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And-Ones: Knicks, Kings, Heat

June 25th, 2014 at 11:57pm CST by Cray Allred

It’s been a busy day around the league, and things could get even crazier tomorrow. Here’s a roundup of the night’s notes:

If Zach Randolph isn’t signed prior to the draft and the Grizzlies select a power forward, it could be an indication that Memphis is preparing to move on from Randolph, writes Ronald Tillery of Commercial Appeal.
A rival executive tells Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) that he could envision the Knicks breaking into the first round by flipping newly acquired Shane Larkin, as we speculated earlier tonight.
Beck tweets that the Knicks hope Jose Calderon‘s presence will help them lure Marc Gasol to New York when the dynamic center hits free agency before the 2015/16 season.
The Kevin Love talks between the Wolves and Warriors were “never off” and remain ongoing, tweets Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
The Kings primary concern is adding perimeter shooting, writes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I think it’s a very important factor for the draft,” GM Pete D’Alessandro told Jones. “I think it’s something we have to take seriously and take a strong look at, for sure.”
A person with knowledge of restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas‘s situation tells Sam Amick of USA Today that the point guard’s market value is between $4MM and $6MM per year.
Dwyane Wade has yet to make his decision regarding the early termination clause in his contract, but sources tell Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press that he, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh had a positive meeting regarding their offseason (Twitter link).

Latest On Kevin Love

June 25th, 2014 at 7:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

7:35pm: The talks between Minnesota and Golden State are not dead, Chad Ford of ESPN.com said as a guest on ESPN 710 LA (transcription via Basketball Insiders). A trade built around Love, Lee, and Thompson could still be worked out prior to free agency, since the Warriors would likely see themselves as credible suitors for LeBron James with a Stephen Curry/Love foundation.

3:57pm: The formal structure of a deal was never in place between the Cavs and Wolves, but Cleveland had been “fiercely determined” to trade for Love, Wojnarowski writes. Wojnarowski suggests that the No. 1 pick was a part of the talks, even if there was no offer, per se. Cleveland’s pursuit ended when agent Jeff Schwartz warned that Love wouldn’t re-sign, according to Wojnarowski. Love’s wish list is narrow, and Saunders has put trade discussions involving him “in neutral,” Wojnarowski hears.

2:33pm: Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio hears that the negotiations between Cleveland and Minnesota have been exploratory and “not yet serious enough to kill” (Twitter link).

2:00pm: The Cavs have yet to offer the top pick for Love, as Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press hears. Still, Krawczynski suggests there’s a decent chance that Love indeed made it clear he wouldn’t remain in Cleveland if traded there, discouraging the Cavs from making such an offer (Twitter links).

1:06pm: One day out from the draft, and Kevin Love trade discussions appear to be slow-going, at best. The Cavs made a push to deal the No. 1 pick for Love, but he would refuse to re-sign with Cleveland, and that’s halted those talks, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). At least one member of the Warriors braintrust wouldn’t be on board with a one-for-one trade of Love for Klay Thompson if it were a possibility, tweets Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. The prevailing logic within the Warriors front office is that an upgrade at power forward over David Lee that would break up the backcourt of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry isn’t worth it, the Bay Area News Group scribe adds.

Minnesota meanwhile has an eye toward waiting to see the offers from teams who miss out on Carmelo Anthony this summer, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders would prefer to try to convince Love to stay rather than take a trade offer that’s less than ideal, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Saunders is optimistic that his team will improve this coming season, but even “strong improvement” wouldn’t be enough to convince Love to stay, Bulpett hears.

The Wolves are wary of Boston’s reported proposal of Kelly Olynyk, picks Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, and a future first-round pick since it would require the Wolves to take back additional, likely player-friendly, contracts to make the salaries match, Bulpett writes. The Celtics are willing to discuss including the first-round picks the Nets owe them, according to Bulpett.

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.”

And-Ones: Frye, Thomas, Love, Lue

June 23rd, 2014 at 9:14pm CST by Zachary Links

There’s mutual respect between Channing Frye and Warriors coach Steve Kerr, as TNT’s David Aldridge notes in his latest Morning Tip column for NBA.com. The Warriors are reportedly eyeing the sharpshooting big man who’ll almost certainly opt out of his deal with the Suns.

