Celtics Looking at Wings with Draft Picks?

Though most attention has turned to Kevin Garnett, and whether the Celtics center will return for one or two more seasons, the team has other aging concerns it will attempt to address in Thursday night’s NBA draft.

The Celtics’ plan to sign Jeff Green will be the most important step in filling the small forward role once Paul Pierce starts contemplating retirement, but this team does have an ongoing need for shooters.

Regardless of whether Ray Allen returns — a good question both in the minds of the player and the team — the Celtics have to get younger and more athletic on the wing. The Celtics, with the 21st and 22nd picks in the first round, aren’t currently in line for a Cadillac scorer. But they have hinted at a desire to move up.

If they trade up

General manager Danny Ainge and his staff took advantage of their second visit to Miami during the conference finals to get a look at two of the best perimeter players on the board — North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes and Washington’s Terrence Ross.

via Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Orlando Magic Shaking Up Front Office

New Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan has started to reconfigure the franchise’s baskeball operations department.

On Sunday, Hennigan fired Assistant General Manager Dave Twardzik and six scouts.

In addition to Twardzik, regional scout Tom Conrad, international scout Rudy D’Amico, international scouting coordinator Sam Foggin, pro scout Bob Staak, regional scout Greg Stratton and NBA advance scout Al Walker were let go, team spokesman Joel Glass confirmed.

Scouting coordinator Brian Wright will remain on the staff, Glass said.

Hennigan declined to comment.

Josh Robbins and Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel

Bobcats Want Barnes, But Not at #2?

(Harrison) Barnes is still a lock to go in the top five, but he might not wind up with the Cavs.

The Charlotte Bobcats are believed to be high on Barnes — keep in mind the Michael Jordan/North Carolina connection — but don’t want to take him second overall. That’s why so much speculation persists on the Cavs and Bobcats working a deal that would give the Cavaliers the No. 2 pick and access to anyone not named Anthony Davis, while the Bobcats would drop down two spots, still in position to take Barnes, and would presumably pick up the Cavs’ extra first-round pick (No. 24 overall).

Off the court, Barnes is smooth and polished. He speaks well, seems thoughtful and appeared for media interviews at the combine wearing dress pants and a sweater while almost everyone else appeared in shorts and T-shirts. Barnes said he did it because this was a job interview and he was taking it seriously.

via Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal

Rockets Intent on Pursuing Howard Trade

Upon hearing of Sunday night’s developments, one rival general manager told ESPN.com that he believes Houston’s real aim is acquiring two top-10 picks this week to turn around quickly and offer both to the Orlando Magic as part of a considerable trade offer for Dwight Howard.

The Rockets’ willingness to trade for Howard — even without the All-Star center’s signature on a contract extension — is an open secret around the league. But it’s believed that two top-eight picks, assuming Houston managed to complete trades with both Sacramento and Toronto, would seriously pique the interest of new Magic general manager Rob Hennigan, who could then quickly start following the same sort of roster-building blueprint relied on by his previous employers in Oklahoma City.

Acquiring those early lottery picks, though, only represents half of Houston’s challenge if Howard is indeed the Rockets’ target. The other hurdle is convincing Hennigan, who hasn’t even been on the job for a week in Central Florida, to part with Howard so quickly. As much as he’s been schooled in building through the draft while working alongside Thunder GM Sam Presti, Hennigan could opt to take a more measured approach, make one more run at trying to convince Howard to sign an extension before entering the final year of his contract and then trade him later in the summer if those efforts go nowhere.

via Chad Ford and Marc Stein of ESPN

Noah, Deng May be Traded to Keep Others

The Bulls want to give Omer Asik and Taj Gibson new deals, so they’re exploring ways to trade Luol Deng and/or Joakim Noah to teams that can send them a trade exception and a No. 1 pick.

via Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News

Deron Williams Narrows to Nets, Mavs?

When NBA free agency begins at midnight July 1, Brooklyn Nets star guard Deron Williams will be choosing from a two-team list that only features the Nets and the Dallas Mavericks, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com on Saturday night that, while this summer’s No. 1 free agent remains “up in the air” about which team he’ll ultimately chose, Williams already has made the decision to narrow his list of potential destinations to those two franchises.

Other teams, including the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, had been hoping to lodge their own bids for Williams once free agency begins, sources said.

via Mark Stein of ESPN New York

Mavericks Hope to Draft Rotation Player

In what is perceived to be a draft deep with talent, Donnie Nelson believes the Dallas Mavericks are positioned to pick up a quality player when the NBA holds its annual draft at 6 p.m. Thursday in Newark, N.J.

The Mavs hold the No. 17 and 55th picks in this year’s draft.

And considering 10 of its current 15 players are projected to be free agents on July 1, the Mavs could use an abundance of help.

“It’s that time of the year where we’re looking at everything and the kitchen sink at 17 and trying to figure out who’s going to fall where,” Nelson, the Mavs’ general manager, said. “It’s a crazy time of the year, and the coffee machines are working overtime.

“We should be able to come up with something that can help us. Hopefully it’ll be a rotation-type player.”

via Dwain Price of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram