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Western Notes: Stephenson, Felton, Murray

June 11th, 2016 at 12:50pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Grizzlies have a tough decision to make regarding their 2016/17 team option worth $9,405,000 for Lance Stephenson, Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal notes in his offseason look at the team’s shooting guards. While Stephenson’s cap hit would likely be a bargain in comparison to many of the contracts expected to be handed out this summer, Memphis may ultimately decide to decline the option and test the market before circling back to Stephenson if other avenues don’t work out, Herrington opines. The 25-year-old produced some solid numbers for the Grizzlies after being acquired from the Clippers during the season. In 26 appearances for Memphis, Stephenson notched averages of 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.6 minutes per contest.

Here’s more from out West:

Unrestricted free agent point guard Raymond Felton noted that he would prefer to re-sign with the Mavericks this offseason, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (Twitter links). “Of course, this is where I want to be. I’d love to come back here, so hopefully we can make that happen,” Felton said. “It’s a process. … I’m out of it now. My agent and the organization, it’s their situation now.” Felton, 31, appeared in 80 games for Dallas this past season, averaging 9.5 points and 3.6 assists on 40.6% shooting.
Former Washington combo guard Dejounte Murray worked out for the Suns on Friday, the team announced. The 19-year-old is currently projected as a second-rounder by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, who slots the scoring guard as the No. 32 overall prospect in the 2016 NBA Draft. Murray is a talented player with a high upside and I expect that he’ll ultimately be a mid-to-late first round pick, though that is merely my speculation.
The Lakers held private workouts on Friday for forward Jaylen Brown (California) and big man Skal Labissière (Kentucky), Baxter Holmes of ESPNLosAngeles tweets.

Pacific Rumors: Curry, Olympics, Clippers, Suns

June 6th, 2016 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

Stephen Curry is just two wins away from his second consecutive NBA championship, but whether or not the Warriors finish off the Cavaliers, this year’s MVP reportedly won’t try to add a 2016 Olympic gold medal to his résumé. According to Marcus Thompson of The Bay Area News Group, Curry has decided not to play in this year’s Olympics in Brazil, opting instead to let his right knee heal.

While Curry’s decision to get healthy doesn’t come as a surprise, it remains to be seen how many other NBA players will back out of the Olympics in Brazil due to health or safety concerns. Thompson writes that other Warriors players like Andre Iguodala and Klay Thompson could opt out due to concerns about the Zika virus epidemic, but neither has informed USA Basketball of such a decision at this point. For his part, Draymond Green tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link) that he “would love to play” in Rio this summer.

Let’s check out a few more updates from out of the Pacific…

The Clippers are telling player agents that they’re trying to move up in the first round of the draft, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). It’s not clear whether or not Los Angeles, currently slated to pick 25th and 33rd, is eyeing a particular prospect.
Former California forward Jaylen Brown, projected as a potential top-10 pick, has a solo workout today with the Suns, who hold the No. 4 and No. 13 picks in this year’s draft (Twitter link).
Manhattan’s Jermaine Lawrence‘s pre-draft workout with the Warriors was originally scheduled to take place today, but it has been pushed back to June 11th, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Bickerstaff, Fizdale, Brown

June 2nd, 2016 at 7:41pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff and the Grizzlies have reached agreement for him to become associate head coach on David Fizdale‘s staff, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (via Twitter). The Lakers and the Suns were also interested in adding Bickerstaff to their respective coaching staffs, Wojnarowski adds. Bickerstaff had a 37-34 record with Houston after taking over for the fired Kevin McHale in November. He had pulled his name out of consideration in the Rockets’ coaching search prior to Mike D’Antoni being hired.

Here’s more from out West:

Fizdale’s deal with Memphis is for four years and approximately $10.2MM, Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal relays. The head coach will earn $2MM in each of his first two seasons, $3MM his third year and the final season is a team option worth $3.25MM, Tillery notes. Former NBA player Nick Van Exel, who coached the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League, also accepted a position on Fizdale’s staff, Tillery adds.
Warren LeGarie, the agent for former Cavs and Lakers head coach Mike Brown, refutes the report that his client had any interest in joining the Grizzlies as an assistant, Tillery relays in the same piece. “It’s never been true nor was there ever a possibility,” LeGarie, said. “Mike was asked and politely declined. We have no idea why one writer from ESPN continues to feed the narrative. I’ve never been called by him to confirm or deny and it’s just pure speculation without any legitimacy. That’s just irresponsible.”
Former California swingman Jaylen Brown has a workout scheduled with the Pelicans on Friday, Brett Dawson of The Advocate relays (via Twitter).
Big man Marreese Speights, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, isn’t sure if the team will be able to re-sign him this offseason, but noted that he prefers to remain with the Warriors, Carl Steward of The Bay Area News Group relays. “It’s been a hell of a lot of fun,” Speights said. “I feel like I put myself in position on this team and in this city to make a name for myself and be one of the core guys who’s been here. It would be best to be back here, but I understand it’s a business. I’m going to give everything in these Finals, and after that, whatever happens happens.“

