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Pacers Not Currently Discussing Paul George Trade

June 7th, 2017 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

With the 2017 draft just over two weeks away, the Pacers have not been soliciting trade offers or engaging in trade talks involving Paul George, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders, who calls George conversations “a non-starter currently” (Twitter links).

Although the Pacers never got close to moving George at February’s trade deadline, the team was at least willing to listen on inquiries at that point. Since then, George failed to earn a spot on one of the league’s All-NBA squads, making him ineligible for a Designated Veteran Extension this offseason, limiting Indiana’s leverage in extension talks. Additionally, Larry Bird has stepped down as the Pacers’ president of basketball operations, having been replaced by Kevin Pritchard.

Bird was long considered opposed to the idea of dealing George, so there was speculation that the front office turnover – combined with the Pacers’ inability to offer the standout forward a super-max extension – may spur trade talks this summer. So far though, that hasn’t been the case. In a longer piece on the Lakers at Bleacher Report, Pincus notes that the Pacers haven’t signaled to teams that George is available, per a Western Conference executive.

The Pacers may still show a willingness to discuss George around the time of the draft or free agency, but it’s also possible the club is comfortable waiting out the situation. Given George’s reported interest in the Lakers, Indiana may not be able to extract much in any trade if there’s an expectation he’ll wind up in L.A. in 2018 no matter what.

Keeping the 27-year-old around may be a worthwhile gamble for Indiana — if George earns an All-NBA spot in 2017/18, he’d become eligible for a Designated Player Extension, meaning he could secure an extra $50MM+ at that point by re-upping with the Pacers instead of heading elsewhere.

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Jordan Loyd Drawing Interest From Nets, Clippers, Pacers

June 6th, 2017 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams
  • D-League guard Jordan Loyd is drawing some NBA interest, according to international reporter David Pick, who tweets that Loyd will attend a Nets free agent mini-camp, then will audition for the Clippers and play in Summer League with the Pacers. The 23-year-old averaged 15.1 PPG in 49 games for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in 2016/17.
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Blakeney Headlines Tuesday's Workout

June 5th, 2017 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder
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Bucks Ready To Start GM Interviews

June 4th, 2017 at 2:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks are finalizing their list of GM candidates with interviews expected to start Monday, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.

Assistant GM Justin Zanik remains a strong candidate to replace John Hammond, who left to become GM of the Magic. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Zanik has strong support inside and outside the Bucks organization.

Others expected to interview for the position are Minnesota assistant GM Noah Croom, Indiana vice president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie, Detroit assistant GM Pat Garrity, Denver assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas and Memphis VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski. Many of the names were already known, but Croom is a new addition, Wojnarowski tweets.

Sources indicate that Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens will participate in the interviews. An original list of candidates was trimmed by a search firm.

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Central Notes: D. Griffin, Pistons, Pacers, Clarkson, Butler

June 3rd, 2017 at 1:46pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Cavaliers GM David Griffin faces an uncertain future, writes Joe Drape of The New York Times in a well-written piece detailing the executive’s background, approach, and accomplishments. Griffin’s contract with the Cavs expires at the end of this month and, as Drape states, “[Dan] Gilbert is a hands-on owner who has a history of letting player and executive contracts run out before going to the negotiating table.”

Since being named the Cavs’ GM in May 2014, Griffin has lured LeBron James back to the team, traded for Kevin Love, acquired many vital role players, fired David Blatt as head coach, hired Tyronn Lue to replace him, and most importantly brought a championship to Cleveland. For all the recent interest in Griffin, the general manager wishes to maintain a low profile, text messaging regarding comment on the story: “I really appreciate the opportunity to reconsider but I am trying desperately to keep a low profile and my quotes being in something about me just makes me uncomfortable. Ownership wouldn’t appreciate either, I am sure.”

Here are some other stories you’ll want to check out from the Central division:

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Pistons Interested In C.J. Miles

June 1st, 2017 at 4:29pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pistons have interest in adding C.J. Miles this offseason, a source tells Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Miles will reportedly opt out of his deal with the Pacers to become a free agent this summer.

Ellis cautions that any additions will depend on what happens with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Bullock. Detroit already has nearly $95MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season, so even if the team lets each one of its free agent wings walk, it won’t have much flexibility to add a sizable deal.

KCP and Bullock are both restricted free agents, so it’s likely coach/executive Stan Van Gundy opts to retain at least one of the two. If the team goes over the salary cap, which is projected to come in at $101MM, it will have the $8.4MM mid-level exception to work with and a new deal for Miles could fit into that slot. The swingman would have made roughly $4.77MM had he decided to stay on his deal with Indiana.

