Blazers Offer Max Extension To Aldridge
The Blazers have offered LaMarcus Aldridge a maximum-salary extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. It’s unlikely that he’ll sign it, since he can make more money on a new deal in free agency next year, but Portland is set on signing him one way or another, even if it takes the max to do so.
Blazers owner Paul Allen and GM Neil Olshey met with agents Thad Foucher and Arn Tellem last week to make the offer, according to Wojnarowski. Aldridge has expressed his strong desire to remain in Portland both in public and private amid “significant momentum” toward a long-term commitment to stay, and the meeting fostered further warmth from Aldridge’s camp, Wojnarowski writes.
Aldridge can sign an extension starting in July that could tack an additional three years onto his deal, but the starting salary in the extension would be only 107.5% of his $16,006,000 pay for 2014/15. He could make a significantly higher starting salary on a new deal that could run as long as five years if he waits until free agency.
Draft Rumors: Jazz, Clippers, Rockets
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (on Twitter) hears the Jazz are “frantically” trying to move up from the No. 5 spot. Everything Utah has remains available for trade consideration. The Jazz reportedly have their eye on forward Jabari Parker and they know there’s no chance of him falling to No. 5. Here’s the latest draft news..
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears the Clippers are “50-50” on keeping their first round choice.
- One name to watch for the Rockets at either No. 25 or No. 42 is Russian big man Artem Klimenko, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Houston has been doing some serious research on him in recent months.
- The Lakers aren’t sensing a lot of momentum for a pre-draft trade and, as of right now, expect to keep the No. 7 pick, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
- The Knicks, Blazers, and Nets are among the teams trying to land a first-round choice, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- The Hornets have explored moving up from No. 24, league sources tell Kennedy (on Twitter).
- The Kings want to acquire a second-round pick, sources tell Kennedy (Twitter link).
- There are several picks in the late 20s “to be had,” one exec tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). With nine teams lacking a first-round pick, there’s a strong market for them.
- Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that we could be in for high number of international picks in the 20-to-30 range. That’s because teams are placing a high value on cap space and want to stay away from the luxury tax so clubs might not be lining up to trade for picks in that range as expected (link). The clubs left holding those selections might prefer to go with draft-and-stash candidates in cases where they don’t have obvious, pressing needs.
Draft Rumors: Cavs, Wolves, Afflalo, Jazz, Sixers
The Cavs had been favoring Jabari Parker, but his poor performance in a workout for the team coupled with a stirring audition from Andrew Wiggins has left Cleveland torn with just two days to go before the draft, according to Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. The time left before Thursday night’s draft figures to be full of back-and-forth, with uncertainty seemingly surrounding all 60 picks. Here’s the latest:
- The Wolves are willing to give up J.J. Barea, Corey Brewer, Alexey Shved and the No. 13 pick in an effort to either land a higher draft pick or a veteran, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The Bulls have their eyes on the 13th pick, according to Kyler.
- The Hornets, who have a longstanding interest in Arron Afflalo, are on board with surrendering the No. 9 pick and a player for the Magic shooting guard, Kyler writes in the same piece.
- The Jazz are targeting Wiggins as they attempt to move up rather than Parker, and they’re actively shopping pick No. 23, according to Kyler.
- The Sixers‘ reason for seeking a third top-10 pick is so they would still be able to emerge with two top-10 picks from the draft if they package the third and 10th selections to move up, sources tell Kyler.
- The Kings have three deals in the works involving the No. 8 pick, according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com.
- The Bucks are not actively shopping John Henson, in spite of heavy interest from other teams, but they are open to the idea of trading him for a lottery pick, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
- Milwaukee is listening to offers for the No. 2 overall pick, though Bucks GM John Hammond said today that “it would take something very special,” to prompt him to give it up, tweets Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- It’s “highly unlikely” that the Blazers, who are without a pick in either round on Thursday, end up trading for one, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears (Twitter link).
