LeBron James Discusses His Future
LeBron James has been to seven straight NBA Finals and even after a tumultuous, yet seemingly fruitful offseason for the Cavaliers, he’s likely to extend that mark to eight in a row. With his workout regime and knack for avoiding major injuries, he could continue to dominate the league for years to come. However, James is aware of the fact that all players eventually see their playing days come to an end and he’s going to be conscious about not hanging on too long, as he tells Mark Anthony Green of GQ.com.
“I know I won’t be able to play at this level forever, but to be washed and play… I don’t know if I can play washed,” James tells Green before adding that he would love to compete against his oldest son, 13-year-old LeBron James Jr., in an NBA game. “[I’d] love to stick around if my oldest son can have an opportunity to play against me. That’d be, that’d be the icing on the cake right there.”
Green’s piece, which is worth a read, contains several other off the court topics, ranging from James’ current and future plans as a businessman to the four-time MVP’s political viewpoints and his responsibilities as a top athlete.
While James has consistently given back to the city of Cleveland through various philanthropic acts, he insists that he owes the city nothing with regard to his future basketball decisions.
“LeBron James owes nobody anything,” LBJ said. “Nobody. When my mother told me I don’t owe her anything, from that point in time, I don’t owe anybody anything. But what I will give to the city of Cleveland is passion, commitment, and inspiration. As long as I put that jersey on, that’s what I represent. That’s why I’m there—to inspire that city. But I don’t owe anybody anything.”
James can become a free agent next summer if he chooses to turn down his player option, which is worth approximately $35.6MM.
Nikola Mirotic Hospitalized After Altercation With Bobby Portis
6:43pm: The Bulls are evaluating disciplinary options for Portis, per Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic (Twitter link). Mayberry adds that the league office is also involved while Johnson tweets that the power forward will likely be suspended.
6:23pm: Nikola Mirotic was sent to the hospital after engaging in a physical altercation with teammate Bobby Portis during practice earlier today, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical. Shams adds that at the conclusion of the shoving match, Portis took an alleged “cheap shot” at Mirotic’s face, which resulted in the emergency care.
Mirotic suffered a concussion and multiple fractures in his face, Nick Friedell of ESPN.com tweets. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter) hears that the power forward will be out “a few weeks.”
Bobby Marks of the Vertical (Twitter link) notes that league contracts contain a clause that allows a team to terminate a deal if a violent act is committed. I’d speculate that Portis faces some sort of discipline for the action, though no word of a suspension, fine or release has yet to trickle out.
Assuming Portis remains in Chicago, the team may need him to play extended minutes with his backup currently ailing. No. 7 overall pick Lauri Markkanen is also a candidate to see additional court time.
Suns Exercise Options On Booker, Bender, Chriss
The Suns have exercised teams options on the contracts of Devin Booker, Dragan Bender, and Marquese Chriss, according to their website. The trio will remain under contract through the 2018/19 season.
Booker, who was the no. 13 overall pick in the 2015 draft, broke out last season, scoring 22.1 points per game in the Suns’ fast-paced offense. The Kentucky product will make approximately $2.32MM this season and as a result of the team picking up his option, he’ll take home $3.31MM next year.
Bender’s 2018/19 team option is worth roughly $4.67MM and Chriss’ will come in at slightly under $3.21MM. The team controls each player for at minimum two additional two seasons beyond the 2018/19 campaign. Each of the big men’s contracts has another team option in it for the 2019/20 season and if exercised, the team can extend a qualifying offer to each player during the following offseason, rendering them restricted free agents.
Booker can become a restricted free agent during the summer of 2019, though I would expect the team to make an attempt at extending the shooting guard next summer. Per the team’s website, among all players with two years of experience under the age of 21, only LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kevin Durant have scored more than Booker’s 2,774 total points.
Community Shootaround: 2017/18 NBA Predictions
After four long months without meaningful NBA games, the 2017/18 season will tip off tonight. Tuesday’s doubleheader includes Kyrie Irving and the Celtics visiting his old team in Cleveland, and Chris Paul making his debut for the Rockets in Golden State.
With only a few more hours to go until the start of the season, it’s time to register your predictions for the coming season.
- Which eight teams do you expect to make the playoffs in each conference?
- Will the 2018 NBA Finals feature the Warriors and Cavaliers for a fourth straight year?
- Who will win this season’s MVP award? Will any player enjoy a historic individual run like Russell Westbrook did last year?
- What are your picks for the other awards, including Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, and Coach of the Year?
- Will any coaches be fired during the season? If so, which one(s)?
- Which players or teams do you expect to most significantly outperform expectations or disappoint?
- Which big-name players do you think will be traded before this season’s deadline?
Jump into the comment section below to share your thoughts, predictions, and bold takes on the upcoming season. And enjoy tonight’s games!
Warriors Sign Quinn Cook To Two-Way Contract
2:55pm: Cook has officially signed a two-way contract with the Warriors, the team confirmed today in a press release.
8:10am: The Warriors will fill the open two-way slot on their roster by signing free agent guard Quinn Cook, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that Cook has agreed to a two-way contract with the defending champions.
Cook, 24, went undrafted in 2015 and spent training camp with the Cavaliers that season, then with the Pelicans in 2016. He finally earned a shot in the NBA regular season earlier this year, when he signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks, then two 10-days and a rest-of-season deal with New Orleans. Appearing in 14 total games, Cook averaged 5.6 PPG and 1.9 APG for the Mavs and Pelicans.
Having been waived by the Pelicans in July, Cook spent training camp and the preseason with the Hawks before being cut on Friday. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to return to the G League, where he excelled last season, averaging 26.0 PPG and 6.7 APG in 39 games for the Canton Charge. He’ll suit up for the Santa Cruz Warriors this year, and will be eligible to spend some time with Golden State.
Once Cook makes it official with the Warriors, there will be just 10 two-way slots still open around the NBA.
Rodney McGruder Expected To Miss 3-6 Months
OCTOBER 17: McGruder underwent successful surgery to repair his left tibia stress fracture today, the Heat confirmed in a press release. The team has yet to announce a timetable for McGruder’s recovery.
OCTOBER 12: The Heat’s depth on the wing is about to take a hit, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that swingman Rodney McGruder is expected to undergo surgery on a stress fracture in his leg. The procedure would likely sideline him for three to six months, league sources tell Charania.
McGruder, 26, enjoyed a productive rookie season with the Heat in 2016/17, finding his way into the starting lineup for 65 of his 78 games. For the season, he averaged 6.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 1.6 APG in 25.2 minutes per contest.
Heading into the 2017/18 season, McGruder had been competing for a spot in the Heat’s starting lineup, with Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow among the other options the club had been considering at small forward. With McGruder reportedly set to miss a significant portion of the season, Richardson looks like the favorite to step into that starting role.
Currently, only about $453K of McGruder’s minimum salary is guaranteed, but he shouldn’t be in danger of losing his roster spot. Even in the unlikely event that the Heat were to waive him, the team would be on the hook for his full salary until he receives medical clearance.
Central Notes: Pistons, Udrih, LaVine, Cavs
After waiving veteran point guard Beno Udrih on Saturday, the Pistons are down to 14 players on their NBA roster to open the season, and head coach Stan Van Gundy doesn’t anticipate filling that final opening right away, per Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press.
“Is there going to be anyone out there right now?” said Van Gundy, who also serves as the Pistons’ president of basketball operations. “I don’t know that. I’m not saying there won’t be, but that’s not really the plan, but as you get going on and you assess needs or get an injury, that 15th spot can give you some flexibility.”
As for Udrih, the 35-year-old has aspirations of getting into coaching once his playing career is over, but he’s not ready to retire as a player quite yet, writes Rod Beard of The Detroit News.
“I’m not there yet; I know I can still play, especially in a system that people know what I can do,” Udrih told Beard. “I’m a pick-and-roll player and I’ll make the right play and try to find open shots for my teammates or take the mid-range shot. … I still can play and I still want to play. If it doesn’t happen here, maybe somewhere else, and we’ll go from there.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Although the Bulls and Zach LaVine‘s representatives remained in communication, the two sides never really got close to working out a contract extension for LaVine before Monday’s deadline, says Vincent Goodwill of NBC Sports Chicago. However, Goodwill reiterates what we’ve heard from other reporters, suggesting that the club has no intention of letting LaVine get away in restricted free agency next summer.
- With so many new players to incorporate, the Cavaliers are anticipating “somewhat of a bumpy ride” early in the season, writes Terry Pluto of The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- One of those new arrivals is veteran guard Dwyane Wade, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com takes an in-depth look at how the Cavaliers are accommodating the future Hall-of-Famer during his first season with the club.
Sixers Notes: Embiid, Saric, Bench
Asked on Monday about the possibility of a minutes limit for Joel Embiid to start the season, Sixers head coach Brett Brown said the club doesn’t necessarily have a specific amount in mind. However, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Brown suggested that the young center would continue to see minutes in the teens, as he had in the preseason. Told later about Brown’s comments, Embiid expressed disappointment, though he insisted he trusts the Sixers and team doctors.
“I got a voice,” Embiid said. “They got to listen to me. … If I feel great and my body feels great and my knee is fine, I should play 30 minutes or more. I definitely have my opinion on that. They are going to hear me. We are going to discuss it.”
As Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia details (via Twitter), Embiid railed against his minutes restriction again on Tuesday, using more colorful language — it’s “f—ing bulls–t,” in Embiid’s view. The fourth-year big man also said he thought he’d be playing at least 24 minutes a night to start the year, adding that he doesn’t believe in the concept of minute restrictions to begin with (Twitter links).
As we wait to see if the Sixers and Embiid can find common ground on his playing time, let’s round up a few more items out of Philadelphia…
- In his weekly mailbag for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton explored how many games – and minutes – Embiid would need to play for the Sixers to become a probable playoff team. Pelton estimates that 55 games played sounds about right, assuming Embiid averages close to 25 minutes in those contests.
- Dario Saric was the Sixers’ most productive player down the stretch last season, but will come off the bench to start the 2017/18 campaign. As he tells Sarah Todd of Philly.com, if he can’t start games, Saric hopes to be part of the lineup that finishes them.
- In a separate article for Philly.com, Todd takes a closer look at the Sixers’ bench, which – led by Saric – features an intriguing mix of depth, upside, and experience.
Thunder Sign P.J. Dozier To Two-Way Deal
OCTOBER 17: The Thunder have officially signed Dozier to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.
OCTOBER 16: The Thunder are in talks with guard P.J. Dozier on a two-way contract after he cleared waivers on Monday, ESPN’s Royce Young tweets.
The Mavericks waived the 6’6” rookie on Saturday. He went undrafted after playing two seasons at South Carolina. Doziers played for the Lakers’ Summer League team in July before receiving a partially guaranteed contract from the Mavs.
In three preseason games with the Mavs, Dozier averaged 5.7 PPG and 2.3 RPG. Dozier averaged 13.9 PPG and 4.8 RPG last season for the Gamecocks.
Swingman Daniel Hamilton received the first of the two allotted two-way contracts with the Thunder.
2017/18 NBA Over/Unders: Recap
Over the last couple months, we’ve been going through each of the NBA’s 30 teams, posting polls asking how many games each club will win this season. Using projections from professional oddsmakers, we’ve had you vote on whether each team will go over or under a given win total, from the Warriors (67.5) all the way through the Bulls (22.5).
Here are the full results of those votes:
Western Conference:
- Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
- Houston Rockets: Over 55.5 (65.57%)
- San Antonio Spurs: Over 54.5 (67.74%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Over 50.5 (71.77%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Over 48.5 (55.69%)
- Denver Nuggets: Under 45.5 (50.44%)
- Los Angeles Clippers: Over 43.5 (60.7%)
- Portland Trail Blazers: Over 42.5 (56.3%)
- Utah Jazz: Over 41.5 (55.94%)
- New Orleans Pelicans: Over 39.5 (65.26%)
- Memphis Grizzlies: Over 37.5 (53.43%)
- Dallas Mavericks: Under 35.5 (54.95%)
- Los Angeles Lakers: Over 33.5 (50.4%)
- Phoenix Suns: Over 28.5 (50.41%)
- Sacramento Kings: Over 27.5 (56.18%)
Eastern Conference:
- Boston Celtics: Over 55.5 (63.5%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 53.5 (68.82%)
- Toronto Raptors: Over 48.5 (64.21%)
- Washington Wizards: Over 47.5 (71.29%)
- Milwaukee Bucks: Over 47.5 (63.88%)
- Miami Heat: Over 43.5 (55.39%)
- Charlotte Hornets: Over 42.5 (51.07%)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Under 41.5 (53.37%)
- Detroit Pistons: Over 38.5 (51.95%)
- Orlando Magic: Under 33.5 (75.24%)
- Indiana Pacers: Under 31.5 (54.85%)
- New York Knicks: Under 30.5 (57.87%)
- Brooklyn Nets: Over 27.5 (66.33%)
- Atlanta Hawks: Over 25.5 (51.44%)
- Chicago Bulls: Under 22.5 (50.08%)
As those results show, our readers as a group were generally bullish on most teams, with the “over” winning out 23 teams compared to just seven for the “under.” That’s not technically impossible, but it might make sense to adjust the vote totals downward by a few percentage points to get a more even view of the coming season.
Here are the five “over” bets that received the largest vote shares:
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Over 50.5 (71.77%)
- Washington Wizards: Over 47.5 (71.29%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 53.5 (68.82%)
- San Antonio Spurs: Over 54.5 (67.74%)
- Brooklyn Nets: Over 27.5 (66.33%)
Here are the five “under” bets that received the largest vote shares:
- Orlando Magic: Under 33.5 (75.24%)
- New York Knicks: Under 30.5 (57.87%)
- Dallas Mavericks: Under 35.5 (54.95%)
- Indiana Pacers: Under 31.5 (54.85%)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Under 41.5 (53.37%)
What do you think? Are there any results above that you strongly disagree with? Did you make any over or under votes within the last month or two that you’re second-guessing now? Jump into our comment section below and weigh in with your thoughts!