Atlantic Notes: Rose, Noah, Crawford, Rodriguez
Now that Derrick Rose is with the Knicks, his first priority will be convincing former Chicago teammate Joakim Noah to join him, writes Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Noah is a New York City native who will become an unrestricted free agent Friday, and the Knicks have an obvious need at center after trading Robin Lopez to the Bulls to acquire Rose. “Oh, I want him, he knows that,” Rose said of Noah. “I think his family knows that. I think everyone knows that. Even [Thursday] night I was talking to him about it and it’s the same way. He’s in a position where he got injured twice last year. It was his contract year and he’s got to figure what he wants to do, so I can’t get mad with the decision he will make soon or whenever he makes it. He knows that I would want to play with him.”
Rose said he may change his policy about free agents in general and become an active recruiter for the Knicks. He also alluded to his own free agency next summer, saying, “I hope I’ll be able to play the rest of my career here, but we’ll have to see how this one year goes.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Returning to the Knicks is becoming a viable option for Clippers free agent Jamal Crawford, according to Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year has supporters inside the Knicks organization and he has interest in joining the team. “I’m not talking about any one team, but everyone knows how I feel about New York,” Crawford said. “I really enjoyed my time there.” He was with the Knicks from 2004 to 2008, before being traded to Golden State. Crawford, 36, earned $5.675MM last season with the Clippers, who own his Bird Rights and have expressed a desire to re-sign him.
- The Nets are the favorites to reach a deal with Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez, tweets international journalist David Pick. The 30-year-old Rodriguez has prior NBA experience with the Blazers, Kings and Knicks.
- The Raptors will continue their search for a power forward, either through free agency or trades, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Toronto gained depth in the front court by drafting Jakob Poeltl at No. 9 and Pascal Siakam at No. 27, but the team still doesn’t believe it has its starting power forward on the roster. Thirty-six-year-old Luis Scola, who started 76 games this season, will be an unrestricted free agent. The Raptors would also like to pick up more outside shooters, Wolstat notes, especially if they have to trade Terrence Ross to get a power forward.
- Poeltl was a back-to-the basket center in college, but he’s trying to improve his shooting range to fit the modern NBA game, Wolstat relays in the same piece. “I’ve started shooting a lot more, and I’ve noticed some quick improvement,” Poeltl said. “So I really hope I can be or become a better shooter fast and stretch the floor a little more.”
Eastern Notes: Noah, Butler, Beal
The Wizards have interest in adding Joakim Noah in free agency and it was reported on Friday that the team may be willing to offer Noah a maximum-salary contract. However, a league source tells J.Michael of Comcast Sportsnet (Twitter links) that the team will not be offering him the max, calling the rumor “absolutely ridiculous.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Bradley Beal will not participate in the Olympic games this summer, as he explains on his Twitter Feed. Beal only appeared in 55 games for the Wizards this past season due to an injury to his right fibula.
- The Bulls received several proposals for Jimmy Butler on draft night including the Celtics‘ package of Jae Crowder, the No. 3 pick and the No. 16 pick for the All-Star, sources tell K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
- The Raptors had Jakob Poeltl higher on their draft board than roughly half of the prospects whom were selected ahead of him, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. Toronto selected Poeltl with the No.9 pick in Thursday’s draft, meaning the team presumably had the center within its top-5.
Hawks Shopping First Round Picks
The Hawks, who now hold the No. 12 and No. 21 overall picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft, are shopping both selections in an effort to free up more cap flexibility to re-sign center Al Horford this summer, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). Horford, 30, is set to become an unrestricted free agent and is likely to be in high-demand around the league.
Atlanta acquired the No. 12 selection earlier today in a three-way trade involving the Pacers and Jazz. In the deal the team shipped out point guard Jeff Teague, signaling that it is handing the reigns of the offense over to the younger Dennis Schröder, who had made no secret about his desire to be the starter going forward. If the team deals away the two picks, it can free up in excess of $3.7MM in cap flexibility based on the current projected salaries of NBA first round picks.
If the franchise is unable to move the picks, it could look to nab a big man, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets. The scribe mentions Jakob Poeltl, Deyonta Davis and Domantas Sabonis as potential targets for Atlanta.
Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Draft, Sixers
The Raptors own the No. 9 overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA draft, but the team doesn’t expect to land a player who can provide immediate help at that slot, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “I don’t know if it’s a draft where we can go and get somebody who will impact our team right away,” GM Masai Ujiri said. “And we have to take that . . . and look at it a different way. Is it a player that’s three, four years down the road and that player has a high upside? We have to look out for the organization that way.”
The team also holds the No. 27 overall pick and Ujiri is pleased with the opportunities owning two first-rounders will provide, Smith adds. “You continue to narrow and narrow [list of possible suggestions] and when you have a bunch of guys you have different options,” Ujiri said. “You can look at trading the pick, you can look at drafting a guy who doesn’t come right away, you can look at a player you can draft and develop slowly. We just feel it’s a great position for us to be in.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Sixers have a group workout scheduled for Wednesday with Trevor Cooney (Syracuse), Quenton DeCosey (Temple), Alex Hamilton (Louisiana Tech), Brice Johnson (North Carolina), Devonta Pollard (Houston) and Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), the team announced via press release.
- Former Arizona big man Kaleb Tarczewski will work out for the Celtics on Wednesday, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com relays (on Twitter).
- The Raptors held a group workout on Friday that included potential lottery picks Jakob Poeltl and Skal Labissiere, the team announced.
- While many have suggested that the Sixers trade away a number of their big men, Bob Cooney of The Philadelphia Inquirer argues that Philly should instead look to build around Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor. The scribe cites the small sample size of pairing Noel alongside Okafor, as well as Embiid’s in jury history as reason for his stance.
Northwest Notes: Wolves, Poeltl, Thunder, Jazz
Former Utah big man Jakob Poeltl worked out for the Timberwolves earlier this week, according to Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (Twitter link), who notes that the club has done its homework on every possible top-five prospect. Poeltl currently ranks eighth on DraftExpress.com’s big board and 12th on Chad Ford’s at ESPN.com.
Here’s more from around the NBA’s Northwest division:
- With the NBA increasing its salary cap projection for 2016/17 to $94MM, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman explores what that would mean for the Thunder and Kevin Durant.
- The Nuggets and Jazz are both holding pre-draft workouts on Saturday, according to announcements issued by the teams. Denver will be hosting Furkan Korkmaz (Turkey) and Tanner Samson (Elon Phoenix), while the Jazz (Twitter link) are taking a look at Ante Zizic (Croatia), Jordan Tolbert (SMU), and Gracin Bakumanya (Democratic Republic of Congo).
- Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune examines why it has been a challenge for the Jazz to attract top-level prospects for pre-draft workouts over the last couple years.
- Timberwolves CEO Rob Moor has stepped down from his position, the team announced today. Kent Youngblood of The Star Tribune discusses the move, which shouldn’t have a real impact on Minnesota’s basketball operations.
Draft Notes: Sixers, Richardson, Cook, Forbes
As Sharon Katz and Paul Sabin of ESPN.com detail, ESPN Analytics’ projection model for draft prospects views Brandon Ingram as a safer pick than Ben Simmons. While the two players’ odds of developing into All-Stars are even, Simmons has a much higher bust potential than Ingram, according to the model. Jakob Poeltl, Deyonta Davis, Cheick Diallo, and Chinanu Onuaku are among the prospects viewed far more favorably by the ESPN Analytics model than by traditional scouts. This info won’t shake up teams’ big boards significantly, but it’s worth keeping in mind on draft night. Especially with Sixers GM Bryan Colangelo claiming that his team’s plan for the No. 1 pick “changes every day” (link via ESPN.com).
Here’s more on next Thursday’s draft:
- ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider-only link) has updated his top 100 rankings for this year’s draft now that 2016’s early entrant class has been finalized. Ford also broke down the first round and examined what a grade-A draft for each team would look like (Insider link).
- Former Syracuse wing Malachi Richardson is taking part in workouts with the Bulls, Bucks, and Raptors this week, writes Mike Waters of Syracuse.com.
- In addition to his previously reported workouts, Oregon’s Elgin Cook has gotten a look from the Hawks and Warriors, and still has workouts on tap with the Jazz, Mavericks, Kings, and Pistons, per Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- According to Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com (Twitter link), Michigan State guard Bryn Forbes has also been busy in recent weeks, having worked out for the Celtics, Magic, Hawks, Bulls, Wizards, and Lakers in addition to four more teams that were previously reported. Forbes still has workouts with the Pistons and Spurs on his schedule.
- French draft hopeful Boris Dallo has signed with Chris Patrick of Relativity Sports for representation as he looks to make the leap to the NBA, according to Sportando (Twitter link).
Draft Notes: Labissiere, Poeltl, Murray
Here are the latest news and notes regarding the 2016 NBA Draft, which will be held on June 23rd in Brooklyn, New York:
- The Nuggets have workouts scheduled on Thursday for Josh Adams (Wyoming), Kay Felder (Oakland), Brice Johnson, (North Carolina), Chris Obekpa, (UNLV), Malachi Richardson, (Syracuse) and Guershcon Yabusele (France), the team announced via press release.
- The Suns held a group workout today for Johnson, Richardson, Alpha Kaba (France) and Maodo Lo (Columbia), the team announced in a series of tweets. Working out individually for Phoenix today was Skal Labissiere (Kentucky) and Jakob Poeltl (Utah).
