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Givony’s Latest: Ball, Edwards, Hornets, Williams, More

November 9th, 2020 at 9:44am CST by Luke Adams

Barring a surprise trade that shakes up the top of the draft, LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, and James Wiseman still look like the three players who will come off the board first on November 18, writes Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link). Givony, who has had conversations with multiple team executives, scouts, and agents, says most teams’ front offices are operating under the assumption that Ball will be the No. 1 pick.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether the Timberwolves will be the team making and keeping that top pick in the 2020 draft. According to Givony, executives view the Bulls, Pistons, and Thunder as some of the most realistic candidates to trade up to No. 1 for Ball. Oklahoma City has the No. 25 pick, which would make trading up more difficult, but the Thunder do have a massive collection of future first-rounders they could dangle if they’re genuinely interested in moving up.

Here are several more draft-related tidbits from Givony’s latest roundup:

According to Givony, some front offices were underwhelmed by Edwards’ Pro Day performance. Tyrese Maxey, who was in great shape and shot the ball very well, may have made Edwards look a little worse by comparison, some executives told ESPN.
Despite reports that they’re eyeing Onyeka Okongwu, the Hornets haven’t seriously considered picking any prospects outside the top tier of Ball, Wiseman, and Edwards, sources tell Givony.
After the top three, the next tier of prospects is made up of Deni Avdija, Obi Toppin, Isaac Okoro, Tyrese Haliburton, Patrick Williams, and Okongwu, according to Givony, who says those players all seem likely to be selected in the 4-9 range. Givony adds that Williams has boosted his stock in recent months and is receiving consideration as high as No. 4. Givony also confirms that the Pistons have legit interest in Williams at No. 7, which was previously reported.
Picks belonging to the Kings (No. 12), Celtics (14), Timberwolves (17), Mavericks (18), Nets (19), and Heat (20) have popped up frequently in recent trade talks, sources tell ESPN.
Upperclassmen like Malachi Flynn, Desmond Bane, Jordan Nwora, and Xavier Tillman are candidates to come off the board late in the first round, since contending teams with late first-round picks may be prioritizing “plug-and-play” prospects who will be best equipped to handle the quick turnaround between the draft and the start of the NBA season, says Givony.

Central Notes: Weaver, Bulls Draft, Avdija, J. Holiday

November 8th, 2020 at 1:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pistons hired general manager Troy Weaver because of his reputation for evaluating young talent, so Omar Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press looked into Weaver’s track record with the Thunder to get clues for this year’s draft. Detroit holds the No. 7 pick in a draft that appears unpredictable after the first two or three choices.

Weaver has a history of taking athletic players with long wingspans, Sankofa notes. His standout selection was Russell Westbrook with the fourth pick in 2008, and the pattern extends with first-rounders such as Serge Ibaka, Reggie Jackson, Steven Adams, Andre Roberson, Josh Huestis, Terrance Ferguson and Darius Bazley. Weaver also signed Luguentz Dort, a similar player, after he went undrafted last year.

Sankofa believes former Memphis center James Wiseman and Georgia guard Anthony Edwards are the best fits for Weaver’s philosophy, but both are expected to be taken well before the Pistons’ turn. Auburn’s Isaac Okoro, possibly the draft’s best wing defender, could be an alternative, along with guard RJ Hampton and Florida State forward Patrick Williams.

There’s more from the Central Division:

With the Bulls holding the No. 4 pick, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times looks at four potential selections and their possible impact on the organization. LaMelo Ball would challenge Coby White for the starting point guard job right away and could open the door for a Zach LaVine trade that would create cap room to add a free agent next summer. Edwards could be the future shooting guard, which would also make LaVine expendable, while Wiseman would give the team a true center and leave Wendell Carter and Lauri Markkanen battling to become the starting power forward. Deni Avdija fills the greatest need for Chicago and would eventually take over for Otto Porter Jr.
At least one draft expert believes Avdija would be a perfect fit for the Bulls, relays Rob Schaffer of NBC Sports Chicago. Appearing on the Bulls Talk podcast, Spencer Pearlman, a former draft consultant with the Suns, says Avdija is versatile enough to handle either forward slot and plays bigger than his 6’9″ size.
Although the Knicks have interest in free agent guard Justin Holiday, returning to the Pacers is his first option, tweets J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. Michael also states that assistant coach Bill Bayno will remain with Indiana under new coach Nate Bjorkgren (Twitter link) and the organization has hired Ted Wu as a capologist (Twitter link).

