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Marcus Morris Expected To Draw Interest From Knicks, Lakers, Others

June 4th, 2019 at 12:37pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Marcus Morris figures to receive plenty of interest on the free agent market this summer, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports that the Knicks, Lakers, Kings, Clippers, and Bulls are all expected to be “in pursuit” of Morris.

All five of those teams project to have significant cap room this offseason, though Morris is unlikely to be the No. 1 priority for most of them. The Knicks, Lakers, and Clippers will be chasing the top free agents on the market, while the Kings have been frequently linked to Nikola Vucevic. Signing a point guard will be a priority for Chicago.

Still, Morris would be a nice fit for any of those clubs after two strong seasons in Boston. In 129 games (27.4 MPG) for Boston, the 29-year-old averaged 13.8 PPG and 5.8 RPG with a .439/.372/.826 shooting line, providing toughness and defensive versatility in the frontcourt.

League sources tell Charania that Morris remains “open-minded” about re-signing with the Celtics, and the C’s are expected to reciprocate that interest. Boston will have a handful of pressing roster questions to address though, including Kyrie Irving‘s free agency.

Morris, who earned $5.375MM in 2018/19, figures to be in line for a raise on his next deal.

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Pelicans Have Begun Listening To Inquiries On Anthony Davis

June 4th, 2019 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite a desire to hang onto the All-NBA big man, new Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin has begun to listen to inquiries on Anthony Davis, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. As Charania details, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Davis will be moved this offseason, but it shows that the Pelicans are at least open to hearing out potential suitors.

Davis and Griffin recently met for the first time in Los Angeles, and while that meeting was described as respectful and productive, the 26-year-old’s preference to be traded reportedly remains unchanged. The Pelicans could keep trying to win AD over and hang onto him until the 2020 trade deadline – or beyond – but it seems unlikely that he’d relent on his trade request down the road if the team winning the draft lottery didn’t affect his stance at all, Charania writes.

Davis’ preferred list of destinations, reported when he initially made his trade request in the winter, included the Lakers, Knicks, Clippers, and Bucks. Executives around the NBA believe that the Lakers and Knicks – along with the Celtics and Nets – are capable of putting together the strongest packages, per Charania.

[RELATED: Top 25 Assets Among Presumed Anthony Davis Contenders]

While the Pelicans appear more open to the idea of moving Davis, there are no indications that the club is considering making Jrue Holiday available. Charania refers to the veteran guard as a “cornerstone” for New Orleans, adding that Holiday and Griffin have spent time with one another in Los Angeles this spring.

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Pacific Notes: Durant, Suns, Kings, Clippers

June 2nd, 2019 at 3:58pm CST by clarkcrum

As relayed by The Associated Press, this Tuesday is the next time we may know more about a possible return of Warriors superstar Kevin Durant. Having already been ruled out for tonight’s Game 2, Wednesday night’s Game 3 marks the next opportunity for Durant’s return, but Tuesday is Golden State’s next practice.

Head coach Steve Kerr, having already said that Durant will need to practice before playing in a game, expounded upon his stance today, saying that Durant could potentially only need one day of practice to be cleared for game action.

“It’s really a day-to-day thing,” Kerr said “If we had a crystal ball, we would have known a long time ago what we were dealing with. But it’s just an injury (where) there’s been a lot of gray area. So, literally, it’s just day-to-day and how the progress is coming. And at this point he’s still not ready.”

But, when further pressed on the issue, and asked whether Durant will only need one practice, said “it’s feasible.” Accordingly, we should know a lot more on Tuesday as to whether Durant can return for Game 3.

There’s more from the Pacific Division this afternoon:

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Clippers Fined For Tampering On Kawhi Leonard

May 31st, 2019 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA announced today in a press release that it has fined the Clippers $50K for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy. The penalty stems from comments made by head coach Doc Rivers about Raptors star Kawhi Leonard during a television appearance.

“(Leonard) is the most like (Michael) Jordan that we’ve seen,” Rivers said while participating in an ESPN panel earlier this week, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. “Like, there’s a lot of great players. LeBron (James) is phenomenal. KD (Kevin Durant) is phenomenal. Not like he is Jordan, or anything like that. But he’s the most like him. Big hands. Post game. Can finish. Great leaper. Great defender. In-between game. If you beat him to the spot – bumps you off. And then you add his 3-point shooting…”

The NBA generally doesn’t crack down as hard on potential tampering violations when players and coaches talk about rival players, preferring to limit its penalties to comments made or actions taken by executives and owners.

