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Month: November 2024

Eastern Notes: Casey, Payton, Wittman

May 24th, 2016 at 7:46pm CST by Eddie Scarito

If the Raptors had failed to make it past the Pacers in the first round of the playoffs, coach Dwane Casey would have likely lost his job, league sources told Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. The other notable development in Toronto during the postseason is the stellar play of center Bismack Biyombo, who is likely pricing himself out of a return to the Raptors with the team only holding the big man’s Non-Bird rights, Lowe notes. Some rival executives are wondering if the team will try and trade center Jonas Valanciunas this offseason in order to create the necessary cap room to re-sign Biyombo, the scribe relays.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Magic point guard Elfrid Payton could be one of the players who will benefit most from the arrival of new coach Frank Vogel, and the young playmaker is pleased with the hire, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays. “I’m pretty excited,” Payton said of Vogel coaching the Magic. “I trust [GM] Rob [Hennigan], so whatever he’s with, I’m with. … Coach and I spoke briefly. Everybody [on the team] seems pretty excited about the hire.”
  • The Pistons could benefit by adding depth at point guard via the draft and potential targets for the team include Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt), Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame) and Tyler Ulis (Kentucky), David Mayo of MLive opines. The top two point guards, Kris Dunn (Providence) and Jamal Murray (Kentucky), are expected to be off the board when Detroit selects at No. 18 overall. Mayo notes.
  • Former Wizards coach Randy Wittman relates well to veteran players, gets his roster to buy in defensively and has a career record that compares favorably to Vogel, new Kings coach Dave Joerger and new Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek, J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic writes in his look at Wittman’s chances of landing another head coaching slot.
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Celtics Notes: Mickey, Bender, Stevens

May 24th, 2016 at 6:45pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics are armed with a wealth of picks in this June’s draft, but the team also remains high on last season’s crop of rookies, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com writes. Team executive Danny Ainge believes that a number of Boston’s young players could blossom if given more playing time, Forsberg relays. Ainge also noted that he has received trade inquiries from other teams regarding power forward Jordan Mickey and point guard Terry Rozier, the scribe adds.

“I really believe it’s an opportunity league. There are many players that are sitting on benches on other teams that are stacked with talent that just don’t get an opportunity. We have some on our team,” Ainge said. “We think [2015 second-round pick] Jordan Mickey has a bright future and [2015 first-round pick] Terry Rozier has a bright future and we’ve gotten calls from other teams about them that say, ‘Those guys aren’t getting an opportunity in Boston, we want to get those guys to come play for us.’ But we’re going to try to be patient with them as well, and other young guys.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Brad Stevens said he doesn’t regret sitting the younger members of the team, with the coach adding that playing time needs to be earned in the NBA, Forsberg relays in the same piece. “No, because it’s earned. I mean, who are you sitting?” Stevens responded when asked if he had any regrets about his rotation. “This is professional basketball and I think that we had five good [guards/small forwards]. Marcus Smart is obviously young, but otherwise guys that have been in the league for a while and earned that time at those spots, when you start talking about the 1 through 3. … Usually we stayed with those five guys when we were healthy.“
  • The team also intends to scour the market for undervalued players, an approach that has served the team well in recent seasons, Forsberg also notes. “It really is an opportunity league and I think the last couple of years — the Jae Crowders of the world, Isaiah Thomas, guys that we’ve acquired via trade like Jonas Jerebko — they love the fact that they’re getting an opportunity to play and with that opportunity they’ve shined,” Ainge told reporters.
  • Maccabi Tel Aviv forward Dragan Bender told the Celtics that he would come to Boston for a workout after the Israeli season ends, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe relays (via Twitter). Bender is the No. 3 overall prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
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Poll: 2016 Community Mock Draft (Pick No. 5)

May 24th, 2016 at 5:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2016 NBA Draft lottery was held on Tuesday night and the Sixers finally landed the elusive No. 1 overall pick after missing out the past two seasons. Now that the exact draft order is locked in, teams can begin targeting specific players who are likely to still be on the board when it is their time to choose. Drafting players is far from an exact science, and many a GM has been second-guessed for his draft night decisions. I’m willing to bet that every team executive has at least one pick that he would like a mulligan for. We at Hoops Rumors thought it would be fun to give our readers the chance to predict the results of this June’s draft, which is what we intend to do with a series of polls.

With the first few picks out of the way, things have begun to get interesting. We’ll continue with the Timberwolves, who are looking to add pieces to their young core. Readers, you are now on the clock! Cast your vote for Minnesota’s pick and check back Wednesday for the results, as well as to cast your vote for who the Pelicans will select with the No. 6 overall pick. But don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the No. 5 overall pick and why you voted the way that you did.

Previous Selections

  1. Sixers — Ben Simmons (LSU)
  2. Lakers — Brandon Ingram (Duke)
  3. Celtics — Dragan Bender (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
  4. Suns — Jaylen Brown (California)
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Draft Workouts: Nuggets, Suns, Clippers, Jazz

May 24th, 2016 at 4:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nuggets are well-armed heading into this year’s draft, holding three picks in the top 20 and another two in the second round. With so many selections under team control, Denver figures to take a closer look at a wide variety of prospects in the next few weeks. The team announced today in a press release that they’re bringing in the following six players for a Wednesday workout: Vanderbilt guard Wade Baldwin, Providence forward Ben Bentil, Virginia forward Anthony Gill, UNLV forward Derrick Jones, Colorado-Mesa center Ryan Stephan, and California guard Tyrone Wallace.

Denver is hardly the only NBA team with a full workout schedule, so let’s round up several more updates…

  • The Suns are conducting workouts with six forward prospects on Tuesday, and announced the full list of participants, via Twitter. Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson), Shaq Goodwin (Memphis), Jake Layman (Maryland), Taurean Prince (Baylor), Pascal Siakam (New Mexico State), and Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa) are working out for Phoenix.
  • In addition to A.J. English, whose scheduled workout was previously reported, the Clippers will take a closer look at Gary Payton II, Malcolm Brogdon, Danuel House, Marshall Plumlee, and Josh Scott on Wednesday, tweets Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.
  • The Jazz will also hold a six-player workout on Wednesday, with four guards and two big men taking part. According to the team (via Twitter), Georgia Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt, Gonzaga’s Eric McClellan, Notre Dame’s Demetrius Jackson, UNC’s Marcus Paige, Virginia’s Mike Tobey, and Australian Thon Maker will be in attendance for that workout.
  • Former St. Joe’s wing DeAndre’ Bembry was among the players to work out for the Hawks on Tuesday, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
  • Alex Kirshner of Testudo Times adds the Nets and Mavericks to the list of teams that have recently worked out Maryland junior power forward Robert Carter.
  • The Celtics will work out Weber State’s Joel Bolomboy a week from Wednesday, sources tell A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (via Twitter).
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Offseason Salary Cap Digest: San Antonio Spurs

May 24th, 2016 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

The Spurs haven’t had a winning percentage below .600 in a season for two decades, and the franchise added another cornerstone piece to its core when it signed LaMarcus Aldridge last summer. However, even after a 67-win showing, San Antonio will be faced with a challenging offseason. If Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and David West retire or land elsewhere, the Spurs will have some cap room to work with, but not enough for a max contract, and replacing those veterans won’t be easy. With Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard around, it’s not as if San Antonio will enter a rebuilding phase anytime soon, but keeping the team in strong contention for a title may require a little creativity from GM R.C. Buford.

See how San Antonio’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)

Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)

Other Cap Holds

  • Nikola Milutinov ($1,026,300)
  • Livio Jean-Charles ($990,700)
  • No. 29 pick ($983,400)
  • Total: $3,000,400

Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000

Footnotes:

  1. Diaw’s full $7,000,000 salary would become guaranteed on June 30th.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.

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And-Ones: D-League, Blatt, Dragic, NBPA

May 24th, 2016 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

Oshkosh officials are mulling the possibility bringing a D-League franchise to the city, according to a report from NewsTalk 1150 WHBY. The Bucks, in search of their own D-League team, would like to have an affiliate within two hours of Milwaukee, and put out a request for proposals — Oshkosh city officials are considering whether or not to move forward with the idea and submit a proposal to the NBA.

