And-Ones: Parsons, Bulls, Kerr, Noah
The Rockets have a difficult decision to make with Chandler Parsons this summer. They could exercise their team option for $964,750, but that would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2015. If they decline the option, Parsons becomes a restricted free agent this summer which would surely result in a hefty pay increase for the third-year forward, or the team could lose him if they choose not to match any offers he receives. Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel believes the Magic should explore acquiring Parsons, who might be available thanks to the Rockets cap situation. Parsons averaged 16.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 4.0 APG this season.
More from around the league:
- Dan McGrath of The Chicago Sun-Times believes there is only so far the Bulls can go without top-tier talent, and opines that the team needs to go after Carmelo Anthony this summer to have a shot at contending.
- Joakim Noah underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and faces 8-12 weeks of rehab, reports Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).
- Steve Kerr is likely making his final broadcast for TNT on Saturday night when he announces Game 7 of the Grizzlies-Thunder series, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. According to an NBA source, Kerr likely will make his final decision on accepting the Knicks head coaching job soon after the weekend, notes Berman. The only thing that could hold up the decision, according to the article, is if the Warriors lose their first-round series and coach Mark Jackson is fired. Kerr would be a favorite for that position if it were available.
And-Ones: Johnson, Wilkins, Kidd
Doc Rivers told reporters, including of Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, that he assumes Kevin Johnson will have the choice to become the president of the NBA players association even if he wants to remain mayor of Sacramento (Twitter link). Earlier, we passed on word that Johnson isn’t a candidate for the union role due to his political ambitions. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Bulls haven’t received any indication that the Lakers plan to request a meeting with coach Tom Thibodeau, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley surmises that the rumblings about the Lakers pursuing Thibodeau won’t amount to much beyond speculation.
- Sources tell K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune that Thibodeau is a proponent of the Bulls pursuing Carmelo Anthony this summer. Johnson speculates that Thibodeau’s involvement with future personnel decisions casts doubt on the potential for him to meet with the Lakers, let alone leave Chicago for Los Angeles.
- Damien Wilkins has signed with Indios de Mayaguez of Puerto Rico, agent Christian Santaella tweets (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). The 34-year-old spent training camp with the Hawks before signing in China this winter, and hasn’t played in the NBA since starting 21 games with the Sixers in the 2012/13 season.
- Ian O’Connor of ESPNNewYork.com says that Jason Kidd‘s performance as a coach would be the biggest failure for the Nets if Brooklyn doesn’t make it out of the first round. While the team recovered after a disappointing start, O’Connor notes that the upgraded roster will still have done worse than last year’s team, when P.J. Carlesimo was let go following a first round exit.
- Adam Silver was not aware of any potential boycott from NBA players when he made his decision to seek the ouster of Clippers owner Donald Sterling, per Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal (Twitter links). Kevin Johnson, helping represent the players union through the issue, tells Mullen that a boycott “was never mentioned” in his talks with the commissioner.
- With the help of legal experts, Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today looks at some of the legal maneuvers Sterling could pursue to counter the league’s actions, including stalling the team’s ownership status by filing for divorce.
- In a Q&A with Richard Sandomir of The New York Times, a longtime sports lawyer lays out the legal framework that lies ahead as the league pushes to remove Sterling.
Coaching Rumors: Thibodeau, Ollie, Dunleavy
Ken Berger of CSBSports.com thinks the the path for Tom Thibodeau to move from the Bulls to the Lakers is complicated and unlikely, but says that the precedent set when Doc Rivers joined the Clippers while under contract with the Celtics has caused many in the coaching ranks to expect more pseudo-trades of coaches to take place. Here’s more on the league’s coaching front:
- Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com says that if Thibodeau were to leave the Bulls, it would imply that he doesn’t expect Derrick Rose to come back strong enough to make Chicago a true contender.
- Friedell thinks Chicago fans would be very unhappy with a deal, since the best the Lakers can offer in return for Thibodeau would be draft assets and/or to absorb Carlos Boozer‘s contract.
- While we’ve noted that the requested meeting with the Lakers is unlikely, the ESPNChicago.com scribe adds that the Bulls might be forced to consider it if they can’t come to an agreement on an extension with the coach.
- Steve Kerr‘s TNT broadcasting partner Reggie Miller tweets his opinion that Kerr should weigh his options before settling on the Knicks (H/T Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com).
