2019 NBA Draft Day Bric-a-Brac

Signings
(Executives)
Blazers re-sign Neil Olshay as President of Basketball Operations through 2023-2024
The Blazers have been better than I thought they'd be for the last coupla years and making the Western Conference Finals this year is pretty badass, so re-upping Olshay seems like an easy call.

Bucks re-signed Jon Horst as GM
Horst had a helluva year in 2018-19 (my Executive of the Year), so getting a raise/bonus/guarantee is well-deserved and a good move for the Bucks.

Wolves named Gianluca Pascucci asst. GM
Guy's got a cool name. Not sure what an asst. GM does (besides wait around for the next GM opening).

Grizzlies named Taylor Jenkins as Head Coach
Jenkins is a young guy and comes from the Budenholzer camp, so the recent Grizzlies executive suite upheaval has resulted in a full-on youth movement on the court and behind the scenes. Good idea? Who knows?

Pelicans extended Alvin Gentry as Head Coach for two more years
Of all the horrible things that have happened to the Pelicans over the last two years, I've never heard anyone suggest that Gentry is to blame, so that alone is worthy of a reward, I reckon. He'll have a whole new look on the court, he's probably just the right guy for the Zion-Lonzo-Ingram line. They'll be fun next year--not sure they'll be any good but they'll be fun.

Cavs hired Lindsay Gottlieb as asst. Coach
Gottlieb comes from coaching the Cal Lady Bears to the NBA sidelines. Good luck! Coach Bielein seems like a good guy to work for.


(Player options exercised)
Marvin Williams (Hornets)
Aron Baynes (Celtics)
Goran Dragic (Heat)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Hornets)
Tyler Johnson (Suns) (?)
Yeah, all of these guys are better off staying put.


(Player options declined)
Kyrie Irving (Celtics)
Jonas Valenciunas (Grizzlies)
James Ennis (Sixers)
Jimmy Butler (Sixers)
Julius Randle (Pelicans)
Khris Middleton (Bucks)
Harrison Barnes (Kings) (?)
Al Horford (Celtics) (?)
Kyrie is gonna get paid; not sure what's up with Ennis, played well in the playoffs so probably looking for good money from a good team (maybe or maybe not the Sixers); JV and Butler (and Harrison Barnes?) are likely gonna get raises from their current teams; Randle is on the move after a solid offensive year (and the imminent arrival of Zion, who looks like Julius 2.0); felt to me like Middleton would be on the move but the latest buzz is that Middleton should get a raise from the Bucks, good move for the Bucks if they can afford it; the Horford plan was to re-sign with the Celtics but the buzz is he'll be on the move--and suddenly the Celtics have a ton of money to spend and look to be big players this summer.


(Team options exercised)
Alonzo Trier (Knicks)
Jahlil Okafor (Pelicans)
A very promising rookie year, cheap contract, Knicks need bodies--yeah, this was always gonna happen.
I actually always thought Okafor had pretty good offensive skills (not so much on the defensive side) and he looked pretty good for most of last year.  And he's a Dukie, get ready for more of those, New Orleans!


(Team options declined)
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Nets)
I never understood RHJ's position with the Nets, guess now we know.


(Claimed off waivers)
Rockets nabbed Deyonta Davis after he was waived by the Hawks
Rockets need every cheap body (and roster manipulation) they can find. I thought Davis was a promising prospect but has only bounced around the league so far. Maybe Houston is a good spot for him.


(Retired)
Tony Parker (Hornets)
Hall of Famer. With Kemba possibly on the move, seems like he could've seen some playing time in Charlotte, why walk away now?


Trades
Hawks get Allen Crabbe, #17 pick, 2020 1st rd pick; Nets get Tauren Waller-Prince, 2021 2nd rd pick
Hawks take on some salary and get a coupla 1st rounders (though I suspect that 2020 pick is well protected) in return. Not bad. If Crabbe is healthy, he can blend into the Hawks youth movement for a year--and never know, man, Crabbe might bounce back and be great off the bench for the Hawks. Worth a look.
I kinda like Waller-Prince but the Hawks are gonna be paying a lot of youngsters soon, I guess they considered him low priority. The Nets save some money and throw another body in the rotation and the Nets don't care about draft picks because they fancy themselves a free agent destination (though they just shipped out the best signing they ever made (*).

Lakers get Anthony Davis; Pelicans get Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, the #4 pick, Lakers 2021 1st rd pick, 2023 1st rd pick swap, 2024 1st rd pick
Was gonna happen eventually and then eventually happened and now it seems like the Lakers are trying to renegotiate (if I'm the Pelicans I would politely decline and remind the Lakers that I'd rather Anthony Davis than all that LA junk anyway). The Lakers got the guy they want and all it cost them was virtually all of their roster, so how do they get another star and then fill out the roster? Not sure, but I'm guessing it's gonna be reeeeeeeaaaaallllll expensive. Hey, man, Lakers don't care, they're about stars, not basketball and now they're set on stars for the next few years.
The Pelicans basically control the Lakers' next six drafts (I believe there is another pick swap in there) and lifted most of their most recent draft picks (and just said goodbye to another Laker draft pick, Julius Randle). The Lakers are now basically the Pelicans with Lebron and the Pelicans are the Lakers with (hopefully) the patience to actually grow their prospects. Not sure either are guaranteed playoff teams.

Jazz get Mike Conley; Grizzlies get Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, the #23 pick, Jazz 2020 1st rd pick
Conley is a good PG, he controls the ball, he leads the team, he knocks down big shots, I think he'll fit just fine with Donovan Mitchell, I wouldn't say this puts the Jazz over the top but next year looks wide open in the West, so maybe it does.
Hmmmm, couldn't the Grizzlies have done better? Crowder and Korver are on the downside and only really valuable on an already good team, Allen has got some Grizzlies grit to him but is hardly a guaranteed rotation guy for them and the #23 pick is meh. Seems like the Celtics would've given a coupla better picks. For as long as they held on to Conley, it feels like they could've held out for a deal that helps them quicker than this.

Bucks get Jon Leuer; Pistons get Tony Snell, the #30 pick
I always kinda liked Leuer, he's slightly cheaper than Snell and while not as good a shooter, probably a better rebounder. Not a huge move for the Bucks but moving on from Snell (who did nothing in the post-season) and the last pick of the 1st round (re: least exciting prospect with higher guaranteed contract) are good moves. They may waive Leuer but I think they'll play him.
Pistons get a little more scoring for a little more money and #30 gives them another chance to bring in a low-cost body to throw in the rotation.

Warriors get #41 pick; Heat get #43 pick; Hawks get Warriors 2024 2nd rd pick, a future 2nd rd pick from the Heat, cash from the Heat
The Hawks have 3 good 1st rd picks, went ahead and paid their two 2rd rd picks forward for future picks and everyone's favorite Xmas gift: cash.
Warriors are suddenly in great need of low-cost bodies, wouldn't be surprised to see them find another 2nd rd pick before the night is done.
The Heat might have their eye on someone (do they think  Johntay Porter (Missouri) can turn into something?) and their top heavy salary cap might make them trade heavy this summer, in which case having low-cost bodies on hand is not a bad thing.

Pacers get TJ Warren, the #32 pick; Suns get (straight) cash (homie)
Wow, just an old fashioned straight up salary dump. Good pick up for the Pacers, a very affordable deal for a guy that'll help replace Thaddeus Young. And I like #32, too, as a throw-in (made for Carsen Edwards (Purdue)!). They still have plenty enough cash to do what they need to do this summer (Bogdonavic and Ricky Rubio?).
Suns get a big ol' hole in their lineup (hmmm, a Demarcus Cousins-sized hole?). They've got a ton of money and they still have #6, so expect the Suns to have new faces in the fall.

Hawks get Solomon Hill, #4, #57, 2021 2nd rd pick; Pelicans get #8, #17, #35, Cavs' 2020 1st rd pick
Hawks get to move up in the draft (Darius Garland (Vanderbilt)? I thought they like Cam Reddish (Duke)), two picks for stashing foreign prospects and Solomon Hill (who I'm sure will be waived any second now). If they get the guy they want at #4, then this deal was totally worth it.
Pelicans get rid of their worst contract and though they moved back in the draft, they pick up a coupla extra picks and stand to pick up an extra 1st rd pick if the Cavs are an upside surprise next year (not impossible but not likely). If they were targeting Reddish instead of Garland, they're probably still in line for him and get some bonus picks besides. Good deal for Pelicans.

Wolves get #6; Suns get Dario Saric and #11
I like what the Suns did here. I think Saric can still be really good and with TJ Warren out of the way, Saric slides nicely into that rotation. And since I think this is a 4 man draft, the difference between #6 and #11 isn't huge--Suns can still get Rui Hachimura, for example, who I think should be ranked higher. Obviously it comes down to the pick but this could be a home run for the Suns.
If the Wolves get the guy they want at #6 then its worth it (but if they don't, then they just gave away  a good young defender up for extension this year), so who do they want? Coby White (North Carolina) to replace Jeff Teague next summer?


Feels like more trades are coming but I'll wrap up after the draft.


(*) Couldn't help myself, had to see the Nets' free agents signings since 2013-14 (not a complete list, but pretty close): Jerome Jordan, Darius Morris, Willie Reed, Ryan Boatright, Trevor Booker, Justin Hamilton, Grievis Vasquez, Luis Scola, Joe Harris, Anthony Bennet, Spencer Dinwiddie, Tyler Zeller, Shabazz Napier, (re-signed Joe Harris). Outside of Dinwiddie and Harris, not much to indicate that they're experienced at wheeling and/or dealing. Oh, and actually Crabbe was a sign-and-trade, so he doesn't even actually count.