Specifically, the Indiana phenom is hoping to land on an All-NBA team, which would make his current five-year, super-max contract extension worth roughly $245MM. Otherwise, he’ll make $204.5MM.
“It’s no secret what’s at stake for me personally this year, and for us [as] a group,” Haliburton told Vardon and Amick. “So I feel like I’m looking to help lead this group. And if I’m playing like this and we’re still winning, I don’t care. It doesn’t bother me. I’ll get over it because obviously I’m doing enough to help us win. But when we’re not winning and I’m doing this, then that’s when it can really get to me.”
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“At this point of the season when you miss a week it feels like a lot longer than that,” White said. “So for me I don’t want to force it. Just let the game come to me. I’m just trying to go out there and contribute any way I can right now.”
The bigger picture for White is that he has likely changed the organization’s view of the roster with his performance this season, Cowley adds. After signing an extension last summer, White has enjoyed a breakout year, averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists through 68 games and becoming a candidate for Most Improved Player honors.
“Obviously the summer, him signing a long-term deal, we made the commitment to him that we wanted him to be here,” Donovan said. “What Coby has done you would want to create organizationally a runway for him to continue to grow, continue to develop. But I haven’t necessarily had the discussion where it’s been, ‘Wow, we got this guy and now we’ve got to do this.’”
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MARCH 22: The Bulls plan to sign free agent wing Javonte Green to a 10-day contract, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).
It will be a reunion between the two sides, as Green spent parts of three seasons with Chicago, most recently in 2022/23. The 30-year-old was limited to 32 games last season due to a knee injury, which required surgery.
Green signed a training camp deal with Golden State in October, but was waived a few days later. He has appeared in 10 regular season games with the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz in ’23/24, averaging 12.8 PPG, 6.8 RPG and 1.3 SPG on .489/.355/.824 shooting in 22.2 MPG.
Green, who went undrafted in 2015 out of Radford and spent four years playing professionally in Europe before catching on with Boston in 2019, averaged 6.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 0.9 SPG on .547/.360/.780 shooting in 97 games with the Bulls from 2021-23 (46 starts, 20.6 MPG). He’s known as a strong athlete and defender who plays bigger than his size, somewhat similar to Gary Payton II.
The Bulls currently have a full 18-man roster, but Lonzo Ball, Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams have been ruled out for the season, and rookie Julian Phillips is expected to miss at least two weeks with a foot issue. That means Green will almost certainly be signed via the hardship exception.
As a four-year veteran, Green will earn $124,425 over the course of his 10 days with the Bulls.
]]>DeRozan blamed Brooks for escalating the conflict, saying “it’s an issue walking up on any man from behind.” He also claimed that he was off balance and didn’t intend to foul Green as hard as he did.
“I was surprised just from the simple fact that I was trying to hedge out and just be aggressive, obviously bumped him, but if you look at it, I kind of tripped into it,” DeRozan said. “I’m not dumb. These days it’s just so hard to tell when you go back and look at a review. It wasn’t anything I was trying to do intentionally.”
KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago notes that DeRozan thought a foul should have been called when Green blocked his shot on the previous trip down court. Coach Billy Donovan told reporters that his players have to do a better job of not being affected by missed calls.
“We have to control ourselves and adjust to the officials,” Donovan said. “The crew that was on the game is a good crew. They’re good guys. They work extremely hard.”
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Through 59 games this year (36 starts), Okoro is averaging 9.7 points per game on .494/.396/.686 shooting. The 23-year-old is also posting 3.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 27.4 minutes per night. He’s best known as a stout perimeter defender, but Okoro’s improved jump shooting would seem to make him worth keeping around well into the future for the Cavaliers.
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“I always try to be in attack mode,” he said after the Bulls’ 29-point victory. “That’s the growth in my game. Not playing timid, always attacking, whether it’s attacking and keeping my dribble and kicking it out or attacking to score or attacking to get Vooch a shot. I think the most dangerous player to guard is someone who is always in attack mode.”
The Bulls are in a tricky spot with Williams, whose season ended early when it was announced in February that he would undergo foot surgery that would sideline him for the remainder of ’23/24. He’ll be a restricted free agent if Chicago gives him a $12.97MM qualifying offer, which should be a lock.
Still just 22 years old, Williams is a former No. 4 overall pick who has shown glimpses of tantalizing two-way upside over his first four seasons. The problem is, those glimpses have been fleeting and have never been sustained for a prolonged period of time.
In fairness to Williams, injuries have certainly played a role in his up-and-down play — while he played 71 games as a rookie and all 82 games in 2022/23, he was limited to just 17 games in ’21/22 due to a wrist injury and only made 43 appearances this season due to foot and ankle issues.
I’m sure the Bulls would have loved for Williams to have a breakout season in ’23/24 and cement his place as a cornerstone to build around going forward. But his averages — 10.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.9 SPG and 0.8 BPG on .443/.399/.788 shooting in 43 games (27.3 MPG) — were basically in line with his career numbers. Not better or worse, just neutral.
Williams has a high ceiling on both ends of the court due to his size, length, athleticism and skills. His production hasn’t matched his talent level to this point though, and there are a wide range of outcomes for what his next contract could look like, depending on how much external interest he draws as a RFA.
Okoro was selected with the No. 5 overall pick in 2020 — right after Williams. And as with Williams, Okoro showed glimpses of being a productive rotation regular for Cleveland during his first three seasons.
So why is Okoro’s stock up and Williams’ stuck in neutral? The answer is subjective of course, but part of it has to do with expectations.
