And-Ones: LeBron, Love, Garnett, Donovan
People around the league told Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal that didn’t think the Cavs had any shot at re-signing LeBron James going into Tuesday’s draft lottery, but Cleveland’s third lottery victory in four years casts the idea in a new light, Lloyd figures. The Cavs have long believed that acquiring Kevin Love would be central to the team’s pursuit of the four-time MVP, and they thought all season that the Wolves would eventually trade their power forward. Still, Lloyd has heard from no one who believes that Love would stay in Cleveland long-term if the team can’t land James, so trading for Love before knowing what James wants to do would be a supreme gamble. There’s more on the Love sweepstakes amid the latest from around the NBA:
- The Warriors are confident they can wind up with Love, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle hears. Love is reportedly high on Golden State, and the team has been resourceful in acquiring players in spite of a lack of cap flexibility, Simmons notes.
- Next season’s $12MM salary and a productive stretch run lead Tim Bontemps of the New York Post to believe that Kevin Garnett will return next season for the Nets, even though he hasn’t dismissed talk of retirement.
- Billy Donovan admitted contact with a couple of NBA teams, but he said he’s content as the coach at the University of Florida and “all but guaranteed” he’ll remain there for next season, observes Mark Long of The Associated Press (Twitter links; hat tip to Marc Stein of ESPN.com). The Wolves reportedly sought him for their vacancy earlier this spring.
- The Warriors were one of five teams that reached out to Steve Kerr about their coaching vacancies, as Kerr said on ESPN Radio’s The Dan Le Batard show, tweets Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. The Knicks and Jazz were his other known suitors.
- Draft hopeful Andre Dawkins will work out for the Bulls, Suns, Hornets, Pacers, Pistons and Mavericks, his agent tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Dawkins is No. 92 in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com doesn’t have him among his top prospects.
Eastern Notes: Celtics, Hawks, Knicks
The Celtics are trying to make significant upgrades, but it doesn’t look like they’ll lunge at just any deal, as sources tell Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that the team is prepared to suffer through another mediocre season if it can’t make a major acquisition.
More from the east:
- Al Horford won’t play for the Dominican Republic National Team this summer but is expected ready in time for the Hawks training camp, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Horford is recovering from a torn pectoral muscle that he suffered in December.
- The Hawks have shown interest in possibly signing free agents Spencer Hawes, Trevor Ariza, and Jordan Hill, tweets Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link).
- Tim Bontemps of The New York Post takes a look back at the season of Nets center Jason Collins. In 22 games, he averaged 1.1 PPG and 0.9 RPG in 7.8 minutes per contest.
- Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com looks at what the Knicks would need to do in order to have a shot at luring LeBron James to New York if he doesn’t opt out of his deal this summer and instead becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2015.
- The Sixers need to focus on becoming a more attractive destination for free agents if they want to continue their rebuilding process, writes Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Central Notes: LeBron, Cavs, Hammond, Pistons
The Cavs appear to face an uphill battle if they’re to sign LeBron James this summer, but they still intend to try, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who points to the team’s interest in Heat assistant David Fizdale as evidence. Still, Fizdale tells Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel that he’s had no contact with Cleveland and that his only ties to the team were through Mike Brown, whom the team fired last week (Twitter link). Here’s more on Cleveland’s coaching search and the team’s rivals from the Central Division:
- Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is enamored with Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, though Billups, who’s yet to retire from playing, prefers a future as an NBA GM as opposed to a coach, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer. Vinny Del Negro, Alvin Gentry, Lionel Hollins and Mark Jackson are more likely candidates for Cleveland’s head coaching vacancy, Boyer believes.
- Adrian Griffin seemed like the early favorite for the Cavs coaching job, but it’s unclear whether he’s a high on Cleveland’s list, as Boyer writes in the same piece.
- Bucks GM John Hammond will remain with the team at least through the draft, Bucks co-owner Wesley Edens said Tuesday, as Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes. Edens gave no assurances that the GM will last longer than that in spite of Hammond’s contract, which runs for two more seasons, Gardner notes.
- The Pistons and Hornets had discussions about a deal during the season that would have allowed Detroit to keep its first-round pick regardless of where it ended up in the order, but they never got serious, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Charlotte wound up with Detroit’s first-rounder for next month when the Pistons fell to ninth in Tuesday’s lottery.
- Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III, Jabari Brown and Jordan Clarkson are among the players the Pistons will consider with the 38th overall pick, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (on Twitter).
- We rounded up more on the Cavs earlier today.
Cavs Unlikely To Land LeBron Without Upgrades
LeBron James won’t consider signing with any team that isn’t ready to seriously contend for a title in 2014/15, and he’s unwilling to play for an inexperienced coach, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Windhorst casts doubt on the notion that landing a third No. 1 overall pick in four years will be enough to convince James to opt out of his contract with the Heat and sign with the Cavs this summer, unless Cleveland packages the pick or other assets in a trade for a star. To that end, the Cavs will most likely inquire with the Timberwolves about Kevin Love, according to Windhorst.
