Portland Trail Blazers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Notes: Green Room, Houstan, Nembhard, O’Neal, Gillespie

June 9th, 2022 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

There were no surprises in the 11 green room invitations forwarded to the draft’s top prospects. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony confirmed that the list includes Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, Paolo Banchero, Jaden Ivey, Keegan Murray, Shaedon Sharpe, Dyson Daniels, Bennedict Mathurin, AJ Griffin, Jalen Duren and Johnny Davis. Approximately four more green room invites will be sent out next week, a source tells Givony.

We have more draft news:

Michigan’s Caleb Houstan and Gonzaga’s Andrew Nembhard, who both hail from Canada, will work out for the Raptors on Friday, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports tweets. They’re both considered late first-round or second-round prospects and Toronto has the No. 33 overall pick.
LSU forward Shareef O’Neal, son of Shaquille O’Neal, worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Jovan Buha of The Athletic tweets. The younger O’Neal will visit the Lakers, Cavaliers, Hawks and Wizards in the very near future.
Villanova guard Collin Gillespie also worked out for the Bucks on Thursday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. He’ll soon visit the Suns, Nuggets, Jazz and Trail Blazers. Gillespie is ranked at No. 64 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

Possible Lottery Pick AJ Griffin Works Out

June 9th, 2022 at 8:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Duke forward AJ Griffin worked out for the Trail Blazers on Thursday, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets. Portland holds the No. 7 pick; Griffin is listed at No. 9 on ESPN’s Best Available list.

Trail Blazers Hire Schmitz, Oliva As Assistant GMs

June 9th, 2022 at 3:23pm CST by Rory Maher

The Trail Blazers have officially hired Mike Schmitz and Sergi Oliva as assistant general managers, the team announced in a press release. Both hires were previously reported late last month, but hadn’t been confirmed until today.

“We are ecstatic to welcome both Mike and Sergi to the front office,” said GM Joe Cronin. “Mike’s extensive knowledge of evaluating talent both here in America and internationally along with Sergi’s extensive background integrating strategy and analytics in the game of basketball are welcomed additions to the organization.”

Schmitz has worked as a draft analyst for ESPN since 2017. He’s also a contributor to DraftExpress.com, a comprehensive scouting service utilized by NBA, NCAA and international teams, and is an assistant coach for the Ugandan national team which he joined in 2018. Schmitz will join Portland in early July after he concludes his coverage of the draft for ESPN.

Oliva was part of the Sixers’ front office from 2014-20, beginning as a basketball operations analyst and eventually being promoted to vice president of strategy. He joined the Jazz in 2020 as an assistant coach and spent the last two years in Utah. Prior to arriving in the NBA, Oliva spent 12 years coaching at the youth and senior amateur levels in Catalonia and earned a PhD in Computational Complexity.

Schmitz and Oliva are the second and third assistant general managers hired by Cronin. The first, Andrae Patterson, was hired from Cleveland in January.

Portland has also hired Kevin Kinghorn to serve as chief marketing officer and executive vice president, a non-basketball role.

Draft Notes: J. Smith, Magic, Holmgren, Mohammed, Duren

June 9th, 2022 at 2:27pm CST by Rory Maher

Auburn forward Jabari Smith, a projected top-three pick, worked out for the Magic on Thursday, reports Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter video link). The Magic hold the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA draft and Smith has been linked to Orlando multiple times.

Smith believes he’d be a good fit for a young Magic team, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press relays.

“I think I can fit in it really well,” Smith said. “Seeing the guys and seeing the players, this is a young team, one of the youngest in the league. So, adding me would just add another young player who was hungry and got a lot left in the tank. So, I’ll add some energy and just another person wants to come in and work and get this organization where it needs to be.”

Smith added that his strong two-way play and drive to win separates him from the other top prospects.

“I just think it’s my will to win that sets me apart,” Smith said, per Reynolds. “I don’t really care about stats and glamour and all that. I just want to really win and play to win every game.”

Smith also said he has an upcoming workout with the Thunder, who control the No. 2 pick, but has no other workouts planned, Reynolds writes. Smith’s full post-workout media session can be found right here.

