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Western Notes: Lakers, Love, Curry, Grizzlies

May 29th, 2014 at 7:10pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jeanie Buss will have have a hand in helping Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss find the team’s next head coach, report Mike Bresnahan and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times, who add that the three Lakers executives will present a recommendation to the other four Buss siblings — Joey, Jesse, Johnny Buss, and Janie Buss Drexel — once the list of coaching candidates is narrowed down.

A person familiar with the team’s coaching search tells Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News that eliciting the input of other members of the Buss family doesn’t imply that the next Lakers head coach will be decided by committee. “Does that mean (everyone involved) will decide who the coach is going to be? No…It’s not like there’s going to be seven people making that decision.” 

Here’s more out of the Western Conference tonight, including more from the purple-and-gold:

  • According to Medina, the Lakers anticipate that the feedback of the four other Buss siblings will address logistical issues, such as the length and amount of the coaching contract, rather than the selection of the coach.
  • The Timberwolves want Kevin Love to stay in Minnesota, but team GM Milt Newton is confident about moving forward if they can’t find a way to retain the star big man. “If (keeping Love isn’t) the case, you best believe we’ll be a better team based on what happens.” Newton also says that plenty of teams are “planting seeds early” on the trade market right now to let other clubs know what their intent is (Twitter links via Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune).
  • Stephen Curry spoke about his raw feelings concerning the Warriors ouster of Mark Jackson, but he hasn’t lost faith in the organization and is anxious to continue his dialogue with new coach Steve Kerr, as the star guard told reporters today. Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle provides a transcript, which also includes Curry’s comments supporting a new deal for Klay Thompson.
  • Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger said that he’ll have input on the process of hiring a new general manager in Memphis, reports Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. “The plan is not going to be revealed. But the process has begun.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

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And-Ones: Love, Sterling, Nets

May 19th, 2014 at 10:33pm CST by Cray Allred

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck tells Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe that Boston won’t start any serious trade discussions until the lottery is over. “Nothing has been discussed until we see the pick,” Grousbeck said. “When we see what pick it is, the phones will start ringing and we’ll start answering the phones.” Here’s more from around the league:

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Pacific Rumors: Kings, Thompson, Lakers

May 9th, 2014 at 7:40pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are canvassing their fans for input on this year’s draft, and GM Pete D’Alessandro will meet with those who submit the best ideas for player evaluation and invite a few of them into the team’s war room on draft night, as he explained in a Reddit chat today. Whether he’ll actually listen or if it’s just a publicity stunt remains to be seen, but it’s another example of the experimental approach the new Kings brass has been taking. Here’s more from the Pacific Division:

  • The Kings will favor the best player available over positional needs in the draft, D’Alessandro also said on Reddit.
  • Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group suggests that Klay Thompson will wind up with $12MM annual salaries in an extension from the Warriors this summer (Twitter link). Co-owner Joe Lacob has vowed to strike a deal with the shooting guard.
  • Kobe Bryant, in an appearance Thursday on Jimmy Kimmel Live, said he wants the Lakers to consult him on their next coach and claimed they didn’t do so when they hired Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni, but that’s revisionist history, writes Bleacher Report’s Kevin Ding. Bryant is on record as having said he spoke with co-owner Jim Buss about D’Antoni during the team’s 2012 coaching search, Ding points out.
  • Bryant also said on Kimmel’s show that he “didn’t care” whether the Lakers retained D’Antoni, who resigned last week. Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com rounds up more from Bryant’s turn on late-night TV.
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Warriors Plan To Keep Klay Thompson

April 24th, 2014 at 3:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob acknowledged before the trade deadline that the team had received inquiries about Klay Thompson, and while he said then that the team wasn’t anxious to move him, he was even more forthcoming today in expressing his desire to keep the shooting guard. Thompson is eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer that would keep him from restricted free agency next year, and Lacob promised on 95.7 The Game that the team would get a deal done, as Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group tweets.

“We are going to re-sign Klay Thompson,” Lacob said. “I will say that unequivocally.”

