The Grizzlies, who have a strong inside game with All-Stars Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, were expected to look for outside shooting in the draft to help spread the floor and loosen up defenses that collapse in the paint against Randolph and Gasol. With their other two picks in the second round, the Grizzlies took Joffrey Lauvergne, a power forward from France with the 55th selection, and Janis Timma, a 6-foot-8 small forward from Latvia with the 60th and last pick in the draft.ĭespite the midseason trade of leading scorer Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies made it to the conference finals before being swept by the San Antonio Spurs.Įn route to the conference finals, other players - including point guard Mike Conley - picked up the scoring. He scored in double figures in 31 of San Diego State’s 33 games last season. He was the only player in the NCAA to lead his team in all four categories. He averaged 17 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals. They also had three second-round picks, selecting Jamaal Franklin of San Diego State with the 41st overall pick Thursday night.įranklin, a 6-foot-5 guard, led the Aztecs to three Mountain West titles and three consecutive NCAA appearances. Joerger was an assistant for Lionel Hollins, whose contract was not renewed after leading Memphis to a franchise-best 56 wins and a berth in the Western Conference finals. The Grizzlies also ended their coaching search earlier Thursday, introducing Dave Joerger as the team’s new bench leader. The trade was part of an active day for the Grizzlies despite them not having a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. But that wasn’t the purpose,” Connelly said. I don’t think it’s fair to the three centers that we had. That wasn’t what drove the deal, though, Connelly insisted. Koufos’ departure opens the way for $11 million-a-year super-sub JaVale McGee to start for Denver in 2013-14. He was traded to Minnesota in July of 2010 and then dealt to Denver during the 2010-11 season as part of the three-team trade that also sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks. Utah selected him with the 23rd pick of the first round in 2008. Koufos was third on the team in plus-minus, as the Nuggets outscored their opponents by 297 points with him on the floor over the course of the season.Īfter leading GlenOak to its only state final four, Koufos entered the NBA after one season at Ohio State. All those figures were easily career highs, as were his 81 games (all starts), and he helped the Nuggets surprise many by winning 57 games - the most by Denver since it entered the NBA. Koufos averaged 8.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 22.4 minutes a game last season. The 7-foot-, 265-pound Koufos will enter his sixth NBA season coming off his finest season as a pro.
Koufos is a consummate professional and a great kid.” He’s an elite frontcourt defender, he’s able to spread the court, he’s been a part of several successful playoff teams. We targeted a certain type of player and Arthur fits that role. “We traded a key piece of our team last year, a guy that has a really bright future and it was not easy. “It was a difficult evening,” new Denver general manager Tim Connelly said. The Nuggets traded Koufos, their starting center, to the Grizzlies for Darrell Arthur and the 55th pick.
23 at 3 p.m.A logjam at center in Denver resulted Thursday night in GlenOak High School graduate Kosta Koufos being traded for the third time in his career. Gay opting out also would keep OKC as major players in the free-agent market next summer, where they could pursue another marquee player to help Westbrook. The Thunder are a logical destination for Gay because superstar point guard Russell Westbrook has too much of the team’s scoring burden on his shoulders right now. He’s averaging 18.6 points per game for the Kings this season, and he’s averaged 18 or more points eight times in his career. I don?t think they have the pieces to trade.? “Houston has had some peripheral interest. Indiana has had interest in him,” Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski said on his recent podcast. There are a few teams interested in him, too.
Rudy Gay is expected to opt out of his contract and become an NBA free agent next summer, which means the Sacramento Kings should move him before the trade deadline to avoid losing him without getting anything in return. NBA Rumors: Rudy Gay Drawing Trade Interest From Thunder, Rockets.