Spurs Notes: Leonard, Ginobili, Parker, Gasol
A meeting with Kawhi Leonard will be the Spurs’ top priority of the offseason, according to Michael C. Wright of ESPN. Head coach Gregg Popovich is expected to lead the session as the team tries to determine whether it can work through a dispute with its top player and forge a long-term relationship.
An MVP candidate last year, Leonard was limited to nine games this season by a lingering quad injury. He was cleared to return by team doctors, but not by his personal physicians in New York, where he made two extended visits during the season. Rumors persisted of disharmony between Leonard and the organization, and they intensified when he opted not to join the team for its playoff series.
“Kawhi, everybody asks questions, but he’s still here,” Danny Green said after last night’s season-ending loss at Golden State. “He’s still locked in. He’s a part of the team until things change.”
This summer’s meeting will go a long way for the Spurs in deciding whether to offer Leonard a supermax extension valued at about $219MM over five years. Complicating matters, Wright notes, are divorce proceedings between Peter Holt, the team’s former chairman and CEO, and Juliana Hawn Holt, the current chairman and co-CEO, which could affect any major financial decisions for the organization.
Wright offers more news about possible changes coming in San Antonio:
- Manu Ginobili is signed for $2.5MM next season, but isn’t sure if he’ll return. Ginobili, who will turn 41 in July, plans to make the decision sometime this summer. “As I’ve done it the last two or three seasons, I’ll sit back, relax and, after two or three months, see if I feel retired or not,” he said. “I like to let it season a little bit, to see how I feel. Don’t expect news until July, probably. I just don’t know. I let a month, two months go by and see how I feel. I’m not the type of guy who makes decisions on the fly, and when you are upset, hurt or whatever.”
- Tony Parker, who turns 36 next month, is headed toward free agency after 17 years with the Spurs. He has expressed a desire to return to the team, but will probably have to accept a significant pay cut after making $15.4MM this season. “I said already I want to keep playing,” Parker stated. “I’m happy I don’t have those retirement parties. I want to keep playing, and we’ll see if it’s in San Antonio. Everybody knows I would love to stay here. But free agency is always crazy, so we’ll see.”
- Pau Gasol, 37, expressed a desire to play another three to four seasons. He is under contract for $16.8MM next year, with a non-guaranteed $16MM in 2019/20.
- Green [$10MM for next season], Rudy Gay [$8.8MM] and Joffrey Lauvergne [$1.7MM] all have a June 29 deadline to exercise their player options. “This organization is a big part of me,” Green said, “and I would love to play here again, would love to come back. But things get interesting in free agency.”
Community Shootaround: Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers won their first playoff series since 2012, beating the Heat in five games and Dwyane Wade, who might have just played his last games in the league, called Philadelphia the future of the NBA.
The future may be now with the rest of the Eastern Conference contenders looking particularly vulnerable.
Boston, a team that’s one win away from meeting Philly in the second-round, is without Kyrie Irving. Toronto is locked in a duel with the Wizards in round-one and Cleveland looks as beatable as any LeBron James team in recent memory.
GM Bryan Colangelo deserves credit for making putting the right ancillary parts around the team’s major building blocks. He signed J.J. Redick last summer and brought in Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli late in the season to add lethal shooting and veteran presence to a young nucleus.
However, credit for the young nucleus belongs to Sam Hinkie. The architect of The Process put the franchise in position to have a championship-level ceiling by deciding mediocrity wasn’t enough. He also didn’t want a team that capped out at 50 wins. He wanted one that could compete yearly for a championship and the organization appears to be closing in on that goal.
With Ben Simmons in the fold, something that happened in part because of Hinkie’s final tanking campaign, the team has a perennial All-Star on board. If Joel Embiid can stay healthy, the team should have two of those. Add in great finds like Robert Covington and patient drafting, like the selection of Dario Saric, and you have a team with a nucleus that appears ready for a decade of dominance. Not to mention that the Sixers will likely add another top-10 pick over the next couple seasons as a result of Hinkie dealing away Michael Carter-Williams back in 2015 and fleecing the Kings later that year.
With the city of Philadelphia celebrating yet again after a first-round series win, tonight’s community shootaround is all about the Sixers.