Draft Rumors: Chriss, Kings, Trade Candidates

June 2nd, 2016 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Washington power forward Marquese Chriss figures to be one of the first several players to come off the board three weeks from tonight – the latest mock draft at DraftExpress has him being picked third by Boston – but it sounds as if Chriss wouldn’t mind still being available at No. 8. As Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes, Chriss grew up in the Sacramento area, and would love to play for the Kings, who hold the No. 8 pick and are “ready for any scenario” with that selection, per James Ham of CSN California.

“That would be everything,” Chriss said of the possibility of playing for the Kings. “It would be cool, my family could come to half the games. To be in an environment with a new arena, they’re rebuilding their program, that would be really cool.”

As we look forward to seeing where Chriss lands, let’s round up a few more draft rumors and updates, including a couple more from Deveney…

League sources tell Deveney that, while the 76ers and Lakers are expected to hang onto the top two picks in the draft, six other lottery teams may be looking to deal. The Timberwolves (No. 5), Raptors (No. 9), Bucks (No. 10), Magic (No. 11), Jazz (No. 12), and Suns (No. 13) are all believed to be open to trades involving their picks, per Deveney. Phoenix also holds the No. 4 overall selection, but likely wouldn’t want to move that one.
Texas A&M prospect Danuel House has a busy workout schedule, according to Deveney. House has worked out for the 76ers and Celtics, and will work out for the Knicks, Hawks, Lakers, Mavericks, and Timberwolves within the next couple weeks. The Suns and Pistons are also expected to be added to his list of visits, per Deveney, who says House looked good against Cal freshman Jaylen Brown at his workout with Boston.
Fran Fraschilla of ESPN (Twitter link) hears that the Raptors are “fans” of Isaiah Whitehead. Toronto holds the No. 27 pick, and while Fraschilla seems confident the Seton Hall guard will be a first-round pick, other draft experts aren’t so sure — Whitehead ranks 39th on Chad Ford’s big board at ESPN.com, and 57th on Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress.com board.
According to the team’s official website, the Bucks had the following six prospects in for a pre-draft workout today: Michael Gbinije (Syracuse), Josh Adams (Wyoming), Isaiah Miles (St. Joe’s), Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Tonye Jekiri (Miami), and Mike Tobey (Virginia).
Chip Williams of Upside and Motor identifies five prospects who benefited from the draft’s new rules and deadlines for early entrants.

And-Ones: Zanik, Kidd, Brown, Cousins

May 28th, 2016 at 9:56pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks will hire Justin Zanik as GM-in-waiting and are working on a contract extension for coach Jason Kidd, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Currently an assistant GM in Utah, Zanik will have a similar title with the Bucks. A provision of the move is that Zanik will eventually take over for Milwaukee GM John Hammond, although it’s uncertain when that will happen. Hammond has been GM of the Bucks since 2008 and has one year left on his contract.

There’s more from around the basketball world:

California forward Jaylen Brown worked out for the Bucks, Raptors and Sixers today, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. A source told Spears that Brown was in “great shape” and “super explosive.” He is expected to be a top 10 pick and could be in the running for the No. 3 choice. New Timberwolves GM Scott Layden also traveled to California to see Brown and came away impressed, tweets Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities.
Oklahoma point guard Isaiah Cousins worked out for the Suns on Friday, and has upcoming sessions with the Raptors on Tuesday and the Hawks on Thursday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv.
Anthony Bennett and Quinn Cook were the most recognizable players invited to a Nets mini-camp this week, according to NetsDaily. Bennett, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 draft, played 19 games with the Raptors last season. Cook, the point guard on Duke’s 2015 NCAA title team, was cut by the Cavaliers in training camp. Also receiving invitations were Alex Stepheson, Scotty Hopson, Alex Kirk, Jerrelle Benimon, Fuquan Edwin, D.J. Newbill, Will Cummings, Jarrid Famous, Victor Rudd, Josh Magette and Joel Wright. International journalist David Pick says the Nets are planning another session.

