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Pacific Notes: Lakers, Russell, Warriors

June 7th, 2015 at 11:52am CST by Arthur Hill

Executives around the league believe that the Lakers selecting D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 overall pick is a legitimate possibility, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com writes. Howard-Cooper believes the scenario is more plausible if Minnesota selects Karl-Anthony Towns with the No. 1 pick. Bypassing Jahlil Okafor may be an easier choice for the team because of the overlapping skills that he shares with last season’s first round pick Julius Randle. They are both talented on the offensive end, but getting better on defense is expected to be a project for both players.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

“Continuity” played into Golden State’s decision last summer not to pursue a Klay Thompson-for-Kevin Love trade, tweets Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. “If you want to be good,” said coach Steve Kerr, “you have to have continuity.” Thompson had a different reaction to the rumors about being dealt for a player he grew up with in Oregon. “I thought it was pretty cool, actually,” he told Rusty Simmons of The San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
Part of the reason for the Warriors‘ success is that a pair of former All-Stars have embraced reserve roles, writes Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. Andre Iguodala and David Lee were established starters when they came to Golden State, but both now come off the bench without complaining. “Selflessness, that’s been the tone of this team, but that’s something that [Iguodala] started off with his decision,” said fellow reserve Festus Ezeli. “To be able to accept his role and then we all accept our role and that’s how a team works.” Iguodala is signed through the 2016/17 season. Lee will be an unrestricted free agent in 2016.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Warriors Co-Owner On Green, Lee, Luxury Tax

March 16th, 2015 at 2:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob takes an aggressive approach to running his team, and it’s paid off, with Golden State a half-game in front of the Hawks for the league’s best record. His bold approach extends even to his plans for a new arena in San Francisco, though he told Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group that he now finds a 2017 opening date for that building unlikely and is instead focused on 2018. Lacob had plenty more to say, including a remark in which he expressed his hope that Stephen Curry is “a Warrior for life,” in a podcast taped Friday with Kawakami, who transcribes 20 of Lacob’s responses in a full story. The entire interview is worth your time, particularly if you’re a Warriors fan, but we’ll share three of Lacob’s remarks here:

On Draymond Green, set for restricted free agency this summer:

“I obviously have to choose my words carefully here — we’re not trying to make any claims or anything like that. He will go through the restricted free agency process; I’m sure he’ll get offers from other teams. And he’ll have an offer from us, obviously. Look, he’s very much a part of the core here. That’s the way we view him. He just turned 25 years old and along with Steph and Klay [Thompson] and Harrison [Barnes] we have our sort of core young four, if you will, along with a lot of other really good players. All I can say is we’re going to do everything we can to convince him to stay and be a Warrior for a long time. Of course we have the ultimate [choice] in all that — we can match any deal he gets.”

On the possibility of trading David Lee:

“This is really for [GM] Bob [Myers] to figure out and our basketball ops team. We’re going to figure out how to put together the team for next year. And let’s wait to see how the season ends, first. … You don’t know what’s going to happen. … Sometimes you change your view by the end of the year. Look, if that’s the way it works out, he’s an expiring contact and if it’s better for him to move on somewhere else, maybe that might happen. But it might not. I think we have to wait until the end of the year and assess everything when the season’s over.”

On paying the luxury tax:

“No one should be comfortable with that because the penalties are obviously quite severe. We’d always prefer not to. I can’t sit here and lie and say that I would love to pay the luxury tax. No one would love to pay the luxury tax. But we always have known that there could be a time when it’s required, when the team is at such a point, to keep it together, maybe it’s just that point where we have overlapping contacts that add up … where we have to pay the luxury tax to do that, to keep our long-term plan intact. So the answer, without going on and on, is that we are prepared to pay the luxury tax, yes, if we have to. That’s just a part of the business. It’s not something we want to do. And we’ll all see what happens. A lot depends on what other teams do and how free agency goes and so on. There’s really quite a few factors.”

Western Notes: Lee, Durant, Jazz

March 12th, 2015 at 7:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Some around the Warriors think David Lee‘s return from injury in December disrupted the team’s rhythm, as Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group hears, and the team has essentially squeezed him out of the rotation for now. The Warriors were steadfast at the deadline that they didn’t want to simply shed Lee in a salary dump, Kawakami writes, nonetheless adding that he expects Golden State to make a push to trade him this summer.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

