Eastern Notes: Playoffs, Tavares, Pavlova, Jackson
The Eastern Conference playoff matchups are set. The Celtics take home the No. 1 seed and will play the Bulls (8) in the opening round. The Cavaliers (2) will take on the Pacers (7). The Raptors (3) will clash with the Bucks (6) and the Wizards (4) will battle the Hawks (5).
The Heat were hoping to sneak in, but with both Indiana and Chicago winning tonight, they will watch the playoffs from home. Coach Erik Spoelstra, who’s in the conversation for the Coach of the Year award, is upset to see Miami’s season end, as Manny Navarro of the Miami Herald passes along via Twitter. “I don’t know if I ever felt this way about a team before. I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted anything more for a team,” Spoelstra said.
On the bright side, Miami has a shot at the No. 1 overall pick, owning 0.5% of the ping pong balls in this year’s lottery. You can find each lottery team’s chances at the No.1 overall pick on our Reverse Standings page.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- The Cavaliers swapped Edy Tavares for Larry Sanders because they felt Tavares was “more game ready,” Sam Amico of Amico Hoops relays (Twitter feed). It was reported yesterday that Cleveland and Sanders mutually parted because he would not have made the rotation. Tavares had 10 rebounds and six blocks in his debut with the team tonight.
- Irina Pavlova, who serves as a top adviser to Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, is leaving the organization, Chris Mannix of The Vertical writes. Pavlova is on the board of directors for Brooklyn and Brooklyn Arena LLC, which is the company that runs the Barclays Center.
- Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy sees Reggie Jackson‘s injury as a major reason why the Pistons never met expectations, Rod Beard of The Detroit News passes along. Jackson didn’t play well upon returning, but Van Gundy believes he will bounce back next year. “I think Reggie will come back and be as good as or better than he was two years ago. I honestly do. There were a lot of things that were physically and mentally very difficult for him to handle,” SVG said. “He’s committed to getting those things changed. He’s a talented guy and he’ll be really good next year — I have confidence in him.”
Draft Notes: Tatum, Smith, Bridges, Alkins
Jayson Tatum is rising up draft boards and Chad Ford of ESPN.com believes he could be a dark horse for the No.1 overall pick. Ford notes that Tatum is widely regarded by scouts as being the most NBA-ready right now. The Duke product sits at No. 4 in the scribe’s latest Big Board.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Dennis Smith‘s stock is falling with teams questioning how he handled himself in the midst of disappointing college season, Ford writes in the same piece. The scribe adds that Smith has elite athletism, so his stock could rise after individual workouts take place.
- Miles Bridges is undecided on whether or not he’s going to return to MSU, but Ford notes that he appears to be a “lock” for the lottery should he opt to declare for the draft.
- Arizona’s Rawle Alkins will test the draft waters, but won’t yet sign with an agent, according to his Twitter feed. The shooting guard is the 79th best prospect in the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
- Kansas’ Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk has declared for the draft, but will also not hire an agent, according to University’s website. The junior is the 68th best prospect in the draft, according to Givony.
- PJ Dozier will declare for the draft, but will not hire representation, according to the University of South Carolina’s website. Dozier, who Givony pegs as the 65th best prospect in the draft, helped lead the school to its first-ever Final Four this past season.
John Collins To Enter NBA Draft
April 12, 8:52 pm: Collins will hire an agent and remain in the draft, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports (Twitter link).
March 22, 3:46 pm: Wake Forest power forward John Collins will test the NBA draft waters this spring. Evan Daniels of Scout.com reports (via Twitter) that Collins will enter the draft, but won’t sign with an agent, giving him the option of withdrawing his name before May’s deadline.
Collins, a sophomore, enjoyed a breakout year at Wake Forest, averaging an impressive 19.2 PPG and 9.8 RPG in just 26.6 minutes per contest. He also chipped in 1.6 BPG and shot 62.2% from the floor.
ESPN’s Chad Ford notes that Collins has an “old-school” game at power forward, excelling in the low post in addition to rebounding and blocking shots. However, the 19-year-old lacks an “advanced perimeter game,” prompting some scouts to wonder how his game will translate to the NBA, Ford writes. Collins shows up at 22nd on ESPN’s big board — DraftExpress is a little more bullish, placing him at No. 15.
Check out our full list of early entrants to see which other underclassmen are putting their names in the 2017 draft pool.
NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 4/12/17
Here are Wednesday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Wizards have recalled Sheldon Mac from the Rio Grand Valley Vipers, according to Chase Hughes of Comcast Sportsnet. Washington does not have its own D-League affiliate, so Mac played for Houston’s via the flex assignment rule.