Here’s more from around the NBA:

  • Former Cavaliers head coach David Blatt doesn’t intend to take the 2016/17 season off, and is currently more likely to accept a head coaching job overseas than to take an assistant job in the NBA, as he tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. “I don’t see myself not being a head coach somewhere but you never know,” Blatt said. “I’m going to coach next year. I’m not going to sit out. It’s not in my nature. I want to work,” he said. “I’ll be back somewhere. Could be anywhere.”
  • In the wake of Jeff Hornacek‘s offer from the Knicks, who are expected to formally hire him as their head coach soon, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com revisits Hornacek’s time in Phoenix and provides an interesting tidbit related to a former Suns player. According to Berger, Hornacek spoke to Goran Dragic and secured a commitment from the point guard, who said he’d re-sign with the Suns when his contract expired — days later, Phoenix traded him to the Heat.
  • The National Basketball Players Association has hired Jefferies, an investment banking firm, to advise the union during labor talks with the league, tweets Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg Sports. Jefferies will identify current and future revenue for the NBPA, per Soshnick.
  • Within his weekly Morning Tip feature, NBA.com’s David Aldridge explores the impact of the draft lottery results and takes an in-depth look at how teams approach head coaching searches.
  • A pair of ESPN.com articles profile two prospects projected to come off the board at the top of the draft, with David Thorpe examining Ben Simmons‘ potential, while Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton (Insider link) take a closer look at whether Dragan Bender has the potential to crack the top two picks.
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Coach Rumors: Rockets, Borrego, Pacers, Kings

May 24th, 2016 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Rockets continue to scour the market for their next head coach, Spurs assistant James Borrego appears to have emerged as a serious candidate for the job. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), Borrego, who interviewed with Houston on Monday, will have a second meeting with the team later this week. That second interview will include owner Les Alexander, Stein reports.

Borrego’s second meeting with the Rockets doesn’t come with any guarantees, as Houston is also believed to be considering Magic assistant coach Adrian Griffin, Sixers assistant Mike D’Antoni, and Hornets assistant Stephen Silas for its head coaching opening. Still, Borrego remains in the mix for now.

Let’s check in on a few more coaching updates from around the NBA, courtesy of Stein…

  • After promoting Nate McMillan from an assistant coach job to replace Frank Vogel as head coach, the Pacers will have at least one opening on their bench, and the team is in pursuit of Bill Bayno, says Stein (Twitter link). A longtime coach at a variety of levels, Bayno most recently served as an assistant for the Trail Blazers, Timberwolves, and Raptors.
  • Bayno isn’t the only potential assistant being targeted by Indiana. Sources tell Stein (Twitter link) that the Pacers have also expressed interest in hiring Nick Van Exel. The former NBA guard, who coached the D-League’s Texas Legends this past season, is believed to be drawing interest from teams besides Indiana, Stein adds (via Twitter).
  • Dave Joerger is attempting to put together his staff for his first year as the Kings‘ head coach, and Stein tweets that the ex-Grizzlies head coach is targeting Elston Turner and Bryan Gates. Turner, who was mentioned as a candidate early in Sacramento’s coaching search, was a part of Joerger’s staff in Memphis, while Gates spent the 2015/16 season as a Timberwolves assistant.
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Southwest Notes: Mavs, Pelicans, Spurs, Ginobili

May 24th, 2016 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

Even though they have several players eligible for free agency this offseason, the Mavericks could attempt to keep most of their 2015/16 roster intact for next season, says Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The team was plagued by injuries down the stretch, but head coach Rick Carlisle likes the group and would like to see a number of players return.

Whether or not the Mavericks’ roster undergoes significant changes, the club will be on the lookout for players that can contribute on the glass, Sneed writes in separate piece. “We’ve got to get some monsters that push and shove, throw people out of the way and go get the ball,” Carlisle said, suggesting that rebounders will be a priority in Dallas. Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News identifies 20 free agents that would make sense for the Mavs, and many of those players – including Al Horford, Hassan Whiteside, and Dwight Howard – would help address the team’s mediocre rebounding numbers.

Here’s more from out of the Southwest:

  • Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune wouldn’t be surprised if the Pelicans, who are in win-now mode, use the sixth overall pick in a trade, like they did three years ago when they acquired Jrue Holiday using a pair of draft picks.
  • It’s rare for a 67-win team to face a significant amount of roster questions and potential turnover, but the Spurs find themselves in that situation as the summer approaches, writes Bobby Marks of The Vertical. As Marks outlines, San Antonio has a pair of foundational pieces in Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, but it could be tricky to upgrade the roster around them.
  • Speaking of those Spurs, veteran guard Manu Ginobili intends to meet with Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, and others eventually as he weighs his options and decides whether to continue his NBA career. RealGM.com has the details, via La Nacion.
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Draft Decisions: Ndiaye, Edwards, Cooke, Brown

May 24th, 2016 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

Underclassmen who submitted their names for draft consideration have until tomorrow –  May 25th – to decide whether or not to remain in the draft. If those players don’t withdraw from consideration by Wednesday’s deadline, they’ll forgo their remaining NCAA eligibility and will be available to NBA teams in June.

For many prospects projected to come off the board early, that decision is a no-brainer, but we’ll see plenty of lower-level prospects announce today and tomorrow that they’ll be returning to school for at least one more year. Here are some of the latest draft decisions made by early entrants:

  • Junior center Mamadou Ndiaye tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that he plans to remain in the NBA draft, forgoing his final year of college eligibility at UC Irvine. Despite the decision, Ndiaye isn’t a lock to be drafted.
  • Purdue’s athletics department has announced that 6’8″ forward Vince Edwards will return to the Boilermakers for the upcoming season, removing his name from draft consideration. “We are excited that Vince is returning for his junior year. The feedback he received in his workouts will only help him continue to improve and become one of the best players in the Big Ten in the upcoming season,” head coach Matt Painter said in a statement.
  • Dayton guard Charles Cooke has elected to return to school rather than staying in the draft, coach Archie Miller tells Goodman (Twitter link). The Flyers’ leading scorer has one year of eligibility left.
  • New Mexico guard Elijah Brown will head back to school for his junior season, according to Goodman (Twitter link).
  • Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan and Kentucky’s Marcus Lee are among the players who are still undecided on whether or not to withdraw from the draft, according to Scott Agness of VigilantSports.com and Goodman, respectively (Twitter links).
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Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Nets, Celtics, Sixers

May 24th, 2016 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

After the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, some Raptors fans may have turned an eye toward the offseason, with many difficult decisions awaiting the franchise this summer. However, two games later, the possibility of Toronto sneaking past the Cavaliers and into the NBA Finals is suddenly more viable, postponing those summer plans for now.

Still, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders observes (via Twitter), Bismack Biyombo‘s terrific postseason performance could create some problems for next year’s Raptors squad, since the team only holds the big man’s Non-Bird rights. The Raps would need to pay Biyombo with cap room, but wouldn’t have that cap room on hand if DeMar DeRozan returns on a lucrative new deal. Meanwhile, the Raptors are the only team remaining in the playoffs that has a top-10 draft pick, and GM Masai Ujiri will have plenty of options as he weighs whether to use or trade the ninth and 27th overall selections in this year’s draft, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star.

As we wait to see how Toronto’s season – and offseason – plays out, let’s check in on a few more items related to the club’s division rivals…

  • Nuggets assistant coach Chris Fleming will be heading to the Nets, joining Kenny Atkinson‘s staff in Brooklyn, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
  • A group of veteran free agents will work out for the Nets at a mini-camp this week, and former first overall pick Anthony Bennett is expected to be among the players in attendance, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (Twitter link) adds Joel Wright to the list of participants for the Nets’ mini-camp, while Nets Daily provides several more names.
  • Appearing on WBZ-TV’s Sports Final on Sunday night, Celtics GM Danny Ainge said he wants to improve his team this summer “without selling out,” per Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com. In other words, Boston isn’t about to surrender a ton of draft assets to improve right away — the focus will be on improving the Celtics’ current roster while continuing to build a team capable of sustained success. Determining the best way to carry out that plan will be similar to putting together a jigsaw puzzle for Ainge and the C’s, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.
  • The 76ers, an Atlantic team that has been focused exclusively on the future for several years, are ready to start “thinking about winning” rather than “prolonging the building process,” new executive Bryan Colangelo said on Bleacher Report Radio this weekend (Twitter link via Howard Beck of Bleacher Report). In the view of Derek Bodner of PhillyMag.com, the Sixers need to kick off the offseason by using the No. 1 overall pick on the best player available, rather than the one who would fit the best.
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