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Atlantic Notes: Smart, Raptors’ Tax, Trier, Scariolo

July 20th, 2018 at 10:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guard Marcus Smart seriously considered signing his $6.1MM qualifying offer from the Celtics and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald tweets. “I went back and forth internally, but it’s a problem a lot of people would like to have.” Smart said. “I definitely thought about taking the qualifying offer, but all my options were open.”

Smart wound up staying in Boston on a four-year, $52MM deal. “To be honest, I didn’t know where I was gonna end up. I was just enjoying this whole process,” he told The Associated Press. “It is a business, so things aren’t perfect. That’s why it’s called negotiations. You guys come together and you finally agree on something. We both agreed. Boston loves me and I love Boston.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Raptors continue to explore moves to shed salary and get under the luxury-tax line, Ian Begley of ESPN tweets. The Raptors still have over $137MM in salary commitments following the Kawhi Leonard deal and are nearly $14MM over the tax threshold.
  • Allonzo Trier has an outside chance to gain a spot on the 15-man Knicks roster after a solid showing in summer-league action, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Trier, an undrafted guard out of Arizona, has a two-way contract but if he makes a strong impression in training camp, it could be converted to a standard contract. The Knicks waived forward Troy Williams this week, trimming their 15-man roster to the league limit, and could open up another spot if they waive Joakim Noah and utilize the stretch provision for the remaining money on his bloated deal.
  • Italian head coach Sergio Scariolo is close to joining Nick Nurse‘s Raptors staff, according to a Sportando report. Scariolo, who is also the Spanish national team coach, has been offered a position but needs to work out a settlement with the Spanish federation, since he has a contract with it until 2020. The situation is expected to be resolved, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun relays. The Hornets were also interested in hiring Scariolo, Wolstat adds.
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Knicks Sign Allonzo Trier To Two-Way Deal

July 3rd, 2018 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 3: The Knicks have officially signed Trier to his two-way deal, the team announced in a press release. He’ll join Hicks in New York’s two-way slots, with Kornet getting a promotion to a standard NBA contract.

JUNE 21: Arizona’s Allonzo Trier will join the Knicks on a two-way contract, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.

New York is currently at its allotment of two-way players with Luke Kornet and Isaiah Hicks, but both are on one-year deals, so Trier can be added when they expire at the end of June.

Trier, 22, missed part of his junior season after testing positive for a banned substance. He was second on the team in scoring at 18.1 points per game, trailing only tonight’s No. 1 pick, Deandre Ayton.

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Knicks Notes: Robinson, Kornet, Hicks, Trier

June 23rd, 2018 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Knicks’ decision to draft Mitchell Robinson in the second round Thursday night could signal an end to Luke Kornet‘s time in New York, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. The team extended a qualifying offer to Kornet, who was on a two-way contract last season, but if he receives even a minimum contract offer [$1.2MM for a second-year player] from another organization, the Knicks may refuse to match it.

A source tells Berman that a handful of teams have interest in Kornet, who displayed an effective shooting touch during his 20 games at the NBA level. Kornet, who went undrafted out of Vanderbilt in 2017, averaged 6.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting 35% from 3-point range. His performance contributed to the decision to trade Willy Hernangomez, but Berman states that management may view him as a leftover from the Phil Jackson years.

The decision on Kornet will be impacted by how Robinson performs during summer league, Berman adds. The 20-year-old 7-footer is an unknown quantity after opting to leave Western Kentucky without playing a game.

