Warriors Notes: Thompson, Wiseman, Atkinson, Brown, Draft
Recovering Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson isn’t participating in full contact workouts yet, but he’s “starting to really get movement on the court,” head coach Steve Kerr told Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Thompson continues to rehab from an Achilles tear he suffered in November 2020.
“He’s still a ways away from actually playing basketball in a 5-on-5 setting,” Kerr said. “But there’s a big step with the Achilles when you can actually start running again. It’s a huge psychological boost. The rest of the body gets going, you start feeling the soreness and aches and pains that actually feel good when you’ve been out for a while. He’s at that point.”
Kerr addressed a few other topics of note during his conversation with Slater. Here are some of the highlights:
- Coming off knee surgery that ended his rookie season, James Wiseman is “right on schedule for everything,” according to Kerr, who says the expectation is still that the young center will be ready for training camp.
- Discussing the addition of Kenny Atkinson as an assistant coach, Kerr said he was worried about “groupthink” with the current staff and believes Atkinson will bring a new perspective to the group. “Very clever. Very analytically driven,” Kerr said of Atkinson. “We’ve had a lot of basketball conversations over the years and I’ve always been impressed with the way he sees and feels the game. In a way, it’s different from me.”
- Mike Brown has been Kerr’s associate head coach for the last several years, making him the lead assistant on the staff. Atkinson has a claim to that role too, but neither coach is concerned about the title, according to Kerr. “I talked to Kenny about titles. He didn’t care. I talked to Mike, said I was interviewing Kenny and hadn’t talked title. Mike said, ‘I don’t care either,'” Kerr told Slater. “To me, they’re just both assistant coach. Both guys are comfortable in their own skin.”
- Kerr said he isn’t as involved this year in scouting and evaluating draft prospects because of the Olympics and his commitment to Team USA, but he’s excited about what the Warriors will be able to do with the seventh and 14th overall picks. “Based on what I’ve watched on tape, I’ve seen a few guys who can play right now,” Kerr said. “You can go that route or go the younger route, get a prospect. Maybe you get one of each. Get one guy who is ready now and one guy who may pop in a few years. Who knows. But I think we’re in a really good position asset-wise to look at everything.”
Olympic Notes: Grant, Johnson, Finals Trio, Randle, McGee
Bradley Beal won’t be able to participate in the Olympics due to health and safety protocols, but Team USA has Jerami Grant back on the roster, Joe Vardon of The Athletic tweets. The Pistons forward exited protocols and played 12 minutes in the team’s final tuneup, an 83-76 win over Spain on Sunday. Team USA will begin its quest for gold this Sunday against France.
We have more Olympic news and observations:
- Gregg Popovich and managing director Jerry Colangelo raised some eyebrows when Keldon Johnson was promoted from the Select Team as an injury replacement. The Spurs wing is justifying that decision, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst notes. Johnson supplied 15 points in 17 minutes against Spain. “Keldon Johnson just played a solid basketball game,” Popovich said. “He shot it when he was open and when he did go to the bucket he was very physical.”
- For the Olympic team’s sake, it would best for the Finals to end with a Milwaukee victory on Tuesday, Vardon writes. Devin Booker, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday will join Team USA after the Finals are completed and it’s fair to wonder how much they’ll have left in the tank both physically and emotionally. Popovich hopes he can ease them into the Group play. “In some ways, it might depend on if everybody else is healthy, and if they’re not then they got to play,” he said. “We’ve gone over lots of scenarios, but we haven’t figured it out yet.”
- Knicks All-Star Julius Randle was never offered the chance to join the U.S. team as an injury replacement, Marc Berman of the New York Post reports. Instead, Team USA opted for role players in Johnson and center JaVale McGee, who gives the team a much-needed shot blocker. “We decided that was the most logical and appropriate choice,’’ Popovich said. “Given the choices we had, (McGee) fit the best.”
Shabazz Napier Signs With Russia’s Zenit
Longtime NBA guard Shabazz Napier has signed a one-year contract with BC Zenit Saint Petersburg, the Russian basketball club tweets.
Napier, who turned 30 this month, did not play in the NBA this season. He saw action in a combined 56 games with the Timberwolves and Wizards in 2019/20. He averaged 10.3 PPG and 4.7 APG in 24.0 MPG in those contests, which included 32 starts. He also appeared in 56 games with the Nets the previous season, averaging 9.4 PPG and 2.6 APG in 17.6 MPG.
He has also had stints with the Heat, Magic and Trail Blazers. Overall, Napier has averaged 7.1 PPG and 2.5 APG in 345 NBA games.
As EuroHoops.net relays, coach Xavi Pascual called Napier an “excellent acquisition.”
“Shabazz Napier is an excellent acquisition for our club, and I am very glad that he chose Zenit to make his first basketball step in Europe,” Pascual said. “Shabazz is the kind of player who leads the team in offense and is very good at making important decisions. With his experience, he is a player who leads a team to create and make important decisions. He is very good at developing a quick offense, has great ball handling and is very versatile. “
Western Notes: Williams, Suns, Blazers, Gilgeous-Alexander
The Suns will look to regroup in Game 6 after losing three straight contests to the Bucks, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. Phoenix now trails 3-2 in the series entering Tuesday’s pivotal game.
“We got to win one game to put them back on the plane,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “That’s it. And you have to have that determination that you’re willing to do whatever it takes to put them back on the plane.”
Game 6 of the Finals will take place in Milwaukee, meaning a Suns win would allow the team to play Game 7 at home. The club won its first two contests in its own arena before dropping Saturday’s game 123-119.
“We knew this wasn’t going to be easy,” Chris Paul said. “We didn’t expect it to be. It’s hard. Coach said it all year long: Everything we want is on the other side of hard, and it don’t get no harder than this.
“So, we got to regroup, learn from this game. But it’s over. We got to get ready for Game 6.”
There’s more out of the Western Conference:
- The Suns have been hampered by defensive issues and ball protection, according to The Arizona Republic. Phoenix struggled in non-Deandre Ayton minutes during Game 5, playing Torrey Craig, Jae Crowder and Cameron Johnson when Ayton sat on the bench. The team mostly played Dario Saric in those minutes during the regular season, but Saric suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter of Game 1.
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated examines the current situation between Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers. To this point, Lillard has publicly denied the notion that he plans to request a trade, but he’s also explained the importance of building a contender around him this summer. The Blazers were eliminated by the short-handed Nuggets during the first round of the playoffs this spring. “Right now, I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” Lillard said on Friday. “My intention, my heart has always been set on being in a Trail Blazers uniform for my entire career. But I think over time, you want to win it all. I want to win it all in a Trail Blazers uniform. We all have to be making strides toward that.”
- Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman explores why it wouldn’t make sense for the Thunder to trade Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander appeared in 35 games for the team this year, averaging 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per outing.
Southwest Notes: Harrison, Doncic, Pelicans, Green, Kidd
Newly-hired Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison hopes to make Dallas a compelling free-agent destination, Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News writes. The goal, Harrison said, is to instill a culture that players want to be a part of.
“My approach is really simple,” he explained. “It’s going to be about servant leadership that kind of empowers the team and the staff to be at their best.”
Harrison understands that leadership must start at the top of an organization. Dallas lost longtime president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and head coach Rick Carlisle this offseason, replacing them with Harrison and new coach Jason Kidd.
The team finished with a 42-30 record this season and has an All-NBA superstar in Luka Doncic, a 22-year-old wunderkind that could aid in Harrison’s mission to entice players and build a culture.
There’s more from the Southwest Division tonight:
- Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News examined the Mavericks‘ plan for Doncic next season. “It’s tough to nitpick an All-NBA player,” Harrison said. “The best thing you can do is surround him by a Hall of Fame coach (Kidd) who played his position and let those two vibe off each other. I think that’s going to help him tremendously.” Doncic averaged 27.7 points, eight rebounds and 8.6 assists per game this season.
- Christian Clark, Rod Walker and Scott Kushner of The Times-Picayune grade the Pelicans‘ hire of Willie Green as head coach. Green, a former NBA player, will finish the season as an assistant coach with the Suns before reporting for New Orleans.
- Jason Kidd has been in discussions with former Mavericks players Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler and J.J. Barea about joining his coaching staff, according to Mavs.com. All three players hold several years of playing experience and were on the team’s 2011 championship roster with Kidd.
And-Ones: McCullough, Hayes, Auguste, Udoh, Lofton
Former Nets forward Chris McCullough, the 29th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft, is eyeing a return to the NBA this year, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News writes. McCullough is currently training for The Basketball Tournament with Boeheim’s Army.
“I’m still athletic and stuff like that. But I do way more than dunk now,” said McCullough, who played 40 games with Brooklyn from 2015-17 and 21 games with Washington from 2017-18. “I can block shots. I can handle the ball. I have range. I can create my own shot now. So it will be very different.”
McCullough’s TBT team is set to start playing on Saturday. The 26-year-old has received interest for the Las Vegas Summer League next month, sources said. He also told the Daily News that he has upcoming workouts scheduled with multiple NBA teams.
Here are some other odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- EuroLeague players Nigel Hayes and Zach Auguste will work out for the Celtics this week, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link). Hayes, a 6’8″ power forward, holds nine games of NBA experience and last played in Lithuania. As for Auguste, a 6’10” big man, he’s spent most of his career overseas and most recently played in Greece.
- Free agent center Ekpe Udoh has signed a two-year contract with Virtus Bologna in Italy, the team announced. Udoh, the No. 6 pick in 2010, has appeared in 384 NBA games with four teams. He most recently played in China.
- Former Pistons two-way player Zach Lofton has signed in Kuwait with Kazma Sport Club, Nicola Lupo of Sportando tweets. Lofton is a 28-year-old guard who went undrafted in 2018.
Eastern Notes: Magic, Tibbetts, Bucks, Heat, Lillard
The Magic are expected to hire Nate Tibbetts as an assistant on Jamahl Mosley‘s staff, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Tibbetts and Mosley worked together on the Cavs’ coaching staff during the 2011/12 and ’12/13 seasons.
Tibbetts also interviewed for a position with the Kings, Fischer reports. He last served as associate head coach with the Blazers, working for several years as an assistant coach under Terry Stotts.
The Magic, who hired Mosley earlier this month, finished the 2020/21 campaign with just a 21-51 record. That mark was the second-worst in the East and third-worst in the league, mostly caused by key injuries and a midseason decision to start rebuilding.
Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference tonight:
- The Bucks suddenly find themselves one win from an NBA title after winning Game 5 on Saturday, as Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times details. The victory was sealed with a steal and alley-oop from Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo at the end of the contest.
- The Heat have released their preseason home schedule for 2021/22, per an announcement on the team’s website. Miami’s first home game will be against Atlanta on Monday, October 4, just 78 days away. The league’s offseason will once again be shortened this year due to the altered schedule caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In his latest “Ask Ira” mailbag, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines whether Bam Adebayo should serve as a roadblock in the Damian Lillard-Heat trade speculation. Portland likely wouldn’t entertain any offer for Lillard that doesn’t include Jimmy Butler or Adebayo, and to this point, neither Lillard nor the Blazers have indicated that a separation is being considered.
Atlantic Notes: J. Johnson, Duarte, Fournier, Sixers
The Knicks will have a great opportunity to add some immediate help in the 2021 draft, stocked with two first-round and two-second round picks. David Vertsberger of Yahoo Sports examines the pros and cons of intriguing Duke small forward Jalen Johnson in a new piece.
The 19-year-old Johnson appears to have a high upside, per Vertsberger. He has exhibited flashes of being a solid playmaker and dangerous transition option at the next level. Defensive-oriented Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau might enjoy working with Johnson, who should be a valuable contributor on that end of the floor thanks to his athleticism and size (6’9″ with a 6’11” wingspan).
Vertsberger cautions that Johnson’s long-range jump shooting is the biggest question mark in his game, as he took just 1.4 three-point attempts a night during his lone season at Duke (though he did convert 44.4% of them). He also made just 63% of his free-throw attempts, a low number for a ball-handler. Johnson is currently listed as a late-lottery prospect on ESPN’s big board. The Knicks possess the No. 19, No. 21, No. 32 and No. 58 picks this year, so if they want Johnson, they may need to move up.
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- 6’6″ three-and-D Oregon wing Chris Duarte could be a perfect fix for what ails the Knicks in this year’s 2021 draft, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “I’m ready to step in,’’ the 24-year-old said during a Zoom interview with reporters Friday. “No doubt in my mind, [Duarte is] good enough for an NBA rotation now,’’ Oregon assistant coach-turned-DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield raved. “And he’s ready to impact winning in an NBA franchise. He’s still got more upside to his game.’’ This season, Duarte won the Jerry West Award, given to the country’s top shooting guard, and was honored as the Pac-12 Player of the Year by The Associated Press. Duarte averaged 17.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.9 SPG. His shooting percentages are encouraging too: he averaged .532/.424/.810. ESPN projects Duarte to be available within the range of where New York will be selecting, as a mid-to-late first-rounder.
- Now that Nuggets shooting guard Will Barton will opt out of the final season of his contract this summer, the free agent market for swingmen has gotten that much more competitive. Brian Robb of MassLive suggests that this could help the Celtics retain free agent wing Evan Fournier. Robb notes that no more than five-to-10 clubs will have the salary cap space to add players for more than the full $9.7MM mid-level exception, and thus Barton’s availability could mean one fewer team is in the mix to lure Fournier away with a big-money offer.
- Wells Fargo Center, home court to the Sixers, is soon set to resume its $300MM renovation, which had been paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New club level seating tweaks will be added this fall, and further improvements will be built next summer. Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer wonders if the club will opt to remain at Wells Fargo long-term or will continue pursuing the rumored construction of their own arena. The team’s lease with Wells Fargo expires in 2031. Sielski notes that the improvements to Wells Fargo could entice Sixers ownership to stay. “I don’t want to get into speculation about how the Sixers think about this,” Valerie Camillo, Wells Fargo’s president of business operations, said. “The Sixers know we want them to stay.”
Pacific Notes: Booker, Ayton, Lakers, Draft
After falling 123-119 to the Bucks, the Suns find themselves on the brink of losing the 2021 NBA Finals. They have their sights squarely set on a must-win Game 6 on Tuesday. Mark Medina of USA Today opines that the club may be relying too much on the production of 24-year-old All-Star shooting guard Devin Booker.
“We know what Book can do with the ball, but the one thing we talked about was getting to the paint, finding guys on the back side,” Suns head coach Monty Williams said of the ball sticking with Booker. “We feel like that’s a formula.”
Medina contends that the Suns suffered due to their dependence on Booker to bail out possessions with isolation scoring.
There’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Suns center Deandre Ayton – who has thrived during a breakout postseason, his first playoff appearance – welcomes the challenge of a must-win Game 6, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. “I like it. It’s fun; the tables are turned now,” Ayton said. “Now we’re the desperate team. We had our chances of being up and trying to finish the job, now we’re in the same position that they were in. They’re up, and now we got to go get it. That’s why it’s a little bit more fun.” The top pick in the 2018 draft, Ayton is eligible for a contract extension during the 2021 offseason. His recent play should earn him a maximum-salary offer or something close to it.
- The Lakers, who own the No. 22 pick in the upcoming 2021 draft, hosted 6’5″ Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu and 6’4″ Tennessee guard Jaden Springer during their latest pre-draft workouts Saturday, per Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. Both guards are good shooters who could help space the floor for L.A.
- The Lakers need to land a win-now type of player in the 2021 draft with their No. 22 selection, opines Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register. Goon notes that the Lakers front office, under the stewardship of Rob Pelinka, last retained a first-round pick through the draft in 2018, when the club selected center Moritz Wagner out of Michigan — however, Wagner did not last long in L.A., having been sent to Washington in the Anthony Davis blockbuster. The team appears determined to add shooting this offseason — Los Angeles has examined versatile guard prospects and stretch forwards thus far.
Omri Casspi Announces Retirement
1:54pm: Casspi announced his retirement decision in a press conference today, writes Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando.
1:31pm: Ten-year NBA veteran forward Omri Casspi will retire from professional basketball, tweets James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area.
Casspi, now 33, was selected with the No. 23 pick in the 2009 NBA draft by the Kings. The first Israeli NBA player to be drafted in the first round, Casspi logged two tours of duty in Sacramento, playing with the Kings from 2009-11 and again from 2014-2017.
Casspi also had NBA stops with the Cavaliers, Rockets, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Warriors and Grizzlies. He most recent NBA season was 2018/19, Casspi’s lone year with Memphis.
A 6’9″ tweener who saw time at both forward positions, Casspi boasts NBA career averages of 7.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG. He will retire with an NBA shooting line of .454/.368/.678.
More recently, Casspi played the prior two professional seasons in Israel, where he also had started his pro career in 2005. He primarily played for Maccabi Tel Aviv during his two Israeli League tenures (2005-2009 and 2019-21), but was loaned to Hapoel Galil Elyon during the ’06/07 season.