Grizzlies Talk To Spurs Assistant James Borrego
The Grizzlies met with Spurs assistant James Borrego today about their head coaching job, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Borrego spent 30 games as interim head coach in Orlando last season before joining the Spurs at the start of this season.
Wojnarowski notes that Borrego is among several assistants the Grizzlies are considering, along with Charlotte’s Patrick Ewing, Miami’s David Fizdale, Portland’s Nate Tibbetts and San Antonio’s Ettore Messina. A source says Memphis is going through initial meetings with candidates and the list could get even larger.
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger was fired eight days ago after requesting permission to interview for other coaching jobs. The Kings hired him Monday, giving him a four-year deal worth $16MM.
Duncan, Ginobili Decisions Shape Spurs' Plans
Retirement decisions by Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili will determine the volume of roster moves made by Spurs GM R.C. Buford this offseason, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News opines. Addressing the team’s five burning questions this summer, McDonald believes there’s a good chance that Tony Parker will be the only member of San Antonio’s longtime Big Three to return next season. The Spurs probably won’t overhaul their roster following a 67-win season, but there will be spots to fill if Duncan and Ginobili call it quits, McDonald continues. The Spurs will make runs at top-level free agents Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley and possibly Pau Gasol but they will also attempt to infuse the bench with more youth and athleticism, McDonald adds.
Community Shootaround: Duncan, Ginobili, Parker
In a league of constant change, one thing we could count on was the San Antonio Spurs.
Tim Duncan was always going to be the Big Fundamental, effortlessly banking in shots while dominating the boards and protecting the paint. Manu Ginobili was the balding Argentinian guard with the quirky game who knew how to keep defenders off balance and drove coach Gregg Popovich crazy with his shot selection, even when they went in. Tony Parker was the speedy French guard who knew how to get into the lane and had endless tricks for making shots over taller defenders.
The Spurs’ Big Three have rewritten the NBA history books in their combined 48 years of service. They helped bring five titles to San Antonio, although only Duncan was there for the first one. They set a league record for the most career wins by three teammates. They made the Spurs a postseason fixture, with a run of playoff appearances that dates back to Duncan’s rookie season. They played the game the right way — sharing the ball, helping on defense, making the extra pass — and became an example that coaches across the world could point to. They were called boring, but the fans in San Antonio never got tired of watching them. They were classy in victory and defeat. They were dependable. They were always there.
But now they may not be.
After 67 regular-season wins, the Spurs saw their playoff run end in shocking fashion Thursday with a one-sided loss to the Thunder in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinal series. There will be no sixth title coming to San Antonio this year and no dream matchup with the 73-win Warriors. As the younger, more athletic Thunder raced past the Spurs, it felt like not just the end of the series, but the end of an era.
Duncan and Ginobili both said they will wait to make decisions on retirement. Duncan, 40, has a player option for next season worth nearly $6.4MM, including incentives. Ginobili, 38 with another birthday looming in July, has a player option at a little more than $2.9MM. Parker’s situation is more complicated, as he is signed for the next two seasons at $14,445,313 and $15,453,126. He will turn 34 this week and the Spurs may want to start rebuilding if Duncan and Ginobili don’t return. There are already rumblings that San Antonio will make a run at Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley when he hits free agency in July.
That brings us to tonight’s question: Have we seen the last of the Big Three in San Antonio? Do you expect Duncan and Ginobili to end their careers or will they take one more shot at another title? And will the Spurs try to find a taker for Parker and go in a different direction at point guard?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Draft Combine Update: Friday Afternoon
The Celtics have a tentative workout scheduled with Duke small forward Brandon Ingram, a prime contender to become the No. 1 pick, reports Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). The outcome of the lottery will determine whether it takes place, according to Murphy, and presumably, the Celtics will have to land one of the top two selections. Ingram is the top prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress rankings and second in the listings Chad Ford of ESPN.com compiles.
