Pacific Notes: McLemore, Martin, Barnes
There is interest around the league in shooting guard Ben McLemore and with teams aware that he is available, the Kings have been fielding trade inquiries in advance of Thursday’s NBA draft, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. The 23-year-old saw his playing time diminish this past season under former coach George Karl, with McLemore only averaging 21.2 minutes per outing, down from the 32.6 he notched in 2014/15. If Sacramento does find a taker for McLemore, it would make him the second former lottery pick the team has shipped out in as many years, with the Kings sending 2014 first-rounder Nik Stauskas to the Sixers prior to the start of the 2015/16 campaign.
Here’s the latest from the Pacific Division:
- Fresh off of their crushing defeat at the hands of the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals, pending free agents Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli say they haven’t begun to contemplate their offseason strategy, nor have they thought about where they might be playing next season, Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle relays. If Golden State extends the players qualifying offers, with Barnes’ being worth $5,194,227 and $3,013,123 for Ezeli, the duo would become restricted free agents and the Warriors would have the opportunity to match any offer they were to receive.
- The Kings are closing in on an agreement with Darrick Martin that would make him the new coach of the Reno Bighorns, their D-League affiliate, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays (via Twitter).
- While the Clippers are expected to look to fill their most glaring roster needs via free agency, coach/executive Doc Rivers has two draft picks to work with for the first time in his tenure with the team and will look to add bench depth with them, Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times writes.
Pacific Notes: Green, Barnes, Kings, McCaw
Warriors All-Star power forward Draymond Green has accepted an invitation to play for USA Basketball at the Rio Olympics, a source told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Green will be making his USA Basketball national team debut, though he played on last year’s USA Showcase team. Golden State teammate Stephen Curry has already declined an invitation in order to rest his gimpy right knee.
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- The team that gives Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes a big offer sheet in restricted free agency will be taking a major risk, Andrew Tobolowsky of UpsideMotor.com opines. Lance Stephenson posted better stats with the Pacers than Barnes did this season prior to hitting the free agent market and never lived up his supposed potential after signing with the Hornets in 2014, Tobolowsky points out. Potential suitors may overvalue Barnes in the belief he’ll thrive with a bigger role than he’s had with Golden State, Tobolowsky adds.
- The Kings could revamp their roster for a second straight summer with their primary focus being the point guard spot, according to James Ham of CSNBayArea.com. The Kings could use a power forward who can stretch the floor, a long-term solution at small forward in place of Rudy Gay and an upgrade at shooting guard but solving the point guard dilemma is the biggest concern, Ham continues. Rajon Rondo is headed to unrestricted free agency and Darren Collison is engulfed by legal issues but the draft and free agency are unlikely to produce a solution, Ham believes. Kris Dunn and Jamal Murray could be off the board by the time the Kings’ No. 8 overall selection comes up, and it would take a tremendous sales job to land top free agent point man Mike Conley, Ham adds.
- The Kings were the only team to bring in Sacramento native Michael Bryson for a second draft workout, Kings radio reporter Sean Cunningham tweets. The 6’4” shooting guard averaged 18.2 points during his senior season at UC Santa Barbara.
- UNLV shooting guard Patrick McCaw was among the players who worked out for the Clippers on Monday, according to the team’s website. McCaw is a potential late first-round pick, ranked No. 28 by ESPN Insider Chad Ford and No. 29 by Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony. Other notables included a trio of forwards, Kentucky’s Alex Poythress, Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff and Maryland’s Jake Layman.
Sixers Notes: Barnes, Simmons, Colangelo, Workout
Free agent Harrison Barnes might be the Sixers’ solution at small forward, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia is hoping to upgrade its perimeter defense, and the only wings currently on the roster are Nik Stauskas, Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson, who are all more valuable as shooters than defenders. The 6’8″ Barnes would bring a mix of offense and defense that coach Brett Brown is looking for, and at 24 he is just entering the prime of his career. Barnes will be a restricted free agent, so Pompey says a max offer may be necessary to discourage the Warriors from matching. The Sixers will have plenty of money available, with a little more than $33.3MM in guaranteed salary against a cap projected at about $94MM.
There’s more news out of Philadelphia:
- Ben Simmons has all the tools to be a great NBA player except outside shooting, Pompey writes in a separate piece. Pompey, who advocates Simmons as the No. 1 pick, says the Sixers are excited about the prospect of having an elite passer at power forward because it creates more options in the pick-and-roll. Cavaliers star LeBron James has become a mentor to Simmons, and he sees great things ahead for the LSU freshman. “I think we all don’t know just yet how great of a kid he is and how down to earth he is with the game of basketball and life in general,” James said.
- This week presents the first opportunity for new team president Bryan Colangelo to put his stamp on the franchise, Pompey writes in another story. With the draft on Thursday and free agency a week and a half away, Colangelo will have opportunities to make the type of bold moves he became famous for with the Raptors and Suns.
- Six players are scheduled to attend a workout Monday in Philadelphia, tweets Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com. The Sixers will welcome Villanova point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, Kansas power forward Perry Ellis, Old Dominion point guard Trey Freeman, former Buffalo power forward Justin Moss, New Mexico State power forward Pascal Siakam and Stony Brook power forward Jameel Warney.
And-Ones: Spurs, Diallo, Maker, Max Contracts
The Spurs are considering bringing 2011 draft-and-stash prospect Davis Bertans stateside, sources with knowledge of the situation tell David Pick of Bleacher Report. According to Pick, no agreement between the two sides has been reached, but the Latvian small forward – who is an excellent shooter – would “give strong consideration” to heading to San Antonio for a two-year deal worth $4MM. Bertans’ NBA opt-out, which expires in mid-July, is worth the standard $650K. San Antonio originally acquired Bertans’ NBA rights in the 2011 draft-night trade that sent George Hill to Indiana for Kawhi Leonard.
Here are a few more Thursday odds and ends from around the league:
- Jon Rothstein of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) is hearing that Kansas’ Cheick Diallo‘s stock on the rise. NBA people are high on Diallo’s motor, according to Rothstein, who says the former Jayhawks big man could be picked in the 15-20 range.
- Like Diallo, Thon Maker has also seen his draft stock rise during pre-draft workouts, according to Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times. While most big boards project Maker as a late first-rounder, one Western Conference scouting director believes the seven-footer could come off the board “as high as 12.” An Eastern Conference assistant GM is slightly less bullish, suggesting to Woelfel that he sees No. 15 as Maker’s ceiling. According to Woelfel, the Bucks are fans of Maker and UNC’s Brice Johnson, though No. 10 is probably too high for either player.
- Bobby Marks of The Vertical examines the new definition of a “max player,” identifying 11 pending free agents who could land maximum-salary contracts this offseason, including Warriors forward Harrison Barnes and Magic guard Evan Fournier.
- A pair of former NBA second-round picks have secured new deals overseas. Former Louisville guard Peyton Siva, a 2013 Pistons draftee, has signed with Germany’s ALBA Berlin, according to international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Greek guard Vassilis Spanoulis, selected way back in 2004 by the Mavericks, has inked a two-year extension with Olympiacos (link via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Pacific Notes: Barnes, Brown, Labissiere, Johnson
The Warriors will stick to their promise to keep the team together, even if that means matching an offer in excess of $20MM per year for Harrison Barnes, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Barnes will be a restricted free agent this summer after turning down a four-year, $64MM offer from Golden State last year. He averaged 11.7 points in 66 games this season and has become an important cog in a team that is one victory away from its second straight championship. Barnes is eligible to receive an offer starting at $20MM per year and could get a max offer in the neighborhood of $23MM. A source in the Warriors organization told Deveney that owner Joe Lacob has not wavered from his promise to hold onto the team’s key players. However, Deveney tweets that if Barnes decides he wants to go somewhere else to have a larger role, the Warriors will try to accommodate him with a sign-and-trade.
There’s more news from the Pacific Division:
- Iowas State combo forward Georges Niang and Manhattan power forward Jermaine Lawrence have workouts scheduled today for the Warriors, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Golden State’s only pick in this year’s draft is at No. 30.
- California swingman Jaylen Brown addressed questions about his shooting after a workout with the Lakers Friday, writes Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. “I think the biggest knock on me is if I can shoot the ball,” Brown said. “And I’ve been shooting the ball pretty well in these workouts. … And to shoot it the way I do now, it’s a significant growth.” Brown has been projected as a top 10 pick, but teams are concerned that he shot just 43.1% from the field and 29.4% from 3-point range last season. Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere also worked out for the Lakers Friday and projects himself as a power forward in the NBA. “I think I’ll be a four because of my versatility, both on offense and defense,” Labissiere said. “I can shoot the basketball, score inside, run the floor really well, block shots, guard small defenders.”
- The Lakers have a June 18th workout scheduled with Oklahoma shooting guard Buddy Hield, Turner writes in the same piece. L.A. held a private session with Hield two weeks ago.
- After four years at North Carolina, Brice Johnson doesn’t think his age will be an issue in the draft, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Johnson, who is about to turn 22, worked out for Phoenix this week and is a candidate for the Suns’ No. 13 pick. “Nowadays, everybody just wants to see me shoot the ball,” Johnson said. “They just want to know if I can shoot. They know I’m very athletic. I can dunk the ball very well. I think about 85 percent of my shots were dunks this year.”
Free Agent Rumors: Durant, Conley, Whiteside
Within his latest piece for Basketball Insiders, Steve Kyler examines a few of this year’s top free-agents-to-be, taking stock of their situations and passing along the latest notes and rumors he’s heard on each player. Here’s a round-up of some of the key info from Kyler’s piece:
- Even though Kevin Durant is considered most likely to return to the Thunder, he’s expected to take meetings, and Kyler hears that the Warriors and Spurs are “planning big pitches.” The belief around the NBA is that Durant will return to OKC on a deal that allows him to opt out in a year so that his free agency will line up with Russell Westbrook‘s and Serge Ibaka‘s in 2017.
- Sources close to Mike Conley‘s camp have suggested recently that Conley is “more open to new situations” than the Grizzlies would like. According to Kyler, those sources believe that the point guard wants to see signs that Memphis is serious about fortifying its roster with other pieces before committing to the team for the long term. Kyler identifies the “dark horse” in the Conley sweepstakes as the Spurs, who are believed to be willing to make some changes to their core if it means landing another high-level player.
- Hassan Whiteside is expected to land a maximum-salary contract, with the Lakers and Celtics among the teams believed to be interested. The Heat remain the favorites for the big man, but if they “try to play games,” Whiteside will shop around for other offers, according to Kyler.
- The Raptors and Knicks are among the clubs with interest in Nicolas Batum, but Batum will likely be in line for a max contract or something close to it, and the Hornets are viewed as the team most likely to accommodate such a deal.
- DeMar DeRozan is viewed as a near-lock to return to the Raptors on a max deal.
- Assuming they don’t land Durant, the Warriors sound prepared to keep their current roster intact, even if that means matching a “crazy offer sheet” for Harrison Barnes, writes Kyler.
- The odds of RFA-to-be Jordan Clarkson ending up with any team besides the Lakers are slim, but it’s possible his camp will seek out an offer sheet from another club if necessary, in order to get more favorable terms.
Pacific Notes: Curry, Blatt, Shaw, Crawford
Two-time MVP Stephen Curry has earned a raise, but the Warriors can’t afford to renegotiate, writes Danny Leroux of The Sporting News. Curry will receive a little more than $12.1MM next season in the final year of his contract, about half of what other top stars make. Working out a new deal over the summer would prevent Curry from reaching free agency, but it would also upend the team’s salary structure, Leroux warns.
Curry is eligible for a new contract because he will be entering the fifth year of his current deal. However, any raise he receives — and it would surely be a maximum contract starting in the neighborhood of $25.9MM — would drain Golden State’s cap space. The Warriors plan to operate under the cap this summer, and a new contract for Curry could cost the team Harrison Barnes or Shaun Livingston and Festus Ezeli. Also, the NBA limits renegotiated extensions to four seasons, which would include 2016/17. If Curry waits until free agency next summer, he can receive a five-year contract that would run through 2021/22, and he could receive even more money if max deals are increased as part of a 2017 labor renegotiation.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- David Blatt is not on Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s short list to become his top assistant, tweets Monte Poole of CSNBayArea. Kerr was interested in Blatt for the position two years ago.
- Brian Shaw is nearing a return to the Lakers as lead assistant, but the rest of Luke Walton’s staff is uncertain, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. Shaw, who was an assistant in L.A. under Phil Jackson from 2005-11, was also rumored to be a candidate for assistant posts with the Pacers and Magic, Oram reports. He adds that no one knows if any members of former head coach Byron Scott’s staff will be retained, as Walton may seek coaches with ties to the Lakers or he may try to lure other assistants from Golden State, where Walton had been serving as lead assistant.
- Shaw’s hiring is imminent, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News, who says the two sides are finalizing the contract.
- It wouldn’t take a playoff team to pry free agent combo guard Jamal Crawford away from the Clippers, tweets Noah Coslov of CineSport. “Definitely money, situation, could be a team on the rise,” Crawford said in listing his priorities in an interview on Bleacher Report Radio. “Doesn’t have to be contender.”
And-Ones: Barnes, Clippers, Briscoe
Despite the reports that the Warriors are planning to make a run at Kevin Durant this offseason, Harrison Barnes, who is set to become a restricted free agent, said during a podcast appearance opposite Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group that he doesn’t take such chatter personally. When asked if he has accepted that Golden State may try to sign Durant this summer, Barnes noted it wasn’t the first time he’s dealt with rumors. “For sure. It was after my first year, was that when Dwight Howard was thinking about leaving? So it was funny, Andrew Bogut texted me and asked me, are we going to L.A.? Because he was going to come here,” Barnes said. We joked about that. And last summer it was [the] Kevin Love thing, is he going to come here? So me and David Lee were joking about the fact that we might have to buy winter coats.”
“You always kind of take it with a grain of salt,” the forward continued. “We’re a great team. And this is a place where people want to play now. Front office is going to do their job, and they’re going to go and try to recruit the best talent, that’s what they’re going to do. You don’t really get too personal about it, or say oh my gosh, they’re looking at other players. Because that’s how business goes.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers noted that the franchise wants to establish its own D-League affiliate in the near future, Rowan Kavner of NBA.com relays. “We’re going to discuss it, for sure,” Rivers said. “I don’t know if we’ll be able to do it by the start of the [2016/17] season, but it’s something we want to do. We’re a ways away from it, but we’ve had discussions with some outside forces that could make that happen, possibly.” Los Angeles was one of 11 NBA teams without its own D-League affiliate this season.
- Kentucky point guard Isaiah Briscoe worked out for the Spurs on Wednesday and has workouts scheduled with the Clippers this week and the Lakers after the scouting combine is complete, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets.
- Creighton junior point guard Maurice Watson Jr. has withdrawn from the 2016 NBA Draft and will return to school for the 2016/17 season, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (via Twitter). Watson is the 70th-best prospect among juniors, according to Givony’s rankings.
