Heat Notes: Adebayo, Richardson, Spoelstra, Arena
Exercising Bam Adebayo‘s fourth-year option displayed faith in a player that many in the Heat organization expect to show huge improvement this season, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Adebayo will make $5.1MM during the 2020/21 season and will be eligible for a rookie scale extension next summer. His role figures to increase after Miami traded away Hassan Whiteside in July.
“First off, he’s going to get more minutes, more exposure,” Goran Dragic told Jackson. “He already got tested, and we know what he can do. He’s a great player, great screener, roll to the basket. He brings a lot of energy to the team and I feel like this year is going to be different. More minutes, more responsibility. Everybody feels like, including me, that he’s ready for this big step in his career.”
There’s more from Miami:
- Of all the moves the Heat made this offseason, Dragic sees the trade of Josh Richardson as the most surprising, Jackson adds in the same story. The fifth-year swingman was shipped to the Sixers as part of a complex four-team deal to acquire Jimmy Butler. Richardson is a valuable two-way player who is coming off his best season, posting a 16.6/3.6/4.1 line. “With Josh, I was a bit surprised,” Dragic said. “I was sad to see him go. But at the same time, I think he’s going to do well in Philadelphia. He’s a great player, great team player who is great around guys in the locker room.”
- Coach Erik Spoelstra expressed appreciation for the support he has gotten from the Heat organization during an appearance with Doc Rivers on a recent edition of Adrian Wojnarowski’s ESPN podcast. “I think (owner) Micky (Arison) and (team president) Pat (Riley) are two of the best tandems in ownership and president in all of sports,” Spoelstra said. “… They understand the need for stability. They will weather storms, and we all struggled that first year. I struggled quite a bit, particularly in that Finals series. … The ownership and my bosses, I love who I work for because they do have my back.”
- American Airlines won’t renew naming rights for the Heat’s arena, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The team will be in the market for a new title sponsor after a 20-year arrangement.
Frank Vogel Ready To Coach LeBron, AD
Frank Vogel talks about the excitement of coaching LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the opportunity that Dwight Howard has to revive his career and the wide open Western Conference playoff race in a lengthy interview with Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.
Few coaches going into a new situation have ever faced as much pressure to win right away as Vogel will. The trade that brought Davis from New Orleans has pushed the Lakers into a favorite’s role, and the sense of urgency for James has grown after missing the playoffs last year.
Vogel is also entering a situation where he clearly wasn’t the first choice for the job. He was only hired after negotiations with Tyronn Lue collapsed, and he was asked to bring along former NBA coaches Jason Kidd and Lionel Hollins as assistants. Still, he’s eager for the chance to mentor what could be a historically great duo in James and Davis.
“Talent-wise, they’re the two best players I’ll ever have had the opportunity to coach,” Vogel said. “That brings a lot of fun, a lot of excitement to what we’re able to do on the court. It brings a lot of challenges too. You have to make sure you’re managing them the right way and putting them in the right positions to feel good about their roles and what’s happening around them. There are challenges involved with that. So I’m looking forward to how that all is going to play out.”
Vogel touches on several other subjects, including:
Howard’s return to L.A.:
“I think he’s excited about this opportunity with the Lakers. It’s very different from the first time he came through. Then, he was a mega-star coming in with two other mega-stars [Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash]. This time around, he’s had a few teams where they haven’t had great success. And he’s at a different point, age-wise, in his career. So he’s excited just to be part of something, in any way he can help. He knows it’s going to be more of a role player type of role.”
Whether Davis will see more time at power forward or center:
“To me, he’s effective in both positions. But I don’t think it’s wise when your mindset is to be at your best going into the playoffs, to have him banging with centers for 82 games full-time. Does that mean he’s never going to do it in the regular season? No, of course he’s going to play some center in the regular season. But we want to make sure we keep the end goal in sight and getting him to April, for that playoff run, the right way.”
The rivalry with the Clippers:
“They have a terrific team and a terrific coach, and their front office is doing really well. But we can’t focus on their location. We still have to focus on ourselves and the task at hand. Not just worry about what’s happening crosstown. There are a lot of teams capable of winning the West, so we’ll be focused on our process.”
Celtics Notes: Hayward, Smart, Walker, Ainge
Gordon Hayward is working harder than ever to get back to playing like an All-Star, Celtics assistant coach Scott Morrison tells Jay King of The Athletic. Morrison is among the staff members working this summer with Hayward, who has spent most of the offseason in Boston rather than his home in San Diego.
