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Western Notes: Love, Wolves, Grizzlies

June 28th, 2014 at 10:31pm CST by Cray Allred

Kevin Love, Klay Thompson, and David Lee will attend Team USA training camp starting on July 27, and Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that he thinks the Wolves and Warriors view that date as an unofficial deadline to complete a trade involving those players. Here’s more from out West:

Flip Saunders defended the Wolves‘ choice to sell two second round draft picks to Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune, saying the moves don’t signify a lack of commitment to winning at all costs. “If you don’t have a player who you think will be in your program, I’m not going to draft somebody just to say we drafted him,” said Saunders. “When I look at our salary cap, we’re up in the high [$60 millions] and, I think, last year were the highest salary-cap team that didn’t make the playoffs. I look at the commitment that [owner Glen Taylor] has made last year and moving forward, we’re committed to winning. Those picks had nothing to do with trying to get money.” Saunders’ assertion is incorrect: the Knicks, Celtics, and Lakers all had higher team salaries than Minnesota and did not make the playoffs.
Unrestricted free agents James Johnson and Beno Udrih appear unlikely to re-sign with the Grizzlies, writes Ronald Tillery of Commercial Appeal.
However, the Grizzlies are poised to make a strong pitch for free agent Mike Miller to re-sign with the team, the Commercial Appeal scribe reports.
Tillery adds that Memphis is likely to retain Kosta Koufos‘s partially-guaranteed $3MM contract for 2014/15.

Lawrence’s Latest: Boozer, ‘Melo, Grizzlies

June 28th, 2014 at 4:56pm CST by Charlie Adams

There’s genuine fear within the Bulls’ front office that owner Jerry Reinsdorf will refuse to use the amnesty provision on Carlos Boozer this summer, passes along Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News. Chicago will have a hard time creating the cap room necessary to pursue marquee names if they don’t find a way to get Boozer off the books. Here’s more from Lawrence:

Carmelo Anthony would be interested in teaming up with LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, says Lawrence, but the Lakers are unlikely to have the cap space to bring in both superstars.
It sounds as if the Rockets‘ pursuit of ‘Melo is unlikely to result in a success. “The only reason Carmelo will go to Houston to listen (to the Rockets) is because of Kevin McHale,” a source told Lawrence. “If the coach wasn’t a top-50, all-time player or was a lesser-name coach, then ‘Melo wouldn’t even visit there. But he’ll listen because it’s Kevin McHale.“
The Grizzlies are interested in bringing aboard former Knicks president Glen Grunwald to come in and serve under Chris Wallace for two years before taking over the reins as GM, Lawrence writes. That echoes an earlier report from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com but appears to add an expiration date for Wallace’s time in charge of the front office.
One league source told Lawrence that he wasn’t sure if Bruno Caboclo was even worth a second-round selection. The Raptors selected Caboclo with the 20th pick in the draft, and Lawrence writes that it’s virtually impossible to find a GM who agrees with their decision.
Utah’s decision to draft Dante Exum isn’t surprising since the the Jazz aren’t sold on Trey Burke as a franchise point guard, reveals Lawrence.
Dirk Nowitzki won’t even consider signing with a team other than the Mavs this summer, Lawrence confirms.

Western Notes: Nuggets, Lakers, Prince, Wolves

June 27th, 2014 at 2:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nuggets GM Tim Connelly shares the belief of former GM Masai Ujiri that, while having a marquee player is ideal, it’s possible to construct a team that goes deep into the playoffs without one, as Grantland’s Zach Lowe details.

“Watching the playoffs, I do think there is an increasing sense of parity,” Connelly said to Lowe this morning. “We lack that superstar, but we also think a couple of our younger players could really step their game up. I like our roster as I wake up today. It’s a roster that should restore a playoff spot. But we also want to maintain flexibility so that we can make moves. All of our assets are movable.”

There’s more on the Nuggets from Lowe’s piece among the latest from the Western Conference:

The Nuggets have been planning to discuss an extension with Thad Foucher client Kenneth Faried, and it appears they’ll waste no time in doing so. Connelly tells Lowe that he’ll meet with Faried’s representatives next week, just as Faried’s extension eligibility window opens (Twitter link).
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak downplayed the idea that he’ll allow the team’s free agent signings to influence whom the club hires as coach, as Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com notes amid his piece on the team’s hopes for a splashy acquisition.
The Grizzlies were never that keen on rumored talks with the Raptors involving Tayshaun Prince and John Salmons, as Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal writes in a subscription-only piece.
Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders isn’t anxious to use the $5.305MM mid-level exception likely to be available to the team this summer, observes Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “We will wait,” Saunders said. “Right now, there are not a lot of guys that are out there … that I think are better than players we have on the team. We aren’t just going to spend it just because we have it. If someone pops down and we think it’s worth it, we’ll do it.”
Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro and coach Michael Malone insisted Thursday night that the team’s decision to draft Nik Stauskas at No. 8 isn’t an indication that they’ve lost faith in fellow shooting guard Ben McLemore, tweets Jon Santiago of Cowbell Kingdom.

Grizzlies Owner On Wallace, Randolph, Levien

June 27th, 2014 at 1:29pm CST by Chuck Myron

Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace made his first significant moves since returning to control over the team’s basketball operations department in the past 24 hours, agreeing on an extension with Zach Randolph and coming away with Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes from the draft. Owner Robert Pera had praise for Wallace Friday morning on 92.9FM ESPN radio in Memphis, but he also shed some light on the future of Wallace’s role as the team interviews candidates for a GM-in-waiting gig. Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal provides a subscription-only transcription of Pera’s hour-long talk. We’ll share three of the owner’s most relevant comments:

On Wallace:

“What he says is the truth. He doesn’t play any games. …We might very well promote Chris Wallace to president of basketball operations. It’s wide open. Either way, Chris Wallace is staying around.”

On the agreement to sign Zach Randolph to an extension:

“We’re excited about that. Our two goals were making sure Zach was happy and focused and our other goal was to surround Zach with the right pieces to win a championship.”

On former CEO Jason Levien:

“Part of what makes me successful in my career is if I have a feeling about something or an instinct I go ahead and do it. Once I get a sense, I’m aggressive and I do it. [Levien and I] became fast friends. Over the course of time, what I learned is he’s very talented but I felt it was my responsibility to make sure the organization and the culture is headed toward a championship. I have my reasons and I stepped in and made a change. …I don’t think it was a bad thing.”

Grizzlies Acquire Jarnell Stokes

June 27th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Chuck Myron

10:30am: The 2016 second-rounder that Memphis is sending to Utah is the more favorable of the second-round picks that the Raptors and Celtics sent to the Grizzlies in previous trades, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News.

FRIDAY, 12:13am: The trade is official, the Grizzlies announced via press release.

THURSDAY, 10:15pm: The Jazz have agreed to trade 35th overall pick Jarnell Stokes to the Grizzlies for a 2016 second-round pick, reports Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter links). The former University of Tennessee power forward is a Memphis native.

Power forward is a potential position of need for the Grizzlies with contract talks having reportedly broken down with Zach Randolph. Backup Ed Davis is also set to hit free agency.

Stokes averaged 15.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the Volunteers this past season. He spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors for our Prospect Profile Series.

Draft Fallout: Sixers, Saric, Heat, McGary

June 27th, 2014 at 3:10am CST by Chuck Myron

The Sixers never made a run at trading for the No. 1 pick in spite of the rumors to the contrary, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). That seems hard to believe given the volume of chatter about Philly’s supposed pursuit of Andrew Wiggins, whom the Cavs wound up taking with the top pick. Still, the Sixers wound up with Joel Embiid, who had been the front-runner to go No. 1 before he broke his foot. Philadelphia will have to wait on Embiid, who went third overall, as well as No. 12 selection Dario Saric, whose rights they obtained from the Magic. There’s news on Saric among the continuing reverberations from Thursday’s draft:

Saric says he might come to the NBA in one year rather than two, as had been the assumption, but he’d have to discuss it with Anadolu Efes Pilson, his team in Turkey, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
The Heat didn’t consult with LeBron James on their trade to acquire Shabazz Napier, though his affection for the former Connecticut point guard was no secret, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
The Thunder promised Mitch McGary that they’d draft him at No. 21, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Rumors had suggested the Hornets and Bucks instead had given him a promise. Charlotte had interest, tweets Jeff Zillgitt, but Oklahoma City snapped him up before the Hornets could take him at No. 24.
Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, whom the Suns took at No. 27, is one or two years away from joining Phoenix, GM Ryan McDonough said, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic notes (on Twitter). No. 50 pick Alec Brown is also expected to play in Europe next season rather than sign this summer with the Suns, according to Coro.
Undrafted Canisius guard Billy Baron is drawing interest from several teams who’d like to bring him to training camp in addition to summer league, Wojnarowski reports (on Twitter).
The Rockets are highly interested in Patric Young, while the Hawks, Thunder and Grizzlies eye LaQuinton Ross and the Raptors, Pacers and Spurs are keen on Aaron Craft, according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (All Twitter links). It’s unclear if the interest is in regard to training camp or merely summer league.

