Memphis Grizzlies Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Grizzlies, Other NBA Teams Eye Sebastian Telfair

June 19th, 2014 at 11:26am CST by Cray Allred

THURSDAY, 11:26am: Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger says Memphis has interest in Telfair, tweets Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal.

TUESDAY, 6:52pm: Sebastian Telfair is planning a return to the NBA next season, and has drawn interest from several teams, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Telfair played in China this year after failing to catch on with an NBA team, despite getting looks from multiple squads last summer. Kennedy doesn’t mention any specific teams in connection with the point guard.

The 29-year-old has been a journeyman over his nine years in the league, never staying with a team longer than two consecutive seasons. When he last saw NBA action in the 2012/13 season, it was as a third string point guard for the Raptors during a 13-game stint after being traded to Toronto by the Suns.

The ASM Sports client was drafted straight out of high school by the Blazers with the 13th pick in the 2004 draft. Telfair hasn’t lived up to what many expected from him as a young phenom, never averaging better than 9.8 PPG or 5.9 APG in a season. Since starting 94 games for the Wolves over the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons, he has only been called on as a starter 16 times with five different teams.

Grizzlies Notes: Front Office, Calathes, Gasol

June 19th, 2014 at 9:26am CST by Chuck Myron

The position of player personnel director that the Grizzlies are seeking to fill would serve as a GM-in-waiting for the club, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. That seems to indicate that Memphis envisions once more transitioning away from Chris Wallace as the head of the front office at some point, though there doesn’t appear to be a timetable for doing so. In any case, Memphis is casting a “wide net” as it conducts its search, Windhorst writes. Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

Nick Calathes is on a non-guaranteed contract with the Grizzlies for next season, but he’s drawing interest from multiple European clubs. CSKA Moscow has matched a three-year, $6.5MM offer from Panathinaikos of Greece for the 25-year-old guard, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, advancing an earlier report from Sport24 (translation via Carchia). Calathes would have to sit out the first 13 games of next season because of a drug suspension.
Kevin Love‘s ability to hit free agency next year has sparked a glut of trade rumors, but that’s not so for Marc Gasol, another star big man set to hit the market in July 2015. There’s a decent chance that it will the last opportunity for Gasol, who’ll be 30 next year, to cash in with a lucrative long-term deal, but Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal hears that he’ll prioritize winning over money, as Tillery writes in a subscription-only piece.
Gasol also told Tillery of his affection for the Grizzlies. “You know my relationship with Memphis and my relationship with the Grizzlies,” Gasol said. “I’ve always said Memphis is my home away from home. [Owner] Robert [Pera] knows that. I know that. My teammates know that and that’s all that matters. I live day to day but I don’t see myself anywhere else. Only time will time. But I don’t see a reason to change right now. Why would I change right now?”

Draft Notes: Randle, Payne, Tavares, Grizz, Suns

June 18th, 2014 at 10:22pm CST by Alex Lee

With the draft only eight days away, we should expect a steady stream of updates leading up to next Thursday night’s festivities in Brooklyn. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders profiles prospects whose stock is on the rise; a list that includes Doug McDermott, Elfrid Payton, Rodney Hood, T.J. Warren, Zach LaVine, Jarnell Stokes, Rodney Hood, Shabazz Napier and Mitch McGary. In addition, here are some more team-specific draft notes from Wednesday:

Duke’s Andre Dawkins will work out with the Pistons, Mavericks and Magic after Friday’s session with the Wizards, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.
The Clippers worked out C.J. Fair, Glenn Robinson III, Cleanthony Early and Jakarr Sampson on Wednesday, adds Zagoria via Twitter.
Zagoria also tweets that the Pacers will work out Ohio guard Nick Kellogg next Monday and the Nets will work out Fair next Wednesday (Twitter links).
The Jazz got a revealing look at Noah Vonleh in Monday’s six-man workout, writes Mike Sorensen of the Deseret News. Many draftniks foresee Vonleh going to Utah at No. 5.
In an Insider Only piece, ESPN’s David Thorpe outlines a handful of pre-NBA similarities between Syracuse product Jerami Grant and current NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.

