Jazz Sign Tre Scott
After opening up a roster spot on Tuesday by waiving Nigel Williams-Goss, the Jazz have filled it by signing rookie forward Tre Scott, the team announced today in a press release.
Scott, 24, went undrafted last month after spending his four-year college career at Cincinnati. As a senior in 2019/20, he averaged 11.4 PPG and 10.5 RPG in 30 games (33.7 MPG), earning Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player honors in the American Athletic Conference.
While the terms of Scott’s deal weren’t reported, this will almost certainly be an Exhibit 10 contract that sets him up to join Utah’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, once he’s waived by the Jazz. Depending on how the NBAGL season plays out, he could be in line to earn a $50K bonus as a member of the Stars.
The Jazz now have a full 20-man roster and will have to make at least three cuts before next Monday’s regular season roster deadline. Scott, Romaro Gill, Jake Toolson, and Trevon Bluiett look like the probable odd men out.
Rockets Rumors: Harden, Culture, Westbrook, Wall
The Rockets‘ culture in recent years might be best described as “whatever James Harden wants,” Tim MacMahon writes at ESPN.com. As MacMahon explains, the Rockets have essentially let Harden dictate the team’s travel and practice schedules, staying overnight when the team plays in one of his favorite road cities such as Los Angeles or Phoenix, and not practicing on certain off days when Harden decides to charter a private jet to party in Las Vegas or another city.
According to MacMahon, in addition to calling the shots on the team’s travel and practice plans, Harden has also wielded significant power over personnel moves, having pushed in past years for Kevin McHale‘s firing as well as the departure of star players like Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.
Since Harden is a perennial MVP candidate, the Rockets have been fine in the past with allowing him to exercise that power. As one member of last season’s coaching staff told MacMahon: “If they have multiple days off, everybody knows: James is going to fly somewhere else and party. But he’s going to come back and have a 50-point triple-double, so they’re OK with it.”
However, when Harden pushed to be traded this offseason, the team pushed back, refusing to move him immediately to one of his preferred destinations. As the standoff played out, the 31-year-old partied in Atlanta and Vegas while the Rockets began training camp, violating the league’s COVID-19 protocols and taking his time to report to camp.
“You can’t get mad at your kid if you let him eat candy every night and then suddenly one night you don’t and they throw a tantrum,” a former Rockets assistant said to ESPN. “You’re the one who let them eat candy every night. The Rockets turned the organization over to James and now they have to live with the fallout.”
Here’s more on Harden and the Rockets, including a few more noteworthy tidbits from MacMahon’s in-depth report:
- Harden has pushed the Rockets to upgrade their roster every offseason in recent years, indicating that he’d want to be traded if the team couldn’t contend for a title, sources tell MacMahon. The star guard told the club during the 2019 offseason that he’d demand a trade if Houston didn’t find a way to acquire Russell Westbrook.
- The “lack of discipline and attention to detail” within the Rockets’ organization bothered both Paul and Westbrook, reports MacMahon. Westbrook, in particular, was put off by the team’s casual culture, since he helped ensure the Thunder “operated with the discipline of a military unit” during the decade he spent in Oklahoma City.
- As MacMahon details, Westbrook was bothered by the fact that scheduled times for travel and film sessions were treated as “mere suggestions” by Harden and others. At one point during the restart at Walt Disney World, Harden waited until just before a Rockets film session began to undergo his daily COVID-19 test, leaving Westbrook angry and wanting to start the session without him, sources tell ESPN.
- John Wall has high hopes for what he and Harden can do together in the Rockets’ backcourt, but he said on Tuesday that he’s not going to try to convince the former MVP to drop his trade request, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “At the end of the day, that’s a friend,” Wall said. “He’s going to do what’s best for him and the organization is going to do what’s best for them, also. The most important this is when we step on the floor, when we’re stepping into practice, we’re focusing ourselves on basketball. I don’t try to ask him about that because that’s his personal business.”
Northwest Notes: Hollis-Jefferson, Horford, Barton, Jazz
Veteran forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is making a strong impression on the Timberwolves so far, writes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Hollis-Jefferson is on a non-guaranteed contract, but made a case for a regular season roster spot with his play on Monday night, when he scored 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting and made several plays on defense.
“Since Day 1 Rondae has been great,” Timberwolves wing Josh Okogie said. “He tells me all the time we got to be the ones that anchor the defense down. Just seeing him play is very inspiring. The energy he brought out (Monday), and he just makes you ask yourself, what kind of guy wouldn’t want to play with a guy like Rondae?”
The Timberwolves are only carrying 12 players with fully guaranteed salaries and don’t have a ton of depth at the power forward spot, so Hollis-Jefferson looks like a good candidate to be retained for the start of the season.
“I’m a competitor at the end of the day,” Hollis-Jefferson said, per Hine. “Any time I come out and compete it shows with how I play, the energy. I feel like everything else will naturally come when the time is right. I’m definitely looking forward to being out there competing in the regular season.”
Here’s more from around the Northwest:
- Al Horford was traded by Philadelphia just one year into his four-year contract with the club, but the veteran big man is looking forward to making the most of his new role with the Thunder, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “I wasn’t expecting (to be traded),” Horford said. “But I’ve known the type of organization the Oklahoma City Thunder is. That was the one thing that was positive for me when I looked at it. And now that I’m here I’m actually really excited and looking forward to getting the regular season started.”
- Nuggets guard Will Barton hasn’t played a game since March due to knee and back issues, but he appears to be on the verge of returning and he’s very happy about it, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post details. “I’m just ready to go out there and compete and play,” Barton said. “I just love the game. Being away from it, it’s very, very, very tough for me to just watch and not be able to play. I can’t wait. I’m excited. I’m just looking forward to it.”
- Jazz forward Georges Niang and guard Miye Oni are focusing on improving their defense as they look to claim roles in the team’s regular season rotation, writes Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Niang is entering a contract year, while Oni’s 2020/21 salary remains non-guaranteed, so both players will be motivated to prove they deserve to play.
More On Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Extension, Bucks
Following the Bucks‘ second-round postseason loss to Miami, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo made a conscious decision to play a more vocal role in upgrading the team’s roster, according to a report from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Kevin Arnovitz.
During a fall lunch with Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, GM Jon Horst, and Giannis’ agent Alex Saratsis, Antetokounmpo named a number of players whom he thought would be good offseason targets for Milwaukee, including Bradley Beal, Victor Oladipo, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, per Windhorst and Arnovitz.
Beal wasn’t available, the Bucks never got close to a deal for Oladipo, and their efforts to sign-and-trade for Bogdanovic fell through. However, Milwaukee zeroed in on another player on Giannis’ list, Jrue Holiday, believing he’d be a natural fit in the team’s lineup.
According to ESPN’s duo, the Nuggets and Celtics were aggressive in attempting to acquire a top-10 pick in last month’s draft to flip for Holiday. The Hawks were also interested in moving the No. 6 pick in a deal for the Pelicans guard, but ultimately abandoned that plan due to uncertainty over whether he’d want to remain in Atlanta beyond 2021.
The Bucks didn’t have a top-10 pick in 2020 to offer for Holiday, but were willing to put plenty of future first-rounders on the table. According to Windhorst and Arnovitz, Milwaukee initially offered Eric Bledsoe, two first-round picks, and a pick swap (plus salary filler), then “reluctantly” added George Hill to the offer. The Pelicans countered by asking for one more first-rounder and one more pick swap.
Sources tell ESPN that the Bucks’ decision-makers knew that giving up two rotation players, three first-round picks, and two pick swaps was an overpay, especially since an extension for Holiday may cost in the neighborhood of $30MM per year.
However, the club badly wanted to upgrade its roster and to send a message to Antetokounmpo and decided to pull the trigger. If that deal ultimately helped convince Giannis to sign his super-max extension, the front office presumably feels the cost was worth it.
Here’s more on the Bucks and the Antetokounmpo extension:
- The report from ESPN’s Windhorst and Arnovitz is worth checking out in full, as it’s packed with interesting nuggets about the process of extending Antetokounmpo. According to the ESPN duo, when the Lakers acquired Dennis Schroder from Oklahoma City, Giannis wanted reassurance that Milwaukee had made a “valiant effort” to land Schroder.
- As a trio of writers from The Athletic reported on Tuesday, Windhorst and Arnovitz confirm that the Bucks first formally made their extension pitch to Antetokounmpo on December 5. During that meeting, team ownership and management focused on the team’s commitment to building a champion, pointing to its aggressive pursuit of Holiday and its willingness to pay future luxury tax bills, per ESPN.
- David Aldridge of The Athletic argues that the Antetokounmpo extension is good for the NBA, since it’s hard for fans in non-glamor markets to fully invest in their teams if they believe star players always have one foot out the door.
- Joe Vardon of The Athletic throws some cold water on the news of Antetokounmpo’s extension, writing that the new deal offers the Bucks a temporary reprieve, but doesn’t guarantee the superstar forward will be with the franchise for the next five years. Jobs will be “on the line” in Milwaukee if the team doesn’t make the NBA Finals and win a title within the next couple years, says Vardon.
Atlantic Notes: LeVert, Bembry, Nets, Thibs
Though Nets wing Caris LeVert sat out Brooklyn’s preseason opener against the Wizards due to a patella contusion, he was set to partake in team practice today, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. His knee is not a long-term concern.
“Caris is great. He said his knee feels as good as it’s felt in a long time,” new Nets head coach Steve Nash commented in a Zoom conversation with reporters Monday.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Newly-added 26-year-old Raptors forward DeAndre’ Bembry could be an X-factor for the team this season, thanks especially to his multifaceted defense, per Josh Lewenberg of TSN. “I’ve always brought an edge to the game and just a hunger,” Bembry said. “And then I can guard one through three, I can play one through three, I can get in the paint, make some plays in the paint.”
- Following four seasons spent as a Nets assistant coach, Bret Brielmaier has been hired as the head coach of club’s G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, according to a team press release. Before landing in Brooklyn, Brielmaier logged assistant coaching stints with the Cavaliers and Spurs.
- New Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has weighed in on the importance of New York acquiring a star. “I think it’s critical,’’ Thibodeau said Tuesday on Zoom of having a star, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. “There’s a lot of different paths to getting stars. Sometimes it’s the development phase,” he continued. “Sometimes there’s situations that arise whether it be through free agency or trade. But I think every day that has to be a priority for the organization to seek out those opportunities.”
Pistons Notes: Doumbouya, LaVar, Sirvydis, Vet Leadership
Second-year Pistons forward Sekou Doumbouya had a stellar preseason turn in a 99-91 victory against the Knicks Sunday, reminding the Pistons faithful that the 19-year-old could be a key part of Detroit’s future, as Keith Langlois of Pistons.com details. Now just the third-youngest Pistons player, Doumbouya scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, in addition to pulling down five rebounds and logging two dimes, in only 18 minutes.
“I came in and tried to help the team – that’s my job, to come off the bench, lock in and be ready to help the team,” Doumbouya said. He averaged 6.4 PPG and 3.1 RPG in 38 games for the Pistons during the 2019/20 season.
There’s more out of the Motor City:
- In a Bleacher Report Ask Me Anything conversation yesterday, the outspoken LaVar Ball was true to form, ripping the Pistons for recently waiving middle son LiAngelo Ball. The Pistons had signed LiAngelo to an Exhibit 10 training camp contract. “I love the fans, but the franchise over there is raggedy as hell,” the elder Ball said. “They don’t know a good player. I was giving them a [l]ottery pick for free!” LiAngelo went undrafted out of UCLA in 2018.
- Pistons rookie swingman Deividas Sirvydis has arrived in Detroit, per Rod Beard of the Detroit News (Twitter link). The 20-year-old will need to clear COVID-19 testing protocol, according to Pistons head coach Dwane Casey, and may be ready to join his teammates in a practice this Thursday or Friday.
- Two former All-Stars can supply valuable leadership for a young Pistons team in transition, according to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Savvy veterans Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin, who have logged significant playoff minutes, can help inform the Pistons’ future leaders and build the current culture. “They’re great pros, big-time pros,” Casey said. “We’re being sensible about our program and what we’re building. It’s not going to happen overnight – I know that and they know that. It’s not like they’re fighting for star status. They’ve been there.
Jazz Waive Nigel Williams-Goss
The Jazz have waived point guard Nigel Williams-Goss, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN (via Twitter). Williams-Goss had been owed a $1,517,981 salary for the 2020/21 season, but it was non-guaranteed.
The Jazz drafted Williams-Goss with the No. 55 pick in 2017 out of Gonzaga. Utah held onto his rights even as he opted to play overseas to start his pro career, spending time in Serbia and Greece during the 2017/18 and ’18/19 seasons. The 6’3″ guard then signed a three-year, $4.2MM deal with the Jazz in 2019, although only the first season was fully guaranteed.
Williams-Goss finally made his NBA debut in the 2019/20 season. He appeared in just 10 games for the Jazz, averaging 5.0 MPG. He got significantly more run with the Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars. Across 17 games (all starts), Williams-Goss averaged 15.3 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.9 RPG, and 1.6 SPG in 29.6 MPG for the Stars. He also boasted a respectable shooting line of .508/.352/.778.
Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that, even after this transaction, the club remains $2MM over the league’s luxury tax threshold. The Jazz now have 11 players with guaranteed deals, three with zero salary protection (Shaquille Harrison, Miye Oni, and Juwan Morgan), three more on Exhibit 10 contracts, and a pair on two-way pacts.
Giannis Notes: Signing Process, Masai, Butler, Small Markets
Two-time Bucks MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo has inked a five-year, $228.2MM super-max contract extension to stay in Milwaukee. Shams Charania, Eric Nehm, and Sam Amick of The Athletic take an in-depth look into the process that saw the star forward opt to remain with the team that drafted him in 2013.
The Bucks made a big splash early in the offseason when they traded for defensive-oriented veteran guard Jrue Holiday. After a botched Bogdan Bogdanovic sign-and-trade deal, Antetokounmpo apparently wavered on a Milwaukee return — Giannis had strived to recruit the then-Kings guard, now with the Hawks.
The star stayed in touch with the Milwaukee front office throughout the offseason before coming to a decision, even though it took longer for him to sign on the dotted line than perhaps initially anticipated.
There’s more news surrounding ripple effects of the Giannis decision:
- Now that Antetokounmpo will be forgoing free agency for the immediate future, Raptors team president Masai Ujiri will have to get creative when it comes to team-building, per Eric Koreen of the Athletic. Using a bevy of assets towards a trade for Rockets guard James Harden or Wizards guard Bradley Beal could make sense for Toronto. Ujiri’s contract with the Raptors will expire this offseason, and Koreen wonders if the loss of Antetokounmpo as a free agent prospect could affect Ujiri’s decision to remain with the Raptors long-term.
- With Antetokounmpo no longer be a free agent candidate for the Heat next summer, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald breaks down the next steps Miami can take as it strives for long-term title contention, as well the reaction of Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler. Rather than expressing disappointment, the ultra-competitive wing appeared excited for the opportunity to do battle with the Bucks MVP soon. “I like it,” Butler said. “I don’t think you can go around him [for a title].”
- The new extension for Antetokounmpo is not just a victory for the Bucks, but for the NBA and all its small market clubs, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today contends. Giannis’ decision to stay with Milwaukee long term will free up general manager Jon Horst to build a team up around him without needing to worry about a starrier squad snatching him in 2021 free agency, Zillgitt notes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Signs Super-Max Extension With Bucks
5:30pm: The Bucks officially announced their new agreement with Antetokounmpo (via Twitter).
3:35pm: Antetokounmpo’s super-max extension will feature a 15% trade kicker, reports Charania (via Twitter). Since a player’s trade bonus can’t push his salary above his maximum, that’s unlikely to matter unless the cap rises significantly during the later years of Giannis’ new deal.
12:23pm: Giannis Antetokounmpo has decided to sign a five-year, super-max contract extension with the Bucks, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Antetokounmpo published an Instagram post announcing the news.
“This is my home, this is my city,” he wrote. “I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next five years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it.”
The deal, which will feature a starting salary worth 35% of the salary cap, projects to be worth $228.2MM over five years, making it the largest contract in NBA history, Charania notes. The exact value will depend on how much the salary cap increases for the 2021/22 season — the $228.2MM projection is based on a presumed 3% cap bump.
In that scenario, Antetokounmpo would make $39,344,970 in year one, with annual 8% raises resulting in a fifth-year salary of $51,935,362 in 2025/26. That final year will be a player option, agent Alex Saratsis tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Antetokounmpo’s decision to sign the Bucks’ super-max extension offer, which has been on the table since the new league year began last month, is a massive development for the franchise. Milwaukee now has the two-time MVP locked up for the next five seasons and can focus on continuing to build a championship-caliber roster around him.
The Bucks’ efforts to bolster their roster around Antetokounmpo included trading multiple future first-round picks and pick swaps last month to acquire standout guard Jrue Holiday from the Pelicans. Milwaukee also attempted to land Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign-and-trade, but that deal ultimately fell apart, forcing the club to look elsewhere on the free agent market. The Bucks instead signed D.J. Augustin, Bobby Portis, Bryn Forbes, and Torrey Craig to fill out their rotation.
There was some speculation that the Bucks’ failed effort to bring Bogdanovic to Milwaukee may dampen Antetokounmpo’s enthusiasm for an extension, since he was said to be high on the idea of teaming up with the Serbian swingman. However, if that was the case, it wasn’t enough to dissuade Giannis from locking in a new deal with the Bucks before the December 21 super-max deadline.
