Pacific Notes: Suns Staff, Walton, Bell, LeBron
A trio of assistants/scouts in other organizations could soon be joining Monty Williams‘ Suns staff, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Steve Blake (Trail Blazers), Randy Ayers (Nets) and Mark Bryant (Thunder) have emerged as top contenders to join Williams in Phoenix. Williams was hired by the Suns three weeks ago after spurning overtures from the Lakers.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Luke Walton was spotted by the media helping out with the Kings’ pre-draft workout on Thursday but he didn’t speak to the press, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee reports. The new Kings head coach hasn’t faced the media since a lawsuit alleging that he sexually assaulted a former reporter was filed last month. The league and organization are jointly investigating the matter.
- Jordan Bell, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, has made a positive impression in the postseason, as the team’s website notes. The Warriors forward received a start in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals and averaged 6.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG and 2.0 APG in the series. “Jordan Bell is one of those guys who has got that energy,” veteran swingman Andre Iguodala said. “He thrives off the spotlight. He enjoys being in those moments and people are watching him.
- People within LeBron James‘ inner circle expressed concern that the dysfunction within the Lakers organization could ruin the team’s summer even before Magic Johnson‘s public criticism of GM Rob Pelinka and the front office structure, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports. The challenge of convincing at least one top free agent to join James was already seen as daunting around the league, and recent developments have make that uphill climb far worse, Amick adds.
Draft Updates: Early Entrants, Zion, Culver, Little
The NCAA’s deadline for early entrants to withdraw from the 2019 draft and retain their college eligibility is May 29, so more updates on final draft decisions are beginning to trickle in.
A pair of prospects with alliterative names have opted to remain in the 2019 draft class, with Vanderbilt freshman forward Simisola Shittu announcing (via Twitter) that he’ll forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, while Jon Rothstein of SI.com reports (via Twitter) that Tulane junior forward Samir Sehic will also keep his name in the draft.
Markell Johnson, a junior guard out of North Carolina State, will go in the other direction. Johnson announced today (via Twitter) that after gathering feedback on his stock, he has elected to withdraw his name from the 2019 draft pool and return to N.C. State for his senior season.
Here are a few more draft-related updates:
- A source tells Sean Deveney of Sporting News that Zion Williamson and his family are nearing a decision on his agent, and could decide on representation as early as next week. According to Deveney, the future No. 1 pick had originally intended to be repped by his advisor – and former NBA agent – Chubby Wells, but a plan to have Wells recertify as an NBA agent fell through.
- Within that same article, Deveney examines Jarrett Culver‘s draft stock, citing sources around the league who say that the Texas Tech swingman won’t drop further than No. 7. UNC’s Nassir Little has also moved up several teams’ draft boards, per Deveney.
- UCF center Tacko Fall was among the players to work out for the Kings on Thursday, per a team release. Sacramento also took a closer look at Myles Powell (Seton Hall), Amir Hinton (Shaw), Jalen Hudson (Florida), Nick Weiler-Babb (Iowa State), and Marques Bolden (Duke).
- Purdue Fort Wayne guard John Konchar has worked out for the Celtics, Hawks, Clippers, and Nets so far during the pre-draft process, tweets Jordan Schultz of ESPN. A workout with Toronto for Konchar was also previously reported.
Blazers Sign Terry Stotts To Multiyear Extension
MAY 24: The Trail Blazers have officially announced Stotts’ new extension, confirming that it will add two years to the head coach’s contract, running through the 2021/22 season.
MAY 21: Less than 24 hours after they were eliminated from the postseason, the Trail Blazers have agreed to terms on a multiyear contract extension for head coach Terry Stotts, tweets Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com. Head of basketball operations Neil Olshey said that the two sides finalized an agreement “20 minutes ago,” Holdahl adds (via Twitter).
[RELATED: Blazers, Lillard expected to agree to super-max extension during offseason]
Stotts, who previously coached the Hawks and Bucks, took over the Blazers’ head coaching job in 2012, which makes him the fourth longest-tenured coach in the NBA. After finishing 33-49 in his first season on Portland’s bench, Stotts has led the club to six consecutive playoff berths, for an overall regular season record of 325-249 (.566).
The 2018/19 season represented the first time that Stotts had guided the Blazers past the second round of the postseason. In their five previous playoff trips, the team was eliminated in the first round three times and advanced to the Western Conference Semifinals twice.
