Clippers Notes: Griffin, Paul, Redick
Blake Griffin, who was ruled out for the remainder of the postseason with a toe injury, can become a free agent this summer, but he may not have many teams lining up to give him a long-term max deal, Kevin O’ Connor of The Ringer contends. O’Connor details Griffin’s injury history, which includes several ailments on each of his legs, and believes it will cause rival teams to be cautious when making the big man a multi-year offer in free agency. Griffin could always elect not to activate his ETO and stay with the Clippers, though the $21.4MM he would receive in the 2017/18 season is less than the annual salary he’s likely to receive on the open market.
Here’s more from Los Angeles:
- The window to trade Griffin closed over a season ago and the Clippers missed their chance at getting value for him, O’Connor notes in the same piece. The scribe argues that if GM Doc Rivers had pulled the trigger years ago, the team would have much more depth today and players such as Paul Pierce and Raymond Felton wouldn’t be soaking up significant playoff minutes.
- Chris Paul is expected to re-sign with the Clippers, but O’Connor (same piece) wonders if the team should be worried about Paul finding a more attractive option in free agency. He speculates that the Spurs could be a threat should the franchise open up the necessary cap space to give Paul a maximum-salary contract.
- Sam Amick of USA Today (video link) isn’t sure owner Steve Ballmer is going to sign off on paying luxury tax payments again for a team that doesn’t have a clear path at a championship. In addition to Paul and Griffin searching for max deals this summer, J.J. Redick will be a free agent and Amick estimates that the Duke product will warrant a deal that pays him $18MM per year.
Jusuf Nurkic Will Play In Game 3
The Blazers will get Jusuf Nurkic back in Game 3, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter link). Nurkic, who suffered a fractured leg last month, will start, but he’ll see his minutes limited.
Nurkic came to the Blazers in a deadline deal for Mason Plumlee and the big man has thrived in his new environment. In 20 games with Portland (19 starts), he scored 15.2 points and pulled down 10.4 rebounds per game. The team went 14-6 with Nurkic in the lineup.
The center will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. He’s making slightly over $1.92MM this year and he’s set to collect approximately $2.95MM next season.
Kevin Durant Won’t Play In Game 3
The Warriors will hold Kevin Durant out of tonight’s contest as he recovers from a calf injury, Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets. Durant missed Game 2 against the Blazers with the same ailment and at the time, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Groups reported that the small forward could miss Game 3 as well.
Durant suffered the injury in the opening game of the series. He scored 32 points in that contest but needed to ice his leg toward the end of the game.
Golden State has gone 17-4 without Durant in the lineup this season, which includes the team’s win over Portland last Wednesday. Steve Kerr will also miss tonight’s tilt and Mike Brown will coach in his place.
Steve Kerr To Miss Game 3
Steve Kerr will miss tonight’s game against the Blazers because of an illness, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com relays (Twitter link). Mike Brown will act as the Warriors’ head coach in Kerr’s place.
Brown has plenty of heading coaching experience. He has two separate stints as the Cavs’ head coach with 71 games on the Lakers’ sideline sandwiched in between them. Brown has a head coaching record of 347-216.
Kerr missed 43 games last season while recovering from back surgery and at the time, Luke Walton took over the head coaching reigns, leading the team to a 39-4 record.
Golden State has a two-game lead in their series against the Blazers. The Warriors won the first two contests by a combined 41 points.
Bucks Notes: Snell, Brogdon, Maker
The Bucks swapped Michael Carter-Williams for Tony Snell right before the season started and the small forward has become one of the team’s most important players, Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times details. Snell has become a top defender on the team, as evidenced by his performance against DeMar DeRozan in Game 3 of the team’s opening round series. On offense, Snell’s improved 3-point shooting gives the team another lethal option from behind the arc.
“At the beginning of the season, Tony said he wanted to be a 3 and D guy. He wanted to shoot 3s really well and play defense really well, locking up people. And he’s taken that to heart. He’s playing at a high level defensively,’’ teammate Malcolm Brogdon said.
Snell will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season and he should garner interest from rival teams. 6’7″ wings who shoot over 40% from three and play great defense are alway in demand and I speculate that Snell nabs a contract with annual values ranging from $12-14MM. The Bucks have approximately $82MM in guaranteed salaries on the books for next season against a projected $101MM salary cap, though they could go over the cap to sign the small forward since they own his bird rights.
Here’s more from Milwaukee:
- The Bucks are the first team since the 2012/13 Warriors to start two rookies in a playoff game and the team has put in a lot of work to get them ready for the postseason, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes.“[Thon Maker] and Malcolm believe that they can do the job,” coach Jason Kidd said. “The guys on the floor and on the bench support them, and the coaching staff has done everything to prepare them for this moment. It’s up to them to be basketball players, and they’re very comfortable with doing that.”
