Kawhi Leonard Aims To Return Soon, Wants To Finish Career With Spurs
Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard spoke to reporters following the team’s practice on Wednesday, asserting that he still aims to play down the stretch after missing most of the season with a quad injury. While Leonard won’t travel with the club on its upcoming three-game road trip, he said he hopes to be back on the court “soon,” as Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News details.
“I don’t have a set date right now,” Leonard said. “I just have to keep doing what I’m doing. The progression that I am making has been great. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing.”
There have been whispers throughout the 2017/18 season that Leonard’s injury situation has created some friction between him and the team. Just last month, head coach Gregg Popovich suggested that his star forward may not return at all this season, despite a report later that day indicating that Leonard had received medical clearance to play. Asked today if the treatment of his injury had created issues between him and the Spurs, Leonard downplayed that notion, per Orsborn.
“Everything was done as a group,” Leonard said. “I don’t feel like nothing was friction. I talk to Pop everyday. He knows what the progressions were, he knew what I am doing the whole entire time.”
With reports hinting at possible discord in San Antonio, there has been speculation that Leonard, who is eligible for free agency in 2019, may not be a Spur for the long term. However, he pushed back against that idea as well, according to Orsborn. Asked today if he wanted to finish his career with the franchise, Leonard replied, “Yeah. For sure.”
Of course, if Leonard were to leave San Antonio next year, he wouldn’t be the first player to change teams after expressing a desire to stay. Still, given how quiet he has been for most of this season as rumors and speculation swirled around him, Leonard’s comments today should allow Spurs fans to breathe a little easier.
Emeka Okafor Received Multiyear Deal From Pelicans
After initially inking a pair of 10-day contracts with the Pelicans, veteran center Emeka Okafor signed a standard deal with the team last month. That agreement was reported as a rest-of-season contract, but according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, it could keep Okafor in New Orleans next season too.
As Marks details, Okafor’s new contract includes a non-guaranteed minimum salary for 2018/19. If the Pelicans keep the former No. 2 overall pick on their roster through the offseason, the deal would have trigger dates for a partial guarantee.
Based on Okafor’s performance so far with the Pelicans, the team’s decision to include a second year on his contract looks like a savvy one. New Orleans hasn’t lost since the 35-year-old entered the starting lineup, having posted a 7-0 record in Okafor’s starts. He has averaged a respectable 5.4 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.7 BPG in those games (15.9 MPG), holding his own in his first NBA action since 2013.
As Marks notes, the only downside of the Pelicans potentially keeping Okafor for a second season would be his $2,445,085 cap hit. The NBA covers a portion of a veteran player’s minimum salary if he signs a one-year deal, but doesn’t do so for multiyear agreements. That means that Okafor will count for nearly $1MM in extra salary for cap and tax purposes than he would if he were to re-sign with New Orleans on a one-year minimum deal. Still, if Okafor finishes the season strong, that modest investment could be worth it to keep him off the open market.
Checking In On 2018’s Traded Draft Picks
There are a number of races worth watching in the NBA down the stretch of the 2017/18 season. Of course, the Western Conference playoff battle is the most dramatic one at the moment, though the race for the top spot in the draft lottery is fascinating in its own right.
The standings are also worth keeping an eye on because they’ll dictate this year’s draft order, and many of the 2018 picks that have been traded include some sort of protection. That means that a team’s spot in the standings will determine whether or not those picks actually changes hands this spring.
At the moment, there are 25 traded draft picks projected to change hands, while only four will be protected. All 11 traded first-round picks are currently on track to convey this year.
It’s possible that the results of the draft lottery will change that — for instance, if the Pistons miss the playoffs and then get some tremendous luck in the lottery, they could hang onto their top-four protected pick, rather than sending it to the Clippers. For the most part though, it doesn’t look like protections will have a major impact on this year’s traded picks.
