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Dario Saric

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Dalembert

June 26th, 2014 at 11:00am CST by Zachary Links

Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe spoke to rival execs who offered up anonymous advice for Celtics GM Danny Ainge heading into tonight’s draft.  “You’ve got to get Love,” said one Western Conference scout. “You could argue or suggest that you roll the dice on Andrew Wiggins being an All-Pro or Joel Embiid being the next dominant center, but you can’t argue that anybody at 6 and 17 will be better than what Kevin Love, barring injury, will be for a minimum of the next 10 years. You’re basically dealing for one of the conservatively 10 best players in basketball. You can’t turn that down.”  Meanwhile, another exec says Boston should hold on to their two first-round choices.  Here’s more from around the league..

  • Marc Berman of the New York Post (on Twitter) hears that the Knicks have no intention of waiving Samuel Dalembert to turn their taxpayer mini midlevel exception to a full mid-level exception of $5MM.  The Knicks like the shot blocker and want him on the roster this season.
  • It’s hard to get read on how far Dario Saric will fall, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Several lottery teams liked him before he signed his deal in Turkey and one exec thinks that the Celtics at No. 17 is his floor.
  • Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com wonders if the Tyson Chandler deal can help the Knicks hold on to Carmelo Anthony.
  • A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com (on Twitter) opines that the Celtics won’t land Love today as they have a better shot of getting a deal done in-season.
  • The Knicks acquired a $3,637,073 trade exception equal to the salary of Raymond Felton in Wednesday’s trade with the Mavericks.  Meanwhile, the Mavs get a trade exception worth $1,536,960 from Shane Larkin’s salary.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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Dario Saric To Stay Out Of NBA For 2 More Years

June 25th, 2014 at 11:52am CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 11:52am: Saric said today that he’s definitely opting out of his deal in 2016 and coming to the NBA at that point, Sportando tweets.

10:05pm: The NBA buyout on Saric’s new contract is $800K, reports Aris Barkas of Eurohoops.net, who confirms that the third year is an option. That amount is larger than the amount NBA teams are allowed to pay without the money counting against the cap. The deal also nets him the equivalent of only roughly $2.72MM over the course of the three seasons, much less than the $8.27MM figure cited when he and the team were rumored to have a deal in March.

TUESDAY: 9:39am: Saric has officially signed his deal in Turkey, the team announced (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia).

MONDAY, 9:42am: The Nuggets are hesitant to draft him, Ford writes in his full story, as are the Sixers and Magic, who hold picks Nos. 10 and 12, respectively. Conversely, the Hawks, Celtics, Suns and Bulls, who all hold picks in the 15-19 range, are comfortable with drafting him and waiting for him, according to Ford. The ESPN scribe also says the deal includes a player option for the third season of the deal, so it’s not entirely clear if there would be a buyout involved if an NBA team wanted to bring him over for the 2016/17 season.

9:21am: Dario Saric has an agreement in principle with Anadolu Efes Pilson of Turkey on a three-year deal that would keep him out of the NBA for at least the next two seasons, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Ford echoes his report from March indicating the same, though later dispatches put the brakes on that idea. Agent Misko Raznatovic also denied that initial report was true, but it appears as though he and Saric have indeed decided to keep the talented forward out of the NBA for now.

There’s a strong chance that the Nuggets will take Saric anyway with the No. 11 pick, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia, who notes that Efes will pay a $1.2MM buyout to pry Saric from KK Cibona, his current team. Saric will likely end up in the NBA in 2016, but the NBA club that selects him in this year’s draft would have to pay a buyout to extract him from his deal with Efes, Carchia tweets. The terms of that buyout for 2016 are unclear.

The notion of whether Saric would declare for this year’s draft was the subject of much back-and-forth, fueled in part by his father and a former agent. Still, Saric entered the draft, and he remained in past Monday’s deadline to withdraw. The 6’10” 20-year-old is the eighth-ranked prospect in Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress listings, while Ford has him at No. 9.

