And-Ones: Hall Of Fame Nominees, G League, Extensions, More
Longtime Celtics forward Paul Pierce and former NBA player and head coach Doug Collins are among those eligible for the first time to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, writes ESPN’s Royce Young.
Pierce and Collins are joined as this year’s first-time nominees by former Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper and three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Lauren Jackson, along with Howard Garfinkel, Lou Henson, Val Ackerman, and Yolanda Griffith. Those new nominees will be added to a list of returning candidates that includes Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, and Becky Hammon, among others.
While the 2020 Hall of Fame class – headlined by Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett – won’t be enshrined until May due to coronavirus-related delays, the 2021 class is scheduled to be unveiled in early April, with a September induction ceremony to follow.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link) hears from a source that the NBA G League may be targeting February 8 for the start of its shortened season. Training camps would begin at a bubble site – possibly in Atlanta – on January 29 in that scenario, Bondy adds.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) examines what’s next for the players who didn’t sign rookie scale extensions on Monday and takes a look at some players who will still be candidates for veteran extensions during the season, including new Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and Rockets forward P.J. Tucker.
- The NBA’s decision to rescind the Bucks‘ 2022 second-round pick after finding evidence that they jumped the gun on negotiations with Bogdan Bogdanovic last month is a relative slap on the wrist, but still represents a noticeable step up over past penalties for tampering, Jared Weiss writes for The Athletic. The league made it a priority starting in 2019 to crack down on such violations.
- Basketball junkies will enjoy the 2020/21 version of Niku Mistry’s annual NBA Almanac, a 300-page guide that recaps last season’s results – along with each offseason transaction – and includes team-by-team breakdowns for the coming year.
Nuggets Won’t Trade Murray In Potential Harden Deal
The Nuggets have reportedly spoken to the Rockets about the possibility of a James Harden trade, but Denver would be unwilling to include Jamal Murray in any offer for the former MVP, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
As Singer explains, Murray’s impressive postseason run during the Orlando restart over the summer underscored why the Nuggets gave him a maximum-salary extension a year ago. It also demonstrated why Denver views the 23-year-old as a long-term franchise cornerstone alongside Nikola Jokic, who – of course – also wouldn’t be available in any Harden discussions.
With Jokic and Murray off the table, the most obvious centerpiece in a potential Nuggets offer would be Michael Porter Jr. The 22-year-old forward averaged 9.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG in 55 games (16.4 MPG) during his de facto rookie season in 2019/20.
While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Porter’s upside is considerable and he’s viewed as a potential offensive star. Still, it’s not clear how enthusiastic the Rockets would be about a deal built around him — or how many other assets the Nuggets would be willing to include in such an offer. Houston has reportedly been seeking a return that features an All-Star-caliber young player, along with several other assets (young players or draft picks).
[RELATED: Tension Between Harden, Rockets Teammates?]
Denver hasn’t been mentioned as one of Harden’s preferred landing spots, but a report last week indicated that the Rockets had expanded trade talks beyond those teams on his wish list. Presumably, the Nuggets were one of those teams, though it’s unclear if the two sides remain in touch or have engaged in anything beyond exploratory discussions.
Community Shootaround: 2020/21 NBA Predictions
It may feel as if the 2019/20 NBA season just ended, but we’re just suddenly hours away from the ’20/21 regular season tipping off.
With the coronavirus pandemic ongoing, this season won’t quite look like a typical NBA campaign. Teams are only scheduled to play 72 games instead of 82, and that’s assuming that they can get through the season without cancellations.
On Monday, commissioner Adam Silver told reporters – including Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press – that he expects some “bumps in the road” for the NBA as the 2020/21 season progresses, acknowledging that there will likely be some positive COVID-19 tests among players and other on-court personnel. However, Silver also said the league is “prepared for all contingencies” and is confident that it will be able to get through the full season.
Time will tell if Silver is right. But for now, let’s assume – or at least hope – that he is. We want to get your predictions on which teams and players will rule the 2020/21 NBA season — assuming the league can get through it.
Playoffs and NBA Finals
Betting site BetOnline.ag currently lists the following 12 teams as the best bets to claim the top six spots in each conference:
Eastern Conference:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- Brooklyn Nets
- Boston Celtics
- Miami Heat
- Toronto Raptors
- Philadelphia 76ers
Western Conference:
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Denver Nuggets
- Dallas Mavericks
- Utah Jazz
- Portland Trail Blazers
Only the top six finishers in each conference are assured of playoff berths this season, as the Nos. 7-10 teams will participate in a play-in tournament at the end of the year for the final two spots. The seventh and eighth seeds will only have to win once in two games to claim their spots, while the ninth and 10th seeds would require two wins.
