Willie Cauley-Stein Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Hoiberg, Calipari, Pistons

June 4th, 2015 at 11:15am CST by Eddie Scarito

During his introductory press conference, new Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg gushed about the talent on Chicago’s roster, Sam Smith of NBA.com relays. “I love this roster,” said Hoiberg. “I absolutely love this roster. I love the versatility of the players. The different lineups that we’re going to be able to play; can play small, can play big, You’ve got lineups that I really think can get out and play with pace. You’ve got a great group of veteran players that know how to play. I think Tom Thibodeau is an excellent, excellent basketball coach and I think he instilled a lot of unbelievable qualities in this team that hopefully I can build on.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Kentucky’s John Calipari was one of the names linked to the Cavs‘ coaching search prior to David Blatt being hired. But despite Cleveland making it to the NBA Finals this season, Calipari says he doesn’t regret his decision to remain with the Wildcats, Chris Fedor of The Northeast Ohio Media Group writes. “No. No, nope. Because what happened, and the reason I did what I did, was based on having guys come back who wanted to be coached. I didn’t feel comfortable not being at Kentucky,” Calipari responded when asked if he had any second thoughts about passing on the chance to coach LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
Calipari also said that despite all the offers he has had to return to the NBA as a head coach, the only job opening that made him seriously consider leaving Kentucky was the Cavaliers‘ post last summer, Fedor adds.
Despite the presence of center Andre Drummond, the Pistons won’t hesitate to grab Willie Cauley-Stein or Myles Turner in the draft if the front-office believes either big man is the best player available at the No. 8 spot, David Mayo of MLive.com writes. “They like to play two bigs,” Cauley-Stein said of the Pistons, who often played Greg Monroe and Drummond together. “That’s a big lineup. Both super-athletic, both do similar stuff, so it’s kind of like how me and Karl-Anthony Towns played this year. I get the same kind of sense out of it.“

Knicks Notes: Cauley-Stein, Russell, Mudiay

May 21st, 2015 at 1:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

The consensus among executives, agents and scouts around the league is that the Knicks will actively seek to trade the No. 4 overall pick for a veteran, reports Frank Isola of the New York Daily News. Still, Marc Berman of the New York Post finds consensus among execs who say the Knicks will ultimately decide to keep it. One of those execs who spoke with Berman described the notion of the Knicks talking to other teams about trading the pick as a matter of due diligence. Team sources tell Berman that the Knicks don’t consider trading down a priority, but if they do move to a lower pick, they’d like to receive a 2016 first-rounder in return, Berman adds. Here’s more from New York:

Isola sees signs that point to Willie Cauley-Stein as the team’s target, noting Cauley-Stein fits the description of sort of defender team president Phil Jackson wants and that Jackson has told confidants that he likes the Kentucky center. Some people within the Knicks “absolutely love” D’Angelo Russell, a league source told Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com, but the Sixers, who pick third, also seem enamored with him, leaving Emmanuel Mudiay as the next best choice, many scouts and draft experts say, as Begley writes.
Mudiay’s ability to get to the line would help the Knicks, who ranked last in the league in free throw rate this past season, but his tendency to ball-watch on defense is a trait some Knicks already share, as Chris Herring of The Wall-Street Journal examines.
GM Steve Mills said after the lottery that whomever the Knicks draft will have a “big impact” on the free agents the team targets, Begley observes in a separate piece. Mills also made a remark indicating that the team’s belief about which free agents will be most obtainable will affect the club’s draft decision, as Begley relays. “We’ll look at what kind of guys we think are going to move in free agency and have our draft plans accordingly,” Mills said.

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Divac, Draft, Warriors

May 21st, 2015 at 12:01pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Lakers will look at D’Angelo Russell for the No. 2 overall pick, but preliminary indications are that they’ll take either Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Towns, depending on which one of those two is left after the Timberwolves pick, as Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times hears. Trading the pick is also an option, GM Mitch Kupchak says, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News tweets. In any case, the choices at No. 2 are a bit better than the Lakers would have had if the lottery had gone according to form and the team had ended up with the fourth pick. Here’s more from around the Pacific Division:

Kings president of basketball and franchise operations Vlade Divac said his team should be open to trading its draft pick, but in comments that Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee relays, he distanced himself from the mechanics of any such move. “I’m leaving that to my basketball people,” Divac said. It’s an odd statement from the team’s top basketball executive. In any case, Chad Ford of ESPN.com identified the Kings, who pick sixth, among the teams most likely to trade their top-10 pick, along with the Magic, Pistons, Heat and Hornets, as Ford wrote in a chat with readers.
The Kings and the Pacers are the teams with the most interest in Willie Cauley-Stein, Ford adds in the same piece.
Andrew Bogut is a fan of the way Steve Kerr handles his assistant coaches, as the big man tells Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group a year after assistant coaches were squarely in the spotlight for Golden State. The departures of assistants Brian Scalabrine and Darren Erman from the Warriors bench last year were symbolic of the tumult near the end of Mark Jackson‘s time as Warriors coach. “In their own way, they all have free reign,” Bogut said of Kerr’s staff. “You see them talk to the media, which is something that wasn’t happening with us the last couple of years. There’s no agendas where a coach thinks, ‘Oh, he’s doing extra workouts with this guy, he’s trying to take my job, or vice-versa, or he’s trying to get himself a head-coaching job.’ We don’t have any of that. We have guys that say something when they need to say something and to be professional throughout.”

Draft Notes: Hernangomez, Cauley-Stein, Holmes

May 19th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Today’s the big day for teams in the lottery, as the drawing takes place tonight. Check out the odds that each team ends up in each position, and read our Hoops Rumors Glossary item on the lottery for a glimpse at how it works. As we wait to find out who wins, here’s the latest on the draft:

Overseas draft entrant Guillermo Hernangomez, also known as Willy Hernangomez, is likely to play for Real Madrid in his native Spain next season, according to the Spanish outlet Marca (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The 6’11” center is the No. 45 prospect in this year’s draft as Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks them, and he’s No. 49 with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. He can withdraw from the draft by June 15th or stay in and either become a draft-and-stash selection or go undrafted.
Willie Cauley-Stein took an unusual path, staying at Kentucky for three years. A lottery prospect this year, he feels the extra college experience gave him a leg up, as he tells Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. “[Playing more than one year there] helped me a lot mentally,” Cauley-Stein said. “I’m now one of the older dudes in this draft, which is cool. I went through a lot at Kentucky, so staying there another year didn’t do anything but make it better for me to enter the draft now.” Dana Gauruder of Hoops Rumors profiled the center on Monday.
Richaun Holmes wasn’t on the NBA radar as recently as six weeks weeks ago, as Chad Ford of ESPN.com writes in an Insider-only piece, but his stock has risen fast, and Ford believes he did enough at the combine last week to get drafted. The power forward from Bowling Green spoke with Zach Links of Hoops Rumors a few weeks ago.
Ford, in the same piece, lists former Kentucky combo guard Andrew Harrison as a prospect who helped his cause at the combine and twin Aaron Harrison, a shooting guard, as one whose stock fell. John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly.com seconds the notion that Andrew Harrison impressed at the combine amid his insights from the event.

Prospect Profile: Willie Cauley-Stein

May 18th, 2015 at 7:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Willie Cauley-Stein brings some clarity to a process normally based upon on projections and expectations, at least on one end of the basketball court. There’s no dispute or concern about Cauley-Stein’s ability to be a defensive impact player in the NBA. He’s got all the tools and physical gifts to become one of the league’s premier defenders. That’s why the 7-footer is ranked as the No. 2 center in the draft behind Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and a virtual lock to be selected in the Top 10. He’s currently rated No. 8 on Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider Big Board, while Jonathan Givony’s DraftExpress slots him at No. 6 overall.

Courtesy USA Today Sports Images

The University of Kentucky product can not only defend other big men, he can handle wing players because of his quickness and length. He’s also one of the very few big men who can switch out on a point guard without that situation being an obvious mismatch. With most NBA teams relying heavily on pick-and-rolls to create space and quality looks, Cauley-Stein can switch, hedge and recover on those plays with aplomb, which will often force the offense to take low-percentage shots with the shot clock winding down.

