Truth & Rumors > NBA

07:13 AM ET 06.19 | The countdown of days to the draft has dwindled into the single digits, and eyes are still at the top of the talent grab, which finds Cleveland on the clock with the first selection. The Cavs have been talking to teams for weeks about a trade, but they are finding a limited market and at this point are likely to keep the pick. Sources in Cleveland strongly suggest that the Cavs have yet to make their decision. Anthony Bennett, Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter, Alex Len and Noel all have visits and/or workouts scheduled in Cleveland this week. Noel is scheduled to visit the team Thursday and has a chance to seal the deal as the No. 1 pick if he performs well. ... [Sources] say Noel's strongest competition right now is Len, whom some in the organization favor.

ESPN.com

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07:12 AM ET 06.19 | With a perfectly acceptable spot in the draft -- their highest in more than a decade -- the Mavericks are strongly thinking about moving it. And "strongly" means it is a virtual certainty. One source put the chances of the Mavericks having the 13th overall draft pick on their opening-day roster next season at 0 percent. There is an 80-percent chance that the pick is traded before or, more likely, during the draft, the source said. There is at least a 15-percent chance that the pick is a foreign player who is under contract and can be left overseas for a year and not count against the Mavericks' salary cap. There is less than a 5 percent chance that one of the top five or six players in the draft slips to No. 13 and the Mavericks take him.

The Dallas Morning News

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07:11 AM ET 06.19 | One cannot teach height, and Cody Zeller certainly has that particular part of the game covered -- even if some question his NBA upside. I've long dismissed the notion that the 76ers would jump at the chance to draft Cody Zeller if he's available at the No. 11 pick in the June 27 NBA draft. As The Inquirer's former Temple beat writer, I've covered Zeller against the Owls in the NCAA tournament. Let's just say that I was not impressed. Temple's Anthony Lee manhandled the 7-foot center/power forward from Indiana in the East regional third-rounder the Hoosiers won, 58-52. But Chad Ford of ESPN, Steve Kelly of Hoopsworld, The Sporting News, Draft Express, NBA.com and NBA Draft Insiders all have the Sixers using their first of three draft picks on Zeller.

Philly.com

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07:10 AM ET 06.19 | Mark Jackson brings a certain zen quality that Don Nelson lacked. So: Jackson is not going to scheme for a bigger, longer contract this summer after leading the Warriors to a surprise playoff run, though that's exactly what Nelson did after the franchise's previous postseason berth. If a new deal for Jackson comes before the season starts, then fine. If it doesn't (and Jackson said there have been no serious talks as of yet this offseason) ... well, Jackson might not be 100 percent thrilled with that, but he almost certainly won't stage a Nelson-style holdout. "I'm thrilled to have a job and to coach this group of guys -- and with great ownership, a great front office and fan base," Jackson said from Los Angeles in a phone interview Tuesday.

Mercury News

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02:59 PM ET 06.18 | The obvious end to the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Clippers trade talks happened and there appears to no longer be any chance that Doc Rivers is headed to the Clippers to assume head coaching duties. But just because he's not heading to Los Angeles does not mean he's coming back to Boston. Danny Ainge's promise from last month seems about as reliable and useful as a weather report on Mars, and Rivers' future with the Celtics is still up in the air and seems like it will be for a while. This isn't totally surprising as even before basketball fans everywhere got weak in the knees over the rumor Rivers was headed to Los Angeles, he was displaying doubt about returning to the Celtics anyway. The fact that trade talks with the Clippers have fallen apart, and Boston seemed ready to replace Rivers with Lawrence Frank, Rivers might feel even more comfortable stepping away for a year to relax and enjoy life a little before coming back to coaching.

Fansided

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