Pacers Fire Head Coach Nate McMillan
The Pacers have relieved Nate McMillan of his head coaching duties, the team announced today in a press release.
“On behalf of the Simon family and the Pacers organization, I’d like to thank Nate for his years with the team,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a statement. “This was a very hard decision for us to make; but we feel it’s in the best interest of the organization to move in a different direction. Nate and I have been through the good times and the bad times; and it was an honor to work with him for those 11 years (in Indiana and Portland).”
The move comes as a surprise, since the Pacers just signed McMillan to a one-year contract extension earlier this month. However, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski says (via Twitter) that “soft” extension involved a reworking of McMillan’s deal for 2020/21, with a team option added for ’21/22, so it sounds like Indiana didn’t cost itself much money by changing course just two weeks later.
McMillan, 56, guided the Pacers to a 183-136 (.574) record over the last four seasons, earning four consecutive playoff berths during that stretch. Indiana’s 45-28 (.616) mark this season represented the club’s highest winning percentage since 2013/14.
McMillan, who is well-respected around the NBA, had generally been lauded in recent years for maximizing the Pacers’ roster despite losing star forward Paul George – who requested a trade in 2017 – and dealing with a handful of major injuries, including the torn quad tendon that sidelined Victor Oladipo for a full year. The team’s quick playoff exit this season at the hands of the Heat came without injured starters Domantas Sabonis and Jeremy Lamb available.
However, that loss to the Heat represented Indiana’s fourth consecutive first-round exit, and there had been some chatter about a need to modernize the team’s offense, which ranked last in the NBA this season in three-point attempts per game (28.0). In an unusual move, the Pacers mentioned McMillan’s 3-16 postseason record in their announcement on his dismissal today, a signal that his lack of playoff success was a major factor in the club’s decision.
ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy and Zach Lowe noted on a podcast earlier this month that there had been speculation around the league in recent months about McMillan being on the hot seat in Indiana.
The Pacers will begin their search for a new head coach immediately, according to today’s announcement. They’ll be vying with the Nets, Sixers, Bulls, and Pelicans for the top candidates on the market, becoming the sixth team to launch a coaching search in 2020 (the Knicks are the only club to have completed the process so far).
[RELATED: 2020 NBA Head Coaching Search Tracker]
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), current Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni will become an Indiana target if Houston decides to make a coaching change of its own. The Pacers will also explore a pool of candidates they’d consider “program builders,” sources tell Woj (Twitter link).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Coaching Rumors: Lue, Pelicans, Nets, Sixers, Ham, Brown
Former Cavaliers coach and current Clippers assistant Tyronn Lue is expected to be one of the NBA’s most popular head coaching candidates this offseason, and he’s unlikely to come at a discount, according to Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
Vardon says that when Lue talked to the Lakers about their top job during the spring of 2019, he was seeking $7MM annually on a five-year contract. L.A.’s best offer was $20MM over three years, per The Athletic.
The Lakers won’t be in the market for a head coach this year, but there are several intriguing openings potentially in play for Lue, including the Nets, Sixers, and Pelicans jobs. Vardon notes that the Rockets could also join that list of Lue suitors if they decide to move on from Mike D’Antoni.
According to Vardon, there were frustrations within the Pelicans organization with Alvin Gentry around Christmas time in 2019, and if Lue had been available at that time – rather than working as a Clippers assistant – New Orleans may have moved on from Gentry and hired Lue during the season. However, sources tell Vardon that the Pelicans aren’t looking to spend more than about $5.5MM per year on their new head coach, so the competition for Lue may price them out.
Here are more head coaching notes and rumors from around the NBA:
- Lue expects to receive an offer from the Nets, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). While Gregg Popovich may be Brooklyn’s dream candidate, Lue looks like a better bet to ultimately claim the Nets’ coaching job, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
- Lue is also viewed as the Sixers‘ top candidate. However, some agents have wondered if team ownership will be willing to pay big money for Lue while Brett Brown‘s salary is still on the books for two more years, per Jabari Young of CNBC.com. Young adds Bucks assistant Darvin Ham to the list of candidates believed to be in the mix for the 76ers’ job.
- Warriors associate head coach Mike Brown is receiving consideration from the Sixers for their coaching vacancy, though it remains to seen whether he’ll be interviewed, Pompey reports for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Hornets Notes: Group Practices, G-League, No. 3 Pick, Free Agency
Though Hornets player attendance at the team’s practice facility has reportedly been strong, pending free agents, players who are not currently in Charlotte, and players who are concerned about COVID-19-related health risks might not participate in upcoming group practices, says Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
The NBA and NBPA agreed to let each of the so-called “Delete Eight” — the eight league-worst teams who missed out on the Orlando restart — to hold voluntary skill and conditioning sessions plus scrimmages at their facilities, with mandated campus living arrangements, from September 21 to October 6 after a week-long quarantine. Teams are allowed to invite five players who were with their affiliated G League club during the 2019/20 season.
Backup center Bismack Biyombo, earning $17MM this season, is the costliest free agent who is definitely coming off Charlotte’s books in October. Bonnell tweets that Biyombo’s fellow 2020 free agents on the roster, Dwayne Bacon and Willy Hernangomez, will most likely be advised by their representatives to either not participate at all or only partake in a limited amount of activities to avoid injury ahead of new potential contracts.
There’s more out of Charlotte:
- Bonnell anticipates (Twitter link) that, among the prospective G-League players who may join the team’s fall offseason practices, Greensboro Swarm regulars Kobi Simmons, Joe Chealey and Ray Spalding seem most likely to get an opportunity to join the Hornets.
- Hornets president of basketball operations and general manager Mitch Kupchak anticipates the Hornets to be able to select a “special” player with the No. 3 pick in this year’s NBA draft, according to The Charlotte Observer’s Rick Bonnell in another article. LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, and Anthony Edwards headline this year’s draft class.
- Kupchak noted last week that the Hornets, as a rebuilding team coming off a 23-42 record, would not be big players in free agency during the offseason.
2020 NBA Offseason Preview: Chicago Bulls
Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Chicago Bulls.
Salary Cap Outlook
Otto Porter Jr.‘s $28.5MM player option, which is a virtual lock to be exercised, should ensure that the Bulls remain over the cap during the 2020 offseason. Once that option is officially on the books, Chicago’s team salary will increase to $106MM in guaranteed money, even before accounting for cap holds for the team’s lottery pick and free agents.
The Bulls will also have the full mid-level exception (about $9.3MM) and the bi-annual exception ($3.6MM) available.
Our full salary cap preview for the Bulls can be found right here.
Roster Decisions To Watch
Options:
- Otto Porter Jr., player option: $28,489,239 (Oct. 17 deadline)
Non-Guaranteed Contracts:
- None
Two-Way Contracts:
- Adam Mokoka (expiring)
- Max Strus (expiring)
Free Agents:
- Kris Dunn (RFA; Bird)
- Denzel Valentine (RFA; Bird)
- Shaquille Harrison (RFA; Early Bird)
2020 Draft Assets
First Round:
- No. 4 overall pick
The Bulls moved up three spots as a result of the draft lottery, claiming the No. 4 overall pick despite entering lottery night with the seventh-best odds.
Second Round:
- No. 44 overall pick
The Bulls traded away their own second-round pick (No. 37), but acquired the Grizzlies’ selection, which will be No. 44.
Three Key Offseason Questions
1. Who will be the Bulls’ next head coach?
After a tumultuous year-and-a-half at the helm, Jim Boylen was let go this summer by new Bulls front office executives Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley. While it took a little longer than expected for the team to finalize that decision, it puts the new Bulls decision-makers in position to immediately place their stamp on the franchise with their own head coach, rather than making Boylen a lame duck for the next year.
Since Boylen’s ouster, names like Kenny Atkinson, Wes Unseld Jr., Darvin Ham, Stephen Silas, and David Vanterpool have been connected to the Chicago job. Even before a decision was made on Boylen, Ime Udoka and Adrian Griffin were rumored to be frontrunners for the position.
It’s a big, diverse group and it could get even bigger once the Bulls begin to formally interview candidates. However, most of the names have something in common — they’re experienced assistants without any head coaching experience themselves.
Atkinson is the one exception to the rule so far, but the former Nets head coach doesn’t represent a major deviation from the rest of the group. After all, he was brought in to help guide a rebuilding Brooklyn team. Once the club began making the transition from prioritizing player development to focusing on contending for a title, Atkinson was dismissed.
In replacing Boylen, the Bulls seem to be seeking an up-and-coming head coach who will focus on developing and connecting with the team’s young players, rather than a veteran who has experience dealing with stars and guiding playoff teams.
While that direction makes sense, it may increase the degree of difficulty for Karnisovas and Eversley, since their pick won’t necessarily have an extensive head coaching résumé to evaluate. It’s the duo’s first major decision and it will be important to get it right, so I expect the Bulls to take their time and do their homework on many candidates before finalizing a hire.
2. Which incumbent players are the new decision-makers most – and least – attached to?
The Bulls haven’t won more than 27 games in any of the last three seasons, but the roster that Karnisovas and Eversley are inheriting is hardly devoid of talent.
Zach LaVine has developed into one of the Eastern Conference’s top scorers (25.5 PPG in 2019/20). And in Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter, and Coby White, Chicago has the No. 7 overall picks from each of the last three drafts. Markkanen and Carter have been hampered by health issues and inconsistency, but all three of those players have shown promise since entering the NBA, and all three are 23 years old or younger.
Since taking the reins in Chicago, Karnisovas and Eversley have talked about placing a focus on development and looking to get the most out of the club’s young players — especially those who may have taken a step back last season. As such, it’s possible the team will stand relatively pat during this offseason and see what it can get out of those youngsters under a new head coach in 2020/21 before doing anything too drastic.
However, it’s also worth noting that the new decision-makers aren’t necessarily attached to any of those young, would-be cornerstones. This fall may not be the right time to move guys like Markkanen or Carter, since the Bulls would be selling low, but if the club gets an offer it likes for one of them or LaVine, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the front office pull the trigger.
Again, any major roster shake-up is probably unlikely until at least the 2021 deadline, but this will be a situation worth monitoring under the new regime.
3. Can the Bulls secure a long-term cornerstone with the No. 4 pick?
While it remains to be seen which of the Bulls’ returning players the new front office will commit to long-term, we can safely assume that the player the team drafts at No. 4 this fall will be given every opportunity to succeed over the next few years. It will be the first opportunity Karnisovas and Eversley have to acquire a potential future building block for the club, and – like the coaching hire – they’ll badly want to get it right.
With no prospects necessarily locked into the top three spots, we don’t know for sure which players will still be available at No. 4 for Chicago. But LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, and James Wiseman have most frequently been cited as contenders for the No. 1 spot, so let’s assume for now that those are the first three players drafted in 2020.
In that scenario, the Bulls would be picking from a group that includes wings Deni Avdija, Isaac Okoro, and Devin Vassell, guards Tyrese Haliburton and Killian Hayes, power forward Obi Toppin, and center Onyeka Okongwu.
Although I don’t believe Chicago should – or will – be drafting based on need, the idea of selecting one of those wings is intriguing. Otto Porter Jr. likely isn’t the Bulls’ long-term solution at small forward, so if the team is high on a player like Avdija, Okoro, or Vassell, it would be a great match. Sam Vecenie of The Athletic notes that Okoro’s ability to guard wings would make him a nice complement to LaVine and White.
Still, the Bulls will certainly go in another direction if they feel there’s a prospect with more upside. In his most recent mock draft, for instance, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony has Chicago selecting Toppin, observing that the National Player of the Year could play alongside either Markkanen or Carter.
Information from Basketball Insiders and ESPN was used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Jamal Crawford Wants To Return Next Season
40-year-old Nets guard Jamal Crawford hopes to return to the NBA for the 2020/21 season, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.
Crawford unfortunately logged just five minutes of action in one game for Brooklyn during the NBA’s Orlando restart due to a hamstring injury. If the three-time Sixth Man of the Year is able to play next season, it would be his 21st in the league.
A versatile backcourt scorer famous for his mean crossover, Crawford has played for nine NBA clubs, most notably as a key contributor off the bench for the Clippers and Hawks. He signed with the Nets as a substitute player for the Disney World summer restart after several Brooklyn players opted out due to injuries or the novel coronavirus.
Stein noted that Nets All-Star forward Kevin Durant recently intimated that he has interest in Crawford returning to the Nets during the 2020/21 season.
“With a whole, healthy roster,” Crawford said, “anyone would love that opportunity.”
The Nets will presumably have championship aspirations provided that Durant and fellow All-Star Kyrie Irving are fully recovered from injuries that derailed their 2019/20 seasons. Durant, recuperating from an Achilles tear, did not play at all this year.
Adding Crawford to at least Brooklyn’s training camp roster, perhaps on a partially-guaranteed veteran’s minimum contract, would be a nice low-cost way to bring veteran leadership with proven scoring acumen to the Nets bench.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Named Defensive Player Of The Year
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the 2019/20 season, the league confirmed today in a press release. Antetokounmpo’s win was first reported by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Antetokounmpo helped anchor a Milwaukee defense that ranked first in the NBA by a comfortable margin, with a 102.5 rating. The reigning MVP, who routinely guarded all five positions, averaged one steal and one block per game to go along with 11.4 DRPG, and opponents shot just 36.2% when he was the primary defender, per NBA.com.
Antetokounmpo, who is a strong favorite to win this year’s MVP award as well, received 75 of 100 possible first-place votes, beating out Lakers big man Anthony Davis and Jazz center Rudy Gobert for DPOY honors. Davis (14 first-place votes) was the runner-up, while Gobert (six first-place votes) finished third after winning the award in each of the last two seasons.
Here are the full results of the 2019/20 Defensive Player of the Year voting, according to the NBA’s announcement:
- Antetokounmpo, Bucks (432 points)
- Davis, Lakers (200)
- Gobert, Jazz (187)
- Ben Simmons, Sixers (32)
- Bam Adebayo, Heat (17)
- Patrick Beverley, Clippers (7)
- Marcus Smart, Celtics (7)
- Andre Drummond, Pistons/Cavaliers (5)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (5)
- Brook Lopez, Bucks (4)
- Hassan Whiteside, Trail Blazers (3)
- Jarrett Allen, Nets (1)
Besides Antetokounmpo, Davis, and Gobert, the other players receiving first-place votes were Simmons, Adebayo (two), Beverley, and Drummond.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Injury Notes: AD, Rondo, Lillard, Westbrook, Lowry, More
Although he left Game 4 on Monday due to back spasms, Lakers star Anthony Davis is expected to be good to go on Wednesday and is being listed as probable on the injury report. However, point guard Rajon Rondo is still “banged up” and likely won’t play, per head coach Frank Vogel (Twitter links via Dave McMenamin of ESPN). Rondo is being listed as doubtful for Game 5.
Meanwhile, Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard, who has already been ruled out for Game 5 due to a right knee sprain, is unlikely to return this series even if Portland can extend it by a game or two, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. According to Haynes, Lillard is currently unable to extend his right leg.
Here are more injury updates from around the NBA:
- Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said today that he still thinks Russell Westbrook could return in the first round, but it won’t happen on Wednesday, as the team has listed Westbrook as out for Game 5 vs. Oklahoma City (Twitter links via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).
- Raptors guard Kyle Lowry didn’t participate in practice on Tuesday and is considered day-to-day for the time being, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, who tweets that Lowry’s status for Game 1 vs. Boston on Thursday remains uncertain.
- Nuggets guard Gary Harris (hip), who was previously listed as questionable for Game 5 against Utah tonight, has been downgraded to out, the team announced (via Twitter). With Denver trailing 3-1 in the series, it’s possible Harris won’t return this season.
- Heat wing Jimmy Butler has been battling a left shoulder strain but doesn’t expect the issue to limit him going forward, writes Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. Head coach Erik Spoelstra, who referred to it as a “soft-tissue” injury, said no MRI is scheduled for now.
- Magic forward Aaron Gordon (hamstring) appears unlikely to be ready for Game 5 on Wednesday, according to head coach Steve Clifford, who says that Gordon is still unable to sprint up and down the court and the team doesn’t want to risk him suffering a more serious injury (Twitter links via Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel).
Damian Lillard To Miss Game 5 Due To Knee Sprain
After undergoing a second MRI on Tuesday, star guard Damian Lillard has been diagnosed with a right knee sprain and will miss Game 5 against the Lakers on Wednesday, the Trail Blazers announced today (Twitter link).
With the Lakers holding a 3-1 lead over Portland in the first-round series, it’s possible we won’t see Lillard return to action again this season — the Blazers figure to be significant underdogs on Wednesday with Lillard out and backcourt mate CJ McCollum still playing through a fracture in his back.
Lillard has been one of the NBA’s standout players since the season resumed in July. He earned bubble MVP honors by averaging 37.6 PPG and 9.6 APG on .497/.436/.888 shooting in the Blazers’ eight seeding games, then led the team to a win over Memphis in the Western Conference play-in game. However, after claiming the No. 8 seed and upsetting the Lakers in Game 1, Portland has seemed to run out of gas.
Following his scorching-hot start this summer, Lillard has slowed down over the last three games, which can be attributed at least in part to health issues. Before injuring his knee in Game 4, the All-Star guard dislocated his left index finger in Game 2.
With Lillard unavailable, the Blazers figure to lean more heavily on Anfernee Simons and Gary Trent Jr. One of the two guards figures to replace Lillard in the starting lineup.
NBA Hoping Next Season Can Start In December Or January
NBA commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged during last week’s draft lottery telecast that a December 1 start date for the 2020/21 regular season no longer appears likely. However, there’s still hope that the ’20/21 campaign won’t be significantly delayed.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, start dates for next season ranging from December to March were discussed during last Friday’s Board of Governors call with the league office. There’s a “consensus hope” that the 2020/21 regular season can get underway in late December or January, sources tell Woj.
As we’ve relayed multiple times in recent weeks, the NBA is prioritizing getting fans back in arenas next season, since a significant portion of the league’s revenue is generated by ticket sales and in-arena purchases. That still doesn’t seem realistic for the time being, but a number of developments could change that, including the possibility of new therapeutic treatment options emerging for COVID-19 or a vaccine being introduced. Postponing the 2020/21 start date would buy the NBA more time to explore every avenue.
With the NBA apparently becoming more inclined to once again postpone the start of the ’20/21 regular season, the draft and free agency also seem increasingly likely to be pushed back. Wojnarowski reports that the league is “moving toward” delaying the October 16 and the October 18 opening of free agency.
NBA, NBPA Agree To Extend CBA Termination Deadline Again
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association have once again reached an agreement to push back the 60-day window giving each side the right to terminate the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). According to Wojnarowski, October 15 is the new deadline for modifications to the CBA for 2020/21.
The NBA and NBPA first agreed to push back the Collective Bargaining Agreement termination deadline in May. The agreement gives the two sides more time to make the necessary adjustments to the CBA for the 2020/21 season to account for the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
[RELATED: Board Of Governors Discusses Moving Draft, Free Agency, Start Of Next Season]
As Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), an October 15 deadline will allow the NBA to complete the current season and should give the two sides a chance to make more informed decisions for the future based on the 2019/20 end-of-season revenues.
The pandemic has resulted in NBA revenue losses for this season and will affect its projected revenues going forward. However, there’s still optimism that the league and the players’ union can reach agreements on temporary changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and figure out next season’s salary cap without requiring the “nuclear option” of terminating the CBA, tweets Woj.
“Extending is an easy call,” NBPA executive director Michele Roberts told ESPN (Twitter link). “If everyone continues to be well-intentioned on how we deal with the economic effects of this virus, we’ll just make the appropriate adjustments and there won’t be a need to terminate the CBA at all.”
While the 2020/21 season presents a number of logistical and financial challenges on its own, teams will also hope to get some clarity this fall on what the salary cap might look like in 2021/22, ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter). The Jazz, for example, will have the opportunity to extend Rudy Gobert this offseason, but a new deal for him would go into effect in ’21/22 and his first-year salary would likely be based on a percentage of the cap.