Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Hennigan, Celtics, Magic

April 30th, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With a large stockpile of draft picks, ample cap space, and the popularity of coach Brad Stevens around the league, the Celtics appear to be in a position to have a strong offseason, as well as possess a legitimate shot to lure a big name free agent to Boston, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “We have to be a place where guys around the league will look at and say, ‘hey it can work to play in Boston, to play for Brad Stevens, play with those guys and play in front of those fans,’” co-owner Wyc Grousbeck told Blakely. “I think people are starting to take notice.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Multiple sources around the NBA told Blakely that the Celtics players who are most likely to garner trade interest this offseason are big men Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger. The players who the team are least likely to deal are guard Marcus Smart and center Tyler Zeller, Blakely adds.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan‘s contract extension also includes a team option for the 2018/19 season, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel tweets.
The Thunder’s hiring of Billy Donovan helps the Magic in their own quest for a new head coach, Robbins writes in a separate article. With OKC now out of the coaching hunt, Orlando will now only have the Nuggets to compete with for available candidates, the Sentinel scribe notes.

Magic Sign Rob Hennigan To Extension

April 30th, 2015 at 9:05am CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have signed GM Rob Hennigan to an extension that carries through the 2017/18 season, the Magic announced. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported earlier this morning that the sides were close (Twitter link). The news is no surprise, as Robbins reported a month ago that the team would seek an extension, and two weeks ago the Sentinel scribe relayed that all signs pointed to the sides striking a deal soon. Magic CEO Alex Martins stopped short of confirming that report, but he did make it clear that he’s pleased with the job that Hennigan has done since the team hired him in 2012. The previous terms of the GM’s contract took the pact through 2015/16, and Martins was wary of having such a key executive on an expiring deal, as Robbins detailed in his initial story on the team’s desire for an extension.

“Under the leadership of Rob, we feel that we are positioning ourselves to be able to contend in a long-term, sustainable fashion,” Martins said in the team’s statement. “We are proud of the work that Rob and our basketball operations department has done to this point and we look forward to taking the next steps in the process.

The feeling around the league earlier this month was that the Magic’s intention to extend Hennigan’s deal was a clear signal to candidates for the team’s coaching vacancy that they wouldn’t get personnel control, as Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher said. The Magic picked up team options for 2015/16 on Hennigan and former coach Jacque Vaughn last spring but fired Vaughn in February, forcing the coach and not the GM to face the ultimate consequences for the team’s failure to show significant improvement over the past three seasons. The team hired both Hennigan and Vaughn in the 2012 offseason and has gone 68-178 since, topping out at just 25 wins this past season.

Hennigan made what’s likely the most significant move of his tenure shortly after taking the job, when he traded Dwight Howard to the Lakers in August 2012 for a package that included three first-round picks and Nikola Vucevic, who blossomed in Orlando. The Magic and Hennigan signed Vucevic to a four-year, $48MM extension that includes incentives, and though Vucevic hasn’t matched the production of Howard, particularly defensively, he has nonetheless become more than a capable starting center. Hennigan also received Arron Afflalo in that trade, flipping him after he led the team in scoring last season for the much cheaper Evan Fournier, who’s performed a lot better in Orlando than he did in Denver.

The Magic now seek an experienced coach to pair with Hennigan and face key decisions in the offseason. Forward Tobias Harris, the jewel of the 2013 J.J. Redick trade, is set to become a restricted free agent, and Orlando is in line for another high lottery pick, with a better chance of drafting sixth than in any other spot in the first-round order, as our lottery odds table shows.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Draft Notes: Okafor, Harrison, Tokoto

April 29th, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Duke freshman center Jahlil Okafor has signed with agent Bill Duffy of BDA Sports Management, Darren Heitner of the Sports Agent Blog reports (Twitter link). Okafor, 19, is a projected top three pick in June’s draft. Both Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress rank the big man as the No. 2 overall prospect behind Kentucky freshman Karl-Anthony Towns.