- Mike Dunleavy Sr. said he was interested in the Lakers coaching opening on his SiriusXM NBA Radio show (transcription via Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News.) “If I had an opportunity to interview with them I would definitely be interested,” said Dunleavy, who is reportedly on the Lakers’ list.
- Dunleavy also said he has a good relationship with Kobe Bryant, of whom he spoke highly. “I recruited [Bryant] a number of years ago to come to the Clippers,” Dunleavy said. “I think at the time I had a good argument for it and I think we were very close to getting him to shift at that time.”
- Kevin Ollie is open to hearing from the Lakers, but is very committed to UConn, a person familiar with Ollie’s thinking tells Medina in a separate piece.
- Nuggets coach Brian Shaw tells Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post he isn’t interested in either the Knicks or Lakers coaching vacancies. “I have a job here in Denver that I’m happy with,” said Shaw. “Though the season didn’t turn out how any of us would have liked, I’m happy where I am and I’m looking forward to coaching a full complement of healthy players.”
And-Ones: Union, KJ, Bulls, Young, Huestis
Adam Silver’s response to the Donald Sterling fiasco united the players association, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com, and it also facilitated a stronger relationship between the union and the league, as acting union executive director Ron Klempner sees it.
“The league and the players recently have been working more closely together across the board, not just through this event,” Klempner said. “Our player programs staffs have experienced something of a thaw. Everyone feels more secure and confident, knowing that we can work together with the league on projects that will benefit the players.”
Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher has a different take, believing the players’ response to Silver’s ruling was an act of capitulation, and that they missed an opportunity to boycott games until Sterling was officially stripped of Clippers ownership. Just how the Sterling mess plays out remains to be seen, and there’s more on the union amid our latest look around the NBA:
- Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, who’s serving the players in an ex-officio capacity, isn’t a candidate to take the union’s full-time executive director position, given his rising stock as a politician, Windhorst writes in the same piece.
- It seems the Bulls will have to make a choice between Kirk Hinrich and D.J. Augustin, but GM Gar Forman isn’t ruling out the possibility of bringing them both back, as Sam Smith of Bulls.com notes.
- Kentucky shooting guard James Young, one of 75 early entrants for the draft, has chosen Jay Z and his Roc Nation Sports agency for his representation, notes Zach Braziller of the New York Post.
- The Jazz will likely work out fellow draft prospect Josh Huestis, tweets Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune. The small forward from Stanford told Hoops Rumors about his preparation for a chance in the NBA, as we detailed in this morning’s prospect profile.
- Terrence Williams didn’t last long in Puerto Rico, as Brujos de Guayama has released him just a few weeks after he joined the team, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The former 11th overall pick last played in the NBA with the Celtics in 2012/13.
Lakers Intend To ‘Make A Splash’ With New Coach
3:18pm: The Bulls are likely to deny the Lakers permission to speak with Thibodeau, according to USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt (Twitter link).
1:43pm: The Lakers will ask the Bulls for permission to interview Tom Thibodeau, reports Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter).
1:08pm: The Lakers will interview George Karl, Jeff Van Gundy, Byron Scott, Kurt Rambis, Ollie and Calipari, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
11:44am: The Lakers are going after marquee names and want to “make a splash” with their coaching search, with Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie and Kentucky’s John Calipari at the forefront, report Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com. They apparently plan to reach out to Calipari even though he denied interest in the vacancy this morning. The Lakers nonetheless intend to hold back and focus on the draft and free agency while they gauge the coaching market, Stein and Shelburne write.
The Lakers are also considering the notion of holding off on a decision in case a high-profile free agent signals he wants to join the team, sources tell the ESPN scribes. In that case, the free agent would be able to influence the team’s choice of coaches.
Stein and Shelburne say the Lakers are also considering Derek Fisher, for whom the job reportedly holds “tremendous appeal.” Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, who passed along the news of Fisher’s interest earlier, wrote that Kobe Bryant would not be the decision-maker for the team, but the Lakers are expected to consult with their 35-year-old star, according to Stein and Shelburne.
The Lakers plan to interview Mike Dunleavy Sr., who held the head coaching job for the team in the 1990s. Stein and Shelburne also mention the team’s interest in a number of candidates Shelburne listed earlier today. While the team is going after the two coaches from this year’s title game, Stein and Shelburne say the Lakers don’t have plans to reach out to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, whom they’ve targeted when the position has come open in the past.
