Atlantic Notes: Nets, Blatt, Lalanne, Celtics
The Nets will swap picks with the Hawks in the upcoming draft as a result of the Joe Johnson trade, meaning they’ll be selecting at 29th. Still, Brooklyn director of player personnel Gregg Polinsky doesn’t sound like he’s too worried about picking so low, as Roderick Boone of Newsday passes along, since Polinsky believes GM Billy King’s creativity will help the Nets land a difference maker late in the first.
More from the Atlantic:
- Had it not been for the Knicks’ decision to hire Phil Jackson as president of basketball operations, David Blatt might have spent his first year as an NBA head coach in New York instead of Cleveland. Marc Berman of the New York Post has the details on Knicks GM Steve Mills’ close relationship with Blatt and what it might have meant to the team if Jackson wasn’t calling the shots in New York.
- UMass big man Cady Lalanne admits that while he’d love to be selected by any team in the upcoming draft, the Celtics are one of his preferred destinations, as Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com observes. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress lists Lalanne as the 65th best prospect in the draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN ranks him a bit lower at 87th.
- Lalanne worked out for the Celtics yesterday, along with Alpha Kaba, Larry Nance, T.J. Price, Kevin Capers, and Maxie Esho, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes on Twitter. Meanwhile, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald passes along that the team wanted to work out Corey Walden but couldn’t because he tweaked a hamstring. In addition to two first-round picks, Boston has two second-round selections, which is where they’d likely be considering drafting any of the aforementioned players.
- Eric Koreen of the National Post speculates that because the Raptors don’t possess any glaring team needs, they could make another off-the-wall selection with their first-round pick this season, much like they did last year when they selected Bruno Caboclo.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Wells, Celtics
In a letter sent to Nets season ticket-holders regarding the team’s future, CEO Brett Yormark and GM Billy King failed to mention Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, or Jarrett Jack, which could be a major sign that the franchise intends to part ways with the trio this offseason, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily writes. “We are committed to keeping our core leadership together by re-signing Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young. At the same time, we will continue to build on our emerging young core of players, such as Mason Plumlee, Bojan Bogdanovic, Markel Brown, and Sergey Karasev,” Yormark and King wrote.
The team also relayed in the letter that it will try to purchase additional draft picks to use this June, Windrem adds. The organization wrote, “[W]e are pleased to own the No. 29 and No. 41 picks. While we are identifying potential selections, we are even open to purchasing additional draft picks if the right opportunity presents itself. Furthermore, this summer, we are planning to be active in pursuing trades that would fill important needs.”
Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Maryland guard Dez Wells relayed that he has a workout scheduled with the Nets in June, Windrem tweets.
- The Celtics held workouts on Friday for Corey Walden (Eastern Kentucky), Gerard Coleman (Georgetown-Kentucky), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Scott Eatherton (Northeastern), Travis Trice (Michigan State), and Yanick Moreira (SMU), Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes (Twitter link).
- Wyoming forward Larry Nance Jr. said that he will work out for the Nets in the coming weeks, Windrem notes ((via Twitter).
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Bogdanovic, Draft
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak indicated that he hasn’t heard any offers enticing enough to sway him to deal away the No. 2 overall pick this June, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “It would have to be a heck of an opportunity for us to consider doing something like that,” Kupchak said. “You have to weigh it against who you would get as the second pick. We’re a little bit impatient. So if you came across something that made your team better quicker, that would probably be a veteran. That’s something you would consider.”
But the GM also noted that even acquiring a solid veteran might not be enough for the franchise to make a trade, Holmes adds. “Something could be said for having the No. 2 pick in terms of building going forward,” Kupchak said. “You know you’re going to get a really good player. You know you’re going to get a player under a contract that you’ll be able to control for at least five years at a reasonable amount before you have to consider an extension. Those are pluses in addition to getting a heck of a talent.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Suns draft-and-stash pick Bogdan Bogdanovic won’t be making the jump to the NBA next season, and he will remain with the Turkish club Fenerbahce, David Pick of Eurobasket.com tweets. The 22-year-old was the No. 27 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.
- The Lakers held workouts today for T.J. McConnell (Arizona), Bryce Dejean-Jones (Iowa State), Kevin Pangos (Gonzaga), Dez Wells (Maryland), Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa), and Maurice Walker (Minnesota), Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays.
- Wyoming big man Larry Nance Jr. has a workout with the Lakers scheduled for next week, Robert Gagliardi of WyomingCowboysBlog.com reports.
- The Suns worked out Askia Booker (Colorado), Branden Dawson (Michigan State), Kendall Gray (Delaware State), Tyler Harvey (Eastern Washington), Le’Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State), and Chris Walker (Florida), Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic relays (via Twitter).
Draft Notes: Combine, Montero, Osman
Turkish swingman Cedi Osman indicated that he is most likely two years away from joining the NBA, and that he wishes to gain more experience by continuing to play overseas,
Here’s more draft related items:
- Bowling Green product Richaun Holmes will participate in the NBA Draft combine in Chicago, according to Hoops Rumors’ Zach Links (via Twitter). Zach spoke with Holmes late last month to kick off the Hoops Rumors Draft Prospect Q&A series.
- Westchester Community College swingman Luis David Montero has qualified to enter the 2015 NBA draft, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets. The NBA league office relayed that Montero’s early entry letter was received prior to the declaration deadline, Spears notes. The 6’7″ Dominican isn’t currently projected to be selected come June.
- With the NBA Draft combine set to begin next week, Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders runs down six potential sleeper picks who will be participating in Chicago. According to Koutroupis, these players are Larry Nance Jr. (Wyoming), Norman Powell (UCLA), Keifer Sykes (Wisconsin-Green Bay), Chris Walker (Florida), and Joseph Young (Oregon).
- Utah point guard Delon Wright would be a solid draft selection this June for a contending team looking for a role-player who could contribute almost immediately, Ford, Kevin Pelton, and Fran Fraschilla of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) write in their profile of the 23-year-old. Wright is the No. 26 ranked prospect according to both ESPN.com and DraftExpress.