How far do you see the Sixers going this postseason? Can this team win the Eastern Conference? Does Sam Hinkie deserve more credit than he’s currently getting? Should the organization invite him to ring the pre-game bell like they did with rapper Meek Mill in Game 5 of their first-round series? Will anyone notice that No.1 overall pick Markelle Fultz has only played nine minutes over the last four games?
Let us know your thoughts on everything Sixers-related in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!
Heat Notes: Wade, Haslem, Winslow
The Heat will head into the offseason with a bevy of question marks after a first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Sixers.
The franchise lacks the flexibility to add top talent with slightly over $116MM in guaranteed salary on the books for the 2018/19 season. That figure is already over the projected $101MM salary cap and dangerously close to the estimated $123MM luxury tax line.
If Miami is going to make any major changes, it’ll likely come via a trade with Hassan Whiteside coming to mind as a potential trade candidate after the big man was visibly frustrated with his role down the season’s final stretch. The big man is owed approximately $52.4MM over the next two seasons, though he has the option of hitting the market next summer if he so chooses.
Here’s more from Miami:
- Udonis Haslem and Dwyane Wade have not made their respective decisions to return to the Heat next season. The pair has long maintained that they’ve wanted to retire together and it’ll be something they discuss this offseason. “We’re going to have a lot of conversations this summer,” Haslam said (via Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald). “So we’ll figure it out.”
- One of the positives from the Heat’s playoff run is the development of Justise Winslow, as Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel relays. “Justise is doing whatever it takes. This is the moment you want Justise to do well on your team, this is the moment you want him. He’s a guy that has no ego. He’s going to play his heart out,” Wade said.
- Winslow was fined $15K for stepping on Joel Embiid‘s mask during Game 3, but the Heat never thought the wing’s behavior was a distraction, Winderman passes along in the same piece. “We talked to him about it,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We accept the fine. He accepts it. He’ll pay for it. It doesn’t add a distraction.”
Central Notes: George, Kennard, Pacers
With the Thunder struggling to keep pace with the Jazz in the opening round of the playoffs, many have speculated that Paul George could be on his way out of town. While the Lakers have been connected to George for several seasons and they likely remain the favorite for his services should he depart OKC, other franchises will surely have interest in the 5-time All-Star.
Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports wonders if the Bulls should make a run at the small forward. Executive John Paxson previous indicated that the team wouldn’t be major players in free agency, though Paxton also expressed frustration with the lousy season the Bulls just endured, saying that he never wanted to go through a season like it again. If George is willing to come to the Windy City, it may be difficult for the franchise to turn him away.
The Bulls only have slightly under $58MM in guaranteed salary on the books for next season, making them one of the only teams expected to have significant cap space. The scribe acknowledges that George signing in Chicago is a long shot, but he doesn’t believe it’s an impossible feat.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Many within the league believe the Bulls will wait until 2019 to make a major move on the free agent market, Schanowski adds in the same piece. Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyrie Irving are among the players expected to be available next summer.
- Both Luke Kennard and Henry Ellenson are entering a crucial offseason as they hope to be a part of the Pistons‘ long-term future, Ansar Khan of Mlive.com writes. Coach/executive Stan Van Gundy previously said that the team hasn’t decided if the pair of former first-rounders will play in the summer league.
- Despite hanging with the Cavs during the first round of the playoffs, the Pacers know they need to upgrade the talent around Victor Oladipo this offseason in order to ease the burden that their star player is carrying, J.Michael of the Indianapolis Star relays. “As an organization, we’ll do some things to help the situation later,” coach Nate McMillan said about Oladipo struggling with the added defensive attention on him.
Mbah a Moute Could Return Next Week
Rockets forward Luc Mbah a Moute is officially out of the first round but coach Mike D’Antoni hinted Mbah a Moute could return if Houston advances to the conference semifinals, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Mbah a Moute has been out since April 10th after dislocating his right shoulder for the second time this season. He began shooting during the weekend and will be reevaluated next week. Even if the Rockets-Timberwolves series goes the full seven games, it will end on Sunday.
Mbah a Moute missed nearly a month of action of suffering a dislocation in mid-December but appears to be making quicker progress the second time around, Feigen adds.