See more draft news on day three of the combine:
- Syracuse shooting guard Malachi Richardson and Kansas forward/center Cheick Diallo have told teams they’ve decided to stay in the draft rather than pull out by May 25th to retain their college eligibility, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
- The Pacers, Warriors, Spurs, Wizards, Rockets and Mavericks are among the teams that have spoken with Syracuse swingman Michael Gbinije, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson has interviewed with the Suns, Spurs, Kings, Trail Blazers and Bucks, observes Rod Beard of The Detroit News, who also cites Jackson’s previously reported interview with the Pistons.
- Villanova shooting guard Josh Hart has worked out for the Clippers and has another workout scheduled with the Hawks on May 24th, as Zagoria relays. He’ll also work out for the Celtics and Spurs, and his previously reported workout with the Sixers takes place Monday, Zagoria reveals. The Knicks, Wizards, Thunder, Trail Blazers, Pacers, Grizzlies and Jazz interviewed Hart at the combine, according to Zagoria.
- Purdue big man Caleb Swanigan has the Pistons, Hawks, Wizards and Suns among the teams on his interview list, Zagoria tweets.
Draft Combine Update: Friday Morning
Skal Labissiere‘s impressive private workout on Wednesday didn’t quite measure up to the hype, contends Chad Ford of ESPN.com in an Insider-only piece, who pegs the draft range for the Kentucky big man as No. 9 to No. 20. The Suns and Kings are among the teams Labissiere has interviewed with at the combine, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, echoing previous reports about interviews with Philadelphia and New Orleans. Ford’s sources remain solidly in the camp of Ben Simmons over Brandon Ingram for the top overall pick, while it appears it’s a battle between Jamal Murray and Kris Dunn for the No. 3 pick, Ford hears. Still, no one had a more impressive combine showing Thursday than Cheick Diallo, a high second-round prospect, according to Ford. Both his strengths and weaknesses were on display, as Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress detail. The Kansas center/forward says he’ll probably remain in the draft, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv details, adding the Warriors, Mavericks, Nets, Sixers, Knicks and Raptors to the list of teams he’s interviewing with at the combine.
See more updates as the combine continues:
- The Lakers interviewed Ingram, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.
- The Bulls, Hawks, Kings, Spurs and Rockets are among the teams interviewing Cal swingman Jaylen Brown, as he told reporters and as Basketball Insiders relays in a video. Also on the list are Boston and Minnesota, as we passed along earlier.
- UNLV shooting guard Patrick McCaw listed the Raptors, Bucks, Hornets, Cavaliers and Heat, as well as a previously reported meeting with Boston, among his interviews, as Basketball Insiders relays in another video.
- Wisconsin power forward Nigel Hayes will work out for the Suns, Celtics and Knicks, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link). Ford heard some negativity surrounding his performance Thursday.
- The Pelicans, Knicks, Mavericks, Hornets and Lakers are the previously unreported teams on the interview list for Maryland point guard Melo Trimble, as J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic relays. Ford heard from NBA types down on Trimble’s showing Thursday.
- Former Iona combo guard A.J. English met with the Pelicans and will do so with the Wizards and Nets, Zagoria tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
- The Spurs, Warriors, Nuggets and Grizzlies are the previously unreported teams interviewing Seton Hall shooting guard Isaiah Whitehead, Zagoria relays (Twitter link). He’ll work out for the Sixers on Monday, the Pacers on Wednesday, the Celtics on May 20th and the Bulls on May 23rd, a source tells Zach Braziller of the New York Post (Twitter links). Boston, Indiana and Chicago are particularly interested in him, Braziller hears.
Retirement, Player Option Decision Loom
Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili aren’t certain whether they’ll retire, as Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com details, but they’re not the only Spurs liable to hang it up in the wake of the team’s playoff elimination Thursday night. Andre Miller has strongly considered retirement, though he, too, hasn’t made up his mind yet, as he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). San Antonio’s contract with the 40-year-old Miller expires at the end of next month while Duncan, also 40, and Ginobili, who turns 39 in July, have player options. David West also has a player option, and though he turns 36 over the offseason, the talk surrounding him isn’t of retirement but of the lack of regrets he has about sacrificing roughly $11MM to sign his two-year minimum-salary contract with San Antonio last summer, as Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio News-Express relays (Twitter links).