Here are a few more draft-related notes:

Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren, another projected top-three pick, has a workout scheduled with the Magic next week, reports Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News (via Twitter).
Georgetown’s Aminu Mohammed has worked out for the Nets, Hawks, Spurs and Bulls, and has upcoming workouts with the Kings and Trail Blazers, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). Mohammed also worked out for the Wizards on Wednesday, as we previously relayed.
Memphis center Jalen Duren, who is one of the youngest players in the draft after graduating from high school a year early, believes he’s ready for the NBA, writes Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com. “I wouldn’t have made this jump if I didn’t feel like I was ready mentally, physically or skill-wise. I mean, where I’m at, I love the challenge, that’s why I decided to go to college early. It was a great challenge, it helped me develop,” Duren said. The 18-year-old had a solo workout for Portland earlier this week and is a projected lottery pick.

Trail Blazers Work Out Jalen Duren

June 9th, 2022 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

Memphis center Jalen Duren worked out for the Trail Blazers earlier this week, tweets Aaron J. Fentress of The Oregonian. It remains to be seen whether or not the Blazers will hang onto the No. 7 pick in this month’s draft, but if they do, Duren could be a player they consider — he’s ranked 10th on ESPN’s big board.

Blazers Rumors: Beal, LaVine, Bridges, Grant, Collins

June 6th, 2022 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Trail Blazers are exploring the trade market in search of veterans who can help Damian Lillard get the team back into the playoffs, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who observes that Portland has a handful of assets in hand to offer up in possible deals.

Besides the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, the Blazers also have a trade exception worth nearly $21MM, Josh Hart and his team-friendly contract, Eric Bledsoe‘s expiring deal (Bledsoe’s partial guarantee could be increased as needed for salary-matching purposes), future draft picks, and possibly Jusuf Nurkic as a sign-and-trade candidate.

Here’s more from O’Connor on the players Portland could go after this summer:

Sources tell The Ringer that free-agents-to-be Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine are potential Blazers targets, though it’s unclear if they’ll be willing to leave the Wizards and Bulls, respectively, for Portland. Lillard and Beal are friends who played together for Team USA, O’Connor notes.
Hornets restricted free agent forward Miles Bridges is a player worth keeping an eye on for the Blazers, sources tell O’Connor. The team is in the market for a big wing who can help on defense and be a secondary offensive play-maker, and Bridges fits the bill. Again though, it remains to be seen if Portland will be able to pry away Bridges from his current team, especially since Charlotte will be able to match any offer sheet.
Pistons forward Jerami Grant is another two-way wing frequently mentioned as a target for Portland, as O’Connor observes. In his latest Substack article, Marc Stein writes that the Hawks continue to register interest in Grant, but the Blazers would likely be able to outbid Atlanta and other Grant suitors if they’re willing to include the No. 7 pick in their offer.
Hawks big man John Collins is also frequently cited as a player on the Blazers’ radar, according to O’Connor, who suggests Collins would be more of a lob threat – and more versatile defensively – than Nurkic.

Western Notes: Iguodala, Warriors, Thunder, Mathurin

June 5th, 2022 at 4:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Speaking to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala revisited the media’s decision to give him the NBA Finals MVP award over teammate Stephen Curry in 2015.

Iguodala won the award by a margin of 7-4 over then-Cavaliers small forward LeBron James. Curry, coming off a 2015 regular-season MVP award victory, did not receive a single vote. The Warriors won the series over Cleveland 4-2, with Iguodala’s two-way play while facing off against James proving a crucial component of Golden State’s win.

“Yeah, I think (the discussion) does a disservice to the game,” Iguodala said. “I’ve never said it was the wrong decision. Yeah, I think (Curry) should have won (at some point). But that’s not to say that you guys made the wrong decision.”

The Warriors won two other titles with Curry and Iguodala, though then-teammate Kevin Durant won Finals MVP in both 2017 and 2018.

