up of the first batch of updates on 2013's draft combine participants:
- According to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), the Cavaliers aren't on Otto Porter's list of teams he's meeting with this week. That's a bit of a surprise, given the rumblings that he's high on the team's big board, though as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer tweets, the Cavs drafted a pair of players they didn't interview last year.
- Porter is scheduled to meet with the Wizards, who spoke to Victor Oladipo earlier this week, tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Porter will meet with the Pistons as well, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Bobcats, Thunder, and Suns have already met with Porter, according to Lee (via Twitter).
- The Pistons are also prepared to meet with Shabazz Muhammad today, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Muhammad interviewed with the Trail Blazers yesterday and felt it went very well, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
- Nate Wolters and Adonis Thomas were among the prospects who have met with the Lakers so far, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
- Glen Rice Jr., who played in the D-League this past season, has been interviewed by the Bucks, Celtics, Warriors, Sixers, and Spurs, he confirmed to reporters (all Twitter links).
Odds & Ends: Thompson, Ellis, Hollins, Turkoglu
Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski looks back to June 2011, when Warriors' GM Bob Myers had worries about not being able to select Klay Thompson knowing that either the Spurs could possibly trade up in the draft to get him or that the Bucks were planning to select him with the 10th overall pick. As it would turn out, San Antonio would wind up trading for the 15th pick (Kawhi Leonard) and the Kings landed the 10th pick to select Jimmer Fredette, leaving the sharpshooting Washington State forward right into the hands of Golden State. Here are a few more miscellaneous notes to share along this evening:
- AJ Mitnick of Sheridan Hoops fills us in on the "best of the bunch" in terms of international prospects in this year's draft.
- The 76ers aren't expected to hold most of their interviews for their head coaching search until after the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp, writes Tom Moore of phillyBurbs.com, although there is a possibility that the team could conduct some during camp.
- According to this report by the Detroit Free Press, the Pistons are widely known to be seeking perimeter help heading into the draft but could look to add more to their frontcourt.
- Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that the Lakers have granted the Cavaliers permission to interview Phil Handy about joining Mike Brown's coaching staff in Cleveland.
- When asked about the trade that sent Monta Ellis to Milwaukee for Andrew Bogut, Warriors head coach Mark Jackson told reporters that letting Ellis go helped change the culture of the team, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (Sulia link).
- ESPN's Chris Broussard tweets that Lionel Hollins will be highly coveted if the Grizzlies opt to not re-sign him this summer, adding that the Nets would figure to be among the interested teams.
- Heat owner Mickey Arison engaged in some civil discourse with a fan on Twitter regarding the possibility that Seattle loses out on their bid for the Kings (credit goes to SportsRadioKJR.com). Arison made it clear that he believes that the city of Sacramento has done enough to warrant keeping the team, and refuted the notion that Seattle had put forth the same effort in 2008 before the Sonics franchise ultimately moved to Oklahoma City.
- John Denton of NBA.com writes that Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu understands the current youth movement of the franchise and that his time in Orlando could be over within the next coming months.
- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter) reports that Lakers big man Pau Gasol will be held out of basketball activities for the next three months after undergoing an operation on his knee today.
Odds & Ends: Rockets, McLemore, Horford
The future looks very bright for the Rockets, and Jonathan Feigen of Ultimate Rockets hears from GM Daryl Morey that the organization is set on building around the current core of players: “We’re very excited about the foundation…We were careful to make sure all the key pieces could stay. People are going to see mostly the same team back next year because of that." Considering that they're a young team that pushed the Thunder to six games after being down three games to none – along with the emergence of Patrick Beverley - it's difficult to disagree with the optimism in Houston. Here are a few more miscellaneous links we've gathered up tonight:
- Eric Prisbell of USA Today reports that NBA draft hopeful Ben McLemore's AAU coach received cash and other benefits in order to help influence the former Kansas Jayhawk to leave college after one season and declare for the draft.
- Hoopsworld's Steve Kyler tweets that Al Horford is a player that the Hawks would like to keep rather than trade as the team handles a roster that could be in heavy flux.
- Kyler also says that the front runners to sign Josh Smith this summer will be the teams that miss out on Dwight Howard (Twitter link).
- Magic CEO Alex Martins doesn't foresee a long rebuilding period in Orlando and is confident that the team can return to title contention in the near future (John Denton of Magic.com).
- Hawks GM Danny Ferry feels that the 2012-13 season was a very significant year in terms of taking the initial steps toward becoming a contender and likes the flexibility that his team has moving forward (ESPN via the Associated Press).
- Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group looks back on the 10 most important moves the Warriors made to build the team that starts the second round Sunday against the Spurs.
- According to a report from Sportando, Leones de Ponce of Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico have released Garret Siler and replaced him with Mike Harris.
Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Magic, Hornets, Noel, Len
While fans of playoff teams are watching to see if their favorite clubs can make it through to the second round, fans of lottery teams are still playing the waiting game. May 21st's draft lottery is still almost three weeks away, but at least this year's draft class has been finalized, with the NBA announcing this year's complete list of early entrants yesterday. As lottery teams continue to look ahead to the combine and lottery on the way later this month, here are a few draft-related updates:
- Sources around the NBA have told Joe Kotoch of SheridanHoops.com that the Magic and Pelicans would "strongly" consider trading down if either team were to win the draft lottery and land the No. 1 pick. We didn't see any top-10 picks traded last June, but perhaps that will change this year, given the general belief that the 2013 class is significantly weaker.
- Speaking of that first overall pick, Nerlens Noel continues to be ranked No. 1 on Chad Ford's big board at ESPN.com (Insider-only link), though there are plenty of other changes in Ford's list. C.J. McCollum, Dario Saric, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are among the risers, with all three ranked in lottery territory now.
- Although Noel remains atop Ford's list, fellow ESPN.com scribe Fran Fraschilla (Insider link) makes the case for taking Maryland big man Alex Len over the Kentucky center.
- Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com explains why McCollum and Gorgui Dieng could make sense as draft targets for the Mavericks.
Odds & Ends: J.R. Smith, Celtics, Davis, Jack
J.R. Smith is likely to opt out of his deal for next season with the Knicks, and once he does, he'll be looking for a long-term deal, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. While Smith's comments suggest he'd favor the Knicks over other teams, New York can't do any better than a four-year deal worth about $25MM, since they only have his Early Bird rights. As our Ryan Raroque surmised when he looked at Smith's free agent stock, the Sixth Man of the Year will be able to command a hefty raise on his $2.8MM salary this season. We'll soon find out whether the Knicks' best offer will be enough.
Washburn has more on the NBA as part of his weekly column, and we'll round that up along with other Sunday afternoon tidbits here:
- Washburn gets former NBA executive Tom Penn's take on the future of the Celtics, and hears from Glen Davis of the Magic, who says he's willing to stick it out through the team's rebuilding process.
- Jarrett Jack is adamant that he'll prioritize a return to the Warriors in free agency this summer, even if it means passing up the opportunity to become a starter elsewhere, as he tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
- Bucks center Joel Przybilla saw a total of just 68 minutes this season, but he says he's healthy and believes he can still play in the NBA next season, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- Shooting guard Trey Johnson and Italian club Angelico Biella have parted ways, Sportando's Emiliano Carchia reports (Twitter link). Johnson appeared in 11 games with the Pelicans in 2011/12, and has also spent time with the Cavaliers, Raptors and Lakers.
- Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress already had Giannis Adetokunbo on his list of early entrants for the draft, as did we, and agent Giorgos Dimitropoulos confirms the Greek swingman has officially declared, Givony tweets.
Odds & Ends: Brown, Turkoglu, Celtics, Cavs
The Cavaliers bringing Mike Brown back as coach in an effort to woo LeBron James in the summer of 2014 is just the latest example of the NBA being a player's league, writes Jan Hubbard of Sheridan Hoops. Of course, Brown was fired three years ago in an effort to appease James, but since the star appears to be fond of him once again, Cleveland hopes that the hire will be enough to move the needle in their direction. Here's more from around the league..
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel outlined the issues facing the Magic this offseason. One of Orlando's toughest tasks will be finding a taker for Hedo Turkoglu and his $12MM salary for next season. Only half of the veteran's salary is guaranteed, however, and the club is expected to waive him if they cannot work out a trade.
- In time, aging Celtics veterans Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry will have to evaluate their futures in the league, writes Tom Layman of the Boston Herald. If the C's wind up getting eliminated in the first round by the Knicks, they may be forced to make significant changes this offseason.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer looked at the journey that Brown took from being the head coach of the Lakers to rehired by the Cavs.
Southeast Notes: Magic, Vucevic, Bobcats
Here's a look at the Southeast Division as the Heat look to go up 2-0 on the Bucks..
- While Nik Vucevic is getting noticed, he's not considered totally untouchable to the Magic, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel (on Twitter). Orlando, of course, would require a star in exchange for their promising young big man.
- Schmitz tweets that if he was making the decisions for the Magic, he'd try to see what the Clippers want for guard Eric Bledsoe. Earlier this week, Chris Paul opined that Bledsoe should be starting somewhere and is likely to be wearing a different uniform next season. The guard is under contract for about $2.6MM in 2013/14.
- Bobcats executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho sat down with Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer and the Associated Press and Bonnell has the highlights. Higgins indicated that player interviews factored into the club's decision to fire coach Mike Dunlap, but said that they weren't the only element involved. Meanwhile, Cho said that the team won't limit their search to a more experienced coach.
Eastern Rumors: Kenyon, Nets, Magic, 76ers
The playoffs are under way, and the Knicks have drawn first blood, going up 1-0 in their series against the Celtics. That's not the only playoff game in the Big Apple today, as the Nets take on the Bulls tonight in Brooklyn for Game 1 of their series. We rounded up news on New York's pair of NBA teams this morning, and we'll broaden the focus to the Eastern Conference as a whole here:
- Nets GM Billy King said he never considered signing Kenyon Martin, tweets Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Martin, who waited all summer and the majority of the season before the Knicks picked him up in February, had nine rebounds in 28 minutes to help New York open the playoffs with a win, and Bondy counts King's decision to pass up that kind of production as a mistake.
- The Magic have intriguing young pieces in Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and Maurice Harkless, but they lack a sure-fire All-Star, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel concludes as he examines the state of the team's rebuilding effort.
- Still, Orlando's situation should be the envy of the Sixers, opines Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com. While owner Josh Harris asserts that there are "bunch of young assets on this team," Moore sees Jrue Holiday as the only one.
- The Sixers passed on Roy Hibbert, Paul George and Kenneth Faried in recent drafts, as Michael Kaskey-Blomain of the Philadelphia Inquirer notes, wondering what could have been if the team had made the right picks.
- With an eye toward what figures to be an active offseason for the Bobcats, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer assesses each of the players on the team's roster.
Odds & Ends: Magic, Noel, Stan Van Gundy, Curry
The future of the Kings was far from the only issue on the table at the NBA's Board of Governors meeting this week. USA Today's Jeff Zillgitt rounds up the other issues that owners discussed, including human growth hormone testing for players, the effect of widespread reliance on three-pointers, and the possibility of a joint bid for the 2015 All-Star Game between New York and Brooklyn. Here's more from the Association on the eve of the playoffs:
- Magic GM Rob Hennigan has demonstrated a reluctance to pick up players with question marks surrounding their health, but Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel hears they wouldn't hesitate to draft top prospect Nerlens Noel, who tore his left ACL in February.
- Schmitz also hears Stan Van Gundy has no interest in becoming the next coach of the Cavaliers, Sixers or Pistons, the three teams with current coaching vacancies. The former Magic coach has been linked to the openings in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
- Sixers assistant coach Michael Curry will interview for the head job in Philly, but a source tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer that interest from other teams will be high.
- Jamaal Tinsley started 32 games in place of the injured Mo Williams for the Jazz this season, and the 35-year-old Tinsley is convinced he has plenty left, telling Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune he "realistically" thinks he can play for another three or four years in the league (Twitter link).
- A report earlier this season suggested Omri Casspi was thinking about returning to play in his native Israel, but he tells Walla Sport that as long as he receives an offer from an NBA club, he won't play overseas next season (translation via HoopsHype).
- Mike Dunlap is rumored to be in danger of losing his job with the Bobcats, but the team is in no hurry to make its decision about him, preferring to listen to exit interviews and watch the coaching market develop first, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
- Warriors GM Bob Myers told Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group that he had every confidence Stephen Curry would remain healthy when he signed the point guard to his four-year, $44MM extension last fall.