Lakers Rumors: Calipari, Scott, Snyder
There’s no immediate favorite for the Lakers head coaching job, vacant following Mike D’Antoni‘s resignation Wednesday evening. The team hasn’t reached out to many potential candidates yet, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, and Bill Oram of the Orange County Register paints it as a wide open race (Twitter link). The Lakers aren’t in a hurry to choose D’Antoni’s replacement, unless they feel like they’re about to miss out on someone they really like, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com, who says the draft and free agency are greater priorities for the team. Still, there’s news about a few intriguing candidates, as we detail:
- Kevin Ollie, Alvin Gentry, Mike Dunleavy Sr., George Karl, Kurt Rambis, Calipari, Scott, Fisher, and Jeff Van Gundy are on the Lakers’ initial list, Shelburne tweets.
Earlier updates:
- Kentucky coach John Calipari took himself out of the running via his own Twitter account (hat tip to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv). “Before it starts, I’m totally committed to helping this group of young men reach their dreams,” Calipari wrote. “I wouldn’t and couldn’t leave this group!”
- Byron Scott, in an interview with Time Warner Cable Sports Net, confirmed a report that he’s interested in the job (video link). He’s a favorite of the Buss family, Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding notes.
- GM Mitch Kupchak and Kobe Bryant share respect for Hawks assistant Quin Snyder, Ding writes in the same piece.
- The Lakers have been fond of Jeff Van Gundy, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com points out (video link).
- The job holds “tremendous appeal” to Derek Fisher, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Thunder guard is likely to retire after the season.
- Bryant likes Scott, Tom Thibodeau, Jeff Van Gundy and Ettore Messina, but the Lakers star won’t drive the team’s search, Wojnarowski writes in the same piece.
- Messina, the elite European coach who spent 2011/12 as a Lakers assistant, downplayed the idea that he’ll become coach, and he said the Lakers haven’t contacted him, Pincus reports.
- Lionel Hollins is among those interested in the job, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Bulls Notes: Rose, Boozer, Offseason
Tom Thibodeau said that Derrick Rose has begun taking contact in practice, reports Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Thibodeau noted that there is no doubt that Rose will return to his old form. According to the article, Thibodeau said, “It was good. He’s right on schedule. So this is the next phase now. The rehab part went well. The non-contact stuff went well. So now this is the next step which is good.” The Bulls are optimistic that Rose will be able to participate in Team USA’s training camp this summer in advance of the World Cup of Basketball in Spain, per Friedell.
More from the windy city:
- It was rumored earlier that the Bulls would likely attempt to trade Carlos Boozer this summer. Boozer weighed in, saying, “I would love to be back in a Bulls uniform. We have a team that I don’t feel has reached our potential, mostly due to injuries,” tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
- Johnson also notes that Boozer told him that Bulls management said that they haven’t decided on his future, and they lauded him for his professionalism while dealing with reduced playing time (Twitter link).
- In a separate article, Johnson examines Boozer’s future more in depth.
- The team will only look to re-sign one of either D.J. Augustin or Kirk Hinrich, writes Johnson. Both players are unrestricted free agents.
- The Associated Press looks at Rose’s recovery progress, the Bulls’ offseason ahead, and what roster moves the team might make.
And-Ones: Warriors, Constitution, Sterling
Mark Jackson strongly denied a report that said he asked Warriors adviser Jerry West not to attend most practices or team activities, USA Today’s Sam Amick writes.
“That’s a lie,” Jackson said. “Come on. That’s a lie. That’s disrespectful.”
West has indeed been attending practice of late, a source confirms to Amick, though the “wide and strong” belief is that Jackson would prefer West not be over his shoulder. Here’s more from around the league that uses West’s likeness in its logo:
- Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders takes a look at a few of the intriguing clauses in the NBA’s Constitution and By-Laws, which the league released for the first time in light of its use in the punishment of Clippers owner Donald Sterling.
- The NBA’s advisory/finance committee will hold a conference call Thursday to begin the process of arranging a vote to take the Clippers away from Sterling, as Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News details.
- Raptors CEO Tim Leiweke isn’t worried about the notion of Kyle Lowry and coach Dwane Casey walking away this summer when their contracts expire, as he said on SportsNet 590 The Fan, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. “Why wouldn’t you want to be here?” Leiweke said.
- Bulls GM Gar Forman has yet to begin negotiations with Nikola Mirotic but he’s confident that the European star will play for the Bulls at some point, as Forman told reporters today, including K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (Twitter link).
Bulls, D.J. Augustin Share Interest In Return
3:27pm: Forman confirmed that the Bulls would like to re-sign Augustin this summer, calling him “a fit” for the team, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune observes (Twitter link).
1:23pm: The Bulls and point guard D.J. Augustin have mutual interest in a new deal this summer, according to Shams Charania of RealGM. The Thad Foucher client only signed for the rest of 2013/14 when he joined the team in December, but Chicago has a strong desire to keep him, Charania writes. Augustin tells Charania that he’s hopeful of a return to the Bulls, echoing comments he made to reporters, including Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald (Twitter link), after last night’s playoff elimination at the hands of the Wizards.
Augustin joined the Bulls as a free agent in December after the Raptors had waived him to accommodate the trade that sent Rudy Gay to Sacramento. Toronto chose to cut ties with him and his one-year, $1.267MM deal even though it wasn’t much more than what fellow backup point guards Dwight Buycks and Julyan Stone were making. The move illustrated how far Augustin, the ninth overall pick in 2008, had fallen. The 26-year-old Augustin turned it around with a strong performance for Chicago, averaging 14.9 points, 5.0 assists and 1.9 turnovers in 30.4 minutes per game during the regular season. The scoring figure would be a career high if extrapolated over a full season.
Bulls GM Gar Forman and executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson have a busy offseason ahead. They’re in the running for Carmelo Anthony, and they appear likely to try to trade Carlos Boozer before the July 16th deadline to amnesty him. They’ll probably have to get Boozer off their books and make additional cap-clearing moves to have room for Anthony, and if they can’t hook Anthony, there’s a strong chance they’ll sign European star Nikola Mirotic. Augustin figures to be a secondary priority, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Bulls weigh him against combo guard Kirk Hinrich, who’s also a free agent. Hinrich told reporters again today of his preference to re-sign with the Bulls, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com notes (Twitter link).
Bulls Likely To Attempt To Trade Carlos Boozer
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf opposes the idea of using the amnesty provision to remove Carlos Boozer from the team’s books, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com hears, adding that sources tell him that Chicago will make a strong push to trade Boozer instead. Boozer is set to enter the final year of his contract next season, but his $16.8MM salary and his growing anger at coach Tom Thibodeau seem to make him a poor fit for the Bulls, who have their eyes set on a free agent prize this summer.
The Knicks are “undeniably nervous” about the chances that Carmelo Anthony will sign with the team this summer, Stein writes. The ESPN.com scribe echoes last week’s report from Sean Deveney of The Sporting News that put the Bulls at the front of the list of Anthony’s preferred suitors. Chicago would have to move a significant amount of salary off its payroll to make a competitive offer to Anthony, since the Bulls’ commitments for 2014/15 already exceed even the new, higher salary cap projection for next season. Amnestying Boozer would be the simplest way to wipe a hefty chunk of money off Chicago’s cap figure, but unless a team claims him off waivers, Reinsdorf would still have to pay Boozer his salary, even though it wouldn’t count toward the cap. That’s why Deveney says there’s never been a question that the Bulls would prefer to trade Boozer (Twitter link).
The amnesty period runs through July 16th, giving the Bulls ample time to find a trade partner before the option of circling back and amnestying Boozer anyway disappears. Still, it will probably be difficult to find a team willing to make a trade that would give Chicago cap flexibility in return for a 32-year-old Boozer who rarely played in the fourth quarter this season, particularly given his inflated salary. He may have some value as an expiring contract, but any team that acquires him via trade would be unable to amnesty him. A sign-and-trade with the Knicks involving ‘Melo is one possibility, but Knicks president Phil Jackson might be reluctant to play along and accommodate Chicago’s poaching of New York’s star.
If the Bulls do amnesty Boozer, Stein suggests there’s a chance that agent Rob Pelinka, the rep for Boozer as well as Kobe Bryant, will encourage the Lakers to submit an amnesty waiver claim. That would almost certainly be a partial waiver claim if it were to happen, meaning the Lakers would pay a portion of Boozer’s salary while Reinsdorf would be on the hook for the rest. Stein points to Chicago’s likely pursuit of Pau Gasol this summer, and perhaps there’s a sign-and-trade possibility to be had involving Gasol and Boozer, though that’s just my speculation.