Sheldon McClellan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Walton, Rondo, Cousins, Clippers

June 19th, 2016 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Walton has managed to stay focused on his duties as lead assistant with the Warriors, even as his head coaching job with the Lakers awaits, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Walton had his first interview on April 18th — more than two months ago — when he had a phone conversation with Knicks president Phil Jackson. “Luke is a real loyal guy,” said fellow Golden State assistant Ron Adams. “And he’s real loyal to the Golden State Warriors — has been since he was named coach of the Lakers. It might be hard for people to understand that. I would say he’s atypical in that regard. A lot of people, if a team would’ve allowed what the Lakers allowed, I think [the person] would’ve been more fixated on that team than this team. That’s not Luke. That’s not what Luke has been.” Walton will coach his final game with the Warriors tonight, then will likely be introduced as the Lakers’ new coach later this week.

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kings point guard Rajon Rondo pronounced himself fully healthy as he prepares for his second straight year of free agency, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Rondo signed a one-year deal with Sacramento last summer, which gave him a first-hand view of the turmoil in the organization, especially between DeMarcus Cousins and former coach George Karl. “Obviously it didn’t go the way we wanted it as an exit [missing the playoffs], but I was able to bounce back, I believe,” Rondo said. “I am very healthy. I’ve been working extremely hard on my body and my game. I’m 30 years old and I feel great.” Rondo’s numbers had declined since tearing his right anterior cruciate ligament in 2013, but he bounced back to average 11.9 points and 11.7 assists per game this season.
Cousins’ younger brother, Jaleel, worked out for the Kings on Saturday, according to James Jones of The Sacramento Bee. The 6-11, 250-pound center was a senior this season at South Florida.
Dee Brown and Pat Sullivan have emerged as assistant coaching candidates with the Clippers, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Kevin Eastman, a longtime assistant to Doc Rivers, announced his retirement earlier this week.
The Clippers will hold two workouts Monday, tweets Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. The morning session will feature Alabama’s Retin Obasohan, Miami’s Sheldon McClellan, Kentucky’s Alex Poythress, Maryland’s Jake Layman, Villanova’s Daniel Ochefu and UNLV’s Stephen Zimmerman. Working out in the afternoon will be Tulsa’s James Woodard, West Virginia’s Jaysean Page, UNLV’s Patrick McCaw, Louisiana’s Alex Hamilton, SMU’s Markus Kennedy and Iowa’s Jared Uthoff.

Central Notes: Pistons, Butler, Bucks, Pacers

June 17th, 2016 at 5:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons and Bulls pulled off the first trade of the 2016 NBA offseason today, with Detroit sending 2014 second-rounder Spencer Dinwiddie to Chicago for Bulls big man Cameron Bairstow. According to Pistons GM Jeff Bower, the team wanted to give Dinwiddie a change of scenery, allowing him to get into a situation “that could benefit him long-term,” as Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes.

The trade came on the heels of the Pistons’ announcement earlier this week about the team’s new-look front office. As David Mayo of MLive.com outlines, Detroit’s front office restructure involved a promotion for Pat Garrity, who earned an assistant general manager title and will manage the club’s salary cap. Mayo has the details and quotes from Garrity on the 39-year-old’s new role.

Here’s more from around the Central division, including one more Pistons note:

According to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com (Twitter link), the Pistons hosted six more prospects for pre-draft workouts today, with Kentucky guard Tyler Ulis among the participants. The other five prospects in attendance were Sheldon McClellan (Miami), Tim Quarterman (LSU), Bryn Forbes (Michigan State), Max Hooper (Oakland), and Josh Adams (Wyoming).
Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders attempts to put together five plausible trade proposals involving Bulls forward Jimmy Butler, with a focus on the Timberwolves and Celtics as Chicago’s potential trade partners.
Whether or not the Bucks seriously consider Malachi Richardson as early as No. 10 in next week’s draft remains to be seen, but Milwaukee is fond of the former Syracuse wing, and director of scouting Billy McKinney has had his eye on Richardson for a while, writes Rick Braun of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Nate Taylor of The Indianapolis Star and Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com explore whether the Pacers should opt for upside or select a safer, more proven commodity with their first-round pick in this year’s draft.

Central Notes: Pacers, Cavs, Workouts, Pistons

May 17th, 2016 at 3:03pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers, who typically employ three assistant coaches, will have at least one hole to fill in that group after Nate McMillan‘s promotion to head coach. However, as Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star writes (via Twitter), the team would like to retain its other two assistants, Dan Burke and Popeye Jones. That would leave one opening, and McMillan would have the opportunity to pick his replacement, per Buckner.

