Two More Candidates For President’s Post In Orlando
Two more names have emerged as contenders for the president of basketball operations role in Orlando, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
A report last weekend said the Magic will offer the job to Cavaliers GM David Griffin when his team’s playoff run is over. Kevin McHale has also been mentioned as a possibility. Stein reveals that Milwaukee’s John Hammond and Toronto’s Jeff Weltman are under consideration as well.
Hammond has served as GM of the Bucks since 2008 and was named Executive of the Year in 2010. He received a one-year contract extension from the team last summer that will take him through next season, with the plan that he would transition to a consultant and be replaced by assistant GM Justin Zanik.
Weltman was promoted to GM of the Raptors last September. He joined the team in 2013 after five years as assistant GM of the Bucks. Weltman also held front office positions with the Pistons, Nuggets and Clippers.
The Magic have already started the interview process, but CEO Alex Martins said he expects it to take a long time.
Who Should The Raptors Target At The Trade Deadline?
The current owners of the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference, there’s every reason to believe the Raptors will be active buyers at the trade deadline. But who will team president Masai Ujiri and GM Jeff Weltman target? As things currently stand, the Raptors will enter the second half with their 2015/16 rotation in place, sans Bismack Biyombo.
DeMar DeRozan has been vocal in his push for Toronto’s front office to acquire help; telling Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star “help is a great word with any team. Anybody could take help any day if it makes you better, a team better, anything.” DeMarre Carroll echoed DeRozan’s sentiments, noting that the team’s starting unit has been stretched thin amid a playoff run.
One form of help (albeit a flashy one) could come in the form of Serge Ibaka. This past week, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders indicated the Raptors as a potential “long-term fit” for Ibaka’s services. Ibaka’s in the final year of a four-year, $49MM contract, but the Magic’s asking price is believed to be high. Provided Dwane Casey and the Raptors don’t need to sell off rotation players to acquire him, Ibaka would be a considerable upgrade over Patrick Patterson and Pascal Siakam in Toronto’s frontcourt.
Josh Lewenberg of TSN doubled-down on the team’s need to pursue a trade, citing the team’s recent struggles (Toronto has gone 4-6 over their last 10 games). While the team had offseason acquisition Jared Sullinger tabbed for a starting role, the former Celtic is still working to get in shape after suffering a fractured right foot in October. The Raptors have long admired Paul Millsap‘s game, Lewenberg writes, but the Hawks appear unlikely to deal him amidst their pursuit of a four-seed.
Ryan Wolstat of the National Post cited Ibaka and Millsap as ideal fits, while throwing Taj Gibson, Trevor Booker, and Wilson Chandler in the mix as potential trade targets. While Booker isn’t a “sexy name,” compared to Ibaka or Millsap, he has quietly enjoyed a productive for the 9-44 Nets. Averaging 10 points with 8.7 rebounds, the 29-year-old Booker is in the first year of a two-year, $18.375MM pact. Booker’s “doggedness,” on each end of the court is a trait the Raptors could use, Wolstat notes.
What do you think? Which target makes the most sense for Ujiri and Weltman to pursue? What’s Toronto’s ceiling for a 2016/17 playoff run?
Atlantic Notes: Okafor, Embiid, Lopez, Lin
Minutes restrictions have made it difficult for the Sixers to get Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid on the court at the same time, but Okafor tells Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly that he sees a bright future for the pairing. The two young centers teamed up for the first time in today’s games with the Hawks, but only for about two minutes in the second quarter. “I think once we figure it out, we can really dominate together,” Okafor said. There have been rumors for months that the Sixers are interested in making a trade to clear up their logjam in the middle with Okafor, Embiid and Nerlens Noel.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- It’s only the third game of the season, but the Nets are already giving center Brook Lopez a day off, notes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn, in the middle of a stretch of four games in six nights, plans to be careful about Lopez’s minutes all season. The ninth-year center, who has been through three foot surgeries, compares it to being on a pitch count. “What we’re trying to do with Brook is take the long-term approach, just build him up as the season goes on and increase his minutes. We have a plan in place,’’ said new Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. “It’s learning the system, it’s looking at a long-term approach to how we’re going to build him up in terms of minutes as the season goes on. He’s got some miles on him.”
