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Kings Expected To Retain Vlade Divac, Luke Walton

April 28th, 2020 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Despite some speculation that changes may be coming for the Kings this summer, general manager Vlade Divac and head coach Luke Walton appear “very likely” to remain in their roles into next season, sources tell Sam Amick of The Athletic. According to Amick, both of their contracts run through the 2022/23 season.

A report in February suggested that Kings ownership had grown increasingly frustrated with the club’s on-court results and that owner Vivek Ranadive had expressed that frustration in group chats with Walton, Divac, and other team executives. There was an expectation that Ranadive would re-evaluate everything after the season.

The Kings rebounded nicely following the publication of that report, however. Following the All-Star break, the club won seven of its next 10 games, including a pair of three-game winning streaks. By the time the NBA suspended its season, Sacramento had pulled to within 3.5 games of the No. 8 Grizzlies, giving the Kings an outside chance to make a playoff push — and seemingly providing more job security for Divac and Walton.

That February report also suggested that a decision may be coming this summer on Buddy Hield‘s future, since he had been frustrated with his demotion from the starting lineup and the idea of a trade request seemed possible.

However, in a conversation with Amick and Joe Vardon on The Athletic’s Tampering podcast, Walton insisted that the Hield situation isn’t a concern.

“Buddy was not happy about not starting, but he didn’t b—h,” Walton said. “He said, ‘You’re the coach. I’m going to do what I need to do.’ … Even with Buddy (coming off the bench), he was still playing starter minutes, he was still finishing certain games, and it’s one of those things where if you’re truly bought into being on the team, you end up accepting it because that’s a huge value. … And I thought Buddy had really, really done a nice job of embracing that and making our team better.”

Hield’s playing time did take a hit following his move to the bench, but his per-minute production improved. After averaging 20.0 PPG with a .416/.360/.816 shooting line in 44 games (34.4 MPG) as a starter, Hield recorded 19.4 PPG on .465/.476/.970 shooting in 20 contests (26.6 MPG) off the bench. It remains to be seen whether the Kings plan to use him as a sixth man indefinitely, or whether he’d be fine with that.

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Daishen Nix Decommits From UCLA, Opts For G League

April 28th, 2020 at 12:04pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA G League has landed another five-star high school recruit, as point guard Daishen Nix has decommitted from UCLA and will opt for the NBAGL’s developmental path, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

“I’ve always known that going to the G League was an option, but learning more about it and hearing more things about it is why I chose it,” Nix told Evan Daniels of 247Sports. “It was the best option for me.”

Nix will become the third prospect to join the G League’s new Select Team, which will be based in Southern California, following in the footsteps of Jalen Green and Isaiah Todd. The new squad won’t be part of the NBAGL’s traditional regular season schedule, but is expected to play exhibition games against G League teams, as well as against foreign national teams and NBA academies, as the program focuses on helping top prospects prepare for the NBA.

[RELATED: G League Hopes To Eventually Establish Multiple Select Teams]

A standout at Trinity International in Las Vegas, Nix had been considered one of the top point guards in this year’s recruiting class, ranking 15th overall on 247Sports’ list and 20th on ESPN’s board. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony had Nix at No. 12 in his latest 2021 NBA mock draft.

By forgoing college ball in favor of the G League’s new professional path, Nix will be in line for a salary in the $300K range, sources tell Charania (Twitter link).

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Pistons’ Stefanski Talks Offseason, Draft, Rose, Kennard

April 28th, 2020 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons project to enter the 2020 offseason as one of just a handful of teams with cap room, and head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski tells Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press that there are several different ways the club could make use of that flexibility.

While the Pistons likely won’t be pursuing any top-tier free agents, Stefanski suggested that the team will assess its options once those highest-paid players come off the board. According to the Pistons’ senior advisor, the club is open to the idea of using its cap room to sign a player or two, or to accommodate a trade.

Stefanski also didn’t rule out the possibility of holding onto that cap space through the offseason and into the ’20/21 season. At that point, all of the noteworthy free agents would be off the board, but teams could still be looking to shed salary in midseason deals, potentially creating opportunities for the Pistons to acquire assets for taking on an unwanted contract — especially if they’re the only team capable of accommodating such a salary dump.

In his conversation with Sankofa, Stefanski addressed several more topics, including the health of multiple injured Pistons, the team’s draft plans, and more. The Q&A is worth checking out in full, but here are a few of the highlights from Stefanski:

On whether the Pistons will target a point guard or big man with their lottery pick after parting with Reggie Jackson and Andre Drummond this winter:

“I think where we are, most of the time you’re always going to be going for the best possible player. … If we feel the best player fits one of those positions, that’s even better if you get fortunate that that happens. Right now, that won’t come into play. If the best player is the position where we have more players or have added depth, we’re going to do it. If it happens and we feel the best player on the board fits the position that we need, that’s even better.”