There’s more tonight from New York:

  • Isaiah Hicks, the Knicks’ other two-way player last season, also received a qualifying offer, but the team isn’t likely to bring both Hicks and Kornet back, Berman writes in the same story. New York will likely withdraw one of those QOs in favor of signing Arizona’s Allonzo Trier, who reportedly reached agreement on a two-way deal on draft night. Hicks got into 18 NBA games last season and averaged 4.4 points per night.
  • Robinson may have trouble adjusting to the summer league after not playing a five-on-five game in 14 months, Berman adds in a separate story. However, his high school coach, Butch Stockton, believes the 36th pick will eventually make an impact with his all-around talents. “I see him stepping in and helping right away,” said Stockton, who attended Friday’s introductory press conference. “When he starts playing, the Knicks fans, they’re going to see what kind of talent he is. The media people say he’s not ready physically or basketball-wise, but he runs the floor extremely well, protects the rim and finishes around the rim.”
  • Emmanuel Mudiay, who hosted a youth camp today in New York, expressed confidence that new coach David Fizdale will be able to turn the Knicks around, posts Ian Begley on ESPN Now. “We’re all kind of starting from scratch,” Mudiay said. “But it’s a positive scratch. It’s big to see that people are actually loving what the front office is doing, loving what the coaching staff is doing. Everybody’s supportive. So that’s a good thing.” 
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Kornet, Hicks Receive Qualifying Offers From Knicks

June 23rd, 2018 at 9:43am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks have extended qualifying offers to both Luke Kornet and Isaiah Hicks, according to RealGM’s Transactions log. Those moves make them restricted free agents next month.

That duo signed one-year, two-way contracts last season. According to the latest CBA, the qualifying offer is a two-way contract, with $50K guaranteed.

At least one of them would have to eventually sign a regular contract for next season, since the club has reached an agreement with Arizona guard Allonzo Trier for one of their two-way deals.

Kornet, a 7’1” power forward/center out of Vanderbilt, appeared in 20 games with the Knicks last season. He averaged 6.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 1.3 APG in 16.4 MPG. Hicks, a 6’9” forward from North Carolina, saw action in 18 NBA games and posted averages of 4.4 PPG and 2.3 RPG in 13.3 MPG.

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Draft Workouts: Sixers, Grizzlies, Pacers, Hornets, T-Wolves

June 18th, 2018 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers will host Kentucky forward Kevin Knox and Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith for the second time on Tuesday, according to a team release. Knox’s workout will be separate from the other six players they will bring in, including Smith. The Sixers hold the No. 10 selection in the lottery. Knox is currently ranked No. 9 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, while Smith is slotted at No. 16.

The other members of the group workout are all guards, including B.J. Johnson (La Salle), De’Anthony Melton (USC), Tyler Nelson (Fairfield), Malik Newman (Kansas) and Landry Shamet (Wichita State). Melton (No. 24, Givony) is a possibility for the Sixers with their other first-rounder at No. 26.

We have numerous other draft workouts to pass along:

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Draft Updates: Musa, Knox, Williams, Sixers

June 17th, 2018 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nets may be willing to package their picks to move up for Bosnia’s Dzanan Musa, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The 19-year-old small forward has spent the past week visiting teams that might be willing to use a first-round selection on him. The Nets hold the 29th pick, but may have to give up their second-rounders at 40 and 45 to get into Musa’s range.

Musa has two years remaining on his contract with KK Cedevita in the EuroLeague, but he plans to come to the NBA next season.

“I want to compete at the highest level and to compete with the best players in the world,” Musa said in an interview with CBS Sports affiliate 1430-AM in Indianapolis. “[My strength is] scoring: shooting, midrange floaters, to the rim. … I just want to get picked by the team who sees me as a project. But I think I’m a lottery pick for sure.”

There’s more draft-related news to pass along:

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Draft Notes: Celtics, Z. Smith, Knicks, Hornets

June 8th, 2018 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

After having stocked up in draft picks in many recent seasons, the Celtics head into this month’s draft with only one selection at No. 27 overall. That allows Boston to narrow its focus during its pre-draft preparations, and the club is doing just that as it weighs its options at No. 27, according to director of player personnel Austin Ainge (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com).

“I think there are about 10 guys that we’ve kind of narrowed it down to that we think have a chance to be there,” said the Celtics’ executive. “Like I said, we evaluate the whole draft all the time. But we’ve kind of tried to laser focus in to about 10.”