- Kentucky combo guard Jamal Murray said he intends to work out for just four teams: the Celtics, Suns, Timberwolves and Pelicans, Jay King of MassLive tweets. The teams on Murray’s list hold picks No. 3 to No. 6 in June’s draft, King notes.
- The Wolves will bring in Damion Lee (Louisville) and Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova) as part of a group workout on June 14th, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN notes (Twitter links).
Central Notes: Bucks, Lue, Bulls, Pistons
It’s a busy Wednesday for the Bucks, who are hosting seven prospects for workouts in Milwaukee, according to the team’s website. Utah big man Jakob Poeltl is getting a close look from the team in an individual workout, while the other six prospects are participating in a group workout. Those players are Jameel McKay (Iowa State), Alex Poythress (Kentucky), Wayne Selden (Kansas), Angel Rodriguez (Miami), Andrew Andrews (Washington), and Ryan Arcidiacono (Villanova).
Here’s more from out of the Central division, including a couple more pre-draft workout updates:
- In an interesting piece at Cleveland.com, Chris Haynes details a phone call that took place between Tyronn Lue and Cavaliers general manager David Griffin earlier this year, when Lue tried to convince Griffin that David Blatt shouldn’t be fired. However, the GM had already up his mind, and by the end of the call, Lue had agreed to become Cleveland’s new head coach. Now, Lue is preparing his team for the NBA Finals, while Blatt has signed a two-year contract to coach a team in Turkey.
- Florida State guard Malik Beasley is scheduled to visit the Bulls on June 8th and 9th, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Chicago currently holds the 14th and 48th overall picks in this year’s draft.
- Within his latest mailbag, David Mayo of MLive.com explains why he doesn’t think Ryan Anderson is a realistic target for the Pistons, and looks into Andre Drummond‘s long-term ceiling.
Draft Workouts: Bembry, Long, Cousins, Bentil
After participating in Philadelphia’s group workout today, St. Joe’s forward DeAndre’ Bembry has workouts lined up with two more Atlantic teams, tweets Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly.com. Per Camerato, Bembry will work out for the Celtics on Wednesday and the Raptors later in the week. Here are more updates on pre-draft workouts, including a couple more courtesy of Camerato:
- Two more players who worked out for the Sixers today – Louisiana-Lafayette forward Shawn Long and VCU guard Melvin Johnson – are getting looks from a handful of other teams too. Per Camerato (Twitter links), Long has the Bucks on Wednesday, the Nuggets on Saturday, and the Rockets and Mavericks next week. Johnson, meanwhile, will work out for the Cavaliers, Nets, and Celtics this week after having worked out for the Spurs and Rockets as well.
- Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins has his first workout tomorrow with Indiana, but he has several more on tap after that, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, who tweets that Cousins will work out for the Nuggets, Spurs, Rockets, and Suns.
- Providence forward Ben Bentil will audition for both Los Angeles teams this week, working out for the Lakers and Clippers on Wednesday and Thursday, a source tells Zagoria (Twitter link).
- Potential lottery pick Jakob Poeltl said during the combine that he has met with the Bucks, Magic, Hawks, and Spurs, in addition to his previously reported sitdowns with New Orleans and Boston (Twitter link via Zagoria). It sounds like all of those meetings were just interviews, so we’ll see in the coming weeks if Poeltl visits any of those teams – or others – for workouts.
Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Poeltl, Selden, Ellenson
With the annual NBA Draft Combine in full swing this week, here are the latest updates regarding the teams of the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks team president Phil Jackson is still not among those representing New York at the combine, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets. Assistant GM Allan Houston and interim coach Kurt Rambis have been observing workouts and speaking with players in Jackson’s absence.
- LSU junior combo guard Tim Quarterman has a workout set for May 20th with the Nets, Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter links). The team interviewed former Oregon small forward Elgin Cook, Hamilton adds.
- Former Gonzaga power forward Kyle Wiltjer has a workout scheduled next week with the Sixers, Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly tweets.
- The Knicks interviewed Kansas junior shooting guard Wayne Selden, Zagoria tweets. The interview was conducted by Houston, the scribe notes.
- The Celtics have a workout scheduled on Wednesday with North Carolina State sophomore power forward Abdul Malik-Abu, Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald tweets.
- Utah sophomore center Jakob Poeltl met with representatives from the Sixers today, Derek Bodner of Philadelphia magazine relays (on Twitter).
- Former Baylor small forward Taurean Prince has a workout set with the Sixers for May 20th, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer relays (Twitter links). The scribe also notes that the team interviewed Marquette freshman big man Henry Ellenson.