In this case though, the NBA may have been sensitive to the perception that the Clippers have been recruiting Leonard all year while he’s under contract with Toronto. The Raptors have reached out to the league multiple times this season when they’ve felt the Clippers have crossed tampering lines, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link).

Additionally, it’s not as if Rivers was simply a head coach discussing an opponent directly before or after playing him. The circumstances surrounding Rivers’ comments explain why the league was less willing to let them slide.

While it’s possible that Leonard’s NBA Finals run with the Raptors will help convince him to stay in Toronto when he reaches free agency in a month, the Clippers are still lurking in the shadows as his presumed top suitor, Amick wrote in a column before Game 1.

Marc Stein of The New York Times also provided some details this week on the lengths the Clippers are going to as they prepare their pitch for Leonard, reporting that the club explored the feasibility of buying a portion of the rights to Kawhi’s “Klaw” logo, which is still owned by Nike.

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Anthony Davis Unlikely To Relent On Trade Request

May 29th, 2019 at 4:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Anthony Davis had a meeting with executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin earlier today and while the conversation was “productive,” it appears Davis has already made up his mind. Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) reports that it’s still highly unlikely that Davis backs off of his trade request.

The Pelicans continue to hold out hope that Davis will reconsider. He’s under contract through the end of the 2019/20 season, so New Orleans could roll the dice and hope that playing alongside presumed No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson for a season will help to change his tune.

[RELATED: Five Key Offseason Questions: New Orleans Pelicans]

More likely, if the Pelicans continue to get the message that Davis will leave, they’ll trade him before the 2020 trade deadline. The Lakers and Knicks are reportedly on his list of preferred destinations. The two teams’ most valuable assets are the No. 3 and No. 4 overall picks, respectively, in the view of sources around the league.

The Celtics are also expected to make a run at trading for Davis, as they envision pairing the big man with Kyrie Irving, who a free agent this summer. Rumblings about the Clippers and Nets as dark horse teams have surfaced as well.

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SGA, Shamet Look Like Keepers; Inglewood Legal Battle Continues

May 29th, 2019 at 2:03pm CST by Luke Adams
  • While the Clippers always expected to make a play for a top free agent or two this summer, the team didn’t expect to already have two long-term building blocks in its backcourt by this point, writes Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. As Greif outlines, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Landry Shamet both look like keepers for the franchise.
  • The legal battle over the Clippers‘ efforts to build a new arena in Inglewood continues, per Nathan Fenno of The Los Angeles Times. According to Fenno, the L.A. County’s district attorney’s office found that the Inglewood City Council violated state law by approving an agreement with a Clippers-controlled company allowing it to explore building an arena in the city, but the D.A. didn’t take any action because the time limit to “remedy the violation” had passed.
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Top 25 Assets Among Presumed Anthony Davis Contenders

May 29th, 2019 at 8:07am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Anthony Davis sweepstakes are expected to be in full swing until the Pelicans trade the disgruntled big man. Hoops Rumors surveyed past and present NBA executives and scouts to compile a ranking of the players and picks available to the presumed Davis contenders.

We included the Lakers, Knicks, and Celtics, as each has been linked to the big man, as well as the Clippers, who could be the wild card team that acquires him. There may be a number of other suitors for Davis once trade talks begin in earnest, but for now these are the four teams that look best positioned – and most motivated – to make a play for the Pelicans’ star.

Before we move onto our rankings, it’s worth noting that we did not including LeBron James when speaking with sources, since it’s extremely unlikely the Lakers would trade him. Players with the ability to hit the open market, such as Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, were also not included.

Let’s dive in…

1. Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Clippers)
3. No. 3 Overall Pick (Knicks)

There’s an important distinction to remember as we navigate through these players and picks: not everyone within the league is aligned on the value of each asset. The top tier, like many of these clusters, comes down to what exactly you value most.

What route the Pelicans will take if they meet Davis’ trade request isn’t known. New head of basketball operations David Griffin could opt for a full rebuild around Zion Williamson. Or he could look to build around Jrue Holiday and Williamson, aiming to contend for a playoff spot sooner rather than later. The Pelicans were not immediately available to comment on their plan or ranking.