Earlier updates:

Working out for the Cavaliers today, Andrew Wiggins looked “very good” according to Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (via Twitter). Amico adds that Cleveland’s first overall selection remains wide open.
Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe profiles Australian backcourt prospect Dante Exum. Meanwhile, NBA.com offers their pre-draft breakdown of Clemson product K.J. McDaniels.
The Kings, who pick 8th, will work out Hood, LaVine, Sim Bhullar, Nick Johnson, Elijah Pittman and RIchard Solomon on Friday, according to Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee, who adds that LaVine has fans in the Sacramento front office (Twitter links are here).
With concerns about his right foot in the air, Julius Randle impressed in his workout with the Jazz today, writes Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune. As he has since the original report, Randle maintained today in Utah that he does not need surgery.
The Bulls will work out Michigan State’s Adreian Payne on Monday, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM. Owners of the 16th and 19th selections, Chicago figures to be in the market for outside shooting, making Payne a realistic possibility.
The Celtics brought 7-foot-3 prospect Walter Tavares in for a workout on Thursday, reports Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.com. As Scotto notes, Tavares seems to be making a late push up draft boards.
The Grizzlies will host Napier, Jordan Clarkson, Jerami Grant, P.J. Hairston, LaQuinton Ross and C.J Wilcox on Thursday, the team announced.
Michael Cohen of The Commercial Appeal profiles Grant and Hairston along with Payne and Hood in his examination of which players may slip to Memphis at pick 22.
Thanasis Antetokounmpo will work out for the Spurs, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (via Twitter). As Zillgitt points out, Antetokounmpo’s talent, bloodlines and the fact that he will have worked out for nearly half the league by next Thursday make him an intriguing prospect.
Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek considers smarts nearly as valuable as athleticism when evaluating draft prospects, writes Matt Petersen of Suns.com, who points to Gerald Green as an elite athlete who thrived in Phoenix after showing signs of basketball I.Q. despite a rocky start to his career.

Chris Wallace To Remain As Grizzlies GM

June 18th, 2014 at 4:28pm CST by Chuck Myron

4:28pm: Winger is satisfied with his job in Oklahoma City and has turned down the Grizzlies’ request for an interview, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

4:18pm: Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace will continue as GM of the team for the “foreseeable future,” tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. The Grizzlies’ search for a GM has “evolved” into a search for a player personnel director, the role Stu Lash held when he acted as second in command to CEO Jason Levien in the front office before both were let go last month, Amick reports (Twitter links). The team has asked for permission to interview Thunder assistant GM Michael Winger for the job, according to Amick. Wallace assumed “interim responsibility” for the Memphis front office when Levien and Lash departed, according to the team’s press release, and today’s news appears to signal that he’s likely to remain in charge of the Grizzlies on a more permanent basis.

Wallace maintained his GM title even as his role was marginalized under Levien, but Amick seems to indicate that he’ll remain in control of the team’s front office in addition to retaining his title. Wallace’s continued employment with the Grizzlies in some form or fashion has long appeared safe, and the mutual willingness of Wallace and the Grizzlies to continue their association even as Wallace spent a year without setting foot in his office supports that. The general sentiment is that whomever the Grizzlies hire as player personnel director will be on a fast track to become a GM, according to Amick, though it’s not clear whether that person would be a GM-in-waiting of sorts for Memphis.

Winger hasn’t drawn much mention in connection to jobs since assuming his role with the Thunder in 2010, though that might have more to do with Oklahoma City’s guarded nature with information. Amick’s tweets indicate that the Grizzlies are vetting other candidates for the player personnel director position, too.

Grizzlies Send Cash To Nuggets For 2015 Pick

June 18th, 2014 at 1:24pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Grizzlies have exercised an option to keep their 2015 second-round pick and instead send an undisclosed amount of cash to the Nuggets as part of the terms of a trade that took place in 2008, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal (subscription required). The original deal was a three-team swap involving Memphis, New Orleans and Washington. The Memphis pick went to New Orleans, which sent it to the Clippers in the Chris Paul trade before the Clippers shipped it to the Nuggets in the JaVale McGee trade.

Memphis had sent every second-rounder through 2017 out via trade, so it makes sense that the Grizzlies would decide to keep the one they were allowed to essentially buy back. It’s “widely believed” the Grizzlies will trade for a second-rounder in this year’s draft, Tillery writes.

The move leaves the Nuggets without a second-rounder next season, since theirs is ticketed for Minnesota. They’ve also traded their 2016 and 2018 second-round picks, but they have two second-round choices this year, at Nos. 41 and 56.

Draft Notes: Clippers, Vonleh, Hornets, Hairston

June 17th, 2014 at 8:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers are interested in trading up from pick No. 28, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Shelburne’s piece centers on a profile of former University of Colorado guard Spencer Dinwiddie, who can’t work out because he’s still recovering from a torn ACL. Dinwiddie’s nonetheless had meetings with the Bucks, Wizards, Bulls and Celtics, and he’s scheduled interviews and physicals with the Clippers, Heat, Hawks and Thunder, according to Shelburne. The ESPN scribe also says that he’ll interview and take a physical for the Jazz, advancing an earlier report that he was set to interview with the team. Here’s more on the draft:

Julius Randle is set to work out for the Jazz tomorrow, tweets Utah’s radio announcer David Locke.
Marcus Smart and Elfrid Payton are expected to work out for the Lakers on Friday for the second time, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports Spears advises his readers to “keep an eye” on Payton (via Twitter) in light of the second workout.
Nik Stauskas is expected in for his first workout with the Lakers, who have struggled to get Stauskas in, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times.
Rodney Hood had to sit out most of his Hornets workout today due to illness, reports Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
Gary Harris and Zach LaVine will work out for the Hornets tomorrow, tweets Bonnell, who adds Charlotte’s other new workout appointees in a separate tweet: Rion Brown; Ronald Roberts Jr.; and Markel Brown, who missed an earlier workout due to travel issues.
The Rockets worked out Shabazz Napier, Xavier Thames, Patric Young, Nick Russell, and Kadeem Coleby, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
Sim Bhullar, Earnest Ross, Ian Chiles, Cameron Clark, Philipp Neumann, and Jordan Bachynski will work out for the Wizards tomorrow, tweets J. Michael of CSNWashington.com.

Earlier updates:

Noah Vonleh will work out for the Sixers on Thursday, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
Elfrid Payton, Josh Huestis, James Bell and Jordan Clarkson are the previously unreported prospects performing for the Hornets today, as Chris Littmann of The Sporting News tweets.
P.J. Hairston will audition for the Hawks, as he tells Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, who also reports that Hairston will show off for the Grizzlies, Lakers and Bulls (Twitter links).
Kyle Anderson will work out for the Suns, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, as well as the Grizzlies, according to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter links). A previous report indicated that the Suns were set to audition Anderson a week ago, so this appears to be his second workout with Phoenix.
Anderson will also perform for the Bulls, as will Clint Capela and DeAndre Daniels, Zagoria tweets.
Jordan Adams, Devyn Marble, Sean Kilpatrick, C.J. Wilcox and Jarnell Stokes are working out for the Raptors today, the team announced. A report from last month indicated that Stokes had already worked out for Toronto, but given that the dispatch came in the middle of the draft combine, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually an interview between Stokes and the club, rather than a workout.
The Wizards are auditioning Semaj Christon, Nick Johnson, Deonte Burton, Alec Brown and Khem Birch today, according to Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops (on Twitter).

And-Ones: Leonard, Wallace, LeBron, Randle

June 16th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Zachary Links

It sounds like the Spurs will be able to get the band back together when it comes to the core, but they will have to tackle Kawhi Leonard‘s extension this summer, writes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders. Leonard is eligible for an extension starting July 1st and it’s obviously in their best interests to lock up the Finals MVP. Koutroupis believes that a five-year, deal in the neighborhood of $78.8MM would get it done. Here’s tonight’s look around the NBA..

Chris Wallace is in charge of basketball operations on an interim basis for the Grizzlies but when it comes to the draft, it’s a collaborative effort involving coach Dave Joerger and owner Robert Pera, writes Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal.
LeBron James joining the Clippers makes sense to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Between Dwayne Wade being over the hill and the deterioration of Chris Bosh‘s shooting, Blakely believes that James will seek greener pastures.
The Lakers will work out Julius Randle tomorrow, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. Randle will complete an individual workout, unlike the Lakers’ first pre-draft workout that put a dozen prospects up against each other.
Darnell Mayberry and Anthony Slater debated the odds of Thabo Sefolosha returning to the Thunder next season. Mayberry says there’s no shot while Slater thinks there’s a slim chance he could return. It would probably be in OKC’s best interest to let Sefolosha walk, Slater writes, but there’s a small chance he stays since his asking price is so low.
With assistant Kevin Eastman moving up from the Clippers‘ bench to the front office and assistants Tyronn Lue and Alvin Gentry both up for head coaching jobs elsewhere, there could be more changes on the way, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
The Clippers are giving some thought to hiring Lawrence Frank as an assistant coach, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Frank was the Nets’ lead assistant last season until he was reassigned by Jason Kidd. Frank and Clips coach Doc Rivers previously worked together in Boston.

Draft Notes: Bucks, Parker, Embiid, Hornets

June 16th, 2014 at 1:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Bucks aren’t having any trouble getting a look at the top prospects. Milwaukee is reportedly set for a pair of workouts with Andrew Wiggins, and Chad Ford of ESPN.com hears that Jabari Parker will work out again for the club this week after having done so last week (Twitter link). Joel Embiid was already apparently slated to audition for the club, and GM John Hammond also met with the Kansas big man last week, Ford tweets. The Bucks appear to be the only team with which Wiggins, Parker, Embiid and Dante Exum have all agreed to visit and work out, Ford notes (Twitter link). Here’s more on the draft, now just 10 days away.

