Jabari Parker Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Bulls, Bucks, Magic

June 27th, 2014 at 8:58pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Bulls trade that sent the No. 16 and 19 picks to the Nuggets for the chance to draft Doug McDermott actually hurt the teams chances of landing Carmelo Anthony, writes Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders.The article notes that by adding Anthony Randolph‘s $1.825MM salary to McDermott’s $1.898MM cap hold as the 11th pick and the roster charge of over $500,000, Chicago actually now has about $1 million less to offer Carmelo in free agency than they would have had if they kept both picks.

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.

Bucks Tell Jabari Parker They’ll Draft Him?

June 25th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:00pm: The Bucks have told Parker that they’re quite high on him, but they haven’t given him a promise, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

11:45pm: Jabari Parker says the Bucks told him they’d draft him at No. 2 if he’s available, as he said to reporters, including Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Parker would prefer to play for Milwaukee rather than the Cavs, who hold the No. 1 pick, as Jeff Goodman and Chad Ford of ESPN.com report, though, as Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv tweets, he refutes the notion that he tanked his workout with Cleveland, a notion that one source raised to the ESPN scribes.

Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry indicated this week that the team would take either Parker or Andrew Wiggins, though GM John Hammond wouldn’t confirm that when asked Tuesday. The Cavs are reportedly conflicted as they attempt to decide between Parker and Wiggins, so Milwaukee will probably only be left with one of them to choose from.

Hammond said Thursday that while it would take a “very special” offer to trade the No. 2 pick, he’s nonetheless listening to offers for it. So, there’s no guarantee that Parker, who’s from Chicago, will end up an hour north in Milwaukee, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding the No. 1 overall pick.

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.

And-Ones: Clippers, Afflalo, Duncan

June 24th, 2014 at 11:27pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The Clippers engaged the Magic in discussions about trading for Arron Afflalo this past spring, but were rebuffed after Orlando didn’t find L.A.’s trade offers enticing enough, reports Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com. However, there was some sense that the two clubs could later re-visit talks if they managed to get a third team involved in discussions. The Clips have been eyeing Afflalo for quite some time and came close to landing the former UCLA shooting guard last summer, according to Shelburne, who also mentions that Donald Sterling eventually nixed the negotiations.

You can find more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes below:

Spurs icon Tim Duncan revealed on “The Late Show with David Letterman” that he had briefly considered retirement shortly after winning his fifth NBA championship. “I thought about calling it a career…But I felt I could at least do one more year. I felt I was still effective. I felt I could still play and help the team” (transcription via Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News).
Some NBA executives believe that the Cavaliers’ reported interest in Jabari Parker could just be a smokescreen to get other teams to ante up their trade offers for the No. 1 pick, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Among those teams is the Jazz, who are said to covet Parker if they acquired the top pick.
Both Howard Eisley and Brian Scalabrine are candidates to become assistant coaches for Doc Rivers, according to Brad Turner of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links). Eisley has been serving as a players skills coach for the Clippers, while Scalabrine spent the latter portion of last season as a coach for the Warriors’ D-League affiliate.
Timberwolves president/head coach Flip Saunders said he’s in contact with other NBA teams on a daily basis, but was coy when specifically asked if those discussions involved Kevin Love, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press. As Greder points out, Saunders said he’s comfortable with the current roster, including Love. “I don’t know about the prospects of us trading anybody by Thursday night…I feel comfortable with the guys that we have. If we can get something that makes our team better, we’ll do it. If we don’t, we’ll stay pat and move forward and enter into free agency on July 1.”

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.”