After signing with the Celtics as a free agent in 2017, Hayward saw his first season wiped out by a broken ankle on opening night. His 2018/19 season was filled with frustration as he tried to overcome the lingering effects of that injury. Now he’s determined to return to the top of his game.
“I think this year he’s just eager to get back out there and play well and play to where he thinks he’s capable,” Morrison said. “So he was very motivated to put the extra time in, put the extra intensity into his workouts. For me as a coach, that was kind of music to my ears.”
One area of emphasis for Hayward was to improve his ball-handling, even before the team knew that Kyrie Irving was signing elsewhere. Although Kemba Walker was added to take over lead guard duties, back-up Terry Rozier also departed, meaning that Hayward may sometimes run the offense with the second team.
There’s more today from Boston:
- Marcus Smart has been ruled out of Team USA’s final two World Cup games, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Smart had X-rays this week that came back negative on an injured left knuckle, but pain in his hand as well as the quad/calf area contributed to the decision. The Americans are out of medal contention after losing to France earlier today.
- The Celtics who are playing alongside Walker in China rave about his humility and willingness to fit in, relays Joe Vardon of The Athletic. That draws an obvious comparison to Irving, who wasn’t known for either of those traits during his two years in Boston. “I’m saying this about Kemba,” Jaylen Brown insisted. “I’m not saying this about everybody else. … I’m looking forward to this year. I’m not thinking about last year. Last year was what it was. Spend your time in the past, you’re blinded by it and you’re missing your future. I’m not painting that picture at all.”
- A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston examines whether president of basketball operations Danny Ainge will be more active on the trade market now that he’s not entering a season with a team that’s among the favorites to win the title.
Nets’ Interest In Carmelo Anthony May Be Growing
With Joe Johnson possibly headed to Detroit, several Nets veterans are pushing the front office to sign Carmelo Anthony, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Johnson said he was planning to work out for Brooklyn this week, but sources tell Lewis it hasn’t happened yet. He had a session with the Pistons yesterday, and The Athletic’s Frank Isola said on SiriusXMNBA, “From what I’m hearing, Detroit is the favorite to land Joe Johnson.” (Twitter link)
That may leave Anthony for the Nets, who suddenly have a depth issue at forward. In addition to playing without Kevin Durant, who may be sidelined for the entire season, Brooklyn lost Wilson Chandler to a 25-game PED suspension and Rodions Kurucs may be suspended as well over domestic violence allegations.
The Athletic reported that Durant and Kyrie Irving were appealing to management to add Anthony, and GM Sean Marks recently watched him play. Anthony spent much of the summer working out in Los Angeles with a few Nets players.
Taurean Prince tweeted a video of Anthony from those pickup games, along with the following endorsement: “Guarded him for a month straight. Same Melo only thing diff is the narrative ppl throw on his name.”
The Nets are eligible to move a suspended player off their active roster after the fifth game, so talks with Anthony could heat up by early November, if not sooner.
Knicks Notes: Ntilikina, Kanter, De La Rosa
In the wake of Frank Ntilikina‘s impressive performance in France’s World Cup upset of Team USA, a series of New York beat writers and columnists are making the case that Ntilikina – the subject of trade rumors earlier this year – has earned a longer look from the Knicks this season.
Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News argues that the Knicks should exercise Ntilikina’s $6.2MM team option for the 2020/21 season (a decision is due on October 31) and give him a real chance to earn a role for this year’s squad. One scout suggests to Ian Begley of SNY.tv that Ntilikina is playing in the World Cup with a poise and confidence that he hasn’t showed yet in the NBA — if that confidence carries over training camp, it could bode well for his future in New York.
Meanwhile, Frank Isola of The Athletic writes that Knicks president Steve Mills hasn’t given up on Ntilikina despite the fact that the club has brought in several other point guards to compete for minutes. Elfrid Payton and other previous backcourt additions like Trey Burke are considered “[Scott] Perry guys,” says Isola, referring to New York’s general manager.
As we wait to see what the Knicks’ plan for Ntilikina is, let’s round up a few more notes on the team:
- The differing opinions on Ntilikina within the Knicks’ organization aren’t unusual, given the organization’s current management structure, says Isola. League sources tell The Athletic that some of the scouts and executives brought in by Perry have clashed with the scouts and executives who worked under Mills and remain in the organization. “That’s always been the case,” a former Knicks exec tells Isola. “They keep a lot of people from different regimes and that causes some friction.”
- After suggesting earlier this week that the Knicks’ ownership group is a deterrent for the team’s potential free agent targets, Enes Kanter clarified that he personally had a positive experience with James Dolan and doesn’t agree with players who avoid the team for that reason, tweets Begley.
- Former Illinois big man Adonis De La Rosa is among the players working out with the Knicks this week in the hopes of securing a training camp invite from the team, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
- Knicks head coach David Fizdale issued an invite to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski to make an appearance at the team’s training camp this fall, according to Adam Zagoria of Forbes. Coach K isn’t sure whether or not he’ll be able to attend, but said he expects former Blue Devil RJ Barrett to make a smooth transition to playing in New York.
Heat Exercise 2020/21 Option On Bam Adebayo
The Heat have exercised their team option on the fourth year of Bam Adebayo‘s rookie contract, the team formally announced today in a press release.
Adebayo’s salary for the coming season had already been guaranteed, but this decision ensures that he’s now officially locked up for 2020/21 season as well. His cap hit for ’20/21 will be $5,115,492, per Basketball Insiders.
Adebayo, 22, appeared in all 82 games for Miami last season, averaging 8.9 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 2.2 APG in 23.3 minutes per contest. The young center, who took part in Team USA’s training camp last month, is poised to assume a larger role for the Heat this season following the trade that sent Hassan Whiteside to Portland. Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk will be among the other players in the mix at the five.
Now that his fourth-year option has been picked up, Adebayo will be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason. If he doesn’t reach an agreement with the Heat before the ’20/21 season begins, he’d be on track to reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2021.
All teams with decisions to make on rookie scale options for the ’20/21 season must finalize those moves by October 31. Adebayo’s is the first to be formally exercised, but many will follow in the coming weeks. Our tracker can be found right here.
Rockets Notes: Nene, Westbrook, Harden, Clemons
The Rockets got creative with Nene‘s new contract, according to Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights, who reports (via Twitter) that the deal spans two years, with a non-guaranteed second season. Although Nene is only owed a minimum base salary in each of those two seasons, likely incentives increase the annual value of the contract to $10MM per year, per Siegel.
The criteria for Nene’s incentives will be fascinating, since it’s hard to imagine he’ll actually earn all $7MM+ in bonus money. The Rockets may be artificially inflating his cap hit using incentives that will be tricky to earn (even though they’re technically considered “likely”). A $10MM cap hit – made possible because Houston held Nene’s Bird rights – will make the veteran center one of Houston’s most valuable salary-matching pieces leading up to the February trade deadline.
According to Siegel, the trigger date for Nene’s 2020/21 salary is February 15, 2020 rather than next summer, which suggests there’s a real chance the big man could be released during the season, perhaps being traded and then bought out in early February.
As we wait for more specifics on Nene’s contract, let’s round up a few more items out of Houston…
- Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at the newly-formed backcourt duo of Russell Westbrook and James Harden, exploring how the two former MVPs will fit alongside one another in Houston. As Bijani fits, the success of the partnership will ultimately come down to how both players will contribute during offensive possessions when they’re not the primary ball-handler.
- Last week, the Rockets converted Shamorie Ponds and William McDowell-White to two-way contracts, then back to non-guaranteed standard contracts in order to ensure that the club has injury protection on the new deals. According to RealGM’s transactions log, Houston did the same thing for Chris Clemons, who initially signed an Exhibit 10 pact with the team in July at the same time as Ponds and McDowell-White.
- For all the latest updates on the Rockets, be sure to keep tabs on our Houston Rockets team page.
Poll: Which Team Will Win 2019 World Cup?
Heading into the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Team USA was the odds-on favorite to bring home the gold medal, despite a roster lacking its usual star power. Serbia, led by Nikola Jokic, was considered the challenger with the best chance to knock off the Americans.
When the single-elimination portion of the tournament got underway, the two powerhouses appeared to be on track to meet in the semifinals. Two days later though, both USA and Serbia have been eliminated from medal contention and will instead meet in the loser’s bracket, with both clubs unable to place higher than fifth.