Stotts’ contract with the Blazers had been set to expire after the 2019/20 season, so it comes as no surprise that the club would quickly extend his deal rather than asking him to enter next year as a lame duck.
As we detailed earlier today, Stotts hadn’t been thrilled by the fact that Portland chose not to extend him a year ago after his Blazers claimed the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, then were swept by the Pelicans in the first round.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Grizzlies Interview Bucks’ Jenkins For Head Coaching Job
Yet another name has surfaced in the Grizzlies‘ head coaching search, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports (via Twitter) that Bucks assistant Taylor Jenkins has interviewed for Memphis’ open coaching position.
This is the first we’ve heard of Jenkins receiving head coaching consideration, but he has quietly built a strong résumé over the course of his NBA career.
Beginning in 2007, Jenkins spent several seasons with the Spurs, eventually being promoted to the head coach of the franchise’s G League team in Austin. As Chris Herrington of The Memphian points out (via Twitter), that makes Jenkins the third former G League head coach interviewed by the Grizzlies this spring, joining Alex Jensen and Nate Tibbetts.
Following his time in San Antonio, Jenkins joined Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Atlanta, serving as a Hawks assistant beginning in 2013. A year ago, he made the move to Milwaukee, once again working under Budenholzer as an assistant for the Bucks.
Jenkins is the sixth known candidate to have interviewed for the Grizzlies’ head coaching vacancy, along with Jensen, Tibbetts, Jarron Collins, Igor Kokoskov, and Adrian Griffin.
Northwest Notes: Jokic, MPJ, Exum, Wolves
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who earned All-NBA First Team honors this season, expects to play for Serbia this summer in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and is confident the club can win a medal, as he tells Serbian outlet Tanjug (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Jokic wasn’t on Serbia’s roster for the 2014 World Cup, but he did join the squad for the 2016 Olympics. In both instances, Serbia lost the championship game to Team USA and took home silver medals.
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- The Nuggets are attempting to balance optimism and caution when it comes to 2018 first-rounder Michael Porter Jr., who is expected to make his professional debut in Summer League play this July, writes Alex Labidou of Nuggets.com.
- Injured Jazz point guard Dante Exum is trying to focus on the positives as he goes through another rehab process, per Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com. “It’s frustrating to go into an offseason injured,” said Exum, who underwent knee surgery in March. “But I’ve thrown a lot of my energy and time into planning what my offseason will look like so I can be the best player I can be coming out of it.”
- After participating in Houston’s free agent minicamp this week, veteran guard Xavier Munford will attend a similar camp hosted by the Timberwolves during the first week of June, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News. Munford last played in the NBA in 2017/18, when he appeared in six games for Milwaukee.
- Sid Hartman of Star Tribune examines the Timberwolves‘ decision to retain head coach Ryan Saunders, including how big a factor Glen Taylor‘s support of Saunders was.
Trail Blazers Sign Neil Olshey To Extension
1:46pm: Olshey has officially signed his extension, the Blazers announced today in a press release.
“Neil has done an exceptional job finding and keeping the talent that has made the Trail Blazers a perennial playoff team, culminating in this season’s magical run to the Western Conference Finals,” owner Jody Allen said in a statement. “I have great confidence in the culture he has created in Portland, and I look forward to seeing it thrive and grow for years to come.”
12:27pm: The Trail Blazers have agreed to a contract extension with president of basketball operations Neil Olshey, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, the new deal will keep Olshey under contract through 2024.
The news comes on the heels of a report that Olshey was receiving some interest from the Wizards for their own head of basketball operations position. That report indicated that Olshey was locked up through 2021 and may be open to other opportunities. However, with a new deal in hand, the veteran executive is now set to remain in Portland for the next several years.
Olshey, who previously worked in the Clippers’ front office, serving as the club’s general manager for two years, took over as the Trail Blazers’ head of basketball operations in June of 2012. His first move with the club saw him use the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 draft on Damian Lillard, who has since become the Blazers’ franchise player.
While Portland had a 33-49 record in Olshey’s first year in the front office, the team has been one of the Western Conference’s most successful organizations since then, making six consecutive playoff appearances and averaging nearly 49 wins per season since the start of the 2013/14 campaign. The Blazers won four playoff series during that stretch, making the Western Conference Finals this spring for the first time since 2000.
Blazers head coach Terry Stotts agreed to an extension with the club earlier this week.
Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Sixers, T. Harris, Nets
The Knicks find themselves in an interesting cap situation this summer as they mull a possible run at Anthony Davis, as well as the pursuit of multiple elite free agents. As Ian Begley of SNY.tv explains, it’s possible for New York to sign a pair of star free agents and then acquire Davis by sending out just enough salary to match his cap figure. However, matching salaries in that scenario could be complicated by Davis’ trade bonus and by which players the Knicks have at their disposal to move.
While it may seem counter-intuitive, the Knicks’ flexibility could actually increase if they exercise some combination of options on players like Allonzo Trier, John Jenkins, Henry Ellenson, and Billy Garrett. Picking up some of those options could still leave New York with two max slots, and would give the team additional salaries to send out for matching purposes in a Davis offer.
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- If the Sixers re-sign both Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris to lucrative long-term deals and also make a maximum-salary commitment to Ben Simmons, they won’t necessarily be a taxpayer in 2019/20, but it’d be virtually impossible to avoid the tax in future seasons, Derek Bodner of The Athletic writes in an in-depth cap breakdown.
- With Tobias Harris’ list of suitors continuing to grow, Net Income of NetsDaily explores whether it would be worth it for the Nets to offer the free agent forward a maximum-salary contract.
- Performances like the one Kawhi Leonard turned in on Thursday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals were what Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri envisioned when he pulled the trigger on the Leonard blockbuster with San Antonio last July, writes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.
- Kansas guard Devon Dotson was among the draft-eligible prospects to work out for the Celtics on Thursday, tweets Sean Deveney of Sporting News. According to Deveney, Dotson is still mulling the possibility of returning to the Jayhawks and will make his decision next week before the NCAA’s May 29 withdrawal deadline.
NBA Officially Moves Up Start Of Free Agency
As expected, the NBA has officially moved up the start of its free agent period, announcing today in a press release that teams will be permitted to begin negotiating with free agents as of 6:00 pm eastern time on June 30. Previously, that negotiating window opened six hours later, at 12:01 am ET on July 1.
The change, which was agreed upon by the league and the players’ union, will also allow teams to communicate with free agents or their agents beginning at 6:00 pm ET on June 29. Communication during that 24-hour window will be limited to scheduling meetings. Those meetings can’t take place before free agency officially opens on the evening of June 30.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com reported last week that this move was anticipated, as the NBA looked to avoid having its free agent period begin in the middle of the night. Essentially, the decision amounts to the league starting its July moratorium six hours sooner.
As we detail in our glossary entry on the July moratorium, teams can’t officially sign players or complete trades while the moratorium is in effect, though there are handful of transactions that can still be completed during that window, including rookie contracts, minimum-salary deals, two-way pacts, and offer sheets for restricted free agents.
While trades and most free agent deals can’t be officially finalized during the July moratorium, agreements can be reached during that time. That’s why most top free agents are unofficially off the board by the time the moratorium comes to an end on July 6.
Designated Veteran Extension History, Eligible Players
When the NBA and the Players’ Association introduced the Designated Veteran Extension in the 2017 Collective Bargaining Agreement, it seemed aimed at helping teams keep their very best players.
The extra year and the slightly larger raises that teams can give to their own Bird Rights free agents already gave the home team a slight advantage over outside suitors. But allowing a player’s starting salary to begin at 35% of the cap rather than 30% if he meets the DVE performance criteria and re-signs with his own team made the difference between the two options even more significant.
Still, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com details, the Designated Veteran Extension – also known as the super-max – hasn’t necessarily worked as planned. Players like Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis have been willing to pass on super-max opportunities in the hopes of joining new teams. And teams like the Bulls and Kings have opted to trade their stars – Jimmy Butler and DeMarcus Cousins – rather than reckon with the possibility of committing super-max money to them.
In the view of NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, the introduction of the DVE may not have worked as anticipated for teams, but it also hasn’t negatively impacted those star players.
“I mean, the players that are eligible, frankly, are players that are going to get paid, and they’re going to have any number of alternatives,” Roberts told ESPN. “It hasn’t hurt them. It was something that they were able to secure and they were interested in getting it, and it was going to be a tremendous advantage in terms of just the amount of money.
“But I still don’t see a downside. The only downside is to the extent that people absolutely believed that it was a slam-dunk way to keep their guys. And it just isn’t. And if they doubted it, they can now take a look at Anthony [Davis] and see, ‘Oh, wow, there is no way.'”
Even if the Designated Veteran Extension hasn’t reduced player movement or helped teams keep their own stars, commissioner Adam Silver doesn’t think that means it hasn’t been an effective change. After all, knowing that George and Leonard weren’t interested in the super-max allowed the Pacers and Spurs to trade them in advance of their respective free agencies.
“Part of the goal in ‘early-ing’ up the discussion was that those players then wouldn’t reach the end of their contracts and, frankly, surprise teams by then announcing they were leaving,” Silver said last month. “The fact that a player left the market doesn’t mean it was a failure, because at least in those cases the teams got value.”
Silver acknowledges that “there’s still room for improvement” within the framework of the Designated Veteran Extension. The next round of super-max deals should help provide a clearer picture of how they’ll work long-term.
Four players signed these contracts in 2017, the first year they were available, but no players signed one in 2018. After this week’s All-NBA announcement, a handful of additional players gained eligibility, increasing the likelihood that we’ll see more Designated Veteran Extensions signed this year or next. Now it’s just a matter of waiting to see whether those deals are offered, and whether they’re accepted.
Here’s a breakdown of the players that have signed DVEs since the rule went into effect in 2017:
- Stephen Curry, Warriors (five years, $201,158,790; started in 2017/18)
- Note: This was technically a free agent contract rather than an extension.
- Russell Westbrook, Thunder (five years, $206,794,070; started in 2018/19)
- James Harden, Rockets (four years, projected value of $170,912,000; starting in 2019/20)
- John Wall, Wizards (four years, projected value of $170,912,000; starting in 2019/20)
Here are the players who are eligible to sign a DVE this offseason:
- Kemba Walker, Hornets (five years, projected value of $221,270,000; starting in 2019/20)
- Note: This would technically be a free agent contract rather than an extension.
- Anthony Davis, Pelicans (five years, projected value of $235,480,000; starting in 2020/21)
- Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers (four years, projected value of $191,296,000; starting in 2021/22)
And here are the players who are eligible to sign a DVE in 2020:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (five years, projected value of $247,660,000; starting in 2021/22)
- Rudy Gobert, Jazz (five years, projected value of $247,660,000; starting in 2021/22)
Joel Embiid (Sixers) is probably the next star to keep an eye on in terms of super-max eligibility. If he earns a spot on an All-NBA team in 2019/20, he’ll become eligible to sign a Designated Veteran Extension during the 2021 offeason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Wizards’ GM Search
It has now been a week since Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly met with Wizards owner Ted Leonsis at Leonsis’ residence to discuss Washington’s top basketball operations position. As Candace Buckner of The Washington Post details, the Wizards didn’t make Connelly a job offer at that meeting, but did so two days later. Connelly passed, opting to remain in Denver and sending the Wizards’ search back to square one.
Since then, there have been no concrete updates on Washington’s search for Ernie Grunfeld‘s replacement, prompting Jerry Brewer of The Washington Post to write that the clock is ticking on the team’s “driftless” search.
David Aldridge of The Athletic makes a similar point, suggesting that the Wizards’ lack of action on Troy Weaver, Danny Ferry, and Tommy Sheppard – all of whom have interviewed twice for the job – signals that the club isn’t in love with any of those candidates. Still, with big offseason decisions looming, including one on Bradley Beal‘s future, it’s time for Leonsis to be decisive and either choose one of the Wizards’ existing candidates or go after a new one, Aldridge contends.
If the Wizards do add a new name or two to their list of potential targets, who might those new candidates to be? Ben Standig of NBC Sports Washington observes that Warriors assistant GM Larry Harris and Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, whose teams are still alive in the playoffs, could be on the Wizards’ radar.
Harris interviewed for the Pelicans’ top front office job before David Griffin landed it, and the outside consultant who worked with New Orleans, Mike Forde, has also assisted the Wizards in their search, so he could recommend Harris to Washington too, Standig notes. As for Ujiri, while the Wizards were rumored to have interest, a source tells Standig that expectations of high salary demands have thus far discouraged Washington from seriously pursuing that possibility.
Standig identifies one more potential target for the Wizards, writing that multiple sources have said the team has interest in Trail Blazers head of basketball operations Neil Olshey. Washington’s interest in Olshey dates back several weeks, but as of Wednesday the club had yet to ask Portland permission to talk to him, according to Standig.
While Olshey is under contract for two more years, sources believe he’d be open to considering other options, per Standig. Damian Lillard‘s super-max eligibility and Portland’s uncertain ownership situation could be factors working in the Wizards’ favor if they do make a run at Olshey.