“It’s still too early to put a timetable on it, yet,” D’ Antoni said. “Next week, he’ll be re-evaluated. I think he’ll be real close next week, but I don’t know that for sure.”
The defensive specialist appeared in 61 games and averaged 7.5 PPG and 3.0 RPG in 25.6 MPG during his first season with Houston.
236 Early Entrants Declare For 2018 NBA Draft
The NBA has released the official list of early entrants for the 2018 NBA draft, announcing in a press release that 236 players have filed as early entry candidates. Of those prospects, 181 are from colleges, while 55 are international early entrants.
That number blows away the previous record for early entrants, established in 2017. Last year, 182 early entrants declared for the draft, though ultimately only 73 of those prospects remained in the draft by the final deadline.
This year’s total of 236 early entrants also figures to shrink significantly by May 30 and again by June 11, the two key deadlines for players to withdraw their names from the draft pool. But it still looks like that pool will remain crowded, with the eventual number of early entrants likely exceeding 60, the number of picks in the draft.
Our list of early entrants is now up to date and can be found right here. Here are today’s updates:
College underclassmen:
The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our own list. For now, we’re assuming they haven’t yet hired agents.
- Mike Amius, F, Western Carolina (junior)
- Sedrick Barefield, G, Utah (junior)
- Lamonte Bearden, G, Western Kentucky (junior)
- Tashawn Berry, G, Dakota College (sophomore)
- Elijah Bryant, G, BYU (junior)
- Yoeli Childs, F, BYU (sophomore)
- Jordan Davis, G, Northern Colorado (junior)
- Shawntrez Davis, F, Bethune-Cookman (junior)
- Dextor Foster, G, ASA College (junior)
- Tremaine Fraiser, G, Westchester CC (junior)
- Kaiser Gates, F, Xavier (junior)
- Michael Gilmore, F, Florida Gulf Coast (junior)
- Zach Hankins, C, Ferris State (junior)
- Malik Hines, F, Massachusetts (junior)
- Ismaila Kane, F, Atlanta Metropolitan (freshman)
- Devonte Klines, G, Montana State (junior)
- Kalob Ledoux, G, McNeese State (sophomore)
- Marquez Letcher-Ellis, F, Rice (sophomore)
- Victor Lewis II, G, West Texas A&M (junior)
- Dominic Magee, G, Southern Miss (junior)
- Malik Martin, C, South Florida (junior)
- Christian Mekowulu, F, Tennessee State (junior)
- Aaron Menzies, C, Seattle (junior)
- Max Montana, F, San Diego State (junior)
- Travis Munnings, F, Louisiana-Monroe (junior)
- Jordan Murdock, G/F, Friends University (junior)
- Ray Ona Embo, G, Tulane (sophomore)
- Keanu Peters, G, Salt Lake CC (sophomore)
- Jalon Pipkins, G, Cal State Northridge (freshman)
- Cody Riley, C, UCLA (freshman)
- Ronshad Shabazz, G, Appalachian State (junior)
- Tremont Waters, G, LSU (freshman)
The following players reportedly declared for the draft or planned to, but weren’t named in the NBA’s official announcement today. As such, we’ve removed them from our list.
- Tookie Brown, G, Georgia Southern (junior)
- Harry Froling, C, Marquette (sophomore)
- Aric Holman, F, Mississippi State (junior)
- Jack McVeigh, F, Nebraska (junior)
- Elijah Minnie, F, Eastern Michigan (junior)
- Kobe Paras, G, Cal State Northridge (sophomore)
- Trayvon Reed, C, Texas Southern (junior)
- Max Strus, G, DePaul (junior)
- Jordon Varnado, F, Troy (junior)
International players:
The following players were listed on the NBA’s official breakdown today, but weren’t yet noted on our list.