- Atkinson is ready for a new chapter with Jeremy Lin after contributing heavily to “Linsanity” in New York, writes Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Atkinson was an assistant with the Knicks at the time and did a lot of individual work with Lin. “He knows I came here to take on this challenge with him,” Lin said. “And deep down inside, I know that when he got this job, the first thing he wanted to do was come and get me. We’re in this together. And we’re deeply embedded in this challenge.”
- New Raptors GM Jeff Weltman doesn’t mind working in anonymity, relays Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun. Team president Masai Ujiri gets credit for building last year’s Eastern Conference finalist, but Weltman, who was promoted to his new position last month, is happy to be part of the team. “It’s easier [to be unknown],” said Weltman. “I truly think the only way we’re going to win is if we don’t have egos. That’s Masai’s belief also. It’s what we try and instill in all our players. … I was brought up to believe that and Masai’s known that for a long time. There’s no one here trying to pat themselves on the back or get noticed. We just want to win. All the rewards will come from that.”
Raptors Sign Masai Ujiri To Extension
The Raptors have locked up their team president and their primary basketball decision-maker for a few more years, the team announced today in a press release. Masai Ujiri, who had two years remaining on his previous contract, has signed a multiyear extension with Toronto, according to the announcement.
In addition to Ujiri’s extension, the Raptors also confirmed a couple other pieces of front-office news, announcing that Jeff Weltman has been promoted to general manager, while Bobby Webster will get a new title of assistant GM/VP basketball strategy.
“I am grateful to the Board and Mr. [Larry] Tanenbaum for the opportunity to continue our progress to build the Raptors into one of the top franchises in the NBA,” Ujiri said in a statement. “I’m also excited that Jeff and Bobby are being rewarded for their hard work and valuable contributions to our program. My family thanks the NBA, Raptors players and coaches, staff, Raptors fans, the city of Toronto and Canada for this opportunity. Toronto is home for us.”
Ujiri, who was named the Raptors’ president and general manager back on May 31, 2013, has helped lead the franchise to three consecutive playoff berths, and has overseen the best stretch in franchise history. After failing to top 47 wins in their first 18 years of existence, the Raptors have established a new high in wins in a season for three straight years — the team won 48 games in 2013/14, 49 in 2014/15, and 56 last season. Toronto also earned a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals this past season, after having never previously won a seven-game playoff series.
Under Ujiri’s watch, the Raptors have turned into a contender in the East while also continuing to develop young talent. Bruno Caboclo, Lucas Nogueira, Delon Wright, Jakob Poeltl, and Pascal Siakam are all currently on rookie contracts. Toronto has also retained draftees such as DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, and Terrence Ross with long-term deals, while adding players like DeMarre Carroll and Cory Joseph in free agency.
An ESPN report last month first indicated that the Raptors and Ujiri were discussing an extension.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Candidates Emerge For Cavs GM Job
9:27pm: A new name has been mentioned as a possible candidate to replace Chris Grant. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.com (via Twitter), has heard that TNT analyst Kenny Smith might be considered for the position. Smith had previously had discussions with the Kings about their vacant GM job over the summer. Smith hasn’t commented yet, but when the Kings job was in play, he stated, “Honestly, I’ve been looking at both — coaching, and a lot of things have been coming these last couple of years, and this time I’ve been taking it serious. My kids are at an age where I feel comfortable. And the other years, the kids were just too young. I didn’t want to be in it. But I just started taking it serious.”
2:57pm: Interim GM David Griffin is expected to have a shot at keeping his job long-term, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, but there are already other candidates. The Cavs have performed a background check on Knicks director of pro personnel Mark Hughes, and Cleveland is also expected to reach out to Raptors executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, Berger reports. Berger’s sources also indicate Clippers executive vice president of player personnel Gary Sacks could become a candidate.
