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And-Ones: Simmons, Cuban, McHale

November 19th, 2015 at 10:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

A major reason Kevin McHale was fired by the Rockets on Wednesday was the front office’s belief that he had lost the locker room, Chris Mannix of SI.com relays in response to a reader’s mailbag question. Mannix also notes that McHale’s strength as a coach is not in devising strategies or calling plays, but rather in his ability as a motivator. Houston swingman Corey Brewer has gone on record defending McHale, and emphasized that his former coach did not lose the team, and instead placed the blame for the Rockets’ slow start on the players.

Here’s more from around the league:

Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, with an assist from three NBA scouts, ran down the top 10 hoops prospects for the 2015/16 season, including Ben Simmons (LSU), Skal Labissiere (Kentucky), and Brandon Ingram (Duke). The top of next year’s draft could be filled with more international players than usual, Spears notes. “The top three picks might not be from the United States next year,” an NBA scout told Spears. “Blame AAU basketball in America for that.”
Simmons had the opportunity to play overseas this season rather than in college, but the talented forward wanted to get a head start on acclimating to the U.S. as well as the style of basketball played here, Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News writes. “I felt like it helped me develop my game more,” Simmons says. “I was able to get the chance to experience different teams, different playing styles. For me it was just more going to high school and competing against the best players every day. It helped me mature, living by myself in Orlando while my parents were back home. A lot of different things come into it: new team, new coaches, different style, system, and living in a different country.”
Mavs team owner Mark Cuban, who isn’t one to mince words, acknowledged that last season’s trade for Rajon Rondo was a risk that didn’t work out as planned for the team, Ben Rohrbach of WEI 93.7 FM relays. “[Expletive] happens, right? There are a lot of risks I’ve taken that have worked out just fine. They’re not all going to work,” Cuban said.
Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant, speaking about his potential retirement during a radio appearance on SiriusXM, said, “If something changes I’ll come back and play next season. If something doesn’t change this is it for me,” Frank Isola of the New York Daily News relays (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Timberwolves, Draft, Hornets

November 13th, 2015 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former Grizzlies front office chief Jason Levien isn’t involved in Steve Kaplan’s bid to own a partial share of the Timberwolves, as Zach Harper of CBSSports.com reports, and his name hasn’t come up in discussions with Wolves officials, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press (Twitter links). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported earlier that Levien was partnering with Kaplan as part of his effort to get into position to eventually assume full control of the Wolves if owner Glen Taylor relinquishes that. Taylor currently has no plans to sell the team, but he’s preparing for that time to come, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune.

“It just seems to me if I’m a responsible owner of a team, I should go out there, find someone who is really interested, bring them in and see how it works,” Taylor said. “So if I would die or be in a position where I can’t run it, they’d be in a position to take over and make a smooth transition. I just think it’s something I owe the state because I have the ownership.”

The purchase of a minority ownership, whether by Kaplan or another bidder, doesn’t necessarily guarantee they’ll become majority owners at any point, Krawczynski adds (on Twitter), though the idea of Kaplan owning more than 20% of the team has come up in the talks, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities. See more from around the NBA:

LSU small forward Ben Simmons tops the rankings of draft prospects that Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) and Chris Mannix of SI.com compiled for college basketball’s opening day, though disagreement exists beyond that. Ford has Kentucky center Skal Labissiere, Croatian power forward Dragan Bender and Duke small forward Brandon Ingram as his next three, while Mannix’s list goes Ingram-Labissiere-Bender.
Simmons isn’t the next LeBron James, but his game is stylistically similar to the four-time MVP’s, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece that draws comparisons between some of the top prospects and their NBA counterparts. Labissiere is like LaMarcus Aldridge and Ingram resembles Tayshaun Prince, Goodman posits.
Nicolas Batum and Marvin Williams, a pair of Hornets poised to become free agents next summer, are off to strong starts, as Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders observes in a story that looks at 15 soon-to-be free agents and how they fared during the season’s first two weeks.

