Phoenix Suns Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: NBPA, Hackett, Stoudemire

June 20th, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The way teams discuss their own pending restricted free agents is under fire from the National Basketball Players Association, which has officially taken the position that the traditional “we’ll match any offer” comments so often made by NBA executives are a circumvention of the salary cap in their intent to discourage potential rival bidders, Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes. The league had issued a memo back in November warning teams that, while the NBA itself doesn’t agree with the NBPA’s stance on the matter, league officials see enough potential merit in the union’s stance to advise those who continue with match-any-offer comments that they could be opening themselves up to legal action, Stein notes.

The ESPN scribe’s sources informed him that this impetus stems from Klutch Sports agents Rich Paul and Mark Termini, who urged the NBPA to challenge the way that teams have historically dropped none-too-subtle hints about their plans to match offers in an attempt to depress the market for restricted free agents. This movement stems from the willingness of new NBPA head Michele Roberts to aggressively speak up for the players, Stein adds. It’s not too surprising to see Paul and Termini at the center of this, given that they represent Eric Bledsoe, whose restricted free agency dragged on for months last year after the Suns pledged to match any offer. The duo also represent Tristan Thompson, Cory Joseph and Norris Cole, all of whom could become restricted free agents this offseason.

Here’s more from around the league:

Unrestricted free agent Amar’e Stoudemire said that he’d love to return to the Mavericks next season, but is also potentially interested in returning to play for the Suns or Knicks, Jared Zwerling of BleacherReport tweets.
Euroleague guard Daniel Hackett intends to void his contract with Emporio Armani Milano in order to pursue an NBA contract, David Pick of Eurobasket.com relays (Twitter link). The 27-year-old out of USC went undrafted back in 2009.
The Blazers held workouts on Friday for Gary Bell Jr. (Gonzaga), Seth Gearhart (Rice), Jelani Hewitt (Georgia Southern), Dakari Johnson (Kentucky), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), and Thomas van der Mars (Netherlands), the team announced.

Western Notes: Tomic, Towns, Lakers

June 17th, 2015 at 8:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jazz draft-and-stash prospect Ante Tomic has inked a three year extension with FC Barcelona, Liga Endesa has announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Tomic’s deal runs through June of 2018, and it’s unclear if the arrangement contains an NBA out clause. According to David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link), Tomic used the threat of leaving Barcelona for the NBA as leverage to secure a more lucrative contract overseas.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Potential No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns has a meeting scheduled with the Timberwolves this Friday, Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). It’s unclear if this meeting will just be an interview, or if Towns intends to work out for the team as well, Charania adds.
Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers noted that if the team was to purchase a pick in this year’s NBA Draft, it would likely be a second-rounder so that the team could avoid having to sign the player to a guaranteed contract, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times tweets.
Manhattan forward Emmy Andujar has a workout scheduled with the Rockets, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (on Twitter).
The Lakers will attempt to bring back Emmanuel Mudiay, D’Angelo Russell, and Jahlil Okafor for second looks prior to next week’s NBA Draft, Bill Oram of The Orange County Register tweets.
Texas big man Myles Turner has an individual workout scheduled with the Suns today, Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops relays (via Twitter). In Hoops Rumors’ latest mock draft, Phoenix is tabbed to select Turner with the No. 13 overall pick.
Now that the franchise has secured the NBA Championship, the Warriors have numerous roster decisions that need to be made, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes. The odds of the current roster remaining intact are slim because of the team’s challenging salary cap situation, Taylor notes. This sentiment is shared by pending restricted free agent Draymond Green, who said back in March, “This is a special group, a special bond, so let’s make the best of it, because this team will probably never be together again. That’s just the nature of this business. One addition, one subtraction, and the team isn’t together no more. So take advantage of it while you’ve got it because I’m sure this team will never be together again.”

Danny Granger Opts In With Suns

June 17th, 2015 at 7:09pm CST by Eddie Scarito

7:09pm: The Suns have officially announced that Granger has indeed opted in for next season.

3:21pm: Suns forward Danny Granger has picked up his player option worth $2,170,465 for the 2015/16 season, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). This means that the Creative Artists Agency client, represented by Aaron Mintz, will be eligible to hit unrestricted free agency during the summer of 2016. Granger, who was acquired by Phoenix from the Heat at this season’s trade deadline, has been working with the team’s athletic training staff to overcome health issues associated with his twice-surgically repaired left knee.

The return of Granger now gives the Suns a total of nine players with fully guaranteed deals for next season, and ten players under contract overall including Jerel McNeal‘s non-guaranteed pact. Phoenix now has $42,209,043 in guaranteed money on the books for 2014/15. The franchise also has to make a decision on Brandon Knight, who is eligible to become a restricted free agent, provided that the Suns tender him a qualifying offer worth $4,790,680.

Granger reportedly contemplated retirement after undergoing knee surgery when he was with the Pacers in 2013. But Phoenix’s stellar medical team has him convinced that he can be “fixed,” and return to being a productive player. The 32-year-old did not log a single minute of action for the Suns this season after arriving in Phoenix. He had previously appeared in 30 contests for Miami, averaging 6.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in 20.4 minutes per game. His career stats are 16.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists. His career slash line is .434/.380/.848.

Lottery Notes: Porzingis, Lakers, Sixers, Suns

June 13th, 2015 at 9:40pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kristaps Porzingis‘ impressive workout on Friday is giving the Lakers something to ponder at No. 2, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stein added that the big man is also in play for Philadelphia at No. 3. Multiple sources previously told Chris Mannix of SI.com that Los Angeles has zeroed in on selecting Jahlil Okafor, though that was reported before Porzingis’ workout.

Here’s more from some of the teams in the lottery:

Emmanuel Mudiay is another player that Los Angeles is considering with its No. 2 pick and he is excited about the possibility of playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times writes. “He’s got five championships. He’s a winner. He’s a proven winner,” said Mudiay. “His determination, I’m the same way. If he steps on the court, he’s going to feel like he’s the best player. If I step on the court, I’m going to feel like I’m the best player.”
Joel Embiid was evaluated recently and a standard CT scan on his right foot revealed less healing than anticipated at this point, according to a team press release. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link) adds that Embiid’s participation in summer league is in jeopardy.
The Suns feel like they can get a player they want with the No.13 pick in the draft, Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic writes. “We’re very comfortable staying there and picking there,” GM Ryan McDonough said. “It would have to take a really good offer for us to move the pick. I think it’s unlikely we’ll add an additional first-round pick this year or drop down in the draft. We’ll take those calls if they come to us but we’re comfortable with where we are at 13. We like the pool of players we think will be there.”

And-Ones: Martin, Boatright, Vaughn

June 13th, 2015 at 4:32pm CST by Eddie Scarito

LSU big man Jarell Martin has a mid-first-round draft promise from a team and will likely shut down all workouts, league sources have informed Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Martin is currently the No. 29 ranked prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress slots the 21-year-old as the 41st best player in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Here’s more from around the league:

UConn point guard Ryan Boatright told Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links (Twitter link) that the Clippers, Blazers, and Nets are high on him as a potential draftee. Boatright worked out for Portland earlier this week, is in Los Angeles today, and has a workout scheduled with Brooklyn on Monday.
Duke point guard Tyus Jones has a workout scheduled for Wednesday with the Bulls, a second workout for the Rockets on Friday, and a showcase for the Suns on June 22nd, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets. You can view our full prospect profile for Jones here.
With the free agent signing period looming on the horizon, Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) runs down the ideal free agent fits for teams in the Eastern Conference. Doolittle didn’t neglect the other half of the league, you can view his thoughts on the Western Conference here.
UNLV shooting guard Rashad Vaughn has a workout scheduled for today with the Hawks, and will show the Timberwolves what he is capable of this Monday, Jon Krawczysnki of The Associated Press relays.
Greg Whittington has taken an unorthodox path to the NBA thus far, and the former Georgetown Hoya hopes to overcome his injury woes and hear his name called on draft night, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes.“He’s kind of chosen a difficult path but he has some talent,” said Austin Ainge, the Celtics’ director of player personnel. “So we thought we’d check him out.” A torn ACL ended the big man’s college career, and saw him play in the NBA D-League last season for Westchester, the Knicks‘ affiliate, Blakely adds. “Feeling good,” Whittington said when asked about his recovery. “The knee is better now. It’s been two years since I played. Getting back into this is big.”

Western Notes: Divac, Grizzlies, Pack

June 11th, 2015 at 7:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

One of the strangest aspects of the Kings‘ hiring of Vlade Divac as the team’s president of basketball and franchise operations is that no one but Divac and team owner Vivek Ranadive actually understood he’d be in a powerful basketball operations position until a few days after the announcement, Tom Ziller of SBNation writes. It was assumed that because Divac had extremely limited prior front office experience, he would be more of a figurehead than being actively involved in personnel decisions, Ziller notes. There were even members of Sacramento’s front office who didn’t realize that Divac had the power to make personnel moves until Divac and Randive relayed that information to the media, the SBNation scribe adds.