It would take a “dream scenario” to entice James to leave the Heat, Windhorst writes, and doing so would be virtually impossible if Miami were to win the title this year and set up a run at a fourth straight title next season, the ESPN.com scribe also says. Windhorst raises the idea that the Heat may also inquire about Love this summer in an effort to further enhance their odds of keeping the four-time MVP, but it’s unclear whether that’s truly in team president Pat Riley‘s plans or mere speculation.
Windhorst’s report seems to suggest that the Cavs must hire an experienced coach if they’re to have any chance at bringing James back to the franchise. Cavs GM David Griffin has indicated a desire to pivot from the team’s strategy of collecting high draft picks into a pursuit of veterans, so perhaps that philosophy will extend to the team’s coaching search, too.
The pressure is also seemingly on other would-be suitors for James to target additional stars in an effort to surround James with as strong a team as possible, just as the Heat added Chris Bosh to a team that already had Dwyane Wade when they signed James in 2010.
Eastern Notes: Boycott, LeBron, Draft
The Heat‘s James Jones, who is also the secretary treasurer of the NBAPA, shot down the notion of a LeBron James led boycott next season if Donald Sterling was still the owner of the Clippers, writes Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Jones said, “There is no boycott. There isn’t a lot of talk about a boycott. The union wanted to see the league step up and did what they did what we felt was appropriate – which was to remove Donald Sterling. They did that. It’s a process and we know it’s going to take time. But there is total trust between the union and the league and commissioner and the owners, knowing that eventually it will all play out the way we agreed – which is Donald Sterling no longer being the owner of an NBA team. We’re all on the same page. The Donald Sterling situation is a league situation. It’s not basketball.”
More from the east:
- Roger Mason clarified his previous statement that James would lead a players boycott next season. Mason tweeted, “LBJ never said anything about boycotting. He’s a friend and I would never want to imply something he didn’t say.”
- The Celtics are set to interview Marcus Smart and Dante Exum at the Chicago Combine this week, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (twitter link). Blakely also tweets that Boston is “really big” on Exum.
- Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer looks at the Sixers approach to this year’s Draft Combine, as well as speculates on who the team might select with their multitude of draft picks.
- With the Nets being eliminated from the playoffs this evening, the focus turns to whether or not Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett will return to the team, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Central Rumors: Bucks, Pistons, Calipari
The NBA is set to announce approval on Thursday of the $550MM sale of the Bucks from Herb Kohl to Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. Lasry, who’ll have to divest his minority share of the Nets, and Edens had prioritized taking control before Tuesday’s lottery, Windhorst writes. Still, opposition groups are lining up against public funding for a new arena in Milwaukee, and the NBA has the right to buy the team for $575MM if a deal for a new building isn’t in place by November 2017. Kohl put that clause in the purchase agreement to keep the new owners from moving the team, Windhorst notes. Here’s more from the Central Division:
- A league executive told Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press that Stu Jackson is a possibility to serve as Pistons GM under Stan Van Gundy, noting that Van Gundy worked under Jackson as an assistant at the University of Wisconsin in the 1990s (Twitter link).
- The fate of John Loyer isn’t immediately clear in the wake of Van Gundy’s hiring, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who notes that Loyer has one season left on his contract. Loyer had been serving as Pistons interim head coach, and it’s possible he’ll return to the role of assistant coach that he occupied before the team fired Maurice Cheeks in February, according to MLive’s David Mayo.
- It’ll be business as usual at this week’s draft combine for Pistons assistant GM George David and director of basketball operations Ken Catanella, who jointly ran the team’s front office following the end of Joe Dumars‘ tenure, Ellis tweets.
- John Calipari would love to coach LeBron James someday, as he tells Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer, but he’s committed to Kentucky and won’t be in the mix to replace Mike Brown on the Cavs, who loom as a possible free agent destination for James.
And-Ones: Cavs, Nets, T’Wolves
There are plenty of head coaching options for the Cavaliers to consider, as the league’s current list of free agent coaches includes Mike D’Antoni, Lionel Hollins, Mark Jackson, and George Karl. Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio briefly profiles each of the above-mentioned candidates according to their chances of landing in Cleveland next season. Additionally, Amico mentions Alvin Gentry, Jerry Sichting, Mark Price, Alex Jensen, and Steve Kerr as other names to keep in mind.
Here are some more miscellaneous news and notes to pass along tonight:
- Despite talk that Kevin Garnett could potentially retire after this season, with Paul Pierce slated to hit unrestricted free agency, all signs point toward both returning to the Nets next year, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
- Timberwolves brass will be heading to Chicago tomorrow in preparation for the NBA’s pre-draft combine and are expected to request interviews with many players, including Michigan State’s Gary Harris, Michigan’s Nik Stauskas, Kentucky’s James Young, Creighton’s Doug McDermott, and Duke’s Rodney Hood, reports Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.