He can also create turnovers and provide rim protection. He led the Wildcats in steals in both his sophomore and junior seasons and recorded 106 blocks during his sophomore campaign. That figure dropped to 67 last season, partially due to Kentucky’s ability to seal off the paint and also because Cauley-Stein had another shotblocker, Karl Anthony-Towns, patrolling the lane alongside him. With his long arms and ability to cover so much ground, Cauley-Stein should have no trouble altering and blocking shots in situations where he’s a help defender. Add up those attributes and it’s no wonder he’s already being compared to the likes of DeAndre Jordan, Tyson Chandler and Andre Drummond as a defensive force.

If there are any issues regarding Cauley-Stein defensively, it would be his frame and defensive rebounding. His needs to get stronger to compete physically with other post players on a nightly basis, though that can be said for virtually any big man entering the NBA. A slightly bigger concern is whether Cauley-Stein truly likes to mix it up underneath. As Givony points out, he can be outworked in the paint at times and he doesn’t consistently establish good box-out position. That explains why his defensive rebounding rate was a relatively modest 6.6 per 40 minutes in college.

There were no surprises regarding Cauley-Stein’s physical attributes at the draft combine. He measured a tad over 6’11” without shoes and 7’0” wearing them. His wingspan was an impressive 7’3” and he came to Chicago in excellent condition with a body fat content of 6.3%.

If Cauley-Stein had any semblance of an offensive game, he could have been the top pick in the draft. But that’s where the uncertainty regarding Cauley-Stein kicks in. The word raw is frequently mentioned by draft experts, scouts and front-office personnel when the subject of his offensive game is brought up. His contributions on that end mainly consist of dunks and layups created by guard penetration, offensive rebounds and transition opportunities. He averaged 8.9 points last season in the Wildcats’ balanced attack.

Kentucky didn’t look for Cauley-Stein to score on postups and midrange shots. As a result, he failed to develop any signature moves or carve out any sweet spots where defenders had to respect him. He made just one-third of his two-point jump shots in his junior year.
Without getting frequent touches, Cauley-Stein has not developed a knack for passing out of the post or finding open shooters and cutters. He averaged less than one assist per game during his three college seasons.

One area where he did show steady improvement was his free throw shooting. He went from a brutal 37.2% as a freshman to 48.2% the next year to 61.7% last season. Even if he only improves marginally as a foul shooter as a pro, that will be good enough to discourage opponents from intentionally fouling him.

Another knock against Cauley-Stein is his motor. He has often been criticized for looking disinterested at times and taking plays off, though he played with more intensity as his college career unfolded. The lack of focus at times has many scouts wondering if Cauley-Stein has a love for the game.

As an unnamed GM told NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper, Cauley-Stein “leaves you wanting. You see the talent there, but you always think that there’s more he can give.”

Cauley-Stein has a difficult time understanding what all the fuss on this issue.

“If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t put my body on the line, I wouldn’t run the way I do, I wouldn’t jump the way I do,” he told Scott-Cooper. “I’d be scared to do those things if I didn’t love the game. It just doesn’t make sense to me the way I play that I don’t love the game.”

There’s enough love over Cauley-Stein’s defensive prowess to quell most of the concerns about his shortcomings, perceived or otherwise. He should have a long NBA career, even if he settles for simply being a defensive stopper. Depending on team needs and draft-day trades, Cauley-Stein could even wind up moving into the top five. That’s the value of offering clarity in a sea of uncertainty.

Eastern Notes: Seraphin, Knicks, Bucks

May 17th, 2015 at 7:16pm CST by Will Joseph

Kevin Seraphin, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, wants to play for a team that would allow him to compete for a starting job, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com reports, and that likely means that the center won’t re-sign with the Wizards, Michael adds. Seraphin matched his career high with 79 regular-season appearances but didn’t start a game after inking a one-year qualifying offer last summer for $3.9MM to stay in Washington, as Michael points out. The Wizards are set at center, Michael adds, because Marcin Gortat will be entering the second year of a five-year deal with the team. “I definitely want a chance to be a starter,” Seraphin told Michael. “I definitely want to be somewhere I have a chance to be a starter.”