Mo Williams To Opt Out
JUNE 23rd: Williams has formally informed Portland that he will become a free agent, agent Mark Bartelstein tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN (on Twitter).
MAY 16th: Williams said once more that he will opt out of his contract, as he told reporters, including Haynes, at the team’s exit interviews today (Twitter link). He’ll seek a three-year contract which he believes will be his last, notes Joe Freeman of The Oregonian (on Twitter),
JANUARY 9th: Mo Williams intends to turn down his 2014/15 player option at season’s end, becoming an unrestricted free agent, he tells Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com. According to Williams, opting out was always his plan, but he hopes to sign a new contract with the Trail Blazers in July.
“I would like to be here long-term,” Williams said. “My goal is to work something out with Portland this summer. I like it here and I want to make this place home…. For me, it’s about finishing my career the right way for the X amount of years that I have and I’d love to do it here because of the fan support, the familiarity with the coach and [GM] Neil [Olshey].”
Williams, 31, signed a two-year contract with the Trail Blazers in the offseason that will pay him $2.65MM this season, with a second-year player option worth $2.77MM. Often, in that sort of modestly priced two-year deal, the player option serves as an insurance policy — for instance, if Williams were to suffer a serious injury this spring, he’d have the chance to opt into the second year, ensuring him a regular pay check for 2014/15.
Many of Williams’ per-game averages this season (9.4 PPG, 24.4 MPG) are the lowest marks since his rookie year. Still, he has filled the role Portland had anticipated for him, providing a veteran presence and serving as a dangerous third guard off the bench, backing up Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews. While he may not be in line for a big raise if and when he opts out, he could easily secure another multiyear deal.
Draft Notes: Embiid, Celtics, Trades
Joel Embiid‘s foot injury has shaken up the draft, with split opinions around the league regarding the seven-footer’s prospects for the draft and beyond. One league source tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Embiid’s health concerns place him in legitimate danger of plummeting out of the lottery, while others are confident he will still be selected in the top 10. More draft rumblings:
- Tyler Ennis will have his second audition for the Magic on Monday, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (H/T Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic).
- The international teams for Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic, Nemanja Dangubic, and Vasilije Micic will not put any barriers in place to keep the players from joining the NBA if drafted, per tweets from Yugobasket and Misko Raznatovic (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
- Marcus Smart, Noah Vonleh, and Aaron Gordon are the Celtics preferred group of draftees at No. 6, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
- Boston’s “most likely” scenario for the draft is to keep both of their picks, GM Danny Ainge tells Washburn (Twitter link).
Earlier updates:
- The Cavs are making efforts to trade down from the top spot to the No. 3-5 range in the draft, where they think Embiid would still be available, tweets Brett Poirier of Sheridan Hoops. The Magic, sitting at No. 4, have not been contacted by Cleveland, a source tells Poirier (Twitter link). The Sixers and Jazz own the third and fifth pick, respectively.
- The Lakers would consider taking Embiid at No. 7 if he fell that far, a source familiar with their thinking tells Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News. Unsurprisingly, LA’s choice would hinge on their confidence in the big man’s recovery.
- The Lakers are more likely to hang on to that seventh pick than deal it, despite their ongoing efforts to explore what they could net for it, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The pick was linked to Klay Thompson as part of the Kevin Love discussions earlier today.
- The Suns are willing to trade away the 27th pick for a future first-rounder, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
- Jakarr Sampson, Niels Giffey, Glenn Robinson III, and Chane Behanan will work out for the Celtics today, tweets Holmes.
- As previously reported, the Warriors, Blazers, Pelicans, and Knicks are all looking to acquire first round draft picks, but the price tag is extremely high due to the deep draft pool, reports Alex Kennedy (via Twitter). Kennedy says that teams are asking for future picks that are unprotected or barely protected in return for first-rounders this year.