One of those 10 players could be Duke’s Grayson Allen, who is viewed as a probable late first-round pick and is working out for Boston today, as previously reported. Joining him at that group workout are Deng Adel (Louisville), Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), Billy Preston (Bosnia), Allonzo Trier (Arizona), and Kenrich Williams (TCU), tweets Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Here are a few more pre-draft workout updates:

  • Texas Tech guard Zhaire Smith is the latest top prospect to schedule a workout with the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley, who writes that Smith will earn a look from the club on Saturday. New York is auditioning a handful of potential lottery picks tomorrow, with Miles Bridges and Kevin Knox also set to attend.
  • Elsewhere on the Knicks‘ scouting front, the team was represented at Michael Porter Jr.‘s Pro Day today, though Scott Perry and Steve Mills didn’t attend as previously reported, tweets Ian Begley of ESPN.com. The Knicks have a pre-draft meeting scheduled with Porter, Begley adds.
  • The Hornets are hosting their fourth pre-draft workout on Saturday, according to the team. Joe Chealey (College of Charleston), Allerik Freeman (N.C. State), Dakota Mathias (Purdue), Doral Moore (Wake Forest), and Jeff Roberson (Vanderbilt) will participate, alongside Texas A&M’s Robert Williams.
  • After auditioning for Charlotte, Purdue guard Dakota Mathias also has workouts on tap with the Lakers, Pistons, and Kings, a league source tells Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link). Mathias, who averaged 12.0 PPG with a .466 3PT% in his senior year, previously worked out for Toronto.
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Draft Workouts: Walker, Knicks, Kings, Lakers

June 5th, 2018 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Potential lottery pick Lonnie Walker IV has workouts on tap with the Bulls and Knicks, according to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com. Zagoria tweets that Walker’s audition for Chicago is scheduled for Wednesday, while his workout with New York will happen “down the road.” Walker previously worked out for Charlotte.

Both the Bulls and Knicks hold top-10 picks and could go in a number of different directions, depending on who’s available, so it’s no surprise that both clubs have been active in terms of pre-draft workouts. Trae Young, Kevin Knox, Mikal Bridges, and Wendell Carter Jr. are among the other prospects earning a look from both Eastern clubs.

Here are more updates on various pre-draft workouts from around the NBA:

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Draft Decisions: McDaniels, Cody & Caleb Martin

May 30th, 2018 at 11:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Forward Jalen McDaniels will return to San Diego State for his sophomore season, tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN. McDaniels is part of a crop of late decision makers who waited until shortly before tonight’s deadline of 11:59pm Eastern to announce whether they are staying in the draft.

“After thoughtful consideration with my family and coaching staff, I have decided to return to San Diego State for my sophomore year.” McDaniels posted on Twitter. “I’m looking forward to furthering my education and returning to the NCAA Tournament. Go Aztecs!”

McDaniels averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first year at San Diego State. He held workouts with Cavaliers, Clippers, Timberwolves, Jazz, Warriors, Celtics, Nets, Hawks, Bucks, Spurs and Bulls, according to Mark Zeigler of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

In another significant last-minute decision, Nevada stars Cody Martin and Caleb Martin will both return to school, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Cody is ranked 90th and Caleb is 91st in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, but Jeff Goodman of ESPN suggests the Wolf Pack could be a top 10 team next season with both staying (Twitter link).

There’s also news to pass along on pre-draft workouts:

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Draft Notes: Huell, Rose, Pipkins, Caroline

May 26th, 2018 at 5:05pm CST by Arthur Hill

With the deadline to withdraw from the draft coming on Wednesday, several players have reached their final decisions. Among them is Miami forward Dewan Huell, who will return to school for his junior season, writes Jordan McPherson of The Miami Herald.

Huell, who made a formal announcement on Twitter earlier today, averaged 11.4 points and 6.7 rebounds in 32 games this season. “I’m really excited to get back to work with my brothers so we can accomplish more than ever during the 2018-19 season,” he wrote.

Huell doesn’t appear in the list of top 100 prospects compiled by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and would have been a long shot to be drafted.

There’s more draft-related news to pass along:

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