And-Ones: Clippers, Pistons, Cavs, Young
The Clippers hold the top spot in ESPN’s Future Power Rankings, which predicts the best and worst franchises over the next three seasons. While the team has one of the best one-two punches in the NBA with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Los Angeles’ inability to trade a first-rounder may come back to haunt the team, Bobby Marks suggests.
L.A. sent out several first-rounders in the George deal and had just one pick (2020 selection) that was eligible to be included in a trade this season — the franchise used it to acquire Marcus Morris at the deadline.
The Lakers, Warriors, Bucks, and Celtics round out the top-5 in the ESPN’s latest rankings. Here’s more from around the league:
- The Pistons and Cavaliers rank 29th and 30th, respectively, on that aforementioned ESPN’s list. Both franchises lack blue-chip prospects and each has expensive veterans clogging its cap space.
- Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes Thaddeus Young will find himself on the trade block this offseason. Young, who inked a deal the Bulls last summer, was the subject of trade rumors earlier in the season.
- NBA agent Mark Bartelstein said he expected the season to get postponed after watching what was going on abroad in February and March, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic relays. Bartelstein has clients in the Chinese Basketball Association and other international leagues.
Atlantic Notes: Calipari, Knicks, Brown, Nets
Kentucky’s John Calipari doesn’t seem like a realistic option to be the next coach of the Knicks because of the money it would take to land him, Ian Begley of SNY.tv writes. Calipari has a strong relationship with team president Leon Rose, so nothing can be ruled out. However, many other names, such as coach Tom Thibodeau and Kenny Atkinson, appear to be more realistic fits.
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer believes the Sixers should give Brett Brown at least one more year. Ford argues that Brown has held this team together and is not the problem in Philadelphia.
- Chris Chiozza, who is on a two-way contract, joined the Nets earlier in the season and the franchise is impressed with the point guard. Yet, if he is going to join the team for a playoff run, Brooklyn will need to waive somebody — Theo Pinson could be the odd man out, as Brian Lewis of the New York Post explains.
- The Nets haven’t fully realized Taurean Prince‘s potential, Lewis contends in a separate piece. Brooklyn acquired and extended Prince last offseason and he has spent most of his time playing the four, which is not his natural position.
NBA Salary Cap Not Expected To Drop Significantly
The COVID-19 crisis continues to impact the world both from a health and financial perspective, and the NBA is no exception. While there is fear that the pandemic, which has already cost the NBA an exorbitant amount of money, will cause the league’s salary cap to drop significantly in 2020/21, that may not be the case. Ian Begley of SNY.tv reports that the salary cap shouldn’t see a steep decline from the most recent projection of $115MM.
The National Basketball Players Association has told agents to expect a drop in Basketball Related Income for 2021. While BRI is used to calculate the salary cap, Begley adds that the salary cap is expected to be calculated fairly and won’t plummet because of a one-year outlier, assuming “things unfold as expected.”
The NBA is weeks away from making a decision on the remainder of the 2019/20 season, as commissioner Adam Silver recently announced. While the league surely wants to play out the rest of the season, it doesn’t want to delay this year to the point where it significantly impacts the 2020/21 campaign.
Heat Notes: Jones, Dragic, Free Agency, Draft
Whenever the 2019/20 season eventually ends and the ’20 offseason begins, Heat swingman Derrick Jones will become an unrestricted free agent. While Jones insists he hasn’t thought much about his free agency, he recently said that he’d like to remain in Miami for as long as possible, as Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel relays.
“I want to be here my whole career,” Jones said. “If I could have that and we could come to an agreement with the Heat, I’m with it. I just want to be here.”
Veteran point guard Goran Dragic, who is also facing unrestricted free agency this year, expressed a similar sentiment, admitting that he’s barely thought about his contract status amid the coronavirus pandemic, but suggesting that a return to the Heat would be a good outcome, per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
“We like it here,” Dragic said of Miami. “It has been fun. It’s a nice place to live, the kids are going to school here. So definitely this would be one of the options to be high on our list. Like I said, you don’t know what the future holds, how the talks are going to go and we’ll see. But I’m confident that we’re going to choose the best situation for our family.”
While the Heat would presumably like to retain both Jones and Dragic, they also want to keep enough cap flexibility to potentially make a run at a top free agent like Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2021. Additionally, the Bulls are reportedly keeping a close eye on both Jones and Dragic, so they – or another team – might try to make a play for one or both.