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Ford’s Latest: Bulls, Sixers, Lakers, Afflalo

June 23rd, 2014 at 11:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The latest Insider-only mock draft from Chad Ford of ESPN.com is full of rumors, draft-related and otherwise. Let’s dive in and hit the highlights:

  • The Bulls are offering Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, and the 16th and 19th picks in this year’s draft to the Wolves, Ford hears. That’s presumably as part of a Kevin Love package, though Ford doesn’t make it clear exactly what Chicago wants back in return for those assets.
  • The Sixers continue to explore the idea of a Michael Carter-Williams trade as they seek another top-10 pick. The Lakers would like to acquire Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young for No. 7 and Steve Nash, but they’ve gained no traction on that proposal, according to Ford.
  • The Magic have offered picks Nos. 4 and 12 plus Arron Afflalo to the Cavs and Bucks as they attempt to move into the top two, but neither Milwaukee nor Cleveland has bitten. They’re also dangling Afflalo to the Kings and Nuggets for the eighth and 11th selections, respectively.
  • The Bucks are looking for an additional lottery pick, Ford reports, citing “serious” interest from other teams in Larry Sanders, John Henson and Brandon Knight. The Nuggets have spoken with Milwaukee about the No. 11 pick, according to Ford.
  • A source close to both the Nuggets and Dario Saric deny that Denver has given him a promise to draft him at No. 11.
  • There are several other medical issues that came up in Joel Embiid‘s physical in addition to his foot and back, sources tell Ford. It’s unclear how much concern there is regarding them.
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Berger’s Draft Notes: Cavs, Saric, Magic

June 21st, 2014 at 9:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Cavs are leaning towards selecting Jabari Parker with the first-overall pick, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. He cites Parker being more NBA ready as the reason behind that pick.

More from Berger’s article:

  • The biggest beneficiary of Joel Embiid‘s injury could be Australian shooting guard Dante Exum. Berger reports that the Magic are interested in Exum, who could be off the board prior to them selecting at number four. But Orlando’s dilemma is that they also want a frontcourt player to pair with Nikola Vucevic and may not be able to get one they’re comfortable with at No. 12. If that is the case, Berger has the Magic taking Noah Vonleh.
  • Two players who are rising on teams’ draft boards are Jusuf Nurkic and Elfrid Payton. Nurkic could be a stash option for the Bulls at 19, opines Berger.
  • The Knicks are trying to purchase a late first round pick, and Phil Jackson is interested in Tyler Ennis or P.J. Hairston, according to the article.
  • Berger reports that Dario Saric‘s invitation to the draft-night green room might be the result of a promise from the Nuggets to grab him with the 11th pick. The article also notes that teams in the mid-to-late lottery have tried to get Saric to work out for them, but have been told he’ll be gone by the time they pick.
  • With Kyle Lowry an unrestricted free agent and Greivis Vasquez becoming a restricted free agent, the Raptors are believed to be considering Ennis or Shabazz Napier with the 20th pick.
  • The Bucks are looking at selecting Mitch McGary with the 31st pick, according to Berger. They are the only team known to have worked out McGary, notes Berger.
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Draft Notes: Embiid, Celtics, Trades

June 21st, 2014 at 12:55pm CST by Cray Allred

Joel Embiid‘s foot injury has shaken up the draft, with split opinions around the league regarding the seven-footer’s prospects for the draft and beyond. One league source tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Embiid’s health concerns place him in legitimate danger of plummeting out of the lottery, while others are confident he will still be selected in the top 10. More draft rumblings:

  • Tyler Ennis will have his second audition for the Magic on Monday, tweets Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (H/T Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic).
  • The international teams for Jusuf Nurkic, Nikola Jokic, Nemanja Dangubic, and Vasilije Micic will not put any barriers in place to keep the players from joining the NBA if drafted, per tweets from Yugobasket and Misko Raznatovic (H/T Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
  • Marcus Smart, Noah Vonleh, and Aaron Gordon are the Celtics preferred group of draftees at No. 6, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
  • Boston’s “most likely” scenario for the draft is to keep both of their picks, GM Danny Ainge tells Washburn (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

