Western Notes: Wolves, Lakers, Kings, Nuggets
Coach/executive Flip Saunders didn’t give too many hints about whom the Timberwolves are leaning toward drafting with the No. 1 overall pick, telling Chris Mannix of SI.com that they haven’t made up their minds yet. Saunders did insist that he’d draft for talent rather than positional fit and that he’s not worried that top prospects will try to dissuade the team from picking them so that the Lakers can snap them up with the second pick instead.
“I have had contact with most of the top players and all they talk about is wanting to be the No. 1 pick and basically explaining why they should,” Saunders said. “We have an enticing situation. The enticing situation that we have is that we have got some great youth, as I said with [Andrew] Wiggins, a potential top-five player in this league, we have a great point guard in [Ricky] Rubio, we’ll get him back healthy, we have got a great mentor and still a pretty good player in [Kevin] Garnett that we hope to sign in July. We have a lot of things moving in the right direction. We just opened up a $29MM practice facility. We have a $160MM renovation of our arena starting in about a year. We have a lot of positive things. When we get people here and they can see what we have going on a little bit, it will sell the situation even more.”
Notable among the core players that Saunders mentioned is Rubio, a rumored trade candidate, lending further credence to the notion that the point guard will stick in Minnesota this summer, an outcome Rubio has made clear that he’d prefer. There’s more from Saunders amid the latest from around the Western Conference:
- Saunders confirmed that the Wolves expect to re-sign Garnett in free agency this summer and said that while he’s evaluating head coaching candidates, he has no intention of relinquishing his bench duties for now, as Mannix also relays.
- The Lakers are working out UMass big man Cady LaLanne today, as league sources told Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops and as the Lakers confirmed (Twitter links). Boston College combo guard Olivier Hanlan, Kentucky shooting guard Aaron Harrison, Arizona small forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Texas combo forward Jonathan Holmes and LSU power forward Jordan Mickey are also showing off for the Lakers in the group audition, according to the team.
- Willie Cauley-Stein and Cameron Payne will work out Thursday for the Kings, the team announced. Payne had been expected to work out with Sacramento, which at pick No. 6 appears to be his ceiling. The Kings, along with the Pacers, are reportedly the teams with the most interest in Cauley-Stein.
- The Nuggets are expected to work out Justise Winslow on Wednesday, tweets Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
Draft Notes: Payne, Mudiay, Wood, Upshaw
The Knicks are giving serious thought to drafting Murray State point guard Cameron Payne, league sources tell Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. That’s sign that the team is also strongly considering trading down from the fourth pick, since Payne isn’t widely considered a top-four prospect, Begley surmises. The notion that Payne has a promise from a team late in the lottery doesn’t hold too much water, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece, suggesting that Payne has a decent chance to rise all the way to the Kings at the No. 6 spot. That would exceed Payne’s goal of going as high as seventh that the point guard told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors that he’d set for himself. Here’s more from around the draft:
- It appears that No. 6 is the floor for Emmanuel Mudiay, as a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that the Kings would snap him up if he were still available when they pick.
- UNLV power forward Christian Wood‘s stock is taking a beating, as Ford writes in the above-linked piece, suggesting that Wood is in danger of falling out of the first round. Ford also speculates that the back injury that is to keep Tyus Jones from working out for a while is cover for a promise from the Rockets at pick No. 18.
- Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw is optimistic that a heart issue that prompted him to stop workouts last week isn’t serious, citing similar scares in the past, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. Upshaw is expected to be cleared to resume predraft prep this week, Howard-Cooper adds (Twitter links).
- The Mavericks, Spurs, Rockets, Celtics and Kings are among the teams interested in Indian-born center Satnam Singh, according to Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. Boston had him in for a workout, but it’s unclear if the other teams have or plan to do so.
And-Ones: Nets, Rondo, Draft
There is no truth to the report that the Nets are among the teams interested in trading for Euroleague MVP Nemanja Bjelica, tweets NetsDaily’s Robert Windrem, who cites league sources. The Wolves acquired the rights to Bjelica on draft night in 2010 after the Wizards made him the 35th overall pick. He has a contract with Turkey’s Fenerbahce Ulker that runs out after next season, but an opt-out clause would allow him to join the NBA this summer. Earlier today, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities listed (in a tweet) the Mavericks, Spurs, Heat, Nets and Bulls as teams that would be interested in Bjelica, if he were made available.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe labels the Kings as a darkhorse team to land Rajon Rondo in free agency this summer, citing Sacramento’s need for a premiere point guard in a pivotal year for the franchise. Rondo spurned Sacramento the last time he was a free agent, as Washburn points out. However, Washburn adds, Rondo is close friends with Kings forward Rudy Gay, and that could make it a more desirable location this time around.
- Wolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders confirmed on SI.com’s Chris Mannix’s radio show that Kevin Garnett will be part of the draft process and will meet with in person and/or talk on the phone with players, Wolfson relays in a tweet.
- Former Arizona swingman Stanley Johnson believes that the Thunder are enamored with his versatility and added the team has scouted him since high school, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman writes. “I think they think I’m the best two-way player in the draft,” Johnson said. “And that’s appealing to them, as it is to most people. They really like me.”
- Former Murray State point guard Cameron Payne will work out for the Knicks and Lakers, who both own top five picks in the draft, tweets Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, who cites a source.
- Darion Atkins, Wayne Blackshear, Marcus Burton, Michael Frazier, Terry Rozier and Matt Stainbrook all worked out for the Hornets, according to the team’s official website.
Draft Notes: Looney, Payne, Workouts
UCLA Product Kevon Looney told Zach Links of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link) that his agents hear that he could be drafted anywhere from No. 7 to No. 20 in the draft. The forward is represented by both Aaron Goodwin of Goodwin Sports Management and Todd Ramasar of Stealth Sports, as our Agency Database shows. Looney also tells Links (Twitter link) that he has scheduled workouts with the Hawks, Heat, Bucks, Raptors, Hornets, Celtics and Knicks.
Here are some notes from Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times on the upcoming draft:
- Woelfel is hearing that Looney won’t be taken until late in the first round due to concerns about his asthma. Scouts that have monitored his career since he was in high school believe it has adversely affected his play. Woelfel notes that other scouts are not overly concerned because there were several NBA players with asthma who’ve had productive careers with the proper medication.
- In a poll of four longtime NBA scouts, Looney was ranked as the 10th best prospect in the draft.
- Cameron Payne was expected to work out for the Bucks, but his agent informed the team that the point guard won’t be coming to Milwaukee because he believes Payne will be drafted before that.
- Payne is still expected to work out for the Kings, who own the No. 6 selection. Payne has previously worked out for the Pacers and the Thunder.
Pacific Notes: Payne, Kings, Turkoglu, Watson
Point guard Cameron Payne‘s draft stock is on the rise and he’ll have a solo workout next week with the Kings, who pick sixth, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star hears (Twitter link). Payne, who reportedly has a promise from a team, recently spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors about his experience at mid-major Murray State and his plans for the NBA. Centers Satnam Singh from IMG Academy and Stefan Nastic from Stanford and Cal power forward David Kravish will also work out for the Kings, the team announced. Their auditions will be Thursday. There’s more from Sacramento amid the latest on the Pacific Division:
- Kings vice president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac believes that free agency will be more useful for the team than trades, the draft or the development of existing players will be, as Divac said Tuesday, according to Bill Herenda of CSN California (Twitter link).
- Hedo Turkoglu wouldn’t rule out signing a new NBA contract, retirement or playing for Turkey’s Fenerbahce as he spoke about his plans for next season with the Turkish media outlet TRT Spor, as Ajans Basketbol transcribes and as Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia translates. Turkoglu’s deal with the Clippers expires this summer.
- The Suns will hire Earl Watson as an assistant coach, according to Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group (Twitter link). Watson spent this past season as a D-League assistant for the Spurs.
- The Clippers have worked out Gonzaga point guard Byron Wesley, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
- Cal State Fullerton guard Alex Harris was to have worked out for the Lakers but didn’t because of an illness, Pincus also relays via Twitter.
Pacific Notes: Curry, Clippers, Draft
While Stephen Curry won’t be worrying about how he will afford to put food on his table anytime soon, his contract with the Warriors is one of the biggest values in the NBA, and the MVP can be considered one of the most underpaid athletes in all of professional sports, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders writes. There were a total of 50 NBA players who earned more than the $10,629,213 that Curry did last season, including 11 point guards, Kennedy notes. On his way to winning the MVP award the 27-year-old appeared in 80 contests, averaging 23.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.7 assists in 32.7 minutes per game.
Here’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- The Clippers need to make changes to their existing roster but won’t be able to add any big ticket free agents this offseason thanks to their difficult salary cap situation. Arash Markazi and Ben Alamar of ESPN.com run down some hypothetical blockbuster trades that Los Angeles could potentially make if it wished to shake up its roster this summer.
- University of Illinois shooting guard Rayvonte Rice has a workout scheduled with the Suns, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- The Lakers held workouts today for Alan Williams (UC Santa Barbara), Norman Powell (UCLA), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), Mitch McCarron (Metropolitan State College), Byron Wesley (Gonzaga), Matt Stainbrook (Xavier), and Josh Smith (Georgetown), the team announced (on Twitter).
- Kings forward Carl Landry underwent surgery today to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, the team announced. Landry will begin rehabilitation immediately and is expected to be out of action for approximately four to five months.
Pacific Notes: D’Alessandro, Draft, Clippers
Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers denies that there is any rift between teammates Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com relays. “I can put this to rest: They get along great,” Rivers told Fred Roggin of The Beast 980. “Clearly, like everybody, they don’t get along all the time, and they don’t get along with me all the time, either, by the way. I don’t see that as an issue. I think all three, and I’m including Blake [Griffin] in this as well, understand how important the other guy is to them. Meaning, they all three need each other to win, and I think all three get that and all three know that and all three want to do it together. To me, that’s the most important thing.”
Here’s the latest out of the NBA’s Pacific Division:
- The Clippers held workouts today for Phil Greene, Rayvonte Rice, Cady Lalanne, Maurice Walker, Bryce Dejean-Jones, and Matt Carlino, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops reports (Twitter link).
- Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro is a “significant candidate” for the now vacant athletic director post at St. John’s University, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). D’Alessandro lost a significant amount of his authority when the team hired new president of basketball and franchise operations, Vlade Divac.
- The Suns worked out Quinn Cook, Marcus Thornton (Georgia), D.J. Newbill, Tyler Haws, Matt Stainbrook, and Aaron Thomas, Scotto tweets.
- When speaking about potential 2015 draftees Aaron Harrison and Kevin Pangos, both of whom recently worked out for the team, Suns coach Jeff Hornacek noted that both players may not get selected this June, but could have a shot at making an NBA roster because of the changes in how guards are used today, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “There are probably more guys that are the combo guards because they’re not really true point guards,” Hornacek said. “They’re all scoring guys. They all come up with the scoring mentality. You try to find those guys that can do both those things. But especially in today’s game, the point guard, he may be a scorer but he’s still got to lead the team. He’s still got to have that ability to direct guys and not be afraid.“
Pacific Notes: Suns, Bryant, Draft
Suns GM Ryan McDonough believes there is quite a talent dropoff in this year’s NBA Draft after the team’s pick at No. 13 overall, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. Phoenix hasn’t targeted a specific player, and if it retains the pick, will likely target the best player available, Coro adds. “As a non-playoff team, I think you need help everywhere,” McDonough said. “So we’ll take the best player, even if that goes against what some people think we should do in terms of conventional wisdom. I think, unless you’re a championship-level team, you always take the best available player. Our philosophy is if he’s better than the guys who are on your current roster, maybe he beats him out and you move one of the guys on your current roster. I think some mistakes, in the history of the draft, are made drafting for saying, ‘Oh, we need this. Let’s do the best player who does whatever.’ When you draft that guy, you tend to reach sometimes.”
Here’s the latest from the NBA’s Pacific Division:
- McDonough also indicated that the Suns may be more willing to deal away their first round pick than in years past, Coro adds. “At some point, there is a saturation point for young players as you try to put together a team that is capable of competing and making the playoffs in the Western Conference,” McDonough said. “I think it [trading the pick] is something we’re more open to than in the past but, at the same time, we like the players that we think will be there at 13.“
- In an radio appearance with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd (hat tip to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel), Jared Dudley spoke about NBA free agents not wanting to play with the Lakers‘ Kobe Bryant. Dudley said, “Most guys don’t want to play with Kobe. He gets in this thing where he doesn’t pass and then overpasses and then tries to get triple-doubles every night. …. That’s why I think it will be a while for the Lakers to get good because they’ve got no stars. I would be surprised if Kevin Love goes there.”
- Former Minnesota guard Andre Hollins has a workout scheduled with the Clippers, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN tweets.
- The Kings have workouts scheduled for Friday with Corey Hawkins, Mikh McKinney, Shaquielle McKissic, Alan Williams, Charles Jackson, and Will Davis II, the team announced.
Magic, Kings, Celtics Interested In Kosta Koufos
The Magic, Kings and Celtics are interested in soon-to-be free agent Kosta Koufos, sources tell Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net. The Grizzlies would like to keep the Ohio native who also has Greek nationality, though that will have much to do with Memphis’ pursuit of a new deal with Marc Gasol, Barkas hears. The Grizzlies are aware of the desire Koufos has to play a starting role, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com recently wrote, and such a gig wouldn’t be open to Koufos in Memphis if Gasol re-signs.
The interest from Sacramento and Boston dates back to earlier this season, when Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com identified the Kings as among the teams that had called Memphis about trading for the former 23rd overall pick. The Celtics were also one of many who made Koufos trade proposals to the Grizzlies, according to Stein. Orlando is the apparent newcomer among the suitors, but the presence of center Nikola Vucevic, whose incentive-laden, four-year, $48MM extension kicks in next season, would seemingly make the Magic an odd choice for Koufos. Vucevic played occasionally at power forward in the past, as Basketball-Reference shows, but it would nonetheless be a difficult fit if Koufos is to see starter’s minutes. Cousins has played exclusively at center in the NBA, but his athleticism makes him a candidate to see time at power forward if the Kings land Koufos. The Celtics have Tyler Zeller, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk, among others, jockeying for time on the interior, but Koufos would have as clear a shot at a starting job in Boston as he would anywhere.
The Kings, Celtics and Magic all have the capacity to open enough cap room to give the Mark Termini client a significant raise on this season’s $3MM salary. Sacramento, with about $53MM in commitments, has the least amount of flexibility, but even that provides ample breathing room against a projected $67.1MM cap. The Grizzlies have Koufos’ Bird Rights and can spread their financial offer to the 26-year-old over five years, an advantage other teams don’t have, though just how much of an edge that would really give Memphis remains to be seen.
Nets Notes: Jack, Plumlee, Prokhorov, D-Will
It’s widely assumed that the Nets will look into trading Joe Johnson and Jarrett Jack as cost-cutting alternatives to using the stretch provision to waive Deron Williams, write Marc Stein and Mike Mazzeo of ESPN.com. Trade talk has swirled around Johnson off and on since December, while the Nets likely would have dealt Jack to the Wizards if they’d closed a deal on a proposal to send Brook Lopez to the Thunder, as TNT’s David Aldridge reported in the wake of the deadline. Johnson has a whopper of an expiring contract that calls for a salary of nearly $24.895MM in 2015/16, while Jack is due $6.3MM next season with a partial guarantee of just $500K on the same amount in 2016/17. Stein and Mazzeo have more on the Nets, and while the full piece is a must-read for Brooklyn diehards, we’ll pass along a few highlights here:
- Some executives from opposing teams figure the Nets will explore the trade market for Mason Plumlee, too, Stein and Mazzeo hear. The Nets were reportedly unwilling to give up Plumlee in a proposal that would have sent Williams to the Kings in December, though GM Billy King said this month that the Nets looked into the idea of trading every player on the roster at some point this past season. Plumlee’s role on the team decreased after the acquisition of Thaddeus Young and the resurgence of Lopez.
- People around the league continue to doubt the idea that Mikhail Prokhorov doesn’t want to sell a majority stake in the Nets, according to Stein and Mazzeo. Josh Kosman and Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reported in March that Prokhorov had ended efforts to do so while Prokhorov said the next month that he had never tried. Stein and Mazzeo cite “persistent rumbles” around the league that the reason Prokhorov isn’t actively trying to sell the team is that he would also have to sell his share of the Barclays Center as part of the deal, a detail that Daniel Kaplan and John Lombardo of SportsBusiness Journal reported in February. However, a sports banker who spoke with Kosman and Atkinson disputed that there was any such mandate that Prokhorov would have had to bundle the team and the arena.
- Stein and Mazzeo figure the Nets will indeed consider waiving and stretching Williams, yet they believe Brooklyn will ultimately decide against doing so.