- The NBA has invited 21 prospects to the green room for the draft broadcast, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reveals in two tweets. The invite is a sign of consensus around these players as first round selections. The players invited were Andrew Wiggins Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Dante Exum, Noah Vonleh, Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Doug McDermott, Dario Saric, Gary Harris, Elfrid Payton, Nik Stauskas, James Young, Zach LaVine, Jusuf Nurkic, Adreian Payne, T.J. Warren, Tyler Ennis, Rodney Hood, and Shabazz Napier.
And-Ones: Draft, Spurs, Hornets, Hollins, Wolves
Jarnell Stokes‘ representatives are excited about his performance against Adreian Payne in a workout for the Raptors today, with auditions for the Spurs and Clippers still to come, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors reports (Twitter links). Zach also hears that Rodney Hood has rescheduled workouts with the Wolves and Kings this week after withdrawing from earlier auditions for the teams (Twitter link). Justin Jackson showed off twice for the Hornets last week, with the Hawks, Heat and Suns on his upcoming workout agenda, Zach also tweets. Here’s more from around the league:
- A Western Conference executive who spoke with Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News suggests that teams will be wary of the poor performance that soon-to-be free agent Boris Diaw turned in for Charlotte preceding his tenure with the Spurs. Monroe also hears doubt from an exec about Patty Mills‘ ability to succeed outside of San Antonio.
- The Hornets are interviewing Blazers director of college scouting Chad Buchanan for their assistant GM post, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). The assistant GM will serve under GM Rich Cho, who gained full control of the front office when president of basketball operations Rod Higgins resigned last week.
- The Rockets are aggressively seeking Lionel Hollins to serve as an assistant coach even though they know it will be difficult to land him as he seeks head coaching jobs, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Hollins has interviewed to become the head man for the Cavs and Lakers.
- The Timberwolves named Sam Mitchell an assistant coach today, the team announced (on Twitter). Mitchell interviewed for the head coaching job and was reportedly a favorite of owner Glen Taylor.
And-Ones: Divac, NBPA, Silver
Vlade Divac is interested in eventually becoming an NBA GM, reports Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Divac says he’s already spoken with the Kings about a job in their front office but that the team hasn’t made him an offer yet. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- The players union interviewed six candidates for their vacant executive director position on May 16th, with six more interviews scheduled in late June, and around six more in mid-July, reveals Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter).
- Adam Silver sat down with Rachel Nichols of CNN to recap the Donald Sterling fiasco and discuss how to handle the debacle going forward (video link).
- Peter Keating of ESPN.com argues that tanking doesn’t work and provides metrics to back up his claim (Insider link). Keating also presents different ideas to punish teams that intentionally lose to improve their draft position.
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media looks at a variety of options Sixers GM Sam Hinkie could consider if he decides trading up to the No. 1 spot in the draft is necessary to secure Andrew Wiggins.
- Mike McGraw of The Daily Herald thinks that Carmelo Anthony would be a much better fit for the Bulls than Kevin Love would be, even if Love is arguably the better player.
- Adi Joseph of USA Today takes a look at draft needs for the Thunder and Blazers.
Cray Allred contributed to this post.
Draft Notes: Nuggets, McGary, Kings, Knicks
Adi Joseph of USA Today breaks down the Nuggets‘ biggest draft needs. According to the article, the team has enough depth to afford to take a best-available approach, and may consider attempting to move up in order to get the elite-tier star their roster so desperately needs. Joseph also thinks the team needs to add help in the backcourt, and mentions Gary Harris, Nik Stauskas, Elfrid Payton, and Kyle Anderson as fits with the team’s system.
More on the upcoming 2014 NBA draft:
- In a separate article, Joseph breaks down the Knicks draft needs. The team currently doesn’t have any picks, but if they can acquire one, their biggest needs according to Joseph are youth, a backup center, and a point guard.
- The Knicks, Blazers, Kings and Pelicans are among the teams trying to acquire picks in this year’s NBA draft, reports Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
- Kennedy also notes that some executives suspect that Mitch McGary has a promise from a team selecting in the 20s (Twitter link). Several teams are having a difficult time getting McGary in for a workout, according to Kennedy.