With the help of our lists of traded first- and second-round picks, as well as our reverse standings, here are the picks currently projected to change hands for the 2018 draft:
First round:
- Nets‘ pick to Cavaliers (unprotected)
- Note: Pick currently tied for 3rd/4th/5th.
- Lakers‘ pick to Sixers (to Celtics if it falls between 2-5; otherwise, to Philadelphia)
- Pistons‘ pick to Clippers (top-4 protected)
- Heat‘s pick to Suns (top-7 protected)
- Bucks‘ pick to Suns (top-10 protected and 17-30 protected)
- Thunder‘s pick to Timberwolves (top-14 protected)
- Timberwolves‘ pick to Hawks (top-14 protected)
- Cavaliers‘ pick to Lakers (top-3 protected)
- Note: Pick currently tied for 24th/25th.
- Pelicans‘ pick to Bulls (top-5 protected)
- Note: Pick currently tied for 24th/25th.
- Raptors‘ pick to Nets (top-14 protected)
- Rockets‘ pick to Hawks (top-3 protected)
Second round:
- Nets‘ pick to Sixers (Philadelphia to receive more favorable of Nets’ and Cavs’ second-round picks)
- Note: Pick currently tied for 33rd/34th/35th.
- Bulls‘ pick to Knicks (unprotected)
- Knicks‘ pick to Sixers (Philadelphia to receive more favorable of Knicks’ and Clippers’ second-round picks)
- Hornets‘ pick to Magic (Orlando to receive second-most favorable of Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s second-round picks)
- Lakers‘ pick to Nets (Brooklyn to receive less favorable of Magic’s and Lakers’ second-round picks)
- Heat‘s pick to Rockets (Houston to receive least favorable of Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s second-round picks)
- Bucks‘ pick to Nets (to Brooklyn if it falls between 31-47; otherwise, to Suns)
- Clippers‘ pick to Nuggets (Denver to receive less favorable of Knicks’ and Clippers’ second-round picks)
- Nuggets‘ pick to Lakers (unprotected)
- Cavaliers‘ pick to Hornets (Charlotte to receive less favorable of Nets’ and Cavs’ second-round picks)
- Note: Pick currently tied for 54th/55th.
- Trail Blazers‘ pick to Mavericks (Dallas to receive less favorable of Kings’ and Trail Blazers’ second-round picks)
- Celtics‘ pick to Thunder (top-55 protected)
- Raptors‘ pick to Suns (unprotected)
- Warriors‘ pick to Nuggets (unprotected)
- Rockets‘ pick to Sixers (unprotected)
The picks listed below are not projected to change hands in this year’s draft. The first three selections on this list won’t roll over to 2019 — those obligations will simply be extinguished. But the Nets would get another shot at the Pacers‘ pick in 2019, when it will once again have 45-60 protection.
Second round:
- Suns‘ pick to Grizzlies (top-55 protected)
- Mavericks‘ pick to Bucks (top-55 protected)
- Hawks‘ pick to Clippers (top-55 protected)
- Pacers‘ pick to Nets (45-60 protected)
- Note: Pick currently tied for 52nd/53rd.
Here are a few other traded pick details worth noting, though they’re unlikely to impact this year’s draft order:
- The Grizzlies will receive the most favorable of the Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s second-round picks. That will likely be their own pick, which is currently 31st.
- The Magic can swap second-round picks with the Lakers if L.A.’s pick is more favorable. Currently, the Magic’s pick is tied for 36th/37th, while the Lakers’ pick is 41st.
- The Kings can swap second-round picks with the Trail Blazers if Portland’s pick is more favorable. Currently, the Kings’ pick is tied for 36th/37th, while the Blazers’ pick is 56th.
Mavericks Notes: Cuban, Noel, Powell, Mejri
When a Sports Illustrated report last month detailed a corrosive workplace culture within the Mavericks’ organization, the general consensus was that owner Mark Cuban was partially to blame for not recognizing the issues and moving to address them earlier. However, Cuban himself was not named as an alleged perpetrator of sexual misconduct in SI’s feature.