It’s unclear whether he’s talking about an extension or a new contract next summer, but Lacob’s comment demonstrates the team’s level of commitment to the sharpshooting 24-year-old. The remark also puts pressure on GM Bob Myers, since Thompson’s representatives at BDA Sports Management will know going into negotiations that Myers’ boss wants to come away with a deal.

The Warriors wound up with a bargain with they signed Stephen Curry to a four-year, $44MM extension in 2012 amid concerns about his oft-injured ankles. Curry has remained largely healthy since and blossomed into a superstar. His backcourt mate has made strides, too, as Thompson’s 18.4 points per game and 41.7% three-point shooting this season are both career highs.

Lacob has appeared impatient this season amid rumors of upheaval surrounding the coaching staff. His strong desire to keep Thompson is in sharp juxtaposition to his lack of promises for coach Mark Jackson, who, like Thompson, is set to head into the final season of his contract in 2014/15.

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Warriors Owner On Jackson, Thompson, Barnes

February 12th, 2014 at 8:36am CST by Chuck Myron

Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob didn’t necessarily expect to contend for a title this year, but he did envision the team becoming a “serious competitor” for a top-four finish in the Western Conference, as he tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group. Golden State is in sixth place, four games back of the Clippers and Rockets, who are tied for fourth. The Warriors are just two and a half games up on ninth place Memphis. It’s left Lacob a “little disappointed,” but “not overly concerned yet,” he says. With plenty of trade rumors surrounding the Warriors, Lacob had much more to say to Kawakami, and while the entire piece is worth a read, we’ll share the highlights here:

On coach Mark Jackson:

“Of course there’s pressure on him. Just like there’s pressure on the players, there’s pressure on Mark, too. There’s on me, pressure on (GM) Bob Myers … and you know what? We should all be happy we have that pressure, because the truth is that means we’re relevant. If there’s no pressure and no expectations, that means we’re in rebuild mode and still coming. I don’t think that’s the case. We’re good. Whether we are achieving our expectations or not, we’ll look at the end of the year and see what we did. Maybe he is feeling it a little and he should be feeling pressure. That’s a good thing. I feel the pressure for this team to perform. We’ve invested a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of thinking, a lot of effort, and we’re going to continue to do so. I certainly feel pressure and some weight of expectation and I’m very happy to feel those things because it means we’ re getting somewhere.”

On how he’ll assess Jackson and others:

“I think you’re always evaluating everybody, whether it be the players, the coaches … it’s hard to know, if you don’t quite win a few games you should, is it the coach’s fault? Is it the players’ fault? It’s hard to say. I think we’ll have to look back on a body of work at the end of the season and look at that and make an evaluation. I do think our coach has done a good job; we have had some big wins, a lot of wins on the road, and that’s usually a sign of good coaching. But some things are a little disturbing; the lack of being up for some of these games at home, that’s a concern to me.”

On the team’s approach to the trade deadline:

“Very aggressive. I don’t think I would answer that differently any year. Honestly, I don’t even know how you think about it any other way. You should always be very aggressive, should always be looking to improve your team. Now it’s not clear we’ll be able to do that. There’ve been a lot of discussions, that’s what I hear around the league, but we’ll just have wait and see. We’re not going to make a move just to make a move. Certainly there are certain parts of the roster that we’d like to improve. No matter how good we are, we’d probably have that attitude. There’s no real limit on what we can do. Bob Myers has the ability, he knows, to propose anything to ownership, even if it means going into luxury tax, if means using those trade exceptions. We’ll consider all things.”

On the assertion that everyone except Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut is available for a trade:

“That specific statement has been out there. But I think we’d be very reluctant to trade any of our core pieces; we like our core. And our young core players–Curry, Klay (Thompson) and (Harrison) Barnes — a lot of teams like them because we’re getting specific trade proposals on a daily basis about those players. We are not anxious nor are we likely to make a move involving those players. Everyone wants what we have, young pieces. And we also have some important veteran players in our core and you need a mix of the two. … It’s obvious we need to get a little better, need a little more bench production and we need to jell a little more. We just haven’t quite hit our stride. Hopefully we hit that; we’ve got 30 games left to do it and make a strong run to the playoffs.”