Here’s more on the Heat:
- Andre Fernandez and John Hollinger of The Athletic take an in-depth look at potential next steps for the Heat, with Hollinger suggesting that a forward/center who can shoot – and who would be open to a lucrative one-year deal – might be the most logical target for the club this offseason. Hollinger identifies Danilo Gallinari, Paul Millsap, Marcus Morris, and Serge Ibaka as some possible candidates.
- If the NBA’s hiatus results in a reduced luxury-tax threshold for 2020/21, that could be problematic for the Heat, especially if they want to re-sign several of their own free agents, including Dragic, Jones, Jae Crowder, and Meyers Leonard, as Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald explains.
- Based on the current NBA standings, the Heat will hold the No. 23 pick in the draft, which figures to present the team with a plethora of options, according to Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. “What I’ve heard is the pick at 23 or 22 is the same pick at 35,” one NBA scout told Winderman. “It’s top heavy. It’s a bad draft. There’s a gray range once you get past the number up there in the early teens.”
Duke’s Cassius Stanley Declares For 2020 Draft
Duke freshman guard Cassius Stanley has entered his name in the 2020 NBA draft pool, the Blue Devils announced today in a press release. Stanley is the second Duke underclassman to declare this spring, joining teammate Tre Jones.
“As much as I feel a burning desire to make another run at the Final Four, I feel compelled to make the best decision for my professional success, and therefore, I have decided to enter the 2020 NBA draft,” Stanley said in a statement, adding that he believes the Blue Devils would have reached the Final Four and contended for a championship if the season hadn’t been interrupted.
Stanley, a 6’6″ shooting guard, averaged 12.6 PPG and 4.9 RPG in 29 games (27.4 MPG) in 2019/20. He knocked down 47.4% of his field goal attempts, including 36.0% of his threes.
The 20-year-old, who ranks 50th overall on ESPN’s big board, will be represented by his father Jerome Stanley, a certified agent, as Adam Zagoria writes at ZagsBlog.com. It sounds as if the younger Stanley intends to forgo his remaining college eligibility and go pro this year.
Pacific Notes: Lakers, Kobe, Warriors, Clippers
With no end to the NBA’s hiatus in sight, the Lakers intend to ask a small group of senior-level staffers to voluntarily defer 20% of their salaries, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
As Dave McMenamin of ESPN explains in a full report, the team is attempting to shield lower-level employees from losing out on any salary. The approach is similar to the one taken by the NBA last month, when the league reduced salaries for about 100 of its top-earning executives by 20%.
The Sixers briefly considered reducing salaries for their full-time employees last month before a PR backlash prompted the team to reverse course. Philadelphia’s cuts would have targeted at-will employees earning at least $50K per year. If the Lakers are focused only on higher-earning staffers and intend to defer – rather than altogether eliminate – that 20%, they likely won’t face the same kind of backlash the 76ers did.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Vanessa Bryant, the wife of late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, told ESPN’s Rece Davis over the weekend that Bryant’s election to the Basketball Hall of Fame represents the “peak of his NBA career.” Bryant will be inducted in a 2020 class that includes Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and six others.
- Anthony Slater of The Athletic explores 10 potential uses for the Warriors‘ $17MM traded player exception, assuming the team is still in position to spend big on its roster this offseason. Some of Slater’s suggested targets (such as Thaddeus Young or Dewayne Dedmon) would be far more attainable than others (like Marcus Smart or Robert Covington).
- Jovan Buha of The Athletic takes a look at how a lower-than-anticipated salary cap in 2020/21 might affect the Clippers‘ chances of re-signing a handful of key free agents, including Montrezl Harrell and Marcus Morris.
Villanova’s Bey, Robinson-Earl To Test Draft Waters
Shortly after being announced as this year’s winner of the Julius Erving award – given annually to the nation’s top small forward – Villanova sophomore Saddiq Bey confirmed that he’ll be entering the 2020 NBA draft, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link).
“I will be definitely testing the waters and going through that process whenever I’ll be able to, and keeping my options open,” Bey said, per Zagoria.
Villanova head coach Jay Wright said last month that he expected both Bey and freshman forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to test the 2020 draft waters, but Bey hadn’t announced that decision himself until today. Wright also confirmed today that Robinson-Earl will indeed go through the draft process (Twitter link via Zagoria).
The No. 21 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, Bey averaged a team-high 16.1 PPG in 31 games (33.9 MPG) in 2019/20. He also contributed 4.7 RPG, 2.4 APG, and an eye-popping .451 3PT% on 5.6 three-point attempts per game. After earning Big East All-Freshman honors a year ago, the forward – who turns 21 on Thursday – was a unanimous All-Big East First Team pick this year.
