Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lottery Leftovers: Cavs, Mavs, Blazers, Wolves

May 21st, 2013 at 9:38pm CST by Alex Lee

We gave you the pre-Lottery links and the Lottery results, so with the 2013 NBA Lottery in the books, it's only fair that we round up for you the draft news and notes from around the league:

Despite winning the lottery, the Cavaliers will still explore potential trade scenarios for the top selection, tweets ESPN's Brian Windhorst. The Cavs, who own the first, 19th, 31st and 33rd picks in June's draft, also have cap space and a hunger to win as soon as possible.
If the Cavs, or whoever else, don't select Nerlens Noel with the top selection, the former Kentucky center could fall out of the top three, tweets Yahoo's Marc Spears.
If not Noel, ESPN's Chad Ford tweets that Otto Porter could be a dark horse candidate to go first overall. According to Ford, Cleveland loves Porter because he is a perfect fit who is NBA-ready and can therefore help right away.
The Mavericks will look to trade the No. 13 pick in an attempt to preserve cap space for a run at Dwight Howard, tweets ESPN's Chad Ford. Ford adds that the No. 13 pick will make $1,655,300 in 2013/14.
With a roster ready to win now and a draft thin on impact talent, look for the Blazers to dangle their No. 10 pick in an attempt to move up or acquire veteran help for Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum, writes Chris Haynes of CSN Northwest. Mike Tokito of the Oregonian agrees, writing that unless the team can acquire a legitimate center to guard the paint, look for Portland to be active in trade talks.
The Timberwolves secured the No. 9 pick, which leads Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, via Twitter, to guess that the team will take the best big man available with their first pick and then take a flyer on a shooting guard with their second first rounder at No. 26.
Here is an assortment of mock drafts published immediately following the lottery results: ESPN via Chad Ford, Draft Express via Jonathan Givony, HoopsWorld, and Sheridan Hoops via Joe Kotoch.

Lottery Links: Magic, Noel, Thunder, Trades

May 21st, 2013 at 6:18pm CST by Alex Lee

With less than two hours until the start of the 2013 NBA Draft Lottery, let's round up any and all pre-Lottery notes in one post here. Be sure to check back with us around 8:00pm CST for an updated list of this year's first 14 picks.

With a 25 percent chance at landing the top pick, the Magic sit in the best position entering the night. While they are assured a top-four selection, the team will likely look to move the pick if it is worse than No. 2, tweets Sam Amico of FOX Sports.
Kentucky's Nerlens Noel, current rehabbing from a torn ACL, is widely projected to be the first player taken in June. USA Today's Sean Highkin breaks down how the unique prospect would fit with each of the lottery's 14 participants.
Royce Young from Daily Thunder details what is on the line tonight for the Thunder, who will own the Raptors' first round pick should it fall outside of the top three. They received the pick in the deal for James Harden (the Rockets got it via the Kyle Lowry deal). As our Luke Adams wrote earlier today, Toronto only has a 2.6 percent shot at a top-three selection, so the pick will likely go to Oklahoma City. If so, the Thunder will be picking either 12th or 13th.
The only other trade that could take effect tonight depending on how the ping pong balls bounce is owned by the Blazers, who will send their pick to the Bobcats if it lands outside of the top 12.
While it's not lottery specific, here is a link to RealGM's summary of all pending future draft picks trades.

Lottery Teams’ Odds To Land Top-Three Pick

May 21st, 2013 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA's draft lottery is set to take place tonight, with the league's 14 non-playoff teams vying for a chance at the first overall pick and the opportunity to select a player from a crop of prospects that includes Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, and others.

The odds at landing the first overall pick are cited frequently, from the Magic's 25% all the way down to the Jazz's 0.5%. But what chance does each team have to land a top-three pick? Listed in the chart below are the odds each lottery team has at the first, second, and third overall picks, as well as each team's overall odds at landing in the top three.

Blazers Eyeing Oladipo, Considering Trading Up?

May 18th, 2013 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

Assuming there are no major surprises in next Tuesday's draft lottery, the Trail Blazers are expected to have the 10th overall pick in the 2013 draft. By that point, Indiana guard Victor Oladipo will certainly be off the board. According to Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com though, the Blazers are one of a few teams that "really like" Oladipo and are considering trying to move up to get him.