- In the same piece, Zgoda writes that the Wolves are looking to acquire their own D-League affiliate.
- Don’t be surprised if LeBron James chooses to distance himself from Roger Mason Jr.‘s recent comments about boycotting the 2014/15 season if Donald Sterling still owns the Clippers, writes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
- Assuming he re-signs with the Thunder in 2016, Kevin Durant could earn somewhere around $143.75MM over five years, as Berry Tramel and Jon Hamm of NewsOK explain.
- During an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Magic Johnson revealed that he declined an offer from Pistons owner Tom Gores to be part of his ownership group in Detroit (H/T to The Detroit News). Magic had been responding to the claim from Donald Sterling that the former Lakers star had been conspiring to purchase the Clippers.
And-Ones: LeBron, Hollins, T’Wolves, Klimenko
During an interview on Jim Rome on Showtime, NBPA vice president Roger Mason said that the players would boycott next season if Donald Sterling is still in place, adding that he had spoken about it with Heat superstar LeBron James:
“If it’s not handled (by) the start of next season, I don’t see how we’re playing basketball…Leaders of the teams, they’re all saying the same thing, ‘If this man is still in place, we (are not) playing’…LeBron and I talked about it…He (isn’t) playing if Sterling is still an owner.” (interview transcribed by James Herbert of CBS Sports).
Here are some more noteworthy links to pass along this evening:
- With Stan Van Gundy and Steve Kerr looking like distinct possibilities for the Warriors’ head coaching position, the team should shift their focus toward Lionel Hollins, says Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. As we noted a few days ago, Hollins is scheduled to interview with Golden State on Thursday.
- The Warriors are reportedly seeking an offensive-minded coach, and although Hollins’ defense-first mentality wouldn’t make him the most ideal fit for the job, Thompson hears that Hollins would look to bring on a respected offensive mind as one of his assistants, and would likely consider former Kings coach Paul Westphal for that particular position.
- The Timberwolves haven’t had any contact with Kerr and don’t seem to be considering him for their head coaching opening, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN.
- Agent Bill McCandless says that draft prospect Artem Klimenko has reached a buyout agreement with Avtodor of the Russian Super League. The 7’1 center is scheduled to travel to the U.S. next week to work out for six to eight teams before the start of Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy (Twitter links via Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype).
- 2013 summer league standout Jack Cooley will participate in mini-camp workouts with the Spurs, Nets, Cavaliers, and Jazz, says RealGM’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
- Elston Turner has received an invite to work out for the Warriors in June and will participate in the upcoming NBA Summer League, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (H/T to Il Messagero).
- Suns guard Archie Goodwin was arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in his hometown of Little Rock, according to a report from the Associated Press. Goodwin recently completed his rookie season in Phoenix and will be due in court on June 3.
Central Rumors: LeBron, Kyrie, Bucks
The Pacers are the Central Division’s remaining horse in the race but for the rest of the gang, the offseason is underway. Here’s the latest..
- The NBA is moving quickly toward approval of Herb Kohl’s sale of the Bucks to Marc Lasry and Wesley Edens, and there’s a chance the league will announce the transfer later this week, a source tells Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- LeBron James gave his thoughts on Mike Brown‘s dismissal before the tip-off of Game 4 against the Nets. “It’s a tough business and Mike Brown got the short end of a tough business,” the Heat star said, according to Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald (on Twitter). The Cavs made the long-expected decision to oust Brown earlier today.
- Meanwhile, Cavs guard Kyrie Irving is “in complete support” of Brown’s dismissal and David Griffin‘s promotion to permanent GM, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio. There have been rumblings that Irving has been unhappy in Cleveland and the Cavs have him under team control through the summer of 2016, so it’s important for them to keep him satisfied in the long term.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Sefko On Mavs: LeBron, Chandler, Draft
Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News addressed a number of topics regarding the Mavericks in his weekly chat earlier today. Here are some of the highlights:
- If LeBron James opts out of his contract with the Heat this summer, Sefko believes the Mavs will get a chance to make their best pitch thanks to the presence of owner Mark Cuban.
- Sefko believes it’s a long shot that the team swings a deal for the Knicks Tyson Chandler. He believes that other teams, such as the Thunder, would have more to offer New York if they put Chandler on the trading block.
- He doesn’t believe the Mavs will make a trade to move into the first round of the draft. Sefko says the current indications from the front office are that the talent available in the 20 to 40 range are very similar. The Mavericks have a high second-round pick which they received from the Celtics in the Kelly Olynyk trade and they believe they can find value there, according to the article.
- The four most likely free agent targets for the Mavs this summer, opines Sefko, are Luol Deng, Spencer Hawes, Marcin Gortat, and Trevor Ariza.
- Sefko doesn’t think that Jason Terry is a likely target for a return to the team.