And-Ones: Bryant, Barnes, Pacers

November 9th, 2015 at 10:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kobe Bryant would be thrilled to play for USA Basketball in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, he told Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. Bryant, who won gold medals the past two Olympics, could end his competitive basketball career in the Olympics if he chooses to retire after this NBA season, Reynolds adds. “It would mean the world to me to be around those guys,” the veteran Lakers’ swingman said. “I think to be able to have a chance to continue the relationship that I already have with most of those guys, talking and just kind of being around each other and understanding that this is it, it’s just us being together, that would be fun.” The 12-player roster is expected to be revealed in June.

In other news around the league:

Dragan Bender, a 7’0” forward who plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv, heads the list of Top 10 NBA prospects compiled by Kevin O’Connor of DraftExpress.com and Celticsblog.com. The 17-year-old could be a draft-and-stash option for the Celtics, who own the struggling Nets’ 2016 first-rounder. The next three players on his list are also 6’10” or taller — LSU point forward Ben Simmons, Kentucky center Skal Labissiere and Duke forward Brandon Ingram.
Matt Barnes is still furious that Knicks coach Derek Fisher went to the authorities after their October altercation at the home of Barnes’ estranged wife, Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times tweets. “We’re two grown men who should have handled two grown men’s business, but he wanted to run and tell the cops and the NBA,” the Grizzlies’ small forward said. The NBA is still investigating the matter, according to Ryan Lazo of the New York Post.
Indiana’s Capital Improvement Board unanimously approved a contract Monday to allow the Pacers to build a $50MM practice facility, Mark Alesia of the Indianapolis Star reports. The five-story, 130,000-square-foot facility will be located across from Bankers Life Fieldhouse and is scheduled to open in 2017.

And-Ones: Thunder, Batum, 2016 Draft

August 27th, 2015 at 9:59am CST by Eddie Scarito

The ESPN Summer Forecast panel tabs the Thunder as the team most likely to vault in the standings this year, which is no surprise given the return of Kevin Durant and the team’s decision to match the Blazers’ offer sheet for high-scoring big man Enes Kanter . The Heat, who re-signed Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic and get Chris Bosh from his blood clot ailment, and the Jazz, who surged late last season, also appear in the top three.

There’s more on Oklahoma City amid other NBA-related news:

The Thunder allowed a trade exception that had been worth $1.25MM to expire when they didn’t make a move by Wednesday’s deadline to use it. It was a vestige of the trade that sent Hasheem Thabeet to Philadelphia. Oklahoma City still has other trade exceptions, the largest of which is worth $2.75MM thanks to the last of this summer’s many deals involving Luke Ridnour.
Hornets coach Steve Clifford says that he envisions Nicolas Batum having a more prominent offensive role in Charlotte than he did with the Blazers last season, as Adi Joseph of The Sporting News relays (via Twitter). Charlotte acquired Batum, 26, from the Blazers in June as part of the trade that shipped Noah Vonleh and Gerald Henderson to Portland.
ESPN’s Chad Ford (Insider subscription required) released his initial mock draft for 2016, and snagging the top spot is LSU freshman small forward Ben Simmons, followed by Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere and California swingman Jaylen Brown.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

And-Ones: HGH Testing, Demps, Simmons

April 16th, 2015 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA and the NBPA announced today that blood testing for Human Growth Hormone will commence under the league’s anti-drug program, beginning during the 2015/16 NBA season. According to the official announcement, all NBA players will be subject to three random, unannounced HGH tests annually (two in-season, and one during the offseason), and players will also be subject to reasonable cause testing for HGH. If a player tests positive for HGH, he will be suspended 20 games for his first violation, 45 games for his second violation, and he will be dismissed and disqualified from the NBA for his third violation.

