- The Magic held a pre-draft workout on Friday morning that featured Jordan Bone (Tennessee), Corey Davis Jr. (Houston), Bruno Fernando (Maryland), Mfiondu Kabengele (Florida State), Naz Reid (LSU), and Nick Ward (Michigan State), tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
A pair of reports on Wednesday indicated that the Rockets are open to the idea of shaking up their roster this summer. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that general manager Daryl Morey is aggressively scouring the market for potential upgrades and is open to trading just about any draft pick or any player not named James Harden, including Chris Paul. Marc Stein of The New York Times followed up on that story by adding that Houston has specifically gauged Clint Capela‘s trade value.
Today, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders continues to flesh out the story, tweeting that Eric Gordon is also among the players being made available by the Rockets in trade talks. According to Kyler, Houston is looking to “change up the locker room” and may be looking to add a lottery pick. Kyler has heard teams like the Celtics, Hornets, Magic, and Mavericks linked to the Rockets as potential trade partners.
Assuming the Warriors win another title, the Rockets could convince themselves for the second straight year that they were the NBA’s second-best team, and there’s no telling whether Golden State will bring back the same roster next year. That’s an argument in favor of not doing anything too drastic this offseason. Still, Morey has long been one of the NBA’s most aggressive executives when it comes to finding upgrades and avoiding complacency, so if he can find a way to extend the Rockets’ window of contention, the team has to seriously consider it.
Here’s more out of Houston:
- In his latest mailbag, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle takes an extended look at the shakeup on the Rockets’ coaching staff, writing that the changes stemmed from the fact that Morey “decided the Rockets could do better.” Within that same article, Feigen pushes back on a report linking Tyronn Lue to Houston. According to Feigen, the Rockets had interest in Lue last October, but didn’t make him an offer then and haven’t shown any interest in him since the season ended.
- According to Feigen, the Rockets are preparing as if they’ll have the taxpayer mid-level exception available, rather than the full mid-level exception. Unlike last season, when Houston spread its MLE around among multiple players, the club would rather try to use its 2019/20 MLE on a player who could be considered a “significant addition,” filling out the rest of the roster with minimum-salary players or trade acquisitions, Feigen writes.
- In case it wasn’t clear from Wednesday’s reports – or from owner Tilman Fertitta‘s previous comments about doing anything possible to improve the team – Feigen cites a source with knowledge of the Rockets’ plans who suggested this week that the club is open to making major changes to upgrade its roster. “‘Run it back’ is not what (the Rockets) do,” that source said.
- Fertitta reiterated that message this week as well, per Feigen: “Wherever we can improve coaching or players, let’s do it. But let’s not change to change. We have to know we can improve in that position whether it’s a coach, film guy or a trainer.”
- The Magic, Pacers, Knicks and Lakers all have an early interest in free agent Kemba Walker, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets. Naturally, you could expect to add more teams to this list as June 30 draws closer. Since Walker made an All-NBA team, the Hornets can offer him a five-year, $221MM super=max contract once free agency opens.
- We passed along word of a handful of Jarrett Culver meetings on Thursday, but Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic provides details on a few more, writing that the Texas Tech swingman has also met with the Cavaliers, Magic, and Suns this week.
While the Sixers and Celtics suffered disappointing losses in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and face uncertain futures, both teams can at least fall back on the fact that they’re still loaded with draft assets. Philadelphia and Boston are two of only three NBA teams – the Hawks are the other – that possess at least four picks in the 2019 NBA draft.
As our full 2019 draft order shows, there are five other teams that more than two selections in this year’s draft. On the other end of the spectrum, nine teams own just one pick in 2018, while two teams – the Nuggets and Rockets – don’t have any selections.
To present a clearer picture of which teams are most – and least – stocked with picks for the 2019 NBA draft, we’ve rounded up all 60 picks by team in the space below. Let’s dive in…
Teams with more than two picks:
- Atlanta Hawks (5): 8, 10, 35, 41, 44
- Philadelphia 76ers (5): 24, 33, 34, 42, 54
- Boston Celtics (4): 14, 20, 22, 51
- New Orleans Pelicans (3): 1, 39, 57
- Charlotte Hornets (3): 12, 36, 52
- Brooklyn Nets (3): 17, 27, 31
- San Antonio Spurs (3): 19, 29, 49
- Sacramento Kings (3): 40, 47, 60
Teams with two picks:
- New York Knicks: 3, 55
- Cleveland Cavaliers: 5, 26
- Phoenix Suns: 6, 32
- Chicago Bulls: 7, 38
- Minnesota Timberwolves: 11, 43
- Detroit Pistons: 15, 45
- Orlando Magic: 16, 46
- Indiana Pacers: 18, 50
- Utah Jazz: 23, 53
- Golden State Warriors: 28, 58
- Los Angeles Clippers: 48, 56
Teams with one pick:
- Memphis Grizzlies: 2
- Los Angeles Lakers: 4
- Washington Wizards: 9
- Miami Heat: 13
- Oklahoma City Thunder: 21
- Portland Trail Blazers: 25
- Milwaukee Bucks: 30
- Dallas Mavericks: 37
- Toronto Raptors: 59
Teams with no picks:
- Denver Nuggets
- Houston Rockets
Members of the Cavaliers‘ front office are meeting with four candidates for their head coaching vacancy today in Denver, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
We told you earlier that Magic assistant coach Steve Hetzel had an interview, but GM Koby Altman and his staff also talked to Nuggets assistants Jordi Fernandez and Wes Unseld Jr.
Trail Blazers assistant David Vanterpool will interview tonight, tweets Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, while fellow Portland assistant Nate Tibbetts had a scheduling conflict and will hold his interview sometime after tomorrow’s Game 7. That will wrap up the first round of the coaching search, Fedor adds (Twitter link).
Cleveland has conducted the most wide-ranging interview process among the teams looking for a head coach. Spurs assistants Ime Udoka and Ettore Messina, former Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and Mavericks assistant Jamahl Mosley have all interviewed for the job.
The 2018/19 season was widely expected to be a rebuilding season for the Magic, and the team even made the ultimate rebuilding at the move at the trade deadline, acquiring injured prospect Markelle Fultz. However, an All-Star performance from Nikola Vucevic and the eighth-best defense in the NBA helped buoy Orlando to a playoff spot.
Now, the team will have to decide whether to try to build on that success by re-signing key contributors like Vucevic and Terrence Ross, or whether to pivot to a full-fledged youth movement.
Here’s where things currently stand for the Magic financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2019:
Guaranteed Salary
- Aaron Gordon ($19,863,636)
- Evan Fournier ($17,000,000)
- Timofey Mozgov ($16,720,000)
- Markelle Fultz ($9,745,200)
- D.J. Augustin ($7,250,000)
- Jonathan Isaac ($5,806,440)
- Mohamed Bamba ($5,697,600)
- Melvin Frazier ($1,416,852)
- C.J. Watson ($333,333) — Waived via stretch provision
- Total: $83,833,061
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- Wesley Iwundu ($1,618,520)
- Total: $1,618,520
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents
- Jerian Grant ($3,763,662 qualifying offer / $7,917,942 cap hold): Bird rights
- Jarell Martin ($3,549,430 qualifying offer / $7,248,666 cap hold): Bird rights
- Khem Birch ($1,818,486 qualifying offer / $1,818,486 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Amile Jefferson (two-way qualifying offer / $1,443,842 cap hold): Non-Bird rights 1
- Total: $18,428,936
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Nikola Vucevic ($19,125,000): Bird rights
- Terrence Ross ($15,750,000): Bird rights
- Fran Vazquez ($4,028,400) 2
- No. 16 overall pick ($3,117,000)
- Arron Afflalo ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights 3
- Michael Carter-Williams ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights
- Marreese Speights ($1,618,486): Non-Bird rights 3
- Troy Caupain ($1,443,842): Non-Bird rights
- Total: $48,319,700
Projected Salary Cap: $109,000,000
Projected Tax Line: $132,000,000
Offseason Cap Outlook
- Realistic cap room projection: $0
- This projection assumes that the Magic keep either Vucevic’s or Ross’ cap hold on their books in an attempt to re-sign them. Retaining even one of those holds would make Orlando an over-the-cap team.