- Berke Atar, C, Turkey (born 1999)
- Laurynas Beliauskas, G, Lithuania (born 1997)
- Rihards Berzins, F/C, Latvia (born 1997)
- Etienne Ca, F, France (born 1997)
- Sigfredo Casero-Ortiz, G, France (born 1997)
- Berkan Durmaz, F, Turkey (born 1997)
- Aleksander Dziewa, C, Poland (born 1997)
- Stephane Gombauld, F, France (born 1997)
- Yoan Granvorka, F, Switzerland (born 1997)
- Michal Kolenda, F, Poland (born 1997)
- Antonios Koniaris, G, Greece (born 1997)
- Leon Kratzer, C, Germany (born 1997)
- Shekinah Munanga, F, France (born 1997)
- Williams Narace, F, France (born 1997)
- Marcel Ponitka, G, Poland (born 1997)
- Leonardo Tote, F, Italy (born 1997)
- Martynas Varnas, G, Lithuania (born 1997)
- Filip Zagrajski, G, Croatia (born 1997)
Pacific Rumors: Thomas, Budenholzer, Cook, Kings
Isaiah Thomas‘ hip issue has severely damaged his value on the open market, some front office executives told Sean Deveney of the Sporting News. Fears that his hip is either pre-arthritic or already arthritic will likely force the Lakers point guard to accept a one-year “prove it” deal or a two-year deal with a team option, Deveney continues. That’s a dramatic fall for a player who was expected to be a max contract candidate just a year ago, Deveney notes. One GM that Deveney talked to predicted that Thomas would have to accept a “low-risk deal.”
In other news around the Pacific Division:
- It’s unclear why Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer told the Suns he was no longer interested in their head coaching job, Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic writes. He was either underwhelmed by what he heard from the Suns’ brass, didn’t get a sufficient financial offer or found a better opportunity somewhere else, Bordow adds. Ex-Grizzlies coach David Fizdale appears to be the favorite for the job but he’s also being pursued by the Knicks, Hornets and perhaps the Bucks, Bordow continues. Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov also appears to be a prime candidate but if the Trail Blazers fire Terry Stotts, he would likely become the frontrunner, Bordow adds.
- Quinn Cook‘s long odyssey from being undrafted in 2015 to rotation player with the Warriors in this year’s playoffs is chronicled by Sports Illustrated’s Jack Fischer. This season alone was a whirlwind, as Fischer explains, with Cook getting waived by the Hawks before training camp, then signing a two-way contract with Golden State. When Stephen Curry was sidelined by a left knee injury, the Warriors signed Cook to a standard contract. He’s averaging 6.8 PPG in 19.8 MPG against the Spurs in the opening round.
- The Kings have $5.4MM in cap room to use by the end of June, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. They increased it by $2MM through the set-off in the waived contracts of Anthony Tolliver and Arron Afflalo, Marks adds. The new cap year begins in July.
Marcus Smart Expected To Play In Game 5
4:26pm: Stevens said that Smart felt great after the morning shootaround and is expected to play Tuesday, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets.
11:03am: The potential return date for Celtics guard Marcus Smart keeps getting moved up. After initially aiming to play in a possible Game 7 in the first round, Smart said over the weekend that he may actually be back for Game 6 against the Bucks. Now, it appears he could suit up for the C’s in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
As Taylor Snow of Celtics.com details, head coach Brad Stevens said Smart’s injured right thumb was re-evaluated on Monday and he has been given the OK to return, as long as he clears a few more hurdles leading up to tonight’s game.
“He still has to go through some things later this morning after our shootaround, and then we’ll see how he feels after that,” Stevens said. “If he feels good, then he’s been cleared physically to go. If he has any pain or anything comes up, then we’ll hold him out.”
Given how eager Smart has been to return to the Celtics’ lineup, it’s hard to imagine him not playing on Tuesday in Boston now that he has received medical clearance. If he’s able to play, it will be his first game since March 11 — he underwent surgery on March 16 to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb.
While Smart’s offensive numbers this season (10.2 PPG on .367/.301/.729 shooting) were modest, he’s one of the Celtics’ most important defensive players. And with Kyrie Irving sidelined, Smart’s return will help provide more depth in Boston’s backcourt, taking some pressure off Terry Rozier at the point.
2018 NBA Draft Dates, Deadlines To Watch
The deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2018 NBA draft has now passed, but news of those decisions continues to trickle in. Earlier today, Rob Dauster of NBC Sports reported that Wichita State forward Markis McDuffie is testing the draft waters, giving himself the option of withdrawing his name later in the process and returning to school for his senior year.
Until an official early entrant list is released, we may continue to hear about last-minute decisions like McDuffie’s. Still, for the most part, 2018’s initial early entrant list appears set. Now it’s time to look ahead to see which 2018 NBA draft dates and deadlines are up next. For instance, just how long will McDuffie have to decide whether or not to pull his name from this year’s draft pool?