Jerami Grant, De’Mon Brooks, Josh Davis, Jarell Eddie and Mike Moser are among the draft prospects showing off for the Hornets today, the team announced via press release.
The Heat are auditioning Walter Tavares today, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
Keith Appling, Dave Dudzinski, Markel Starks, Tyler Stone and Jermaine Marshall are showing off for the Celtics today, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com notes via Twitter. Marshall will also audition for the Cavs, Sportando reports (via Twitter).
Roscoe Smith has the Raptors and Mavs on his agenda, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv hears (Twitter link).
Richard Harris of NBADraft.net adds the Bulls to the list of teams for which Johnny O’Bryant III has worked out. O’Bryant also has auditions slated with the Rockets, Heat, Hornets, Bucks, Grizzlies, Raptors and Pistons, Harris reports.
Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic adds the Sixers, Mavs, Rockets and Heat to the list of teams that are getting a look at Jordan Bachynski (Twitter link).
Jahii Carson, Kendrick Perry, Earnest Ross and Alec Brown are all performing for the Rockets, Scotto tweets.
The Lakers are one of more than a dozen teams for which Ronald Roberts Jr. is working out, a source tells Zagoria (Twitter link).
The Warriors are auditioning Eric Moreland, Roberto Nelson and Travis Bader, according to Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter links).

Draft Notes: Embiid, Silins, Pelicans

June 14th, 2014 at 7:12pm CST by Cray Allred

Brad Stevens tells Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com that the Celtics haven’t yet established a draft board. “I have not sat down with our front office all in one room and talked about a draft board,” Stevens said. “We’ll sit down now, after probably next week’s workouts, and talk more as we continue to get closer to the draft. But clearly with two picks in the top 20, we’ve got a lot of evaluating to do.” Here a rundown of today’s draft notes:

T.J. Warren, Scottie Wilbekin, Roscoe Smith, Davion Berry, and Isaiah Armwood will work out for the Nuggets, reports Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post (Twitter links).
A league source confirmed to John Reid of The Times-Picayune that the Pelicans are in discussions with several teams looking to trade their first round pick (Twitter link). The Pelicans are reportedly taking an aggressive approach to trading into the first round.
Magic executives are high enough on Marcus Smart‘s intangibles to consider selecting him with the fourth pick in the draft, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Robbins adds that had Smart declared for last year’s draft, Orlando might have selected him at No. 2.
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald urges his readers to monitor whether Joel Embiid schedules work outs for the Bucks or Sixers between now and the draft. If Embiid shuts out those teams, Finnan believes it would indicate a promise from the Cavs to take him at No. 1. Such a development would be significant, considering Embiid is already scheduled to work out for Milwaukee.
Adi Joseph of USA Today takes a look at the draft needs for the Hornets and Mavs.

Earlier updates:

While the Cavs had some concerns when evaluating Joel Embiid‘s back, Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer says there were no “red flags,” and that Cleveland was blown away by his workout. The belief that Embiid’s physical went well is mounting, after a report to the contrary initially surfaced.
Ojars Silins has decided to keep his name in the NBA draft pool, reports Jānis Freimanis of Sportacentrs.com (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Silins will take the Grizzlies up on their workout invitation, and will also work out for the Spurs and Pistons over the next couple weeks.
The Pelicans are aggressively trying to trade into the first round in hopes of selecting a young small forward or center, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News is hearing rumors that a team has promised to take Elfrid Payton in the teens of the first round (H/T Basketball Insiders).
T.J. Warren‘s stock is rising into the mid-first-round, sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Kennedy tweets that league executives are “fascinated” by Walter Tavares. The 7’3″ center is projected as an early second round pick by both Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and ESPN Insider Chad Ford.
Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com speculates that the conflicting reports out of Cleveland regarding Embiid’s health could be a smoke screen aimed at convincing the Sixers they need to trade up to the No. 1 spot in order to get Andrew Wiggins.

Southwest Notes: Duncan, Randolph, Draft

June 14th, 2014 at 9:59am CST by Cray Allred

The Spurs hope to wrap up a fifth NBA Championship tomorrow night in San Antonio. It will be interesting to see how a dominant Finals might sway the plans of Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich for next season. The thought of going out on top could be appealing, but maybe not as much as chasing a sixth ring. Here’s a rundown of the Southwest Division:

Duncan’s player option for the 2014/15 season has been increased from $10,000,000 to $10,361,446 in order to meet the CBA’s requirement that a player option not pay less in salary than the year preceding it, multiple sources tell Mark Deeks of ShamSports.
Zach Randolph also owns a contract that was approved despite violating the same restriction, but Deeks writes that no change has been made to Randolph’s deal at this point. As we mentioned in our Free Agent Stock Watch piece on Randolph, his steeper decrease in salary (from $18.2MM to $16.9MM) for next year’s player option could be a significant factor in his decision-making process heading into the offseason.
Deeks speculates that the league may have opted not to adjust Randolph’s deal because it was signed under the 2005 CBA which is no longer active, whereas Duncan’s deal was signed under the current CBA.
Adi Joseph of USA Today covers the draft needs of the Grizzlies, Spurs, and Rockets.