Warriors Hire Mike Dunleavy Jr. As Scout
Mike Dunleavy Jr. will rejoin the Warriors as a pro scout, the team announced on its website.
Dunleavy played 15 NBA seasons, spending the first four and a half with Golden State. He last played for the Hawks at the end of the 2016/17 season.
The addition of Dunleavy was among several moves the Warriors made, including two promotions on the coaching staff. Bruce Fraser has been named an assistant coach and Chris DeMarco will be assistant coach/director of player development.
The team also hired Nick Kerr, son of head coach Steve Kerr, as assistant video coordinator. He previously held a similar position with the Spurs.
James Johnson May Not Be Ready For Season Opener
Heat forward James Johnson hasn’t been medically cleared for contact and may not be ready when the season begins next month, relays Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.
Johnson had surgery in May for a sports hernia that he suffered at the end of January. He remains hopeful that he’ll be ready for the October 17 season opener, but that depends on his medical progress.
“My goal would be be back before that first game, try to get a couple preseason games in,” Johnson said. “… I am not going to push nothing I’m not supposed to push. A setback would be the same as going back for surgery, I believe.”
Asked about being cleared for contact drills, Johnson responded, “I wish I knew the answer to that. I can’t veer off from this path they’ve got us on. I have to stay humbled and stay patient.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra described Johnson’s condition as close to 100% and said he will be participating in every practice, although his level of involvement will be determined by the medical staff.
Johnson elected not to tell the Heat about the injury when it occurred because he was concerned he might be sidelined for the rest of the season. He opted to play through the pain and address it once the team was eliminated from the playoffs.
“I thought it was just a strain,” he said. “I didn’t know what to call it. At first it wasn’t even that terrible. As the season went on, a little bit of my abilities started to go with it.”
Miami already faces the prospect of starting the season without Dion Waiters, who is recovering from ankle surgery in January. He was given an eight- to 10-month recovery prognosis, which could put his return in late November.
“He didn’t have a setback,” Spoelstra said of Waiters. “He’s actually on course. Everybody’s body is different. He’s been working all summer. You probably noticed his Instagram posts, that’s how everybody follows players now. It hasn’t been like he hasn’t been working. It’s on course. He’ll be back when his body tells him that he can be back.
“The thing I’m encouraged by is he’s able to work, he’s on the court, he’s able to do stuff. He won’t be able to participate in the type of training camp that we’re going to be starting with. But we’ll continue to monitor him. He’ll be with us.”
Warriors Expect To Open Camp Without Patrick McCaw
The Warriors will hold today’s media day with no resolution to the Patrick McCaw standoff, tweets Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Sources tell Spears that McCaw hasn’t accepted his qualifying offer from the team and isn’t expected to be at training camp when it opens tomorrow.
Golden State extended the $1.7MM QO to the third-year shooting guard in June and has been waiting for a response ever since. He remains the last restricted free agent left on the market.
McCaw faces an October 1 deadline to accept the offer unless the Warriors agree to extend the deadline. The team can pull its QO at any point after that date, but McCaw would still be restricted and Golden State could match any offer he receives.
McCaw has been part of the rotation during his first two years with the team, averaging 4.0 points in about 17 minutes per game last season. He may have a larger role if he returns, as coach Steve Kerr has talked about reducing the playing time for his four All-Stars.
The Warriors have been keeping a roster spot open for McCaw all summer and will enter camp with just 13 players who have guaranteed contracts.
Raptors Notes: Leonard, Lowry, Butler, Monroe
Kawhi Leonard sidestepped questions about his falling out in San Antonio and the trade that brought him to Toronto during the Raptors’ media day this morning, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.
“I have no regrets,” Leonard responded to a question about his experience with the Spurs, “but I want to focus on this team and this journey that we have in front of us.”
Leonard was a two-time All-Star and an MVP candidate in San Antonio before suffering a quad injury that limited him to nine games last season. He was cleared by team doctors to return to action, but chose to remain sidelined on the advice of his personal physicians. The incident led to tension with the front office, clashes with teammates and derisive comments from coach Gregg Popovich.
Leonard informed the Spurs that he wouldn’t re-sign with the team once he opted out next summer, which led to his trade to Toronto. He told media members today that he’s doing fine physically.