I'd imagine any serious talks about a trade would happen next month, or at least after next week's lottery, considering we don't even know how the top 14 picks will line up yet. If Portland gets lucky on lottery night, the team could end up talking about trading down, rather than up, to draft Oladipo. If the Blazers did end up in a position to take the 21-year-old, he'd be all for it, as he tells Haynes.

"I would really love to go to Portland, and I'm not just saying that," Oladipo said. "I hope, and I don't think I'm dropping that far, but if they decided to move up somehow, I think that would be a great situation for me. It's a place where you can just concentrate on basketball."

In his latest mock draft, ESPN.com's Chad Ford has Oladipo going fourth overall to the Suns, so to have a real shot at landing the young guard, the Blazers would probably have to be picking somewhere in the top five. Portland has three second-round picks it could dangle in a trade offer, though I think it would take a little more than that to land a top-five pick.

Central Notes: Bulls, Robinson, Cavs, Handy

May 17th, 2013 at 11:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

A spring evening without an NBA playoff game is like a day without sunshine for many of us, but tomorrow, the Central Division champion Pacers will try one more time to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the Reggie Miller era. If they get there, they'll try to avoid becoming the third straight Central team eliminated by the Heat, who already knocked out the Bucks and Bulls. Here's the latest from the division:

Aggrey Sam of CSNChicago.com figures Nate Robinson has played his last game for the Bulls. Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich and Marquis Teague will all probably be around to play point guard, and Robinson's performance will likely make him too pricey for Chicago.
Bulls GM Gar Forman addressed the specter of a missed season for Rose with Adam Fluck of Bulls.com, and in spite of an offseason of personnel decisions ahead, Forman identifies simply getting healthy as the team's primary goal this summer.
Bulls president and COO Michael Reinsdorf praised the work of Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson, as Fluck passes along in a separate piece.
If the Cavaliers wind up picking third, their current position in the pre-lottery order, Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer expects the team to target a small forward, and take a backup big man with the 19th selection.
Boyer also reports in her piece that the Cavs have hired Phil Handy, an assistant coach with the Lakers, to serve as an assistant under head coach Mike Brown. The Cavs have yet to make an official announcement.
Former Cavs assistant Nate Tibbetts joined the Blazers staff this week, a move one executive classifies as a "home run hire" for Portland, notes Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The Bobcats had been interested in Tibbetts for their head coaching job.

Draft Combine Latest: Friday Evening

May 17th, 2013 at 10:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

As day three of the NBA draft combine comes to a close, updates are still coming in from reporters stationed in Chicago for the event, which runs through Sunday. We covered the news from the first part of the day in this post, and we'll round up additional items here:

Robbins adds Victor Oladipo and Nate Wolters to the list of players the Magic have interviewed, which includes a total of 18 prospects. Trey Burke isn't one of them, but he'll likely visit Orlando soon for a lengthy workout and interview.
Zeller has interviewed with 10 teams at the combine, and the Sixers are one of them, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Earlier updates:

Nerlens Noel told Andy Katz of ESPN that he's interviewed with the Celtics, Magic, Bobcats, Suns, Pelicans and Cavaliers, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv passes along. Katz also hears Gorgui Dieng and Jamaal Franklin are hopeful they'll be healthy enough to work out before the draft. Alex Len won't be ready to hit the court until August, but he's planning to talk with 15 teams at the combine, according to Katz.
Dennis Schroeder is one of a pair of international prospects rumored to have received a promise from a team, and he said following an interview with the Bucks at the combine that Milwaukee could be a fit for him, notes Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Schroeder also sees a chance for playing time with the Jazz.
The Magic interviewed Otto Porter during the combine, and scheduled a meeting with Kelly Olynyk as well, reports Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter links).
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News counts Cody Zeller among those with a shot at becoming the top pick after an impressive showing in drills today.
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press adds Brandon Paul and Tony Mitchell to the list of Pistons interviewees. Paul has a workout with the team scheduled for later this month.
The Oregonian's Jason Quick looks at the prospect interview process the Trail Blazers employ, and adds that GM Neil Olshey flew to Europe this spring to scout Rudy Gobert and Dario Saric, who aren't taking part in the combine.