After playing a career-low 21.7 minutes per game last season, Okoro is up to 27.2 MPG in ’23/24, and he has played well both as a starter and as a reserve. Overall, he’s averaging 9.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.9 SPG on .498/.399/.686 shooting in 57 games, including 34 starts.
The 23-year-old has improved in the area most critical to his development: three-point shooting. His 39.9% mark from deep is a career high, and he’s Cleveland’s best perimeter defender.
Like Williams, Okoro will be a restricted free agent in the offseason if he’s tendered a qualifying offer. Given the Cavs’ salary cap situation, I don’t expect him to receive much more than the mid-level exception, which is projected to be worth about $13.8MM annually on a four-year deal.
Okoro’s future with Cleveland was looking a little shaky last summer after the team acquired Max Strus and re-signed Caris LeVert. But he has become more decisive and effective on offense on top of being an already-strong defender, and I’d be very surprised if the Cavs didn’t keep him around in the offseason.
Now in his 12th NBA season, Crowder has far exceeded the careers of most second-round picks (he was selected No. 34 overall back in 2012). But he also appears to be at the tail end of his career.
The 33-year-old’s lengthy holdout with Phoenix last season was one of the more bizarre decisions for a player who was about to become a free agent. He was eventually moved to Milwaukee — his preferred destination — but at a significant cost: he made $10.2MM in ’22/23, and re-signed with the Bucks on a one-year, minimum-salary contract last summer.
Crowder hasn’t shown anything this year to prove he’s worth more than the veteran’s minimum going forward, averaging 6.1 PPG and 3.4 RPG on .421/.353/.692 shooting. He has only appeared 36 games (23.8 MPG), having missed 31 games early in the season after suffering a left adductor and abdominal tear, which required surgery.
Perhaps things will change if Crowder has a strong playoff performance, but to my eyes, he’s at least a half-step slower on defense than he used to be, and that was always his calling card. At his age, it’s rare for that trend to reverse.
Smith, who turns 24 years old today (happy birthday), is actually the third former lottery pick from 2020 on this list, as he was selected No. 10 overall in the same draft as Williams and Okoro. However, he has had a much different NBA path than his fellow draftees.
Smith didn’t play much for the team that selected him, Phoenix, and the Suns declined their third-year team option on his rookie scale contract in 2021. He was traded to Indiana in February 2022, eventually re-signing with the Pacers on a three-year, $15.1MM deal with a player option for the final season.
In 2022/23, which was Smith’s first full season with the Pacers, it seemed like the team was a little unsure about how best to utilize him. He opened the season as the starting power forward, but it was an awkward fit on both ends of the court, and he was eventually moved to the bench, mostly playing backup center. Overall, he averaged 9.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG and 0.9 BPG in 68 games (18.8 MPG).
Smith’s counting stats in ’23/24 — 10.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 0.6 BPG in 47 games (17.7 MPG) — are very similar to last season’s. There’s one huge difference though: he has been one of the most efficient offensive players in the NBA.
After posting a below-league-average 56.5 true shooting percentage in ’22/23, Smith is at 70.7 TS% in ’23/24, more than 12% above league average. He’s shooting 71.8% on twos and 44.2% on threes.
Given his elite offensive efficiency, decent defense, and age, it’s hard to imagine he’ll pick up his $5.42MM player option. The big man market is pretty thin in 2024, and Smith is in line for a raise — the two-year, $16MM deal Moritz Wagner signed with Orlando last summer should be his floor.
The Pacers will have cap room and Smith’s Early Bird rights if they want to bring him back. But they also have to pay Pascal Siakam, and third-year center Isaiah Jackson will be entering the final year of his rookie scale deal. Money could be a sticking point in negotiations.
]]>“Slower pace, style of play, competitive intensity, officiating focus have been contributing factors identified so far,” the NBA said.
According to Woj, the league also stated one focus area for the meeting was centered on offensive players “hunting for fouls and veering off paths into defenders.” That has also been a point of emphasis for officials — and a “contributing factor” in the reduced scoring output of late.
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During their past 16 games, the Pistons rank 20th in the NBA in net rating (-3.0) and 16th in defensive rating (113.0). Their pieces also seem to fit together in a way that they didn’t before their trade deadline overhaul, Langlois observes.
“We’re coming together as a team,” center Jalen Duren said, per Sankofa. “We’re all feeling good playing, I feel like everyone is catching their rhythm. You see (Marcus Sasser) coming in and doing his thing, Big Wise (James Wiseman) coming in and doing his thing. … Everyone’s contributing in their own way. That’s helping us.
“… We talk about running through the tape as a team and finishing the year strong, so that’s kinda been my mindset these last whatever games it’s been since All-Star break. Just running through the tape.”
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“He’s a very rare talent, definitely,” Bitim said of Ginobili. “But I love his basketball IQ on offense, on defense, how he passed the ball, shot the ball, drove the ball. But, yeah, like you said, he’s definitely a rare talent.”
Bitim is primarily known as a shooter, but he’s trying to stick in the league by showcasing other aspects of his game.
“I was a very good scoring player in Europe and also a good pick-and-roll player,” Bitim said. “I know how to read defenses because that’s what they have been teaching us since a young age. That’s why I think a lot of European players in the NBA know how to read defenses and how to read the games because they’re teaching us at a young age. But right now, I’m trying to just help my team. Whatever they need. If I need to defend, I need to defend. If I need to shoot, I need to shoot. If I need to take a rebound, I need to do that.”
Mayberry goes over a handful of other topics with Bitim, including his transition from Europe to the NBA and his early playing days.
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