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Southwest Notes: Mavs, Dragic, Rockets, Pelicans, Spurs

June 17th, 2022 at 12:56pm CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks intend to explore the possibility of signing veteran guard Goran Dragic in free agency this offseason, sources tell Marc Stein (Twitter link).

Dragic and the Mavericks have frequently been linked in the past, in large part due to Luka Doncic‘s presence in Dallas. Doncic and Dragic, who are both from Slovenia, have played together in international competitions and appear to have interest in teaming up in the NBA as well.

Dragic will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and the Mavericks project to have more open roster spots than expected after agreeing to a four-for-one trade for Christian Wood. Trey Burke will be one of the outgoing pieces in that deal, so even if Jalen Brunson re-signs with Dallas, the club could use another point guard for depth purposes.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Auburn big man Jabari Smith was straightforward in explaining why he hasn’t felt the need to visit with the Rockets in the weeks leading up to the 2022 NBA draft, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle relays. The Rockets hold the No. 3 pick in the draft, but Smith only visited the Magic (No. 1) and Thunder (No. 2). “I don’t see myself falling below two,” Smith said. “Just keeping that mindset going into to it, that’s kind of my mindset. That’s why I kept it to those two.”
In a pair of stories for The Athletic, Will Guillory explores how the Pelicans‘ strategy in the draft has evolved since David Griffin was hired in 2019, and answers mailbag questions about the No. 8 pick and potential trade candidates on the roster. Guillory doesn’t think New Orleans will aggresively try to move Devonte’ Graham, but expects the team to gauge his market to see what’s out there.
Purdue’s Sasha Stefanovic indicated on his Instagram story today that he’s in San Antonio to work out for the Spurs, tweets James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Stefanovic doesn’t show up on ESPN’s list of 2022’s top 100 prospects, making him a long shot to be drafted.

Draft Notes: Rockets, Nuggets, Green Room, Houstan, Sharpe, Roddy

June 17th, 2022 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

Now that they’re poised to add the No. 26 pick to their list of draft assets, the Rockets are looking into the possibility of trading up in the draft, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reports within his latest mock draft. According to O’Connor, Houston has inquired about moving up from No. 3 into one of the top two spots in the draft, and has also explored the possibility of moving up from No. 17 into the late lottery.

Like Houston, the Nuggets have agreed to acquire an extra first-round pick (No. 30) and are trying to package it with No. 21 in order to move into the middle of the first round, O’Connor writes. However, O’Connor expects Denver to have to add a young player or a future asset to its package in order to make any real headway.

O’Connor’s newest mock draft includes a few more interesting tidbits, including his suggestion that there’s still some “chatter” about teams trying to trade for the Magic‘s No. 1 overall pick.

Here are a few more draft-related updates:

Five more players have been invited to the green room for next Thursday’s draft, reports Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). Tari Eason, Jalen Williams, TyTy Washington, MarJon Beauchamp, and Jaden Hardy received invites, joining an initial list of 16 invitees. Of the 21 players invited to the green room, only Hardy (No. 22) and Beauchamp (No. 23) are outside of the top 21 prospects on ESPN’s big board.
Michigan’s Caleb Houstan, one of the only prospects to decline a combine invite this year, worked out this week for the Grizzlies and Nuggets, a source tells Givony (Twitter link). Those two teams control the last two picks of the first round.
Kentucky’s Shaedon Sharpe told reporters today that the Spurs, Thunder, and Magic are among the teams he has worked out for in the pre-draft process, tweets Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Sharpe will work out for the Pacers on Monday, a source tells James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).
Colorado State forward David Roddy still has workouts coming up with the Thunder and Celtics, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. By the time draft night arrives, Roddy will have visited “half the league,” Wolfson adds.

Texas Notes: Rockets, Wood, Dragic, Roddy, Williams

June 16th, 2022 at 10:05am CST by Arthur Hill

The players the Rockets will acquire when the Christian Wood trade becomes official may never play for the team, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston has agreed to send Wood to the Mavericks in exchange for the 26th pick in next week’s draft and four players on expiring contracts, Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss.

Chriss and Brown both played for the Rockets before, but aren’t expected to be invited to training camp, according to Feigen. He cites Marjanovic as the most likely player to remain with the organization because of his abilities on offense and his willingness to accept a backup role, but adds that Marjanovic’s fate won’t be determined for a while.

None of the players will make more than $3.5MM next season, so they could be waived without a significant impact to the Rockets’ financial situation or they could be moved in other deals. Houston will have 16 players under contract once the deal is complete, along with its two-way players and three picks in the first round of the draft.