Here’s more from around the league:

Pelicans GM Dell Demps refuted a report asserting that he and coach Monty Williams were under the mandate this season to make the playoffs or lose their jobs, John Reid of the Times Picayune relays. ”I am hoping to keep the focus on the Pelicans and our playoff run,” Demps said. ”To answer the question, I did not receive a mandate to make the playoffs from ownership or anyone else. That conversation did not happen. Our ownership group has been very supportive, patient and given us all the resources to be successful.”
21-year-old Bosnian forward Adin Vrabac, who is currently playing in Germany, will declare for the 2015 NBA draft, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweets. Vrabac, who isn’t currently projected to be picked in June, withdrew from last year’s draft after initially declaring his intent to enter.
The 2016 NBA draft is projected to be a much weaker field than this year’s, Givony told Josh Newman of SNY.tv (Twitter links). The player pool could improve based on which underclassmen decide to return to school this year, Newman adds.
Chris Mannix of SI.com unveiled his initial 2015 mock draft and his top three players are Karl-Anthony Towns, Jahlil Okafor, and Emmanuel Mudiay.
Despite the 2015 NBA draft still being over two months away, scouts and executives are already turning their gaze toward the 2016 class and Australian Ben Simmons, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. The 6’10” Simmons possesses point guard skills and is the projected No. 1 overall pick next season by Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required), Beck notes. One NBA executive was so enamored with Simmons’ potential, he said that the player was worth tanking for, Beck adds. Simmons will attend LSU next season.

Draft Notes: Stanley Johnson, Kris Dunn, 2016

April 13th, 2015 at 12:04pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sunday was the NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to the 2015 NBA draft to withdraw and retain their college eligibility, though that deadline isn’t one that spurred a lot of action. That’s because players who haven’t formally declared or signed with an agent don’t need to make a final decision until April 26th, the deadline the NBA has set for underclassmen to enter. In essence, prospects can just hang low until that deadline even if they’ve made up their minds so that they can turn back if they have a change of heart. Here’s the latest on a couple of players still weighing their options:

Arizona freshman Stanley Johnson is looking for assurances that he’ll be a top-10 pick this year before he declares for the draft, as Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress hears (Twitter link). Still, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com would be shocked if he stayed in school (Twitter link). Johnson, who was reportedly “really torn” as he pondered the decision last week, is Givony‘s ninth-ranked prospect while Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists him 11th. Jay Z has met with Johnson to try to recruit him to his Roc Nation Sports Agency, reports Shams Charania of RealGM.
Providence is pressing sophomore point guard Kris Dunn to return to school, telling him that he’d go late in the first round this year but would be a top-five pick in 2016, as Givony hears (Twitter link). NBA executives nonetheless view Dunn as a late lottery pick this year, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, backing up Givony‘s ranking of the 21-year-old as the 14th-best prospect. Ford has him 20th.
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, in a pair of pieces, profiles the versatile and deft-passing combo forward Ben Simmons and the slick-shooting forward/center Skal Labissiere, two of the prime contenders to become the No. 1 overall pick in 2016.

Draft Notes: Towns, Okafor, Winslow, Simmons

April 6th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Tonight’s NCAA championship won’t offer the epic matchup between Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor that would have taken place if Wisconsin hadn’t beaten Kentucky on Saturday, but Towns and Okafor still have a score to settle when it comes to the No. 1 overall pick. The centers are the leading candidates, and it seems as if it’s a close call among NBA executives and scouts. The same is true among SI.com’s panel of experts, who narrowly favor Towns. However, it’ll be Okafor with a chance to make a statement on a grand stage tonight. Here’s more on the draft:

Scouts have compared Okafor to Al Jefferson and, less optimistically, Carlos Boozer, Pete Thamel of SI.com writes, calling Towns a less perimeter-oriented LaMarcus Aldridge.
Duke small forward Justise Winslow would be in the running to become the No. 1 overall pick if not for the presence of Towns and Okafor, as one Eastern Conference GM tells Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops, praising the freshman’s versatility and upside. Winslow will go head-to-head tonight against Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker, another fast riser during the NCAA Tournament, as Scotto details, echoing an earlier dispatch from Chad Ford of ESPN.com.
Combo forward Ben Simmons made an impression on NBA personnel like no one else during practices for the McDonald’s All American Game last week, as Chris Mannix of SI.com chronicles. One NBA GM called Simmons, a 2016 draft prospect, “an absolute stud,” Mannix relays. Simmons is No. 2 behind small forward Jaylen Brown on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress 2016 mock draft.