Inside Hoops – Page 1071 – NBA Blog

Nick Young decides to become free agent

The Los Angeles Lakers were informed today by agent Mark Bartelstein that his client Nick Young will not be exercising his option to extend his contract, making him a free agent.

“We anticipated and expected that Nick would choose to become a free agent,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “We very much appreciate his contributions to last season’s team, and we will hopefully be able to bring him back. However, he, his agent and the market will dictate his future direction.”

In 64 games (nine starts) during the 2013-14 season, his first with the Lakers, Young averaged a career-high 17.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.3 minutes per game. The Los Angeles native maintained the highest scoring average (18.8 points per game off the bench) for a reserve in the NBA and scored 40+ points as a member of the second unit two times.

Cavs are expected to pursue LeBron James in free agency

Here’s the Akron Beacon Journal reporting on LeBron James free agency and the Cleveland Cavaliers:

The Cavs, of course, are expected to aggressively pursue James. They’ll have the cap space to sign him and potentially other free agents and still retain Kyrie Irving — although doubts remain about how much the Cavs’ former and current stars want to play together.

The Cavs have a number of non-guaranteed contracts for next season, including Anderson Varejao’s partially guaranteed deal. General Manager David Griffin said after the season ended the Cavs could clear $26 million this summer with little maneuvering and could easily get that figure over $30 million, so cap space won’t be a problem.

Convincing James to return, however, might still be tricky. The relationship between James and the Cavs is markedly better than it was in the days after he left four years ago, but one league source with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitive nature of negotiations, said James still harbors resentment toward owner Dan Gilbert over the infamous letter he wrote in the hours after James departed. The Cavs also might not have a roster ready to contend for a championship immediately, even with the addition of James.

“LeBron doesn’t want to play with a bunch of kids,” one source with knowledge of James’ thinking said in recent weeks. “He wants to win.”

Cavs hope to meet with Dante Exum

The 2014 NBA Draft is tomorrow, and teams are attempting to finalize their list of players they hope to select. And with the first pick, the Cavs will pick… somebody. Could Dante Exum be in the mix for that very top spot? Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

The Cleveland Cavaliers are making an 11th-hour push to get Australian guard Dante Exum into Cleveland for an interview and a possible workout, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN.

Exum, in New York on Wednesday for Thursday night’s NBA draft, said he has worked out for the Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic, who have picks No. 2-4, respectively.

The Cavaliers, who already have All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, are unlikely to take Exum with the No. 1 pick, but he could be an option for the team if it trades down in the draft.

Kings extend qualifying offer to Isaiah Thomas

The Sacramento Kings today extended a qualifying offer to Isaiah Thomas, making him a restricted free agent, according to Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

Thomas, a three-year NBA veteran, has accrued averages of 15.3 points (.447 FGs, .360 3FGs, .857 FTs), 2.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.03 steals per game through 216 outings (started 153) with Sacramento after being selected No. 60 overall in the 2011 NBA Draft.

In accordance with the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in order for a team to retain its right of first refusal with respect to a restricted free agent, the team must tender the player a qualifying offer prior to June 30. A restricted free agent may sign an offer sheet with any team, but is subject to a right of first refusal with the team for which the player last played.

Alan Anderson plans to opt out of Nets contract

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Nets:

Alan Anderson is planning to opt out of the second year of his contract with the Nets and test free agency next month, a league source confirmed Tuesday night.

Anderson, 31, came to the Nets as a free agent last summer after spending parts of the previous two seasons with Toronto and became a dependable option within coach Jason Kidd’s rotation, giving the team a tough-minded defender who was capable of knocking down an open 3-pointer.

Anderson played in 78 regular-season games, averaging 7.2 points and shooting 34 percent from 3-point range in 22 minutes a game, before averaging 5.9 points in the postseason, appearing in all 12 playoff games.

Cavs face tough decision on who to select first in NBA Draft

Here’s ESPN.com reporting on the 2014 NBA Draft, which is tomorrow night in Brooklyn, New York.

With only one day remaining until the NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ ownership and front office remain torn on whether to select Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker with the top overall pick, multiple sources told ESPN.com.

