Extension Talks Never Got Serious For Jazz, Favors
While not many veteran NBA players qualify for contract extensions, Derrick Favors has been extension-eligible for each of the last two seasons, and came into the 2016/17 campaign hoping to sign a new deal. However, as Favors tells ESPN’s Zach Lowe, he and the Jazz never got close to working out an agreement, despite the fact that Utah had excess cap room to renegotiate his contract.
“They wanted to re-sign Gordon [Hayward], maybe extend George Hill,” Favors said. “And I got hurt. I understand the business part of it. If they had come to me, I’d have been open to it.”
Unrestricted free agency is fast approaching for Favors, who is earning $12MM in 2017/18 on an expiring deal. Considering the Jazz didn’t show much interest in extending Favors’ contract last season when they had plenty of cap flexibility, it’s probably safe to assume the team won’t make an effort to lock him up to an in-season extension this year either, even though he remains eligible. In fact, though he doesn’t cite any sources, Lowe suggests that Utah is more likely to explore the trade market for the 26-year-old.
According to Lowe, it’s not clear if the Jazz could even extract a low first-round pick or an equivalent young player for Favors at this point. Lowe names the Pistons, Pelicans, Bucks, and Nuggets as teams that might be among the potential fits, but cautions that none of those clubs are likely to give up much for a rental.
Favors’ production has been up and down since the start of the 2016/17 season, though he has played well over the last couple weeks with Rudy Gobert sidelined. Having seen more playing time at center during that stretch, Favors has averaged 15.9 PPG and 8.8 RPG in eight games.
Grizzlies Rumors: Gasol, Fizdale, Next Steps
Although Marc Gasol expressed displeasure with his fourth-quarter benching on Sunday, there was no “him-or-me” mandate from Gasol to Grizzlies management that led to David Fizdale‘s ouster on Monday, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
The Grizzlies’ decision to fire Fizdale did create the impression that the team was choosing Gasol over its head coach, but it may not be that simple, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Prior to Fizdale’s dismissal, speculation about a possible Gasol trade was beginning to gain steam. If the club had retained Fizdale and Gasol’s frustration led to a trade demand, it would have become more difficult for Memphis to move him. By avoiding that scenario, the Grizzlies can ensure that the veteran’s center trade value remains high, if they decide to consider that possibility.
“I don’t think [the Grizzlies] are done making changes,” one league executive told Deveney on Monday. “They could still move Gasol, they could still go into a rebuilding situation, but it would be harder if Gasol was saying he wants out. They have had plenty of offers for Gasol, and they have a couple of months to sort out whether they pull the trigger. But don’t be surprised if they do, even after this.”
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- The Celtics and Raptors are among the clubs that could be suitors for Gasol if the Grizzlies entertain offers, according to both Deveney and Forbes’ Mitch Lawrence. Lawrence identifies the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers as other teams that would have interest in the three-time All-Star. It would be tricky for some of those teams to put together viable packages for Gasol and his $22.6MM+ salary.
- Fizdale had the support of many of the Grizzlies’ younger players, so his firing may widen a divide between the youngsters and the veterans on Memphis’ roster, says Deveney. The Sporting News scribe also observes that Fizdale is exactly the kind of positive coach and teacher a team would want during a rebuild, meaning the Grizzlies may miss him if they go in that direction.
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer lays out the case for why a full-fledged rebuild might make the most sense for the Grizzlies at this point.
- While much has been made of Gasol’s role in Fizdale’s firing, former NBA swingman and current ESPN analyst Stephen Jackson set his sights on Chandler Parsons. As AJ Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today details, Jackson suggested that the lack of production the Grizzlies have received from a max-salary player like Parsons put Fizdale at a major disadvantage.
Blake Griffin Being Evaluated After Injuring Knee
After Blake Griffin left Monday night’s game against the Lakers in the fourth quarter with a left knee injury, the Clippers are hoping for the best, writes Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com. Griffin, who suffered the injury after getting tangled up with Lonzo Ball and Austin Rivers, will undergo evaluations on Tuesday to diagnosis the issue.
Acknowledging that Griffin’s injury “didn’t look good,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said last night that the team is taking a wait-and-see approach while it waits for the results of Tuesday’s evaluation. Rivers is hopeful that it won’t be a long-term issue.
“I think it’s hyperextended,” Rivers said of Griffin’s knee, per Mark Whicker of The Los Angeles Daily News. “I hope it’s hyperextended. I hope that’s all it is, because if it is, he might miss a game or two. I hope it’s not worse. That’s the last thing we need, missing that guy.”