According to a new report from Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week though, Cuban was the subject of a sexual assault investigation back in 2011 — a woman claimed that the Mavs owner “thrust his hand down the back of her jeans and penetrated her vagina with his finger” while they were taking a photo together at a Portland nightclub. The local District Attorney’s office ultimately determined at the time that there was “insufficient evidence to press criminal charges.” For his part, Cuban denies that the incident ever happened, according to a Dallas Morning News report.
Despite Cuban’s denials and the lack of charges filed in 2011, the woman who went to police to report the incident maintains that her account was accurate and that she stands by it “one thousand percent.” The case is unlikely to be reopened years later, but the report itself is another black mark for Cuban and the Mavericks, who have seen their reputations called into question in recent weeks.
Here’s more on the Mavs:
- Tim Cowlishaw of The Dallas Morning News examines what the unearthed 2011 allegation means for Cuban.
- While Nerlens Noel still may not have a long-term future in Dallas, he showed on Tuesday why the team traded for him in the first place, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. “Nerlens is doing better and better,” head coach Rick Carlisle said after Noel’s 14-rebound performance. “He’s simplifying things out there. It’s pretty clear he’s getting some rhythm back and he’s getting some familiarity with the guys he’s playing with.”
- In a separate article for The Dallas Morning News, Townsend suggests the odds of Noel, Dwight Powell, or Salah Mejri turning into the Mavs’ center of the future are slim. However, Townsend thinks there’s a good chance that at least two of them will be on the roster next season.
- On Tuesday, we passed along details on the new advertisement patch the Mavs will wear on their uniforms.
Knicks Notes: Hornacek, Kanter, Beasley
The Knicks missed the playoffs last season and are currently 10 games back of the final seed in the Eastern Conference. Head coach Jeff Hornacek is under contract for one more season beyond 2017/18. There has been speculation he will be replaced after the season, but Hornacek expects to be back, Al Iannazzone of Newsday writes.
“I still have next year so unless they tell me something different,” Hornacek said.
New York has started well in both seasons with Hornacek at the helm, but injuries have decimated the team. The Knicks also suffered a major blow last month when franchise linchpin Kristaps Porzingis went down with a season-ending torn ACL. The team has focused on playing youngsters Frank Ntilikina, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Trey Burke.
“Going into when we get KP back and our draft pick, and maybe free agency, we can be in better shape next year,” Hornacek added.
Check out other Knicks news and notes below:
- Enes Kanter has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disappointing year for the Knicks. He has openly discussed his preference to stay in New York after the season, which he reiterated on Tuesday, Chris Iseman of The Record writes. “I think after I came it was an amazing because everybody opened their arms,” Kanter said. “They welcomed me. The organization and everything was so nice and amazing. I just feel so comfortable.”
- The season-ending injury to Porzingis allowed Michael Beasley to enter the starting lineup as the Knicks’ power forward. However, Beasley has averaged just 7.4 PPG since the All-Star break and could see himself fall out of the lineup, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. “Being a four, I got to wait for people to get me involved and things like that,’’ Beasley said. “So that’s tough. But I do it.’’
NBA Issues Warning To Bulls Over Resting Healthy Players
The NBA issued a warning to the Bulls this week about resting healthy players, prompting the team to change course and plan on using veterans Robin Lopez and Justin Holiday more frequently, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
Lopez has not played for the Bulls since a February 14 home loss to the Raptors; Holiday last played in a road loss to the Nets in Brooklyn on February 26. Chicago tried to unload Lopez, a free agent at season’s end, at last month’s trade deadline, but couldn’t find a deal. The Bulls removed both veterans from the rotation to evaluate their young players for the remainder of the season.
“After the All-Star break, we had communication with the league office about Robin and Justin’s roles. After healthy dialogue, the league determined that their situations fall into the ‘player rest’ policy,” Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in a statement, tweets Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “We respect the communication and cooperative dialogue with the league and will adhere to their recommendations going forward.”
Commissioner Adam Silver has taken a firm stance against teams purposely tanking. He fined Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $600K in late February for public comments advocating for tanking. Since then, he sent out a league-wide memo warning teams that they will face consequences if they are found to be purposely trying to lose.
“If we ever received evidence that players or coaches were attempting to lose or otherwise taking steps to cause any game to result otherwise than on its competitive merits, that conduct would be met with the swiftest and harshest response possible from the league office,” Silver said.
The Bulls were viewed as one of the worst teams in the league entering the season. Thus far, their 21-42 record, the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference, has corroborated those predictions.
Central Notes: Nance, Parker, Booker
Larry Nance Jr. has never been a prolific three-pointer shooter, evidenced by his 12 career treys, but he is not scared to shoot the ball from the perimeter, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. Nance has made just one triple in seven attempts this season but he has impressed the Cavaliers in practice with his range.
Primarily known for his athleticism and defense, Nance did not bring a known mid-range game to Cleveland. Head coach Tyronn Lue admitted that he was not aware that Nance could shoot threes. With Tristan Thompson out for a while, Nance will see time at center and he is comfortable shooting from beyond the arc if he is given space.
“If they sag off me I will shoot it,” Nance told Cleveland.com this past Monday. “Obviously I’m not going to be K-Love with it or anything. But if they sag off me and don’t respect me as a shooter I feel completely comfortable (making them pay) and shooting it now.”
In a separate story, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes that Nance will start until Thompson is healthy. Lue was encouraged by Nance’s contributions off the bench after he traded from the Lakers.
“I was just letting (Nance) get a chance to figure out our offense, our defense and what we want to do,” Lue said. “I liked what he did off the bench because we need that spark and that energy.”
Check out other Central Division notes below:
- Jabari Parker‘s career has hit two major snags, both of them being torn ACLs that cost him significant playing time. He was reportedly close to an extension with the Bucks that would have paid him $18MM annually — while recovering from the second ACL injury — but it didn’t happen. As he approaches free agency, Parker’s future with the Bucks remains a dilemma in the short- and long-term, NBC Sports’ Dan Feldman writes.
- Trevor Booker was waived by the Sixers and while he had other options, he chose to sign with the Pacers. Booker’s defense and rebounding is something the Pacers have been looking to add, Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star writes. “I had a few other choices,” Booker said. “I factored in everything. I thought I could come to this team and bring something positive.”
- The Pistons have been hampered by injuries all season, primarily in the backcourt. Those injuries have impacted the team’s perimeter shooting, but head coach Stan Van Gundy does not want to use injuries as an excuse, Rod Beard of the Detroit News writes. “I’m not going to make an excuse on that. We’ve got good players and we should be playing better. We’re capable of playing better and I think we will play better,” Van Gundy said. “Nobody wants to be without guys for long periods of time, but injuries are a fact of life in the NBA and you have to play through them.”
Mavs Announce Deal For Jersey Sponsorship
The Mavericks are the latest NBA team to announce a partnership with a jersey sponsor, announcing today in a press release that they’ve teamed up with Dallas-based company 5miles for a uniform patch. The two sides agreed to a three-year deal.
As the Mavericks’ announcement details, 5miles is “a free, local marketplace app/website that lets users buy and sell, not only secondhand items, but also local services, housing and jobs.” The company’s partnership with the Mavs comes not long after a Sports Illustrated report revealed a history of alleged workplace misconduct within the team’s business offices. However, 5miles had nothing but praise for owner Mark Cuban and the Mavs’ organization in the wake of today’s news, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News.
“What we are comfortable with is, based on our interaction and our experience working with Mark and his team, they’re been nothing but a world-class organization so far,” 5miles CFO Garwin Chan said. “So from everything that I understand, also assurances that the Mavs organization has given to us, they’re doing everything they can do to investigate exactly what happened and also put in place best practices. And we’re completely supportive of them.”
The Mavs are the 21st team to reach an agreement to wear a uniform patch, as our list shows. The Bulls, Rockets, Pacers, Grizzlies, Thunder, Suns, Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Wizards have yet to strike a deal with a corporate sponsor.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Casey, Smart, Fultz
Emmanuel Mudiay, who turned 22 on Monday, has struggled in his last two games as the Knicks‘ starting point guard, making just two of 16 shots in losses to the Clippers and Kings. Nonetheless, head coach Jeff Hornacek plans to keep Mudiay in the starting lineup for now, per Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Mudiay was benched down the stretch on Monday in favor of Trey Burke, but the Knicks don’t intend to insert Burke – or rookie Frank Ntilikina – into the starting five. While that may change in the coming weeks, it doesn’t sound like Hornacek views it as a priority to get Ntilikina some starting experience down the stretch.
“I’m not sure it matters a whole lot,” said the Knicks’ head coach. “I think the more minutes is helpful. Just because we start someone this year at the end doesn’t mean that’s who’s starting next year. That’s meaningless. It’s the summer of work, what we see the rest of the year, how the guys go in the summer and come back the next year and what they work on. As long as we get [Ntilikina] minutes and keep getting him experiences, I think that’s good.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- With the Raptors holding the top spot in the Eastern Conference after overhauling their offense in the offseason, Dwane Casey is receiving some buzz for Coach of the Year. Seerat Sohi of SBNation.com describes how the franchise put its trust in Casey to remake the Raptors without a rebuild, while Lee Jenkins of SI.com delivers an in-depth profile of the veteran coach.
- The NBA announced today that Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $15K for publicly criticizing the officiating following Saturday’s loss to Houston. Smart – whose comments were fairly tame as far as criticisms go – turns 24 today, making that $15K fine the strong favorite to be his worst birthday gift this year.
- While the Sixers have had a solid season, the team could use Markelle Fultz‘s playmaking and ball-handling ability, writes David Murphy of Philly.com. A team source tells Jon Johnson of 94WIP (Twitter link) that there’s still no plan for Fultz to return to the lineup anytime soon, unsurprisingly.
Community Shootaround: Potential Coaching Changes
The NBA’s head coaching carousel was unusually quiet last spring, when all 30 teams stuck with their incumbent coaches at the end of the 2016/17 season. That won’t be the case this year, however.
Already, three teams have made in-season coaching changes, and the Suns, Grizzlies, and Bucks are each expected to conduct a more expansive search for a permanent head coach at season’s end. Those three clubs are unlikely to be the only ones in the market for someone new.
Although there have been no reports confirming that the Knicks will replace Jeff Hornacek this offseason, it has been a subject of frequent speculation for New York writers, with multiple reporters suggesting that Hornacek’s time with the Knicks may be nearing an end.
Like Hornacek’s Knicks, the Nuggets and Pistons are in danger of missing the postseason this year, which wouldn’t bode well for the job security of either Michael Malone or Stan Van Gundy — based on the current standings and their respective track records, Malone is probably safer than Van Gundy for now. Doc Rivers‘ Clippers are also battling for a postseason spot and could miss out. If that happens, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see Rivers follow Chris Paul and Blake Griffin out of town.
Among probable lottery-bound teams, Frank Vogel (Magic), Dave Joerger (Kings), Fred Hoiberg (Bulls), Steve Clifford (Hornets), Mike Budenholzer (Hawks), and Luke Walton (Lakers) aren’t 100% locks to return, though most of them should — particularly since a few of those clubs weren’t expecting to make the playoffs this season anyway.
While most coaches for playoff teams should be safe, the actual results of the postseason could change the equation. For instance, if the Cavaliers are upset in the first round, that would almost certainly kick off a debate about Tyronn Lue‘s job status.
What do you think? Which head coaches will be replaced this season? Which coaches should be replaced? And which candidates for head coaching jobs do you think should be most coveted this spring when teams are making new hires?
Jump into the comment section below to weigh in with your thoughts!