- If the Magic let both of their top free agents walk, there’s a path to possible cap room. Waiving all their non-guaranteed contracts and renouncing their free agents could create as much as about $19.4MM in space. I’m not sure that’s a likely scenario though. I expect the Magic to try to re-sign at least one of Vucevic or Ross, and even if they don’t, bringing back less expensive players like Iwundu and Birch would also cut into that projected room.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,246,000 4
- Bi-annual exception: $3,619,000 4
Footnotes
- The salaries for two-way players don’t count against a team’s cap, but their cap holds do during the offseason.
- Vazquez was the 11th overall pick in the 2005 draft. His cap hold (the equivalent to the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft) will remain on the Magic’s books unless the team receives permission to remove it, ensuring Vazquez won’t be signed in 2019/20.
- Afflalo’s and Speights’ cap holds remain on the Magic’s books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018/19. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- These are projected values. In the event the Magic use cap room, they’d lose these exceptions and would instead would gain access to the $4,760,000 room exception.
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are estimates based on salary cap projections and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and RealGM was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
- Sean Deveney of Sporting News outlines the offseason focus for the Magic, including free agency, the draft and more. Orlando has a major decision to make on whether they want to retain All-Star center Nikola Vucevic on a new deal, with the 28-year-old also set to reach free agency in July.
- Magic co-founder and Hall of Famer Pat Williams announced his retirement from the team on Monday after 51 years in the NBA, according to a team press release. Williams, who turns 79 this week, was GM of the Bulls, Hawks and Sixers as well as Orlando. He was promoted to senior VP of the Magic in 1996.
Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman knows he’ll have to fight off multiple suitors to retain Nikola Vucevic‘s services, Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports. While re-signing Vucevic is a priority, Weltman realizes there are teams with cap space that feel the same way.
“Vooch is going to have a lot of teams who will make him a priority for them, too. … Hopefully, we can get something done,” Weltman said. “You know, it’s the NBA, and as I always say, there’s a lot of real estate between the intentions and what gets done. But it is a priority for us.”
Vucevic is eligible for a max contract of five years and $189.7MM with the Magic or a four-year, $140.6MM deal with another franchise. Vucevic indicated he’s open to re-signing with Orlando as long as Weltman backs up his words.
“Everybody knows I’ve had a great seven years here,” he said. “But at the same time, we’ll see what happens. It’s a mutual decision, and it’s not just me.”
We have more on the Magic:
- The team’s other prominent free agent, forward Terrence Ross, is also interested in returning, Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel reports. Ross enhanced his value this season by averaging 15.1 PPG and 3.5 RPG as the team’s sixth man while making a team-best 38.3% of his long range attempts. “It’s fun to be a part of an organization that is doing the right things … getting rewarded for it,” Ross said. “It would be great to be back, but we’ll see.”
- Forward Aaron Gordon believes the hiring of coach Steve Clifford last season was the biggest factor in the team reaching the postseason, as he explained to John Denton of the team’s website. “I feel like we learned how to win, and that was one of the things that had been lacking here – a culture, a know-how and a standard,” Gordon said. “Coach (Clifford) did a great job of bringing that back and instilling it in us and teaching us what it means to win. And our guys did a great job of responding and coming out with tremendous fight.”
- Vucevic’s future with the organization could impact whether it brings back center Khem Birch, as Robbins notes in his offseason outlook. The front office can make Birch a restricted free agent by extending a $1.82MM qualifying offer. If the Magic are confident they’ll re-sign Vucevic, Orlando might not give Birch that QO since it has Mohamed Bamba in place as Vucevic’s backup. Jerian Grant and Jarell Martin are also eligible for QOs but the Magic will almost certainly allow them to become unrestricted free agents, Robbins adds.