Antetokounmpo, who turned 26 last Sunday, has led the Bucks’ to the NBA’s best regular season record in each of the last two seasons, establishing new career highs in 2019/20 with 29.5 PPG and 13.6 RPG in just 30.4 MPG (63 games).
In each of those last two years, the Bucks fell short of the NBA Finals, blowing a 2-0 lead to the Raptors in the 2019 Eastern Conference Finals and then losing to the Heat in the 2020 Eastern Semifinals. However, Antetokounmpo’s long-term commitment to Milwaukee signals that he still believes in the club’s ability to win a title, since he has long maintained that an ability to compete for a championship was his number one priority in deciding where he wants to play.
With Antetokounmpo no longer on track to reach free agency in 2021, a handful of teams around the NBA will have to reevaluate their plans for next summer. The Raptors, Heat, and Mavericks were among the clubs hoping to take a run at the All-NBA forward. They could still use their projected ’21 cap room to pursue a star, but they’ll have to target someone besides Giannis.
Once he makes it official with the Bucks, Antetokounmpo will become the sixth player to sign a super-max contract since the NBA introduced it in 2017, joining Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and John Wall, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.
Antetokounmpo will also be the ninth player to sign a contract extension since the 2020/21 league year began and the seventh to ink a max deal, joining LeBron James, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adebayo, and De’Aaron Fox.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2020/21 NBA Over/Unders: Northwest Division
The 2020/21 NBA regular season will get underway on December 22, so it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign.
With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites, including Bovada and BetOnline, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
Of course, there are plenty of wild cards to take into account this season. For one, teams are scheduled to play 72 games instead of 82, so if you’re picking a team to win 41 games, you’re not just expecting them to be a .500 club — you’re projecting them to finish 10 games above .500. For each team’s over/under below, we’ve noted the record they’d have to achieve to finish “over” their projection, as a reminder.
It’s also worth noting that the coronavirus pandemic could cause some games to be canceled in 2020/21. We don’t want you to have to take possible cancellations into account when making your picks though, so don’t let that stop you from taking the “over.” If a team has a couple games canceled, we’ll adjust their over/under figure downward, so you’re essentially just projecting that team’s winning percentage.
We’ll turn today to the Northwest…
Denver Nuggets
- 2019/20 record: 46-27
- Over/under for 2020/21: 44.5 wins (45-27)
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Nuggets win in 2020/21?
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Over 44.5 70% (423)
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Under 44.5 30% (184)
Total votes: 607
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Nuggets poll.
Utah Jazz
- 2019/20 record: 44-28
- Over/under for 2020/21: 42.5 wins (43-29)
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Jazz win in 2020/21?
-
Over 42.5 60% (343)
-
Under 42.5 40% (230)
Total votes: 573
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Jazz poll.
Portland Trail Blazers
- 2019/20 record: 35-39
- Over/under for 2020/21: 41.5 wins (42-30)
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Trail Blazers win in 2020/21?
-
Over 41.5 70% (422)
-
Under 41.5 30% (180)
Total votes: 602
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Trail Blazers poll.
Minnesota Timberwolves
- 2019/20 record: 19-45
- Over/under for 2020/21: 29.5 wins (30-42)
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Timberwolves win in 2020/21?
-
Under 29.5 50% (336)
-
Over 29.5 50% (332)
Total votes: 668
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Timberwolves poll.
Oklahoma City Thunder
- 2019/20 record: 44-28
- Over/under for 2020/21: 22.5 wins (23-49)
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Al Horford, George Hill, Trevor Ariza, Justin Jackson, Ty Jerome, T.J. Leaf, Darius Miller, Kenrich Williams, Admiral Schofield, Aleksej Pokusevski, Theo Maledon
- Lost: Chris Paul, Steven Adams, Danilo Gallinari, Dennis Schroder, Nerlens Noel, Terrance Ferguson, Abdel Nader, Deonte Burton, Andre Roberson
How many games will the Thunder win in 2020/21?
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Under 22.5 64% (400)
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Over 22.5 36% (221)
Total votes: 621
Trade Rumors app users, click here for Thunder poll.
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (45.5 wins): Over (66.3%)
- Brooklyn Nets (45.5 wins): Over (58.6%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (44.5 wins): Over (57.4%)
- Toronto Raptors (42.5 wins): Over (54.7%)
- New York Knicks (22.5 wins): Under (59.5%)