Willie Cauley-Stein said on Friday that he would work out with the Knicks today, but the Knicks didn’t end up bringing him in, tweets ESPN.com’s Ian Begley, who added that a league source told him that a workout was actually never scheduled. The Knicks met with D’Angelo Russell and Justise Winslow at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, according to ESPN.com. All three players are expected to be selected within the first 10 picks of the draft. The Knicks own a top-five pick heading into the lottery. According to Hoops Rumors’ odds page, the most likely spot for the Knicks is fourth. New York has a 31.9% chance of picking fourth.
If the Sixers slide into the fifth or sixth spot in the draft, Justise Winslow, who played at Duke, might be a solid option, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. The Sixers have a 15.6% chance of winning the draft lottery and are guaranteed to pick at least sixth.
The Bucks, who own the No. 17 pick in the draft, met with small forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who played at Arizona, and big man Frank Kaminsky, who earned college player of the year honors with Wisconsin, Matt Velazquez of the Journal Sentinel tweets.

Celtics Notes: Draft, Cauley-Stein, Ainge

May 17th, 2015 at 12:52pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Boston is “very open” to moving up in next month’s NBA draft, two league sources tell A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. The sources did not indicate which player the Celtics were targeting, but Blakely notes there are growing signs that their target would be Willie Cauley-Stein. Boston’s defense improved over the course of the season, ranking 12th in the league in defensive efficiency by season’s end. However, the team lacked a true defensive presence in its interior. Cauley-Stein is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, rim protector in the draft, so the fit makes sense for a team looking to improve on its 40-win campaign and become a true contender. The 21-year-old is currently the sixth best prospect according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress and Chad Ford of ESPN.com pegs him as the eighth best prospect. The Celtics own the 16th and the 28th pick in this year’s first round, as well as several first-rounders in the upcoming years, as our Traded Future Draft Picks page indicates. Boston already has an influx of young talent on the roster, which gives the team the flexibility to consolidate picks in order to obtain more highly regarded players.

Here’s more from Boston:

President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge is receiving praise from around the league, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald writes. “I think in today’s day and age where the NBA finds itself, with as much cap space that’s available, with how coveted young players are in the new system, to be able to operate and accumulate that many draft choices and put that on top of a lot flexibility is not easy,” said Thunder GM Sam Presti. “That’s because it’s not an exclusive marketplace they’re operating in. They have to do it in ways that are being mirrored by their competitors.”
Suns GM Ryan McDonough spoke very highly of Ainge and the job that he has done, Bulpett writes in the same piece. “Usually teams do one or the other. You try to compete, and that involves getting rid of young players, maybe bringing in some more veteran players, trading draft picks for vets. Or you rebuild, and that means trading away veteran players, really only focusing on picks and young players. The challenge is to do both. I think the really good organizations can do it, but it’s tricky. I think when you’re with an organization like the Celtics or the Suns that have great history and tradition, it’s not really acceptable or certainly not desirable to bottom out. You don’t want to bottom out and hope for luck in the lottery. I admire the way the Celtics have done it,” McDonough said. “They’ve done a tremendous job. They’ve got all the future picks in the queue that are coming down the line. They have some good young players. Obviously they have excellent management and coaching. The fans will see over time how things will work out.”

Southeast Notes: Pierce, Heat, Hornets

May 16th, 2015 at 4:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the sting of his last second shot being waived off because time had expired and his team being eliminated from the postseason still fresh, the Wizards‘ Paul Pierce now has to make a decision regarding his player option for 2015/15 worth $5,543,725, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. “I haven’t really thought about it,” Pierce said. “I don’t even know if I am going to play basketball anymore. These seasons get harder and harder every year, every day. Summers get even harder when you start getting back in shape. I’m 37 years old. I’m top two or three oldest in the league.” Pierce indicated he would take some time and discuss the matter with his family before making his call on next season, Youngmisuk adds. “I have been playing this game [for] like 32 years. Since I was a little kid. Probably going to be the hardest thing to do is put the game down. But I know that time is coming one day. I am not sure if it is this year or next year. I will sit down with my family and figure things out,” Pierce said.