With the presumed top two teams in the tournament now eliminated, the World Cup is wide open, with a handful of programs very much in the mix for the gold. Here are the four remaining contenders:
Australia: The Boomers weren’t exactly dominating the early rounds of this tournament, but they managed to win all five of their round-robin games despite a modest point differential of +42 (the third-best mark in their second-round group of four teams). Led by NBA players like Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, and Joe Ingles, Australia beat the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals and will now face Spain in the semifinals.
Spain: Once considered the top international threat to Team USA, Spain had lost some talent – including longtime center Pau Gasol – entering this year’s event. But Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Juan Hernangomez, and the rest of the Spaniards have had an impressive run in China this month, winning all six games they’ve played, including an upset over Serbia and a fairly comfortable win over Poland in the quarterfinals.
Argentina: They don’t have a single current NBA player on their roster, but the Argentinians have been as dangerous as ever in this year’s World Cup, compiling a 6-0 record that includes an impressive quarterfinal victory over Serbia. Former NBA players like Luis Scola, Patricio Garino, Nicolas Laprovittola have helped lead the way, with EuroLeague point guard Facundo Campazzo dishing out 8.0 assists per game.
France: Of the remaining contenders, France is the only team that has lost a game in the World Cup, having fallen to Australia by a single basket in the second round. However, the French squad is also the only team that knocked off the U.S. in the tournament, and will look to carry that momentum into a semifinal showdown with Argentina. NBA veterans Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier have been France’s anchors, with Nicolas Batum, Frank Ntilikina, and Nando De Colo also playing key roles.
What do you think? Which of the four remaining teams do you think will win two more games and take home World Cup gold?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to make your case!
Which team will win the 2019 World Cup?
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France 38% (298)
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Spain 31% (247)
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Australia 23% (180)
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Argentina 8% (61)
Total votes: 786
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Rod Thorn Expected To Join Wizards As Advisor
Hall-of-Fame NBA executive Rod Thorn is expected to join the Wizards soon in an advisory role, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
A former NBA player, Thorn began his post-playing career as a coach before shifting to management positions. He spent time as the Bulls’ general manager, the Nets’ GM, the Sixers’ president, and the league’s executive vice president (and later president) of basketball operations. Since 2015, Thorn has served as a special consultant to Bucks ownership.
It’s not clear how extensive Thorn’s responsibilities would be in his new position with the Wizards. The franchise has spent the last couple months reshaping its front office, with Tommy Sheppard taking over for Ernie Grunfeld as the club’s new head of basketball operations.
Former NFL executive Sashi Brown, ex-Clippers executive Johnny Rogers, and longtime NBA player Antawn Jamison are among Washington’s other recent front office additions.
Wizards GM Reiterates Desire To Keep Bradley Beal
After a wild NBA offseason in which several All-Stars changed teams, there are few intriguing trade candidates left on the market. While league observers have speculated that Bradley Beal could be the next star to be shopped, new Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard reiterated to Brad Botkin of CBS Sports that trading Beal isn’t an idea the club is considering.
“The way that I look at this is pretty simple,” Sheppard said. “If you were looking to build a team, Brad would be the type of player anyone would want to start with. You look at the character, the talent, the age, just the whole package … Brad is without a doubt a core player in this league. Every team would love to have him, and we do.
“So we’ve never considered anything other than a situation where Brad is with us and leading us forward. We made that clear to him on the first day we could offer him an extension, and we’ll continue to make that clear.”
As Sheppard notes, Beal became eligible to sign a contract extension earlier this offseason, and the Wizards reportedly put the most lucrative possible offer on the table as soon as they were allowed to do so. However, if the All-Star shooting guard wants to maximize his potential earnings, it’s in his best interest to wait until at least next summer to sign a new deal, even if he’d like to stay in D.C.
It remains to be seen just how serious Beal is about sticking with the Wizards. He talked earlier this summer about wanting to see what sort of direction the team went in with its front office and its roster, so he has certainly been monitoring Sheppard’s first offseason as the club’s head of basketball operations. Obviously, if Beal were to request a trade, the Wizards may be forced to reconsider their stance on keeping him long-term, but there’s no indication that he plans to make such a request.
With the Wizards expected to be a lottery team in 2019/20 and Beal’s contract set to expire after the 2020/21 season, this will be a situation worth watching, but for now Sheppard remains steadfast in his desire to build around the 26-year-old.