Here’s more news regarding June’s NBA Draft:

Duffy has also signed on to represent Kansas freshman Kelly Oubre, Cameron Chung of the Sports Agent Blog reports. Oubre is the No. 12 overall prospect according to both Ford and Givony. You can check out our full prospect profile for Oubre here.
Senior shooting guard D’Angelo Harrison has signed with agent Bernie Lee of Lee Basketball Services, Lee announced via Twitter. The 21-year-old out of St. John’s University isn’t projected to be taken in June, with ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) ranking him as the No. 104 overall prospect.
Projected second-rounder J.P. Tokoto has signed with agent Steve McCaskill of Relativity Sports, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). DraftExpress ranks the junior out of North Carolina as the No. 42 overall prospect, while ESPN.com slots him at No. 47.
In a chat with readers, Ford shares his thoughts on whom the Wolves, Knicks, Lakers and Magic rank as their top five draft prospects.

Eastern Rumors: Aldridge, Russell, Raptors

April 27th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics should target LaMarcus Aldridge on the free agent market this summer and coach Brad Stevens could be their biggest selling point, according to Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com. Stevens is a winner and a player’s coach who is adept at making strategic adjustments and getting his team to play hard, Tanguay continues. That should be attractive to a veteran like Aldridge, who probably realizes he cannot win a championship with the Trail Blazers in the loaded Western Conference, Tanguay opines. Adding Aldridge, along with a couple more solid moves, would make the Celtics serious contenders in the Eastern Conference, Tanguay concludes.

In other news around the Eastern Conference:

D’Angelo Russell would be an intriguing addition for the Sixers if they draft the Ohio State freshman guard, Mike Sielski of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Russell would address a glaring need since they already have two young post players in Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel but Philadelphia’s draft strategy shouldn’t be based solely on filling that void, Sielski continues. An NBA source told The Inquirer that Russell is the top prospect on the Sixers draft board but Sielski doubts that GM Sam Hinkie has already made up his mind. However, it’s quite possible Hinkie may not be able to pass on a 6’5” point guard with a smooth shooting stroke who averaged 19.3 points for the Buckeyes, Sielski adds.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey says DeMar DeRozan must become a more vocal leader, Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun reports. Casey feels that DeRozan can no long sit back quietly when issues arise and the team is struggling, Ganter continues, and the team’s playoff collapse against the Wizards reinforces that notion. “This is his team,” Casey said during a press conference on Monday. “If something is going wrong in the locker room, speak up, say something. Don’t just complain about it. He is at that stage in his career where he can speak up and be a leader, not depend on someone else to do it. If you don’t agree with something, say something.”
The Magic might not hire a head coach until after the NBA Finals, a league source told Larry Ridley of NBC affiliate WESH in Orlando (Twitter link). The Magic fired Jacque Vaughn during the middle of the season, then hired James Borrego as interim coach for the final 30 games.

Southeast Notes: Porter, Playoffs, Magic

April 26th, 2015 at 2:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Not only is Paul Pierce hitting big shots in the Wizards‘ playoff series, his star pupil is, too, writes J. Michael of CSNWashington.com. Otto Porter made a key three-pointer in Washington’s Game 3 win Friday, and he has been an important defensive presence throughout the series. “I constantly stay in Otto’s ear pushing him, trying to get him to be the best he can be,” Pierce said. “He’s responded. He’s starting to play with a little bit more fire.” Porter is justifying the Wizards’ decision in October to exercise their third-year contract option on him.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Pierce isn’t the only one noticing Porter’s value, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The Raptors see it, too, and they are saying Porter is a big reason why the Wizards own a 3-0 series lead. “He’s been the difference,” said Toronto guard Greivis Vasquez. Washington can look forward to several more years of defensive prowess from Porter. It has club options on the young forward this offseason and next, and he can become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2017.
The Magic have a chance to develop quickly if they keep their young core together, contends Jason Hall of Fox Sports Florida. He notes that Orlando had one of the youngest rosters in the NBA, and its nucleus of Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic were all born after 1990. The first challenge for keeping the team together will be Harris, who will become a restricted free agent this summer.

Southeast Notes: Skiles, Hawks, Jefferson

April 23rd, 2015 at 6:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scott Skiles is still “very interested” in coaching again but isn’t pushing the issue, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders notes within his NBA AM piece. Skiles isn’t actively seeking or campaigning for a job with the Magic or any other team, nor would he insist on player personnel power or control if he were to become a team’s coach, league sources told Kyler, a reversal of the narratives from earlier.

Here’s the latest out of the Southwest Division:

The second highest bid for the Hawks came in around $815MM, which includes the approximately $120MM worth of arena debt, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. The franchise is awaiting the NBA Board of Governors to approve the sale of the team to the Ressler Group for approximately $850MM, which also includes the arena debt amount.
The Hornets are relieved that center Al Jefferson has decided not to opt out of his contract for next season and become a free agent, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Charlotte did not want to have to commit to a deal for Jefferson beyond this season, even at a reduced cost, Deveney adds. The organization hopes that the big man can give the Hornets another solid year while the team figures out what its frontcourt is going to look like in the future, adds the Sporting News scribe.
Kemba Walker was glad to have had surgery during the season to repair a tear in his left knee, Matt Rochinski of NBA.com writes in his season recap for the Hornets‘ point guard. “[The surgery] was something that I had to do and I’m happy I got it done,” Walker said. “I’m feeling good. I won’t do anything different and will still have a pretty good summer [working out and getting stronger], so I’m looking forward to it.” Walker will be entering the second season of the four-year, $48MM extension he signed with the team last October.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Hawks, Zeller, Gordon

April 22nd, 2015 at 8:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Veteran guard Ben Gordon became the odd man out in the Magic‘s rotation once James Borrego took over as the team’s interim coach, Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida writes. Borrego preferred to see what the backcourt pairing of Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton could accomplish, which left Gordon on the outside looking in, Hornack notes. Gordon’s $4.5MM salary for 2015/16 is non-guaranteed. In 56 games this season Gordon averaged 6.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest.

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Hornets big man Cody Zeller had successful surgery today to repair damage to his right shoulder, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports (Twitter link). The 22-year-old appeared in 62 contests for Charlotte this season, averaging 7.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.0 minutes per game. Zeller is expected to resume basketball activities in three months.
Grant Hill‘s presence as part of the Hawks‘ new ownership group could aid GM Danny Ferry in retaining his position within the organization, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post opines (Twitter link). Ferry and Hill have ties through Duke University, which both men attended, Bontemps notes.
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press tweeted that Hill’s involvement with the Ressler group should provide a good indicator of how Kevin Garnett could function as part of the Wolves’ ownership when he retires. Garnett has acknowledged an interest in buying the Wolves at some point, and owner Glen Taylor said that his return as a player enhanced his chances of becoming a part-owner.
Heat rookie point guard Shabazz Napier showed promise during his rookie season, but needs to be a more consistent player moving forward, Surya Fernandez of FOX Sports Florida writes in his profile of the player.

Eastern Notes: Bucks, Thibodeau, Grant

April 21st, 2015 at 7:59pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Bucks president Peter Feigin impressed upon bickering local and state government officials to wrap up a deal within the next 10 days to secure the public’s $250MM share of financing for a $500MM new arena for the team in Milwaukee, reports Don Walker of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Without an arena, “the Bucks will be gone from the state of Wisconsin,” Feigin warned. Realistically, groundbreaking must take place by early this fall so that the arena remains on schedule to beat an NBA-imposed deadline, as Feigin told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com for a story this weekend. Sources told Windhorst the NBA would indeed exercise its right to buy the franchise and seek to move it if construction doesn’t begin soon.

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

Despite the upgrade Tom Thibodeau would provide as coach, the Magic should pass on the longtime Bulls coach if it required the team to surrender its first round draft pick as compensation, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel opines. Orlando previously traded for Stan Van Gundy, sending the Heat a second-rounder back in 2007 in return for the coach, Schmitz notes.
2014 second-rounder Jerami Grant turned out to be one of the Sixers‘ biggest surprises this season, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. An undersized power forward in college, Grant adapted well when the team moved him to small forward, Pompey adds. “Whatever position they put me at, I think I will be fine with it,” Grant said. “But in the offseason, I’m definitely going to work on a lot of things that a four-man can do and what a three-man can do. I’m just going to work on my overall game.” In 65 games this season Grant averaged 6.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per contest.
Dwyane Wade isn’t in a rush to make a decision regarding his player option worth $16,125,000, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press writes. The veteran also indicated that the 2015/16 campaign isn’t likely to be his last in the league, Reynolds adds. “I don’t sit on my hands,” Wade said. “Obviously, everything’s about life after [basketball] and seeing what you want to do as well. So this is a perfect time to figure it out. I signed my deal the way I did for a reason … and the organization did it for a reason. It’s my option. I’ll decide when the time is right. Everyone knows I always try to do what’s best for the organization, but I also have to do what’s best for Dwyane Wade as well.” This conflicts with earlier statements from Wade that he intended to opt in for next season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: Smith, Vipers, Skiles, Lottery

