Budenholzer Withdraws From Consideration For Suns Coach Job
Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer has withdrawn from consideration for the Suns‘ head coach vacancy, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Budenholzer met with the Suns on Monday and Tuesday and was expected to reach a decision this week.
A native of Holbrook, Arizona, Budenholzer still has two years and $13MM+ left on his deal with the Hawks.
With Budenholzer off the board, the Suns are considering interim coach Jay Triano, David Fizdale, Steve Clifford, Kevin McHale and Frank Vogel to fill the position, Wojnarowski adds.
Budenholzer, 48, has been the Hawks’ head coach since 2013, leading the team to a 213-197 record. He won Coach of the Year for the 2014/15 season, a year in which the Hawks went 60-22 and went to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Hawks played to an Eastern Conference-worst 24-58 this season as the organization cut payroll and gathered young assets under general manager Travis Schlenk‘s vision.
Stan Van Gundy To Meet With Pistons Ownership To Discuss Future
Pistons head coach/president Stan Van Gundy and owner Tom Gores will meet next week to discuss Van Gundy’s future with the organization, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Van Gundy has one year left on his contract.
Van Gundy, 58, has been at the helm as head coach and president since 2014 when he replaced interim coach John Loyer. As the head coach, Van Gundy has led Detroit to a 152-176 record in four seasons. The Pistons have made the postseason just once in four years under Van Gundy, losing in the first round in 2016 after a 44-38 regular season.
Gores spoke to reporters earlier this month and said he would meet with Van Gundy before making a concrete decision on his future.
“We’re not winning. It’s just that simple,” Gores said. “Whatever mistakes we’ve made or why we haven’t won, we have to evaluate that. I see value in the front office and the coach being connected.”
Southeast Notes: Wade, Ellington, Stackhouse, Hawks
Dwyane Wade provided the basketball world with a flashback performance as he dropped 28 points for the Heat in a Game 2 victory over the Sixers. The 36-year-old’s career is winding down and there is no clear sense whether this season is his last. But if he decides to return next season, it will only be for the Heat, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne writes.
“Someone like Vince [Carter] can go anywhere and play. Every year, he can go to do a different location,” Wade said. “I can’t hop to here and there. So it makes it a little tougher.”
Wade has spent nearly his entire career in Miami, save for one year with the Bulls in 2016/17 and the first half of this season with the Cavaliers. Wade said he felt like he needed his experiences with those organizations to greater appreciate Miami and the Heat organization. The three-time NBA champion said he will decide this offseason whether he will retire or return to the Heat.
Check out more Southeast Division notes below:
- Heat guard Wayne Ellington has been a solid contributor off the bench this season, averaging 11.2 PPG. A veteran NBA scout tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald that the 30-year-old is a good candidate for a mid-level exception this offseason. “I could see him getting the mid-level. Can shoot, quality guy, has gotten better,” the scout said.
- Jerry Stackhouse, who is an alum of North Carolina, is reportedly in consideration for the Hornets‘ head coach vacancy. If he is hired, that means the owner (Michael Jordan), general manager (Mitch Kupchak), assistant general manager (Buzz Peterson) and head coach (Stackhouse) would be former Tar Heels. Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer writes that Charlotte should look beyond Stackhouse’s collegiate ties in selecting a head coach.
- With Kawhi Leonard‘s future with the Spurs seemingly unstable, several reports have suggested he will be an offseason trade target for various teams around the league. Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer outlines how and why the Hornets should pursue the two-time Defensive Player of the Year.
- Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution looks at how the Timberwolves’ poor play down the stretch actually helped the Hawks‘ positioning in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Central Notes: Parker, Love, Jennings, LaVine, Leonard
Jabari Parker has played a total of 24 minutes in two postseason games as the Bucks return to Milwaukee trailing the Celtics 2-0 in their first-round series. Parker has struggled to produce, and attributed his lack of playing time to not being on Bucks interim head coach Joe Prunty’s good side, tweets Stephen Watson of WISN 12 News.
Parker, who has torn the ACL in his left knee twice, has missed significant time over the last several seasons. He noted that not playing much after missing a lot of time to injury has compounded his frustration, tweets Matt Velazquez of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“I am human. I have a right to be frustrated. I’ve waited two years for this,” Parker, 23, said.
For his part, Prunty denied that Parker is on his bad side and said that he is unsure why the forward feels that way. Prunty added that Parker — and the rest of bench — can help the team and find playing time by rebounding and playing defense. With free agency looming, after two major knee surgeries, a lack of playing time in the postseason will not help Parker’s case for a lucrative deal.
Check out more Central Division notes:
- Cavaliers forward Kevin Love suffered a partial tear of a ligament in his left thumb during the team’s Game 2 win over the Pacers, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. While head coach Tyronn Lue elected to rest Love after the injury, Love said that he will play through it going forward. “It’s not going to feel great tomorrow, but throw some ice on it, tape it up and be ready to go,” Love said.
- Brandon Jennings did not play in the NBA for most of last season before he joined the Bucks‘ G League affiliate and eventually returned to Milwaukee last season. As Jennings tells David Yapkowitz of Basketball Insiders, he’s glad to be back. “It’s good, it feels good just being back in the NBA in general,” Jennings said. “A lot has changed since I left, but for the good. I’m just excited.”
- In his latest mailbag, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune answered several questioning pertaining to Zach LaVine‘s impending contract talks, Kris Dunn, and the Bulls‘ plans entering the draft.
- Mark Schanowski of NBC Sports Chicago writes that overpaying to acquire Kawhi Leonard, whose injury status and relationship with the Spurs make him a possible trade candidate, is not the way to rebuild the Bulls.
Joel Embiid Will Play For Sixers In Game 3
Joel Embiid will play and start in Game 3 of the Sixers‘ first-round Eastern Conference matchup against the Heat, writes Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Earlier today, Embiid had been listed as doubtful for tonight’s game before shootaround.
The Sixers had reportedly been working on a new protective mask for Embiid, as the black mask he has been wearing was not cleared by the league. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne tweets that Embiid’s new and approved mask has built-in protective eyewear mask and is made of carbon and polycarbonate.
Embiid has not played since March 28 when he collided with teammate Markelle Fultz during a home game against the Knicks. The 24-year-old suffered a concussion and underwent surgery three days later for an orbital fracture in his left eye. As Embiid’s recovery progressed — and he cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol before Game 2 — he was still yet to test himself beyond light contact in practice.
Before the injury ended his regular season, the 2017/18 All-Star averaged 22.9 PPG and 11.0 RPG in 63 games for the Sixers. With the series even at 1-1 entering Thursday’s Game 3 in Miami, a healthy Embiid could change the dynamic of the series for Philadelphia.
Poll: Which Team Will Win The East?
The Cavaliers have been the perennial favorites to win the Eastern Conference since LeBron James returned to Cleveland in 2014, but that’s not the case at the moment. After the first two games of each first-round series, the oddsmakers at Bovada.lv have the Raptors as the frontrunners to come out of the East, followed in close succession by the Cavs and Sixers.
The Raptors took care of business during their two home games against the Wizards, while the Cavs and Sixers split their home games against Indiana and Miami, respectively. As such, it makes sense that the Raptors would be a slightly better bet to advance for now, but it’s still jarring to see a LeBron team considered an underdog of any sort in the East.
Still, even though the Cavs aren’t viewed as the favorites to win the East – at least for the time being – those same oddsmakers at Bovada consider them a much stronger bet than the Pacers to make a deep postseason run. While Cleveland is about a 5-to-3 bet to come out of the East, Indiana’s odds are just 28-to-1.
The Heat (33-to-1), Wizards (80-to-1), and Bucks (80-to-1) are even longer shots than the Pacers, and even the Celtics, who are missing stars Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, come in at just 20-to-1. In other words, oddsmakers view the East as a three-team race featuring the Cavs, Raptors (5-to-4), and Sixers (a little over 3-to-1).
LeBron’s squad has pulled a Jekyll-and-Hyde act all year, so it’s hard to say which team will show up going forward. Even when James enjoyed a vintage performance in Game 2 vs. Indiana, racking up 46 points, the Cavs still only won by three.