  • The Cavs are making efforts to trade down from the top spot to the No. 3-5 range in the draft, where they think Embiid would still be available, tweets Brett Poirier of Sheridan Hoops. The Magic, sitting at No. 4, have not been contacted by Cleveland, a source tells Poirier (Twitter link). The Sixers and Jazz own the third and fifth pick, respectively.
  • The Lakers would consider taking Embiid at No. 7 if he fell that far, a source familiar with their thinking tells Mark Medina of Los Angeles Daily News. Unsurprisingly, LA’s choice would hinge on their confidence in the big man’s recovery.
  • The Lakers are more likely to hang on to that seventh pick than deal it, despite their ongoing efforts to explore what they could net for it, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The pick was linked to Klay Thompson as part of the Kevin Love discussions earlier today.
  • The Suns are willing to trade away the 27th pick for a future first-rounder, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
  • Jakarr Sampson, Niels Giffey, Glenn Robinson III, and Chane Behanan will work out for the Celtics today, tweets Holmes.
  • As previously reported, the Warriors, Blazers, Pelicans, and Knicks are all looking to acquire first round draft picks, but the price tag is extremely high due to the deep draft pool, reports Alex Kennedy (via Twitter). Kennedy says that teams are asking for future picks that are unprotected or barely protected in return for first-rounders this year.
  • The NBA has invited 21 prospects to the green room for the draft broadcast, Chad Ford of ESPN.com reveals in two tweets. The invite is a sign of consensus around these players as first round selections. The players invited were Andrew Wiggins Jabari Parker, Joel Embiid, Dante Exum, Noah Vonleh, Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Doug McDermott, Dario Saric, Gary Harris, Elfrid Payton, Nik Stauskas, James Young, Zach LaVine, Jusuf Nurkic, Adreian Payne, T.J. Warren, Tyler Ennis, Rodney Hood, and Shabazz Napier.
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NBA Draft Withdrawal Deadline Updates

June 17th, 2014 at 2:18pm CST by Chuck Myron

Monday was the deadline for players to withdraw from the NBA draft, and the league has announced the list of those who’ve pulled out. The deadline applied mostly to prospects from overseas, since any collegian who takes his name out of consideration at this point isn’t be able to return to NCAA competition. Mychal Ammons of South Alabama is the only U.S.-based player who withdrew, but he’d already signed a deal with an overseas club.

Yesterday’s reports identified several of the prospects taking their names out of the draft, as well as some high-profile players staying in, and we’ve added the previously unreported names of those pulling out to the top of the list below. For the complete register of early entrants denoting those who’ve withdrawn, click here.

Withdrawing from the draft

  • Ammons, Berkay Candan, Tomas Dimsa, Marko Ramljak, Alejandro Suarez, Devon Van Oostrum are all out of the draft, the NBA announced.
  • Joonas Caven has pulled out of the draft, agent K.C. Callero tells Givony (Twitter link).
  • Matias Bortolin is withdrawing from the draft, his agent tells Sportando (Twitter link).
  • Ilja Gromovs will exit the draft, too, agent Arturs Kalnitis says to Givony (Twitter link).
  • Mateusz Ponitka has removed his name from draft consideration, Givony tweets.
  • Moussa Diagne and Guillem Vives will take their names out of the draft, agent Herb Ruboy says to Givony (Twitter link).
  • Rasmus Larsen has decided to exit the draft, as agent Doug Neustadt informs Givony (Twitter link).
  • OKK Spars Sarajevo teammates Nedim Buza and Adin Vrabac have decided to pull out of the draft, agent Alexander Raskovic tweets.
  • Lefteris Bochoridis has withdrawn from the draft, a source tells Shams Charania of RealGM.

Remaining in the draft

  • Jokic isn’t the only prospect to flip-flop today.  Damien Inglis changed his mind and has decided to keep his name in the draft, agent Pedja Materic tells Jonthan Givony of DraftExpress (via Twitter).
  • Raznatovic, Saric’s agent, took to Twitter to confirm that his client will remain in the draft (hat tip to Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
  • Nikola Jokic has changed his mind and will remain in the draft after all, Raznatovic tweets (hat tip to Chad Ford of ESPN.com).
  • Dario Saric will stay in the draft, a source tells David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
  • Vasilije Micic remains in the draft, agent Misko Raznatovic tweets.
  • Clint Capela will keep his name in this year’s draft, agent Bouna Ndiaye tells Givony (Twitter link).
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Draft Notes: Hornets, Celtics, Saric

June 15th, 2014 at 10:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

With the Hornets looking to add some scoring out of the small forward position, two of their prime targets might be Doug McDermott and T.J. Warren, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Bonnell compares and contrasts the two players and how they might fit in on the Hornets roster.

More draft rumblings:

  •  Greek forward Michalis Kamperidis will keep his name in the NBA draft, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (hat tip to Giorgos Dimitropoulos). Kamperidis averaged 8.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 2.0 APG for Filathlitikos last season.
  • Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald looks at the Celtics options with the sixth and 17th picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.
  • Croatian NBA prospect Dario Saric doesn’t have any team workouts scheduled ahead of the draft, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link).
  • Joe Kaiser of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) looks at the NBA prospects of Thanasis Antetokounmpo, brother of the Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the next bane of arena and television announcers across the league.
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Kings Talk No. 8 Pick With Hawks, Eye Sanders

June 11th, 2014 at 12:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks have spoken with the Kings about a deal involving the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com reports amid his chat with readers today. Ford wrote Tuesday about Sacramento’s interest in Dennis Schröder, though presumably much more would have to be involved to motivate the Kings to give up their pick. Ford’s Tuesday report also notes that Sacramento is merely listening to offers about the selection, rather than actively shopping it, so it sounds like Atlanta is the team that made the initial inquiry. Dario Saric and Nik Stauskas are likely players the Hawks would target with that No. 8 pick, Ford adds.