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert favors drafting Wiggins with the No. 1 pick after the former Kansas star’s terrific workout last Wednesday, according to multiple sources.

However, the majority of the Cavs’ front office — including new general manager David Griffin — is leaning toward selecting Parker, sources said.

Parker came in for a workout and was less than stellar, appearing out of shape and even disinterested. Sources told ESPN.com that the former Duke forward prefers to play in Milwaukee Bucks, which is closer to his Chicago home and also a spot in which he can be featured as a go-to player.

Sources said that it’s still unclear whether Gilbert will overrule Griffin and the Cavs’ front office — as was the case when he offered Kentucky coach John Calipari the coaching job prior to hiring David Blatt.

INSIDEHOOPS UPDATE: Cavs owner Dan Gilbert about 15 minutes ago tweeted that actually, the team is united on who they wish to select. Still, it presumably remains a tough decision. Can’t wait to see who they pick.

Pelicans hope to land a 2014 draft pick

Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune reporting on the Pelicans:

The New Orleans Pelicans are heading into Thursday night’s NBA draft with no selection in the first or second rounds for the first time in 12 years. But that could change if the Pelicans are able to find a willing trade partner.

According to Pelicans coach Monty Williams, they have actively pursued options to get back in the NBA draft after surrendering their first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers that was part of last year’s draft night trade.

”If there’s an opportunity to get in the draft, we’re going to look at it,” Williams said. ”The one thing we don’t want to do is be aggressive and put ourselves in a position to where we’re hamstrung for awhile and can’t make moves for the future.

”But our focus has been on the moves we think we can make, whether it be in the draft or free agency.We watched a lot of film and have had a lot of discussions with (general manager) Dell (Demps) and his group about what we can do to help our team.”

Like everybody else, Denver Nuggets want LeBron James

Here’s the Denver Post, via the Daily Camera website, reporting on the Nuggets:

The Nuggets are far removed from the initial national conversations concerning the next landing spot for LeBron James, but they will not let the opportunity pass without at least making their interest known.

James’ agent informed the Miami Heat on Tuesday morning that he’ll opt out of the final two years of his contract, which was to pay him $42.7 million, to become an unrestricted free agent. The Nuggets, according to an NBA source, will line up and make their pitch, along with pretty much every other team in the league.

Fitting James onto the Nuggets’ roster would entail clearing out a truckload of contracts. The best route, but not the only one, to clear enough cap room would be through moving the contracts of JaVale McGee ($11.2 million), Danilo Gallinari ($10.8 million) and Wilson Chandler ($6.7 million) for next season. And they’d have to do all of that without getting comparable contracts in return, which would be extremely difficult.

Video: Dante Exum explores Times Square

Enjoy this video of high-ranked 2014 NBA Draft prospect Dante Exum explore Times Square in midtown Manhattan, New York. The Draft is Thursday in Brooklyn.

Utah Jazz hire five assistant coaches

The Utah Jazz today announced the five members of Head Coach Quin Snyder’s staff, naming Brad Jones, Antonio Lang, Alex Jensen, Mike Wells and Johnnie Bryant as assistant coaches.

“We have assembled a talented group of coaches with a track record of winning and successful player development,” said Jazz Head Coach Quin Snyder. “They are high-character individuals with a diversity of experience ranging from playing professionally to coaching in the NBA, D-League, collegiately and overseas, and will be invaluable in building a strong foundation for this team.”

Jones returns for his third season on the Jazz staff since re-joining the organization in 2012. Prior to that, Jones spent two seasons as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs-owned Austin Toros of the NBA Development League from 2010-12, leading the Toros to the 2012 D-League title. From 2007-10 Jones served as the original head coach of the D-League’s Utah Flash (now the Delaware 87ers), earning two playoff berths and a spot in the 2009 D-League Finals. During his five-year D-League coaching career (139-111, .556), Jones had eight different players under his tutelage who were called-up to the NBA a total of 13 times, and also had 12 different NBA players assigned by their respective teams to work with him on a total of 14 D-League assignments.

