Southwest Notes: Ingram, Mavericks, Benson, Aldridge
Pelicans All-Star forward Brandon Ingram, recently crowned the Most Improved Player for the 2019/20 season, made significant strides this season after his trade from the Lakers, per William Guillory of The Athletic.
Ingram specifically credits the time he logged watching game tape, both of himself with the Lakers and of the Pelicans’ offense, with his performative improvement. “When I wasn’t on the court, I just had to visualize things,” Ingram said during a media Zoom conversation Monday. “I had to watch film … It helped me out.”
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Following an exciting 2019/20 campaign that ended in a 4-2 loss to the Clippers, Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News takes a look at the Mavericks‘ roster. Caplan assesses player performance this season and projects how players will fare next year, looking at everyone from All-Star Luka Doncic to crucial veteran role player Trey Burke.
- After testing positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19, Pelicans (and Saints) owner Gayle Benson has been cleared to return to team activities by doctors, per Jeff Duncan of The Athletic (Twitter link).
- The Spurs apparently tried to shop big man LaMarcus Aldridge at this season’s trade deadline, though potential trade partners balked at San Antonio’s requested return haul, as we previously reported.
New York Notes: Mitchell, J. Bryant, Nash, Draft
The recent news that the Jazz will likely extend All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell with a five-year maximum contract takes him off the table as a Knicks trade target this offseason, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Bondy notes that there had been hope that Mitchell’s connection to new Knicks team president Leon Rose (he is represented by Rose’s former agency, CAA) might make the prospect of Mitchell demanding a trade to Madison Square Garden palatable. Mitchell played his AAU basketball in New York City.
There’s more out of the Empire State:
- At least one Jazz personnel member will be joining the Knicks for 2020/21. Former Jazz assistant coach Johnnie Bryant, who will be the associate head coach under new Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, officially signed his contract with the team following Utah’s elimination from the playoffs, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link).
- New Nets head coach Steve Nash will have his hands full with a litany of challenges and a loaded, win-now roster, per Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.
- The Knicks will have a variety of intriguing prospects to choose from with the No. 8 pick in the NBA draft, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Vorkunov appraises both the high-upside prospects and the low-risk options that should still be on the board by the time New York drafts.
Patrick Beverley To Play In Game 1 Vs. Nuggets
Clippers head coach Doc Rivers asserts that point guard Patrick Beverley will play in tonight’s first game of the team’s conference semifinals series against the Nuggets, per Ohm Youngmisuk (Twitter link). Beverley was officially listed as questionable to appear as recently as yesterday, though Rivers seemed fairly confident Beverley would be able to play.
Beverley, the club’s nominal starting point guard, has been battling a left calf strain during the league’s Orlando summer restart. The injury has limited him to just four games overall, including just one playoff appearance, in Game 1 of the Clippers’ first-round series against the Mavericks.
Point guard Reggie Jackson and off-guard Landry Shamet both started in Beverley’s stead for portions of the series. Shamet started the final four games. The Clippers went on to beat Dallas 4-2.
Nuggets head coach Mike Malone noted the challenge of Beverley’s addition to the active roster, according to Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). “He’s a very good defender, we all know that,” Malone said. “Last time we played them, in L.A., Patrick Beverley-Paul George–Kawhi Leonard, three elite defenders on the perimeter… they all took turns guarding Jamal Murray.”
Ja Morant Named NBA Rookie Of The Year
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant has been named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year for the 2019/20 season, the league announced today in a press release. Morant was a near-unanimous choice, receiving 99 out of 100 possible first-place votes.
Heat guard Kendrick Nunn finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, receiving 56 second-place votes and 36 third-place votes. Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, who only appeared in 19 games prior to the NBA’s shutdown in March, received the final first-place vote and finished third.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft, Morant had an outstanding season in Memphis, averaging 17.8 PPG, 7.3 APG, and 3.9 RPG to go along with a .477/.335/.776 shooting line in 67 games (31.0 MPG).
He was unable to lead the Grizzlies to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference this summer, as Memphis lost the play-in game last month to the Trail Blazers. However, voting was based on games completed as of March 11, and despite the disappointing finish to the season, Morant and the Grizzlies significantly outperformed their expectations for 2019/20.
Nunn, an undrafted free agent, averaged 15.3 PPG and 3.3 APG in 67 games (29.3 MPG) as the Heat’s starting point guard this season.
Williamson would have been the frontrunner to win the Rookie of the Year award if a knee injury hadn’t sidelined him for much of the season — he recorded 22.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.1 APG in just 24 games (27.8 MPG). His limited playing time created a dilemma for voters. Despite receiving one first-place vote, last year’s No. 1 overall pick was also left off 38 of 100 total three-man ballots.
Here are the full Rookie of the Year voting results:
- Ja Morant, Grizzlies (498 points)
- Kendrick Nunn, Heat (204)
- Zion Williamson, Pelicans (140)
- Brandon Clarke, Grizzlies (50)
- Coby White, Bulls (3)
- Eric Paschall, Warriors (2)
- Terence Davis, Raptors (2)
- RJ Barrett, Knicks (1)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Sotto, Lue, Campazzo, Bubble
Kai Sotto, a 7’2″ center from the Philippines, is one of the prospects who will be part of the new G League Ignite select team, forgoing college for the NBAGL’s new professional path. Sotto spoke to Ajayi Browne of NetsDaily about his decision and the adjustments he’ll have to make after growing up in the Philippines.
“My challenge here in the States is how they play,” Sotto told Browne. “Being an international player from Asia they don’t really give you the respect right away, you have to earn it. They really have great players here. Every time I play I just have to earn everybody’s respect and play my hardest.
“For an 18-year-old player coming straight out of high school and playing in the G league is a really big thing for me, for a player like me. I know I’m gonna be playing against great players, stronger players, and faster players so I’m just trying to get ready to be better. That’s gonna be the best way for me to improve to play against players like them, to be around an amazing coaching staff and amazing teammates. I just can’t wait.”
Like the 2020/21 NBA season, next year’s G League season remains up in the air. But whenever it happens, Sotto will be part of an Ignite squad that also features guards Jalen Green and Daishen Nix, as well as forwards Jonathan Kuminga and Isaiah Todd.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- While he has appreciated having Tyronn Lue on his staff this season, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers is rooting for Lue to get a head coaching job, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post details. “It’s a joke that he’s not a head coach, but it’s to my advantage that he’s not,” Rivers said, adding that he has no problem with Lue taking interviews during the playoffs. “… He’s been absolutely (great). He’s just a wonderful guy to be around. His IQ, his feel, he’s made this year really enjoyable for me.”
- Argentinian point guard Facundo Campazzo is still hoping to make the leap to the NBA for the 2020/21 season, but with next season’s schedule up in the air, he’s sticking with Real Madrid for the time being, per Ricardo Gonzalez of AS.com (Spanish link; hat tip to Sportando). The plan is for the salary he earns in the interim with the EuroLeague club to be put toward his NBA buyout, Gonzalez explains.
- As of this Saturday (September 5), the eight teams still playing in the Walt Disney World bubble will have the opportunity to add one staff member and swap one out for another, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Draft Rumors: Draft Date, Hawks, Suns, Toppin, Wolves
Most people around the NBA think this year’s draft will eventually be moved back from October 16 to sometime in the middle of November, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. We heard last month that there was momentum toward delaying the draft and the start of free agency.
As Bontemps explains, the idea would be to give the NBA and the players’ union some time after the season ends to get a handle on the league’s finances after what has been a very unusual 2019/20 season — and ahead of what figures to be another unusual year in 2020/21. Delaying the draft and free agency would give both sides plenty of time to establish a salary cap for next season and new projections going forward. It would also give teams time to reconsider their plans based on the new cap.
As we wait for official word from the NBA on a possible delay, here’s more on the 2020 NBA draft:
- Among the league insiders polled by Bontemps, two teams – the Hawks at No. 6 and the Suns at No. 10 – were mentioned most frequently as candidates to be active in trade talks on (or leading up to) draft day. As Bontemps observes, both teams have cap flexibility and will face some pressure from ownership to make the playoffs in 2020/21.
- Asked by Bontemps about this year’s most overrated prospects, executives and scouts most frequently pointed to Dayton forward Obi Toppin. “I think he’s a good player and I like him and he had an unbelievable year, but this consensus top-five status he’s obtained is weird to me,” one Eastern Conference scout said of Toppin. Cassius Stanley (Duke), Desmond Bane (TCU), and Jaden McDaniels (Washington) were among the players who received votes as 2020’s most underrated prospect.
- Most league insiders expect the Timberwolves to draft Anthony Edwards first overall, according to Bontemps. However, in Sam Vecenie’s latest mock draft for The Athletic, he has changed the Wolves’ pick from Edwards to LaMelo Ball, operating under the belief that Gersson Rosas would favor Ball’s potential star power. Both Bontemps and Vecenie note that Minnesota seems like a good bet to gauge the value of the pick on the trade market. Vecenie points out that the Wolves could also draft a player and consider moving him down the road if he doesn’t fit in well with Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell.
Poll: Who Will Make Western Conference Finals?
It has taken them a little longer to get underway due to a pair of Game Sevens in the Western Conference quarterfinals, but the second round of the Western playoffs are finally set to tip off tonight. The No. 2 Clippers will face the No. 3 Nuggets on Thursday, with the No. 1 Lakers playing the No. 4 Rockets on Friday.
The Clippers will enter their series against the Nuggets as overwhelming favorites. Of the 19 ESPN experts who made predictions for the series, not a single one picked Denver to win — and not one thinks it will take the Clippers more than six games to dispatch the Nuggets.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George figure to be major problems for Denver. It’s unclear if the Nuggets have defenders capable of slowing down the duo; and on the other end of the court, top Denver scorers like Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. will face more resistance from Leonard, George, and company than they did from Utah’s defenders in the first round.
The Lakers also open as heavy favorites over Houston. The 16 ESPN experts who made picks for the series were once again unanimous in projecting an L.A. victory, though in this case at least a handful predicted it will take a full seven games.
The well-rested Lakers will have the size advantage over the Rockets, as forwards like P.J. Tucker, Jeff Green, and Robert Covington will be tasked with guarding Anthony Davis and LeBron James. L.A. also had one of the NBA’s best defenses all season long and may force Houston’s role players to beat them with outside shots.
Still, while an all-L.A. Western Finals looks – as it has all year – to be the likeliest outcome, the Nuggets and Rockets have the star power to make things interesting. Nikola Jokic, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook aren’t about to bow out quietly. And as we’ve seen in the two Eastern Semifinals so far, a solid game plan and some well-timed hot shooting streaks can quickly put a series favorite on its heels.
What do you think? Are you penciling in a Clippers/Lakers showdown already, or do you think the Nuggets or Rockets are capable of pulling off an upset?
Vote in our poll below and head to the comment section to weigh in with your thoughts on both series!
Which teams will meet in the Western Finals?
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Clippers/Lakers 67% (705)
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Clippers/Rockets 17% (176)
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Nuggets/Lakers 11% (120)
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Nuggets/Rockets 5% (51)
Total votes: 1,052
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Reactions, Notes On Nets’ Hiring Of Steve Nash
The Nets shocked the basketball world on Thursday morning when they announced that Steve Nash would become the team’s new head coach. Nash, who hadn’t been cited as a potential candidate during Brooklyn’s search process, wasn’t even known to be seeking a head coaching job.
However, according to Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily, Nash’s name came up “very early” in the process, perhaps even as early as March, shortly after Jacque Vaughn took over for Kenny Atkinson on an interim basis. As Puccio explains, Nash was emerging as the team’s top choice by May. General manager Sean Marks has a history with Nash, having played with him in Phoenix from 2006-08, and star forward Kevin Durant among those pushing for the former star point guard.
That connection with Durant, forged during Nash’s stint as a consultant for the Warriors, will be crucial for the first-time head coach, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News, who suggests that Nash’s potential as the Nets’ head coach is tied to the respect he can command from Durant and Kyrie Irving. As long as those star players are happy, the risk of Nash’s inexperience is mitigated, Bondy opines.
Here’s more on the Nets’ surprising hire:
- Nash reached out to longtime friend Dirk Nowitzki to gauge his interest in joining the Nets as an assistant coach, but Nowitzki isn’t looking for a full-time basketball job so soon after retiring, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
- Speaking to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Nash explained why the Nets’ job appealed to him, admitting that he has always known in the back of his mind that he’d like to try coaching. The former two-time MVP also addressed his relationship with Durant. “I think that there is a trust, a commonality and a language between us when it comes to the game that has developed over time,” Nash said of his bond with KD. “That definitely is important. He’s one of the greatest players I’ve ever seen and to have his confidence is really important.”
- Tim Kawakami of The Athletic explores what Nash brought to the Warriors and what – in turn – he’ll bring to the Nets, noting that Steve Kerr is confident in the Hall-of-Famer’s ability to make the transition to coaching. “Yeah, he’ll be fine,” Kerr said. “He knows the drill. He’s been in the league forever and he knows the game as well as anybody and he understands people. And I think he’s very wise, so he’ll hire a good staff. And everything that he needs to learn, he’ll learn quickly.”
- ESPN insiders Bobby Marks, Tim MacMahon, Kirk Goldsberry, Tim Bontemps, and Brian Windhorst share their reactions to the news of the Nets hiring Nash, and explore best- and worst-case scenarios for the union.
- It may be an unconventional hire, but the Nets are getting a great teacher in Nash, says Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.
Chauncey Billups Interested In Pursuing Head Coaching Job
Former NBA guard Chauncey Billups is interested in pursuing an NBA head coaching job, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. According to Haynes, teams have begun to do their homework on Billups, researching his candidacy.
Billups, who last played in 2014, has “toyed with the idea” of coaching since his retirement, according to Haynes, who hears from sources that the 2004 Finals MVP is now fully invested in making the idea a reality. It’s not clear if any of the teams that currently have coaching vacancies – the Sixers, Bulls, Pelicans, and Pacers – will pursue Billups.
Although Billups doesn’t have any coaching experience, his decorated résumé as a player should help bolster his candidacy — he made five All-Star teams and won an NBA title during his days as a player. He also received serious consideration from the Cavaliers during their general manager search in 2017.
It’s worth noting too that NBA teams have a history of taking a shot on heady point guards for coaching jobs. The Nets’ hiring of Steve Nash today represents the timeliest example of this phenomenon, but as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski observed this morning (via Twitter), there are many other former point guards who were hired as head coaches without experience as assistants, including Doc Rivers, Steve Kerr, Mark Jackson, Isiah Thomas, and Jason Kidd.
If Billups isn’t hired as a head coach this year, it’s possible he’ll become an assistant coach for good friend Tyronn Lue. A previous report suggested that Lue – who is considered a top candidate in Philadelphia and New Orleans – has interest in making Billups his associate head coach if he’s hired by a team this fall. That report also said that Billups believed working with Lue could increase his appeal as a head coaching candidate.
Browns Owner Jimmy Haslam Exploring Bid For Timberwolves
Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns, is the latest potential buyer to explore a bid for the Timberwolves, according to Scott Soshnick of Sportico.
When we last checked in on the possibility of a Timberwolves sale, former Grizzlies minority shareholder Daniel Straus was said to be in advanced discussions about a potential purchase. However, while The Straus Group did enter into exclusive talks to buy the Wolves, no agreement was reached by the time that window expired, according to Soshnick.
That doesn’t mean that Straus is out of the mix as a potential buyer — Soshnick hears that he remains in talks to potentially purchase the franchise. However, it does open the door for other bidders, such as Haslam, to enter the picture.
Haslam is the CEO of truck stop company Pilot Flying J. Multiple top executives of the company committed multi-million dollar fraud and were sentenced to jail time, but Haslam wasn’t charged as a result of that investigation and has denied any wrongdoing, Soshnick notes. Forbes estimates that the Browns owner is worth about $2.9 billion.
Haslam’s résumé as an NFL team owner likely won’t inspire much enthusiasm among Timberwolves fans — in seven full seasons since he assumed control of the Browns, the team has an overall record of 28-83-1, with no winning seasons and an 0-16 campaign (in 2017).
At least one previous report has indicated that current Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor is seeking an amount in the $1.2 billion range for the franchise. His WNBA club, the Minnesota Lynx, is expected to be part of any sale as well.