Clippers Shopping Matt Barnes, No. 28 Pick

June 26th, 2014 at 6:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

6:15pm: The Grizzlies have rebuffed the Clippers’ attempts to trade for Allen, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

5:32pm: The Knicks are giving signals that they intend to keep Shumpert rather than dealing him for a pick, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

5:11pm: The Clippers trying to package Matt Barnes and the 28th overall pick as the draft draws near, reports Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Rivers would ideally like to send them to the Knicks for Iman Shumpert, several NBA executives tell Turner. Another possibility is using those assets to acquire Gerald Green from the Suns, Turner hears. The Times scribe also says Rivers has interest in Tony Allen (Twitter link).

Barnes and Shumpert were involved in a rumored trade around the deadline, and it appears that Rivers is after the Knicks swingman again. Sending a would-be fourth first-rounder to Phoenix would cause complications for the Suns, though the executives suggest to Turner that Phoenix could put a few of those picks in another trade. Allen played for Rivers when both were with the Celtics.

The 34-year-old Barnes is set to make nearly $3.4MM in 2014/15. His contract is only guaranteed for $1MM beyond that.

Raptors, Grizzlies Talking Prince, No. 22 Pick

June 26th, 2014 at 12:25pm CST by Zachary Links

12:25pm: If the deal happens, Chad Ford of ESPN.com (on Twitter) believes that the Raptors will target Clint Capela at No. 22. The Spurs have been hoping that he’d slide to No. 30.

11:18am: Stein now hears (Twitter link) that the deal would more likely send the No. 37 pick to Memphis along with Salmons for Prince and the No. 22.

11:14am: The Raptors are in the hunt to acquire the Grizzlies’ No. 22 pick in tonight’s draft but would have to take back Tayshaun Prince to make something happen, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The potential swap would send John Salmons and the No. 59 pick to Memphis for Prince and the No. 22 pick (link). Stein says that Toronto could be making the deal with guard Tyler Ennis in mind, though they already own the No. 20 selection.

The No. 22 pick wouldn’t guarantee the Raptors that they’ll land Ennis – the Syracuse guard is currently projected to go No. 21 to the Thunder by DraftExpress – but it’d give them a puncher’s chance for sure. Prince, who is a shell of the player he once was, is slated to earn $7.7MM in the final season of his deal. Prince averaged 6.0 PPG with 3.1 RPG last season and posted a career-low PER of 8.2.

And-Ones: Knicks, Kings, Heat

June 25th, 2014 at 11:57pm CST by Cray Allred

It’s been a busy day around the league, and things could get even crazier tomorrow. Here’s a roundup of the night’s notes:

If Zach Randolph isn’t signed prior to the draft and the Grizzlies select a power forward, it could be an indication that Memphis is preparing to move on from Randolph, writes Ronald Tillery of Commercial Appeal.
A rival executive tells Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) that he could envision the Knicks breaking into the first round by flipping newly acquired Shane Larkin, as we speculated earlier tonight.
Beck tweets that the Knicks hope Jose Calderon‘s presence will help them lure Marc Gasol to New York when the dynamic center hits free agency before the 2015/16 season.
The Kevin Love talks between the Wolves and Warriors were “never off” and remain ongoing, tweets Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
The Kings primary concern is adding perimeter shooting, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think it’s a very important factor for the draft,” GM Pete D’Alessandro told Jones. “I think it’s something we have to take seriously and take a strong look at, for sure.”
A person with knowledge of restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas‘s situation tells Sam Amick of USA Today that the point guard’s market value is between $4MM and $6MM per year.
Dwyane Wade has yet to make his decision regarding the early termination clause in his contract, but sources tell Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that he, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh had a positive meeting regarding their offseason (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Cavs, Parker, Wiggins, Embiid

June 25th, 2014 at 11:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wants the team to draft Andrew Wiggins first overall, but the front office prefers Jabari Parker, report Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. That’s somewhat surprising, considering that Parker is seemingly the better of the two for Gilbert’s desire to win now. It’s unclear if Gilbert will let GM David Griffin and company take Parker, but after letting his executives make the call on Anthony Bennett at No. 1 last year, Gilbert will at least have a “stronger voice” this time around, Ford tweets. Here’s more on the eve of the draft:

Andrew Wiggins wants to play for the Sixers, reports Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Sixers would take Wiggins at No. 1 if they were to move up, but the Bucks, Magic, Jazz, and Celtics would all select Jabari Parker if they wound up at the top of the draft, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Multiple teams are trying to buy copies of Joel Embiid‘s medical records, a source tells Jake Fischer of The Boston Globe. Other sources tell Fischer that the buying of draftees’ medical records is common practice. (Twitter links)
James Young says his workout with the Sixers went well, and gets the sense that he could be selected by Philadelphia with the No. 10 pick, tweets Pompey.
Julius Randle passed on a second workout with the Celtics, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
Marcus Smart did perform a second workout with the Celtics, and also worked out for the Magic a second time, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders,
Zach LaVine tells Andrew Perna of RealGM he has worked out for every team holding picks six through 17 (Twitter link). The Sixers, Magic, and Bulls are teams in that range that had not been linked to a workout with LaVine previously.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo worked out for the Knicks, tweets Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Knicks acquired two second round picks earlier today.
Bogdan Bogdanovic has come stateside to work out for the Spurs and Clippers, and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets that the Serbian wing is gaining steam as a potential pick late in the first round.
Alec Brown has worked out for the Bulls, Cavs, Mavs, Clippers, Knicks, Sixers, and Raptors, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Tim Bontemps of The New York Post thinks it’s likely that the Nets can pick up a second round pick, and opines that they could even make their way into the late first round, where multiple teams would like to trade out of.

Earlier updates

Dan Gilbert tweeted out his insistence that he and the Cavs front office are not split (hat tip to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel).
An opposing GM told Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that the Cavs are entertaining “everything,” because they are in the driver’s seat (Twitter link).
It’s still unknown if Dante Exum will work out for the Cavs at their request, but Andy Katz of ESPN.com reports that the guard is unlikely to cooperate without an assurance that there is a deal in place for Cleveland to move down and select him.
The Hornets have shown sporadic interest in dealing away their No. 24 pick, but those talks have cooled recently, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
The Celtics face tough odds of moving up in the draft because “lots” of other teams with better players to offer are trying to do the same, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.
One such team could be the Kings, who sources tell Ken Berger of CSBSports.com are trying to move up from No. 8 to have a chance at landing Joel Embiid.
Rival GMs believe that Nuggets GM Tim Connelly is in “deal-making mode” with Denver’s No. 11 pick, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Nuggets have been reportedly shopping the pick for some time now.
Noah Vonleh is expected to be selected first of the power forward grouping including Vonleh, Aaron Gordon, and Julius Randle, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Gordon is not expected to drop any lower than the eighth selection, per Spears’ source.
Nets GM Billy King told Rod Boone of Newsday that the asking price to acquire a first round draft pick is likely too high for Brooklyn, and that a second round pick seems more possible (Twitter link).
Jusuf Nurkic has a buyout to leave his international club and join the NBA this season, tweets Wojnarowski. There was some confusion as to Nurkic’s willingness and ability to join an NBA team immediately before this revelation, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.
Joel Embiid is in “strong consideration” for the Sixers at No. 3, and it’s highly unlikely he slides past the Lakers at No. 7, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter link). The Sixers have obtained Embiid’s medical information, as Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com reports.
The NBA buyout in the extension that Walter Tavares signed with his Spanish team is $600K, agent Andy Miller tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, and that’s precisely the amount NBA teams can pay without it counting against the cap. There were representatives from 11 NBA teams at a private workout Tavares held on Tuesday, and Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and executives from the Knicks and Nets were among them, Zagoria reports. Zagoria also adds the Spurs to the list of teams that have brought the 22-year-old center in for an audition.
Fellow European prospect Vasilije Micic prefers to stay overseas regardless of whether he’s drafted on Thursday, as he told Rigas Dardalis of Eurohoops.net.
The Hawks were the last of a dozen teams to work out Zach LaVine, observes Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).
Andre Dawkins auditioned for the Kings, as Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report notes within his broader look at the draft. Dawkins tells Zwerling that the Cavs, Pistons and Wizards have expressed interest in him.
Jordan Adams wasn’t able to get to Memphis in time as the Grizzlies scrambled to put together a last-minute audition, so Michael Dixon is taking his place in the four-man workout group, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.