April 20th, 2015 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Josh Smith‘s father complimented the Rockets for welcoming his son, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 (second Twitter link). “I cannot speak too much about how well this organization has accepted us as a family and him as a player,” Pete Smith said. “It’s an awesome thing. Now I know what the NBA is all about.” Houston claimed Smith on waivers in December after he was let go by the Pistons. He will become a free agent this summer.

There’s more from around the world of basketball:

The Rockets have cut ties with D-League coach Nevada Smith of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Vipers are coming off a 27-23 record in Smith’s second season running the team.
Scott Skiles has tried to campaign a little for the Magic head coaching job, but he wants a measure of personnel control, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. He doesn’t want to replace GM Rob Hennigan, but rather seeks approval over player personnel moves, a job that currently rests with Magic CEO Alex Martins, Kyler explains. Meanwhile, Kyler figures that Michael Malone will interview for both the Magic and the Nuggets coaching jobs, but sources tell him that Malone isn’t as high on either team’s list as some other candidates are. Neither Vinny Del Negro nor Billy Donovan is expected to get serious consideration for either job, Kyler also writes.
NBA owners refuse to address the problem of tanking, writes Bill Oram of The Orange County Register. He noted that owners passed on a chance to address the issue during a meeting in New York last week. They also nixed proposed reforms to the draft lottery process in October. He speculated that owners might be delaying action until they can study the effects of an upcoming $24 billion television deal and the escalation of the salary cap.

And-Ones: Wolves, Knicks, Draft

April 18th, 2015 at 9:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

If the Wolves win the lottery and land the top pick in the NBA draft, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor are the only players whom the team should seriously consider using the selection on, opines Joel Brigham in a collaborative piece for Basketball Insiders. Point guard may be a position of need, considering Ricky Rubio‘s history of injuries, but the team has already indicated it will take a best-player-available approach when using its selection rather than drafting for need.

“I think when you’re a lottery-type team, you have to take the best player available,” President of Basketball Operations Flip Saunders said. “If you’re there, you probably got there because you lost, and you’re probably still a little ways away. There’s not probably one player, really, that you think, wherever you’re at, ‘Hey, if I take that position, he can help me.’ The better chance you have of improving the team is to take whoever the best player you evaluate is there.”

Minnesota finished the season with a record of 16-66, which gives the team the best chance at winning the lottery and a 46.5% chance at landing one of the top two picks, as our 2015 Lottery Odds page indicates.

Here’s more from around the league:

If the Knicks win the lottery, Towns should be the selection, Tommy Beer opines in the same piece for Basketball Insiders. Beer believes Towns could be the defensive anchor that New York hasn’t had since it traded Tyson Chandler to the Mavs. The Kentucky product averaged 2.3 blocks while playing only 21 minutes per game during his lone college season.
The Warriors have recalled Ognjen Kuzmic from their D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors, according to a team press release. To date this season, the center has appeared in 16 games for Golden State, averaging 1.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.5 minutes per game.
The Magic showed flashes of potential, but ultimately they turned in another sub-par season. Center Nikola Vucevic believes it’s time the team takes the next step, Denton writes in a seperate piece. “Now, we’ve got to accept the fact that we’ve got to change this and turn this thing around. Rebuilding was fine for two or even three years, but we’ve got to find a way to turn it around because [youth] is not an excuse anymore,” said Vucevic, who led the Magic in points and rebounds this season. “So we’ve got to find a way to turn this thing around quickly.’’