Ford also answered affirmatively when asked if his report of Sacramento’s interest in point guard Brandon Knight applied to Larry Sanders, too, though it’s not clear if the Kings are seriously thinking of making a play at either member of the Bucks. The No. 8 pick has also drawn mention in connection to Sacramento’s pitch for Kevin Love.

Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro has proven aggressive in his first year in charge of the front office, and Hawks GM Danny Ferry has constructed a roster that gives him plenty of flexibility to make trades. Atlanta possesses the 15th overall pick this year, not far from the 17th overall position at which the club landed Schröder in last summer’s draft.

Sanders is “available,” according to Ford, and it seems the Bucks have gone back and forth on their willingness to trade the center who ran into all sorts of trouble after signing a four-year, $44MM extension last year. A December report indicated they were trying to trade him, but Milwaukee apparently began to rebuff offers shortly before he suffered a fractured orbital bone that prematurely ended his season. Sanders also broke his hand in a nightclub brawl and served a five-game drug suspension during his tumultuous 2013/14 campaign.

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Eastern Rumors: ‘Melo, Griffin, Pistons, Saric

May 29th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

A source tells Ian Begley of ESPN.com that Carmelo Anthony would “embrace” playing for Mark Jackson, but that doesn’t mean he only wants to play for Jackson or would feel uncomfortable playing for anyone else, Begley cautions. Knicks president Phil Jackson hasn’t ruled out hiring the former Warriors coach, but it doesn’t appear as though there are plans for an interview. Jackson appears to be a leading candidate for the Cavs job, though no interview has been scheduled with Cleveland, either. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Adrian Griffin impressed the Cavs during his interview for the team’s coaching job this week, with one source telling Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio that the performance as “fantastic” (Twitter link).
  • Spurs assistant GM Scott Layden, former Heat GM Randy Pfund and former Pelicans GM Jeff Bower are among the candidates for the Pistons GM job, reports Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press. Stu Jackson, who’s completed an interview for the job, and Otis Smith are the previously reported names.
  • Dario Saric reportedly would come to the NBA for next season if the Celtics or Lakers were to draft him, but the C’s consider him a candidate for their pick at No. 17, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, indicating that he’s not in the mix to go at No. 6.
  • Marcin Gortat is likely in line for $10-12MM salaries while Trevor Ariza will look for $8-9MM as both Wizards hit free agency this summer, writes Michael Lee of The Washington Post.
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Draft Updates: Saric, Celtics, Lakers, Raptors

May 29th, 2014 at 11:01am CST by Chuck Myron

It’s unclear whether early entrant Dario Saric wants to play in the NBA next season or remain in Europe, but if either the Celtics or Lakers draft him, he plans to come stateside, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Most projections have him going a little lower than Boston’s No. 6 pick or L.A.’s No. 7 pick, but perhaps the knowledge of his immediate willingness to play will prompt one of those teams to bite. Here’s the latest from a busy draft workout scene:

  • Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is open to trading up in the draft and praised Toronto native Tyler Ennis, whom the team had in for a workout today, notes Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun (on Twitter). The free agency of Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez won’t play into Ujiri’s decision about drafting a point guard, the GM added.
  • The Raptors released their workout list for today on their website, and they’re auditioning Jake Odum, Jordan Dykstra, Norvel Pelle, Jordan Bachynski and Chadrack Lufile in addition to names that have already been reported.
  • Casey Prather is the new name among those working out for the Heat today, as Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Goodman adds DeAndre Kane and David Wear to the list of players auditioning for the Suns (Twitter link).
  • Billy Baron has shown off for the Bulls and Hawks and will do so for the Jazz, Bucks and Knicks next week, Goodman hears (Twitter link).
  • Kendall Williams is among the players working out for Hawks today, Goodman tweets.
  • Victor Rudd and Jakarr Sampson are the new names on the list of players working out for the Bucks today that the team announced on its website.
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