Draft Updates: Friday

May 17th, 2013 at 2:52pm CST by Luke Adams

2:52pm: Here are a few more updates out of Chicago:

In a series of tweets, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune lists a number of the prospects the Timberwolves have talked to or will talk to in Chicago. Among those we hadn't already heard about: Alex Len, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tim Hardaway Jr., Ricky Ledo, Archie Goodwin, Reggie Bullock, and Vander Blue.
The Trail Blazers will meet with Caldwell-Pope today, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (via Twitter). Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com adds (via Twitter) that the Blazers met with Ledo yesterday.
Ryan Kelly has met with the Mavericks, Celtics, and Clippers, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
Dennis Schroeder will work out for the Bucks, Jazz, and Rockets, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (via Twitter).
Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio tweets that there's some speculation at the combine that this could finally be the year the No. 1 pick is traded.

11:44am: It took us multiple posts yesterday to round up all the tidbits trickling out of Chicago, where the NBA is holding its draft combine this week. We'll see if today is as busy, but in the meantime, here are the latest updates on the 2013 draft:

Some NBA executives believe that it's possible Shabazz Muhammad falls out of the top 10 and perhaps even the lottery on draft night, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com.
In an Insider-only piece, ESPN.com's Chad Ford passes along the official measurements on the players in Chicago, and provides a few thoughts on the results.
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link) hears from an NBA source that the Warriors believe they can acquire either a first- or second-round pick in this year's draft, if they so choose. Kawakami adds in a second tweet that a pick would mostly just cost money, but I'm skeptical that the Warriors could pick up a first-rounder without giving up anything of value, or that they'd even want to add a rookie-scale salary, given their proximity to the tax.
Alex Len met with the Bobcats last night and will meet with the Cavaliers today, according to tweets from Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer and Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal. David Mayo of MLive.com tweets that Len has nothing set up with the Pistons and "wasn't too enthused" when asked about them — perhaps that would change if Detroit jumped into the top three in next week's lottery.
The Pistons will meet with Rudy Gobert today, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Steven Adams interviewed with the Magic last night, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Chad Ford heard that Adams was the big winner on the first day of the combine, with "GM after GM" impressed by his showing.
Kelly Olynyk has met with the Bucks, tweets Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times.
Myck Kabongo met with the Knicks and Trail Blazers earlier in the week, says Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Mason Plumlee also expects to meet with the Blazers, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian.

Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Evening

May 16th, 2013 at 9:03pm CST by Luke Adams

9:03pm: We'll post any remaining evening updates from Chicago here:

Hoopsworld's Alex Kennedy tweets that international prospect Mouhammadou Jaiteh will forego Eurocamp and will work out for NBA teams instead, possibly as early as a group workout with Minnesota.
The Oregonian's Jason Quick reports that the Trail Blazers met with James Southerland yesterday.

2:47pm: More afternoon combine updates from Chicago:

Ben McLemore has already interviewed with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans, according to SI.com's Chris Mannix (via Twitter). McLemore expects to meet with the Bobcats, Magic, and Pistons tonight, according to various reports (all Twitter links).
Victor Oladipo will also meet with the Pistons tonight, tweets Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.
Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (via Twitter) adds Otto Porter to the list of prospects interviewed by the Timberwolves, but says the T-Wolves won't get a chance to meet with Oladipo, who was on the team's wish list.
Jamaal Franklin tells Jason Quick of the Oregonian that when he met with the Trail Blazers yesterday, the whole meeting consisted of a psychological test (Twitter link).
Andre Roberson met with the Magic yesterday, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter).
Shams Charania of RealGM.com has a list of the 12 prospects the Bulls plan to work out on Monday (Twitter link).
Jeff Withey is "extremely excited" to be meeting with the Sixers, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

1:35pm: We covered the Thursday morning updates from Chicago's predraft camp earlier today, but with so many tidbits surfacing throughout the day, we're starting an afternoon post to round up the latest notes:

ESPN.com's Chad Ford hears that two international prospects have received first-round guarantees: Dennis Schroeder and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Twitter link).
Michael Carter-Williams has met with several teams, including the Trail Blazers, Bobcats, Pistons, Timberwolves, and Thunder, according to various reports (all links go to Twitter). Carter-Williams is hearing he could be drafted anywhere between third and 15th overall, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
We heard this morning that the Celtics had spoken to Cody Zeller and Glen Rice Jr. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe adds a few more names to the list of Boston interviewees (via Twitter): Mason Plumlee, Rudy Gobert, and Victor Oladipo.
C.J. McCollum won't meet with the Trail Blazers this week, according to Jason Quick of the Oregonian (Twitter link). However, he will meet with the Pistons tomorrow, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (via Twitter), and has already interviewed with the Magic, according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter). SI.com's Chris Mannix (Twitter link) adds the Thunder, Nuggets, and Cavaliers to the list of teams who have spoekn to McCollum, who has 15 total interviews scheduled.
Robbins notes in a separate tweet that the Magic also met with Myck Kabongo.
Isaiah Canaan will meet with the Wizards on Friday, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Canaan, Andre Roberson, and Grant Jerrett all met with the Pistons last night, tweets Langlois.
Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (via Twitter) that the Bucks met with Shane Larkin yesterday and will work him out later this month.
Erik Murphy has interviews lined up with the Grizzlies, Clippers, and possibly the Pacers, tweets Robbins.
Seth Curry will meet today with the Lakers, Rockets, and Knicks, tweets Bonnell.

Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Morning

May 16th, 2013 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

11:56am: More A.M. updates out of Chicago:

Nerlens Noel told reporters that he hasn't completed any interviews so far, but that he's "pretty sure" he has one scheduled with the Magic. He's not quite so sure about the Cavaliers (Twitter links).
Steven Adams and Kelly Olynyk are among the prospects that have met with the Wizards so far and think they'd fit in well in Washington (Twitter links). Mason Plumlee is also on the Wizards' list, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.
Olynyk has met with the Bobcats as well, says Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Gorgui Dieng will work out for the Bucks, who will also interview Rudy Gobert and Plumlee, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter links).
A couple notes from SI.com's Chriss Mannix (via Twitter): Cody Zeller has spoken to the Raptors, Trail Blazers, Rockets, and Celtics, while Mike Muscala only has interviews lined up with the Spurs and Hawks, but will do "nine or 10" workouts later. One of those workouts will be with the Blazers, tweets Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
Shabazz Muhammad and Deshaun Thomas interviewed with the Timberwolves last night, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

11:09am: With a number of reporters in attendance at the NBA's predraft camp in Chicago, we're expecting plenty of noteworthy tidbits to trickle in throughout the day. Here's a round-up of the first batch of updates on 2013's draft combine participants:

According to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (Twitter link), the Cavaliers aren't on Otto Porter's list of teams he's meeting with this week. That's a bit of a surprise, given the rumblings that he's high on the team's big board, though as Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer tweets, the Cavs drafted a pair of players they didn't interview last year.
Porter is scheduled to meet with the Wizards, who spoke to Victor Oladipo earlier this week, tweets Michael Lee of the Washington Post. Porter will meet with the Pistons as well, tweets Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. The Bobcats, Thunder, and Suns have already met with Porter, according to Lee (via Twitter).
The Pistons are also prepared to meet with Shabazz Muhammad today, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link). Muhammad interviewed with the Trail Blazers yesterday and felt it went very well, tweets Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
Nate Wolters and Adonis Thomas were among the prospects who have met with the Lakers so far, says Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter).
Glen Rice Jr., who played in the D-League this past season, has been interviewed by the Bucks, Celtics, Warriors, Sixers, and Spurs, he confirmed to reporters (all Twitter links).

Kostas Papanikolaou Drawing Trade Interest?

May 14th, 2013 at 8:49am CST by Luke Adams

Greece's Olympiacos has won its second straight Euroleague title, and at least one of the club's players seems to be drawing trade interest from NBA teams. Rigas Dardalis of EuroHoops.net writes that Kostas Papanikolaou, who received the Euroleague's Rising Star award, has received interest from the Spurs, Mavericks, and Knicks, among other teams.

Papanikolaou was selected by the Knicks 48th overall in the second round of the 2012 draft, but was sent to the Trail Blazers in the deal that brought Raymond Felton to New York. Although Portland currently holds Papanikolaou's rights, the small forward doesn't seem to be in the team's immediate plans, given the presence of Nicolas Batum and Victor Claver on the roster, according to Dardalis.

The Blazers are expected to be involved in free agency this summer as the team looks to upgrade its bench, but with plenty of cap space and four draft picks, Portland should also have plenty of worthwhile assets at its disposal in addition to Papanikolaou's rights, if the club decides to explore the trade market.