Robinson-Earl, meanwhile, recorded 10.5 PPG with a team-best 9.4 RPG in 31 games (32.7 MPG). He was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year and comes in at No. 66 on ESPN’s board.
Bey and Robinson-Earl are the latest additions to our list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft, which has now surpassed 100 total names.
Bulls’ Paxson Reportedly Willing To Step Down If Asked
While there has been skepticism that Bulls executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson will relinquish all of his front office power when the team hires a new executive, a source tells Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times that Paxson is prepared to do whatever is best for the franchise.
As Cowley details, Paxson is “all for” stepping aside and moving into more of an advisory role in the new front office structure, which is what has been rumored in recent weeks.
However, the veteran Bulls executive is willing to go even further than that, according to Cowley, who hears that Paxson would step down from the organization entirely if ownership and management felt that was in the team’s best interests amidst the latest rebuild.
Cowley’s source “insists” that Paxson is prepared for either scenario and that he’s not simply saying what he thinks everyone wants to hear. Still, the timing of the report is interesting. The Bulls haven’t had a ton of luck securing interviews with their first wave of candidates — Pacers GM Chad Buchanan and Heat assistant GM Adam Simon will remain with their current teams, and it sounds like Raptors GM Bobby Webster likely will too.
It’s possible that some of those candidates – hearing that Paxson would remain in a prominent role – were skeptical that they’d truly have “full authority” on basketball decisions in Chicago’s front office. The latest rumblings out of Chicago may be intended to show other candidates that they won’t be reporting to Paxson.
It’s still hard to imagine team owner Jerry Reinsdorf – a longtime Paxson backer – asking him to leave the organization altogether, but K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago stresses that Paxson is willing to “take as small a role as the new hire wants.”
For what it’s worth, Cowley notes in a separate report that Paxson didn’t participate in Monday’s interview with Jazz GM Justin Zanik, and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said in Monday’s tweet that Zanik was interviewing for the “executive VP of basketball operations” job, which is Paxson’s current title.
Potential Lottery Pick Nico Mannion Declares For Draft
Arizona freshman point guard Nico Mannion is entering the 2020 NBA draft class, as he tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN. Wildcats head coach Sean Miller said last month that Mannion would enter the draft, but his father clarified at the time that a decision hadn’t yet been finalized — now it has.
Mannion, who started 32 games for Arizona as a freshman, averaged 14.0 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG with a .392/.327/.797 shooting line. He ranks 14th overall on ESPN’s big board, with Mike Schmitz praising his scoring, play-making, demeanor, and ability to make reads. Schmitz does note that the 19-year-old’s “lack of tools” may limit his defensive upside and that his shot needs to get more consistent.
Mannion tells ESPN that, despite the COVID-19 lockdown, he has access to a gym where he can train and shoot as he prepares for the draft.
“I’m just getting reps every day trying to perfect what I can perfect on and off the court, be it passing, ball-handling or ball-screen drills, and trying to get stronger,” Mannion said. “I’m working on extending my range. This time off gives us me an opportunity to get better. That’s where I have a little bit of an advantage. I’m watching a lot of film on Steve Nash and Chris Paul. How they use ball screens to get in the lane and finish with floaters.”
Maryland’s Jalen Smith Entering 2020 NBA Draft
Maryland sophomore forward Jalen Smith is entering the 2020 NBA draft, he announced today in a statement on Twitter.
Although Smith is eligible to test the draft waters without forgoing his college eligibility, his comments makes it sound as if he’s ready to go pro, and Evan Daniels of 247Sports confirms (via Twitter) that the youngster is expected to remain in the draft.
“The time is right for me to move forward to the next phase in my basketball career,” Smith said in his statement after thanking his family, his teammates, Maryland’s coaches and staffers, and Terrapins fans.
In 31 games (31.3 MPG) as a sophomore, Smith averaged a double-double, recording 15.5 PPG and a team-high 10.5 RPG and 2.4 BPG. The 6’10” power forward, who earned spots on the All-Big Ten First Team and the Big Ten All-Defensive team, also showed off an improved three-point shot, converting 36.8% of 87 total attempts from beyond the arc.
Smith is a candidate to come off the board in the first round of this year’s draft. He currently ranks 30th overall on ESPN’s big board, including sixth among power forwards.