Jayson Tatum is a sure thing. Plug him into the starting lineup in New Orleans and he immediately raises the club’s floor. While he may not ever develop into a true MVP-caliber player and has just two years remaining on his rookie-scale contract, he’s a tantalizing trade chip.

A prospect like R.J. Barrett, the favorite to be selected No. 3 overall, would be on a cost-controlled deal for four years and his cap projection would align with Zion’s in New Orleans, providing an enormous amount of flexibility for a franchise.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has three years remaining on his rookie deal, showed progress over the course of the season and the Clippers love him. While there’s a chance he doesn’t reach it, SGA may have a higher ceiling than Tatum.

One former executive said Gilgeous-Alexander should be No. 1 on this list, telling Hoops Rumors that the 6’5″ point guard would be under strong consideration for the No. 2 overall pick if he were in this year’s draft. Other opinions ranged from definitive top-five selection to simply top 10.

Steve Ballmer‘s club has every asset needed to get a deal done with the Pelicans without including SGA. As for the Celtics, Tatum may not even be on the table in a Davis deal either. Boston could ostensibly acquire Davis without including Tatum, but it would likely require Griffin to have googly eyes for Jaylen Brown or the 2020 Memphis pick (more on that below).

We haven’t heard officially whether the Knicks would pony up the No. 3 overall pick for Davis. There were conflicting reports before the lottery on whether they would have been willing to trade the rights to Williamson for AD if they had landed the No. 1 pick.

4. No. 4 Overall Pick (Lakers)
5. Memphis’ 2020 Top-6 Protected First-Rounder (Celtics)

Opinions are split on the Memphis pick. Some believe the league has overvalued the Celtics’ accumulated selections. For example, the Kings’ selection was once perceived as gold. It ultimately ended up as this year’s No. 14 overall pick (Boston’s, via the Markelle Fultz deal with Philly, via Sacramento’s salary dump of Nik Stauskas, Carl Landry, and Jason Thompson).Read more

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Draft Decisions: Noi, Mack, German, Carvacho, Bolden

May 27th, 2019 at 8:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

TCU forward Kouat Noi will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman of WatchStadium.com tweets. The 6’7” Noi averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG during his sophomore season. He has workouts upcoming with the Bucks, Kings and Clippers, Goodman adds. Teammate Desmond Bane will return to school, Goodman adds (Twitter link).

We have more draft news.

  • Alabama swingman Tevin Mack has decided to withdraw from the draft, Goodman reports in another tweet. Mack averaged 9.0 PPG in his junior season.
  • Northern Illinois guard Eugene German will return to school, Goodman adds in another tweet. The point guard averaged 20.4 PPG and 2.9 APG in his junior year.
  • Indiana University guards Devonte Green and Aljami Durham and forward Justin Smith are all expected to return to school, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
  • Colorado State’s Nico Carvacho will return to school, Rothstein reports in another tweet. The 6’11” center averaged 16.1 PPG and 12.9 RPG as a junior last season.
  • Duke center Marques Bolden will remain in the draft, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.5 RPG as a junior.
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Draft Notes: Hornets, Sibande, Cook, Harris

May 26th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Maryland sophomore forward Bruno Fernando headed a group of six players the Hornets worked out on Sunday. He’s currently listed No. 33 overall on ESPN’s Jonathan Givony list of Top 100 prospects. The other five players who came in, according to a team press release, included guards Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple), Justin Simon (St. John’s) and Keyshawn Woods (Ohio State), forward Lamar Stevens (Penn State) and center Raasean Davis (North Carolina Central).

We have more on the draft:

  • Davis and Nevada forward Trey Porter will work out for the Wizards, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets.
  • Miami (Ohio)’s Nike Sibande will return to school, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Sibande averaged 16.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG for the RedHawks last season.
  • Iowa big man Tyler Cook will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman at WatchStadium.com tweets. Cook averaged 14.5 PPG and 7.6 RPG in his junior year.
  • North Carolina A&T shooting guard Terry Harris worked out for the Clippers last week, Chris Broussard of Fox Sports tweets. He’s the younger brother of Tobias Harris.
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