No one believes that Thunder GM Sam Presti would ever trade Kevin Durant, a league executive told Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Presti dismissed the idea he’d make such a move after ESPN analyst and former team exec Tom Penn suggested that he would.
Jay Yeomans of the Deseret News reviews how Jazz draft-and-stash picks Ante Tomic, Tibor Pleiss, and Raul Neto are faring overseas this season.
Jazz rookie Rodney Hood is providing some much needed scoring from the wing for the team, which was a big reason why Utah drafted him last June, Kareem Copeland of NBA.com writes. “He makes shots and has the ability to space the floor. He’s also gets to the rim, too,” coach Quin Snyder said of Hood. “The plan, really in the beginning, Rodney was going to play. Whether he was going to start or how many minutes, you never know. He’s good enough and we need him.“
Though Enes Kanter is receiving similar playing time with the Thunder as he did with the Jazz, the big man is more content thanks to being on a more successful team, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman relays. “Well, the thing is we are winning here,” Kanter said. “We are playing for something. We are playing for playoffs, we are playing for ring. There [in Utah], I still respect them and I don’t want to say nothing bad about them. But this is just way different than what I’ve been seeing. It’s a whole different level. This is like I realize what NBA is when I came to Oklahoma City.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Suns, Warren, Livingston

March 11th, 2015 at 6:04pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The reinvention of the Suns‘ backcourt has been put on hold temporarily, courtesy of Brandon Knight being out indefinitely with a sprained ankle, Paul Coro of The Arizona Repulic writes. “Finally was figuring out how we’re going to play,” Knight said. “Like I said, that’s going to take time and that’s not going to be perfect right away. I was finally figuring that out. Hopefully, once I do come back, we continue to work on that.”

Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

The Suns have brought rookie T.J. Warren along slowly this season, including four trips to the NBA D-League, to create a smooth transition from college for Warren and to avoid a small forward logjam with P.J. Tucker and Marcus Morris, Coro adds. “It feels good to get an opportunity and get comfortable out there,” Warren said. “Just trying to build my confidence as we move forward and just go play hard every time I get a chance.”
Warriors guard Shaun Livingston credits his former head coach with the Wizards, Flip Saunders, for his opportunity to work his way back into the league after his gruesome knee injury way back in 2007, Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders writes. “Flip Saunders, he revived my career,” Livingston said. “He believed in me and gave me a chance, one. Two, it was after the whole Gilbert Arenas fiasco. We were young, it was a rebuilding situation. He taught me the game, he’s an offensive genius. He kind of changed his offense to tailor [to] my game, so he really put me in a position to excel.”
David Lee would take issue with his reduced role if the Warriors weren’t so successful this season, Monte Poole of CSNBayArea.com writes. “We’re winning and we’re having fun,” Lee said. “It’s hard at times. I couldn’t do this if we weren’t winning. But we are. I’m not going to put myself ahead of that.”

Western Notes: Ellis, Smith, Lee

March 7th, 2015 at 5:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Monta Ellis has no regrets about his relationship with the Warriors, the team he spent his first seven seasons with, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “I don’t live in the past,” the Mavs guard said. “I mean, the situation was best for both of us. Me being in Dallas is a great situation for me. Them going with him to be with the face of the team and franchise worked out good for them. And it’s working out good for me. I don’t live in the past. I always go ahead.” There is some belief that Ellis will reportedly opt-out of the third year of his team-friendly deal given his level of play this season.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Josh Smith insisted he has moved on from his tenure with the Pistons before he had eight points and seven rebounds for the Rockets Friday night in his second game facing the team that released him, Brendan Savage of MLive writes. “It’s water under the bridge,” Smith said. The veteran forward who’ll be a free agent this summer, signed a one-year deal with the Rockets after the Pistons surprisingly waived him.
Pistons coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has been impressed with how well Smith has played with the Rockets, Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle writes. Smith is hitting 44.1% of his shots since arriving in Houston, compared to the 39.1% he logged this season in Detroit. “I think when they moved him to the bench, he has played very well in that role for them,” Van Gundy said. “Coming off the bench, he is helping them offensively and rebounding the ball. His shooting percentage has gone up.”
It’s been easy for David Lee to accept his role as a reserve because the Warriors are winning and his replacement Draymond Green is playing well, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. “It’s not frustrating at all. It’s just a role change,” said Lee, who missed 24 of the Warriors’ first 25 games due to injury. “If we were losing a bunch of games I probably would be saying to Coach [Steve Kerr], ‘Hey maybe we should try something different.’ But the way we are playing as a group and the way Draymond is specifically playing, this is the way it’s supposed to be right now.”