It would “mean a lot” to Kings restricted free agent Isaiah Thomas to receive an offer sheet from the Lakers, writes Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. The guard grew up as a diehard Lakers fan and has idolized Kobe Bryant since he was a child, but he still spoke highly of the Kings and would like to return.
There have been mixed reports on this aspect of the Kevin Love talks, but Sam Amick of USA Today hears that the Warriors are very wary about taking on Kevin Martin‘s contract as a part of a deal. Meanwhile, despite the hangups in talks and the buzz that a deal with the Warriors is dead, Amick believes that things could pick up again between Golden State and the Wolves.
Sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue has agreed to become the associate head coach of the Cavaliers. Lue was considered a head coaching candidate for Cleveland but the Cavs opted to hire David Blatt instead.
Marquette forward Jamil Wilson worked out for the Mavericks today, according to Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times (on Twitter). Wilson has auditioned for about a dozen teams in total.
The Cavs will bring in Oregon’s Mike Moser and Iowa State’s Melvin Ejim for a workout on Tuesday, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.
The Suns worked out center Walter Tavares earlier today, Scotto tweets. The 7’3″ center is rising up draft boards around the league. DraftExpress currently has Tavares going to the Bucks with the No. 31 pick in their mock draft.
The Pistons will bring in DeAndre Daniels and Mike Moser for a workout on Wednesday, tweets Scotto.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Rumors: Love, Warriors, Duncan, Lakers

June 23rd, 2014 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

Sources tell Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher and Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that the Warriors trade talks for Kevin Love are “dead,” but Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune isn’t so sure (All Twitter links). The stumbling block appears to be Minnesota’s insistence on Klay Thompson and Golden State’s refusal to give him up, according to Holmes (on Twitter), but Zgoda insists neither Thompson nor Kevin Martin is the stumbling block. Rather, it has to do with whether Harrison Barnes or Draymond Green are involved in the deal, Zgoda says. Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

It appears as though the Spurs and Tim Duncan are considering a scenario in which Duncan would opt out and re-sign with the club for two years in a way that lowers team payroll and yet rewards the longtime star, tweets Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. Duncan’s option is worth more than $10.361MM.
The Lakers aren’t seriously considering a rumored trade proposal involving the No. 7 pick and Michael Carter-Williams, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. It’s more likely that the Lakers will make a deal that moves them back in the draft order, Deveney writes.
The Nuggets reportedly had interest in signing 2013 second-round pick Joffrey Lauvergne this summer, but the big man has signed a two-year deal with Khimki Moscow, Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia.

Ford’s Latest: Bulls, Sixers, Lakers, Afflalo

June 23rd, 2014 at 11:28am CST by Chuck Myron

The latest Insider-only mock draft from Chad Ford of ESPN.com is full of rumors, draft-related and otherwise. Let’s dive in and hit the highlights:

The Bulls are offering Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, and the 16th and 19th picks in this year’s draft to the Wolves, Ford hears. That’s presumably as part of a Kevin Love package, though Ford doesn’t make it clear exactly what Chicago wants back in return for those assets.
The Sixers continue to explore the idea of a Michael Carter-Williams trade as they seek another top-10 pick. The Lakers would like to acquire Carter-Williams and Thaddeus Young for No. 7 and Steve Nash, but they’ve gained no traction on that proposal, according to Ford.
The Magic have offered picks Nos. 4 and 12 plus Arron Afflalo to the Cavs and Bucks as they attempt to move into the top two, but neither Milwaukee nor Cleveland has bitten. They’re also dangling Afflalo to the Kings and Nuggets for the eighth and 11th selections, respectively.
The Bucks are looking for an additional lottery pick, Ford reports, citing “serious” interest from other teams in Larry Sanders, John Henson and Brandon Knight. The Nuggets have spoken with Milwaukee about the No. 11 pick, according to Ford.
A source close to both the Nuggets and Dario Saric deny that Denver has given him a promise to draft him at No. 11.
There are several other medical issues that came up in Joel Embiid‘s physical in addition to his foot and back, sources tell Ford. It’s unclear how much concern there is regarding them.

Woelfel On Ilyasova, Henson, Knight, Love

June 22nd, 2014 at 10:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The most likely member of the Bucks to be dealt is Ersan Ilyasova, writes Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. The general consensus among some NBA personnel is that Milwaukee could get a late first-round choice for the 27-year-old and there are teams in the back half of the draft looking for an impact power forward. Woelfel mentions the Suns, Thunder, and Rockets as possibilities. Here’s more from Woelfel’s column..

Bucks forward John Henson is also available and some team insiders claim that new owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens have given their blessing to possibly trading point guard Brandon Knight. Both would undoubtedly would bring back at least a mid-first round pick if dealt.
Bucks center Larry Sanders, who has been saddled by off-court issues and had a disappointing 2013/14, will be entering the first of a fully-guaranteed four-year, $44MM contract next season, making him virtually untradeable. However, some team may be willing to take him on if Ilyasova, Henson, or Knight were involved.
The Bucks hold the No. 2 overall pick plus Nos. 31, 36 and 48, but Woelfel cautions that we shouldn’t expect that to be the case on draft night.
When asked where they thought Wolves star Kevin Love would end up, two execs picked the Lakers, even though the Warriors seem to be the frontrunners
It’s generally assumed the 76ers will pick guard Dante Exum with the third overall pick, but a person close to Philly said Indiana forward Noah Vonleh is drawing interest as well.

Pacific Rumors: Suns, Love, MCW, Henry

June 21st, 2014 at 2:07pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Suns have brought in a multitude of point guards to their pre-draft workouts, and Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press suggests (on Twitter) that such a strategy might be indicative of the team’s willingness to ship off Eric Bledsoe or Goran Dragic in a trade for Kevin Love. Phoenix has been identified as a potential suitor for Love, but the club hasn’t been labeled as serious candidate to land the big man. Here’s more from out west:

The Warriors have been attempting to find a third team to include in a potential deal for Love, but a source close to the situation said it’s been “difficult,” passes along Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter).
Meanwhile, Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune notes (on Twitter) that the Warriors could land Love without involving a third team if they included both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in an offer.
Michael Carter-Williams has not been included in any of the rumored trade discussions between the Lakers and the Sixers, tweets Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
There’s mutual interest in a reunion between Xavier Henry and the Lakers, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, who adds that LA hopes to hang on to all of their role players with one-year, minimum salary deals.
Alvin Gentry‘s departure to Golden State opens up the Clippers’ top assistant spot to Tyronn Lue, and LA’s fondness for Lue is a major reason the team was open to letting Gentry walk, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News.

Wolves Unlikely To Move Love Before Season?

June 21st, 2014 at 11:39am CST by Cray Allred

11:39am: The Warriors want to to structure a smaller deal around Barnes and Lee for Love, which is substantially different from Minnesota’s wishes to build a deal around Thompson, Lee, and more pieces for both Love and Martin, writes Kawakami. The inclusion of Lee is understood as a necessity for any deal for both teams, per Kawakami.

11:14am: Wolfson hears that the rumored three-team deal involving Thompson and the Lakers No. 7 pick will not happen (Twitter link). Shelburne tweets that the Warriors have rebuffed calls from LA regarding such a trade.

10:57am: The talks between Minnesota and Golden State deal are indeed at an impasse, write Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. While the Wolves organization is reportedly torn on whether to retain Thompson in a Love deal, Shelburne says there is an “organizational split” in Golden State on whether to give up the shooting guard in a package for Love. Jerry West and Steve Kerr are in opposition to giving up both Thompson and a future first round pick, while others in the organization were prepared to complete a deal that would have sent Thompson, David Lee, and a pick to Minnesota in exchange Love and Martin.

10:40am: The Nuggets offer is likely off the table, now that Denver is “100% certain” that Love would not re-sign with them beyond this season, reports Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (via Twitter). Denver made the offer before knowing Love’s likelihood of re-signing in Denver, per Wolfson. Wolfson tells Hoops Rumors that he doubts the talks between Denver and Minnesota will be completely shut down, however, considering the history between Saunders and Nuggets GM Tim Connelly, who worked together with the Wizards.

9:17am: The Wolves are hesitant to acquire Thompson since he would soon be looking for a big contract, tweets Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times. Pincus says that the No. 7 pick wouldn’t be enough for Minnesota, so the Warriors would leverage that pick with their other assets in the three-team scenario. The LA Times scribe says that a deal involving the Lakers is not imminent since the Lakers wouldn’t be able to trade their pick until after the draft (Twitter links).

9:00am: Discussions for a three-team deal that would send Thompson to the Lakers, the seventh pick to the Wolves, and Love to the Warriors were recently put on hold, reports Mike Bresnahan of The Los Angeles Times. The snag was due to disagreement within the Minnesota front office on whether to it would be prudent to retain Thompson as part of a Love trade.

8:40am: The nature of the Wolves trade discussions is making it increasingly unlikely that they strike a deal for Kevin Love before the season begins, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said on an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz radio show. Since the Wolves aren’t in discussions with any teams at the very top of the draft, Wojnarowski said the pressure is off for Minnesota coach and president of basketball ops Flip Saunders to complete a trade prior to the draft, and his potential trading partners are also open to revisiting discussions once the season begins.

Wojnarowski doesn’t think the Celtics have an offer that the Wolves will bite at, and he thinks that Saunders is playing coy with one-sided offers to the Warriors. “Saunders is going around discussing deals that won’t happen, so he can go back to Love and his agent and say, ‘We tried, see you in training camp,’” the Yahoo! scribe said. His sources in Golden State tell him that the Warriors are not “desperate” to acquire Love and will not include both Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in a package for the All-Star forward, which is the package Wojnarowski says Minnesota wants. A league source confirmed to Tim Kawakami of Bay Area News Group that the Warriors will “flat out” not agree to the latest offers from Minnesota, and that Golden State is uninterested in taking back Kevin Martin in a deal as the Wolves are insisting (Twitter links).

The Nuggets were left out by Wojnarowski in the discussion of front-runners for Love. Presuming they are still involved in talks for Love, Denver would still fit the profile of the no-rush trade scenario for Minnesota, since they only own the No. 11 pick and are building their offer primarily around developed players.

Kevin Love Rumors: Friday

June 20th, 2014 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

The draft is less than a week away, and while the event itself will be a game-changer for many teams, there’s a decent chance that the most noteworthy move Thursday night will involve six-year veteran Kevin Love. Here’s the latest as trade talk around the Wolves star grows ever louder:

The Warriors have pulled into the lead in the race for Love, sources tell Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe, though no deal is imminent, and the Wolves are in no hurry to make a trade, Holmes also hears.
The Wolves have interest in Harrison Barnes as they discuss various scenarios with the Warriors, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The Celtics have so far offered a package of Kelly Olynyk, picks Nos. 6 and 17 in this year’s draft, and a future first-round pick, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Boston is willing to discuss different combinations as it seeks to satisfy the demands of the Wolves, but so far Minnesota hasn’t engaged in “true back-and-forth negotiation” with the Celtics, Bulpett writes.
If the Celtics can’t land Love, they’ll likely shift gears into a longer rebuilding that would eventually see them trade Rajon Rondo, Bulpett says in the same piece. A source tells Bulpett that an opposing team is ready to trade for Jeff Green if the Celtics are willing to let him go.
Still, in an appearance Thursday on ESPN, Rondo, who like Love can become a free agent next year, said he wouldn’t be upset if the Celtics didn’t end up with the Minnesota power forward, as Holmes notes in his piece. “No. I can’t go to sleep every night wanting to try to play with Kevin Love,” Rondo said. “Right now I’ve got to go with what we have now in our locker room and coach [Brad] Stevens, so that’s what I’m focused on now.”
The Bulls remain more zeroed in on Carmelo Anthony than Love, Stein writes in his piece, and the same goes for Houston, as Stein examines in a separate article. The Rockets are also readying a pitch to LeBron James should he be willing to listen, Stein adds.