Draft Rumors: Mavs, P. Williams, Trades, Sixers

November 4th, 2020 at 1:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have made the No. 18 overall pick in this year’s draft available as they search for immediate help, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that the Mavericks will likely be active in trade talks this offseason. A previous report suggested that Dallas would like to upgrade its roster prior to the 2020/21 season rather than waiting until 2021 to make a splash, once the team can open up some cap space.

The Mavericks don’t have a ton of expendable assets that would interest potential trade partners, having surrendered a pair of future first-round picks when they acquired Kristaps Porzingis in 2019. But the team does have the 18th and 31st picks in the 2020 draft, which will be of interest to teams looking to add young talent.

Here’s more from Woo on the draft:

Expect Florida State big man Patrick Williams to be drafted ahead of his former college teammate Devin Vassell, says Woo. Williams’ “raw skill set” and potential upside are viewed favorably by teams, Woo adds.
While it’s widely known that Golden State and Minnesota have interest in moving down in the draft, there are plenty of other lottery teams viewed as trade-candidates too. Woo says the Bulls (No. 4), Cavaliers (No. 5), Hawks (No. 6), and Suns (No. 10) are all worth keeping an eye on.
The Sixers have five picks in this year’s draft, starting with No. 21, but probably aren’t “married” to any of them and are a strong candidate to be active on draft night, per Woo.
Woo also confirms a pair of items that were previously reported by Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, writing that the Hornets have interest in Onyeka Okongwu and that teams expect Tyrell Terry to be drafted in the mid-to-late teens.

And-Ones: Free Agents, Jersey Ads, Bubble, Europe

November 3rd, 2020 at 4:11pm CST by Luke Adams

John Hollinger of The Athletic, who invented the PER stat during his time at ESPN, has developed a new metric called BORD$ that estimates a player’s salary value for the upcoming season. After providing an in-depth explanation of how exactly the BORD$ formula works, Hollinger has applied it to this year’s class of free agent point guards and shooting guards in an attempt to determine which players warrant the biggest investments.

Hollinger’s point guard list doesn’t include a ton of surprises — Fred VanVleet is easily the most valuable free agent at the position, with Mike Conley and Goran Dragic topping the next two tiers. Shabazz Napier, Trey Burke, and Jordan McLaughlin are among the point guards whose projections are higher than you might expect.

Applied to this year’s free agent shooting guards, the results from Hollinger’s metric are more eyebrow-raising. Grizzlies RFA-to-be De’Anthony Melton is considered the top free agent at the position by BORD$, ahead of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Evan Fournier. A pair of Bulls guards, Kris Dunn and Shaquille Harrison, also rank in Hollinger’s top seven FA shooting guards due to their defensive prowess.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

As the NBA considers potential new revenue streams to help offset the losses generated by the coronavirus pandemic, allowing a second advertisement patch on game jerseys is one idea being weighed, according to John Lombardo of SportsBusiness Journal.
David Aldridge of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the lessons learned from the NBA’s summer bubble experiment and the takeaways that could carry over to the 2020/21 season. As Aldridge observes, while players and coaches aren’t eager to re-enter a bubble next year, the fact that it worked so well this time around will go a long way toward convincing them it’s worth doing again, if need be — even if it’s just for a short period in the postseason, like Major League Baseball did.
The coronavirus pandemic has continued to wreak havoc on European basketball leagues that have begun their 2020/21 seasons, as Ken Maguire of The Associated Press writes. Only half of the EuroLeague’s 18 clubs have played a full six-game schedule so far this season, as COVID-19 outbreaks have caused several last-minute postponements.

Bulls Eyeing Deni Avdija At No. 4?

