Andrew Wiggins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cavs Pursuing Kevin Love

July 11th, 2014 at 12:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:33pm: Multiple executives from around the league indicated to Ken Berger of CBSSports that Wiggins would be in play in a Cavs trade for Love, which runs counter to earlier reports (Twitter link).

FRIDAY, 8:09am: Belief that the Cavs wouldn’t part with Wiggins in a trade for Love continues to grow, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities, and a Cavs source told Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio on Thursday that Wiggins is untouchable (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY, 5:07pm: Rival executives tell Chris Mannix of SI.com that the Wolves are giving no indication that they are in a rush to make a deal with Cleveland (Twitter link).

4:24pm: Wiggins would have to be part of any deal for Love, Krawczynski tweets.

4:01pm: The Cavs are indeed pursuing a trade for Love contingent on their ability to sign James, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

1:24pm: The Cavs spoke to agent Rich Paul, the representative for LeBron James, about trade scenarios that would allow Cleveland to acquire Kevin Love, report Sam Amico and Zac Jackson of Fox Sports Ohio. Cavs officials told Paul that engineering such a trade wouldn’t be easy, a source tells Amico and Jackson, and the source added that Cleveland is reluctant to include Andrew Wiggins in a Love trade. Wiggins’ camp doesn’t believe the Cavs are considering trading him, according to USA Today’s Sam Amick (Twitter link).

Cleveland and Minnesota have reportedly engaged in exploratory discussions regarding Love, but those apparently came to an end when the Cavs learned that Love, who can hit free agency next year, wouldn’t re-sign with them. That would change if the Cavs can sign James, as Love is “100%” on board with the idea of staying in Cleveland long-term to play with the four-time MVP, as ESPN’s Chris Broussard reported late last month.

There’s plenty of competition for Love, and Wolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders seems in no rush to deal his star power forward, even though it’s clear he wants to leave Minnesota. It’s indeed difficult to imagine Saunders giving the OK to deal with Cleveland that didn’t include Wiggins, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press observes (on Twitter), but the Cavs aren’t without other intriguing trade assets, one of which I explained Tuesday.

Cavs Draft Andrew Wiggins No. 1 Overall

June 26th, 2014 at 6:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs have drafted Andrew Wiggins with the No. 1 overall pick. The Plain Dealer first reported the pick (Twitter link). Wiggins was reportedly the preference of owner Dan Gilbert, while the front office was said to like Jabari Parker better. Parker will go to the Bucks at No. 2, Milwaukee officials have said, according to Aaron Falk of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link). The Cavs don’t intend to trade Wiggins now that they’ve drafted him, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com.

The Kansas small forward entered the college season as the consensus No. 1 pick, but an underwhelming showing allowed doubt to creep in, and Cleveland seemed uncertain about Wiggins and Parker until today. Wiggins joins fellow Canadian and now Cavs teammate Anthony Bennett as the only two from their country to have ever been drafted No. 1 overall.

Eastern Notes: Embiid, Afflalo, Rondo

June 26th, 2014 at 2:25pm CST by Zachary Links

Joel Embiid is seriously in play for three spots in the top part of the lottery, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). The 76ers at No. 3, Celtics at No. 6, and the Lakers at No. 7 are all giving serious thought to taking the KU center. Here’s more out of the East..

The Sixers aren’t pursuing deals with the Bucks for their No. 2 pick, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today. That could be an indication that they believe the Cavs are planning to take Andrew Wiggins No. 1 overall.
The week before the Pistons fired Maurice Cheeks, they were looking to acquire Arron Afflalo, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Free Press. Of course, the Magic agreed to trade Afflalo to the Nuggets this morning.
The Magic‘s continuous losing deeply bothered Afflalo, but Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (on Twitter) hears that he and his agent did not request a trade.
Rajon Rondo‘s name has once again popped up in trade rumors, but a source close to the situation tells Sean Deveney of the Sporting News that the guard has not been informed of any change of plans when it comes to the Celtics‘ future.
Even though the Afflalo trade freed up a lot of money for the Magic, Robbins (on Twitter) still doesn’t expect them to make a major splash in free agency.
Jameer Nelson should draw interest from teams looking to shed salary for free agency, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.
In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if it’s LeBron James or Pat Riley making the personnel decisions for the Heat.
The Knicks could flip the newly-acquired Shane Larkin for a first-round choice, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

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.

Celtics Pursuing No. 1 Pick

June 25th, 2014 at 7:55am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 7:55am: Boston has spoken with all five teams picking ahead of them in Thursday’s draft, the Boston Herald reports, adding that the C’s have also had discussions with clubs lower in the order.

TUESDAY, 4:44pm: The Celtics have engaged the Cavs in talks about the No. 1 pick, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Boston is the latest team to jump into discussions regarding the top draft choice with Cleveland, which is reportedly also having conversations with the Magic, Jazz, Sixers and Timberwolves. Cleveland appears to prefer Orlando’s offer, though it appears the market is continuing to develop. No deal involving the Celtics is imminent, according to Blakely.

Multiple sources tell Blakely that the Celtics would lean toward Andrew Wiggins if they acquired the top pick. They’d take Jabari Parker if they decide against Wiggins, Blakely adds. Boston has interest in Joel Embiid, and while the C’s would consider moving up to take him if necessary, it’s unlikely that he would be the choice at No. 1, Blakely writes.

It’s unclear exactly what the Celtics would give up for the top pick, though their pick at No. 6 has seemingly been up for grabs the past several weeks as Danny Ainge seeks a splashy move to impress Rajon Rondo, who can hit free agency next year. The Celtics are seeking to put together a package that would entice the Wolves, who seemingly haven’t been receptive to Boston’s entreaties for Kevin Love.

Mannix’s Latest: Bradley, Cavs, Magic

June 24th, 2014 at 8:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Avery Bradley arguably had the most impressive NBA season of his career to date, averaging 14.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and 39.5% from three-point range. With this in mind, rival executives tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that the 23-year-old guard could land a contract this summer that pays in the range of $7MM-$9MM annually, which could influence the Celtics to consider drafting some insurance for their backcourt this upcoming Thursday.

Below, you can find more interesting tidbits that Mannix passes along in his latest mock draft:

League sources say that the Cavaliers are weighing three options: Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Dante Exum. Mannix notes that Exum is a wild card; if Cleveland ultimately walked away with Exum on draft night, I think it’d be plausible to imagine that they’d trade down to select him.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan will not be inclined to draft someone who isn’t ready to play right away, which suggests that Joel Embiid may be out of the question with their No. 4 pick.
Two rival executives say that the Kings have been actively shopping their No. 8 pick.
The Bulls continue to shop their two first round picks – No. 16 and 19, respectively – hoping to land either future first rounders or the chance to move up in this year’s draft. Trading those picks for future selections would aid in Chicago’s attempt to clear cap space to make a run at Carmelo Anthony in free agency this summer.
The Rockets have fielded offers for their No. 25 pick. With their sights set on keeping enough salary cap space clear for a run at Carmelo or LeBron James, Mannix thinks that drafting and keeping an international player overseas next season would make sense if Houston decided to retain their selection.

Bucks GM On Wiggins, Parker, Embiid, Owners

June 24th, 2014 at 3:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Bucks GM John Hammond‘s job appears safe only through Thursday’s draft, but that didn’t stop him from talking plenty about the team’s future in a predraft press conference today. Earlier we noted Hammond’s comments about the notion of trading the No. 2 pick, as Hammond said he’s listening to proposals but wouldn’t give up the selection unless a team offered “something very special” in return. Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel rounds up a litany of quotes from Hammond, and while his piece is a must-read for Bucks fans and fans of teams with a top-five pick, we’ll share a few highlights here:

On whether the Bucks have narrowed their options to Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, as co-owner Marc Lasry seemed to indicate this week:

“I don’t think it’s fair to say that right now. I think we have to still keep all of our options open. I think this is more than a two-man draft and I think it’s going to prove to be that. It was talked about being a three-man draft before Joe [Joel Embiid] got hurt and I think that’s still the case. I think it was more than a three-man draft at that time and I think it’s more than a two-man draft today.”

On whether teams are smarter to draft Joel Embiid or to avoid him due to his injury:

“I think the answer is yes to both of those. Yes, it would behoove a team to take him and store him away, but I’m sure there is some concern with the health. But, look, I don’t expect Joel to drop too far in this draft. I think he’s still a guy that we need to have on our board to a certain extent. He’s a great talent and you talk about these sort of things like three to five years from now, who’s going to be the best guy in this draft? Time will tell. He still has to be in that discussion. So you can see something happening, a team taking him and knowing we have a great asset moving forward. … I think he’s tempting for anyone in this draft, including us.”

