It hasn’t been decided if the All-NBA teams will be announced during the league’s first ever award show on June 26 but regardless of when the teams are revealed they’ll have an impact on two pending free agents, John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Neither Blake Griffin nor Gordon Hayward will win the MVP of Defensive Player of the Year award, Smallwood writes, but the two will be in contention to land a spot among the three year-end teams. This year, that’s more important than ever.
Thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement, players whose portfolios boast particular impressive accolades will be eligible for more money in the form of the Designated Veteran Exception.
Another player that will be impacted by the new exception is Stephen Curry but since the MVP clause covers anybody who won that award in the previous three seasons, his is already locked in.
It’s unclear how exactly the formal announcements will unfold but even without the drama of a formal award show, this year’s revelations will be more dramatic than any we’ve seen previously.
There’s more from around the league:
- Though he’s no longer the commissioner of the NBA, David Stern is still very much involved with the league and the sport of basketball, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press writes. The article discusses some of the 74-year-old’s latest endeavors.
- For the first time ever, Basketball Without Borders is setting up camp in Israel, E. Carchia of Sportando writes. BWB has reached 134 countries and territories since 2001.
- The NBDL Player of the Year is former Cavaliers training camp invitee John Holland, the Cleveland D-League affiliate announced in an official press release. The guard averaged 22.9 points per game for the Canton Charge.