“It’s been a great experience,” West said of his season with the Spurs. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Spurs To Pursue Mike Conley
The Spurs will try to attract soon-to-be free agent Mike Conley this summer, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears (Twitter link). San Antonio would have to clear salary to create enough room for a max offer worth an estimated $26MM for next season. Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace has pledged to re-sign the point guard, but Conley isn’t making any promises until he gets a sense of the direction the Memphis franchise will take in the offseason ahead.
Conley is expected to be the most sought-after point guard on the free agent market this summer, with the Knicks, Nets, Pacers and others believed to be interested. He has averaged 13.6 points and 5.6 assists in nine years with the Grizzlies and has a chance to more than double the $9,588,426 salary he earned this season.
Tony Parker, the Spurs’ current starting point guard, will turn 34 next week. He has two seasons and nearly $29.9MM left on his contract. Parker’s scoring average dipped to 11.9 points per game this season, the lowest since his rookie year, and his playing time fell to 27.5 minutes per night.
It’s conceivable that the Spurs will give Conley a chance to team with a center named Gasol just as the Grizzlies have done. Marc Gasol recently suggested brother Pau Gasol should sign with the Spurs, an idea Pau Gasol finds intriguing.
Southwest Notes: Smith, Demps, Labissiere, Ulis
Kenny Smith, a candidate for the Rockets‘ head coaching position, said he had “a great meeting” with team officials, relays Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. Smith sat down with owner Leslie Alexander and GM Daryl Morey for 2 1/2 hours Tuesday at Alexander’s Florida home. “They have a clear vision of what they want to do,” Smith said. “I have a clear vision of what I’d like to do. Sometimes you meet in the middle. Sometimes it doesn’t meet at all, but it was something that we both had to explore, and [are] still exploring.” Smith, who helped bring two NBA titles to Houston in the mid-1990s, said he and the team are “just staying in contact” with each other at this point. He added that he enjoys his job as a TNT analyst and said it would take a fantastic offer to make him leave.
There’s more tonight from the Southwest Division:
- The combine in Chicago is “an integral part of the draft process,” Pelicans GM Dell Demps told Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com. Coaches, GMs and other team officials from around the league gather each year to watch prospects display their skills and get to know them on a personal basis. Demps said that contact is vital in preparing for the draft. “Most NBA coaches do not get the opportunity to watch college players during the NBA season [due to the 82-game schedule], so the combine is usually the first time they can watch them play in person,” he said.
- The Pelicans spoke with Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- The Spurs and Grizzlies were among the nine teams that interviewed Kentucky sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis, relays Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
- Seton Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Whitehead had an interview with the Rockets, tweets Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
Draft Combine Updates: Thursday Afternoon
The NBA draft combine began Wednesday and kicks into high gear today. The players have been measured, with the the NBA releasing the results on its website, and drills and five-on-five action will take place for willing participants. The general rule is this: The more highly regarded the prospect, the fewer combine events in which he takes part. Cameron Payne was the only eventual 2015 lottery pick who did any basketball activity at last year’s combine, notes Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Top-pick contender Ben Simmons is among those who are skipping the combine altogether, while lottery prospects Kris Dunn and Deyonta Davis will be limited participants, Givony and Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com report (Twitter links). Interviews with teams are a key part of the combine, as The Vertical’s Bobby Marks details, but teams don’t directly select the players they interview, as Marks explains.
Here’s more news on the draft:
- Givony, writing for The Vertical, said the private workout Skal Labissiere had Wednesday was one of the best he’s ever seen. The big man from Kentucky also interviewed with the Sixers on Wednesday, a source told Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly (Twitter link).
- Top-10 prospects Brandon Ingram, Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray are among those interviewing with the Celtics, reports Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald (Twitter link).
- First-round prospect DeAndre’ Bembry will work out for the Sixers on Monday, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The small forward from St. Joseph’s met with the Nets on Wednesday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link), and Bembry also interviewed with the Thunder, Wizards, Spurs, Pelicans and Knicks, Pompey adds (via Twitter).
- St. Joseph’s power forward Isaiah Miles worked out for the Celtics this week and will do so for the Nets on May 19th, Pompey also reports. The Mavericks, Spurs, Rockets, Bucks and Knicks will also work him out, according to Pompey, who adds that he’ll interview with the Pacers and Wizards at the combine and previously interviewed with the Mavs, Spurs, Magic and Grizzlies at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a showcase for seniors.
- The Nets are among the teams working out Kentucky combo guard Isaiah Briscoe, sources tell Evan Daniels of Scout.com (Twitter link), who also echoes previous reports of his workouts with three other teams.
- Oklahoma senior shooting guard Isaiah Cousins will work out Tuesday for the Pacers, Zagoria tweets.
- Oakland University point guard Kay Felder met Wednesday with the Suns, Pelicans, Jazz, Nuggets, Cavaliers, Celtics and Nets, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
- Evansville center Egidijus Mockevicius will work out for the Nets, Bulls and Pacers, reports Daniel Allar of the Courier & Press (Twitter links). The Nuggets, Cavaliers and Magic are also interested in scheduling workouts with him, Allar adds.
R.C. Buford Named Executive Of The Year
Spurs GM R.C. Buford has won the Executive of the Year award, the NBA announced. It’s the second time in three years that Buford has come away with the honor, for which fellow team executives vote. Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey finished a close second, beating Buford in first-place votes 10-9 but falling short in the balloting system that gives five points for every first-place vote, three points for second-place votes and one point for third-place votes. Buford cast his first-place vote for Olshey, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link), but the Spurs GM held a 10-3 advantage in second-place votes, which proved the difference.
Buford’s most significant coup of the past year was signing LaMarcus Aldridge away from Olshey’s team in Portland. San Antonio made other key moves, including the addition of David West for just the minimum salary, that positioned the team for this season’s 67-15 record, the best in franchise history. It’s the culmination of a long planning process for Buford, who convinced Kawhi Leonard to wait on an extension in the fall of 2014, a move that helped the team create the cap space necessary to sign Aldridge. Other maneuvers also proved key, like Buford’s offloading of Tiago Splitter to Atlanta, where former Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer is in charge of the front office. Rookies Jonathon Simmons and Boban Marjanovic were useful finds as the Spurs and Buford furthered their reputation for uncovering talent in obscure places. Buford works in tandem with Gregg Popovich, who holds the titles of coach and president.
Olshey replaced four starters from last season’s Blazers, who finished with the sixth-best record in the Western Conference, and Portland astoundingly wound up with this season’s fifth-best Western Conference mark. The success came in large part because of former Olshey lottery pick CJ McCollum, this year’s Most Improved Player of the Year. Warriors GM Bob Myers, the 2015 Executive of the Year, finished third this time around. Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, Hornets GM Rich Cho, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Thunder GM Sam Presti were the others who came away with first-place votes.
Below, see how each vote-getter ranked, with first-place votes noted where applicable.
1. R.C. Buford (Spurs) — 9
2. Neil Olshey (Trail Blazers) — 10
3. Bob Myers (Warriors) — 5
4. Masai Ujiri (Raptors) — 2
5. Rich Cho (Hornets) — 1
6. Danny Ainge (Celtics) — 1
7. David Griffin (Cavaliers)
8(tie). Stan Van Gundy (Pistons)
8(tie). Pat Riley (Heat)
10(tie). Sam Presti (Thunder) — 1
10(tie). Sam Hinkie (Sixers)
12(tie). Wes Wilcox (Hawks)
12(tie). John Hammond (Bucks)
12(tie). Dennis Lindsey (Jazz)