Draft Notes: Sixers, Dunn, Bentil, Briscoe

May 22nd, 2016 at 8:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Fresh off securing the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft, the Sixers won’t limit their options to LSU’s Ben Simmons and Duke’s Brandon Ingram, writes Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Philadelphia is planning workouts for California forward Jaylen Brown, Providence point guard Kris Dunn and Kentucky combo guard Jamal Murray, Spears reports. The Sixers may also offer invitations to Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield and Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Dragan Bender. “The media has their darlings and that is perfectly fine,” Brown said of the attention surrounding Simmons and Ingram. “I’m just here to prove that I’m in the conversation with those two, if not better.” Brown also issued a challenge to the projected top two picks, saying, “Do they want to work out [against] me? I think that’s the question.”

There’s more draft-related news as Wednesday’s deadline for underclassmen to return to school approaches:

The results of Tuesday’s lottery may push Dunn out of the top five, according to Derek Bodner of USA Today. Bodner believes the best scenario for Dunn would have been for the Lakers to drop to No. 4 and ship their pick to the Sixers, who need help at point guard. If Simmons and Ingram are the first players selected, the next three teams — the Celtics, Suns and Wolves — all have established point guards on their roster.
Providence power forward Ben Bentil, who announced earlier today that he is staying in the draft, will work out for the Pacers Monday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. The sophomore will have a session in Orlando later this week.
Kentucky freshman Isaiah Briscoe has a workout scheduled this week for the Hawks, Zagoria tweets. Briscoe hasn’t decided whether to stay in the draft or return to school.
Briscoe will work out for the Wolves Monday, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link). Joining Briscoe will be Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet, BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, Florida’s Dorian Finney-Smith, Louisiana-Monroe’s Majok Deng and South Carolina’s Michael Carrera.
The Jazz believe in volume when it comes to workouts, writes Jody Genessy of The Deseret News. Utah hosted Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey, Indiana’s Yogi Ferrell, Finney-Smith, Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes, Xavier’s Jalen Reynolds and Mississippi State’s Gavin Ware on Sunday, and expects to work out dozens more before draft day. “We’re trying to find players, not only possibly for the Jazz but also for the [D-League Salt Lake City] Stars,” said vice president of player personnel Walt Perrin. “Get to know as many people as possible.”

And-Ones: Lakers, Shaw, Brown

May 19th, 2016 at 10:46pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Lakers were able to keep their 2016 first-rounder when they landed the No.2 overall pick in Tuesday’s lottery. The team still owes Philadelphia and Orlando a first round pick each and Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders breaks down the possible pick exchanges in a series of tweets. Los Angeles sends its 2017 first-rounder to Philly if it falls outside the top-3. If the Sixers get the 2017 pick, then the Magic receive the Lakers’ unprotected 2019 selection. If it doesn’t convey in 2017, then the Lakers send their 2018 unprotected pick to Philly and they wouldn’t owe Orlando a first-rounder at all. Instead, the Magic would receive a 2017 second-rounder and a 2018 second-rounder. Los Angeles is in this predicament because of its 2012 trade for Dwight Howard and its 2012 trade for Steve Nash.

Here are some notes on the upcoming draft:

The Lakers have offered Brian Shaw a spot on their coaching staff, but the former Nuggets coach is still weighing his options, reports Bill Oram of The Los Angeles Daily News.
Jaylen Brown, who’s a projected top-10 pick, won’t sign an agent. Instead, he will use the NBPA to advise him on his rookie deal, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical tweets.
Memphis’ Dedric Lawson has withdrawn from the draft, as his father tells Gary Parrish of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
Abdul-Malik Abu will withdraw from the draft and return to NC State, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Jalen Moore will withdraw from the draft and return to Utah State, Goodman tweets.
The Bucks have worked out Tim Quarterman, Anthony Barber, Melo Trimble, Ron Baker, Anthony Gill and Devin Williams, per the team’s website.

And-Ones: USA Basketball, Richardson, Murray

May 15th, 2016 at 12:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Paring the USA Basketball roster from 20 to 12 players will be difficult and controversial, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe writes. Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and Anthony Davis will sit out the Rio Olympics because of injuries but managing director Jerry Colangelo has added young players like Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond, DeMarcus Cousins, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyrie Irving to the mix, complicating the selection process. Colangelo told Washburn and other members of the media that players will be selected based on position need as well as their performance in recent NBA seasons.