“Right now I’m feeling great,” he said, “ready to play basketball.” (Twitter link)
There’s more from Toronto’s media day:
- Kyle Lowry lost his best friend and backcourt partner when DeMar DeRozan was shipped to San Antonio in the Leonard trade, but he insists it won’t affect his focus for the upcoming season, saying “our relationship is bigger than basketball … that’s still my boy.” (Twitter link from Blake Murphy of The Athletic). Lowry added that he understands the business side of basketball because he has been traded before and watched the Grizzlies draft Mike Conley as his eventual replacement.
- The Raptors have been mentioned as a possible candidate to trade for Jimmy Butler, but team president Masai Ujiri insists the team isn’t in trade talks with the Timberwolves. “I know there’s been rumors, but we haven’t had conversations,” he said. “This is our team.” (Twitter link)
- Jonas Valanciunas is looking forward to having Greg Monroe as a teammate after playing against him for several years. The Raptors added the free agent center in August to serve as an experienced backup in the middle. “Yes, we had some battles before,” Valanciunas said. “He’s a tough guy. He never backs down, and I never back down, and now we have a chance to play together. So it’s fun.” (Twitter link)
Warriors’ Lacob Talks Cousins, Durant, Klay, Green
In a recent podcast with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Warriors owner Joe Lacob discussed a wide variety of topics, ranging from his summer wedding to his club’s surprise signing of DeMarcus Cousins. As Lacob tells Kawakami, the Warriors had been focused on adding wings and weren’t committed to using their taxpayer mid-level exception at all until Cousins fell into their laps on the second day of 2018’s free agent period.
While Kawakami’s conversation with Lacob is worth checking out in full if you’re an Athletic subscriber, here are a few of the team owner’s most noteworthy comments on the Dubs’ roster and outlook for 2018/19:
On whether Lacob is bothered by the perception that the Warriors signing Cousins was unfair to the rest of the league:
“No. It’s not our job to care about the rest of the league. It’s our job to win. Period. End of story. Nothing else to be discussed. And, since Day 1 that’s been our attitude. … We’re committed to winning. That means being excellent at everything you do — from the people you hire in the organization, to building a new arena, to filling out your roster, to retaining your head coach. Whatever it may be.”
On whether the Warriors will have to re-recruit Kevin Durant when he becomes a free agent in 2019:
“Of course we do. He deserves to go and be happy wherever he wants to be. I hope it’s here. I hope he feels the same way that I do and we do about him, when it comes time next summer. But you never can predict these things. We just will do our job, and he’ll do his job and we’ll see what happens next summer; let the chips fall where they may.”
On whether the team made any progress in contract extension talks with Klay Thompson or Draymond Green:
“I’ll let [general manager] Bob [Myers] address those, specifically. But I think it’s fair to say we’ve had discussions with both of them over the summer, their representatives. Nothing’s been done or you’d hear about it. But we’d love to retain them long term in the organization and we will do whatever it takes to do that.”
On the Warriors’ title chances for 2018/19:
“We have high expectations. We want to win. We kind of expect to win. We have a great roster. As long as we stay healthy and do the things we’re supposed to do, I think we have a good chance to win.”
Tyler Ulis Signs Camp Deal With Warriors
SEPTEMBER 24: The Warriors have officially signed Ulis, the team announced today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 21: Point guard Tyler Ulis will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Warriors, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets. The former Suns guard will join them in camp, though he’ll likely wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Santa Cruz, Anthony Johnson of 2Ways10Days tweets.
Ulis also had similar offers from the Rockets and Kings, Marc Spears of ESPN tweets.
The Suns waived Ulis at the end of June, ending his disappointing stint with the club. The 2106 second-rounder out of Kentucky started 58 games in his two seasons with Phoenix and appeared in 132 games overall but the front office didn’t see him in its future plans. He was cut loose before his modest $1.54MM salary for the upcoming season became guaranteed, a move that upset star shooting guard Devin Booker.
Ulis has been seeking new employment ever since and had a workout with the Cavaliers earlier this month. The Warriors already have Shaun Livingston and Quinn Cook as options behind starting point guard Stephen Curry, so Ulis can be viewed as an insurance policy if an injury strikes.
Timberwolves Sign Johnson-Odom, Stark
The Timberwolves have announced their training camp roster, and the 18-man squad includes a pair of new names. According to the team, guards Darius Johnson-Odom and Jonathan Stark are now under contract with Minnesota.
Johnson-Odom, who will turn 29 this Friday, appeared in four games for the Lakers in 2012/13 and three games for the Sixers in 2013/14, but hasn’t played in the NBA since then. The former second-round pick has spent time with a handful of international teams in recent years, playing for multiple clubs in Italy, as well as teams in Turkey and Greece. He worked out for the Timberwolves earlier this month.
According to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, Johnson-Odom was recently suspended by the Italian Anti-Doping Organization for eight months after testing positive to a THC test this past spring. The ban, which ends on March 16, applies to all FIBA leagues and tournaments, per Carchia.
Stark, meanwhile, went undrafted out of Murray State in 2018 after being named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year last season. In his final college season, the 6’0″ guard averaged 21.4 PPG and 3.9 APG with a shooting line of .451/.399/.893. He played for Minnesota’s Summer League team in Las Vegas in July.
Both players look like long shots to make the Timberwolves’ regular season roster, and could end up playing for the Iowa Wolves in the G League.
Jimmy Butler is one of the 18 players listed on Minnesota’s camp roster, but isn’t expected to report for the start of training camp.
Alan Williams Signs Two-Way Deal With Nets
SEPTEMBER 24: Williams’ two-way contract with the Nets is now official, the team confirmed today in a press release.
SEPTEMBER 14: The Nets will sign free agent center Alan Williams to a two-way contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Williams spent his first three seasons with the Suns before being waived in July. He played just five games at the NBA level last year, spending most of his time in the G League. Williams appeared in 62 games during his time in Phoenix, averaging 6.4 PPG and 5.7 RPG.
Williams, who worked out for the Cavaliers last week, will be limited to 45 days in the NBA under the two-way deal. He will join an organization that has been looking for big men at the G League level.
The Nets still have their other two-way slot open, along with one more roster vacancy heading into camp.
No Deal For Alessandro Gentile, Rockets
The Rockets and 2014 second-round pick Alessandro Gentile don’t have a deal in place for him to join the team for training camp, writes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
Gentile, a 6’7″ wing who has remained overseas since being selected with the 53rd overall pick in the 2014 draft, appeared poised to come stateside this fall, having indicated last month that he expected to join the Rockets for camp. However, according to Carchia, the Rockets offered Gentile a two-way contract and he prefers an Exhibit 10 deal.
An Exhibit 10 contract would allow Gentile to compete for a spot on the Rockets’ 15-man regular season roster, but it could also be converted to a two-way deal by a team before the regular season begins. If Gentile isn’t on board with the idea of becoming one of Houston’s two-way players, he may also be reluctant about agreeing to an Exhibit 10 pact.
For now, the Rockets retain Gentile’s NBA rights — we’ll see if the two sides can come to some agreement one way or the other before the 2018/19 season begins.
Western Notes: Suns, McCollum, Jazz, Middleton
The Suns used a portion of their room exception to sign De’Anthony Melton to his first NBA contract, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Without using that exception, Phoenix would only have been able to offer Melton a first-year salary of $838K. Instead, the Suns were able to bump that figure to $949K. They still have $3.5MM of their room exception available.
Meanwhile, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders indicates (via Twitter) that while Devin Booker‘s new extension with the Suns is projected to start at 25% of the cap in 2019/20, there are triggers in the deal that could push that figure higher. Pincus isn’t sure of the specific details, but reports that Booker could get 27.5%, 28.5%, or 30% of the cap if he meets certain criteria. I’d guess that those criteria are related to whether he earns spots on the first, second, or third All-NBA teams.
Here’s more from around the Western Conference:
- C.J. McCollum is often the subject of trade speculation, but the Trail Blazers guard tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic that he’d welcome a long-term stay in Portland. “I’m forever grateful for the opportunities they’ve given me and would love to be a Blazer for life,” McCollum said.
- While it may be a little early to start speculating about 2019’s free agent period, Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune suggests (via Twitter) that Bucks wing Khris Middleton is a player the Jazz like a lot. With Ricky Rubio, Alec Burks, and others on expiring deals this season, Utah could have plenty of cap flexibility next summer.
- As Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com details, Jahlil Okafor said there were a “multitude of reasons” for him to sign with the Pelicans, calling the decision a “no-brainer.” Keith Smith of RealGM.com (Twitter link) hears that New Orleans was comfortable with waiving Emeka Okafor in part due to how good Jahlil has looked. “He’s in amazing shape, and he’s going hard on both ends too,” Smith’s source said. “Seems like he really gets it now.”
- The Timberwolves recently announced some additions and promotions on their coaching staff, including Pat Zipfel as an advance scout and Malik Allen and Larry Greer as assistant coaches (link via Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune).