Southwest Notes: Leonard, Gasol, Rockets
Kawhi Leonard will hit restricted free agency in the summer, but Gregg Popovich isn’t moving away from his plan to make the small forward the focal point for the Spurs, as he explains to Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
“We’re trying to loosen up a bit and give him more of a green light,” Popovich said. “He’s getting more license. When you’re a young kid, you’re going to defer to Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili] and [Tony Parker]. Now it’s like, ‘To heck with those guys. The Big Three, they’re older than dirt. To [expletive] with them. You’re the Big One. You’ve got to go do your deal.’ So, we’re trying to get him to be more demonstrative in that regard.”
Popovich was speaking tongue in cheek about Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, but it’s not hard to see that he continues to view the 23-year-old Leonard as a building block. Here’s more on Leonard amid the latest from the Southwest Division:
- Leonard was non-committal when Lee asked about his upcoming free agency, though it’s the Spurs who can ultimately decide if he returns, since they can match all offers. “I feel like they like me here and I’m going to come back, but we’ll see,” Leonard said, as Lee notes in the same piece. “We’re going to see this summer.”
- Zach Randolph expressed confidence during an ESPN appearance Monday that Marc Gasol will re-sign with the Grizzlies, notes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (Twitter links), but Randolph admits to USA Today’s Sam Amick that sometimes he worries that Gasol will leave. In any case, Randolph said to Amick that he talks to Gasol a bit about the summer ahead, presumably in an effort to get him to stay.
- The summer front office upheaval in Memphis that nearly saw coach Dave Joerger leave for the Wolves job didn’t prompt worry for Gasol, Amick reports in the same piece. “I was in contact with everybody [during that time],” Gasol said. “I was in contact with [owner] Robert [Pera], and I was in contact with Coach, and they told me that everything was going to be fine, and I believed them. There was no reason for me not to believe them.”
- The Rockets have recalled Clint Capela from the D-League, the team announced. This year’s 25th overall pick put up 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and an eye-popping 3.2 blocks in just 14.1 minutes per game across six contests for the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Southwest Rumors: Felton, Powell, Capela, Davis
It’s possible the Mavs don’t activate the injured Raymond Felton prior to the Dallas’ matchup versus the Kings tomorrow, reveals Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram. Once activated, Felton can begin serving the four-game suspension he was slapped with this summer after pleading guilty to a gun charge. While we wait for the 30-year-old to get healthy enough to begin serving his punishment, let’s have a look at the latest from around the Southwest..
- Josh Powell is committed to his role as player development coach for the Rockets and has turned down multiple offers to play overseas, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports passes along amid his weekly power rankings. Powell appeared in a single game for Houston last year after failing to secure an NBA contract during the previous two seasons.
- The Rockets have assigned Clint Capela to their D-League affiliate, the team announced. Capela, the 25th overall pick in the 2014 draft, will join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers after appearing briefly in just one of Houston’s first six contests.
- Ed Davis rejected a long-term rookie scale extension offer from the Grizzlies last October that would have paid him $5MM to $6MM annually, reports Ronald Tillery of the Commerical Appeal in a subscription only piece. The big man found himself in a difficult situation playing for Memphis last year, as he saw few minutes in a stacked frontcourt. Tillery observes that Davis doesn’t hold any ill will against his former team, but the Commercial Appeal scribe’s perceived lack of bitterness from Davis runs in contrast to the words that the 22-year-old had about the Grizzlies, which we passed along earlier tonight.
And-Ones: Cavs, Rockets, Mavs, D-League
Stephen Holt is heading to the Cavs‘ D-League affiliate, tweets David Pick of Eurobasket.com. This would presumably mean that Cleveland will waive Holt and exercise their rights to him in the D-League. With Holt’s non-guaranteed contract out of the way, Cleveland’s remaining five camp invites on non- or partially guaranteed contracts would have a better shot at one of the team’s three open roster spots–outside of Anderson Varejao‘s lock to make the team on his partially guaranteed deal–for the regular season. Here’s more from around the league:
- Rockets coach Kevin McHale indicated to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that Houston’s first- and second-round draft picks, Clint Capela and Nick Johnson, respectively, will both spend significant time with the team’s D-League squad.
- While the Mavericks have high expectations for this season, coach Rick Carlisle will have the challenge of meshing multiple new pieces for the second consecutive year. Carlisle tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News that high turnover for veteran players is a league-wide trend. “I view it as one of the realities of our business right now. Teams are going to try to keep their young core players together,” Carlisle said. “There are going to be some financial and basketball decisions that are going to be unavoidable.”
- Keegan LaBlance has entered his name into the 2014 NBA D-League Draft, according to Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside. The point guard will hope to be selected on the November 1 draft and begin a journey toward an NBA career.
- Chadrack Lufile is also hoping to be selected in the D-League draft, telling Gino Pilato of DLeagueDigest.com that he turned down offers to play overseas this summer. “A large reason why I wanted to stay here is actually because my mom got really sick. I want to stay nearby,” said Lufile. “My ultimate goal is to play in the NBA, and it doesn’t matter how I get there, but I feel like the D-League is a great way for me to do so.”
Rockets To Sign Clint Capela
JULY 23RD: Capela has signed his contract, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Houston will have to receive the signed contract before it becomes official.
JULY 14TH: The Rockets have been working with No. 25 pick Clint Capela to secure his buyout from Chalon-Sur-Saone of France and a FIBA letter of clearance, and they intend to sign him to a rookie scale contract this summer, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The outcome is the result that Capela’s camp had been pushing for after the Rockets apparently asked him to remain overseas for next season. Feigen’s piece doesn’t refer to the request, which Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com had reported over the weekend, but he does cast the Rockets as having been ambivalent about the notion of Capela playing for the team this season. Now, it appears the team and Capela are in lockstep toward a contract.
“We are planning out roster for next season. We expect him to be a part of it,” Rockets executive vice president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said. “We’re in the process of working toward that.”
Capela is likely to receive a salary worth more than $1.189MM for next season, as our table of salaries for 2014 first-rounders shows. The Rockets had been attempting to preserve cap flexibility as they chased LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh, and Houston shopped the pick before the draft. There was also reportedly interest from other teams in trading for Capela’s rights once the Rockets made the selection, but Houston never showed mutual interest in such a swap. Now that the team’s marquee free agent targets are headed elsewhere and Chandler Parsons is off to Dallas, there’s room for Capela, a raw talent who averaged 9.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game for his French team this past season.
Clint Capela, Rockets In Contract Dispute
Clint Capela and the Rockets, who selected him at No. 25 in this year’s draft, are at a “minor impasse” in contract negotiations, league sources tell Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. The friction stems from Houston’s initial insistence that the big man remain overseas for another year, while Capela’s representatives were pushing for him to join the NBA club immediately.
The rookie scale for player contracts limits just how far apart the sides could be in salary discussions, as the Rockets are required by the CBA to pay between 80%-120% of the $991,000 amount slotted for the 25th pick. Teams typically pay the full 120%. Haynes adds that there is also disagreement over who will pay what portion of his $500K buyout with his current French team in order to bring him stateside.
Until recently, the Rockets have been on a long march toward clearing as much cap space as possible to make room for prime free agents LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, or Chris Bosh, and stashing Capela overseas would have kept additional salary off their books for the 2014/15 season. However, the Rockets primary targets have chosen other teams, assuming Anthony doesn’t revisit the possibility of joining Houston over the Knicks or Bulls. The Rockets dangled the No. 25 pick in trade talks before selecting Capela, and other teams have shown interest since in acquiring the Swiss big, although there have been no reports of Houston being willing to move him.
Several Teams Eyeing Trade For Clint Capela
9:21pm: Several teams have interest in trading for Swiss power forward Clint Capela, whom the Rockets took with the 25th pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
8:33pm: The Rockets are dangling tonight’s No. 25 overall pick in trade talks as they look to unload salary, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The development is no surprise, given Houston’s desire to clear cap room for a run at marquee free agents like Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kyle Lowry.