Here’s more on Indiana and a few more Central teams:

The Pacers held their first pre-draft workout on Tuesday, and will hold another session on Wednesday, according to a pair of announcements from the team. Participants today that had not been previously reported included Dorian Finney-Smith, Michael Gbinije, Sheldon McClellan, and Tyrone Wallace. Tomorrow, Ryan Arcidiacono, Wade Baldwin, Matt Costello, Max Landis, Patrick McCaw, and Kaleb Tarczewski will work out for Indiana.
Before he works out for Indiana on Wednesday, Tarczewski participated in a workout for the Cavaliers today, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops. Cleveland also took a look at Maryland’s Rasheed Sulaimon in that workout, says Scotto.
Thon Maker had been scheduled to take part in Indiana’s workout on Wednesday, but he won’t participate due to a scheduling issue, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Zagoria suggests that Maker will still work out for the Pacers and Bulls at some point.
Given how defined their roster already is, the Pistons could have the opportunity to gamble on upside with the 18th overall pick in the draft, rather than seeking instant help, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com.

And-Ones: Schröder, Harris, Selden

May 10th, 2016 at 10:23pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hawks point guard Dennis Schröder was amenable to a reserve role this season but reiterated his desire to be the starter going forward, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com relays. “In the future, I want to be a starting point guard,” Schröder said. “Everybody knows it. But in the situation I was this year, I was fine with it. I played my minutes, and I just tried to get better. When the coaching staff and everybody decides I get the team [and start], I’m going to be ready for it.”

When coach/executive Mike Budenholzer was asked about the possibility of Schröder displacing Jeff Teague as Atlanta’s starter, Budenholzer was diplomatic in his response, the ESPN scribe notes. “We value both Jeff and Dennis,” Budenholzer said. “They have both been incredibly good for us. Part of the reason we have had success is we have had two really good point guards. I am not ready to say anything other than how much we love them both. They are a big part of why we have been successful.” Teague was reportedly in high demand from a number of teams prior to February’s trade deadline.

Here’s the latest from around the league:

Point guard Devin Harris underwent successful surgery today to repair damage to his left big toe and left thumb, the Mavericks announced. No timetable was given for Harris’ return to basketball-related activities. Harris appeared in 64 games this season and averaged 7.6 points, 1.8 assists, 0.9 steals and 20.0 minutes per outing. His contract runs through the 2017/18 season with a partially guaranteed salary for the final year.
Kansas junior combo guard Wayne Selden won’t participate in draft combine workouts this week after undergoing surgery to repair a small meniscus tear in his right knee, Shams Charania of The Vertical reports. Selden, who is the No. 44 overall player according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, will still participate in the interview portion of the event with Miami senior shooting guard Sheldon McClellan taking his place on the court for the scrimmage portion of the combine, Charania notes.

Celtics Notes: Ainge, Olynyk, Draft

May 4th, 2016 at 4:14pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Team executive Danny Ainge says the Celtics plan on working out 80-100 players in advance of June’s NBA Draft, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com relays. “We’ll put them through a lot of different situations,” Ainge said. “We’ll see how bigs are at guarding guards, and guards defending bigger players, some of the roles they would have to play if they were Celtics. … We’ll get a good look at what they can do in a lot of different scenarios. With our picks, it is in a player’s best interest to work out for us. But for us, we want to see as many players as possible so that we can draft the best fit, the best player that’s available.”

Ainge also noted that he expects to be on the phone with other teams talking trades more often than in previous seasons because of the team’s wealth of draft picks, Blakely writes. If Boston is unable to package some of its picks to acquire more talent, the Celtics will look at drafting players from overseas with the intent that they won’t join the NBA for a few seasons, the scribe adds.

Here’s more from Boston:

Boston is gearing up for a busy offseason, as Ainge detailed and as Jay King of MassLive relays (Twitter links). “There are scenarios where our team could be better, and be significantly better, and there are scenarios where we have younger players that are maybe not as good from a win/record standpoint, but with the development that standpoint being a much, much higher ceiling,” Ainge said.
Center Kelly Olynyk intends to consult with additional doctors prior to making a decision regarding surgery for his injured right shoulder, Blakely writes in a separate piece. The big man is hoping to avoid going under the knife this offseason, telling Blakely, “It’s always an option when you have an injury of certain degrees. If you can make sure it’s healthy without it, then it’s healthy without it.”
The Celtics are holding predraft workouts today for Dorian Finney-Smith (Florida), Quincy Ford (Northeastern), Marcus Georges-Hunt (Georgia Tech), Sheldon McClellan (Miami), Mike Tobey (Virginia) and Jameel Warney (Stony Brook), as Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays (via Twitter).
Dayton shooting guard Charles Cooke will work out for the Celtics on Saturday, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com tweets.