There’s more NBA news from Texas:

Wood’s time with the Rockets has seemed limited ever since the team traded up in last year’s draft to select Alperen Sengun, notes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Despite Wood’s unique talents, he wasn’t successful at power forward alongside Daniel Theis at the start of the season and he didn’t fit well next to Sengun. Wood also didn’t offer much rim protection as a center and he may not have been interested in re-signing with Houston because of his desire to be with a playoff team, Iko adds.
Marjanovic was one of Luka Doncic‘s best friends on the team, but the Mavericks could appease Doncic by pursuing fellow Slovenian guard Goran Dragic in free agency, suggests Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).
Colorado State’s David Roddy is scheduled to work out for the Mavericks on Friday, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Dallas won’t have any picks once the Wood deal goes through, but the team could try to trade into the late first round or early second round, where Roddy is projected to be taken.
Arkansas big man Jaylin Williams worked out for the Spurs on Tuesday, according to Andrew Slater of Pro Insight (Twitter link). Along with three first-round picks, San Antonio has the No. 38 selection, where it could target Williams, who is projected as a mid second-rounder.

Zach LaVine Likely To Re-Sign With Bulls

June 14th, 2022 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Despite rumors that Zach LaVine plans to talk with other teams in free agency, the most likely scenario has him re-signing with the Bulls, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.

LaVine is expected to receive a new five-year contract valued at around $200MM, according to Fischer, who notes that the only significant point of contention is the status of the final year of the deal. It could be fully or partially guaranteed, or LaVine could be given a player option.

The Trail Blazers, Spurs, Hawks and Lakers are all expected to reach out to LaVine, but Fischer doesn’t believe any of those teams can provide the two-time All-Star with a better situation than what he has in Chicago. LaVine wants to be the sole focal point of the offense, which hasn’t happened since the Bulls added DeMar DeRozan last summer, but he wouldn’t get that in Portland, Atlanta or L.A. It’s something San Antonio could offer, but the Spurs aren’t among the top contenders in the West.

Upgrading the frontcourt will be an offseason priority in Chicago, according to Fischer. His sources say the team is listening to offers for Nikola Vucevic, who has a $22MM expiring contract, and has expressed interest in Jazz center Rudy Gobert, although the club’s reluctance to part with Patrick Williams may prevent a deal from being worked out with Utah.

The Bulls are also exploring trades involving third-year point guard Coby White, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension, and the No. 18 pick in next week’s draft, Fischer adds.

Draft Notes: Wesley, Sotto, Rockets, Timberwolves

June 13th, 2022 at 8:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Notre Dame shooting guard Blake Wesley has upcoming workouts scheduled with the Grizzlies, Heat and Bulls, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Wesley told Robbins he had already worked out for the Spurs, Cavaliers, Bucks and Pistons.

A potential first-round selection, the 6’5” Wesley is ranked No. 27 overall on ESPN’s Best Available list.

We have more draft-related news:

International center prospect Kai Sotto will return to NBA team workouts this week on the West Coast after nursing a sprained ankle, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com tweets. He already worked out for the Knicks, Magic and Hawks, among others. The 7’3” big man from the Philippines spent last season in Australia’s National Basketball League, averaging 7.5 PPG and 4.5 RPG for the Adelaide 36ers.
The Rockets are sitting at the No. 3 spot and will presumably take the remaining big man in the trio of Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren and Paolo Banchero, unless there’s a draft-day surprise. The Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen picks the brains of some NBA executives and a college coach to get a handle on how the trio’s skills will translate to the NBA.
The Timberwolves brought in six prospects on Monday, Andrew Slater tweets. That group included Tyson Etienne (Wichita State), Jermaine Samuels (Villanova), Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown,) Justin Lewis (Marquette), Fanbo Zeng (G League Ignite) and Kalob Ledoux (Louisiana Tech).

FA/Trade Rumors: Ayton, Centers, Turner, Beal, Saric, Lakers

June 13th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Echoing comments made last week by Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Marc Stein writes in his latest Substack article that Suns center Deandre Ayton – a restricted free agent this summer – may be the biggest name to change teams in the coming weeks.

Phoenix is “increasingly expected” to explore sign-and-trade scenarios involving Ayton, according to Stein, who says there’s plenty of skepticism around the NBA about the team’s desire to make a significant financial commitment to the young center.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report conveys a similar sentiment in his latest round-up of NBA rumors, suggesting there’s “considerable skepticism” that the Suns will re-sign Ayton. The Pistons, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Hawks, and Raptors have all been mentioned as possible suitors for the former No. 1 overall pick, Stein notes.

Here are a few more updates from Stein and Pincus on some of this year’s top free agents and trade candidates:

According to Pincus, some sources believe that the Spurs (Jakob Poeltl), Bulls (Nikola Vucevic), Hawks (Clint Capela/John Collins), and Pacers (Myles Turner) are among the teams that could be willing to move their current centers in a package for one of the offseason’s top available big men (Ayton, Rudy Gobert, etc.). Grizzlies center Steven Adams also may be a summer trade candidate, though he’s well-liked in the locker room, says Pincus.
While both Pincus and Stein have talked to sources who believe the Pacers are likely to keep Myles Turner, Stein notes that the situation could change if the big man wants to play out his expiring contract rather than agreeing to an extension, since Indiana may not want to risk losing him for nothing next year.
According to Stein, one or two teams hopeful of landing Bradley Beal believe the All-Star guard wants to be the Dirk Nowitzki of D.C., sticking with the Wizards for his entire career.
While Dario Saric‘s $9.24MM expiring contract makes him an obvious trade candidate, Pincus writes that the Suns are hopeful the forward can return to form after missing last season due to an ACL tear, and may not be looking to move him.
If the Lakers have any hope of trading Russell Westbrook without including a first-round pick, they’ll likely have to take on at least one or two players earning $15-25MM annually on multiyear deals, Pincus writes, citing veterans like Davis Bertans and Duncan Robinson as hypothetical examples. Rival executives and agents don’t expect the Lakers to get clarity from LeBron James on his long-term intentions before the draft or free agency, which will complicate L.A.’s decision-making process — the team would be more comfortable taking on pricey multiyear contracts with a guarantee that LeBron is sticking around long-term, Pincus observes.

Gregg Popovich Appears Prepared To Return Next Season

June 12th, 2022 at 10:11pm CST by JD Shaw

Until Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says otherwise, it’s best to assume he’ll return next season, Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News writes. Popovich has held off on discussing his future and seems focused on the present. Should he return next season, it would be his 29th as San Antonio’s head coach.

Pacific Notes: Green, Kerr, Daniels, Ayton

June 12th, 2022 at 3:18pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Warriors big man Draymond Green hopes to improve his on-court performance during Golden State’s Finals series against the Celtics, and is doing his darnedest to avoid distractions from off-court bad actors, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Celtics fans erupted into an explicative-laden chant aimed at Green during the Warriors’ 116-100 Game 3 loss to the Boston.

“They are just talking,” Green said following the Wednesday loss. “Not really my job to react to them. They did what I expected… I have to come out and play with more force.”

The four-time All-Star, also a 2022 All-Defensive Second Team honoree, has had a lackluster Finals series. He is averaging 4.3 PPG, 5.8 APG, 7.3 RPG, and 4.5 fouls a night. He was benched for much of the fourth quarter during the Warriors’ 107-97 Game 4 road victory.

There’s more out of the Pacific Division:

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has enjoyed a masterful 2021/22 season with Golden State, opines Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. Kerr’s Warriors successfully knotted their 2022 Finals series against the Celtics 2-2 on Friday. It marks Golden State’s sixth Finals appearance during Kerr’s eight years with the club. Beyond the team’s core of All-Stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins, plus shooting guard Klay Thompson, and center Kevon Looney, Kawakami writes that Kerr has adeptly adjusted his rotations for the rest of the team’s personnel to fit a variety of on-court situations.
The Kings, who have the fourth pick in the upcoming draft, have scheduled a workout with G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Daniels is currently ranked as the No. 6 prospect on ESPN’s big board. Robbins adds that Daniels has previously worked out for several other teams, including the Pistons and Spurs.
Following a disappointing Western Conference Semifinals loss to the Mavericks, the Suns face an uncertain future. The team’s biggest decision this summer concerns the fate of restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton, who had an excellent regular season but struggled through an inconsistent postseason. In a pair of subscriber-only stories, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic identifies five things Phoenix should do if it wants to trade Ayton, and five things the club should do if it wants to retain him.

Draft Notes: Duren, Agbaji, Washington, Griffin, Davis

June 12th, 2022 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

Longtime coach Larry Brown, now serving as an assistant at the University of Memphis, believes Tigers center Jalen Duren has a bright future in the NBA, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Brown talked to Knicks general manager Scott Perry recently about Duren and teammate Josh Minott, who is projected as a second-round pick. Brown says Duren has similar skills as Heat big man Bam Adebayo.