Will Joseph contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Afflalo, Lee, Robinson

March 6th, 2015 at 8:58pm CST by Will Joseph

Arron Afflalo should fill a lot of the void for the Blazers that was created after soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Wesley Matthews‘s season ending injury, Joe Freeman of the Oregonian writes. Afflalo, who has a player option for next season worth $7.75MM, was acquired in a February deal. His skill-set and unselfishness make him a solid replacement for Matthews, Freeman wrote. “I’ll be me,” Afflalo said. “Even before Wes went down, the goal wasn’t for me to come in here and try to be somebody that I wasn’t. Obviously adjusting to a new role is difficult and takes time, but the way I lead, be it vocally or by example, I’ll continue to do that.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Clippers continue to show interest in free agent guard Nate Robinson, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link). It was first reported back in January that the Clippers were Robinson’s preferred team, and Los Angeles possessed some level of interest in the diminutive guard.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that the Spurs have thrived, in part, because of their roster continuity, according to Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com (Twitter links). “Obviously, there’s going to continue to be some change but I think a lot of these guys are going to be in Celtics uniforms for a while coming, and that’s encouraging,” the coach said.
The Jazz had serious discussions with the Warriors at the trade deadline about acquiring David Lee, according to Spencer Checketts of 1280 The Zone (via Twitter). The Warriors were said to be willing to trade Lee, but they were looking to get assets of value in return.
David Stockton, son of Hall of Famer John Stockton, in his return to the D-League’s Reno Bighorns, Sacramento’s affiliate, scored a season-high 44 points in what Erika Marmolejo of NBA.com called a “statement game.” The Kings previously decided against signing Stockton to another 10-day contract. Stockton was unable to find decent time behind starting guard Ray McCallum and newly acquired veteran Andre Miller, Marmolejo notes.

Zach Links and Eddie Scarito contributed to this post

Berger’s Latest: Jackson, Kings, Nuggets, Lee

February 17th, 2015 at 11:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

Reporters make a habit of emptying their notebooks as the deadline draws near, when rumors that would normally make headlines wind up buried beneath the deluge of news. We already passed along highlights from a jam-packed piece that Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports authored tonight, and we’ll do the same with a dispatch from Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, who’s also heard plenty:

Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group provides some clarity on Lee, saying that the Warriors have always been willing to trade him for assets of value but that the team almost certainly won’t find what it’s looking for on the market. Golden State isn’t likely to simply give away the veteran, a favorite of co-owner Joe Lacob, unless it’s forced to in the offseason, Kawakami adds (All Twitter links).

Earlier updates:

Teams around the league expect the Thunder to trade Reggie Jackson before Thursday’s 2pm Central time trade deadline, Berger writes, indicating that they believe tax concerns would be the catalyst for Oklahoma City to make a deal.
Sacramento is intent on making an upgrade at the deadline in an effort to please DeMarcus Cousins, sources tell Berger, who identifies Arron Afflalo as the team’s No. 1 target. The Kings are dangling Nik Stauskas to the Nuggets as they seek Afflalo, to the puzzlement of some executives from other teams, Berger hears. The Kings continue to dangle Stauskas to other teams as well, according to Berger.
The Nuggets are in “full-on firesale mode,” and, notwithstanding Sacramento’s focus on Afflalo, Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler are the players on Denver’s roster who are drawing the most interest from other teams, Berger writes.
Berger indicates that the Warriors are trying to trade David Lee, which conflicts with an earlier report that the team would like to keep him through the season to avoid disrupting chemistry. The CBSSports.com columnist also includes Kevin Martin on a list of players that teams are trying to trade, but Flip Saunders is reportedly showing little interest in doing so. Martin would be destined for a buyout if the Wolves don’t trade him, Berger hears.
Milwaukee has fielded offers for Brandon Knight, but the Bucks aren’t biting, sources tell Berger.
The Wizards are more likely to sign a free agent who would fill their desire for backcourt help than to make a trade, the CBSSports.com scribe hears.
The Clippers are still the front-runners for Tayshaun Prince should he and the Celtics do a buyout deal, according to Berger, who adds that Boston is trying to trade Brandon Bass.

Draymond Green Interested In Pistons

February 17th, 2015 at 3:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:46pm: Warriors executives have given every indication that they’ll match any offer for Green, according to Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group (Twitter link).

2:34pm: Saginaw, Michigan native Draymond Green has “significant interest” in signing an offer sheet with the Pistons this summer, when he’s set for restricted free agency, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Green loves playing with the Warriors, Wojnarowski cautions, adding that Golden State is intent on keeping him, which jibes with recent statements from Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob. Lacob also signaled a willingness to pay the tax, but Wojnarowski says that for the team to retain Green, “they’ll have to” move David Lee, a point seemingly based on the idea that the Warriors won’t be taxpayers.

Team politics at play are liable to prompt Green to sign an offer sheet with the Pistons rather than an outright deal with the Warriors, even if the Warriors plan to match, as Wojnarowski explains. The Warriors are hesitant to pay Green more than Klay Thompson will make next season, Wojnarowski writes. Thompson won’t earn more than $15.5MM, the projected 2015/16 maximum salary for a player of his experience at the time when Thompson signed his extension in the fall. If the max salary exceeds that amount, the Pistons or another team could float Green an offer sheet that would give him more than Thompson will make.