[RELATED: 2017 NBA Award Picks: Rookie Of The Year]
- Maker is embracing his role as a defensive-minded starter on the Bucks, Michael Grange of SportsNet relays. “Bringing energy, blocking shots. It starts at the defensive end. Offensively it’s spacing the floor and using my knowledge of the game at this point to make plays for others and myself, but at this point it’s mostly on the defensive end,” Maker said.
- If the Bucks had their own D-League affiliate, Maker may not be playing for the NBA club, Grange adds in the same piece. The team wanted to get him experience but didn’t want to send him to another team’s affiliate and potentially waste time. Stuck without many options, the coaching staff found a solution in playing Maker in limited minutes in the starting lineup. “So, we needed to play him and after talking with the coaching staff we thought, ‘Let’s look at starting him and being able to benefit, using his energy but also an opportunity to play so it’s not a wasted season,’‘ Kidd said.
BIG3 Notes: Calendar, Locations, Scalabrine
Important dates for the upcoming BIG3 league have been revealed, with the eight-team draft lottery scheduled for April 28, followed by the draft combine the next day and the formal three-on-three draft on April 30. The organization revealed as much to the Associated Press earlier this week.
The league will tip off on June 25 and has now published its full calendar, including game locations, on its website terminating with a championship game in Las Vegas on August 26.
Although it hasn’t been formally reported, the schedule post provides the name for the final club, the Ball Hogs. The other seven teams had been previously announced and are outlined in our BIG3 Roster Database.
In addition, the schedule announcement lists Brian Scalabrine as the Ball Hog’s team captain. They’ll be coached by Rick Barry and co-captained by a player to be named later. Scalabrine’s inclusion had already been made public but this is the first time he’s been linked to a captaincy.
Also worth noting is that this, the most recent press release published, mentions how games will be decided. Rather than being based on a typical game clock, the winner will be the first team to reach 60 points. The full list of game rules, however, had been published previously.
For a complete, updated, list of all the players expected to be in the draft pool, check out our BIG3 Roster Database.
Week In Review: 4/15/17 – 4/22/17
The NBA playoffs are well underway and we’ve already seen some unexpected plot twists and notable developments. Here’s a breakdown of the week that was, the players who will watch their squads play from the sidelines and a few rumors that may shed light on what the lottery-bound lot might do this offseason.
Transactions
- The Hornets opted to decline their team option on 21-year-old Christian Wood‘s contract. The big man was sparsely used in his first season in Charlotte.
Injuries
- For the second year in a row, Clippers forward Blake Griffin will exit the postseason before his team. In Game 3 of their first-round matchup with the Jazz, Griffin injured the plantar plate of his big toe.
- In Game 1 of their first-round series against the Clippers, Jazz center Rudy Gobert injured his knee and hasn’t played since.
- A fractured thumb will sideline Bulls guard Rajon Rondo indefinitely, he sustained the injury in Game 2 of their first-round series with the Celtics.
News
- The Kings have hired Scotty Perry to serve as their executive vice president. Perry was most recently the assistant general manager to Rob Hennigan with the Magic.
- The NBA’s draft order is coming into view following the breaking of several regular season tiebreakers.
- Tragedy struck the NBA community this week when Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas‘ younger sister, Chyna Thomas, was killed in a car accident just prior to the start of the postseason.
- A former fiancee has accused Jazz center Jeff Withey of domestic violence but Withey’s attorney emphatically denies the claim.
Rumors
- Word has it the Pistons will match any offer restricted free agent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope can scrounge up this offseason. The two-guard averaged 13.8 points per game in a down year for Detroit.
- Though he plans to opt out with his player options, Danilo Gallinari is said to prefer staying with the Nuggets through free agency.
- There were no shortage of reaction posts to Phil Jackson‘s bizarre, negative press conference earlier this month. The head of the player’s union, Michele Roberts, formally called the Knicks executive’s behavior “inappropriate.”
- The Magic are said to be eyeing Cavaliers general manager David Griffin as a possible replacement for Rob Hennigan, with whom they parted ways last week.
- The Celtics coaching staff was reportedly interested in acquiring Carmelo Anthony this season but the front office, not so much.
- If it’s up to him, Clippers head coach and president of basketball operations, Doc Rivers, said that he’d like to retain L.A.’s core, despite the looming free agencies of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick.
- After a down season in New York, Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis says that he’ll spend his offseason in Latvia. It’s also been reported that Carmelo Anthony could dig in and resist a trade this summer.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 4/15/17 – 4/22/17
The Hoops Rumors team was busy pumping out original content this week and we’ve broken it all down for you here. Take a look at some of our favorite pieces and let us know what you think.
