NBA training camps are still a few weeks away, but executives around the league are returning from late-summer vacations and many players will report to their respective cities for informal workouts with teammates before camps officially get underway.
With the NBA news wire becoming a little more active as the season inches closer, here are a few things to keep an eye on during the month of September:
Dwyane Wade‘s decision:
Udonis Haslem has made his decision, with word breaking on Thursday morning that the veteran big man will return to the Heat for at least one more season. Now, it’s up to his longtime teammate, Wade, to decide whether or not he’ll be back too.
Although he has signed deals with the Bulls and Cavaliers in recent years, Wade is considered unlikely to play for any team besides the Heat for the rest of his NBA career, so there should be no drama about which team he’ll play for — it’s simply a matter of whether he actually wants to continue his NBA career, as retirement looms as a real possibility.
I’d expect Wade to announce his decision within the next couple weeks, or perhaps even in the coming days.
The remaining restricted free agents:
A year ago, four restricted free agents remained unsigned at this time: Mason Plumlee, Alex Len, Nikola Mirotic, and JaMychal Green. All four resolved their contract situations between September 20 and September 27, right around the time training camps opened.
This year’s unsigned restricted free agents, Rodney Hood (Cavaliers) and Patrick McCaw (Warriors), are good bets to follow in the footsteps of last year’s RFAs. Neither player will want to drag his free agency into the preseason and risk not being ready for the start of the regular season, so resolution within the next three weeks or so seems likely. It’ll just be a matter of whether or not they remain with their current clubs, and whether they end up signing multiyear deals or accepting their qualifying offers.
It’s also worth noting that Xavier Munford, a Bucks two-way player last season, received a qualifying offer from Milwaukee and technically remains a restricted free agent too, as far as we know. He’s in the same situation as Tyrone Wallace, a two-way RFA who had his offer sheet with the Pelicans matched by the Clippers earlier this week.
2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers:
The qualifying contests for the 2019 FIBA World Cup haven’t exactly been packed with NBA stars so far, but there are some familiar names taking part in the qualifiers happening in mid-September. Jordan Crawford, Frank Mason, Dwayne Bacon, Henry Ellenson, and Derrick White are among the NBA players in training camp with Team USA.
This is the first of three windows of games in the second round of the World Cup qualifiers — the next two windows are scheduled for November and February, meaning we likely won’t see any NBA players taking part in those. That makes this month’s results a little more important.
Team USA currently has a 5-1 record in qualifiers, so a pair of wins against Uruguay and Panama this month would put the squad in a comfortable spot to eventually lock up a spot in the 2019 World Cup. An upset loss or two would put a little pressure on Team USA, with no NBA players coming to bail them out during the next two qualifying windows.
It’s extremely unlikely that Team USA will be at risk of missing out on the 2019 World Cup, but FIBA’s new qualifying process opens the door for some intrigue. It’s worth keeping an eye on the club’s performances in games on September 14 and September 17.
Potential rule changes:
The NBA’s Board of Governors will conduct meetings two weeks from now, before training camps begin, and they’re scheduled to vote on three rule changes proposed by the league’s competition committee. While one – an expanded definition of what constitutes a “hostile act” during an NBA game – may not have a major on-court impact, the other two are interesting.
The NBA’s competition committee has suggested simplifying the clear-path foul rule to expand the number of situations in which fouling a team during a transition scoring opportunity results in a clear-path foul.
Additionally, the Board of Governors will vote on whether to have the shot clock reset to 14 seconds rather than 24 seconds after a team grabs an offensive rebound.
All three rules are expected to be approved, with at least two-thirds of the vote, so it’ll be worth watching to see how they affect NBA games in the early going this season.
Teams finalizing training camp rosters:
At this time last year, veteran free agents like Dante Cunningham, Gerald Green, Aaron Brooks, Shabazz Muhammad, Jarrett Jack, and Jason Terry still didn’t have teams. All of them signed before training camps started and ultimately spent most or all of the season on NBA rosters. We’ll likely see a similar pattern this year.
Currently, veterans like Jamal Crawford, Nick Young, Arron Afflalo, Corey Brewer, and a number of others are still unrestricted free agents. I’d imagine by the time the regular season gets underway, most or all of them will be on NBA rosters.
The trade market could also be active in the coming weeks. In 2017, three trades were completed in the few days before training camps begun, with Carmelo Anthony‘s move from New York to Oklahoma City representing the most noteworthy deal of the bunch. There may not be any trades of that caliber this September, but I expect we’ll see at least a little player movement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
“Board of Governors will vote on whether to have the shot clock reset to 14 seconds rather than 24 seconds after a team grabs an offensive rebound”
Been thinking this one over for a month now and I’m not sure if 14 seconds is enough time.
I would be happier seeing an 18 seconds #.
It gives a team at least enough time to get a rotation or set going.
14 seconds to me would be forcing players into bad decisions.