“A lot of people compare him to Bam,’’ Brown said. “I spent time with Cal [Kentucky coach John Calipari] when Bam was there. Bam doesn’t shoot 3s either. Jalen is 3 inches taller than Bam. … I always teased him: I wanted him to be like [former Pistons center] Ben Wallace because he can run with anybody. He really can run. And can move his feet defensively.’’

The Knicks could consider Duren with the 11th pick if they’re not sure about re-signing free agent center Mitchell Robinson. There are concerns that coach Tom Thibodeau may not want to take the time to develop an 18-year-old center prospect, but Brown is convinced the wait will be worth it.

“If someone’s taking him to be starter on a playoff team, I don’t think it’s completely fair,’’ Brown said. “He’s 18. If you’re looking at a kid to develop and really be a factor, he’s the one you got to consider. … He wants to be coached. That’s important, especially with Thibs. He’ll coach him and demand things, and he’ll respond to that.’”

There’s more draft-related news to pass along:

As a four-year college player, Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji is a rarity among potential lottery picks, notes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Agbaji said he’s been studying Desmond Bane, who followed the same path before succeeding with the Grizzlies. “That’s someone that I would say is similar to me game-wise. We’re both athletic, strong and can guard and make plays off the bounce, too,” Agbaji said after working out Friday for the Wizards. “He was a four-year guy, went under the radar and has his feet down in Memphis now. That’s really cool seeing that. He’s one of those guys who I saw his transition into the league.”
TyTy Washington sat out the end of his workout with the Wizards on Saturday after banging his knee in a collision, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. A team trainer checked Washington and said the knee will be OK. The Kentucky guard has also worked out for the Thunder, Knicks and Cavaliers and has upcoming sessions with the Spurs and Pelicans (Twitter link).
Duke forward AJ Griffin will work out for the Pacers Monday, tweets James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Wisconsin guard Johnny Davis moved his workout with Indiana to Tuesday because of scheduling issues.

Draft Notes: Daniels, Pacers, Agbaji, Beauchamp, Wesley

June 10th, 2022 at 10:15pm CST by Rory Maher

G League Ignite guard/forward Dyson Daniels, who worked out for the Pacers on Friday, believes he’d be good fit alongside Tyrese Haliburton, writes James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Daniels is the sixth-best prospect on ESPN’s big board, and Indiana holds the No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft.

“For me, this offseason has been a big focus on my shooting, being able to knock down the shot so I can play off the ball,” Daniels said. “I’m confident in my shot now, so I feel like playing here with a guy like Tyrese, who’s a very good passer as well, I can play off the ball, cut to spots and knock down the shot. That’s something that’s come a long way in my game, and it’s definitely something I’ve worked on because every team usually has a primary ball-handler.”

Known as a well-rounded player who’s a solid rebounder, cutter and passer, Daniels is considered one of the best perimeter defenders in the draft and he said he hoped he showcased that during his workout.

“I think with my defense, you can see that on film and things like that, but coming here you play 1-on-1, you play 3-on-3, 2-on-2, so you can show that in the drills and stuff,” Daniels said, per Boyd. “Busting through screens, using your hands, getting deflections, things like that. … Showing that’s my main strength and showing that offensive stuff that I’ve worked on as well.”

Daniels has an upcoming workout with the Kings (No. 4), and previously worked out for the Pistons (No. 5) and Spurs (No. 9), as Boyd relays.

Here are a few more workout-related notes on some projected first-round picks:

Kansas wing Ochai Agbaji, the 16th overall prospect on ESPN’s board, has upcoming workouts with the Knicks (No. 11) and Hawks (No. 16). He previously worked out for the Thunder (No. 12), Cavaliers (No. 14) and Bulls (No. 18), according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
G League Ignite’s MarJon Beauchamp, another wing who ranks 23rd on ESPN’s board, has workouts scheduled with the Knicks, Pelicans (No. 8), Spurs (Nos. 9, 20 and 25), Hornets (Nos. 13 and 15) and Timberwolves (No. 19). He previously worked out for the Hawks, Bulls and Grizzlies (Nos. 22 and 29), tweets Robbins.
Notre Dame guard Blake Wesley worked out for the Hawks on Friday, Boyd reports (via Twitter). Wesley, who is No. 27 on ESPN’s board, had a previous workout with the Nuggets (No. 21).