- It’s getting harder to contain enthusiasm for the upcoming draft. Here’s a summary of the recent tiebreaker results and a tentative look at the 2017 NBA Draft order.
- We completely revamped how we feature content from around the NBA blogosphere. This week we showcase our favorite original content with our own analysis and rating. Send us your NBA links for next week’s edition!
- We explored the “dead money” that teams have sitting on their books this year and what that means.
- We gathered a panel of Hoops Rumors staffers to vote on the year-end awards.
- We were torn between Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo for Most Improved.
- We gave the nod to Lou Williams for Sixth Man.
- We put Rudy Gobert just ahead of Draymond Green for Defensive Player of the Year.
- We chose Malcolm Brogdon over Joel Embiid for Rookie of the Year.
- We decided that Russell Westbrook was this year’s MVP.
- We conducted polls to determine what the All-NBA teams should be. Here are the results, determined by readers.
- First Team. (Westbrook, Harden, James, Leonard, Davis)
- Second Team. (Curry, Thomas, Antetokounmpo, Durant, Towns)
- Third Team. (Wall, DeRozan, Butler, George, Gobert)
- Only two teams finished above the NBA’s luxury tax threshold, we broke down the culprits and the impact that will have on those organizations and the rest of the league.
- Four teams finished below the NBA’s salary floor this season, we looked at who those were and what that means.
- We answered reader inquiries in our Weekly Mailbag, including questions about Klay Thompson‘s eventual free agency and the forecast for next year’s Lakers club. Be sure to get your questions in for inclusion in next week’s mailbag.
- We always like to gauge what our readers think about pressing matters. Our Community Shootaround this week asked people who they think the next head coach fired will be.
- If you missed last week’s Hoops Rumors Originals summary, you can catch up here.
- Did you know that you can get a Trade Rumors app for iOS and Android? Well, you can. And should.
And-Ones: Bargnani, Akognon, Early Entrants
With his first official campaign out of the NBA now in the books, Andrea Bargnani is discussing a buyout with Saski Baskonia in the ACB League, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets.
Bargnani has been injured since February and hasn’t suited up for the Spanish EuroLeague club since. He did average 11.5 points in the 14 games he played while healthy.
Last July, the 31-year-old former first overall NBA Draft choice signed a two-year deal with the organization.
There’s more from around the NBA.
- International hoops journeyman Josh Akognon, who last saw NBA action with the Mavs in 2012/13, recently signed a contract with the Henan of the Chinese NBL. Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia relayed a tweet by David Pick, who reported the news.
- Greek point guard prospect Antonios Koniaris will enter the 2017 NBA Draft, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express tweets. The athletic playmaker already has an agent.
- Redshirted Gonzaga forward Johnathan Williams will test the waters for the NBA Draft, the Bulldogs announced on their official website. The junior has not hired an agent.
- Junior guard Victor Sanders has declared for the NBA Draft, Idaho head coach Don Verlin told Ryan Horlen of the Idaho Statesman. He has not hired an agent.
- Count Texas Tech’s Zach Smith among those looking to test their draft stock. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets that the junior big man has declared but not hired an agent.
Wizards Notes: Wall, Mahinmi, Jennings
The first round of the 2017 postseason has thus far served as an opportunity for John Wall to showcase his progress as an NBA superstar, Jonathan Tjarks of the Ringer writes in a new feature. These playoffs, he says, belong to the 26-year-old guard.
Up an early two games on the Hawks, Wall and the Wizards have been particularly tough on Atlanta. The relatively unheralded point guard has simply outmatched Dennis Schroder throughout their time on the court together.
Considering that Wall still doesn’t even have a signature shoe deal, as Tjarks points out, he’s flown under the radar compared to his superstar NBA counterparts. That would change if Wall is able to carry the Wizards into an Eastern Conference Finals showdown with the Cavaliers.
There’s more from Washington:
- Center Ian Mahinmi didn’t play for the Wizards in either Games 1 or 2 of their first-round series and isn’t expected to be available in the next two either, Ava Wallace of the Washington Post tweets.
- The NBA has come down on Kelly Oubre Jr. with a $25K fine for kicking a ball into the stands and striking a spectator, the league announced in a press release. The second-year guard kicked the ball into the air during Washington’s post-game celebration.
- Acquired to provide a spark off the bench for the Wizards, Brandon Jennings did exactly that in Washington’s Game 2 over the Hawks. The eight-year veteran has been a valuable source of experience, too, writes Ava Wallace for the Washington Post.