There’s more out of the West:

After surrendering a double-digit fourth quarter lead and losing Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals in stunning fashion, the Warriors have their work cut out for them on Sunday. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today opines that the club will need to improve its three-point defense, its offensive output, and the play of defensive anchor Draymond Green. In Game 1, Green scored just four points on 2-of-12 shooting from the floor, pulled down 11 boards, turned the ball over three times and fouled out.
Several of his former coaches discussed the potential fit of ex-Auburn forward Jabari Smith, expected to be one of the top three candidates in the 2022 draft, with the Thunder, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. The Thunder have the No. 2 pick. The 6’10” power forward was a consensus second-team All-American while in school.
Former Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin is set to work out for the Trail Blazers today, per Aaron J. Fentress of the Oregonian (Twitter link). Mathurin is projected as the eighth pick in the draft, according to the latest ESPN big board. Portland possesses the seventh pick this year.

Trail Blazers May Wind Up Being Sold At Auction

June 4th, 2022 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Although the Trail Blazers aren’t currently for sale, the team could wind up being auctioned off because it is part of the Paul G. Allen Trust, which is being managed by his sister, Jody Allen, tweets Scott Soshnick of Sportico. Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky recently submitted a bid of more than $2 billion for the team.

Silver Addresses Expansion, Blazers, All-NBA Teams, In-Season Tournament

June 2nd, 2022 at 9:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The NBA isn’t planning to expand in the near future, according to commissioner Adam Silver. During his annual press conference prior to Game 1 of the Finals, he shot down a report that the league is targeting Seattle and Las Vegas for expansion in 2024, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports.

“We are not discussing that at this time,” Silver said.

Silver said the league will inevitably expand and called Seattle and Las Vegas “wonderful markets.” However, he cited a lack of top-tier talent as a reason for pumping the brakes on expanding in the next couple of seasons.

“There still are only so many of the truly top-tier super talents to go around,” he said. “That is something on the mind of the other teams as we think about expansion.”

Here are some of the other highlights from Silver’s press conference:

With many teams moving toward position-less lineups, All-NBA teams may be determined differently in future seasons. “We’re going to discuss that with the players and sit down once again and see if there’s a better way to do it,” Silver said.
Amid reports that Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky made an offer to buy the Trail Blazers for more than $2 billion, Silver stated the Blazers will eventually be sold and he hopes they’ll remain in Portland. The Blazers released a statement on Thursday saying the team is not for sale. “At some point, the team will be sold,” Silver said. “I don’t have any sense of the precise timing. … This is a hugely a complex estate, and although it’s been several years, these things take time.”
An in-season tournament is still a possibility but “we’re not there yet,” Silver said. With so many teams giving key players nights off during various points of the season, Silver wants to ensure the tournament is competitive. “We want to make sure we have a system where our best players are incentivized to be on the floor,” Silver said.

Phil Knight, Alan Smolinisky Trying To Buy Trail Blazers

June 2nd, 2022 at 5:14pm CST by Rory Maher

5:14pm: The Blazers confirmed in a statement that Knight made an offer but said the team is not for sale, Wojnarowski tweets.

Knight and Smolinisky have been engaging on the purchase bid with the Paul Allen Trust and league office, as have other prospective groups. Despite the Blazers’ statement, Knight and Smolinisky are expected to continue their pursuit, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet.

2:18 pm: Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky are attempting to purchase the Trail Blazers with a $2 billion-plus written offer, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Talks about the possible transaction are still ongoing, Woj reports.

Knight’s presence in the proposed ownership group “speaks to its desire to keep the Blazers in Portland,” says Woj (via Twitter). Knight, 84, is a Portland native and one of the wealthiest people in the world at $47.4 billion, according to Forbes.

Smolinisky, 42, is a real estate investor who also owns the Palisadian-Post newspaper. He joined the ownership group that purchased the Dodgers in 2019, according to an MLB.com press release.

After longtime Blazers owner Paul Allen passed away in October of 2018, his trust went to his sister, Jody Allen, who’s the current controlling owner of the team. There were whispers and speculation during the 2021/22 season that Allen might put the Blazers up for sale at some point in the near future.

After Portland’s season ended in April, multiple sources suggested to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report that the Blazers could begin exploring the market for new ownership as early as this summer. Some league insiders believe a sale of the franchise could be completed before the end of 2023, per Fischer.

The Blazers have an important summer ahead after a disappointing season saw them finish 27-55, but nothing will be more important than a potential change in ownership. Portland controls the Nos. 7, 36, and 59 picks in the upcoming draft, and the front office, led by GM Joe Cronin, will have to decide the best pathway to become a championship contender with franchise player Damian Lillard.