Based on BetOnline’s odds, the Pacers, Hawks, Wizards, and Magic are the best bets for the 7-10 spots in the East, with the Bulls, Hornets, and Cavaliers among the teams lurking as threats.
In the West, the Suns, Warriors, Rockets, and Pelicans are considered the best bets for that 7-10 range, with the Grizzlies, Spurs, Kings, and Timberwolves looking to push them out.
Meanwhile, the Bucks and the Nets are the frontrunners to make the NBA Finals in the East, per BetOnline, while the Lakers and Clippers are the overwhelming betting favorites to represent the West.
What do you think? Do those projected standings look about right to you, or do you think certain teams are noticeably overvalued or undervalued? Do you expect some combination of the Bucks, Nets, Lakers, and Clippers to play in the Finals, or will another team (or two) crash the party?
NBA End-of-Season Awards
Some end-of-season awards are a little easier to forecast than others. We have a general idea of which players should be in the mix for the Most Valuable Player award or Defensive Player of the Year honors. But there could be dozens of candidates for Most Improved Player, while an award like Sixth Man of the Year often hinges on whether injuries force certain top bench players to become starters.
Still, BetOnline has provided betting favorites for all of major awards. Here are bettors’ top five picks for each one:
Most Valuable Player:
- Luka Doncic (Mavericks)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Kevin Durant (Nets)
- Stephen Curry (Warriors)
- Anthony Davis (Lakers) / LeBron James (Lakers) (tie)
Defensive Player of the Year:
- Anthony Davis (Lakers)
- Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks)
- Rudy Gobert (Jazz)
- Bam Adebayo (Heat)
- Joel Embiid (Sixers)
Rookie of the Year:
- LaMelo Ball (Hornets)
- Obi Toppin (Knicks)
- James Wiseman (Warriors)
- Killian Hayes (Pistons)
- Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves)
Sixth Man of the Year:
- Lou Williams (Clippers)
- Jordan Clarkson (Jazz)
- Danilo Gallinari (Hawks)
- Goran Dragic (Heat)
- Serge Ibaka (Clippers)
Most Improved Player:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Thunder)
- Deandre Ayton (Suns)
- Christian Wood (Rockets) / Michael Porter (Nuggets) (tie)
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
- Coby White (Bulls)
Coach of the Year:
- Steve Nash (Nets)
- Tyronn Lue (Clippers)
- Monty Williams (Suns)
- Brad Stevens (Celtics) / Erik Spoelstra (Heat) / Frank Vogel (Lakers) / Rick Carlisle (Mavericks) (tie)
- Doc Rivers (Sixers)
While the favorites for each of those awards make sense, there are some guys I like who don’t make the cut. I think Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton is an intriguing Rookie of the Year candidate, and I’d be tempted to make Davis Bertans my choice for Sixth Man as long as the Wizards intend to continue bringing him off the bench.
What do you think? Are you picking mostly from the above candidates for your award selections, or are you going off the board with some of your choices?
With the regular season to tip off, we want to hear your predictions for the coming year.
Head to the comment section below to share your picks for the 2020/21 regular season standings, the playoff results, the award winners, and any other subjects you want to weigh in on (James Harden‘s trade destination? Or maybe the first head coach to be fired?).
Happy opening night!
Injury Updates: Hayward, Kemba, Thompson, Ennis, Morris
Hornets forward Gordon Hayward, who broke the bone at the base of his right pinky finger last week, will be available for Charlotte’s regular season opener in Cleveland on Wednesday, he said today (Twitter link via team).
When Hayward’s injury was announced last Wednesday, a report indicated that the Hornets didn’t believe he’d require surgery and that he’d likely be able to return to action when he felt he could comfortably manage the pain and perform effectively. Apparently, it didn’t take long for the veteran forward to feel comfortable playing through the injury.
Here are a few more health updates from around the NBA:
- Celtics point guard Kemba Walker is still “a long way away,” head coach Brad Stevens said today (Twitter link via Tim Bontemps of ESPN). Walker, who is rehabbing a left knee injury, is still limited to 1-on-1 work with a coach, and the team won’t update his status until the first week of January. Stevens is hopeful that big man Tristan Thompson (hamstring) will be able to play in Boston’s opener on Wednesday, Bontemps adds (via Twitter).
- Magic swingman James Ennis will miss the first game of the season due to hamstring and calf injuries and his status beyond that game is questionable, head coach Steve Clifford said today (Twitter link via Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel).
- The Clippers have listed Marcus Morris as out for their regular season opener on Tuesday night due to right knee soreness (link via ESPN). Morris didn’t play in any of the club’s three preseason games.
New York Notes: Ntilikina, Rivers, Thibs, Durant, Nets
Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina was one of the 13 players who didn’t sign a rookie scale extension by Monday’s deadline despite being eligible for a new deal, and will now be on track for 2021 free agency.
While some of those 13 players engaged in contract negotiations with their respective teams, that wasn’t the case for Ntilikina, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv, who says there were no extension talks between the Knicks and the former lottery pick.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that the Knicks won’t attempt to re-sign Ntilikina when he becomes a free agent in 2021 or that they’ll try to trade him before then. But it appears as if the team is content to take a wait-and-see approach with the fourth-year guard, as Begley observes.
Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- New Knicks combo guard Austin Rivers, who has missed all four preseason games due to a right groin injury had yet to return to practice as of Monday and seems very likely to miss the start of the regular season, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
- Ian O’Connor of ESPN takes an in-depth look at Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, examining Thibs’ popularity among players, his coaching style, and his outlook in New York.
- Nets forward Kevin Durant will face his old team in Tuesday night’s opener, but doesn’t anticipate added emotions or higher stakes in the game against the Warriors, writes Malika Andrews of ESPN. “I feel like each game is important to me,” Durant said. “And it’s no more important to me because I am playing against my old teammates. I just feel like the game of basketball is going to have me on that level anyway and it’s going to be good to see some of my old teammates.”
- The preseason gave us a preview of what the Nets‘ primary bench unit should look like, according to Mollie Walker of The New York Post, who says the group, led by Caris LeVert, should also feature Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, Landry Shamet, and Jeff Green.
NBA Teams With Most, Least Roster Continuity
The NBA’s offseason felt awfully busy, with free agency opening just two days after the draft and training camps starting about 10 days later. As hectic as those couple weeks were though, they actually didn’t feature a ton of player movement relative to a typical offseason.
A year ago, for instance, when we looked at the teams with the most and least roster continuity from year to year, we found that only one team was bringing back 13 players (counting two-ways) from its previous squad, while a total of four had 11 or more returning players.
This time around, seven clubs are bringing back 13 or more players from their end-of-season 2019/20 rosters, and a total of 18 teams will have 11 or more returning players. The Bulls and Pacers lead the way, having carried over 14 players apiece.
While the condensed offseason made for an exciting November, the quick turnaround also likely played a major part in teams’ decisions to stand relatively pat. Without a Summer League or the opportunity to conduct offseason mini-camps, teams haven’t had a lot of time to integrate new players, and have generally opted for as much continuity as possible.
Of course, while that may have been the general rule for the 2020 offseason, it certainly doesn’t apply to every team. A year ago, seven teams – including the eventual-champion Lakers – brought back just six players from their 2018/19 rosters. This time around, two clubs had that much turnover.
Of those two clubs, one – the Pistons – exhibited an impressive disregard for roster continuity, retaining just four players (Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Sekou Doumbouya, and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk) from last season’s roster. That’s the lowest number of returning players a team has had to start a season since the 2017 Celtics.
Here are the number of returning players for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, from most to fewest:
- Chicago Bulls: 14
Indiana Pacers: 14 - Boston Celtics: 13
Brooklyn Nets: 13
Memphis Grizzlies: 13
Miami Heat: 13
San Antonio Spurs: 13 - Golden State Warriors: 12
Orlando Magic: 12 - Cleveland Cavaliers: 11
Los Angeles Clippers: 11
Los Angeles Lakers: 11
Minnesota Timberwolves: 11
New York Knicks: 11
Sacramento Kings: 11
Toronto Raptors: 11
Utah Jazz: 11
Washington Wizards: 11 - Charlotte Hornets: 10
Dallas Mavericks: 10
Denver Nuggets: 10 - Portland Trail Blazers: 9
- Atlanta Hawks: 8
Houston Rockets: 8
New Orleans Pelicans: 8
Phoenix Suns: 8 - Milwaukee Bucks: 7
Philadelphia 76ers: 7 - Oklahoma City Thunder: 6
- Detroit Pistons: 4
Warriors Re-Sign Juan Toscano-Anderson To Two-Way Deal
10:12am: Toscano-Anderson’s two-way contract is now official, the Warriors announced in a press release.
9:04am: After releasing him from their standard roster on Saturday, the Warriors will bring back wing Juan Toscano-Anderson on a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Toscano-Anderson cleared waivers on Monday.
A former Marquette standout, Toscano-Anderson went undrafted in 2015 and spent the first few years of his professional career playing in Mexico and Venezuela. The 27-year-old joined the Warriors’ G League affiliate in Santa Cruz for the 2019/20 season and was eventually promoted to Golden State’s NBA roster. He averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.0 RPG on .460/.348/.600 shooting in 13 games (20.9 MPG) down the stretch.
Toscano-Anderson’s contract with the Warriors included a non-guaranteed salary for 2020/21, so the team hung onto him through training camp and the preseason. Mychal Mulder beat him out for the 15th roster spot, but because Toscano-Anderson didn’t have a partial guarantee exceeding $50K, he remained eligible to sign a two-way deal with the club once he cleared waivers.
The Warriors, whose other two-way player is Nico Mannion, had been one of five teams with an empty two-way contract slot. As our tracker shows, the Pistons, Suns, Trail Blazers, and Kings still have open spots.
Nets Re-Sign Chiozza To Two-Way Contract, Waive Martin
The Nets have made a change to one of their two-way contract slots, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived Jeremiah Martin and re-signed Chris Chiozza to a two-way deal to replace him.
Chiozza, 25, signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn in January and emerged as a reliable rotation player for the team, averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.1 APG on .425/.357/1.000 shooting in 18 games (15.4 MPG).
The Nets issued Chiozza a qualifying offer in November, making him a restricted free agent. He ended up signing a one-year, minimum-salary contract with Brooklyn, but it was non-guaranteed, which made him expendable on Saturday when the club made its roster cuts.
Although he didn’t make the 15-man squad, Chiozza cleared waivers and is now back on another two-way contract, which will allow him to be active in up to 50 of the Nets’ 72 regular season games this season. He’ll earn $449,155 on the deal, alongside fellow two-way player Reggie Perry.
Martin, meanwhile, will become a free agent on Thursday if he goes unclaimed on waivers. The former University of Memphis point guard, who signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Nets in January appeared in nine games as a rookie in 2019/20, averaging 7.1 PPG and 2.0 APG in 11.0 MPG. He also averaged 17.7 PPG and 4.5 APG in 37 G League games (30.4 MPG) for Long Island and Sioux Falls.
Suns Pick Up 2021/22 Options On Ayton, Bridges, Johnson
The Suns have exercised their fourth-year team options on the rookie scale contracts of Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges, along with the third-year option on Cameron Johnson‘s rookie deal, per RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.
All three options apply to the 2021/22 season, guaranteeing each player’s salary for that year. Ayton’s option is worth $12.63MM, Bridges’ is for $5.56MM, and Johnson’s has a value of $4.44MM.
None of the decisions came as a surprise, as all three players have established themselves as promising young contributors in Phoenix.
Ayton, the former No. 1 overall pick, averaged 18.2 PPG, 11.5 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 38 games (32.5 MPG) in 2019/20 after serving a 25-game suspension to start the season for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension in 2021.
Bridges, who will also be extension-eligible next year, recorded 9.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a solid .510/.361/.844 shooting line in 73 games (28.0 MPG) last season. He moved into Phoenix’s starting lineup later in the season, including for the team’s 8-0 run during the summer restart.
Johnson, the 11th pick in the 2019 draft, averaged 8.8 PPG and knocked down 39.0% of his three-point tries in 57 games (22.0 MPG) as a rookie. The Suns will have to decide next year whether to exercise his $5.89MM fourth-year option for 2022/23.
Tension Between James Harden, Rockets Teammates?
The Rockets appear set to open the regular season with James Harden on their roster, and while the star guard has reportedly vowed to be professional as he waits for the team to satisfy his trade request, the environment around the team has been tense at times in recent days, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Harden had multiple verbal confrontations with teammates during practices on Sunday and Monday, reports Charania. Sources tell The Athletic that one of those confrontations saw Harden throw a basketball at Jae’Sean Tate after the two had a “heated exchange.”
Charania acknowledges that tense practice interactions between teammates aren’t necessarily uncommon in competitive environments. However, he says some people around the franchise view the confrontations as signaling an “uncharacteristic level of frustration” for Harden, who is typically more calm and laid back.
While Charania compares the situation to Jimmy Butler‘s final weeks in Minnesota, he notes that there are a number of differences between the two situations — Butler was in a contract year, which gave him added leverage, and has a more fiery, volatile personality than Harden. The Rockets are hoping to avoid that sort of volatility as they wait out the trade market and focus on finding a deal that meets their asking price, says Charania.
For what it’s worth, Charania writes that sources have described Harden as “engaged and encouraging” with teammates during games so far this month.
The Rockets will open their regular season by hosting the Thunder on Wednesday night.