The Raptors and Sixers have questions of their own though. The Raptors have never beaten James in the postseason, and lost to the Cavs twice in the second half of the 2017/18 regular season. The Sixers’ top players lack playoff experience, and Joel Embiid‘s health remains something of a question mark.
The upshot? We should have the most wide-open Eastern Conference postseason in years, with a handful of viable Finals contenders.
What do you think? Will James and the Cavs continue to hold serve in the East? Will the Raptors or Sixers take the conference crown this year? Or will a dark-horse candidate represent the East in the Finals?
Vote below in our poll and jump into the comment section to make your predictions!
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Atlantic Notes: Knicks’ HC Search, Celtics, Embiid
Following up on Wednesday’s report that the Knicks will interview Kenny Smith for their head coaching position, Marc Berman of The New York Post classifies the TNT analyst as a long shot, suggesting that it may simply be a “courtesy interview,” unless Smith has interest in joining the coaching staff as an assistant.
A job as an assistant is also a possibility for Mike Woodson, according to Berman, who writes that there has been speculation about a scenario in which the Knicks hire Mark Jackson as their new head coach and bring aboard Woodson as Jackson’s top assistant.
The Knicks continue to go through the interview process, so it’s probably too early to suggest that the team is leaning toward a single candidate, but it still seems as if Jackson, David Fizdale, and David Blatt represent the top options for the club. Jerry Stackhouse was reported to be a part of the Knicks’ “top tier” of candidates too, but Berman’s sources suggest Stackhouse may be the top choice for the Magic.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The Kyrie Irving blockbuster and the Celtics‘ lack of activity at the trade deadline generated most of the headlines during the 2017/18 league year, but Danny Ainge has done a nice job filling out the roster with under-the-radar acquisitions, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com. Forsberg points to the signings of players like Aron Baynes, Shane Larkin, and Daniel Theis as moves that paid off for Boston.
- While the Celtics have done an admirable job complementing their big veteran contracts with affordable rookie deals, the team will have to look ahead and consider which players are long-term keepers when their youngsters start getting second contracts, tweets Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports. As Mannix notes, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier will be up for raises soon, with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to follow down the road.
- While the Sixers and Joel Embiid – who remains doubtful to play in Game 3 – would both love to see the franchise center on the court during the team’s first-round series against the Heat, his orbital bone injury is “no joke,” writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Given the risk of further damage to Embiid’s eye, the 76ers are right to play it safe with Embiid this year, in Pompey’s view. That’s especially true when considering Philadelphia’s long-term investment in the young big man — his maximum-salary extension goes into effect in 2018/19.
(Note: Embiid has been upgraded to probable for Game 3 — 3:55pm)
NBA Team Option Decisions For 2018/19
Having already created a space to track this offseason’s player option decisions, we’re turning our attention today to team options. Over the next couple months, we’ll use the space below to keep tabs on all the team options for 2018/19, making note of whether they’re picked up or declined.
True team options are somewhat rare in the NBA, since clubs have typically preferred to include a non-guaranteed year or two in player contracts. Non-guaranteed salaries are less restrictive and provide a little more flexibility than team options, which clubs must act upon by a specific date (June 29) each year.
The list below also doesn’t include rookie scale team options for 2018/19, since those third- and fourth-year options function differently than team options on standard veteran contracts. Those ’18/19 rookie scale team option decisions were made during the 2017 offseason, and can be found here.
The standard team options for 2018/19 are listed below. We’ll keep this list updated through the end of June to note the latest decisions.
Point Guards
- Aaron Jackson, Rockets ($1,378,242): Exercised
- T.J. McConnell, Sixers ($1,600,520): Exercised
- Joe Young, Pacers ($1,600,520): Declined
Shooting Guards
- Lance Stephenson, Pacers ($4,360,000): Declined
Small Forwards
- None
Power Forwards
- Jordan Mickey, Heat ($1,600,520): Declined
- Nikola Mirotic, Pelicans ($12,500,000): Exercised
- Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks ($5,000,000): Declined
Centers
- Richaun Holmes, Sixers ($1,600,520): Exercised
- Nikola Jokic, Nuggets ($1,600,520): Declined
- Kendrick Perkins, Cavaliers ($2,445,085): Exercised
James Dolan Talks Porzingis, Jackson, Hornacek
Kristaps Porzingis‘ recovery timeline following his ACL surgery remains somewhat unclear, but he almost certainly won’t be ready to start the 2018/19 season, and his absence could extend far beyond opening night. Speaking to Larry Brooks of The New York Post, Knicks owner James Dolan admitted that he still doesn’t have a clear idea of when Porzingis might be ready to return.