- San Diego State sophomore small forward Malik Pope has workouts scheduled for later this month with the Celtics and the Jazz, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. Pope is the No. 25 sophomore according to Givony and the No. 46 player overall according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Southeast Notes: Lin, Beal, Horford, Patterson
Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin says Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson helped lay the groundwork for “Lin-sanity,” relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Atkinson, who will become the Nets’ new head coach once Atlanta’s playoff run is complete, aided in Lin’s development when both were with the Knicks. “I’ll text after a game at midnight, one o’clock when I go home,” Lin recalls, “and I’ll say, ‘Hey, can I look at those turnovers? Can I look at the upcoming team? How they run pick-and-rolls?’ And he’ll have the film ready when I walk into the facility the next morning. When I wasn’t playing much, we were working out before practice, and after practice, he was picking apart my game, teaching me what it’s like to play in Coach [Mike] D’Antoni’s system.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Restricted free agent Bradley Beal said he and backcourt partner John Wall both have to play better for the Wizards to be successful, according to J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The fourth-year shooting guard was limited to a career-low 55 games this season and was placed on a minutes restriction after doctors found “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula” in December. “It’s been a rocky year in terms of injuries, offense changing, getting used to playing with new guys on the team and adjusting to a few things,” Beal said. “We both should’ve had a better year than we had. We should’ve carried the team a little better than what we did. We both can attest to it.”
- The Hawks‘ Al Horford stands to more than double his salary in free agency and may change the perception of who deserves a max contract, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Horford is making $12MM this season, but when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer after completing his ninth NBA season, he will be eligible for a contract starting at approximately 30% of the salary cap, or about $26MM. Hamilton says that may seem expensive for a player who has never averaged 20 points per game, but Horford will likely define the market for fellow free agents Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Mike Conley and Harrison Barnes.
- The Hawks sent Lamar Patterson back to the Austin Spurs of the D-League to finish their playoff series, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Journal Constitution. Atlanta recalled Patterson on Friday after Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a groin injury.
Western Notes: Parsons, Speights, Miller, Harris
It’s a long shot, but it’s possible that Chandler Parsons returns to play this season, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban revealed Wednesday, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “If we make a run and get to the second round [of the playoffs], there’s a chance,” Cuban said. The team’s press release that followed the right knee surgery Parsons had last week referred to the procedure as a season-ender, but Chandler shared Cuban’s optimism Wednesday, saying on the team’s television broadcast of Wednesday’s victory over the Knicks that rehab will be a “piece of cake,” as Townsend also relays. Parsons said he’d be in a brace for two or three weeks and made reference to a four-to-six week timetable for his recovery. Still, he laughed when told of Cuban’s remark and said he wouldn’t count on his return at any point in the playoffs, Townsend tweets.
See more from the Western Conference:
- Andrew Bogut is bullish on the free agent stock of teammate Harrison Barnes, and the Warriors center also thinks reserve big men Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights are in line for major paydays when they hit the market this summer, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group relays. “[Speights has] been absolutely huge for us this season, and someone’s obviously going to give him a lot of money,” said Bogut, who’s under contract through next season. “Hopefully, it’s us.” Speights spoke with Hoops Rumors about his contract year before it began.
- The Timberwolves signed Andre Miller, Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince last summer in part to provide veteran assistance for their young core, but Miller nonetheless criticized the Wolves last week on a podcast with The Vertical’s Chris Mannix for relying too heavily on their young players, notes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Miller bought his way out of Minnesota and signed earlier this month with the Spurs. “There was no way I was going to stay in Minnesota on a team that never had any goals, from what I thought,” Miller said. “I didn’t want to sit there and let this be my last year. There were no expectations in Minnesota with that team and which way they wanted to go. It wasn’t communicated, so I was like, ‘If this is my last year, I can’t go out like this.’ ”
- The Nuggets no longer feel an urgency to make an upgrade at two-guard after Gary Harris delivered in what was a vital season for his hopes of securing a long-term starting position, observes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Harris, the 19th pick in the 2014 draft, is under contract for two more years.