Here’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Wizards coach Randy Wittman indicated that he’d be very surprised if Pierce didn’t opt in and return to the team next season, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com relays (Twitter link).
Heat president Pat Riley interviewed Kansas swingman Kelly Oubre at the draft combine, Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post tweets.
While at the draft combine Hornets executives met with Kentucky’s Devin Booker and Willie Cauley-Stein, as well as Duke forward Justise Winslow, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer reports in a series of tweets.
Riley also sat down with Booker for an interview, who said that the Heat executive told him that Dwyane Wade was in the final stage of his career and that the young guard would be able to learn from him, Lieser tweets. Also meeting with the team while in Chicago were Arkansas forward Bobby Portis and Kentucky forward Trey Lyles, Lieser adds (Twitter links).

Central Notes: Pistons, Draft, Pacers

May 16th, 2015 at 2:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pistons‘ final draft strategy depends on how the lottery shakes out this coming Tuesday, but the team knows it needs to target a starting forward and some depth at center, Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. “We can make assumptions and part of the actual draft process is trying to figure out plans for other teams and what their needs may be versus available players in the draft,” GM Jeff Bower said. “As you try to slot it out, you do make educated guesses on what a team need or interest may be based on the workouts and the information flow of interest around the prospects. We’ll try to have a handle on it because it’s good to know what other people will like. Normally more than one team likes the same player and you try to have yourself positioned to get that player or a group of players that you’re very comfortable with.”

Here’s more news from around the Central Division:

Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein sat down at the draft combine with the Pistons, and he said that the team talked to him about playing alongside center Andre Drummond, Keith Langlois of NBA.com tweets.
Cauley-Stein said he has a workout scheduled with the Pacers, as do Arkansas forward Bobby Portis, Quinn Cook of Duke, Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison, and Maryland’s Dez Wells, Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star relays (Twitter links).
Kentucky forward Trey Lyles interviewed with the Pacers while in Chicago for the combine, Buckner tweets. Of his meeting, Lyles said, “I met with them yesterday. It was pretty cool. It would be fun to play there but you know wherever I go, I’ll be fine with.“

Pacific Notes: Lakers, Draft, Woodson

May 15th, 2015 at 10:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Lakers have an 82.8% chance to secure a top five pick in this year’s NBA Draft lottery. But despite those excellent odds, Los Angeles’ GM Mitch Kupchak is stressed about the outcome, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News writes. “It’s completely out of our control. But I’m somewhat of a worry-wart,” Kupchak said. “I know our percentage is very high that we end up with a top-five pick, but I have to prepare for if we don’t get it. We’ll be prepared either way.” The executive’s worries stem from the fact that if the pick falls out of the top five it will convey to the Sixers. “If we get a pick, that’s an asset,” Kupchak said. “That’s an asset you can use to trade or work to use it on the player in the draft. If we don’t, we’ll still be able to carry on and move forward.”

Here’s the latest out of the Pacific Division:

Despite having a roster already loaded with outside shooters the Warriors met with Georgia State gunner R.J. Hunter at the draft combine, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets.
The Lakers interviewed Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns and Duke forward Justise Winslow at the combine, Medina relays (Twitter links).
Mike Woodson, who is now an assistant with the Clippers, indicated he still hopes to land another spot as a head coach, Mark Berman of FOX 26 tweets. “I’ve been a head coach for nine years in this league. Hopefully I’ll get another opportunity,” Woodson said. The former Hawks and Knicks coach has a career record of 315-365.
Kentucky products Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles interviewed with the Kings, Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee relays (Twitter links).
The Suns will consider taking Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky when making their draft selection this June, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic writes. “I feel like I can fit into multiple roles and help the team on the offensive end,” Kaminsky said. “I don’t think I have as many deficiencies on the defensive end as has been so kindly brought up by so many different people. I think I can fit in with just about any team.“