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Lowe’s Latest: Granger, Ariza, Turner, Warriors

February 11th, 2014 at 9:42am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers have been actively looking to deal away Danny Granger, but have had little success, and the same is true for the Wizards and their attempts to unload Trevor Ariza‘s expiring contract, writes Grantland’s Zach Lowe. The Grantland scribe also seconds a report from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports that Washington is looking for a backup point guard. Lowe’s latest column focuses on the trade deadline, which is just nine days away, and we’ll pass along the highlights of a rumor-packed piece here:

  • The Bobcats are “absolutely serious” about their pursuit of Evan Turner, Lowe writes, pointing to the connection between David Falk, who serves as Turner’s agent, and Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, a former Falk client. The Sixers are a lock to be “super active” as the deadline approaches, according to Lowe.
  • Sources tell Lowe that the Warriors aren’t ready to trade Klay Thompson or Harrison Barnes, in spite of the team’s struggles.
  • Executives around the league are high on Alexey Shved, but the Timberwolves probably wouldn’t be able to get a game-changer in return for him.
  • The Heat are ready to waive either Roger Mason Jr. or Toney Douglas to open up a roster spot so they can acquire a player via trade or in the post-deadline buyout market.
  • Lowe continues to hear that the Nuggets are making Kenneth Faried available for the right return, even as Denver consistently denies such talk.
  • Hawks GM Danny Ferry isn’t enamored with the four-year, $32MM deal that the team committed to Jeff Teague when it matched his offer sheet from the Bucks this past summer.
  • The Nets seem to be leaning toward not making a move at the deadline, according to Lowe.
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Warriors Rumors: Dedmon, Barnes, Thompson

January 14th, 2014 at 10:37am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors were interested in re-signing center Dewayne Dedmon before he agreed to his 10-day contract with the Sixers, but they’re keeping their final roster spot open for a backup point guard, USA Today’s Sam Amick tweets. It’s a safe bet the Warriors will acquire a new backup point man in the next month or so, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who has plenty more from Golden State, as we detail:

  • Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson are drawing trade interest from teams across the league, and Barnes hasn’t lived up to the high standard the Warriors set for him this season, Lowe writes. Still, GM Bob Myers seems reluctant to deal either cornerstone player. “We like our core,” Myers said. “We believe in our core, and we believe they will get better.”
  • David Lee, in the midst of a $79.5MM contract that runs through 2015/16, is a frequent target of critics, but Myers isn’t one of them. “Our starting lineup is off the charts in terms of points and points allowed per possession,” Myers told Lowe. “And to assume you can replace someone who is a part of that — well, you don’t just replace someone like that. A lot of his detractors have been proven patently wrong, and they should admit they jumped the gun.” 
  • Lowe suggests that if the Warriors want to find a significant upgrade at the point behind starter Stephen Curry, it might mean parting with Barnes, Thompson or their 2019 first-round draft pick, the earliest first-rounder they can relinquish per the Stepien Rule. Tellingly, Lowe doesn’t mention Toney Douglas, whom the W’s signed this summer to a one-year, $1.6MM deal to fill the role of backup point guard. He appears to have dropped out of the team’s rotation.
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Central Links: Bennett, Rose, Bulls, Bucks

January 8th, 2014 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls won their first game since trading Luol Deng, beating the Suns 92-87 last night, but the victory, Chicago’s third straight, didn’t pull the club any closer to the division-leading Pacers, who also won their third in a row. Indiana’s 13-game lead in the Central is by far the biggest margin between any division leader and second-place team in the NBA. Let’s round up a few items from out of that Central Division:

  • Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wonders why the Cavaliers have yet to assign No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett to the D-League to help him develop, a topic which has been discussed among executives at this week’s D-League Showcase in Reno.
  • Derrick Rose and his camp don’t have a leg to stand on if they’re unhappy with the Bulls‘ decision to trade Deng, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Publicly, team management has indicated that Rose has shown no indication of being upset with the Bulls’ direction, despite whispers that the star point guard wouldn’t be on board with a rebuilding period.
  • Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel is skeptical that the Bulls will be a serious candidate to land LeBron James this summer, but acknowledges that Chicago will likely be linked to many players leading up to free agency.
  • Klay Thompson tells Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link) that he thought there was a 90% chance he’d end up being drafted by the Bucks back in 2011.
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Berger On Asik, Lakers, Clippers, Lowry

January 3rd, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Word is the Rockets now expect to keep center Omer Asik past next month’s deadline and beyond, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.  Houston worked hard to find a deal last month but the market for the big man right now isn’t so great.  “Teams that are tanking don’t want him to make them better and winning teams want to steal him,” one rival GM said.  On top of that, the teams with room in 2015 can sign him anyway as a free agent on a more reasonable contract.  More from Berger’s column..

  • For now, the Lakers intend to keep Pau Gasol and ride it out with the current group.  In fact, league sources say the Lakers even inquired on Raptors guard Kyle Lowry to help patch up at the one spot, though the talks didn’t go anywhere.  Things could change, however, as the temptation to dump salary and avert a date with the dreaded repeater tax will remain given their current position
  • Doc Rivers is realizing the Clippers‘ roster has more holes than he initially thought and league sources say he’s is looking for frontcourt help on the trade market.  It would help matters if they still had Eric Bledsoe to dangle but he went in the three-team deal that yielded J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley.
  • Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are also after frontcourt help in the form of an athletic rim protector.
  • League sources say the pairing of Bledsoe and Goran Dragic in the Suns backcourt isn’t expected to be a long-term solution for the Suns.  Execs believe Dragic will opt out of his contract following the 2014/15 season, putting pressure on GM Ryan McDonough to make a trade.  Jazz standout Gordon Hayward has put his team in a similar spot as his price may prove too high for Utah when he hits restricted free agency this summer.
  • The Cavaliers and Kings have been among the most aggressive teams in pursuit of trades, league sources say.  On the heels of acquiring Rudy Gay from Toronto, the Kings are “swinging for the fences” on the trade market, one rival executive said.  Sacramento wants to shore up the point guard position, but Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro‘s true long-term target is said to be Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
  • In addition to the Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, the Timberwolves, Warriors, and Celtics are among the teams that have inquired about a deal with the Raptors for Lowry, league sources say.  Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is said to have multiple deals he could do for Lowry that would involve receiving an expiring contract in return or slotting him into another team’s trade exception.  For Toronto take on future salary, they’d probably demand a first-round draft choice.
  • The reception to the proposed “wheel system” to determine NBA draft placement has been mixed.  Meanwhile, it has sparked other ideas, including a straight lottery with all 14 non-playoff teams getting an equal shot at the No. 1 pick.
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Central Notes: Augustin, Bulls, Cavs, Thompson

December 30th, 2013 at 4:48pm CST by Zachary Links

Tonight’s look at the Central Division as the Pistons get set to take on the Wizards and the Bulls travel to Memphis to face the Grizzlies..

  • Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com confirms (via Twitter) that D.J. Augustin’s contract with the Bulls is fully non-guaranteed and is just a one-year deal.  James Johnson’s contract with the Grizzlies is also a one-year, non-guaranteed pact worth the minimum salary.
  • The Cavs nearly traded for Klay Thompson on draft night in 2011, a source tells Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal.  Cleveland GM Chris Grant was trying frantically to add a third top ten pick in that 2011 draft to make it happen.  Former coach Byron Scott told Lloyd months later it was the night he really came to believe Grant knew what he was doing and was the right man for the job.
  • More from Lloyd, who adds that the Cavs talked to the Kings about a deal involving J.J. Hickson for the No. 7 pick, but the Kings ultimately dealt the pick in a different deal and the Cavs sent Hickson to the Kings after the draft for Omri Casspi and a future pick.  Then the Cavs had a deal in place with the Jazz for the No. 12 pick, but the Warriors snatched Thompson at No. 11. The Jazz ultimately backed out of the deal with the Cavs and nabbed shooting guard Alec Burks.
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