Miles, who spent the last three seasons with the Pacers, shot 43.4% from downtown on 8.5 attempts per contest last season. Detroit will certainly look to add shooting after making just 33.0% of its shots from behind the arc as a team last season, a figure which ranks 28th in the league.

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Bucks Receive Permission To Interview GM Candidates

May 31st, 2017 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

12:06pm: ESPN’s Marc Stein (Twitter links) provides an additional update on the Bucks’ GM search, noting that there’s still one GM candidate that the team hasn’t been given permission to interview. As was the case when Atlanta and Orlando expressed interest, the Cavs still aren’t granting permission to speak to David Griffin during the playoffs.

We heard last week that Cavaliers GM David Griffin, a popular target this spring for teams seeking a top basketball exec, is among the names on Milwaukee’s wish list.

11:35am: With John Hammond headed to Orlando, the Bucks’ search for a new general manager is underway. And according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Milwaukee has requested and received permission to speak to a handful of candidates about the open position.

The Bucks are eyeing Pacers president of basketball operations Peter Dinwiddie, Nuggets assistant GM Arturas Karnisovas, Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski, and Hawks advisor Wes Wilcox, league sources inform Wojnarowski. Each of those four clubs has given Milwaukee permission to interview their respective execs.

According to Wojnarowski, Dinwiddie and Karnisovas have become two of the NBA’s “most respected” young executives. Wilcox and Stefanski are veteran execs — Wilcox was recently removed from Atlanta’s GM role, while Stefanski has a history with Bucks consultant Rod Thorn, having worked with him in New Jersey.

Although assistant GM Justin Zanik is currently running day-to-day operations for the Bucks, and is said to be a strong candidate to replace Hammond in the permanent GM role, the team is reportedly conducting a “broad” search for its new head of basketball operations.

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C.J. Miles To Opt Out, Become Free Agent

May 30th, 2017 at 3:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran swingman C.J. Miles will opt out of his contract with the Pacers this summer, becoming an unrestricted free agent, reports Chris Haynes of ESPN.com. Miles has a player option for the 2017/18 season worth approximately $4.77MM, but will decline that option in search of a more lucrative deal.

Miles, who turned 30 last month, was a key rotation piece for the Pacers in 2016/17, making a career-best 41.3% of his attempts from beyond the arc. He also averaged 2.2 made three-pointers per game for the third consecutive season.

Miles was one of two Pacers players who had a mutual option of sorts for ’17/18. The Pacers had the opportunity to waive both Miles and Rodney Stuckey before the end of the regular season to avoid the risk of guaranteeing their salaries for next season. The team cut Stuckey and hung onto Miles, but with Miles opting out, Indiana won’t carry his salary on its books next year anyway.

While Miles’ reps may point to a player like Courtney Lee, who signed a four-year, $48MM contract with the Knicks last summer at age 30, as a logical comparison for their client, I’d be surprised if Miles lands a deal in that range. He should do fairly well in free agency, earning a raise and a multiyear commitment, but teams around the league simply won’t have the same kind of cap room available to overspend on free agents this time around.

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Retaining Teague Will Be Costly

May 25th, 2017 at 11:38am CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Pacers need to re-sign Jeff Teague but the cost will be substantial, according to Jay Siskin of AmicoHoops.net.  Teague, who made $8MM this past season, will get a huge raise as he heads into the free agent market for the first time. While Teague enjoys playing for his hometown team, point-guard starved teams such as the Nets, Magic, Mavericks and Knicks could make runs at him and drive up his pricetag, Siskin adds.
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Diallo Drawing Interest As Deadline To Withdraw Nears

May 24th, 2017 at 10:01am CST by ChrisCrouse

Hamidou Diallo hasn’t played organized basketball in nearly five months, but he’s drawing interest around the league, sources tell Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog (Twitter link). The Nets, Bulls, Bucks, Heat, Pacers and Jazz have all expressed interest in the athletic shooting guard.

Diallo is currently ranked as the 42nd best prospect in the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. Some believe he has a chance to move into the first round, as Zagoria writes in a full-length piece for The New York Times. “I would not be surprised if his combination of athleticism and skills opens some eyes, and then he’ll have a tough decision,” ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla said. ” Do you want to be the 25th pick in this year’s draft or do you want to have a chance to maybe be a top 10 pick [next year].”

The Queens native hasn’t yet made a decision yet on whether he will remain in the draft or play at Kentucky, Zagoria passes along in a full-length piece on his website. Diallo enrolled at the school to play for John Calipari in January but opted not to join the basketball team. He, like all prospects, has until tonight to make a decision.

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