- The Raptors have recalled Bruno Caboclo and Pascal Siakam from the Raptors 905, according to their Twitter feed. Both players have seen action in Toronto’s game against the Cavs tonight.
Latest On Danilo Gallinari And The Nuggets
The Nuggets value Danilo Gallinari, but they’re taking a “wait-and-see approach” with him this offseason, Christopher Dempsey of Altitude Sports writes. The Italian has a player option, which is worth $16.1MM, on his contract for next season and should he turn it down, he’ll become a free agent. GM Tim Connelly wants to bring him back next season, but the executive acknowledges that there’s always unknown variables when it comes to free agency.
“I think it’s no secret we really value Gallo, both as a player and as a person,” Connelly said. “So, with free agency, if he does choose to opt out there’s a lot of unknowns. How does the market develop? What do the various teams look like that are chasing him? What does he want in terms of contract and years; all of those things will certainly play a role. It would be premature of me to guess. He’s a guy that we value, he’s had a great year.”
Connelly added that the organization would be happy if Gallinari decides plays next season under his current contract, but the team is also ready to compete for his services.
“He’s been here for a long time, one of our core guys,” Connelly said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens this summer. Gallo loves Denver. And he’s a really, really good guy. If he doesn’t opt out, we’d be very happy with that. If he chooses to opt out, he’s certainly going to be one of our primary focuses. “
Gallinari has long been the subject of trade rumors. The Celtics had discussions with the Nuggets about acquiring the small forward last summer and then again this season, but no trade materialized. The Clippers and Raptors were also among the teams keeping tabs on the veteran this season.
Stan Van Gundy Vows To Bring Change To Detroit
The Pistons underachieved this season and coach/executive Stan Van Gundy vows that changes will be made this offseason, Rod Beard of the Detroit News relays. “You’re not going to see all 15 guys come back next year, but it’s also not going to be two guys,” SVG said.
While Van Gundy takes the majority of the blame for the lost season, he points to the team’s lack of professionalism. “I will say I’m not totally happy with our professionalism and the way we approach things,” he said.
Adding a veteran this offseason may be a solution for the club. “Yes, we may have to [find a veteran], but some of those guys should be saying that they don’t need a babysitter; I need to do things the right way,”
Van Gundy continued to stress professionalism, pleading for his team to show up next season acting like NBA players.
“[Our approach is] going to have to change and part of that is going to have to come from us being a little bit stricter and tougher with them on things in our expectations and part of it is going to have from them. You’ve been in the league four or five years — let’s take care of yourself better, let’s be more ready, pay more attention to the game plan, get our extra work in, be more dedicated to the lifting. All those things.
“The young part has to go by the wayside as an excuse. You’re a professional and you’re getting paid. If you don’t want that responsibility, don’t come out after one year. If you want to come out after one year, then you decided you wanted to be a pro — be a freaking pro.”
He added that he likes the team’s core, but is disappointed with its overall progress.
“That is the biggest reason we are where we are right now: We did not have enough guys where you can look and say he made a big jump. That’s something we have to address in the offseason as a staff and as players,” Van Gundy said. “We’re at an age where some guys should be making significant improvements and everybody should still be getting better — and we had some guys actually take a step back.”
There were times this season where Detroit looked like a playoff team, but there were also instances where the club appeared destined for the lottery. Identifying players who can contribute consistently will be a key objective this offseason.
“There have to be some changes and we have to make, as a staff, some good evaluations on the guys who can and are willing to make some of those changes,” Van Gundy said. “That means who are the guys we’re going to bet on to make improvements in their game and who are the guys we can bet on their professionalism and commitment on a night-to-night basis?
“We had too many some-of-the-time guys who we couldn’t count on. If we don’t think those guys can change, well then they’ve got to be changed. I didn’t think on a night-to-night basis we were consistent in our approach.”
The Pistons enter the final game of the season owning a record of 37-44. Van Gundy is confident that the team can be better next season, though the status quo won’t produce the desired results.
“This has been a year of misery for me but I still want the challenge,” SVG said. “It’s hard. It does mean you’re going to have to make some changes.”
Changes To Buyout And Waiver Process Coming?
A majority of league executives and several owners are concerned with the current in-season contract buyout and waiver process and they’ve been pushing to open the dialogue on a change, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical writes. They have attached support on a request to have the issue addressed during the general managers’ meetings in May, sources tell Wojnarowski.
The owners and executives are worried that the current system has become unfair to many of the smaller and mid-size market teams since players who agree to a buyout often sign with playoff contenders. There’s also concern that the buyout market is suffocating the trade market. The deadline for a player to be released or bought out and still be playoff-eligible is March 1, which usually falls about a week after the league’s trade deadline. Teams know players will be bought out and deadline sellers are unable to get value for their players since opposing teams don’t feel the need to give up an asset for a player when they can wait and simply sign someone productive.
Tampering is another issue within the current system that is expected to be addressed. GMs would like to find a way to avoid pre-arranged deals by the buyout candidates, which would allow more teams to have a chance at the player. In addition, some GMs believe the current system devalues cap space, lessens the purpose of exceptions and creates poor optics for fans and sponsors.
This year’s buyout season saw the Cavaliers bring in two former top-3 overall picks–Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut– despite only having minimum-salaried slots to work with. Bogut is currently out for the year with a broken leg, while Williams figures to play a key role for Cleveland as the team looks to defend its title in this year’s playoffs.
Nuggets To Pursue Extension With Gary Harris
Gary Harris will be eligible for a rookie contract extension this summer and the Nuggets don’t want to waste any time locking him up long-term, Christopher Dempsey of Altitude Sports relays.
“Gary’s going to be here for a long, long time,” GM Tim Connelly said. “He’s a guy that kind of embodies everything that we’re trying to be, both as a player and as a person. Whether it’s this summer or whether it’s the following summer, he’s going to be here for a very long time.”
Harris, who was selected with the No.19 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft, is averaging career highs in points, assists, and rebounds per game as well as 3-point percentage and overall field goal percentage this season. He’s become a core member of the Nuggets, someone who can contribute to the team’s goal of making the playoffs and competing for the title down the road. Connelly always envisioned Harris taking the necessary steps to elevate his game.
“Sometimes you have to go with your gut – 6-4, long arm, fast-twitch athlete with a nose for the ball defensively who can make shots and cares,” Connelly said. “I think you can get too lost at times in analytics and too lost at times not seeing the forest for the trees. Now, he’s taken a monstrous step.”
Kings Notes: Gay, McLemore, Cauley-Stein
It will be an unusual offseason for Kings head coach Dave Joerger, who grew accustomed to relative roster stability during his years in Memphis. While the Grizzlies never made many major changes to their core, Sacramento’s roster heading into next season is in flux.
The team could have two lottery picks and draft-and-stash prospect Bogdan Bogdanovic entering the mix — it also remains to be seen how trades and free agency will affect the roster. For Joerger, who will have an extra-long offseason to consider the next moves for his club, that uncertainty will complicate matters, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee details.
“I’m going to go crazy thinking, man, ‘I want to run this, work on this, and this is going to be great next year,'” Joerger said. “But you really don’t know how it looks until all those things come together.”
Here are a few more notes out of Sacramento:
- Rudy Gay said on Tuesday night that he remains undecided about whether or not he’ll exercise his player option to remain with the Kings this summer. Per Jason Jones (Twitter link), Gay says he’ll take it “one day at a time” as he continues to recover from an Achilles tear.
- Ben McLemore, who will be a restricted free agent this offseason, said he can see a bright future for the Kings, and can imagine being a part of it (Twitter link via Sean Cunningham of ABC10). We’ll see this summer if Sacramento feels the same way about the RFA guard.
- Speaking of McLemore, he failed to meet the starter criteria, meaning he’ll receive a slightly lower qualifying offer if the Kings make him a restricted free agent. For a full explanation of the starter criteria and how it affects QOs for potential RFAs, check out our breakdown from last week.
- Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein said on Tuesday that he’s looking forward to asking management what they want of him going forward, tweets Cunningham. Cauley-Stein saw his minutes fluctuate throughout the 2016/17 season, and suggests he wants to have a clearer picture of his role heading into next year.
Playoff, Lottery Implications For Wednesday’s Games
Wednesday is the last day of the 2016/17 regular season, and for many teams, there’s not a whole lot to play for tonight. A number of playoff seeds are already locked in, while other teams have been out of contention for weeks. The Hawks, Nets, Wizards, Bucks, and Cavaliers are among the teams expected to rest players tonight, and that’s just in the Eastern Conference.
Still, nearly every single game on tonight’s slate will have some sort of impact on playoff or draft lottery seeding, and a couple playoff spots in the East remain up for grabs. As such, it’s worth running through each game on the slate and identifying the importance of each contest.
Our notes below relate to playoff seeding, draft lottery positioning, and traded draft picks that may be affected by tonight’s results. If a team’s draft pick might improve from No. 22 to No. 21 with a loss tonight, that’s not something we’d mention here. But if a team can improve its draft lottery odds with a loss, or if a traded pick will be impacted by a result, we’ve made a note of that.
For a full breakdown of draft positioning, be sure to check out our 2016/17 NBA reverse standings (note: our reverse standings don’t currently account for playoff tiebreakers, so they have the Heat in playoff position rather than the Bulls — those teams should be flipped).
Here’s what to watch for in tonight’s games:
Milwaukee Bucks (42-39) at Boston Celtics (52-29)
- Playoff implications: Celtics clinch No. 1 seed in East with win (or Cavaliers loss).
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: None
Brooklyn Nets (20-61) at Chicago Bulls (40-41)
- Playoff implications: Bulls clinch No. 7 seed in East with win and Pacers loss. Bulls clinch No. 8 seed with win and Pacers win (or loss and Heat loss). Bulls eliminated with loss and Heat win.
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Bulls enter draft lottery with loss and Heat win.
Toronto Raptors (50-31) at Cleveland Cavaliers (51-30)
- Playoff implications: Cavaliers clinch No. 1 seed in East with win and Celtics loss.
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Raptors will send their own 2017 first-round pick to Magic with win and Clippers loss. Raptors will send Clippers’ 2017 first-round pick to Magic with loss and Clippers win. If Raptors and Clippers both win (or lose), coin flip will determine which pick Magic receive.
Minnesota Timberwolves (31-50) at Houston Rockets (54-27)
- Playoff implications: None
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Timberwolves‘ lottery odds will increase with loss and Knicks win. Timberwolves’ lottery odds will decrease with win and Mavericks or Kings loss.
Atlanta Hawks (43-38) at Indiana Pacers (41-40)
- Playoff implications: Pacers clinch No. 7 seed in East with win (or with Bulls and Heat losses). Pacers clinch No. 8 seed with loss and either Bulls or Heat win. Pacers eliminated with loss and Bulls and Heat wins.
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Pacers enter draft lottery with loss and Bulls and Heat wins. If Pacers miss playoffs, their 2017 second-round pick (protected 45-60) will be sent to Nets.
Washington Wizards (49-32) at Miami Heat (40-41)
- Playoff implications: Heat clinch No. 7 seed with win and Pacers and Bulls losses. Heat clinch No. 8 seed with win and Bulls win and Pacers loss (or with win and Pacers win and Bulls loss). Heat eliminated with loss (or with Pacers and Bulls wins).
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Heat enter draft lottery with loss or with Pacers and Bulls wins.
Philadelphia 76ers (28-53) at New York Knicks (30-51)
- Playoff implications: None
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Sixers‘ lottery odds will increase with loss and Magic win. Sixers’ lottery odds will decrease with win and Magic loss. Knicks‘ lottery odds will decrease with win and Timberwolves loss.
Detroit Pistons (37-44) at Orlando Magic (28-53)
- Playoff implications: None
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Magic‘s lottery odds will increase with loss and Sixers win. Magic‘s lottery odds will decrease with win and Sixers loss.
Denver Nuggets (39-42) at Oklahoma City Thunder (47-34)
- Playoff implications: None
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Nuggets‘ lottery odds will decrease with win and Bulls or Heat loss.
Dallas Mavericks (32-49) at Memphis Grizzlies (43-38)
- Playoff implications: None
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Mavericks‘ lottery odds will increase with loss and Timberwolves or Kings win. Mavericks‘ odds will decrease with win and Kings or Pelicans losses.
San Antonio Spurs (61-20) at Utah Jazz (50-31)
- Playoff implications: Jazz clinch No. 4 seed in West with win and Clippers loss.
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: None
Los Angeles Lakers (26-55) at Golden State Warriors (66-15)
- Playoff implications: None
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: None
Sacramento Kings (32-49) at Los Angeles Clippers (50-31)
- Playoff implications: Clippers clinch No. 4 seed in West with win (or Jazz loss).
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Kings‘ lottery odds will increase with loss and Timberwolves or Mavericks wins. Kings‘ lottery odds will decrease with win and Mavericks or Pelicans losses. If Kings‘ lottery odds decrease, so too would their odds of keeping their top-10-protected 2017 first-round pick.
New Orleans Pelicans (33-48) at Portland Trail Blazers (41-40)
- Playoff implications: None
- Draft lottery/traded pick implications: Pelicans‘ lottery odds will increase with loss and Kings or Mavericks wins. If Pelicans‘ lottery odds increase, so too would their odds of keeping their top-three protected 2017 first-round pick.