- JaKarr Sampson will work out for the Kings on Saturday, the team announced via Twitter. Sampson will be taking Rodney Hood‘s place in the workout.
- Nick Johnson, Brandon Jefferson, Jerrelle Benimon, and Isaiah Sykes worked out for the Nuggets today, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey also notes that Sykes was unable to complete the workout due to a hamstring injury.
And-Ones: Calipari, Izzo, Miller, Wizards
John Calipari wasn’t the only star college coach the Cavs reached out to, reveals Jason Lloyd of the Beacon Journal, who hears Kevin Ollie, Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Mike Krzyzewski all were contacted by Cleveland. Lloyd’s source adds that the Cavs offered Tom Izzo a coaching position that also would have given him total control of the franchise’s basketball operations, much like the role that the team proposed to Coach Cal. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Cavs have contacted around 11 candidates in an attempt to fill their coaching vacancy, writes Lloyd in the same piece.
- The decision on whether or not to bring back Andre Miller will probably be an easy one for the Wizards, opines J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Washington holds a $4.6MM option on his deal for 2014/15 or could buy him out for $2MM.
- Former Marquette University forward Jamil Wilson, who had to cancel workouts with the Bucks and Pistons due to a sprained ankle, is expected to audition for the Wizards on Tuesday, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Journal Sentinel.
- Tim Bontemps of the New York Post looked back at the performance of Nets‘ midseason acquisition Marcus Thornton. Thornton turned into a key rotation player for Brooklyn down the stretch of the season and will earn ~$8.58MM in his walk year.
- The Thunder are the NBA’s smartest spenders as they have gotten more success out of less money than anyone else in the league, writes Glenn Davis of USA Today. OKC owns a 271-123 record over the last five seasons combined all while having payrolls that ranked in the bottom half of the league on average.
- Sean Meagher of The Oregonian wonders if the Trail Blazers should hold on to Wesley Matthews, a free agent after the 2014/15 season. Matthews is coming off of the best season of his career as a pro and is entering the final year of his five-year, $33MM deal.
- Former UNC standout Sean May will attend mini-camps with the Spurs and Warriors this month, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
- The Clippers will bring in Jordan Clarkson, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, and Sean Kilpatrick for workouts, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
- The Celtics could eye offense in this month’s draft, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com explains.
Charlie Adams contributed to this post.
Northwest Notes: Snyder, Messina, Saunders
Two new coaches were announced in the Northwest Division today, with NBA veteran coach Flip Saunders selecting himself to lead the Wolves, and well-traveled NBA assistant Quin Snyder coming aboard for the Jazz. Here’s the latest from the division:
- Snyder is expected to pursue Ettore Messina as an assistant for the Jazz bench, sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Stein tweets that hiring Messina would be a great addition for Utah. Messina, who is parting ways with CSKA Moscow this summer, has drawn speculation as a potential head coaching candidate for other teams, and was once a candidate for Utah‘s vacancy.
- Two Jazz players expressed their support of Snyder’s hiring to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. Derrick Favors told Jones he can’t wait to start working with Snyder, and John Lucas III said he has loved the coach’s uptempo system since playing against Snyder’s Mizzou teams as a player for Oklahoma State (Twitter links).
- Gorgui Dieng expressed his support for Saunders as the new Wolves coach to Andy Greder of St. Paul Pioneer Press. “I know he is very tough and is always looking for improvement,” Dieng said, “so I think we are very excited to have him as a head coach.” Greder writes that Saunders worked out with Dieng during his rookie season despite having a front office role.
- Bruce Ely of The Oregonian asks if Robin Lopez is the Blazers‘ solution at center or if they should still explore other options. Lopez led Portland in rebounding 26 times last season and hit double digits in boards 33 times. The Blazers hold a $5.34MM team option on the 26-year-old.
Zach Links contributed to this post.