The 25th pick in this year’s draft represents a cap hold of $991K. Most first-round draft picks sign for 120% of the rookie scale, which in this case would mean a salary of $1,189,200 for next season, though some toward the end of the round wind up settling for less than that. Andre Roberson signed for the minimum 80% of the scale after Oklahoma City took him 26th last year.
Raptors, Grizzlies Talking Prince, No. 22 Pick
12:25pm: If the deal happens, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (on Twitter) believes that the Raptors will target Clint Capela at No. 22. The Spurs have been hoping that he’d slide to No. 30.
11:18am: Stein now hears (Twitter link) that the deal would more likely send the No. 37 pick to Memphis along with Salmons for Prince and the No. 22.
11:14am: The Raptors are in the hunt to acquire the Grizzlies’ No. 22 pick in tonight’s draft but would have to take back Tayshaun Prince to make something happen, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The potential swap would send John Salmons and the No. 59 pick to Memphis for Prince and the No. 22 pick (link). Stein says that Toronto could be making the deal with guard Tyler Ennis in mind, though they already own the No. 20 selection.
The No. 22 pick wouldn’t guarantee the Raptors that they’ll land Ennis – the Syracuse guard is currently projected to go No. 21 to the Thunder by DraftExpress – but it’d give them a puncher’s chance for sure. Prince, who is a shell of the player he once was, is slated to earn $7.7MM in the final season of his deal. Prince averaged 6.0 PPG with 3.1 RPG last season and posted a career-low PER of 8.2.
Draft Notes: Clippers, Vonleh, Hornets, Hairston
The Clippers are interested in trading up from pick No. 28, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s piece centers on a profile of former University of Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who can’t work out because he’s still recovering from a torn ACL. Dinwiddie’s nonetheless had meetings with the Bucks, Wizards, Bulls and Celtics, and he’s scheduled interviews and physicals with the Clippers, Heat, Hawks and Thunder, according to Shelburne. The ESPN scribe also says that he’ll interview and take a physical for the Jazz, advancing an earlier report that he was set to interview with the team. Here’s more on the draft:
- Julius Randle is set to work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Utah’s radio announcer David Locke.
- Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton are expected to work out for the Lakers on Friday for the second time, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports Spears advises his readers to “keep an eye” on Payton (via Twitter) in light of the second workout.
- Nik Stauskas is expected in for his first workout with the Lakers, who have struggled to get Stauskas in, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
- Rodney Hood had to sit out most of his Hornets workout today due to illness, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
- Gary Harris and Zach LaVine will work out for the Hornets tomorrow, tweets Bonnell, who adds Charlotte’s other new workout appointees in a separate tweet: Rion Brown; Ronald Roberts Jr.; and Markel Brown, who missed an earlier workout due to travel issues.
- The Rockets worked out Shabazz Napier, Xavier Thames, Patric Young, Nick Russell, and Kadeem Coleby, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
- Sim Bhullar, Earnest Ross, Ian Chiles, Cameron Clark, Philipp Neumann, and Jordan Bachynski will work out for the Wizards tomorrow, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Earlier updates:
- Noah Vonleh will work out for the Sixers on Thursday, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Elfrid Payton, Josh Huestis, James Bell and Jordan Clarkson are the previously unreported prospects performing for the Hornets today, as Chris Littmann of The Sporting News tweets.
- P.J. Hairston will audition for the Hawks, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who also reports that Hairston will show off for the Grizzlies, Lakers and Bulls (Twitter links).
- Kyle Anderson will work out for the Suns, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, as well as the Grizzlies, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter links). A previous report indicated that the Suns were set to audition Anderson a week ago, so this appears to be his second workout with Phoenix.
- Anderson will also perform for the Bulls, as will Clint Capela and DeAndre Daniels, Zagoria tweets.
- Jordan Adams, Devyn Marble, Sean Kilpatrick, C.J. Wilcox and Jarnell Stokes are working out for the Raptors today, the team announced. A report from last month indicated that Stokes had already worked out for Toronto, but given that the dispatch came in the middle of the draft combine, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually an interview between Stokes and the club, rather than a workout.
