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Eastern Notes: Fournier, Sixers, Nets, Wall

May 5th, 2016 at 12:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pistons targeted another Magic player before settling on the trade for Tobias Harris in February, and that player was likely Evan Fournier, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes in a slideshow of mostly far-fetched candidates to sign with the Pistons in free agency. Fournier is poised to become a restricted free agent in July, but Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who can match all competing bids for the swingman, expressed determination to keep him, and Fournier apparently wants to stay in Orlando.

See more from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Sixers struck deals to hire NBA Associate VP of basketball operations Ned Cohen to a high-ranking basketball operations job and Wizards VP of Scouting Marc Eversley as vice president of player personnel, report The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt and The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears (All Twitter links). Cohen and Eversley will presumably report to president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo. Many around the league regard Cohen highly and see him as a future GM, Wojnarowski tweets. Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post previously reported the Sixers were interviewing Eversley, who worked under Colangelo on the Raptors.
  • The Nets have added several to their front office, including former No. 5 overall draft pick Shelden Williams, who’ll serve as a pro scout, and U.S. circuit court law clerk Natalie Jay, who’ll work as a cap and contract specialist, as the team details via press release. Spurs staffer Andrew Baker joins the Nets as strategic planning coordinator and Stanford assistant coach Charles Payne will be a pro and college scout for Brooklyn, the team announced. The Nets also said they promoted Ryan Gisriel to director of basketball administration. Gisriel has served the team as an intern, special projects coordinator and as assistant to the GM since his hiring in 2013.
  • John Wall has undergone procedures on both knees, but he’s expected to be ready for the start of next season, the Wizards announced.
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Wizards Notes: Wall, Brooks, Durant, Porter

April 24th, 2016 at 12:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Wizards point guard John Wall insists that hiring Scott Brooks as the team’s new coach wasn’t a ploy to attract Kevin Durant, according to Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The Wizards are expected to be among the teams pursuing Durant in free agency, and Brooks served as his coach for seven seasons in Oklahoma City. Wall said he is “very excited” to have Brooks on board and says the move is about the current team, not about getting Durant’s attention. “We didn’t sign Scotty Brooks to say, ‘Okay, Scotty, go get him. You got to bring us Kevin Durant,’” Wall said. “We got Scotty Brooks because we feel like he can help John Wall and make him a better player and make our team get to the next step. We didn’t get Scotty Brooks just to get Kevin Durant. That’s not what Scott is on board to do. And I hope everybody doesn’t expect just because we got Scotty Brooks, he’s automatically going to get K.D., he’s going to automatically jump.”

There’s more news from Washington:

  • Durant said he’s happy to see Brooks get the opportunity in Washington, but he dismissed the idea that it will affect his free agency decision, tweets Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman. “I’m not really into theories,” Durant said. “I’m focused on [the playoff series with] the Mavericks.”
  • Otto Porter should continue to improve under Brooks, writes Ben Standig of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Standig expects Porter to be the clear starter at small forward entering next season and notes Brooks’ record of developing young players with the Thunder. Porter averaged 11.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game this season and is under contract to the Wizards through 2016/17.
  • Dez Wells doesn’t seem likely to rejoin the Wizards as he tries to earn a spot in the NBA, according to J. Michael of CSNMid-Atlantic. Wells hooked up with Washington after going undrafted last summer but suffered a thumb injury in mini-camp before summer league play. He spent the season with Oklahoma City’s affiliate in the D-League and is expected to stay associated with the Thunder this offseason.
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Southeast Notes: Batum, Nene, Whiteside, Wade

April 21st, 2016 at 12:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nicolas Batum has been “perfect” for the Hornets, contends Kemba Walker, who hopes the team shells out the money necessary to keep the swingman as he heads into free agency this summer, notes Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer. Still, it’s conceivable that Batum has played his final game for the team, as he suffered a sprained left ankle Wednesday in the second game of Charlotte’s first-round series versus the Heat. Teammate Al Jefferson doesn’t think he’ll be back at any point during the series, according to Justin Verrier of ESPN.com, and with the Hornets down 2-0, the outlook is bleak. Batum won’t rule out leaving for another team, but he’s said he wants to be back with Charlotte, as Fowler relays. “Our core is young, we signed our coach to an extension and we’re winning,” Batum said as the playoffs began. “We can have a great run here.”