On trading up for another first-rounder toward the back of the round:

“We’ll have discussions with teams. We’re having those discussions with teams right now. I wouldn’t rule that possibility out, but we’ll see how that goes.”

On the different approach the new owners are taking:

“It’s just philosophical. The Senator [Herb Kohl], what he did for this organization and for this city, people will never forget and thank him forever for that. But you know there is a little difference here and the difference is more of a long-term look in the new ownership’s view. It’s something we’re moving forward with.”

Draft Rumors: Cavs, Wolves, Afflalo, Jazz, Sixers

June 24th, 2014 at 12:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Cavs had been favoring Jabari Parker, but his poor performance in a workout for the team coupled with a stirring audition from Andrew Wiggins has left Cleveland torn with just two days to go before the draft, according to Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com. The time left before Thursday night’s draft figures to be full of back-and-forth, with uncertainty seemingly surrounding all 60 picks. Here’s the latest:

The Wolves are willing to give up J.J. Barea, Corey Brewer, Alexey Shved and the No. 13 pick in an effort to either land a higher draft pick or a veteran, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes in his NBA AM piece. The Bulls have their eyes on the 13th pick, according to Kyler.
The Hornets, who have a longstanding interest in Arron Afflalo, are on board with surrendering the No. 9 pick and a player for the Magic shooting guard, Kyler writes in the same piece.
The Jazz are targeting Wiggins as they attempt to move up rather than Parker, and they’re actively shopping pick No. 23, according to Kyler.
The Sixers‘ reason for seeking a third top-10 pick is so they would still be able to emerge with two top-10 picks from the draft if they package the third and 10th selections to move up, sources tell Kyler.
The Kings have three deals in the works involving the No. 8 pick, according to Andy Katz of ESPN.com.
The Bucks are not actively shopping John Henson, in spite of heavy interest from other teams, but they are open to the idea of trading him for a lottery pick, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News.
Milwaukee is listening to offers for the No. 2 overall pick, though Bucks GM John Hammond said today that “it would take something very special,” to prompt him to give it up, tweets Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
It’s “highly unlikely” that the Blazers, who are without a pick in either round on Thursday, end up trading for one, as Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Bucks, Wiggins, Payton, Hood

June 23rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Bad news for Joel Embiid and Dante Exum. Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry says that it would be “hard to take Embiid” given his foot injury and indicated that it’ll come down to either Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel. Here’s the latest draft news from around the league..

League sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that the Kings are seriously considering Louisiana-Lafayette product Elfrid Payton Jr. at No. 8 and few expect him to slip past the Magic at No. 12.
Duke sharpshooter Rodney Hood is back with the Hornets for a second attempt at a workout tomorrow, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter). Hoops Rumors chatted with Hood back in May about the draft process and his NBA goals.
K.J. McDaniels will also receive a second audition for the Hornets and he’ll be joined by UCLA’s Jordan Adams, Missouri’s Jabari Brown, Jarell Eddie of Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson (Twitter links).
Former North Carolina wing P.J. Hairston is working out today for the Bulls, who may end up trading one or both of their first-round picks, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY. Chicago is currently slated to pick at Nos. 16 and 19.
Former Syracuse forward C.J. Fair will audition for the Thunder today, the Pistons tomorrow, and the Nets on Wednesday, Zagoria tweets.
The Bulls have Michigan State’s Adreian Payne matching up against Chad Posthumus of Morehead State in a workout today, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (via Twitter).
The Wizards will look to take the best player available when they’re called at the podium but J. Michael of CSNWashington.com hears that they’re favoring size.

And-Ones: Pistons, Draft, LeBron

June 22nd, 2014 at 12:47pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Stan Van Gundy doesn’t necessarily view the Pistons lack of a first round pick as a negative, writes David Mayo of MLive. Van Gundy believes that the cap room that would have gone to a first-rounder can be used to acquire useful veterans, notes Mayo. Van Gundy wants to find what he termed, “winning players.” Van Gundy expanded on that saying, “I’ve had the good fortune to be around a lot of them, and they’re not winning players because they’re the most talented guys. I had Udonis Haslem in Miami and he’s still helping teams win championships. He’s a good player but he’s not the most talented guy in the world. I had a lot of those guys in Orlando — Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick — who help you win a lot of games, and they’re very good, but they’re not the most talented guys. But they’re winning guys.”