Let’s run through the timeline…
April 27: Invites issued for draft combine
This one isn’t listed on the NBA’s official calendar of key offseason dates, but Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports reported last week (via Twitter) that combine invitations are expected to be sent out to prospects this Friday. That means we shouldn’t have to wait much longer to find out which players will be in attendance at next month’s event.
May 15: NBA draft lottery
The 2018 draft lottery will be conducted in Chicago on May 15, with the NBA moving up the event to ensure it takes place before the combine. That should give teams with lottery picks a better idea of which players they want to talk to and get a closer look at later in the week.
Pistons and Celtics fans will want to keep an eye on this year’s lottery just in case those clubs beat the odds and secure a top-three pick. Detroit will send its first-rounder to the Clippers unless it lands in the top three (2.5% chance), while the Sixers will get the Lakers‘ first-rounder unless it moves up to No. 2 or No. 3 in the lottery, in which case it’ll be sent to Boston (2.9% chance).
Otherwise, teams at the bottom of the NBA’s standings – like the Suns, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Hawks, and Magic – will have the most at stake on May 15.
The full pre-lottery draft order for 2018 can be found right here.
May 16-20: NBA draft combine
This five-day event, which also takes place in Chicago, allows NBA teams to get a first-hand look at many of this year’s top draft-eligible players (though perhaps not a handful of 2018’s very best prospects, since potential top-five picks don’t have much to gain by participating in the combine).
The combine will be particularly important for early entrants who have yet to hire an agent. The feedback they get at the combine could go a long way toward dictating whether they decide to keep their names in the draft or return to school for another year.
May 30: NCAA early entrant withdrawal deadline
College underclassmen who want to retain their NCAA eligibility will have to withdraw their names from the draft pool by May 30. NBA rules call for a later withdrawal deadline, but the NCAA has its own set of rules that say the deadline is 10 days after the combine.
As such, a college underclassmen could technically wait until after May 30 to withdraw from the draft and he would retain his NBA draft eligibility for a future year. However, he would forfeit his amateur status in that scenario, making him ineligible to return to his NCAA squad.
June 11: NBA early entrant withdrawal deadline
This is the NBA’s final deadline for early entrants to withdraw their names from the draft pool and retain their draft eligibility for a future year. By this point, we generally know whether an NCAA underclassman kept his name in the draft or not, but this is an important deadline for international players, who aren’t subject to the same restrictions as college players. We’ll likely hear about several international early entrants withdrawing from the draft during the days leading up to June 11.
June 21: NBA draft day
The most exciting few weeks of the NBA offseason unofficially get underway on draft day, which is often when the first major trades of the summer are completed and we get a sense of which direction certain teams are heading.
It’s also worth noting that the hours and days after the draft ends will be hugely important for many of this year’s draft-eligible prospects — a ton of players who aren’t selected with one of the 60 picks in the draft will reach agreements shortly thereafter to play for an NBA team’s Summer League squad, or even to attend training camp with a club.
Nets Hire Pablo Prigioni, Tiago Splitter
A pair of former NBA players have joined the Nets’ organization, the team announced today in a press release. Pablo Prigioni has been hired as an assistant coach on Kenny Atkinson‘s staff, while Tiago Splitter had been named a pro scout with additional duties related to on-court player development.
Prigioni, whose hiring was first reported by Brian Lewis of The New York Post, also received interest from the Knicks, with whom he spent two and a half seasons as a player. However, he ultimately chose to join the city’s other NBA team.
The longtime point guard transitioned to coaching after retiring as a player — he was named the head coach of Spanish team Baskonia last summer, but stepped down after just eight games, reportedly due to family issues. In Brooklyn, Prigioni will have an opportunity to work with promising young guards like D’Angelo Russell, Spencer Dinwiddie, Isaiah Whitehead, and Caris LeVert.
As for Splitter, he announced his retirement as a player due to health issues earlier this year, and had expressed an interest in coaching in the past. While the former Spurs center won’t technically be a member of Atkinson’s staff in Brooklyn, it sounds like he’ll get the opportunity to work with some Nets players in addition to his scouting duties.