On whether the Pistons will consider moving Derrick Rose in the offseason or at the 2021 trade deadline after keeping him at the 2020 deadline:

“We didn’t move Derrick because we didn’t feel we got enough in return for what he does for us on the court and off the court. He’s very instrumental on these younger guys. Who he is, obviously a former MVP, he’s a great human being. Players like him, so that helps our younger guys since he can nurture the younger guys. Plus he does a terrific job on the court. He was fantastic on the court this year, and we’re going to need that at times to help our younger players perform and gain confidence. We’ll look at everything and if the opportunity arises and makes sense, we’ll pull the trigger.”

On the health of Luke Kennard (out since December 21 with a knee injury):

“Luke has done well. Right before the shutdown because of the virus, he was ready to come back and play. I think he was going to play in Toronto, that next game after Philly. I believe it was then that we were going to give him some minutes. He’s very healthy right now. He’s continued to perform his lifting and is keeping his cardio up. But he feels real good and he worked extremely hard with our performance people on the strength in his knee. So far, all the reports are real positive. He’s healthy right now. If something started up, he’d be ready to go.”

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Bulls Notes: LaVine, Eversley, Boylen

April 28th, 2020 at 9:31am CST by Luke Adams

In a Q&A with Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype, Bulls guard Zach LaVine said he he already spoken to newly-hired head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and GM Marc Eversley, and is “extremely excited to get to working with them.”

While Karnisovas has held his new position for a couple weeks, Eversley’s hiring was reported less than 36 hours ago and hasn’t yet been formally announced, so the fact that he has already touched base with LaVine suggests it was a top priority.

Asked about what he wants to see from the Bulls this offseason, LaVine – who has spoken since the suspension of the NBA season about how disappointed he was with the team’s on-court results – said he hopes that everyone is “willing and prepared to sacrifice” and is focused on getting better.

“I thought we approached this year like we were going to be good and we weren’t,” LaVine told Kennedy. “We didn’t have the chemistry, we didn’t have the right mindset. We got a little bit shocked; we thought we were going to do really well and we didn’t do well. We have to come back and prove people wrong.”

Here’s more on the Bulls:

  • The hiring of Eversley adds instant credibility to the Bulls’ front office, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who suggests that Eversley should help the franchise improve its reputation with players and agents around the NBA. One source who spoke to Cowley pointed to Eversley’s 10 years at Nike as a time when he gained experience building relationships with players across the league.
  • K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago makes a similar point in his own look at the hiring of Eversley, writing that the former Raptors and Sixers executive built strong relationships with DeMar DeRozan in Toronto and Joel Embiid in Philadelphia. Eversley’s investment in making those connections should benefit the Bulls, particularly in free agency, Johnson writes.
  • Within that story, Johnson also suggests that the hiring of Eversley “could take some responsibilities off (head coach Jim) Boylen‘s plate.” As Johnson explains, Boylen felt compelled to handle certain matters when former GM Gar Forman began to focus mainly on scouting prior to his dismissal. Of course, it remains to be seen whether Karnisovas will retain Boylen beyond this season, but there’s no indication that a coaching change is imminent.
  • Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic takes a more in-depth look at Eversley’s background, exploring why he emerged as the Bulls’ top choice during the GM interview process.
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Western Notes: Lakers Loan, Bagley, Walton, Towns

April 27th, 2020 at 8:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers returned a $4.6MM loan they received from a federal government program intended to help small businesses during by the coronavirus pandemic, according to ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz. The Lakers applied for relief through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. When many small businesses were shut out of the program, the team opted to return the money.

“Once we found out the funds from the program had been depleted, we repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need,” the team said in a statement. “The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and our community.”

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Kings coach Luke Walton isn’t sure how much big man Marvin Bagley III will play if the season resumes, Jason Jones of The Athletic reports. Bagley has played in only 13 games this season due to a left foot sprain and a broken thumb. “In talking to Marvin, he feels much better,” said Walton, who added Bagley would still have to go through protocols during injury rehab, including three-on-three and five-on-five play.
  • Walton struck an optimistic tone regarding his club in the same story from Jones. “I love where we’re at as a group,” Walton said. “I think our future is bright, I think we have a great group of guys. This is a hard thing, winning consistently in any pro sport is hard. But when you get a good group of guys that works hard and likes each other and is willing to trust each other, I think, is how you make that happen.” Sacramento was 28-36 when play was halted but had won seven of its last 10 games.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the Timberwolves and it has brought organization members closer on an emotional level, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother, Jacqueline, and a relative of Malik Beasley succumbed to complications from the virus. “We’ve done everything possible for our players and our staff and their families to make sure they’re as safe as possible,” president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said. “Once it affects you the way it’s affected us now, we’re ultra-sensitive to the fact that we want to be here for our players and their families and our staff.”
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Draft Notes: Smart, Mack, Yurtseven, 2021 Draft

April 27th, 2020 at 7:59pm CST by Luke Adams

As we outlined on Monday morning, this year’s deadline for early entrants to declare for the 2020 NBA draft fell on Sunday night, meaning the league will soon be officially releasing its initial list of early entrants.

As we await that list, we’re still seeing a few more updates trickling in, so we’ll pass along a couple of those in the space below — and take an early look at how this year’s early entry list will impact the 2021 draft class…

  • LSU sophomore guard Javonte Smart has declared for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he announced on Instagram. Smart, who presumably submitted his paperwork by Sunday night, averaged 12.5 PPG, 4.2 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .415/.326/.814 shooting in 31 games (34.2 MPG) for the Tigers.
  • Sophomore guard Cam Mack, who previously said he was entering the draft, announced on Twitter that he has changed course and has instead decided to transfer. Mack averaged 12.0 PPG and 6.4 APG in 28 games for Nebraska in 2019/20, but won’t be returning to the Cornhuskers, who suspended him indefinitely near the end of the season.
  • Georgetown big man Omer Yurtseven will enter the draft and won’t return to college, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweets. Born in Turkey, Yurtseven averaged 15.5 PPG and 9.8 RPG in 26 games with the Hoyas. The 7-footer also played two seasons with North Carolina State.
  • ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Insider link) has updated his 2021 mock draft, removing players who have declared for the 2020 draft and listing Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green as the current favorites to go first and second overall. Both Cunningham and Green would likely be No. 1 on big boards in 2020 if they were eligible to be drafted this year, Givony adds.
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Northwest Notes: Nuggets Draft, Plumlee, Ingles, Beasley

April 27th, 2020 at 6:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Nuggets’ front office has focused on the draft during the hiatus and they could prioritize perimeter shooting, Nick Kosmider of The Athletic writes. Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith, Villanova’s Saddiq Bey, Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. and Arizona’s Josh Green are among the wings who could be available with Denver’s first-round pick. The Nuggets traded away their pick but own the Rockets’ first-rounder, which currently puts them at No. 21 or 22 overall.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

  • Mason Plumlee is a luxury that the Nuggets may not be able to afford after this season, according to Mike Singer of the Denver Post. The reserve center is a steady contributor due to his rebounding, passing and ability to finish on the break. He was also a featured piece in their defensive lineups but Plumlee will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason and financial constraints may force the club to let him walk.
  • Jazz swingman Joe Ingles plans to return to Australia when he retires but he’s not sure what the future holds when his current contract expires, according to Aaron Falk of the team’s website. “My whole plan was to play out my deal and make a decision after that,” Ingles said. “But if it’s time to go home and put them in school and settle down, that’s obviously my first priority. It’s not whether I want to keep playing. It’s a family deal.” Ingles is signed through the 2021/22 season, including a one-year, $13MM extension he signed last October.
  • Guard Malik Beasley has already made his way into the Timberwolves’ long-term plans, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes. Beasley averaged 20.7 PPG in 14 games after he was acquired from the Nuggets. Beasley is noncommittal. “Right now it’s tough to decide for anything,” Beasley said. “We don’t even know if we’re playing or not, so it’s just tough to decide that.” Minnesota, which also holds Beasley’s Bird Rights, only has to extend a $3.9MM qualifying offer to make Beasley a restricted FA.
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Hiatus Notes: Facilities, Resuming Season, Arena Staffers

April 27th, 2020 at 4:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has informed each of its 30 teams to assign a senior executive to the position of facility hygiene officer, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

It’s a position that will be made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic as teams begin reopening their practice facilities. As we detailed earlier today, that could start happening as early as May 8, though the NBA has implemented a number of restrictions and contingencies related to that plan.

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes (via Twitter) that one of the two memos the league sent to teams today is a 14-page document that thoroughly outlines the health and safety conditions that must be in place for facilities to be reopened.

Besides the rules we described in our earlier story – most of which are mentioned in the NBA’s press release – one measure the league has asked teams to take is to conduct certain precautionary tests (resting ECG and troponin) on players before they resume working out at team facilities, as Charania reports (Twitter link).

Here’s more on the NBA’s coronavirus-related hiatus:

  • Although the NBA is clinging to a “pie-in-the-sky” plan of playing five to seven several regular season contests if it can resume its 2019/20 season, sources who spoke to Marc Berman of The New York Post believe it’s more likely that the league would move directly to a 16-team playoff, perhaps in Las Vegas.
  • With the NBA still prioritizing finishing its current season, Jabari Young of CNBC looks at the possibility of the 2020/21 campaign beginning in December and explores whether it makes sense to push back the start of the season on a permanent basis.
  • Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle runs some numbers and estimates that – even without media or fans in the arena – an NBA game might require about 120-150 people in attendance, which will complicate plans to safely resume the season.
  • While virtually every NBA team announced plans last month to pay its part-time arena workers the wages they’d be losing as a result of the postponed games, a USA Today report finds that not all arena staffers are benefiting from those initiatives. Nancy Armour, Rachel Axon, Steve Berkowitz, and Tom Schad of USA Today suggest there are “substantial discrepancies” in how tens of thousands of game-day workers are receiving financial aid — and “widespread reticence” from teams to disclose the specifics of their assistance plans.
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Poll Results: Hoops Rumors’ 2020 All-NBA Teams

April 27th, 2020 at 3:43pm CST by Luke Adams

The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting NBA hiatus have thrown award season into disarray, but it’s probably safe to assume that any remaining regular season games for 2019/20 won’t affect award races too significantly. With that in mind, we asked you to vote last week on the 15 players you feel deserve All-NBA spots for ’19/20.

Last Monday, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team. We moved on to the Second Team on Wednesday, then opened the polls for the Third Team on Friday. The results of all those polls are in, so let’s check them out.

2020 All-NBA First Team

2020 All-NBA Second Team

2020 All-NBA Third Team

Your top vote-getters in the final round of polling who didn’t quite earn spots on the Third Team: Trae Young (Hawks), Russell Westbrook (Rockets), and Paul George (Clippers).

My own All-NBA Teams would look somewhat similar to the ones you picked, though the guard position is a tricky one. Booker likely wouldn’t be one of my 15 choices, and Beal would be a Third Team pick at best for me. Both players put up great offensive numbers, but their teams didn’t have great seasons and they’re poor defenders (Booker ranked 132nd out of 137 shooting guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, per ESPN; Beal was 137th).

There’s no shortage of candidates who could replace Booker and potentially Beal — Kyle Lowry and Kemba Walker were veteran leaders on two of the league’s best teams, Westbrook had a monster season in Houston, Donovan Mitchell was the leading scorer for a top-four team in the West, and Ben Simmons’ elite defensive ability makes his case stronger than his offensive numbers would suggest.

I might opt for Westbrook and Lowry over Booker and Beal. I’d also be tempted to find room for Khris Middleton at forward and Bam Adebayo or Rudy Gobert at center, though Butler and/or Embiid would be tough cuts. I’d likely bump Tatum up to the Second Team as well, pushing Siakam down to Third Team.

Of course, the official All-NBA teams will hinge in part on what positions are assigned to certain players. Can Davis be considered a center or will he be deemed a forward? Will James be eligible for a guard spot? Will Butler be a guard or a forward? Those positional decisions, particularly for the Lakers’ stars, could have a ripple effect on other selections.

What do you think? Do you disagree strongly with any of these choices? Do you expect major discrepancies when the official All-NBA teams are announced? Let us know in the comment section!

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NBA To Allow Reopened Team Facilities No Earlier Than May 8

April 27th, 2020 at 2:22pm CST by Luke Adams

After a weekend report suggested the NBA was aiming to allow teams to reopen their practice facilities as early as May 1, the league has told teams that its new target date is Friday, May 8, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). The league’s full announcement can be found right here.

The NBA is hoping to allow teams to open facilities for voluntary individual workouts if the stay-at-home orders in their respective home states allow, but will wait at least another week-and-a-half to move forward with that plan.

Assuming it sticks to the May 8 target date, the league will allow up to four players in a facility at a time, with no more than one team staffer in attendance, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Group activities will remain prohibited and head and assistant coaches can’t participate. Additionally, players would be required to wear face masks at all times except when engaged in physical activity, and staffers working with players must wear gloves and practice social-distancing of at least 12 feet, according to Charania (Twitter link).

The NBA had received “significant pushback” from teams about the idea of reopening facilities in select states and municipalities on May 1, officials tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). While competitive imbalance is a potential issue – given the disparity between how certain states are handling the pandemic – teams are more concerned about player and staff safety, says Wojnarowski.

The Hawks were one team that appeared to be a strong candidate to reopen their facilities this Friday, if permitted, since Georgia is among the first states to roll back stay-at-home restrictions. However, as general manager Travis Schlenk first told TV host Matt Stewart (Twitter link), the Hawks didn’t plan to reopen their facilities this week, preferring to play it safe and assess the effects of the loosened restrictions in the area.

“We’re going to put the health of our players and staff at the forefront,” Schlenk told Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Despite the Hawks’ reticence and some league-wide pushback on the initial May 1 date, there have been other teams embracing the idea of reopening their facilities, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). As Woj explains, those clubs would prefer players to be in a “clean, safe, and monitored team environment” rather than risking those players working out at public gyms.

Relatedly, clubs were reminded today that their players remain prohibited from using non-team facilities such as public health centers and gyms for workouts, as Charania reports (via Twitter).

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