Magic GM Rob Hennigan contemplated moving up or down in the first round of tonight's draft, but ultimately decided to stay put and draft Andrew Nicholson. He told reporters, including John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com (Twitter link), that Nicholson was "the best player on the board," in Orlando's estimation. Hennigan also made a number of other comments to Orlando media tonight, so let's round up the highlights (all Twitter links, via Denton, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel, and Josh Robbins of the Sentinel)….
It was only a week ago that Rob Hennigan accepted the Magic's offer to become the team's new general manager. With the draft just over 24 hours away and free agency around the corner, the Orlando GM has a lot on his plate, and spoke to the media today about a few key decisions he's facing. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel has Hennigan's quotes on Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick, and more….
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweeted that Jameer Nelson and the Magic have agreed to amend his contract and move the deadline to exercise his player option from June 15 to June 29. In another tweet, Robbins added that Nelson and his agent wanted the extension in order to be able to speak with the team's new GM before making a decision.
While their Southeast rivals, the Heat, prepare for Game 2 of the NBA Finals tonight, the Magic have a jam-packed offseason itinerary. The team still has to hire a GM, find a new coach, and decide on Dwight Howard's future, and another under-the-radar issue could arise tomorrow. Jameer Nelson has a June 15th deadline to decide whether to pick up his player option for next season, and if he turns it down, the Magic will have to determine if they want to try to re-sign him. Here's the latest out of Orlando….
Magic point guard Jameer Nelson has a June 15 deadline to decide whether to pick up his $8.6MM option for next season, and "all indications" are that he'll decline it and test free agency, tweets Evan Dunlap of OrlandoPinstripedPost.com. Nelson has expressed a willingness to stay in Orlando for the rest of his career, but doesn't want to be treated as a trade chip in the final year of his deal. Earlier today we heard the Jazz could make a play for him. That's just one of many items of note from around the league on a busy Friday.
Plenty of the bigger names among this year's free agent class are in their 30s, and it's that over-30 group that ESPN.com's Ric Bucher focuses on in his latest Insider piece. Bucher spoke to GMs, scouts, and personnel experts that gave him feedback on this summer's free agents, including tidbits on Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, Jameer Nelson, and plenty more. Here are a few highlights:
The Lakers officially exercised their option on Andrew Bynum yesterday, locking him up for the final year of his contract. Bynum's isn't the first option decision of the year — Beno Udrih has picked up his 2012/13 player option, while Dwight Howard famously waived his early termination option earlier in the season. Over the next few weeks, we'll hear about even more team, player, and early termination options, as teams prepare for the July free agency period. Listed below are a few key decisions to watch in the coming weeks….
- The Knicks will be looking for another point guard to partner with Jeremy Lin, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. Among Berman's list of targets are Kirk Hinrich, Gary Neal, Derek Fisher, A.J. Price, Jannero Pargo, and Jonny Flynn. He also mentions Ramon Sessions, Raymond Felton, Goran Dragic, Andre Miller, Jameer Nelson, and Steve Nash, but I think that the names on this latter list would only be sought after if contract talks with Lin were to somehow fall apart.
- After recently having his interim tag removed, Knicks GM Glen Grunwald has a lot of work cut out for him in the upcoming months, says Al Iannazzone of Newsday. He also adds that with the mid-level likely committed to Lin and no first-round pick, Grunwald will have to be creative with trades and free agency in order to address their back court needs. In another article, Iannazzone goes over the five biggest questions facing the team moving forward.
- Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News speculates that Jason Terry could be on his way out if Deron Williams lands with the Mavericks (subscribers only).
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld engaged in his weekly NBA chat with fans. Here are some of his notable thoughts: the Magic may try to package their #19 pick along with Jason Richardson or Chris Duhon to create cap relief, Austin Rivers' game is comparable to Jason Terry and Jamal Crawford, and predicts that Dwight Howard will wind up signing with the Nets eventually.
- Bob Young of the Arizona Republic offers his input on the chances of reportedly interested teams in their pursuit of Steve Nash. Phoenix, Toronto, New York, Dallas, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, and Portland are given consideration.
- John Rohde of NewsOK explores how the support of his Thunder teammates has played a pivotal role in Eric Maynor's road to recovery from a torn ACL.
A few items out of the Southeast division as the Hawks' offseason gets underway..
- Magic point guard Jameer Nelson has until June 15th to notify the team of whether he will opt out of contract, tweets John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com. The language in Nelson's contract in Jameer's contract says that he must notify the team of his intentions by three days after the team is eliminated or by June 15th, whichever is later, Denton tweets.
- In an interview on 610 The Fan in Charlotte, Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops discussed Patrick Ewing interviewing for the Bobcats head coaching job. Sheridan points out that if Charlotte lands the No. 1 pick, Ewing could be a solid pick to help groom big man Anthony Davis.
- Magic center Dwight Howard needs to let the club know what his intentions are ASAP, opines Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel.
With an unusual and drama-filled season finally in the books, the Magic look ahead to an offseason that could be just as eventful. As one NBA GM told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, "You can take all of those stories from December and January and February and cut them out and paste them into May and June and July."
With the futures of Dwight Howard, Stan Van Gundy, and others up in the air, here's the latest out of Orlando….
9:06pm:
- Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines the dilemma facing Jameer Nelson, who has three days to decide on his option for next season.
- Stan Van Gundy believes assistant Patrick Ewing is ready to take on a head coaching job, Robbins reports in the same piece.
- Robbins passes along another note about Earl Clark, who said he hasn't thought about his $1.24MM option for next season, but added, "I definitely want to be here. I don't want to be anywhere else."