“I’ve been told everything from December to him being out for the season, so I don’t know what to expect on that,” Dolan said. “But we can’t just sit on our ass while he’s away. We need to develop a team and then integrate him into it when he comes back.”
With the Knicks facing a big offseason that will see them name a new head coach and make the necessary roster moves to move forward in their rebuilding process, Dolan spoke to Brooks about a number of topics. While he touched on the team’s plan going forward, the Knicks owner also revisited the past, discussing a pair of former Knicks employees in Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek.
Here are a few of the most notable comments from Dolan:
On hiring – and eventually firing – Jackson as president of basketball operations:
“The entire market wanted to me to hire him and when I did, the entire market said it was a great move. The only thing was, everyone said that I shouldn’t interfere with him. Three years later, everyone wanted to know when I was going to do something about Phil. The same people who told me not to interfere wanted me to interfere. But that’s OK. I just think that Phil underestimated the job.”
On why Hornacek was fired:
“I think Hornacek had the same kind of issue that Phil did in that he didn’t grasp how different the players are now in the way they think and deal with management and the coaches. I think he was way behind on that. But I think Jeff is a good coach and he’ll do well when he’s hired by another team.”
On the Knicks’ current coaching search:
“The coaching search for the Knicks is similar in a lot of ways to the (NHL’s New York) Rangers. I think the teams are in similar spots. We’re looking for people to develop players and to create a winning team. We have our lists of candidates, but the lists are still open.”
Lakers To Pursue Kawhi Leonard Trade?
The Clippers apparently aren’t the only L.A. team considering pursuing a trade for Kawhi Leonard during the coming offseason. According to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, front-office sources around the NBA believe that the Lakers will also make Leonard a top target over the summer.
Leonard remains under contract with the Spurs for at least one more season, but a season-long saga has seemingly created friction between the two sides, as Spurs doctors and Leonard’s doctors have disagreed on the status of the forward’s quad injury. While there has still been no indication out of San Antonio that the Spurs will seriously explore trading their best player, teams are keeping a close eye on the situation and will be ready to inquire on Leonard’s availability.
As Deveney writes, the Lakers are viewed as a top candidate to pursue Leonard given their future cap flexibility. The Lakers are expected to have enough room for two maximum-salary free agents this offseason, but could also use that cap flexibility to sign a top free agent in 2019 or to trade for a star.
Additionally, Leonard is a Los Angeles native and at least one executive who spoke to Deveney believes that Leonard is angling to eventually land in his hometown. A separate general manager suggested that the Lakers look like the most logical landing spot if Leonard is moved.
“He’s going to be their target any way you look at it, this summer or next summer,” the GM told Deveney. “There’s not many other ways to explain what’s been going on with that situation other than him trying to get out of San Antonio.
“That’s the thing to watch,” the GM continued. “It might be a pipe dream for them to get two max guys this summer, but if they have a player like Leonard who wants to be in L.A.? They’d have to make that happen now.”
It’s hard to imagine Leonard making an explicit trade request that goes public like Paul George did with the Pacers last summer, but it’ll still be interesting to see whether the way the Lakers handled the George situation impacts the way they go after Leonard. The Lakers were viewed as a prime trade suitor for George, but there were questions about whether to give up much for him since he could sign with the team outright as a free agent a year later. Now, he’s a member of the Thunder and he’s no lock to leave Oklahoma City. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka may find themselves in a similar situation with Leonard during the 2018 offseason, weighing just how hard they should push for a trade if the Spurs are really willing to listen.
Of course, the Spurs and Leonard could put trade and free agency speculation to rest entirely if they agree to a contract extension this July. If Leonard doesn’t accept an extension offer right away though – or if the Spurs don’t put that offer on the table at all – the trade rumors surrounding him only figure to grow louder.