- The Wizards are auditioning Semaj Christon, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, Alec Brown and Khem Birch today, according to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).
NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline Updates
Monday was the deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA draft, and the league has announced the list of those who’ve pulled out. The deadline applied mostly to prospects from overseas, since any collegian who takes his name out of consideration at this point isn’t be able to return to NCAA competition. Mychal Ammons of South Alabama is the only U.S.-based player who withdrew, but he’d already signed a deal with an overseas club.
Yesterday’s reports identified several of the prospects taking their names out of the draft, as well as some high-profile players staying in, and we’ve added the previously unreported names of those pulling out to the top of the list below. For the complete register of early entrants denoting those who’ve withdrawn, click here.
Withdrawing from the draft
- Ammons, Berkay Candan, Tomas Dimsa, Marko Ramljak, Alejandro Suarez, Devon Van Oostrum are all out of the draft, the NBA announced.
- Joonas Caven has pulled out of the draft, agent K.C. Callero tells Givony (Twitter link).
- Matias Bortolin is withdrawing from the draft, his agent tells Sportando (Twitter link).
- Ilja Gromovs will exit the draft, too, agent Arturs Kalnitis says to Givony (Twitter link).
- Mateusz Ponitka has removed his name from draft consideration, Givony tweets.
- Moussa Diagne and Guillem Vives will take their names out of the draft, agent Herb Ruboy says to Givony (Twitter link).
- Rasmus Larsen has decided to exit the draft, as agent Doug Neustadt informs Givony (Twitter link).
- OKK Spars Sarajevo teammates Nedim Buza and Adin Vrabac have decided to pull out of the draft, agent Alexander Raskovic tweets.
- Lefteris Bochoridis has withdrawn from the draft, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.
Remaining in the draft
- Jokic isn’t the only prospect to flip-flop today. Damien Inglis changed his mind and has decided to keep his name in the draft, agent Pedja Materic tells Jonthan Givony of DraftExpress (via Twitter).
- Raznatovic, Saric’s agent, took to Twitter to confirm that his client will remain in the draft (hat tip to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
- Nikola Jokic has changed his mind and will remain in the draft after all, Raznatovic tweets (hat tip to Chad Ford of ESPN.com).
- Dario Saric will stay in the draft, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
- Vasilije Micic remains in the draft, agent Misko Raznatovic tweets.
- Clint Capela will keep his name in this year’s draft, agent Bouna Ndiaye tells Givony (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Cavs, Draft, Pelicans, Wolves
The Cavs coaching search may be down to just three candidates, writes Bob Finnan of The Morning Journal. While some names are still being mentioned, Finnan (hat tip to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders) believes the finalists are Clippers assistant coaches Alvin Gentry and Tyronn Lue and former Maccabi Tel Aviv coach David Blatt.
Here’s more from around the association:
- The Nuggets are planning to bring in Tyler Ennis, Zach LaVine, James Young, Clint Capela, Casey Prather and Tarik Black for workouts on Saturday, reports Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link).
- The Timberwolves tweeted that Adreian Payne, Justin Cobbs, Kyle Anderson, Cory Jefferson, Markel Starks and Jamil Wilson all have workouts scheduled with the team.
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities reports (Twitter link) Russ Smith, Jahii Carson, and Jordan Morgan worked out for the Wolves on Wednesday.
- Adi Joseph of USA Today looks at the draft needs of the Pelicans. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but they are reportedly trying to acquire one. According to the article, the team’s biggest needs are at small forward, center, and point guard.
- In a separate article, Joseph looks at the draft needs of the Timberwolves. According to Joseph, the team’s priorities should be at point guard, and both forward spots.
- The crew over at Basketball Insiders (video link) analyze the 2014 free agent class and where each player may end up.
- In a separate article, the latest mock draft from Basketball Insiders has them split over who will be the first-overall pick–Andrew Wiggins or Joel Embiid.