See more from the Southeast Division:

  • Randy Wittman‘s refusal to criticize Nene was at the heart of the reason John Wall recently cited a lack of accountability on the Wizards, sources told J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Other Wizards players also saw it as part of the ex-coach’s declining favor within the locker room this past season, Michael writes. Wittman was also loath to criticize Ramon Sessions, who went so far as to ask the coach to be more critical of him, according to Michael. Washington fired Wittman last week, and Nene and Sessions are set to become free agents this summer.
  • Sessions has never been a full-time starter in any of his nine NBA seasons, but he said he’s gunning for a starting job as he approaches free agency, observes Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post.
  • Hassan Whiteside had plenty of praise for the Heat coaching staff and front office this week, a clear sign of his appreciation to Miami for helping revive his career, tweets Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post. Whiteside is No. 10 in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings.
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Wizards Plan To Contact Scott Brooks, Thibodeau

April 18th, 2016 at 11:19am CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 11:19am: Washington is the front-runner to land Brooks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Stein suggests the Rockets are Brooks’ top alternative but are at a disadvantage because they’re in the playoffs and their focus is on that.

5:18pm: The Wizards have made Brooks their top priority, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical relays.

FRIDAY, 9:59am: The Wizards plan to meet with Scott Brooks and Tom Thibodeau as they conduct their coaching search, a source tells Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. John Wall has said in the past that he would want the team to hire Brooks if the coaching job were to come open as it did Thursday, Castillo also hears. The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski first identified Brooks as a strong candidate for the position in the wake of the news that the team was firing Randy Wittman, though reports conflicted on Thibodeau’s candidacy. Team president Ernie Grunfeld said that he’ll head up the search to replace Wittman, whom the Wizards formally dismissed earlier Thursday.

Brooks’ most obvious attractive quality is his relationship with Kevin Durant, the Washington, D.C. native whom the Wizards have long planned to pursue when he becomes a free agent in July. Durant made a point Thursday of praising the job Brooks did as his coach from 2008 to 2015, as The Oklahoman’s Erik Horne relays. Still, the prevailing sentiment is that Brooks alone wouldn’t be enough to woo Durant to his hometown team, Castillo writes. Brooks is also reportedly believed to be waiting to see if the Lakers job opens.

A Wizards player who spoke to Castillo expressed concerns about the heavy workload Thibodeau is known for demanding from his players, and the former Bulls coach figures to command a high salary. Strong indications exist that Thibodeau is seeking player personnel power, as Chris Mannix of The Vertical reported earlier this week, and that would be tough to come by in Washington, where Grunfeld is apparently staying in charge of the front office. Still, the Wizards are prioritizing defensive acumen and NBA head coaching experience as they sort through candidates, as both Castillo and J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic hear, and Thibodeau checks both boxes.

Thibodeau won Coach of the Year honors in 2011, a year after Brooks took home the same award. Grunfeld has a history with both Brooks and Thibodeau, who served as a Knicks assistant coach for three of the years that Grunfeld was in charge of New York’s basketball operations, Castillo notes. Grunfeld agreed to hire Thibodeau as an assistant for then-Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan in 2007, but Thibodeau backed out of the deal before signing a contract, as Castillo also points out. Grunfeld acquired Brooks as a player for the Knicks in 1996 and traded him away a year later, Castillo recalls.

The Wizards also want their next coach to command accountability, as Wittman irritated players with his selective accountability, according to Castillo, who also mentions Jeff Hornacek, Mike D’Antoni, Sam Cassell, Mark Jackson, Kevin McHale, Nate McMillan, and Jay Wright as potential candidates. The team is indeed interested in Hornacek and D’Antoni, as previous reports have indicated.

Which coach do you think is the right fit for the Wizards? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

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Southeast Notes: Lin, Beal, Horford, Patterson

April 17th, 2016 at 8:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hornets point guard Jeremy Lin says Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson helped lay the groundwork for “Lin-sanity,” relays Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Atkinson, who will become the Nets’ new head coach once Atlanta’s playoff run is complete, aided in Lin’s development when both were with the Knicks. “I’ll text after a game at midnight, one o’clock when I go home,” Lin recalls, “and I’ll say, ‘Hey, can I look at those turnovers? Can I look at the upcoming team? How they run pick-and-rolls?’ And he’ll have the film ready when I walk into the facility the next morning. When I wasn’t playing much, we were working out before practice, and after practice, he was picking apart my game, teaching me what it’s like to play in Coach [Mike] D’Antoni’s system.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Restricted free agent Bradley Beal said he and backcourt partner John Wall both have to play better for the Wizards to be successful, according to J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. The fourth-year shooting guard was limited to a career-low 55 games this season and was placed on a minutes restriction after doctors found “the beginnings of a stress reaction in his lower right fibula” in December. “It’s been a rocky year in terms of injuries, offense changing, getting used to playing with new guys on the team and adjusting to a few things,” Beal said. “We both should’ve had a better year than we had. We should’ve carried the team a little better than what we did. We both can attest to it.”
  • The Hawks‘ Al Horford stands to more than double his salary in free agency and may change the perception of who deserves a max contract, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Horford is making $12MM this season, but when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer after completing his ninth NBA season, he will be eligible for a contract starting at approximately 30% of the salary cap, or about $26MM. Hamilton says that may seem expensive for a player who has never averaged 20 points per game, but Horford will likely define the market for fellow free agents Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, Mike Conley and Harrison Barnes.
  • The Hawks sent Lamar Patterson back to the Austin Spurs of the D-League to finish their playoff series, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Journal Constitution. Atlanta recalled Patterson on Friday after Tim Hardaway Jr. suffered a groin injury.
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Wizards Notes: Grunfeld, Dudley, Wittman

April 14th, 2016 at 4:52pm CST by Chuck Myron

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld will head the team’s search for a new coach in the wake of Randy Wittman‘s dismissal today, as Grunfeld told reporters, a remark that appears to remove lingering doubt about the executive’s future with the team, observes J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Earlier reports conflicted about Grunfeld’s job security, though he’s under contract through next season.

See more from Washington, where the Wizards reportedly have strong interest in Scott Brooks and others, as we passed along in our Wittman story.

  • Wizards players concluded that they couldn’t rely on the team’s coaches when they held a players-only meeting in January that veteran Jared Dudley organized, and Dudley criticized the coaching staff’s lack of adjustments in March, Michael notes, suggesting Wittman changed Dudley’s role in retaliation.
  • John Wall wants to see the Wizards re-sign soon-to-be free agents Dudley, Alan Anderson and Garrett Temple, Michael writes in a separate piece. Anderson is enthusiastic about a new deal with the team, and while Dudley is open to returning as long as Wittman isn’t around, he’s looking for the security of a long-term contract, according to Michael, who speculates Dudley is unlikely to be back.
  • The partial guarantee on Wittman’s salary for next season is $500K, sources tell Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post (Twitter link), so the Wizards are still responsible for paying that much to the fired coach.
  • Wittman issued a statement in which he said he believes the team is headed in the right direction as he thanked the organization for the opportunity to coach, as Castillo relays via Twitter.
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Southeast Notes: Beal, Batum, Dragic, Hawks

March 31st, 2016 at 9:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bradley Beal‘s harsh comments toward his teammates after Wednesday’s loss in Sacramento are a sign of underlying problems on the Wizards, contends J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Beal, who is headed toward restricted free agency this summer, said the team isn’t “hungry enough” and seemed to give up in the closing moments of the game. “We bark too much,” Beal said. “We say what we need to do. We scream at one another. We can even try to blame [coach Randy Wittman] if we want to, but at the end of the day we still the ones playing. … We just do dumb mental lapses that just mess up the game and end up hurting us in the long run.” Michael thinks Beal and John Wall need to get together as team leaders and work out whatever personal differences they have with each other before their relationship is too far gone.

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

  • Nicolas Batum figures to be the most sought after among a large group of Hornets free agents, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Contracts for Marvin Williams, Courtney Lee and Al Jefferson will also expire at the end of the season and Jeremy Lin has the choice to opt out, but Batum has risen above the crowd with his versatile play. “I’ve been around teams where people think about their contract and their personal situation. I can’t understand that,” Batum said. “With this team, we know if we do great as a team, if we all do our jobs, everything will work out.”
  • If the Heat were giving any thought to trading point guard Goran Dragic and pursuing Grizzlies free agent Mike Conley, Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald says Dragic has changed their minds with his recent performance. “We love Goran,” said team president Pat Riley. “Now he’s playing like The Dragon. His game has opened up. I’m very happy that we have this point guard.”
  • The Hawks plan to keep Lamar Patterson and Edy Tavares with the Austin Spurs through the D-League team’s playoff run, according to Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Both rookies have spent extensive time in the D-League this season. Tavares, a 7’3″ center, has played in 27 games for the affiliates of the Spurs, Suns and Cavs, while Patterson has been in 17 games with San Antonio’s and Cleveland’s D-League teams.
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J.R. Smith To Drop CAA, Hire Klutch Sports

March 24th, 2016 at 10:00am CST by Chuck Myron

J.R. Smith is in the midst of parting with agent Leon Rose and the Creative Artists Agency and plans to sign with Rich Paul of the LeBron James-backed Klutch Sports Group, reports Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It’s the latest step in the growing bond between Smith and James, who’ve strengthened their connection on the court and off since Smith arrived in Cleveland via trade in January 2015, Haynes writes. Smith is on an unusual two-year contract that includes a player option and partially guaranteed salary for next season.