It would be easier for the Warriors to match an offer sheet for that kind of money than to come to Green directly with a deal that would give him more than the All-Star shooting guard, according to Wojnarowski. Green, who played at Michigan State, still spends much of his off-time in Michigan, but for the Pistons to have a legitimate shot at him, they’ll need to make an offer at or near the max, Wojnarowski writes.

The Warriors don’t want to deal Lee at the deadline and upset their chemistry, though there are teams with interest in acquiring Lee if he were attached to other assets, likely draft picks, Wojnarowski hears. The big man is set to make nearly $15.494MM next season, with the Warriors already at more than $77.5MM in commitments for next season. The luxury tax line is projected to come in at around $81MM, which means Golden State would likely go deep into the tax if it retained Green and Lee and didn’t make other significant changes.

Lowe’s Latest: Warriors, Garnett, Magic, Pelicans

February 16th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Projections from the league and individual teams show the salary cap going from about $68MM next season to around $90MM for 2016/17 without any sort of plan for tiered increases, Grantland’s Zach Lowe reports. The players union rejected the league’s proposal to smooth out the projected spike in the cap, and while executive director Michele Roberts left open the possibility that the union would counter with a proposal of its own, compromise seems unlikely, according to Lowe. That’s left teams that aren’t usually attractive to free agents with the feeling that their cap flexibility is less valuable than it ever has been, Lowe hears, since just about every team will be in line to sign a max-level free agent or two after next season.

We’ve already passed along Lowe’s news about exploratory Ty Lawson talks between the Nuggets and the latest on the Raptors and Terrence Ross, but Lowe’s must-read column has more, and we’ll hit the rest of the highlights here:

Lowe suggests the Warriors would like to try to convince Kevin Garnett to waive his no-trade clause and that they’ll see if any money-saving deals for David Lee are available.
The Nets don’t want to make a trade just for the sake of making one, and if they do swing a deal, they’ll seek “some token future assets” and cap flexibility for the summer of 2016, Lowe writes.
Lowe names Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson as examples of “little side pieces” the Magic will seek to trade. The Magic are open to trading Nicholson, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week. Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders heard last month that teams had been calling about Harkless but that Orlando’s asking price was high.
The Pelicans would like an upgrade at small forward, but they won’t part with Ryan Anderson cheaply just to accomplish that goal, Lowe writes.
Corey Brewer declined his $4.905MM player option for next season to help facilitate the trade that sent him to the Rockets, according to Lowe. Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders also shows the option as having been declined on his Rockets salary page.

Pacific Notes: Cousins, Karl, Thompson, West

February 13th, 2015 at 12:42pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are poised for trade deadline action after resolving their coaching situation, while in Phoenix, suitors are lining up for Goran Dragic. We’ll run through the latest news and notes from a busy Pacific Division here:

DeMarcus Cousins praised new Kings coach George Karl to reporters at All-Star weekend in New York, saying he looked forward to working with him, tweets Mike Mazzeo of ESPNNewYork.com. The center has expressed exasperation with the team’s coaching turmoil.
Karl was the right choice for the Kings, argues Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, who also lists Scott Brooks among the names of coaches who would have been candidates for the Sacramento job if the team hadn’t hired Karl.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was largely responsible for halting a proposed blockbuster last summer that would have sent Klay Thompson to the Timberwolves in exchange for Kevin Love, according to Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Kerr and Warriors team consultant Jerry West talked ownership out of making the swap, which would have also sent David Lee to Minnesota and Kevin Martin to Golden State, Deveney adds. A source close the talks told Deveney that the trade was a done deal until Kerr, who took the job with the expectation of coaching Thompson, and West convinced management not to do it.
The jealousy that the Warriors worried might develop when they gave Thompson a more lucrative extension than Stephen Curry got a few years ago hasn’t developed, and Thompson doesn’t regret agreeing to contract terms that might give him less than the max, as Deveney writes in the same piece.
West, who made his mark as an executive with the Lakers, is confident the Lakers wouldn’t ask him back, as he said on 95.7 The Game, as station host Matt Steinmetz relays (Twitter links). West’s son, Ryan, is the Lakers’ assistant scouting director, notes Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).
Trading Dragic would be a wise move because the Suns are not true title contenders, Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic argues. Bickley believes the Suns should be acquiring trade assets in order to make a future move to acquire a superstar talent rather than adding short-term pieces such as Ray Allen or Amar’e Stoudemire. If the Suns can add a first-round pick by swapping Dragic while concurrently breaking their point guard logjam, they should not hesitate, Bickley concludes.

Dana Gauruder contributed to this post.