November 3rd, 2020 at 10:02am CST by Luke Adams

Echoing a report from Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, O’Connor says LaMelo Ball has struggled in meetings with teams and could conceivably fall out of the top three. If Ball is still available at No. 4, the Bulls‘ phone will likely be “buzzing,” O’Connor adds.
Speaking of the Bulls, multiple sources have told O’Connor recently that they’ve heard Deni Avdija may be the play-maker Chicago wants at No. 4. Avdija would be a nice fit alongside the Bulls’ current pieces, and new head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas has a history of identifying international talent.

[SOURCE LINK]

Bulls Hiring Maurice Cheeks, Josh Longstaff As Assistants

November 2nd, 2020 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has begun to fill out his new coaching staff, as Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Maurice Cheeks will be an assistant under Donovan in Chicago. The team is also hiring Josh Longstaff away from the Bucks to be an assistant coach on Donovan’s staff, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Cheeks is a logical fit for the Bulls, having been an assistant under Donovan with the Thunder for the last five years. He’s also a Chicago native, so joining the Bulls will be a homecoming for him. In addition to his two stints in Oklahoma City as an assistant coach, Cheeks has been an assistant for the 76ers and served as a head coach in Portland, Philadelphia, and Detroit.

As for Longstaff, he’s another former Thunder assistant, though he worked for the team from 2010-14 and didn’t overlap with Donovan. Since then, he has been an assistant for the Knicks, the head coach of the G League’s Erie BayHawks, and – for the last two years – a member of Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Milwaukee. He’ll get the opportunity to become a front-of-the-bench assistant in Chicago, Wojnarowski notes.

The Bulls announced last month that assistants Roy Rogers, Dean Cooper, Nate Loenser, and Karen Stack Umlauf wouldn’t be returning to the team. Although the club is revamping its coaching staff for Donovan, it sounds like there will be at least one holdover in Chris Fleming.

Sam Smith Expects Bulls To Stay Put At No. 4

October 30th, 2020 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

While the Bulls may explore trading up or down in the lottery, Sam Smith of Bulls.com expects the team to ultimately stand pat at No. 4.

Bulls Add John Bryant To Donovan's Staff

October 29th, 2020 at 8:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

John Bryant, most recently a Sixers assistant coach under Brett Brown, has joined the Bulls as an assistant under Chicago’s new head coach Billy Donovan, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Bryant served under Brown from 2016-2020. Bryant was previously an assistant coach for the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, from 2014-2016.

Bulls Work Out Kira Lewis Jr.

October 29th, 2020 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. is generating some buzz among teams in the top half of the first round, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, who hears that Lewis has worked out in person for the Magic, Knicks, Pistons, and Bulls within the last week. A previous report indicated that Lewis has had multiple virtual interviews with Phoenix as well.

Timberwolves Met With LaMelo Ball

October 29th, 2020 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves, who hold the No. 1 overall selection in this year’s draft, met with potential top pick LaMelo Ball on Tuesday in Southern California, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

While the meeting provided the Timberwolves – including president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas and head coach Ryan Saunders – an opportunity to interview Ball in person, no basketball activities were conducted as part of the visit, a source tells Givony.

Ball confirmed earlier this month that he conducted virtual interviews earlier this year with the Warriors and Knicks. However, his Tuesday meeting with the Timberwolves is the first time he has met with a club in person, per Givony.

According to Givony, Ball is also tentatively scheduled to interview in person with the Warriors early next week, and will likely meet with the Hornets and Bulls as well. Those clubs hold the second, third, and fourth overall picks in the 2020 draft.

The NBA recently allowed teams to conduct in-person visits with draft-eligible prospects, after having prohibited such meetings for most of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Teams are allowed to conduct a total of 10 meetings.

Although a number of clubs are getting a chance to work out prospects during those meetings, it’s not unusual for presumed top picks like Ball to decline to work out, Givony notes. Still, the Wolves and the other teams at the top of the draft are probably disappointed not to get an in-person look at Ball, since he hasn’t played in a competitive game since November 30, 2019, having been sidelined with a foot injury for much of Australia’s NBL season.