That deal came at the end of a frustrating summer for Smith, who turned down a player option worth nearly $6.4MM and lingered on the market for about two months before agreeing to a $5MM salary for this season. The partial guarantee on next season’s $5.375MM salary is worth only $2.2MM, though it increases to a full guarantee if he remains under contract through September 7th.

Smith will join James and fellow Cavs teammate Tristan Thompson as clients of Paul. The swingman represents the latest score for Klutch, which also landed Ben Simmons, a prime contender for the No. 1 overall pick who announced his selection of Klutch on Wednesday. John Wall left Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports to sign with Paul earlier this season.  CAA has also otherwise had a strong year so far, landing Joel Embiid as well as soon-to-be free agent Pau Gasol.

The 30-year-old Smith has had a reputation for inconsistent play and stirred controversy in the past, but he was recently cleared of any wrongdoing in a case involving an incident outside a New York nightclub. Coach Tyronn Lue is impressed with Smith’s growth, as Haynes relays.

“Just talking to him the other day after the game, just hearing his maturity. I think him taking that step he took this summer, I think that’s helped him off the court,” Lue said. “And then on the court, every night, he’s giving us effort every single night. He’s playing hard. He’s competing and that’s all we can ask of J.R. It’s been good because I’ve known him since he was 18 years old, just to see the growth and how he’s matured over the years.”

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2016 NBA All-Star Game Reserves Announced

January 28th, 2016 at 6:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA has officially announced the reserves for the 2016 All-Star game, which will be played at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday, February 14th. The names of the reserves were first reported by Carron J. Phillips of The News Journal and confirmed by Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (All four Twitter links). The starters for both conferences were announced last week, with Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard voted to tip off the exhibition in the West and LeBron James, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Kyle Lowry slated to represent the East.

While the starters are selected by the fans, reserves are chosen by the coaches in each conference, though they are not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Listed below are the reserves for the 2016 NBA All-Star game for each conference:

Eastern Conference

Western Conference

Who was the biggest surprise among the All-Star reserves announced tonight? Share your thoughts with a comment.

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John Wall Changes Agents, Hires Rich Paul

January 26th, 2016 at 2:17pm CST by Chuck Myron

JANUARY 26TH, 2:17pm: Wall has officially hired Paul and the Klutch Sports Group, a spokesperson for Paul told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

2:21pm: Wall will sign with Paul, as Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer has been told, but Wall said to TNT’s David Aldridge that he hasn’t signed with anyone yet, calling his departure from Fegan a “long story” (Twitter links).

2:04pm: Wall is leaning toward signing with Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, the agent for LeBron James, as sources have indicated to Heitner (Twitter link).

JANUARY 12TH, 1:53pm: John Wall has fired agent Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports, as sources tell Darren Heitner of Forbes and the Sports Agent Blog, and as Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post confirms (Twitter link). Wall is in the second season of a five-year, maximum-salary extension worth $84,789,500 that Fegan negotiated for him in 2013. The Wizards point guard seemed to express frustration this summer about having missed out on the projected escalations to the salary cap, pointing to the five-year, $80MM contract Reggie Jackson signed with the Pistons. Wall could have been an unrestricted free agent this summer if he had played out his rookie scale contract and signed a qualifying offer with the Wizards in 2014, but that would have meant a significant financial sacrifice last season, and players rarely turn down max extensions. Still, the deal doesn’t include a player option on the final season, a feature that many max extensions have.

Fegan is one of the NBA’s most powerful agents, though his client list took a hit over the offseason in the wake of the DeAndre Jordan saga. Jordan dropped him and fellow agent Jarinn Akana in August, more than a month after his about-face on his decision to sign with the Mavericks. Fegan has close ties to Mavs owner Mark Cuban. Austin Rivers, the son of Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers, also left Relativity in 2015 after a brief time with the agency, and Relativity lost Ed Davis, too, as Heitner points out (on Twitter). However, Jordan, Rivers and Davis all departed after signing free agent deals, so Fegan and his partners are still getting their percentages.

Happy Walters, another prominent Relativity agent, left the agency this past fall. Fegan still has a long list of NBA clients, including DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons.

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