In other news around the league:

Syracuse freshman forward Malachi Richardson saw his stock rise higher than any other player during the draft combine, ESPN Insider Chad Ford reports. Richardson is one of the few wings in this draft with the size, speed and skills to get his own shot, according to Ford. He also has potential as a long-range shooter and that’s why his draft stock has elevated to the 12-20 range, Ford continues. On the other end of the spectrum, California forward Jaylen Brown made have damaged his chances of going in the top 10 with poor interviews, Ford adds.
There’s still very little separation between LSU forward Ben Simmons and Duke small forward Brandon Ingram regarding the No. 1 overall pick, Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets. Some teams are leaning toward Simmons, while others favor Ingram heading into the lottery, Howard-Cooper adds.
Kentucky point guard Jamal Murray interviewed with the Timberwolves during the draft combine, Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News tweets. Murray is currently rated No. 6 by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and No. 3 on Ford’s Big Board.
Iowa State power forward Georges Niang interviewed with the Nets, according to NetsDaily.com (Twitter link). Niang is considered a late second-round prospect.

Southeast Notes: Skiles, Wade, Combine

May 14th, 2016 at 2:56pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Scott Skiles has likely damaged his reputation around the league after resigning from his post as head coach of the Magic after one season, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel writes. But even if another NBA team were interested in hiring Skiles, his contract with Orlando included a non-compete agreement that would prevent such a move for approximately two seasons, Schmitz notes. Thunder coach Billy Donovan had a similar arrangement with the team after he backed out of an agreement to coach Orlando in 2007, the scribe adds.

One of the major issues between Skiles and the team was the lack of personnel input the coach had, Schmitz relays. GM Rob Hennigan has a clear plan in mind for the direction of the franchise, one that wasn’t apparently endorsed by the former coach, though the executive notes that communication was solid between the pair, Schmitz writes. “We had good dialogue throughout the course of the season and good dialogue means lots of different things,” Hennigan said. “It means disagreements, arguments, debates and jokes. We certainly had all of that.”

Here’s more from the Southeast Division:

Dwyane Wade‘s solid 2015/16 campaign and postseason makes it unlikely once again that he would agree to a discounted annual salary in the range of $12MM, which was the Heat‘s initial offer to the veteran last May, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes. Wade, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, ended up inking a one-year, $20MM deal with Miami.
Kentucky sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis interviewed with the Hawks at the NBA combine in Chicago, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (via Twitter). Also interviewing with Atlanta was California freshman forward Jaylen Brown, Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution tweets.
Maryland junior power forward Robert Carter met with representatives from the Wizards at the combine this week and the player noted that one of the team’s focal points was him having a solid character, Daniel Martin of CSNMid-Atlantic relays. “They’ve seen me a lot. They say they’ve seen me play a lot,” Carter said. “Everybody was in there, pretty much everybody. The whole staff, GM, president, everybody was in there and they just talked to me about what type of person I am and I said, ‘Hopefully a good person.’ But they just talked to me about my game and that was pretty much it.“

Draft Combine Update: Friday Evening

May 13th, 2016 at 8:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Kansas freshman power forward/center Cheick Diallo intends to sign with an agent and remain in the 2016 NBA Draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports. “My time at Kansas was hard; the beginning was really hard,” Diallo said. “The NCAA stuff made it difficult for me, but even though I didn’t always play a lot, I loved being at Kansas and loved supporting my teammates. This is the time for me to go to the next level. And I’m trying to show the NBA the things I do well: block shots, rebound and run the floor. I can guard multiple positions.”

The 19-year-old is currently ranked No. 32 overall by Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, but Diallo is likely to climb in those rankings in the near future based on his strong showing during the combine, though that is merely my speculation. Here’s more from Chicago’s big event:

A number of scouts still aren’t sold on Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere despite the reports he wowed teams with his solo workout at the combine, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. “A guy makes shots in an empty gym?” a league executive told Deveney. “That makes him top 10? I don’t think so. We know he is a pretty good shooter. I think he has a lot of potential. He could go in the lottery, and maybe top 10. But he has a lot to prove in workouts.“
Former Providence point guard Kris Dunn said he’d love to play for the Pelicans if they were to select him this June, citing the presence of power forward Anthony Davis as his primary reason, Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com relays. “[It’s] definitely [appealing],” said Dunn. “For any point guard who’s going there. Who wouldn’t want to play with [Davis]? He’s definitely a superstar, up there with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and all those guys. To be able to play with a guy like that, it’s only going to help me. He makes the game a lot easier for point guards.”
Both Jaylen Brown (California) and Gary Payton II (Oregon State) described their interviews with Kings executive Vlade Divac as “fun,” with Brown also noting that the mood was lighter and less stressful than other interviews he has participated in, Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter links).
The Lakers interviewed Marquette freshman center Henry Ellenson today, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News tweets.
Utah sophomore center Jakob Poeltl interviewed with the Pelicans, Brett Dawson of The New Orleans Advocate (Twitter links). New Orleans also sat down with Diallo, the scribe adds.