While Rivers is staying positive, there’s some fear that Griffin suffered a sprained MCL and will miss a significant period of time, tweets Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times. As Turner notes, the team will have a better sense of the extent of the injury after today’s tests.
Griffin, who signed a new five-year, $171MM+ contract with L.A. back in July, has been plagued by left knee and leg injuries throughout his career, as Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer details (via Twitter). The former first overall pick hasn’t played more than 67 games in a regular season since the 2013/14 campaign.
Meanwhile, the Clippers have also been hit hard by injuries so far in 2017/18, with Milos Teodosic and Danilo Gallinari missing time and Patrick Beverley undergoing a knee procedure that will sideline him for the rest of the season. Los Angeles has bounced back from a nine-game losing streak to win its last three games, but a long-term injury to Griffin would make it extremely difficult for the club to earn a playoff spot.
Western Notes: Len, Gobert, Leonard, Rockets
Alex Len has become the odd man out in the Suns’ center rotation and he cannot hide his displeasure, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic reports. Len signed a one-year, $4.2MM qualifying offer with Phoenix after failing to receive an offer sheet that he found acceptable as a restricted free agent over the summer. Len has not played in two of the three last games, as interim coach Jay Triano has decided to ride veterans Tyson Chandler and recently-acquired Greg Monroe. “I put in the work hoping to show my skills on the court,” Len told Bordow. “So when you’re not able to help your team, it’s frustrating.” Len’s lack of playing time won’t help his cause when he enters the market again next summer, this time as an unrestricted free agent.
In other news around the Western Conference:
- Jazz center Rudy Gobert is participating in on-court individual drills at practice, Eric Woodyard of The Deseret News tweets. This could be a sign that Gobert, who is recovering from a right knee injury, will return to action sooner than the four- to six-week timetable given on November 12th. Gobert injured the knee in a collision with Heat guard Dion Waiters.
- Spurs All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard is making significant progress from the right quadriceps tendinopathy that has kept him out of action all season, coach Gregg Popovich told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News and other media members. Popovich, who jokingly scoffed at “Doctor” Tony Parker‘s estimation that Leonard could return in two or three weeks, said Leonard would soon participate in 5-on-5 practice drills. “He’s getting very close and making progress,” Popovich said. “He’s having contact now and hopefully we will get him back shortly.”
- The Rockets are not experiencing chemistry issues because the veterans they acquired know how to blend in, according to Hunter Atkins of The Houston Chronicle. Chris Paul, P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute know what it takes to work well with others and it shows now that the team is playing at full strength, Atkins adds.
Southeast Rumors: Monk, Heat, Simmons, Isaac
Malik Monk‘s spotty minutes in recent games is due to Michael Carter-Williams‘ defensive ability and not some sort of punishment for the first-round pick, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports. The Hornets have played much better defensively with Carter-Williams in the rotation and Monk became the odd man out, Bonnell continues. Monk is still learning to play point guard after being a shooting guard in college and has plenty of work to do defensively, Bonnell adds.
In other developments around the Southeast Division:
- The Heat may have invested too much on complementary pieces, Ira Winderman of the Florida Sun Sentinel opines. It’s fair to question whether the club would be better off now and into the future by spending on top players rather than doling out large contracts to players such as Josh Richardson, Tyler Johnson, James Johnson and Kelly Olynyk, Winderman adds.
- Magic coach Frank Vogel made his first non-injury related change to the starting lineup Monday, inserting swingman Jonathon Simmons in place of Terrence Ross, John Denton of the Magic’s website reports. Vogel wants to give Simmons more playing time and Ross has spent most of his career coming off the bench, Denton notes. “Terrence and I have been in conversations about him maybe being more involved when coming off the bench and with Simmons, we’d like to see what we look like with him having a bigger role,’’ Vogel said.
- Magic rookie power forward Jonathan Isaac could return as early as Wednesday from the ankle sprain he suffered on November 11th, Denton notes in a separate story. The lottery pick missed his eighth consecutive game on Monday. “It’s definitely taken longer than I thought it would,” Isaac told Denton.
Central Notes: Bradley, Mirotic, Giannis, Kennard
The Pistons acquired shooting guard Avery Bradley from the Celtics over the summer with the hope of signing him to a long-term agreement and that hasn’t changed, coach Stan Van Gundy told the Detroit News’ Rod Beard and other media members. Bradley, who is making $8.8MM this season, becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer and Van Gundy is optimistic the Pistons can lock him up. “I’ll take our chances in the offseason,” Van Gundy said during a press conference.
However, there will be no in-season negotiations, Van Gundy added. “He knew right from the time we got him that we made the move thinking it would be a long-term thing but he knows it’s not something we’re going to talk to him at all about during the season,” Van Gundy said (Twitter links). The Celtics dealt Bradley to free up salary-cap room for free agent forward Gordon Hayward. Bradley is the Pistons’ second-leading scorer at 16.8 PPG.
In other developments around the Central Division:
- Bulls power forward Nikola Mirotic participated in practice on Monday and will travel with the team to Denver later this week, Vincent Goodwill of NBCSports.com in Chicago reports. Mirotic practiced with teammates for the first time since Bobby Portis punched him last month, resulting in facial injuries and a concussion. Coach Fred Hoiberg is hopeful Mirotic and Portis can coexist, as he told Goodwill and other media members, even though little to no progress has been made regarding their feud. “It is important to get those guys communicating, which I think we’re all confident will happen,” Hoiberg said. “The important thing is getting Niko back on the floor and with the team.”
- Bucks All-Star point forward Giannis Antetokounmpo admits that he and assistant coach Sean Sweeney often have verbal altercations but it’s a product of a “tight” relationship, as he explained to Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Antetokounmpo was seen yelling at Sweeney during the Bucks’ game against the Jazz on Saturday. Outsiders shouldn’t read anything into it. “We’re OK, that’s what we do — we fight, we argue, but at the end of the day, we both want to win,” Antetokounmpo told Velazquez. “I don’t think there’s anybody from this team who wants to win more than Sweeney and me and coach (Jason) Kidd, of course.”
- Pistons rookie swingman Luke Kennard will need to show steady growth defensively to keep his rotation spot, Beard writes in a separate piece. Kennard was considered arguably the best pure shooter in the June draft but his shooting alone won’t guarantee him a spot on the second unit, Van Gundy told Beard and other media members. “He can’t get comfortable and think that he’s got secured minutes,” Van Gundy said. “We’ve flipped that spot over before — and we will again if he’s not going to do what he has to do.”
Gasol, Fizdale Tensions Went Far Beyond Benching
Grizzlies center Marc Gasol and former coach David Fizdale had such a strained relationship that they rarely spoke to one another, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal’s Geoff Calkins. Fizdale was fired on Monday, one day after he benched his leading scorer, rebounder and shotblocker in the fourth quarter against the Nets. The benching served as the breaking point and Gasol, who has a tight relationship with owner Robert Pera, had expressed major concerns about the team’s direction under Fizdale, Calkins continues.
Commercial Appeal beat writer Ronald Tillery confirms the longterm disconnect between coach and star player. A team source told Tillery that the tension between them and Sunday’s benching weren’t the only reasons that Fizdale was axed. That source said the team was “trending down in several categories.” However, Tillery tweets that as recently as Saturday, a source close to the owner said that Fizdale’s job was safe because of the team’s injury issues. That’s an indication that Sunday’s incident swiftly changed Pera’s thinking.
In other reactions to Fizdale’s dismissal:
- Cavaliers stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both expressed their dismay on social media, demanding answers regarding the firing, as Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com relays. Both played under Fizdale when he was an assistant with the Heat.
- Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff is one of the potential long-term replacements for Fizdale but Sean Deveney of the Sporting News lists several other intriguing names. Former head coaches Mark Jackson, David Blatt and Monty Williams, former player Shane Battier, and several current college coaches such as Tony Bennett, Patrick Ewing and John Calipari are some of the candidates Memphis could look at, according to Deveney.
NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/27/17
Here are the G League moves from around the NBA today:
- The Knicks assigned guard Ron Baker to their Westchester affiliate and he’s expected to play tonight against the Windy City Bulls, according to a tweet from their PR department. Baker has already appeared in two G League games this season, averaging 13.0 PPG in 36.1 MPG.
- The Rockets recalled center Zhou Qi from the RGV Vipers, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. That’s an indication that his sore calf would have prevented him from playing with the Vipers tonight, Feigen adds. Zhou missed the Vipers’ game on Saturday and the recall will allow him to get treatment from Houston’s medical staff.
- The Grizzlies assigned power forward Ivan Rabb to their affiliate, the Memphis Hustle, the Grizzlies media relations department tweets. The second-rounder out of Cal has already played six G League games, averaging 19.0 PPG and 9.7 RPG in 28.6 MPG.
- The Jazz assigned center Tony Bradley to the Salt Lake City Stars, according to the team’s Twitter feed (Twitter link). The big man out of North Carolina scored 20 points in his only previous G League appearance.
- The Nets recalled guard Isaiah Whitehead from the Long Island Nets prior to their game against the Rockets, according to a team press release. He has played two G League games, averaging 29.0 PPG, 8.5 RPG and 3.5 APG in 37.3 MPG.
Grizzlies Fire Head Coach David Fizdale
3:50pm: The Grizzlies have issued a press release formally announcing that they’ve parted ways with Fizdale.
“After a thorough evaluation, I decided a change in course was necessary to move forward and provide the team and organization its best chance at success this season and beyond,” Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement. “Coach Fizdale represented the Grizzlies and City of Memphis proudly, and we wish him well as he continues his career.”
3:26pm: The Grizzlies have fired head coach David Fizdale, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Associate head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will take over as Memphis’ interim head coach with Fizdale gone, Wojnarowski reports.
Fizdale’s ouster comes as a surprise, but the Grizzlies hit a low point on Sunday when a home loss to Brooklyn extended the team’s losing streak to eight games. In the wake of that defeat, star center Marc Gasol questioned Fizdale’s decision to bench him in the fourth quarter, expressing anger and confusion at not getting to play while the game slipped away from the Grizzlies.
Still, Fizdale did a solid job last season in his first stint as a head coach, leading the Grizzlies to a 43-39 record and a playoff berth. The team had also gotten off to a good start this season, winning seven of its first 11 games despite losing veteran leaders Zach Randolph, Vince Carter, and Tony Allen in the offseason. Memphis’ recent losing skid has taken place with standout point guard Mike Conley sidelined due to an Achilles injury.
Given Fizdale’s respectable on-court results, it seems probable that the Grizzlies made the change due to concerns about his relationship with Gasol and other Memphis players. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link), the word out of Memphis in the offseason suggested that Gasol and Fizdale were already on poor terms, with some confrontations taking place in practice. Firing Fizdale this early in the season should send a signal to Gasol that the franchise is fully committed to its veteran center.
Before joining the Grizzlies, Fizdale as served a highly-regarded assistant coach in Miami, and Chris Mannix of The Vertical suggests (via Twitter) that it wouldn’t be surprising to see him eventually rejoin the Heat. However, it’s not clear if Fizdale will seek out a new job as soon as possible or if he’ll wait until after the 2017/18 season to try to return to the coaching ranks.
As for Bickerstaff, this is the second time in the last three seasons that he’ll take over as the interim head coach of an NBA team. Following Kevin McHale‘s ouster in Houston in November 2015, Bickerstaff – a veteran assistant with the Rockets at the time – assumed head coaching duties. However, when the Rockets sought out a permanent head coach after the season, Bickerstaff withdrew his name from consideration as the team opted to hire Mike D’Antoni.
After a year in which no NBA team made a coaching change, Fizdale is the second head coach to be dismissed since the 2017/18 season began — Earl Watson of the Suns was the first.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Redick, Ariza, T. Robinson, J. Young
CAA Sports has picked up a pair of big new NBA clients, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal, who reports (via Twitter) that Sixers guard J.J. Redick and Rockets forward Trevor Ariza have signed on with the agency. Redick was previously represented by Wasserman, while Ariza was a Landmark Sports client.
Both Redick and Ariza are in contract years, so they’ll be in the market for new deals next July. Redick will be 34 years old at that point and Ariza will be 33, so neither player figures to get a massive long-term deal, but they’re both terrific complementary pieces who should do well in terms of annual salary.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA big man Thomas Robinson, who is currently playing for Khimki Moscow in Russia, suffered a broken hand and will miss the next three or four months of action, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. The former No. 5 overall pick, who spent time with six NBA teams, last played for the Lakers in 2016/17.
- Having joined the Wisconsin Herd as an affiliate player for the Bucks, James Young isn’t one of the 59 players currently on a two-way contract. However, the former first-round pick has outperformed many of those two-way players in G League action so far, putting up an impressive 27.5 PPG in six games for the Herd, with a .536 FG% and 4.2 threes per game. Chris Reichert of 2 Ways & 10 Days takes a closer look at Young, who is looking to play his way back into the NBA.
- While China is set to host the 2019 Basketball World Cup, FIBA is already close to a decision on the hosts for the 2023 event. According to a press release, the 2023 World Cup will feature multiple host countries, with Argentina/Uruguay and Indonesia/Japan/Philippines as the two finalist groups. A decision is set for December 9.
- ESPN’s Kevin Pelton takes a deep dive to assess what kind of career Derrick Rose might have had if not for his injury problems.