Here’s more out of the Western Conference:

The Grizzlies have workouts scheduled on Sunday for Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Arizona), Cady Lalanne (Massachusetts), Denzel Livingston (Incarnate Word), Norman Powell (UCLA), J.P. Tokoto (North Carolina), and Maurice Walker (Minnesota), the team announced via a press release.
The Nuggets are expected to work out Murray State point guard Cameron Payne, who is rocketing up draft boards, this Monday, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post tweets.
Robert Pack has signed on to be an assistant on the staff of new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link).
Working out for the Suns today were Bryce Dejean-Jones (Iowa State), Mouhammadou Jaiteh (France), Derrick Marks (Boise State), Michael Qualls (Arkansas), Chasson Randle (Stanford), and TaShawn Thomas (Oklahoma), Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic notes (Twitter links). Qualls suffered an undisclosed injury during the workout, Coro relays, and was replaced by Polish guard Mateusz Ponitka.
The Kings have added John Welch and Chad Iske as assistants on George Karl‘s coaching staff, Spears reports (on Twitter). Both men were previously with Karl when he coached in Denver, Spears adds.

Pacific Notes: Okafor, Lakers, Babby, Schlenk

June 11th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers have zeroed in on Jahlil Okafor for the No. 2 pick, multiple league sources tell Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his latest mock draft. Chad Ford of ESPN.com wrote a couple of weeks ago that he didn’t get the sense that Okafor wasn’t a surefire Lakers pick at No. 2 the way that Karl-Anthony Towns would be if the Timberwolves took Okafor first overall, so perhaps Okafor’s workout with the Lakers this week swayed the team’s thinking. Mitch Kupchak is choosing his words carefully, but Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding has heard enough from the Lakers GM to become convinced that either Towns or Okafor will be the team’s choice. Kupchak made it clear to reporters, including Bill Oram of the Orange County Register, that there need not be a consensus within the front office and that the decision, with the support of the team’s ownership, rests with him (Twitter link). Here’s more on the Lakers’ Pacific Division rivals:

Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby, who will become an adviser on August 1st, didn’t originally intend to remain with the team as long as he has, but the 64-year-old has found it hard not to stay involved, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic details. The role reduction, which will make him a part-timer but leave him involved in negotiations and cap management, suits Babby just fine, Coro writes. “This is a perfect outcome,” Babby said. “When I came here, I made it clear to everybody that I thought one of my major responsibilities was to develop a succession plan and prepare the next generation. When I hired [GM] Ryan [McDonough], I made it clear. I said, ‘You don’t need to worry about your career path here. I’m not going to do this forever.’ That was my commitment to him.”
Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk is believed to be among the potential candidates to fill the vacancy that Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro will reportedly create in Sacramento upon his departure for the Nuggets, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. Lakers assistant scouting director Ryan West is another apparent candidate, as Sam Amick of USA Today reported.
David Lee saw playing time for the Warriors in Game 3 of the Finals, but he sat out the first two games and admitted to Mannix, writing in a separate piece, that his lack of minutes has been frustrating. Still, Lee takes pride in being a supportive teammate and insists he won’t agitate to play more, and he said that he’s not concerned about the notion that he’ll be a trade candidate this summer, as Mannix details.

Pacific Notes: D’Alessandro, Lakers, Suns

June 10th, 2015 at 9:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With former GM Pete D’Alessandro on his way to a front office post with the Nuggets, Kings executive Vlade Divac is interested in Ryan West, the Lakers‘ assistant director of scouting, Sam Amick of USA Today relays (Twitter links). West is the son of former Lakers great Jerry West, and the younger West has been close with Divac since the big man’s playing days in Los Angeles, Amick notes. The Lakers have been grooming West as a potential replacement for GM Mitch Kupchak, so the Kings may have competition for his services, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.

Here’s more out of the NBA’s Pacific Division:

The L.A. D-Fenders, the Lakers‘ D-League affiliate, have named Conner Henry as the team’s new head coach, Pincus tweets.
The Suns held pre-draft workouts today for Ousmane Drame (Quinnipiac), Michael Frazier (Florida), Phil Greene (St. John’s), Jonathan Holmes (Texas), Cady Lalanne (Massachusetts), and Aaron White (Iowa), Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports (Twitter link).
In discussing the Lakers‘ options with the No. 2 overall pick this June, Kupchak indicated that the team still hasn’t decided on a big man or a guard as its preference, Joey Ramirez of NBA.com relays. “You go back to the [Hakeem] Olajuwon, [Sam] Bowie, Michael Jordan draft. And in years past and maybe even today, it makes sense to build around a big,” Kupchak said. “But you don’t want to take a big because it’s a big and pass up on the No. 3 pick, which turned out to be Michael Jordan. So we’re going to look at the bigs and the guards and see if there’s a guard there that — despite being just a guard — you don’t want to pass on him.“
Kupchak also indicated that Lakers star Kobe Bryant won’t have any impact on who the team selects in the Draft, Ramirez adds. “I don’t think it’s that big a factor,” Kupchak said. “Kobe is going to have a presence in training camp, and I’m sure he’ll try to impart his approach to the game on the players in camp. He’s never been great with rookies, and rookies have come to expect Kobe’s glare and ignoring them in the locker room and saying things.“

Lon Babby To Reduce Role With Suns

June 10th, 2015 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:59pm: The move came at Babby’s behest, according to a statement he made as part of a Suns press release confirming the transition that the team has on its website.

“I am grateful that [owner] Robert [Sarver] has accommodated my wish to reduce my work load, while remaining a vital part of the Suns organization,” Babby said. “At this stage of my career, I welcome the flexibility that comes with this new role, a flexibility that will enable me to do other things that are important to me both personally and in the community. I feel particularly confident in making this transition because of the quality of leadership in place within the organization.”

The press release doesn’t indicate that McDonough will assume Babby’s job title of president of basketball operations. McDonough will nonetheless take on added responsibilities, as will assistant GMs Pat Connelly and Trevor Bukstein, the team said.

12:07pm: Suns president of basketball operations Lon Babby will move into a role as senior adviser and GM Ryan McDonough will become the team’s head of basketball operations on August 1st, reports Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Babby has held the president’s title since the 2010/11 season, when he and former GM Lance Blanks came aboard. Phoenix replaced Blanks with McDonough in 2013.

It’s not immediately clear whether Babby, who signed a two-year deal to stick with the Suns in 2013, is choosing to make this transition or if the team is pushing him aside. Phoenix has pivoted away from the Steve Nash era under his watch, but the team has yet to make the playoffs since Babby came aboard. McDonough appears to have had plenty of influence since his hiring, experimenting with a point guard heavy roster the last two seasons, with mixed results.

Babby is a former player agent whose clients included Tim Duncan, Ray Allen and Grant Hill. McDonough, who spent several years in the Celtics organization before joining the Suns, was Boston’s assistant GM for the three seasons prior to his move to Phoenix.

Western Notes: Okafor, Suns, Jazz

June 9th, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers are looking at more than just basketball ability in their evaluations of draft prospects, and one of the most important intangibles to Los Angeles’ front office is overall character, Kevin Ding of BleacherReport writes. Duke big man Jahlil Okafor has impressed the Lakers in this regard, Ding notes. Mike Krzyzewski, Okafor’s coach with the Blue Devils, sings the praises of his former player’s off the court demeanor, saying, “He’s going to be a franchise player. And he’s going to be a franchise person.”

Here’s what else is happening around the Western Conference:

The Suns held pre-draft workouts for Treveon Graham (VCU), Ryan Harrow (Georgia State), Sir’Dominic Pointer (St. John’s), Corey Hawkins (UC-Davis), Yanick Moreira (SMU), and Gabriel Olaseni (Iowa), Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic relays (Twitter links).
The Jazz will host a free agent minicamp on Thursday for 27 players, Jody Genessy of The Deseret News writes. Attendees will include Brock Motum, Jarvis Varnado, Fuquan Edwin, and former Bulls first-rounder Marquis Teague, Genessy notes.
Former Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre may be too tempting for the Thunder to pass up with the No. 14 overall pick, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman opines. One aspect of Oubre’s physique that is garnering him attention is his 7’2″ wingspan, Mayberry adds. “Bringing length to a team is definitely something that can be one of my strong suits,” Oubre said. “And just being able to lock in on defense. My lateral movement is pretty good.” You can check out Hoops Rumors’ full prospect profile for Oubre here.