Previously, Jones worked as a regional scout for the Jazz for six years (2001-07). Jones also served as the head coach at his alma mater, Lambuth University, from 1995-2001. During his tenure there, he was twice named the Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year and led the school to a pair of conference championships.

Lang arrives in Utah with an array of domestic and international experience as both a player and coach, having most recently served as head coach in Japan’s National Basketball League (NBL). Lang coached the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins there for the last four seasons, guiding them to the 2014 playoffs. Previously he served as an assistant coach with Mitsubishi from 2006-10.

A member of the winningest graduating class in NCAA history, Lang played four seasons for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University from 1990-94, appearing in three Final Fours and winning back-to-back national championships in 1991 and 1992. Lang was then selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 29th overall pick of the 1994 NBA Draft, and enjoyed a six-year NBA career with Phoenix, Cleveland, Miami, Toronto and Philadelphia. He also played professionally in the American Basketball Association (ABA), Continental Basketball Association (CBA), International Basketball League (IBL) as well as time overseas in the Philippines and Japan.

Jensen is entering his second season as a member of the Jazz coaching staff. Before joining the Jazz, Jensen spent two seasons (57-43, .557) as the first-ever head coach of the Canton Charge of the D-League from 2011-13, advancing the Cleveland Cavaliers-owned team to the playoffs in both seasons. He was named the 2013 Dennis Johnson NBA D-League Coach of the Year after leading the Charge to a franchise-best 30 victories and an East Division title. Jensen then coached the D-League Select Team in the 2013 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, leading his squad to a 4-1 record against NBA team entries and advancing them to the quarterfinals of the inaugural summer league tournament. Jensen began his coaching career as an assistant under Rick Majerus at Saint Louis University from 2007-11.

A native of Bountiful, Utah, Jensen attended Viewmont High School there, leading the Vikings to a state basketball title as a junior and was named Utah’s Mr. Basketball in 1994. Jensen played four seasons at the University of Utah (1994-95, 1997-00) under Majerus and helped the Utes to the NCAA Championship game in 1998. Following his collegiate career, Jensen played seven professional seasons in Turkey and one season with the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA. While playing in Europe, Jensen was named All-FIBA Europe Cup Defender of the Year in 2004, along with being named to the All-FIBA Europe Cup First Team.

Wells joins the Jazz organization with an extensive basketball career that spans 20 seasons at both the collegiate and professional levels, and includes time on the staffs of two NBA championship teams (1995 Houston Rockets and 2007 San Antonio Spurs). Wells was most recently working at Toledo University, after having spent last season as an assistant coach at South Florida and the two previous years in the same role at George Mason (2011-13).

Before returning to collegiate-level coaching, Wells spent 17 seasons in the NBA and had the opportunity to work with some of the league’s best coaches – Rudy Tomjanovich with the Houston Rockets (1995-2003) and Los Angeles Lakers (2004-05), Jeff Van Gundy in Houston (2003-04), Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs (2005-09) and Flip Saunders with the Washington Wizards (2009-11). Wells’ NBA career began in 1995 with the eventual NBA Champion Houston Rockets (1995-2004) where he worked his way up from assistant video coordinator to assistant coach. In addition, he also worked as the head scout for the USA Basketball Men’s National Team from 1998-2003, including the gold-medal winning team at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Bryant begins his third season with the Jazz since being hired in the summer of 2012. Prior to joining the Jazz, Bryant operated Bryant Sports Academy, an intense and unique skill development program through which he has worked extensively with more than 125 athletes of various age groups to advance each player’s skill set through personalized workout sessions. Among the athletes he has worked with are numerous professional European players and several NBA players.

Bryant is a former standout guard at the University of Utah where he played three seasons (2005-08) and finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in three-point percentage (.455) and ranked 20th on the Utes’ all-time scoring list. He was named to the All-Mountain West Conference Second Team in 2008 and received the Jack Gardner team MVP award for the 2007-08 season. He also set the single-game three-point record (8), and finished his career fifth all-time in the Mountain West Conference in three-point field goal percentage (.490) in conference games. Bryant then played one professional season in Germany with Telemotive Muenchen.