Weltman was a finalist for the Suns GM post this summer before Phoenix picked Ryan McDonough instead. He has family ties to the Cavs, for whom his father, Harry Weltman, served as GM in the 1980s. Berger suggests that Sacks could be anxious to seek greater control than he has with the Clippers, who took away some of his powers when they hired Doc Rivers.
Berger also expects the Cavs to pursue Phil Jackson, given owner Dan Gilbert’s affinity for splashy names, but that appears to be merely an educated guess. Berger names a handful of other qualified candidates, though none of them are formally linked to the job.
Pacific Notes: Suns, Lakers, Collison
Owner Robert Sarver tells Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic that he feels “OK,” but not “great” about his surprising Suns, who sit at 24-17 in seventh place in the West
“We’re a work in progress,” he said. “What I feel really good about, and what I feel, is optimism. It’s optimism that we have some really good pieces, a good coaching staff and a number of assets that, if we make smart decisions, will lead us back to the elite level of play.”
Sarver had much more to say, and we covered his comments on Eric Bledsoe earlier today. We’ll pass along another item of note from Bickley’s interview amid our look at the Pacific Division:
- Suns president of basketball ops Lon Babby endorsed Jeff Weltman, then with the Bucks and now with the Raptors, for the Phoenix GM job this summer, but Sarver made the decision to hire Ryan McDonough instead, according to Bickley.
- The Lakers aren’t sure they want to make a significant investment in any free agent other than LeBron James this summer, so they’ll probably instead pursue lower-tier free agents with short-term deals and gear up for 2015, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding writes. Regardless, the team won’t use the draft as its primary vehicle toward contention, according to Ding.
- Darren Collison‘s success in place of Chris Paul raises the odds that he’ll opt out of his contract, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com surmises. Collison signed his deal with the Clippers when it became apparent to him that the Mavs didn’t want him back, a stance the point guard saw as disrespectful. “As a competitor you look at it that way,” Collison said. “They had their situation. I’m just glad that I fell into a situation like the Clippers that’s given me an opportunity. Now I have a chance to play for a contending team that’s going to try to play for something more special.”
- Marcin Gortat is grateful to the Suns and says he harbors no hard feelings about their decision to trade him this past fall, though he admits there will be emotions involved as he returns to Phoenix with the Wizards for tonight’s game. Michael Lee of The Washington Post has more.
Lawrence On Messina, Nets, Pacers
Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News has tons of interesting bits in his latest column and we have the highlights..
- There has been talk about the Nets looking for a “fresh face" rather than going with an established coach and Italian coach Ettore Messina would fit the bill, along with Pacers assisstant Brian Shaw. A group of Russian Nets executives who report to Mikhail Prokhorov is quite familiar with Messina, which could help his candidacy. Communication also won't be an issue for Messina as he speaks English fluently. “Players will find that Ettore has the technical mind to do the job, he can do the X’s and O’s, so strategically, it would not be hard for him at all,’’ said Spurs GM R.C. Buford.
- The Pacers know they need outside shooting help and would love to add Kyle Korver or J.J. Redick. Both players, of course, will be free agents on July 1. The club's other free agents, Tyler Hansbrough and D.J. Augustin, are expendable, which can give them some extra breathing space this offseason.
- David Stern plans to step down from the competition committee – which has the power to make rules changes – once he's done being commissioner. Lawrence's bet, however, is that he’ll still be used by the committee as a consultant.
- Lionel Hollins wants to paint Grizzlies assistant Dave Joerger like the bad guy if he doesn’t get a new deal in Memphis, but people in the NBA feel that he hasn’t done anything to bounce Hollins and get the job for himself. The Memphis front office doesn’t want Hollins back unless it’s on the cheap and he starts buying into the club's statistical analysis.
- New Raptors GM Masai Ujiri wants to hire Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman to be his top assistant. Weltman and former Knick president Scott Layden were up for the Suns gig that went to Ryan McDonough.
Odds & Ends: Shaw, Kings, Curry, Raptors, Allen
You could make a convincing argument that no head coaching candidate has a higher stock than Brian Shaw right now. The Pacers assistant has been linked in one way or another to all four teams currently without a head coach, and his agent Jerome Stanley tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link) that several teams have contacted Indiana about interviewing his client. While no interviews have been formally scheduled yet, Shaw intends to explore all the opportunities available to him, according to his agent (Twitter links).
Let's round up a few more odds and ends from around the Association….
- According to veteran NBA reporter Peter Vecsey (via Twitter), Larry Bird is meeting with Kings ownership today. Bird has been mentioned as a possible Sacramento target for the position of head of basketball operations.
- Stephen Curry tells Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer that he can't picture himself playing for any team besides the Warriors.
- New Raptors head of basketball operations Masai Ujiri is making a "hard push" to bring Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman to Toronto as part of his team in the front office, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
- Ray Allen remains undecided on his $3.23MM player option for next season, but will address it after the Finals, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
- Manu Ginobili hopes to see fellow Argentine Pablo Prigioni continue to play in the NBA next season, rather than returning overseas, as he tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. "I think the last time he talked to the media (on Argentine radio) he was intending to get back in the (NBA)," Ginobili said. "If he wants to, he’ll be here."
Several Candidates Emerge For Nuggets GM Job
Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke's strong relationship with Masai Ujiri was the primary force behind the outgoing Denver GM's hesitation to accept Toronto's five-year, $15MM offer to jump to the Raptors front office, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets were willing to give Ujiri a deal worth $1.2MM a year, according to USA Today's Sam Amick. Still, none of it was enough to convince Ujiri to stay, and now the Nuggets are the team looking for a new GM. There's early talk about several who could eventually get the job, as we detail below:
- Nuggets assistant GM Pete D'Alessandro and director of player personnel Mike Bratz are viable options, sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
- Wojnarowski speculates that the Nuggets could promote D'Alessandro or go after Cavaliers assistant GM David Griffin. The Nuggets offered Griffin the job in 2010, but he turned them down, leading Denver to turn to Ujiri.
- Other executives who figure to be top candidates include Gersson Rosas of the Rockets, Bobby Marks of the Nets, Tim Connelly of the Pelicans, Wes Wilcox of the Hawks and Scott Perry of the Magic, according to Wojnarowski.
- The Nuggets could have some competition if they want to go with D'Alessandro, since Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace, the leading candidate to take the GM job in Sacramento, would like to hire him to work in the Kings front office, Amick reports (Twitter link).
- Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk interviewed well with the Kings, Amick tweets, arguing that Schlenk could be a fit in Denver if it doesn't work out for him in Sacramento.
- Assistant GMs Tommy Sheppard of the Wizards and Jeff Weltman of the Bucks have ties to the Nuggets and bear watching as the Nuggets' search takes place, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Woelfel On Sloan, Bucks, Weltman, Redick, Noel
Although he played well in this year's NCAA tournament, Vander Blue was one of the more surprising names on 2013's early entrant list, considering he's widely viewed as a second-round pick at best. But Blue told reporters at this week's draft combine in Chicago that he's confident in his decision, and expects to surprise anyone who doesn't think he'll produce in the NBA.
"Nobody expected [former Marquette teammate] Jimmy [Butler] to be who he is today with the Bulls," said Blue, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. "Nobody probably expects me to do any good in the NBA. But I know how to go about my business. I’m more than confident."
After discussing Blue's decision to declare for the draft and passing along a few of his quotes, Woelfel's latest column explores a few other topics of note. Here are the highlights:
- Woelfel reiterates that Jerry Sloan still has a desire to return to coaching, but not with the Bucks, as we heard last night.
- In addition to the interviews we heard about yesterday, the Bucks also met with Jamaal Franklin and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, says Woelfel.
- Woelfel hears from NBA officials that Bucks assistant GM Jeff Weltman may have had a verbal agreement in place with Suns president Lon Babby to become the team's GM, but that owner Robert Sarver nixed the deal. Phoenix ultimately ended up hiring Ryan McDonough.
- According to Woelfel, there's a "growing sentiment" that J.J. Redick will sign with a team besides the Bucks this summer.
- Nerlens Noel, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick next month, still hasn't decided on an agent, says Woelfel. One report last month suggested Noel may become Jay-Z's first basketball client.